People with Aspergers aren't autistic but are on spectrum?

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Autism and AS are 2 different diagnoses, entirely. Like people have said, they are both PDD's, and are related genetically etc. but they are not the same thing.

So there diferent "conditions" but they are PDD?
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The word "autism" is a label that NT's use to describe people who are self-centered. Auto-ism. But that doesn't mean everyone in that category have the same thing! I mean some people are in the category because of something they inherited. Some are in it because they got too much mercury and their parents were both NT's.

I think we need to figure it out, because the NT's are mostly clueless about our distinct differences. I mean you have to be a bluejay to see the difference between individual bluejays.

Actually its nearly impossible to know with 100% certainty what autism itself really is because we don't know what causes it. Theres about ten different theories as to what causes autism and what it actually is, ranging from an adverse reaction to a vaccine to simply an arbitrary construct perpetuated by NT's to decribe people who behave differently. Kanner's Autism and Aspergers may be the same condition with varied symptoms or a completely different condition alltogether, we will never know for sure until a true cause for autism is isolated pathologically or genetically that can serve as a substitute for a psychiatric evaluation. Or the autistic spectrum is an arbitrary framework constructed by NTs do describe people with different behaviors, and the line between NTs and people on the spectrum is completely subjective. If you take away NTs and thier social context there isn't anything wrong with people that have ASD.

Maybe it's confusing because the terminology is not always used in the clearest way.

There are a bunch of related things collectively called Pervasive Development Disorders. Some of these PDDs are a subgroup of related things we collectively call Autism Spectrum Disorders. One is Kanner Autism and another is Aspergers Syndrome.

If people were always ultra specific it would be clearer but time consuming so people abbreviate and clarity is lost. Sometimes, when people say 'autism', they are referring to Kanner Autism which is a separate (but related) diagnosis to Asperger's Syndrome. Other times they might mean the wider Autism Spectrum Disorder which includes both.

Add to that the possibility that people misunderstand these terms and, how many interpretations there are to terms like 'spectrum' (Are you calling about ASD, a hypothetical spectrum of some trains within the general population, a spectrum of functionality within specifically AS?).

If in doubt, specificity is usually the answer.

Also, responding to ikambokem, I thought science now, through continued rigorous research had a pretty good idea what autism is? A number of different gene mutations which lead to abnormal neurological development - specifically, shortened synaptical reach in many areas of the brain and a limit in reach between the two hemispheres? Sure there are people with crazy ideas out there too but I pay them no more heed to them than the 'alien abductees' and flat-earthers.