IS HFA neccessarily worst than Asperger??

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Can someone have speech delay as a child but grew up to be a self-rambling teen and less impaired by ASD than someone with Asperger??

Last edited by BafflinBook on 04 Dec 2011, 1:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

If they had early intervention, perhaps.

To answer your subject title on this most miserable day of misery, yes.

I don't know that it is, but I think some people who should be diagnosed HFA are diagnosed AS and sometimes vice versa, which confuses things.

I am not convinced there is a difference between HFA and Asperger's. In fact I don't think there is any fixed line at all in the continuum. I would technically be HFA because I didn't start speaking until three (but then, a flood came out of my mouth that never stopped), but in every other regard I am much closer to Asperger's than what is called "HFA". I did learn to read at two.

Actually in all truth I think the Asperger's label should probably not exist. We are all autistic, with the only variable being just where on the spectrum of function we are.

Funny, I feel more autistic than AS and it's got more to do with my functioning and my understanding of the world than a mere speech delay.

Well, that's rather how I feel, too.

But my comment was about people like littlelily and SuperTrouper and you(?) who were diagnosed with AS before being rediagnosed with autism. I can think of a few others, and often I feel like I might have the wrong label.

Me too I was told I had traits from both classic and aspergers. I have really heavy learning disabilities they impair any gifts I may have. On the plus side though I do have some social skills but I didn't have as many before getting help with my ASD DX. The doctor who DXed me thought I was HFA but the counselor who works with me thinks AS. I don't think it matters if I'm one or the other I have difficulties with both to an extent and I can't have them being ignored to be rigidly be placed under one DX.

It's totally possible that a person with "HFA" (I don't like the HF part) gets along more independently than a person with Asperger's. My best friend is diagnosed with AS and, along the continuum, is pretty severely affected (lives with parents, can't leave the house very often, doesn't cook or shop, no friends nearby at all, doesn't go to church...). I have classic autism, mild-moderate range. I do live independently (with help from staff), I have a few friends, do activities, shop, cook, and clean. Granted, I need a LOT of support, but I can do it.

I would say that I am more severely affected than most here with AS, though. And you could easily argue that my friend should be diagnosed with classic autism... she doesn't know her early history, so I can't comment on that.

Currently, there is no clear cut definition of HFA, and it is not a diagnosis term, but more of a secondary term to further explain one's place on the spectrum. Many researchers/doctors argue that HFA & Aspergers are essentially the same thing, while others say there are clearly defined differences.

From my perspective, HFA can mean that whatever Autistic disabilities you have, you can still function at a high (often near NT) level, meaning you can take care of yourself, perhaps hold a job, drive, marry, etc. This in relation to someone "low functioning," who would possibly need full time care, does not communicate with the outside world, etc. As for Aspergers, well, a lot of ASD folks can indeed live a near NT lifestyle, while others are extremely limited by lack of any social skills or ability to relate to others. They may still be able to hold a job, live semi-independantly, but not be able to do everyday things, like shopping.

The Spectrum is indeed wide, and there is a lot of disagreement among the medical community about what is what, and who is where…

Only a few years ago I worked with a boy who had a preliminary diagnosis of PDD-NOS. He had been speech delayed during the first 3-4 years of his life but at age 6, he was a big chatterbox with excellent grammar.

I received a diagnosis of AS because some criteria were ignored. I didn't have a speech delay but wasn't exactly a chatterbox at age 6 and I experience language and speech difficulties even today.

Sometimes, I end up with sentences such "Un...th-this.... ther...." when the sentence should be "I found this spread in our fridge but it has expired two weeks ago. Just so you know, I'm going to throw it in the bin." So annoying.

Early speech delays and good early speech aren't exactly good predictive factors of how well a person's doing/talking in 10+ years.

I would agree on that speech delay in itself isn't really the whole story in many cases. I had no speech delay, I spoke well before I was 2, and I've never been a chatterbox (quite the contrary), and I still have issues with speaking and language in general. Perhaps, having a twin-sister (who was a chatterbox) accounts for better speech development in the early years.

As for HFA/AS, I think issues with speech (but not only speech delay), learning difficulties are more attributes of HFA. This is why I'm prepared to argue with the psychs Friday when we'll discuss the results of my evaluation that a HFA diagnosis would be more appropriate for me (if there would be a place for argument at all).

I think functioning-wise this distinction doesn't make any difference.