So, I don't have Asperger's Syndrome...

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My autism assessment confirmed that I do not have Asperger's Syndrome...I am Autistic.

I suspected I might have been autistic, but had thought Asperger's was more likely and so I was referring to myself as 'Aspie' - now I guess I can't really refer to myself as 'Aspie' (I don't like 'Autie'), but at least I can still refer to myself as 'Autistic'.

Being autistic isn't a problem at all, but it sort of bothers me that everyone seems to have Asperger's Syndrome...it's the new black, the flavour of the week, the trendy thing to have...all of that is utter nonsense, but it doesn't change the fact that when I say I'm autistic people assume they mean Asperger's (ASD seems to be seen as low-functioning, and as a less desirable diagnosis).

I've been a member of a few online support groups, but they all seem specifically aimed at Asperger's - not sure if this means Asperger's is more common, that such groups are specifically for Asperger's rather than autism, or that it's assumed Autistic adults are less likely to participate...or maybe I'm just over-thinking this. Even here on WrongPlanet it's "The online resource and community for Autism and Asperger's" but most of us seem to have Asperger's rather than Autism and when I went in to edit my profile I noticed the options were;
Have Asperger's - Diagnosed.
Have Asperger's - Undiagnosed.
Not Sure If I Have It Or Not. ('it' being Asperger's)
Family Member With Asperger's.
Other Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Neurotypical.

When I discovered Asperger's I quickly gained a sense of identity around that, I was an aspie, where as now I feel a little lost because I'm autistic so feel a little excluded from a lot of online groups as they focus on Asperger's, and even amongst others on the spectrum I feel like my diagnosis is less desirable so I'm not as 'good' as those with Asperger's. It seems there is an idea that being autistic must mean I have learning difficulties, have lower IQ or lower functioning - my ASD diagnosis was based on delayed development as a child.

I had a point, but not sure I'm communicating it very well...anyone know what I'm getting at here?

Yes, but it's somewhat of a moot point, as the Asperger diagnosis is disappearing next year into the umbrella "Autism Spectrum Disorder."

That is interesting.... First of all, I think it is understandable that you feel a little lost. When I got diagnosed by a psychologist with AS the first time it was because I sought that diagnosis out. The second time, I saw a psychiatrist for a separate reason - without mentioning AS - and she diagnosed me with AS! This really threw me for a while (and still has) for some reason, and although I already "knew" it, I was shocked that someone else diagnosed me with it out of the blue.

This must feel even more strange for you considering you have been given a different diagnosis to the one you originally thought.

I wonder, what do you feel are the biggest differences between autism and Asperger's?

And, during your time here and on the other boards you mentioned, did you ever notice a difference between you and those who had Asperger's that could be explained now that you have been given the diagnosis of autism?

I've tried to find the difference between AS and HFA, and haven't found a straight answer anywhere. The closest thing I found was the presence or absence of a language delay as a child. Aside from that, AS and HFA may as well be the same thing. Does it really matter if you got a late start? You got to where you are in the end. And judging by the eloquence of your post, you're "higher functioning" than some aspies I know.

So I encourage you to equate the two, keep the sense of identity you've built, and enjoy the company of like-minded people. As was mentioned, when the DSM V comes out next year, we all get rolled together under Autism Spectrum Disorder anyway. The rest is semantics.

So far as I have read, the only differences are the lack of speech delay that Pixelpony mentioned and an IQ that is average to above average in Asperger's whereas Autism requires a average to below average IQ. I also think that Asperger's does not require stimming for diagnosis, but I am not 100% certain on that.

Just curious. Is stimming considered repetitive behaviour?

Well, if your IQ is above average, you're not that lost.

You can be diagnosed with autistic disorder and still have an above average IQ, though. It's more that Asperger syndrome specifically requires average-to-above-average IQ as a criterion.

Also, I can relate to what you are saying here, Bloodheart. While I was diagnosed with 'an autistic disorder' from early childhood, and subsequently only rarely heard other experts suggest that I 'might have Asperger syndrome', there was a time when I thought I did have Asperger syndrome, primarily based on my lack of language delay in childhood. However, when I received my official diagnosis, it was 'autistic disorder'.

However, I still continue to post here, even though there's a bit of a focus on Asperger, and I've also noticed the 'diagnosis' option on the profile as you mentioned, basically only leaving us the choice of either 'Asperger syndrome' or 'OTHER autistic disorder'- and I actually post in topics that say 'Do Aspies this-or-that...? or Do Aspies do such and such...?' I just view 'Asperger/Aspie' on this site as a catch-all term. Plenty of other posters with autistic disorder or with PDD-NOS do the same.

So far I'm informed Aspergers:HFA is 10:1
There are no exact statistics about it, but in studies I read about ASD, where also was shown AS:HFA it was allways pretty much 9:1 to 10:1.

Last edited by Raziel on 12 Sep 2012, 6:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think I saw you post in another thread that you didn't speak until you were like 8 or so. If that's the case than of course you would be diagnosed with AD, not AS. It's not like the difference really matters after childhood.

Noone will be DXed with aspergers as ASD will be the new terminology?

It's all just varying names for something which is kind-of-the-same-thing..we just don't understand enough about it and its cause yet. I wouldn't worry too much. Quite often people use the terms interchangeably. Aspergers is being got rid of anyway as a diagnosis.

I have also autism and not Aspergers.
But it really doesn't matter anymore. In the new DSM-V will be just ASD not not Aspergers or HFA and so on anymore.
I have also heard about some psychiatrist who allready started diagnosing just ASD.

In one of her speeches, Temple Grandin talks about kids with an autism diagnosis possibly being "brought up" to an Asperger's diagnosis with intensive therapy in childhood so if your diagnosis was based on your childhood development rather than your current state of being (sorry, not sure how else to say that?) maybe it's more descriptive of your history than of you as an adult.

Did that even make sense?

Personally, I think if you want to identify as an aspie, you should do so. I most often identify as aspie but sometimes use autistic when referring to myself because Asperger's is an ASD and I see myself as being on the autism spectrum, which makes me autistic (I think).

I have autism too, and I feel no problem with being on WP with its AS focus or being in my GRASP support group with its AS focus.

I was very different from a child with AS when I was a child, but as an adult, not really. I think that there are some subtle behavioral differences still, and maybe some cognitive differences that are difficult to detect, but there are many moar fundamental similarities.

Neither diagnosis, AS or autism, is superior or inferior to the other, and the same for the people with the diagnoses.

When the DSM-V comes out, none of the levels of ASD are superior or inferior to the others either, and people can move from one level to another.

I've typed a longer message but my cellphone froze...

So, I had exactly the same problem with my dx when I was dx'd with PDD-NOS. I felt like an alien among aliens on a site that seemingly focuses on AS. After a lot of research and numerous posts I concluded the followings:

a) There are no clear diagnistic boundaries between the ASD dx's, especialy in practice.

b) Possibly in the USA AS is preferred over autism and PDD-NOS because it is more widely known and this could be a practical advantage.

c) The psychs might have some truth giving me that vague and unrecognized label. Although I didn't have language delay I always had issues with speech and my IQ scatter resembles more HFA than AS. While many of my traits are mild there are some that might even be moderate in comparison.

d) Sometimes they don't give you an AS dx just because you lack some stereotypical features of that particular dx. For example, I don't have special interests of which my knowledge is seemingly immense, and my speech is rather jumbled than elaborate, eloquant, pedantic, or monotone.