HFA and AS

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aren't the same thing. i don't even think HFA is an official diagnostic term for anything. or is it? why are so many people with AS saying they are high functioning autistics?? isn't that pretty rare for someone to have HFA? and has anyone else noticed that they almost never diagnose someone with normal inteligance with just autism? they usually only give that diagnosis to people that are mentally ret*d.

HFA is a dx. Some doctors do make the distinction between HFA and AS, it is based on whether or not the person had speech delays (related to the ASD) as a child. If not, it's AS. If so, it's HFA. Other's use them basically interchangeably.

Some people I see then differentiate further, referring to an "autistic" as one with below normal intelligence, as opposed to those with AS who generally have normal to above normal intelligence (although issues like processing speed and EFD may make their intelligence harder to recognize).

thanks/ i guess my next question would be why cant anyone make the clear definitions between Autism, HFA, and AS?

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Last edited by en_una_isla on 16 Aug 2006, 12:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I also wonder what the difference is between AS and so-called "Savant Syndrome."

thats what i'm saying dude. i dont think ive ever heard about someone who had normal intelligance or above normal iq's with "autism". it turns in AS as soon as your iq is normal? and where does HFA fit into all of this???

And if a person has a comorbid disorder (like schizophrenia), that could also effect functionality to the individual's detriment.

Last edited by en_una_isla on 16 Aug 2006, 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

my grandmother has schizophrenia, thats one f*****g disorder i don't ever want to get. its terrible.

I've also read that the distinction between AS and classic autism is the degree of sensory disorganization - so someone like me who really only has disordered vision is more likely to be diagnosed as AS because I can compensate - whereas someone who's vision, hearing, tactile sence, and sense of space are totally messed up is going to be more likely to be diagnosed with classic autism because their behavior will be more bizarre . . .

Temple Grandin has HFA. She is of normal IQ and is quite famous for creating much more humane slaughterhouses.

Everything I have ever heard is that HFA is only distinguishable from AS by the speech delay.

In Education I learned that many people with learning disabilities often had multiple learning disabilities, including giftedness. This complicates diagnosis.

While some professionals use HFA as a dx. it is not an official medical diagnosis in that it's not listed in the DSM-IV or the ICD or such. It is mainly a classification that seperates level of functioning in autism vs. a diagnosis of Aspergers. Just like PDD is thrown around as a diagnosis when the actually diagnosis is PDD-NOS.

language delays? maybe they make a concious choice to not learn language. Makes you wonder...

isnt that just the doctor being lazy though? i was diagnosed with a cognative disorder nos and a phychyatrist i went to told me that, that was just "lazy detective work" by the doctor who was doing the eval. what im trying to say is atleast i got the impression from this other doctor was that any disorder with the "nos" after it was the doctor not really getting down to the problem; or to figure out what was really going on.

Nope, not really laziness... it's a matter of the professional being uncertain where about the individual fits and that is why PDD-NOS is often used, the person has traits of autism/aspergers but doesn't have enough to give either diagnosis. NOS is used when the patient's case is not text book.

HFA is not an official diagnostic term. There is only Aspergers Syndrome and Autistic Disorder in the DSM-IV. HFA does not rate a mention. Intelligence has no part of where someone falls on the spectrum. IQ tests are just a tool, something that helps identify strengths and deficiencies in different areas. If you do poorly in the Verbal component, it is apparently a strong indicator that you are autistic. It is by no means a certain indicator, however. Diagnosis is not a precise science.
Some people use the terms interchangeably, but there is a lot of debate as to whether they are the same thing, and how they differ. In the end, a lot of it is just a personal decision. I feel there is a difference, but a large part of it also seems to be due to personality rather than neurological wiring, but how much is personality the result of neurologics anyway? People will insist that, in the end, it is all autism, but that shouldn't stop us from categorizing; having the one umbrella term of "autism" would be trouble, imho.