Autism and Aperger's Syndrome

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look at it this way the word autistic is greek for excesively self preocupied or narcisistic is that more complimentary than idiot savant.for instance you cant say ret*d anymore people say intelectualy disabed or mentaly challenged.ret*d is latin for slow or slowed down,this doesnt mean lacking in knowledge or wisdom.

Id say for the sake of NT confusions, aspergers/HFA should be in a different catagory then just "autism". Sure were all under the huge autism umbrella but were higher functioning. By calling all of us autistic comes into the autism stereotypes where NTs are all like you dont seem autistic therefore you arent. Most people hadnt really given much thought into autism on the whole unless they have autism, or family and friends close to them have some form of autism. Autism is placed in a single minded framed "box" by majority of people. I dont blame em most people probably wont ever give much thought to it. Its kinda like how I dont have bipolar nor am I close to any1 with bipolar so I dont really give much thought to it. So if autism and aspergers/HFA and placed in distinct seperate catagories, saves NT confusion.

i think most n.t's would understand idiot savant best,someone who's unusualy good at some things and uncommonly bad at others.even the most uneducated n.t's do understand that personality.the term idiot savant was coined by john langdon down in 1958 a reputable doctor who also coined downs's syndrome

I wasn't making an argument for or against a particular label, just pointing out that it IS important to pick labels carefully.

As for the label you've brought up, yeah I can see some issues. For one, everyone knows what an idiot is, but not everyone knows what a salient is. Autism may come from a derogatory Greek term, but few are aware of that.

The word itself is fairly neutral, the connotations it has now, has much more to do with the efforts made by awareness groups and has a much more clinical feal to it in the same way that "Homosexual" sounds clinical then "Gay". "Gay" was chosen by the homosexual community for it's positive connotations (wooo we're happy). Obviously not all Gays (homosexuals) are Gay (Happy), but the word association does add a positive connotation..

Pro-Life and Pro-Choice groups have done the same thing, choosing to use positive labels rather then then negative sounding "Pro-Abortion" and "Anti-Choice"

If we're to create or adopt new names for ourselves, we should use the same tactic and pick out something that is conducive to our cause. Unlike other groups, simply fostering positive connotations, may not help our cause. Especially since we seam to disagree on what that cause should be!

you make a good point very well said

you make a good point very well said

aspergers is on the autism spectrum and so is a form of autism but it's not the same as autism- not all auties are aspies but all aspies are auties. it's like squares and rectangles.

Asperger's could definitely be considered "milder" than "classical" autism, but they're both pervasive disorders that can and do impair one's ability to function. I am able to talk, walk, use a computer, care for myself, and perform other skills that NTs take for granted, but that does not mean "able to secure gainful employment", "able to live independently", etc.

Classic Autism= the all-you-can-eat buffet
Aspergers=the Sampler platter

This is question for the professionals and not me, but I do believe they're pretty much the same. I prefer autism over Asperger's simply because I like the sound of it better; "I have autism" sounds much more sobering and less self-pitying than "I have Asperger's."

Autism is autism and I think it's a little presumptuous to proclaim yourself as high-functioning. It's probably more helpful to the cause, to describe those who can't live independently, or communicate with the outside world hardly at all, as "severe" rather than say that someone with the condition who is doing all right in life, or even exceeding in life, as "high functioning."

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I agree. I have been trying to say this for ages, but lots have argued against me.

I look on Youtube about Autism and AS a lot, and every time there's a video of a child or adult with AS, their typical symptoms are always similar to mine now and when I was a child. But when I look up Autism, and it shows videos of different people with Autism, they aren't nowhere near like how I am or was.

I know we're all different, but there are still certain ''social levels'' or ''functioning levels''. (Intelligence doesn't count). I can't explain it as good as others on here.

I think that aspergers is a subset of high functioning autism, though not exactly the same thing. People with high functioning autism tend to develop their language skills later than non-autistics but people with aspegers usually develop language at the same time or even earlier than non-autistics.

fwiw, i tend to give a lot of grief to anyone who calls Aspergers "mild"... - walk a mile in my shoes, etc....

AS is not "mild autism" and reporting it as such only serves to confuse people already easily confused (by this, I mean NTs)

AS and autism sometimes have similar traits, just like sleeping people have similar traits to unconscious people, but they are not interchangable.

I generally tell people I have Aspergers and when I get the "huh?" look, I resort to saying "a high-functioning form of autism" which then brings on a variety of responses, largely demonstrating the individuals prejudices on the subject. My favourite being " Really? You look normal to me."
Then I walk away.

This happens all too often, education would be the key if the general populace actually gave a toss.

"mild" is not the same as "milder". And something can be "milder" without being "mild". That is, there can be differences of more/less mild/severe within the spectrum even without anything being, not comparitively, something one would describe as "mild". Translate "milder" as "less severe", if you like. Just realize it's a comparative, not a plan descriptive.

Furthermore, "a milder form of autism" is not the same as "mild autism". I do agree with the first, but not the second. Yes, Asperger's is a form of autism. And it doesn't include the whole range of severity of autism, but rather does not include anyone on the most extreme the most extreme part of the autism spectrum. On the other hand, to say it's "mild autism", or even "milder autism", (rather than "a milder form of autism") is to ignore differences in traits between Asperger's and other forms of autism.

My personal opinion is that AS has related symptoms to autism but it is much better described as a type of Nonverbal Learning Disorder. The fact that AS has no language delay is a big clue that it isn't the same as autism. But regardless of all of this, we are never going to solve this conundrum the way autism research is currently going. Studies just lump AS and autism diagnoses together, not separating them nearly enough to see any potential differences in the brain functions/structures. And getting rid of Asperger's in the DSM-V is a horrible mistake in my opinion. I am not happy that I will just be called "autistic" in the DSM's new terminology, when I don't believe that I have nearly severe enough problems to be considered autistic. While Asperger's CERTAINLY isn't a mild disorder, compared to autism, it is, and I don't feel I'm impaired nearly enough to use that label.

I would say Aspergers is a form of autism.....not a less severe form really just a bit different from regular autism.