Asperger's vs. High functioning Autism.

[drowninautumn]

So I just got back from my Asperger's evaluation. I met all the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's but also the diagnostic disqualifier -- any delay in speech development

Comments

[lordalfredhenry]

I personally feel the distinction is too arbitrary and not significant enough. After the speech delay issue, both conditions are really not distinguishable. Speech delay can be caused by a huge variety of reasons and be counted by different professionals using different criteria. e.g.: selective mutism and/or one of the varieties of aphasia (e.g.: Wernicke) and so on (to mere stuttering, verbal tics, other speech impairments to just general shyness/choosing not to speak without a significant reason for a child that age to, and again, so on

[drowninautumn]

Yes, The Psychiatrist I went to has a similar opinion. Diagnostically she told me I was HFA, but that there are a lot of specialist that don't care for the disqualifier, and that she felt I was pretty much AS, but still diagnostically, HFA.

[zebi]

When I was diagnosed, I met all of the criteria for Asperger's, but I had potential speech delay. When I was about 18 months old, I developed a problem with fluid in the ears, which caused hearing problems - and I stopped talking. I had to have ear tubes inserted to correct the problem.

Because there wasn't more information for the psychologist to go on, she ruled that my diagnosis was PDD-NOS. When I talk to people about my autism, I describe myself as being Aspie - it's just easier if people have heard of Asperger's Syndrome. And I do think of myself as being an "unofficial" Aspie. :)

[old_cutter_john]

Some members of the community can explain the difference. Other than that, we don't care.

[teamnoir]

We don't.

Personally, I believe the current diagnostic criterion suck. I can't be diagnosed because no one remembers what my childhood was like. And the people who do - are all autistic. That doesn't sound like a particularly objective set of criterion to me.

Autism is not a "childhood malady" as it's listed in the DSM IV. It's life long. Diagnostic criterion which resort to childhood presentations are just simply broken.

HFA is essentially just one of the catch-all categories that says, "we can't officially diagnose you as anything in particular, so you get the 'everything else' category". Others like that are pdd-nos, ASD, etc. Many of these are so specific to the diagnostic taxonomy that you'll get different diagnostics in different countries. Each diagnostic system has at least one catchall, so wherever you are, that's what you get.

[teamnoir]

Ps, it's my opinion that self identifications are more important here than diagnoses. If you think you're one of us, then you probably are, regardless of which label you select for yourself or which label your local medical community might supply you. We're a support community, not a hospital nor a research lab.

[drowninautumn]

Hmmm, I find it interesting you can't be diagnosed. I did have my mom come with me and give her recollection of my childhood, but it wasn't required. My psychiatrist informed me it was a plus, but not needed when I first began setting up an evaluation with her. And by the time she got to my mom, she had already diagnosed me, the only question I couldn't answer and needed my mom for, was the "delay in speech development."

So, I know its common and often very beneficial but I know of at least one psychiatrist that will diagnose on you alone if you don't have anyone to recall your childhood.

[azalynn]

Yeah. When I was diagnosed they did not interview my parents either, though they did have school reports and paperwork and evaluations going back to my early childhood. My dad also confirmed (for me) some things I was able to pass along, like some things about my early speech patterns.

[errol_edwards]

I haven't been officially diagnosed, because of this whole "veteran of the Army" thing, but I was told to get tested for Asperger's. And if anything, I began speaking early. However, and this has become more apparent as I've grown up, I will occasionally shut down verbally. I start stuttering and then my brain just gives up on speaking. I can write just fine. And I've started learning ASL, and so has my partner, and her kids. But speaking is, at times, completely out of the question. And that's one of the things that tipped my therapist off and made him think I may have Asperger's.

[drowninautumn]

Yeah, i think the the speech delay is mainly for starting to talk. so the fact you spoke early, you would be diagnosed Asperger's.

Hey!

[old_cutter_john]

Welcome to the community!

[debin_kun]

... You'd think that eventually people would think less in terms of discreet spectra and more in terms of the overall expanse of mental variation. People don't always fit nicely into the categories we create, because, frankly, we don't fully understand the mechanisms behind most disorders. Just because people tend to have certain bundles of associated traits doesn't mean that there aren't people (usually many people) who fall in the gray area.

I'm of the opinion that psychology is a pseudoscience anyway, so I don't put much faith in their approach to things. I'm hoping that at some point in the not too distant future psychology will be engulfed by genetics and human biology (I'm being harsh, but, eh, psychology's "science" worries me)... maybe the behavioral psychologists can stick around, they tend to be okay.