why was asperger changed to high function autism?

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ik im late but i dont really know this kinda stuff.


shouldnt they just called it high function autism in the first place?

why was it known as asperger syndrome?

and why was it changed in the first place in 2013 or 2012?

Because high functioning autism wasn't known of until Dr. Hans Asperger made it known. But it's always been HFA.

One blind man discovered the trunk of the elephant first , and said "I discovered a big snake". That was Hans Hans Asperger in 1930's Austria.

Then years later another blind guy stumbled upon one of the elephant's back legs and said "I discovered a tree!".That was the American Dr. Kanner around 1950 who coined the word "autism" for what we now call "low functioning autism". Then years of subsequent investigators discovered that both the tree, and the snake are part of one big animal (the autism spectrum).

Because Aspergers was not bieng diagnosed consistantly and it was felt Aspergers was bieng over diagnosed thus costing insurence companies and school districts money.

Why Claim Aspergers is Over Diagnosed? Certainty, but no evidence from some clinitions and researchers - Psychology Today November 2012

New rule, it has been decided, from now on “bananas” will be called “Fruits”, not “banana” anymore.

Politics and money of course. Just because Americas doctors say it's so doesn't mean it's an infallible truth, especially when it involves the mind.

Bravo.

In the UK they still call it Asperger's. The label "high-functioning autism" just won't feel right for me anyway.

I am pretty sure it pushed for by big companies lobbiests to streamline the advertising and sales of various drugs/therapies/services to children with "HFA"/aspergers that were already being advertising to children with "LFA".

I think there are some advantages to streamlining the spectrum, especially given the fact that regardless of whether it's high or low functioning, autism still stems from the same common neurological grounds.

However, I also feel there are disadvantages, too, especially with stereotyping and the public eye.

Do I think that those who did generalise the diagnosis had the best interests of those on the spectrum in mind? Probably not. Given that it was an American-based decision, it's likely that capitalism was somehow involved.

I personally prefer to identify as autistic than an aspie, because I don't take the view of "those NTs are clumping us all together". Autism is a big spectrum with a large amount of variables when it comes to how seriously an individual experiences each individual symptom. Tiering up that spectrum to me feels like it actually makes it easier to create stereotypes. Heck, it even leads to people on certain places in the spectrum stereotyping others in different places (I've seen it happen on message boards and comments and the like). At the end of the day, we each have our own individual needs and difficulties at different levels, and I think that our support should be built around that, not around some severity rating system or whatever.

@naturalplastic - what a genius metaphor, I must remember that!

I'm of a similar opinion to Riik - if I have to give a name to my condition, I prefer the generic term "autism". I am not fond of the LFA/HFA split either, as it conceals the true complexity of autism. For example, my abilities with language don't necessarily imply that my executive functioning or sensory integration are automatically better than any particular non-verbal autistic person. They are entirely different traits that need not correlate with each other. To each according to their need, not according to their label.

Certainly here in the UK, I feel that the term "Asperger's Syndrome" now has the public perception that we are the quirky, entertaining, successful geniuses of the autistic world - which may be true for a tiny minority, but it doesn't reflect my experience, nor those of most other people I've spoken to who are in a similar situation. Sorry, but I don't happen to be a Sheldon Cooper clone! The term seems to have been watered down in the same way that people describe themselves as "depressed" to describe the perfectly natural sadness upon hearing bad news.

It was not changed to "High Functioning Autism," it was changed to Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2012.

The official line I heard was that Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified were too difficult to distinguish--the dividing lines are not clear because there is a spectrum of affectedness.

One might not have language delays, but might have very odd patterns of speech, like mimicry (echolalia) and odd ways of speaking (prosody). IQ tests are not terribly helpful as a rule, because one might be nonverbal and have an above average IQ, or have a job but test poorly on an IQ test. I know someone who can discuss Marxism, the history of Vietnam, and Buddhist philosophy like a college professor and is fluent in Spanish, but got a below average IQ score. She also managed events for celebrities like the Redskins and Fleetwood Mac.

Level of independence is better, but one might need a lot of help at one stage of life, and become more independent with training. Or need more support in a crisis.

Oh, *why* couldn't his surname have been something else, just by chance?

Can we do a post-mortem name change?
Hans Fabulousberger