Heard this term for aspergers used a lot!

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I have worked with some people in the employment field,.... I have heard the term thrown around a lot when describing Asperger's such as "a health condition"


How is Asperger's syndrome a health condition per say? My ex job coach did say to me when I told her I used this website "the information you read on those kind of websites is not very accurate"

My job coach compared Asperger's to what David Cameron's son had as well.

It depends on how you define health conditions.

Some people consider Aspergers a 'mental health condition', and if you consider mental health a type of health, that would make it a health condition.

A little ignorant maybe?

Health condition involves something life-threatening more or less. Autism is a way of thinking, you don't die if you think differently.

So why do people like EMPLOYMENT ADVISORS and JOB COACHES label it as a 'health condition'??????

First quote is kinda complicated actually sorry. Many people with autism who have an impared sense of danger due to thier autism have dpdied because they think differently :/ while autism itself doesn't kill some of the challenges it percents in some individuals can kill

Second quote


I think it is concider ex a health condition because it is part of your over all health , in general I prefer to call it a neurological condition or neurodevelopmental condition. Which is part of your over all general health. I'm sorry I'm having trouble explaining this as I am kinda over heated from having to go outside so I can't think straight but in the basics

They concider it a health condition because a it is simpler for them, b might be an easier way of saying medical condition c it requires help and supports

Errr, not really. Health condition is anything that affects your health. And autism isn't just a way of thinking. I do wish people would stop saying that because it's tainting what little understanding of autism that NTs already have. It's a neurological condition, meaning it affects more than just the way you think. It affects more parts of the body than just the mind.



Your job coach is a f*****g idiot who has no idea what they're talking about. I would replace them as soon as possible

Last edited by Laddo on 03 Jul 2013, 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

What parts of the body does it effect?

Many people with autism have gastrointestinal problems. Also back problems, chronic pain, a lot of autistics have asthma... I could go on and on

The brain , I believe the neurons too. And the sensory system.

Errr, not really. Health condition is anything that affects your health. And autism isn't just a way of thinking. I do wish people would stop saying that because it's tainting what little understanding of autism that NTs already have. It's a neurological condition, meaning it affects more than just the way you think. It affects more parts of the body than just the mind.[quote]

Agreed!! !

I was told that AS is a "mental health condition", so I guess that, in some ways, it could be considered an health condition.
I was told that everything that impairs a person's social/life/etc. skills is consodered a mental health condition.

Can these problems lead to illness/disease?

A health condition doesn't necessarily mean an illness or disease. I have scoliosis - abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. It's not an illness, or a disease. It is, however, a health condition. I strongly suspect that it is a result of my Asperger's, too.

Why would your Asperger's cause that?

its how autism in all forms tends to get classed in america,am not in agreement with it because it always feels like it saying we are unhealthy for having autism when autists coud be healthier than NTs but happen to have different neurology.
at least its not as bad as calling it disease though, which is used a lot for developmental,learning and mental illness disabilities in america.

due to american media influence over here,the terminology has caught on a lot and has led people to misunderstand diagnoses they or other people have.
have known individuals with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia complain to the social services learning disability team because they were turned down for support by them and told they dont have a learning disability under UK definition,those of us diagnosed with 'LD' in the UK have what americans now thankfuly refer to as intelectual disability.
america sees LD as covering everything from ADHD to specific difficulties and include what we call LD under a different label.

alzheimers/dementia is another one which suffers badly from unsuitable labeling, its regulary refered to as a mental illness over here and as a result they over pyschiatricify the symptoms and behaviors; pumping people with it full of meds and making the illness worsen quicker,when its a neuro degenerative condition,and shoud be seen to in neurology and neuro behavior services,not mental illness.