Can language delay still be diagnosed with Asperger's

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I think I had trouble following verbal instructions, but I don't know if that's part of language delay or not. I also had trouble explaining things - which I still do to this day, not where it notices but I feel other people on WP are better at explaining things using big words and understanding complicated things in detail. I have difficulty with that.

They didn't have these sorts of services when I went to school.

If I disrupted the class, I was just sent either to the Guidance Counselor, or the guy who ran the Resource Room.

It's how my case is, actually -- no speech delay but has language learning and developmental issues.

Not the little professor type obviously. Nor the aphasiac like nonverbal either.
Instead, I have a form of hyperlexia -- without the precocious reading or NVLD, which is basically able to read stuff out loud but with poor reading comprehension.

It can superficially looked like some high level verbal ability, except it's actually an illusion made of brute force memorization, pattern recognition and an element of echolalia.

I have below average verbal IQ, and definitely had a form of language delay.
I'm one of those who definitely supposed to have the autism label instead of Aspergers if it weren't for speech milestones.

The same can be applied towards my own hearing and processing someone's speech and language.


In EF-wise (leaning towards ADHD) language issues, it is to do with receptive auditory processing, short term memory, processing speed and attention span.
Some may even say other academic learning disabilities like dyslexia or dyscalculia are very tied to ADHD.

... And you had mentioned to have dyscalculia. But we're talking about language issues here.

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Yes I have dyscalculia. I am very poor at math and anything to do with numbers, shapes, measurements, mechanical or technical terms - anything like that. But I'm very good with spelling and writing stories (despite my difficulties using big words or explaining things but like I said it isn't noticeably bad enough to affect my daily life).

I had glue ear when I was 4, resulting in hard of hearing, so that might have caused the language delays.

I have average verbal ability which apparently is a disability relative to my superior non-verbal skills. So I am outwardly Asperger's (no language delay) and inwardly Autistic (language delay) - b/c as others said, it's a spectrum and outward appearances aren't a great judge of inward experience. I was recently evaluated and my dr said in many ways I am "mild" Autistic and in other ways I am "moderate" Autistic. As I was preparing for my evaluation I realized how much I struggle internally. Although I am considered talkative and expressive, it's like I'm talking (and listening) through molasses. I outwardly appear as Asperger's. He said in my case I compensate outwardly for SIGNIFICANT verbal and language difficulties. So although many verbal and reading skills are "average" or "above average" - he diagnosed me with learning disabilities b/c they would be way above that given my non-verbal abilities. My NT dad and NT son are examples in a more balanced skills (strong all around); while my ASD daughter takes after me: internal language brilliance but "average" (in her case borderline "below average") outward appearance - she tests 90 percentile in (written) verbal, but can barely hold a conversation relative to that. So I didn't have outwardly noticeable verbal or reading difficulties as a child, but inwardly I did (and do). I re-read and re-write my posts too much. For example, for this one I moved my last sentence to the top b/c I begin with details and then draw a conclusion, when folks prefer the reverse. I see I am being repetitive in this one and would typically take the time to whittle it down to half its length, but I'm tired and will show you how I write without "make up". Even saying I was cutting back I reread this and revised it at near 10 times. It would be more otherwise. I was just about to read it one more time ---- but will let it be. Ha. Oops, I re-read it and revised it again. Darn. OK, that was it. Really.

yes, NT people can have struggles with speech too, it is not just an autistic "thing". the diagnosis of autism comes from having struggles in all 3 major sectors of DSM, communication, social, and inflexibility of thought or behavior patterns.

Doesn't it reflect speech problems at time of diagnosis? That is, when the OP was diagnosed, she was deemed to be speaking decently, hence no noticeable speech delay, thus Asperger's.

Also, speech problems/remedial speech classes aren't just for those who aren't speaking properly, or not speaking at all. They also apply to those with selective mutism...those who can talk but don't.

The Asperger’s diagnosis reflected a person’s past, as well as a person’s present.

If there was a documented past history of a significant generalized speech delay, Asperger’s wouldn’t have been diagnosed, if the criteria were strictly applied.

I was diagnosed as an adult just before the DSM-5 came out in 2013. I had a speech delay as a child, and during my assessment as an adult I thought I might get a diagnosis of HFA or PDD-NOS. But apparently by then some diagnosticians considered the speech delay criterion to be increasingly irrelevant, and I was given a diagnosis of AS. Not that it matters much now, since they've all been replaced by the broader diagnosis of ASD.