Does Asperger's syndrome really exist?

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Asperger's occurs since birth; it's effectively the same thing as HFA. If you read Gillberg's criteria (was in use before the DSM-IV-TR), it has the possibility of a delayed acquisition of speech (which is the only thing separating the two for the most part).

Well, those at Attwood's tell me this, and I agree with them.

OK zendell. I won't be quite so blunt with you. Maybe you LIKE being insulted! But if 100 percent of a small sample was rediagnosed by a small sample and the diagnosis came up different, you have ****FOUR**** variables AT THE VERY LEAST! That ALONE makes your study tainted and worthless.

They do that here ALL THE TIME! Some "studies" are done with the idea to provide a given viewpoint, and they may even poll peoples political opinions at a party headquarters, and claim that is representative! REALLY, it happens! You really can't trust the average poll, and studies are often little better.

Lets assume that the "AS" people all FULLY fit GILLBERGS criteria, and then went to be diagnosed by someone that interviewed the parents and checked language development. OOPS! They all get diagnosed as HFA! On the other hand, REVERSE it, and they may all get diagnosed AS.

Heck, they may even give me a perfunctory test, and call me NORMAL!

Nobody here has claimed psychiatry was perfect. FAR FROM IT! Some people may CLEARLY come off as autistic. I, like apparently many here, DON'T! Some here may always seem to know everything. Outside of my interests, I only do sometimes. I could go on but, hopefully, you get the point.

If 6 studies reach the same conclusion in 100% of the people they studied, I'd say that's highly significant. Was just curious if anyone here diagnosed with AS met the definition for AS.

Insulting people for disagreeing with them is out of question; even if you do have a point.

Especially when, in these cases, most of the belligerance comes from angry sheeple that do not understand or simply did not bother to read beyond the title - so their actions are even less "justifiable" and have nothing to do with the fact that you do happen to see a flaw in his reasoning.
Forum mobs are already unpleasant even when people are not at the same time whining they are special for not having pack mentality; reading something different once in a while is in itself refreshing.

I wasn't saying I was going to, just kind of hinting at what I COULD have said. I think I just stated the facts.

I didn't. I talked late and had delayed development till about age five but was still slow.

I think, therefore I exist.

I think logically, therefore I am aspie.

AS is just a variety of HFA that has come to be popularized because the term "autism" is associated with LFA in the minds of laypeople.

Quite interesting. I have heard HFA and AS used interchangabely, maybe this is correct after all...

I guess this is the way I'm starting to see it. When explaining AS to others, though, doesn't one usually mention that it's on the autism spectrum? To my way of thinking, that helps define AS for the uninformed. So what's the difference?

In my case the difference would be moot, should I seek a dx, because my mom and oldest two siblings are deceased and my dad has dementia. My surviving older sibling has an even foggier memory of our childhood than I do, and she's only a year and a half older so not a source of when I talked.

I vaguely recall my mom saying that I talked a little bit late. I didn't use babytalk but waited until I could use simple sentences and pronounce words correctly. (That sort of sounds like me, lol. I do so hate being wrong! )

Thanks, zendell, for the informative thread.

When I was finally diagnosed, my doctor had no one left in my family to ask what I was like as a child. He mostly listened to how I coped with life, how I saw the world - how I still see the world, actually. That's alright. If you psychologist knows his stuff, he can see your life through your eyes. That is how mine did. They can tell that you have your own unique take on life and how you interpret it, and if your reactions to life fit a certain definition, that is the definition they see and that is what they say they saw in you. Hence - your diagnosis.

Some of us are very noticeable in our symptoms, some of us have learned to bob and weave and 'pass' and can dodge the obvious questions and try to come across as 'neurotypical' and we can do a good job of it, too. But all the acting in the world is not going to alleviate us from what we are and become what we are not, anytime soon.

I also remember every song, commercial jingle and radio program from my childhood and my mother told me I would sing in my cradle or mimicking Arthur Godfrey's Breakfast Club from Honolulu or singing along with the Texaco Opera on the radio and getting the words perfectly. I remember when I was in college immersion French weekends, they kept telling me to learn to speak French like a child would learn to talk and thought it was strange that these people had had to learn to talk. I didn't know children had to be taught to talk. That was my Asperger's that had no theory of mind to understand that children have to be taught to talk. And my Asperger's that started me hyper lingual in my cradle. This is something that can't be changed in the mind no matter how much 'social engineering' we or others can do. Hopefully that is what your diagnostician will see - the real you.

Did I read that right? Kids have to be taught to talk? I thought they learn on their own. That's what we all know. For them to learn, they have to be exposed to our language and they pick up on it and learn it.

As far as I know, my mom took me to a psychologist back in Russia who said that she saw autistic signs in me but couldn't diagnose me with autism because I lacked a speech delay and a significant developmental delay (except for social). She did not know about Asperger's back then. At that time, it did not exist in Russia as a diagnosis yet. Therefore, I was said to be "normal" by psychologists and psychiatrists that my mom took me to. She was so desperately trying to find what my problem was because she was not satisfied with them calling me "normal" because she could see that something was very different about me.

Asperger's does exist.

Don't mothers go 'bobobobobo' and such to their babies to get the kid to make noises like mommy? That is what I mean by being taught how to talk. My mom did nothing of the sort with me. She said I was 'vaccinated by a phonograph needle' meaning I could mimic people I heard on the radio, or sing songs and commercial jingles when a baby (not a toddler) in my cradle.

Well I have seen mothers, including my own mom with her grandchildren, when they see a child saying, "Uh!" and pointing to an object. The mother then coaxes the child to name the object. I would call that teaching language.

When I was in grade school, the structure of sentences and how words were used seemed second nature to me. I was way ahead in reading comprehension and grammar. I remember in 6th grade I was in a new school and, because I was horrid at sports and all the kids in the new school loved sports, they thought I was stupid. They even said so to my face. But when it came to grammar lessons, I did them so quickly it actually got embarrassing and I purposely slowed myself down, because I wanted to fit in. But it was agonizing, doing a grammar exercise slowly just so other kids wouldn't think I was weird. I could've gotten through the whole year's grammar lessons in one day. I remember being the only one who knew that one pronounces "the" differently before a vowel sound. I don't know how I knew it, or why I'd noticed it. I just knew, and it amazed me that anyone else could not have noticed. However, I've always been a slow reader. Maybe I unconsciously analyze sentences as I go.

haha i noticed that as well. it is a trend around here, people don't read, they post!

but anyways, i did read your post and think it's very interesting! i didn't think a study would have such results. i am around many people who have AS and HFA and i can see definite differences between them, they are subtle and internal, but they are there!

i would like to know what "type" of person qualified for a HFA diagnosis BEFORE AS existed (i was diagnosed HFA after AS came into the DSM), that might help explain why the felt the need to create AS. i mean why weren't all these asperger types simply being diagnosed as HFA? and if they are exactly the same, how come there are all these people who went undiagnosed for so many years? why aren't all the older self-diagnosed types running around saying "oh my life only started when i discovered HFA"?? they say Aspergers!!