When people compare AS to classical and about parents

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I'm posting this here in general because I seriously wonder if there is something strange about my country or if most people have actually never thought about this.

I hear so many people saying AS has nothing to do with classical these days. Because while AS kids supposedly have anxiety, mood disorders or OCD which gives them a lot of trouble, they don't have the symptoms that I understand by AS.

This makes me go like: uhm, excuse me?

If some kid got anxiety and depression, their problems aren't due to AS. Of course they've got pretty much nothing in common with classical. Why would anyone compare anxiety and a classical.

Seriously, to me AS is just as much head-banging and injury, being unable to speak at times or having whatever semantic issues, meltdowns of the violent type that include trashing furniture and attacking and injuring people, ignoring people or, normal to high IQ that doesn't help with dressing, washing, managing your money, cooking on your own, being unable to use public transportation or just walking down a street (for reasons that have nothing to do with anxiety)... so many things.

And this all has next to nothing to do with classical? Right, what was that wide spectrum of classical about again?

And seriously, another thing, if you think classical autism is the only disorder that can at worst leave a person unable to communicate and still not potty trained as a teen, then I really wonder about you. Or about this society. Or about your country. Something along these lines.

There are countless parents and caretakers of people with other disabilities that worry about diaper, struggling to clothe their teens and adults, need to feed them, supervise them constantly. And so on.

Why do quite a few parents never think to ask these people and act as if their struggles are so severe that they're unique?

If I were to walk into the local school for MR and multiple disabilities, I'd see a couple of autistic teens and adults, but lots of other children and teenagers and young adults that can't feed themselves or need a diaper or need to get dressed or who run from the room or attack everyone... hey, they're there already, many of these are already old too, so it's not as if you ask them to share their experiences with you.

It can't be that different outside of Germany now, can it be.

Of course it is different outside Germany. The Social Welfare State treats Science like Religion, and keeps both following State Regulations, so you get what you pay for.

Now in America, we have the same system as Germany, if you are poor, but middle class and above the same symtoms are called Asperger's Syndrome, not Autism.

Above upper middle class the same is called Gifted. You get what you pay for.

Any publically funded system groups people by cost basis, not condition.

There are a whole list of conditions that prevent a Dx of autism, but they are ignored. It has become a catchall.

Autism covers a lot of ground, from those who can function, as most of the survivors of the past have, mostly not great, but got by, to those who were locked up and ignored, until they got out and joined the world.

We had a lot of people locked up for life till 1974, and when released under court order, they had never done anything to be locked up for, something in the Constitution but ignored for a long time, they blended right into the world, and became normal people living on their own.

So Autism can survive bad treatment and still make it, with some funding it can be called Asperger's, and get a University Degree, and if rich, can be made gifted with some private tutors and therapy.

If left up to the State, they get grouped with the mentally ill and mentally ret*d. With these groups all the money gets spent on State Workers.

Our American program to support the aged, blind, and disabled spends 90+% on Administration.

If the blind could be cured for a few thousand dollars these people would be against it, for that is their job and retirement.

There is only one Autism, some people are making their living off of it.

Pure Science Researchers from high ranking Universities have been caught many times faking data.

So what do you expect from a government employee with a Degree in Social work, or Psychology?

They are going to make the numbers come out where the most funding is spent on them.

Where I live, the local authority (in the UK) doesn't have services in place for adult autism, particularly for those classified under HFA/AS. Therefore, to conceal this gaping hole, they label all AS-related problems as anxiety/depression and regard a prescription of antidepressants a comprehensive treatment plan, which I do not comply with. In taking this stance, they (including their psychiatrist) conveniently disregard their own manual (DSM-IV), which specifies that AS is

"... characterised by severe and sustained impairments in social interaction, and the development of restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities." and "that these are a source of considerable disability." and it "... must cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning."

and essentially equate HFA/AS to anxiety/depression. In addition, autism is covered by mental health services, which just encourages them to treat it as a mental illness. The government, however, refers to autism as a single entity covering a spectrum.

Inventor, I really liked your post.

I think there is a silly thing in a lot of people's minds that AS = just shy, quirky people and Autism = aloof, severely disabled people. It's stupid. I can identify with a classic autistic charcter on TV or in a film (I am not diagnosed with AS becuase although I have traits, I do not have that many difficulties), and now I've talked to people on here I can understand it is a SPECTRUM. I think parents freak out about the idea of their child being autistic, so if they can call it something else they will. It's a stupid thing about what problems people feel are socially acceptable.

As for depression and anxiety, lots of people with AS do suffer from those things from what I've read. I have. I think our system of diagnosing/treating mental problems (both stuff like autism and stuff like depression) is messed up. I was not diagnosed with anything and the people I saw didn't seem to know the difference between depression and anxiety.

