If AS is not a disease, what is it?

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On this site it says "Asperger's is not a disease". If it is not a disease, what is it?

Technically it's a disorder. Some see it as a gift.

A disability, a condition, a disorder, anything but a disease.

a cure.

A disease can many times be cured, and has a steady progression. A person can be born with a genetic predisposition to a disease or it can be caught, or developed by almost anyone at any time.

AS is a disorder, or rather something that is there at birth. It's a different way of processing things. It doesn't prevent communication and doesn't impair cognizence (sp?). It's called a syndrome because it's a group of possible ways the disorder can manifest itself in those who have it. Sensory, social and communicative, motor, and emotional are all the areas in which it can effect people. It doesnt effect everyone in all areas, and it doesn't effect everyone to the same extent in all areas. Some are effected greatly in one or all and others are effected only mildly in one or all.

So, it's a disorder.

It's a disability depending on the level in which the disorder effects the particular person. I'm not disabled at all by it, but there are many who are.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

Thesaurus.com lists disorder and disease as synonyms.

see http://thesaurus.com/browse/disorder

I think it is, for the lack of a better term, a neurological condition. It is not a disease or a disorder, only a different "wiring" in the brain. The problems coming from it are due to society being predominantly NT. In other words, we do not necessarily have a problem: we simply live in a world that is not as adapted to our needs as it is for NTs' needs.

I don't think it's right to call it a disease, disorder, condition, or any of that crap. It's a neurological profile. We all have one, and we're all different. But we can still categorize them, and asperger's/autism/add/adhd/OCD/NVLD/whatever else... those are all just categories we fall into.

To call it a disease or disorder is to imply that there is something wrong with us that needs to be fixed, and that's just wrong in my opinion.

Diseases are something that attacks and eventually lessens the functionality of one or more human organs. AS is a mental and social condition. It causes no harm to organs and it doesn't make the human body or organ systems any less functional. AS is a genetically caused wiring abnormality in the brain and the condition is onset at a young age. AS in only viewed as abnormal because the wiring in our brains differs from the majority of people, who are NTs.

It's a spectrum disorder.

A "neurological divergence."

It is a label for a group of closely related symptoms the cause isn't known,
I think that genetics plays a large part however.
Its is commonly regarded as an affliction by both people who have it and those who don't because of the suffering that can result from it. However the suffering is normally caused by people either passively (by ignorance) or actively (bullying, discrimination and the like.)

To those of you you who said or seemed to say that it was neither a disease or disorder: aren't Aspies born with a moderate amount of anxiety, depression, and paranoia? Isn't this hard to live with regard to the Aspie (I am a "near-Aspie"), her or himself? And doesn't it make it difficult on relationships with others, even fellow Aspies?

With regard to whether it is disease or disorder or both, here is my Webster's computer dictionary definition of disease:

1. any departure from health; illness in general
2. a particular destructive process in an organ or organism, with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms; specif., an illness; ailment.

Webster's thesaurus list for disease:

sickness, malady, ailment, illness, indisposition, unhealthiness, disorder, condition, complaint, spell, distemper, unsoundness, infirmity, affection, visitation, morbidity, pathological case, psychosomatic illness, epidemic, plague, pestilence, infection, virus, contagion, affliction, complication, syndrome, fever, nervous disorder, functional disorder, pathological condition, attack, seizure, collapse, breakdown, pathology, symptomatology, bug*, temperature*;

Seems to me it can be considered both a disease and disorder.

I'm not diseased and I don't need a cure.