One mother of AS agrees

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for copyright reasons I can't cut and paste the entire link

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/11/as ... ism.dsm.v/

For Mary Calhoun Brown, the term "Asperger's" is crucial to conveying to schools that although her 15-year-old son has had social difficulties, he has a near-genius IQ and great speaking ability.

"If I call it 'autism,' that's going to raise a lot of red flags for people who don't know him," said Brown, author of the novel about autism "There Are No Words."

Both Brown and her son William are opposed to new guidelines being put forth by the American Psychiatric Association that would make Asperger's syndrome part of the autism spectrum disorders rather than a separate diagnosis. In the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, which helps mental health professionals identify specific conditions, it is not listed under autism.


I don't think Autism, Asperger Syndrome, PDD-NOS should all be lumped together in a Spectrum Disorder at all. I have a son with autism , and a grandson and nephew with Asperger's. My son is mostly non-verbal, will never be able to handle school or a job and prefers to be left alone, my grandson has ...more
I don't think Autism, Asperger Syndrome, PDD-NOS should all be lumped together in a Spectrum Disorder at all. I have a son with autism , and a grandson and nephew with Asperger's. My son is mostly non-verbal, will never be able to handle school or a job and prefers to be left alone, my grandson has a good vocabulary, is a straight A student and very social, and my nephew is a super genius but prefers to be left alone. The three should not be considered being the same, as having ASD, only my son. I don't believe that Asperger's should be considered autistic at all. It should be its own completely different diagnosis, if it needs to be a diagnosis at all. What worries me lately, is all the people who seem to be "self-described" autistics, with Asperger's. As if it were chic. less

Chic? Hardly.

There are many reasons why someone might *know* they have AS and not pursue a diagnosis, at least not immediately.

Kate

It should also be remembered that, for some, anyone who disagrees with them is automatically self-dx'ed, even if they're actually officially dx'ed.

My main reason is that I have yet to hear of any benefit to a diagnosis at the age of 33 that would offset the fact that I would have to interact with a stranger to get it.