Asperger's is simply difficulty socializing combined with pervasive special interests. I don't self injure and have no trouble dressing myself, washing, managing my money, cooking on my own, using the phone, or public transportation. In Asperger's self-care skills are typically not impaired. You probably were misdiagnosed.

Extreme aggression isn't necessarily a negative trait; if properly channeled it can often translate to administration of justice and the defeat of those who defy your rights. It cannot be denied that some simply deserve to be put in their place.

agreed.
I can pretty much take care of myself. It is only problems with socializing and understanding what people have to say. Basic communications that should be instinctive, but are not, and the anxiety and confusion that comes with it. Otherwise, I am a normal well functioning person. But my awkwardness is enough that my Dad says I need to grow up.

Exactly. I also tend to be very impulsive and less inhibited when it comes to conversation. Paradoxically, I also suffer from social anxiety at times.

yeah. I used to be really quiet and reserved, but nowadays I really do love to socialize, Im just not GOOD at it. Doesnt mean I dont try. I have lots of friends, but I really cant open up to any of them as much aS I would like. Sometimes it seems even my close friends do alot of things I either dont understand or dont associate myself with, and I can end up feeling a bit left out. I find myself not answering phonecalls or returning them sometimes, because I just dont know what I should say or talk about. It seems like some people can just stay on the phone for hours and I rarely last 15 minutes before I am absolutely out of things to talk about. the exception is if its one of my specific interests. then I could talk literally all day.

One weird quirk of mine is that I prefer phone conversation to face to face. On the phone I can literally converse for hours on end when speaking to friends.

I used to be that way, but Ive gotten better at communicating face to face. I actually dontl ike phones because of the disconnect. It feels so awkward talking to a reciever instead of the person (not that its any less awkward making eye contact or fumbling through a discussion in real life).

Ironically, it's much less awkward for me due to the relative disconnect. I can interpret the tone of voice, listen to pauses, and have more verbal cues on the phone in contrast to the internet. I also don't have to worry about making constant eye contact and other issues that would arise during direct communication.

I kinda only read a few posts so haven't been following the entire thread. I agree with Sora.

I have an AS diagnosis, as well as Anxiety disorder and depression diagnosis. Also possible OCD. Also no documented language delay (no documented anything really), although very quiet as a child and tendency to be aloof from peers. However, I have significant problems with social functioning (the first cue for diagnosis, actually), and the most detrimental thing from my point of view is my obsessiveness and difficulty with self-care and day-to-day functioning. My self-injury is uncommon but happens occasionally with stims (or the OC of the OCD, whatever it is).

Maybe you will say that I am misdiagnosed and should be HFA: but how can we ignore one and say the other? Personally I feel it makes much more sense to have AS a mild form of autism, and discard the Aspergers label... I mean, remember that the "autistic spectrum" includes disorders of other nature (but still autistic) including Rett's disorder and childhood disintegrative disorder.

I definitely do not feel AS is as different from autism as autism is from Rett's or DCD. I do not think anyone on wrongplanet has microcephaly or severe MR or whatever it is characterised by, correct me if I am wrong. And therefore I do not feel aspies and auties should just be called "spectrumers" and leave it at that:

...and by extension I feel AS really is just HFA, and the label Asperger's Syndrome should be abolished or at least seriously reconsidered.

No it is not. Aspergers Syndrome is a condition that includes the same triad of impairments by which all autistic conditions are classified as autism. If you personally do not have the triad of impairments, then you do not have Aspergers Syndrome.


Perhaps you are misdiagnosed. Many people with AS self-injure, and have problems with complex "self care" such cooking, using transport, etc. What is certain is that Aspergers Syndrome is not some merely socially difficulty combined with special interests. It is a particular manifestation of an overarching group of conditions that entail the triad of impairment. By definition, if your problem is simply difficulty socializing combined with pervasive special interests, without the triad of impairments by which autism is defined, then you simply do not have Aspergers Syndrome.

While many people with AS might not have issues with self-injuring, dressing, washing, what have you, having such issues does not mean one does not have AS, and for many such issues are not distinguishable from their particular manifestation of AS according to our current knowledge and understandings.

What's the incidence of individuals with Kanner's who can't dress themselves? I'm betting that the majority with such can as adults, as the majority don't have profound mental retardation (it's usually those with profound mental retardation who can't do these basic things as an adult, and they're in the minority). I know that the majority tend to have problems with wearing certain clothes (sensory), or that they can only wear the clothes they like (routines and rituals).

By definition (as in, the DSM and Wing's words), people with AS won't have these latter problems (sensory and the odd routines and rituals), but in practice, many people with AS seem to have these problems....