Whats the difference between Autism and AS?

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My impression: It depends who's doing the diagnosing.

I know I read of one study which concluded that, if the DSM-IV criteria were properly followed, no one would qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis, because one of the diagnostic criteria is that, if you meet that diagnostic criteria for autism, you don't get an Asperger's diagnosis, and anyone who otherwise meets an Asperger's diagnosis meets the criteria for autism.

The official diagnostic criteria for autism do not require a language delay.

I was given the Asperger's diagnosis because I didn't have a language delay. If I did I would have been given autism. It's silly because at the age I was diagnosed the vast majority of people with autism have verbal communication. Would they "graduate" to Asperger's then?

Asperger's, please be eradicated soon kthanx.

Bilinguism isn't the opposite of language delay (however it is a real advantage). The opposite would be learning language earlier than most people.

The DSM-IV criteria for Asperger's syndrome mentions:



How to measure clinically significant delays in cognitive development? Well, IQ is one standard way, isn't it?

And you had better tell Tony Attwood that IQ has nothing to do with the difference between AS and autism:

p.44, "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome" - Attwood is discussing differential diagnosis of autism and AS here. He will step outside (ie below) the normal IQ range to diagnose AS, but only as far as borderline cases where some cognitive skills are in the normal range (people with AS often have uneven skill levels, so overall IQ can be misleading). But people completely below the normal range of IQ will not be diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, according to Tony Attwood.

I think you misread that. TPE2 said that the diagnosis of Autism has nothing to do with IQ, not that the diagnosis of Asperger's has nothing to do with IQ. Autism has no IQ limit, high or low, and can be diagnosed in anyone with any IQ. Asperger's is the one that excludes people with developmental delay. Technically, of course, it is possible to have a low IQ without developmental delay; in fact, the diagnosis of mental retardation requires not just the low IQ but the presence of impairment in everyday life (there are people who have low IQ scores but cannot be diagnosed with mental retardation because they have no problem taking care of and supporting themselves). If one's self-help skills and related skills are normal, one could score a 20 on an IQ test and still be diagnosed Asperger's. Of course, lack of delay despite a low IQ is much more common in the 50-70 range than it is with such a dramatically low score (which is likely to be invalid anyway thanks to testing difficulty).

But I did not say that autism has any IQ limit: in my original post I actually said "people with autism can have any IQ".

The thread title is "Whats the difference between Autism and AS?" The Tony Attwood quote indicates that IQ does play a practical role in the differential diagnosis of AS and autism. At least, that is how I understand his book. Of course, with thousands of clinicians all around the world - using several different diagnostic criteria and operating in different practical contexts - it will not be surprising if there are exceptions to just about any classificatory or diagnostic rule. For example, high functioning people without any language delay might well be diagnosed as autistic by some clinicians simply because it enables the autistic person to qualify for government assistance.