Aspergers and speech delay?

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I was diagnosed with Aspergers as an adult and well I didn't tell the doctor I had speech delay as a child because I didn't know it at the time lol I learned this after my diagnosis. Isn't it so that if you have speech delay it does not qualify you for having Aspergers because Aspergers people have no communication difficulties? So if I and my doctor knew at the time of the diagnosis that I indeed had minor speech delay as a child wouldn't that mean I do not have Aspergers but instead have high-functioning autism? Just wondering...

usually what they ask about is a "significant general speech delay", so usually a minor delay isnt considered. the exact wording for asperger's is: "There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years)".

classic autism has a communication category that aspergers doesnt. there are 4 criteria in that communication section and if you fulfill any ONE criteria, its enough. besides speech delay, there is
- in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
- stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language
- lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

so if you had NO significant speech delay, and we were looking at only that one criterion, you could be either aspergers or classic autism. but if you have NO significant speech delay plus any one or more of those other three criteria, you could not be aspergers and would therefore be classic autism if you fulfill the rest of the criteria.

diagnosticians however sometimes will misdiagnose, it happens sometimes specifically with people who dont have the significant speech delay and they get dx aspergers based solely on that lack of delay, even tho they fit the other criteria in that category for classic autism. this happened with my son who was somewhat speech delayed but had single words by 2 and phrases by 3. he was dx as because the psych discounted or missed the fact that he fit all three of the other criteria.


you can find the exact diagnostic criteria for both at http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html

I had a speech delay as well because I had hearing loss. One of my aspie friends was born with hearing loss so he also had a speech delay and he still got diagnosed with AS. But he fits the criteria better than I do because he has always liked sports and whales and those never changed while mine has over the years. Plus he said he knew a lot about whales from a young age because his mother read books to him about it. I knew nothing about my interests until I was ten.

I guess if someone had a speech delay for a reason such as hearing loss, I think the doctors ignore that part of the AS criteria for no speech delay.

I didn't speak until I was four.

my parents worried that i was mentally ret*d, so still silent at age 4, they took me to a shrink, who tried for a half-hour to get me to talk, to no effect. so finally he threw up his hands, then shouted "TALK!" so i shouted back at him, "NO!"

Just another person who had a minor speech delay weighing in.

I had a speech delay but still got diagnosed with AS. I really should have been diagnosed with HFA, but seeing as the speech thing is literally the only difference between the two conditions, and they're being merged in a few years anyway, I can't say I care too much.

I had speech delay--wasn't saying words correctly, mixed up my words, pronounced things wrong, didn't use people's names, made up my own words. Basically I said few words and I was not talking as well as other kids my age. I also had Selective Mutism. I had difficulty with the tone of my voice. Well not sure how to explain that, like going up and down like other people do. I was sort of flat and emotionless. Robotic I guess you could say. I did not speak in preschool. I remember wanting to go on the see-saw but I didn't know how to ask how to get on it or how to get other kids to go on with me. I basically always had sort of an aide, constant assistance from a teacher to guide me through tasks because I just didn't get it the first time.