Poll: Is Aspergers the same thing as ASD/HFA?

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I once suggested on a FB group that I was a verbal savant . That's because my non-verbal/practical and spatial intelligence sucks compared to my verbal intelligence .

It would be a novel thing!

I think I sort of qualify as well...high intelligence, creative and intellectual gifts...but I take into account the substance use disorder I've had (alcoholism/drug abuse), the mental health challenges (schizoaffective disorder)...anxiety issues such as shy bladder syndrome, also some depression in the past...behavioral problems as a kid, and some Aspergian issues as well, such as stunted social development (just kind of missing the mark sometimes socially, isolating, and having relationship problems), and like relatively lower development in career than one might expect (having a Master's degree but not putting it to very good use)...some "idiot savant" or savant syndrome ideas are applicable in my case. But I think I'm too close to normal to really qualify with the stereotypical portrait. I think most people who meet me would just think I seem basically normal, maybe a little unusual but without any serious deficits without deeper examination. But some of this stuff is hidden (gifts and challenges). I think a lot of people are like that.

Both HFA and Asperger's a so vague and heterogeneous that it's difficult to draw distinctions between them.

Asperger's, however, has always had a slightly romantic tinge to it. From the Nazi-affiliated Hans Asperger's own reflections on the special STEM skills his boys had that could benefit the Third Reich, Asperger's has always had the implication of not just social impairment, but compensatory savant abilities and great intellectual achievements, such that a "dash of Autism" is essential to the functioning of any society.

HFA is a much more morose and pessimistic image, one where the person in question is not too poorly impaired, but is not the "little professor" Asperger described, with untapped potential to go on and be some kind of super successful, genius Autistic professional.

HFA and Asperger's have also been (disturbingly) distinguished frequently along gender and race lines. To put it simply, girls and PoC did not fit into the little professor caricature (where Aspies were thought of as precocious little white boys) and were more likely to get hit with the HFA diagnosis or non ASD diagnosis (or no diagnosis) as opposed to the cosmopolitan Asperger's diagnosis.

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.c ... 018-0208-6

https://psmag.com/news/autisms-race-problem

Hans Asperger was a despicable human being. He championed psychiatric biomedical reductionism, racism, child murder, and utter lack of empathy for his patients. It's a disgrace that we've immortalized his name as we have.

I think we need more precise labels, but Asperger's is one that doesn't really need to stick around... I use it because it's easily recognizable, but I honestly don't know if it's a name that we should keep using.

I used to find it elitist and separatist for Aspies wanting to not be lumped with HFA

But now I respect people's need to avoid getting stigmatised and it's everyones right to choose where they want to belong. Aspie has become a term of endearment and if people feel comfortable calling themselves Aspies or stating their diagnosis as "Aspergers", It's a personal choice.

But then conversely these same people no longer speak for the autistic community or can claim membership. You can't have it both ways.