Aspie & Autism

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Is Aspergers still call Autism? What is Autistic?

Yes it is. In fact, AS is a part of the Autism Spectrum sometimes referred to as HFA.

(HFA: High-Functioning Autism)

names for it vary from place to place. Some people insist on specific words only, but many names for Autism exist, and many people call themselves by various descriptions when referring to autism. No one way is "right". It is up to you to define yourself and to say who you are, and choose what words you wish to use to describe yourself. Opinions may vary. Do what is right for you, take what you can use and discard the rest. Best wishes

I believe the primary difference between being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome or high-functioning autism was that with HFA the person did not start talking at the usual age (speech delay) and with AS the person started speaking “on time” (no speech delay). That’s why I was diagnosed with Asperger’s even though my ASD is more severe than most people who were diagnosed AS, because I had no speech delay.

there's a complex answer and a simple answer to that question. Objective/Subjective. I will give the simple answer. Autism is bad.

Now before anyone contends that Autism is not "bad".



Is anybody going to deny that?

For simplicity sake, Asperger's and autism are essentially the same disorder with Asperger's being just a specific presentation of autism, such as having no speech delays. It's not used in the DSM5 anymore though because people with Asperger's have different symptoms and support needs, just like everyone else on the spectrum, so it got lumped into Autism Spectrum Disorder and now there are "support levels" instead of functioning levels.

"Being "weird" is normal, but being "normal" is weird."
I heard this quote from somewhere (I don't remember where), and I feel like it is speaking about autism directly; Being "weird" is normal; but what IS "normal"? is it NT? Nope. Is it AT? Nope. Being normal is being yourself, and if being yourself means you do weird things, or say weird things sometimes, then so be it.

Be your OWN normal by being your OWN weird!

Asperger's is high functioning autism. It's called various things. It's still used here in the UK, however we also use Autism Spectrum Condition ASC, sounds better than ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, as it can be a blessing if nurtured and special interests are converted into shareable skills.

I certainly can’t deny it in my case, nor have I ever claimed otherwise.

Asperger's is called autism. Autistic is those who are on the autistic spectrum so it doesn't matter how light it is and how minor it is.

I was diagnosed with Aspergers in my 20s, I don’t think I found out how bad. When I was younger, my Aspergers was ok, I got more worse later in life, I started getting more syndromes when I was in my late 30s, I got more worse in my mid 40s.

Aspergers became an official diagnosis in the US in 1994. Its a subdivision of autism.

Part of the autism spectrum. The spectrum ranges from less severe to more severe. Aspergers is at the less severe end of the spectrum.

But a couple of years ago they discontinued "aspergers" as a diagnosis, and just lumped it in with autism. So now aspergers is not even an official subdivision within the autism spectrum.

Individuals, like me, who were diagnosed with aspergers up until a few years ago, would now probably be classified as "Autistic level 1 (needing the least amount of support) with no speech delay".

[color=0077cc] By that definition life is also bad [/color]

Do people really think Autism is bad.

Things keep changing, I cannot keep up

You are only diagnosed with autism if it is impairing a major life function. Basically, autism or ASD is a clinical diagnosis. It is defined in the US by the DSM-5.

The common perception of autism is much more complex and will be different to different people. However, NTs tend to have a negative implicit bias toward autistics--apparently, we just annoy them because of our behavior, but that isn't necessarily our problem. But there are autistics that have a rich and rewarding life. So what is "bad"?