Speech Delay and Aspergers question

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I've read a few messages on here a few members have an diagnoses of Aspergers even tho they had some speech delays in their early youth

According to what I've been told by the person whom tested me and what i've read from in order to have a diagnoses of Aspergers there must not be any delays in speech are there exceptions to that rule?

Also prior to the changes in the DSM how common was it to have a diagnoses of Aspergers vs High Functioning Autism?

under classic autism/AD,they mean significant speech delay to over three years old,not just any speech delay.

a lot of aspies here say they had speech delay or were/are somewhat non verbal when what they mean is mutism or elective mutism;they had the physical capacity to speak but didnt necessarily know what to say so coud have appeared to speak very little.
a person doesnt change from classic autistic to asperger presentation,if they truly had a speech delay and appeared quite visibly classic autistic as opposed to being an aspie mutist,they shoud have been diagnosed as having PDDNOS under the DSM but the specialist probably didnt have enough evidence to show they actualy did have a speech delay and they were diagnosed as aspergers as a result.

Gillberg's Criteria for Asperger's has always allowed for a delay in the acquisition of speech, and it's right as Hans Asperger had kids who had such.

The DSM-IV-TR said no. If you had a delay in the acquisition of speech (it gave examples in the expanded text), then you had Autistic Disorder. Even if you gained perfect speech and other verbal skills (reading and writing), and you were evaluated as an adult, they still retroactively diagnosed you with AD (often with a "high-functioning" qualifier).

Now, it doesn't matter. ASD.

What the rules said and what the experts did were not the same. In the US, the diagnosis made was found to depend on the location, rather than the persons characteristics. That was part of why they decided to lump everything as ASD. Because many of the experts were ignoring the rules and labeling anyone with observable language in the present as AS. As one thinks about the psychologists gold standard, it is the ADOS, and I believe it is scored as AS or other autism spectrum disorder based on observed behavior during the assessment.

There is simply no way I can see that AS and HFA could be clearly, consistently and reliably differentiated during a present day interview without reference to history. There is the ADIR which is a parent interview, but if they diagnose based on observed behavior during the ADOS as supposedly objective, and therefore supposedly more valid, well.....

I didn't speak until I was 5 1/2. Othewise, I fit pretty squarely into the Asperger's side of the Spectrum, with symptoms moderating over time.

I presented with symptoms of Kanner autism until I spoke. Institutioalization was proposed as an option. Afterwards, I presented with the "nerd" stereotype of Asperger's, complete with pedantic speech, one-sided conversations, lack of awareness of social cues, mild-moderate clumsiness, and mild sensory issues.

Maybe Kingdom of Rats is right (I hope your stress gets much better today): who knows: Maybe I did have elective mutism.

I remain undiagnosed, primarily because of the cost of an assessment. In an informal assessment, I was found to have ADHD.

The experts often don't follow their own rules, so one can't assume the diagnostic label means what the books say, as that's not what's in the experts heads.

The experts have in their heads that Aspergers is autism with language, so it doesn't matter how classically autistic a child is. They say kids can grow out of it, and this is evidenced by development of language, or development of language means you never were autistic in the first place. I don't know the logic they are using. I say this because although this hasn't happened to me, I believe people who tell me the doctor has told them their child is no longer autistic, all the services have worked and he/she has grown out of the autism and now has only Aspergers.

I don't agree with doing this, to me it's craziness, but this is what happens where I live. And the parents saying this don't seem bothered, so I don't want to react negatively to what they are ok with.

I had hearing loss so that may be an exception to the rule. That also causes a delay in language if the child lost it in their toddler or infant years and it makes them face life time problems in the future even with their hearing back.

Indeed, hearing loss does affect the acquisition of spoken language.

It's known amongst professionals that kids can present as "classically" autistic, but then later on present as Asperger Syndrome.

I'd say that's an accurate description of what happened to me. Given that now, Autism Spectrum Disorder includes Asperger's = HFA, this should not be an issue going forward.

There are people who seem to clearly be one or the other.

I don't think that is always the case, and I don't think we know everything about autism and Aspergers to where the distinction should be carved in stone, especially for girls and women as we tend to not appear as typically atypical as experts expect.

Thanks explains my mild speech delay. I never believed this rule any ways...If your on the autism spectrum you should have varying delays of speech. Aspergers is not unique as it is just a lesser form.

I could speak but no one other than my mother and sister could understand me. I had my own language and my mother and sister had to interpret for me - until I started infants and soon started speaking English around 5-5½.

I've seen a lot of 'specialists' in my time, and to this day, no one has been able to tell me what the hell that was all about! I want to know what it means. Does it mean anything?

I went through the same thing as you--except without "my own language."

All of a sudden, at age 5 1/2, I started speaking grammatically well. Before, I wasn't speaking at all.

I want to know "what the hell was all that about?" myself

I went from being a psychotic whirlwind to being an Aspergian.

That is very interesting, kraftiekortie and imanaspie. I wonder if you two had similar inner experiences as your language emerged. When did you learn to read and write?


I began speaking at 2.5. I spoke only echolalically for years after. Developed creative use of spoken language was a very difficult task. The greatest improvement occurred when I learned to read and write (age 5). But, I still have great difficulty speaking now. I've never been what I'd consider mute.

I was diagnosed with Aspergers and Mixed Expressive Receptive Language Disorder as an adult. (I had many previous diagnosis as a child and adolescent, but none on the spectrum. Most frequent/longest running were ADHD and Aphasia).

I met the definition of speaking before age 3. But, now I'm over 30 and speech is still a constant struggle.

When you started speaking, was it around the same time you started mixing with other kids?

That's the only thing they've come up with for me. It was the fact that I started mixing with kids in kindergarten that I started to be able to be understood.

Also, I don't know if it's relevant but the teacher told mum, she thought I had a hearing problem. The teacher would talk to me and I wouldn't respond. Hearing checked out fine so then she thought I had a problem concentrating. My concentration was fine. I just wasn't concentrating on her. I was looking out the window, counting how many trucks went by on the highway, what sort they were and what colour. I used to love long nosed Kenworths, Macks and Ford Louisvilles. Apparently I told mum once about the trucks, she told the teacher and I got moved away from the window. Killjoys!