Asperger's or Autism?

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One can have non-Asperger's, "classic"/Kanner-type high-functioning autism if one's IQ is over 70, and is at a "level one" level of functioning according to the DSM-V. This includes people who are considered to have "normal" or "above normal" intelligence.

There are some with Asperger's who are not "high-functioning." They might have a "normal" IQ---but their adaptive skills might, say, be "level two," rather than "level one."

I was diagnosed last year in the US. My doc said I had ASD: Asperger's was no longer diagnosed. Tony Attwood, the noted Australian clinician, states the only difference between autism and Asperger's is the spelling.

Thanks for the info! I'm glad you paid. I assume that means she's legit and you should be able to get some kind of report, or at least a written statement with her diagnosis and signature. I'm glad you're going to follow up on it.

My assessment was in April, 2018 and I got the report in May, 2018. Aspergers was no longer its own diagnosis at that time but I kept hearing that it was hard for women to be diagnosed on the spectrum, and if they got diagnoses at all they were usually on the higher end of the scale. When I said "Do you think I have Aspergers?" I was really nervous about being laughed out of her office and told that I was neurotypical, so I got my words mixed up. I thought I was imposing to even ask her opinion prior to the follow up meeting, before she had consolidated all my scores.

I was very surprised when she said I definitely wasn't Aspergers or High Functioning, that they were two different things, and that my test scores indicated a more serious need for support. I'd love to know how Aspergers and HFA differ too. My daughter is HFA but I didn't attend her assessment so I didn't get to ask her doctor, either.

Kraftiekortie: I'm confused how a threshold IQ of 70 is used for HFA. IQ isn't even in the diagnostic criteria for autism, and I didn't even have a complete IQ test done because it wasn't deemed necessary.

My adaptive skills are abysmal, regardless of my IQ.



Social adaptability in the 1st percentile ^ Whoops!

IQ is not used in diagnosis. The numbers you read about are from studies trying to quantify the autistic population. Autism is not an intellectual disability, but some on the spectrum can have below average IQ, which is defined as below 70. IQ is sometime used to categorize high- and low-functioning, but those terms are really not very good as they don't really capture the complexity of the disorder. There seem to be a move away from the use of High- and Low functioning with the use of support levels in the ASD criteria.

I am high functioning, except when I am not...

It’s not used in the DSM-V.

But this was considered the “boundary” between “high” and “low” functioning in the past, and was used as a threshold for Aspergers in the past.

I understand it’s more complex than that.

I’m not expressing my personal opinion in this. This is how clinicians used to diagnose autism.

I know, very well, that making use of IQ scores is a very narrow and misleading thing when it comes to assessing a person.

Did you notice how Elon Musk only used "Asperger's" when he disclosed so publicly. Presumably he knows some people use "autistic" even if they were diagnosed as Asperger's. I have no problem with his terminology. He would have had to prolong his disclosure to explain "autistic" is now used by some who used to be known as "Asperger's" or he would have confused and provoked disbelief by people not up on the latest terminology.

Aspergers is still used in the vernacular...and it is within the ICD-10 as well.

I’m not Aspergers because I had a speech delay.

the Doctor that diagnosed me said I have Autism but not Aspergers as that's for people who don't socialise.

That’s incorrect.

Your doctor is at least 30 years behind the times.

I'll have to see him again in 2 months time I didn't really take to him, he was asking too many questions and I was getting stressed over it.

Doctors (GPs) should not be diagnosing mental disorders, they should be referring their patients to a relevant mental health professional.

Secondly they should not be denigrating or belittling a condition as that breaches their ethical code of conduct.

If the OP is correct then this doctor should lose her licence.

To IsabellaLinton: Yeah, she definitely seemed legit when talking to her. I'll reach out to her tomorrow to see if I can get a written report, but it has been a few months since I saw her, so I'm not sure how accurate it might be if she's doing it based off memory? We'll see, I suppose. Yeah, I heard women and girls don't get diagnosed as easily, which is really lame. I'm glad you were able to get the diagnosis you needed! Yeah, I'd still like to know the difference between Aspergers and High-Functioning...will have to try to research it further later!

To cyberdad: Yeah, this doctor definitely doesn't seem the best, not just from the feedback here but obviously from what I noticed too. It felt so wrong for her to say those things, which is why I just stuck around long enough to get the diagnosis and then left.
It wasn't a doctor, it was a mental health professional, I just couldn't think of what she was considered (like do I use the term therapist? doctor? what? so I just went with doctor, but she does have all those credentials and I looked up multiple times if people with those credentials could diagnose, which I got yes for). But yeah, she definitely shouldn't be belittling others like that, and as I said, it made me uncomfortable as she was doing it and I'm pretty sure I showed that discomfort. I definitely kept protesting, pointing out my friend on the spectrum who has more severe Autism, but she wouldn't listen to me. I guess I might look into reporting her? But I'd still like to get a written diagnosis from her if I can before doing so...

i hope you didn't pay much because it sounds like you got cheated. Online assessments of autism are BS because it's absolutely crucial that the clinician clearly observe what the client is doing with face and body. Cognitive assessments are also very important. Did you even take any tests of cognitive functioning?