Aspergers or HFA

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I was diagnosed with Aspergers in 2007, I have been reading alot about it and it says that children with asperger do not have a delay in language, but I could not talk very well until I was 8 years old.
I was rubbish at english, french, drama and sport, but good at maths and science.
Do you think I have HFA rather than aspergers?

You should be asking a professional.

ruveyn

I don't know that there is a difference - the new DSM has considered combining them - maybe doing away with the HFA tag altogether.

I'm not sure where your from - here in Australia we tend to go by the Tony Attwood model. He does not believe that a speech delay means you are HFA rather than Asperger's. Good news for me! When I first started to research Asperper's some years ago the speech delay thing kept bothering me - that supposedly I couldn't be Asperger's if I had a speech delay. Dr Tony has written several articles on this.

I didn't talk properly until I was nearly four. I went from single words (only a few) and grunts to full, articulate sentences in an instant. I was a home when the gas stove was being repaired, there was a tiny explosion of gas, a flame went up and that seemed to "wake" me. My first sentence was "I don't know what that was, it scared me, but it sure was pretty!". From that moment on I spoke in full sentences. Today I am considered extremely articulate, one of my strongest points.

I wish I had the maths science brain. I got all the dys' - dyslexia, dyspraxia, discalculia etc.

Good luck and check out Tony Attwood's website and info.

Cheers
Cathy

The difference bewteen HFA and Aspergers is largely a 'social' thing so I wouldn't get to hung up on the 'official' descriptions since they can be far off the point of the matter as it realtes to us as people.

Wow, Cathy, our experiences are so similar. My mother told me that I didn't speak a word until I was 2 1/2, and then I spoke in full and complete sentences. Now I'm a writer and completely in love with words.

So I had a speech delay and was still dx-ed with Asperger's.

I agree that the whole "speech delay" issue seems to be going the way of the dinosaurs, as well it should. The DSM criteria imply that speaking your first words at age 2 is normative, when in fact, it's delayed. Most children speak their first words well before age 2. (I think my daughter started at around 15 months, but I'd have to check the journal I was keeping to be sure. In any case, it was way before her second birthday.)

Temple Grandin says that the only difference between Asperger's and HFA is the spelling, and I agree. Asperger's is high functioning autism.

Actually, the 2yo milestone is 50% coherent SENTENCES!

Which one do you like the best? Pick that one and stick with it. I have a similar dilemma. I stuck wondering do I have AS or HFA. It depends how I feel I suppose. In the winter I'm HFA. My son, though, is diagnosed PDD-NOS, but I tell people it's mild autism. No one knows what the heck PDD-NOS is.

Just single words by age 2 would be delayed. Two year olds should be producing at least 2 word sentences, and 3 year olds should be producing at least 3 word sentences.

I am not sure if I have it, but my son does.. he is speech delayed but used words since he was 2. He is almost 5 and can use sentences but his speech is still behind.. but I also am sure a large degree of it has to with selective mutism.

I was diagnosed with Autism.

I hardly babbled, cried, grunted, or laughed as an infant.
I did not speak a single word until 2 1/2 years old, and from then on I spoke in coherent sentences, rather than single words.

I didn't speak until I was 5 and even then it was only to my mom and if I needed to - not for social communication.
That is what I was told I was like and if people spoke to me - I never answered.

That is true, but a delay of single words until close before the age 2 is considered a normal 'delay'.

It's considered a part of normal variation; some kids speak too early, some just right on time and some are late-bloomers. Same with walking or potty training, as there are always kids who do not mean the mean.

If a child fails to speak single words after the age of 2 it's no longer a normal 'delay', but considered a clinically significant delay.

You should ask a professional.

ruveyn