Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anything's possible -- but the majority of people here aren't qualified to diagnose anything, and those who are qualified wouldn't hazard a guess from a post in an internet forum (it would be a violation of professional ethics to do so).
Yep. Even people who ARE qualified to make diagnoses know fully well that you can't legitimately or ethically offer up diagnoses of people you've never actually met, done an intake with, etc.
They can offer resources and information, though, without discussing potential diagnoses.
It's called Autism. It's a spectrum. There is no "special type" of Autism called "Asperger's".
The disorder does still exist. It's simply labeled and categorized differently for diagnostic coding purposes. The diagnostic criteria has not changed significantly, and the traits and behavior have not ceased to exist or been absorbed into an unrelated diagnosis. The form of autism formerly called Asperger's Syndrome has always been part of the autism spectrum and acknowledged as such. It was, and still is, a form of autism that presents without a language acquisition impairment. That's all. It doesn't matter what it's labeled, the disorder is still the same, with the same presentation - that of autism that presents without a language delay.
The disorder does still exist. It's simply labeled and categorized differently for diagnostic coding purposes. The diagnostic criteria has not changed significantly, and the traits and behavior have not ceased to exist or been absorbed into an unrelated diagnosis. The form of autism formerly called Asperger's Syndrome has always been part of the autism spectrum and acknowledged as such. It was, and still is, a form of autism that presents without a language acquisition impairment. That's all. It doesn't matter what it's labeled, the disorder is still the same, with the same presentation - that of autism that presents without a language delay.
I'm a licensed counselor, have grad courses in assessment as well as CE classes in DSM5 and can verify TabulaRasa is correct. The diagnostic criteria are the same, the only thing that's changes is the label for what used to be called Aspergers and its separation from ASD. See also my post #74.
OP, you speak of feeling more awake, coming out of a fog (I think? I read this a couple days ago but didn't have time to respond) and some other rather physical things. Could it be a hormonal shift?
If you "had" AS then you have AS, most likely. Ask me how I know this. BUT people have a vision of autistic people as never learning. Well, they do, including socially. MANY autistic people (high-functioning) are ultimately able to navigate life as their NT peers do - job, family, et. al. - but there will always be certain issues and sensitivities.
However, hormonal shifts can hugely impact the actual neurological (and also sometimes, physical) feelings, awareness and what one can manage/deal with, IME, whether in a positive or negative way. My son, for example, is now 13 and going through a huge sensitivity issue which had all but disappeared for the past three years or so. Out of literally nowhere (well, not nowhere...out of puberty, LOL) he is hand-stimming which he basically never did before.
The condition STILL exists; it doesn't matter WHAT it's called now.
Yes. The condition of autism still exists.
There is just no longer a "separate" DX of Asperger Syndrome. It is now autism. (As it actually always was. )
Geez, people fight over this distinction all the time. First it was a mad dash on the part of parents to get an "AS, NOT autistic!" DX because Asperger was the "smart autism" (um, no, just no intellectual delay; there has never been a larger percentage of genius among AS people than among the general population) "that Bill Gates (really?) and Albert Einstein (nope, severe speech delay documented by family) had!!" Every parent wanted an AS v. "autism" DX because the latter sounded so devastating. So the AS-DX parents wanted to gloat (because their child was DEFINITELY going to be the next Copernicus) and the non-AS parents wanted to throat-punch the AS parents and well...the kids really just wanted to be happy, and watched all this with even more confusion than watching other NT-dances.
Now it's people fighting that there's still a distinction no matter what the DSM-V says, people fighting that there's no difference at all, people fighting that AS was always a bogus DX...
I wonder why the Aspie Wars hit such a tender nerve.
It's all autism, full stop.
And IMO it's a dumb point to argue. I honestly know some classic/Kanner autistic people who "function" better than former-DX Aspies do, and everything in between, and NO, pretty much none of our kids are going to be Einstein or Bill Gates so relax, everyone. We are who we are and so are our kids.
DSM diagnoses can be useful to mental health professionals in discussing a case with peers, and with finding treatment techniques that have worked well for clients with similar symptoms in the past. Some diagnoses - personality disorders for example - tend to bleed into each other; often you see a person exhibiting traits that are typical of more than one personality disorder. That's because a personality disorder as defined in DSM is a cluster of symptoms, many of which are shared by other diagnoses. Some disorders involve the same biochemical pathways. It's been said, for example that depression and anxiety are "two sides of the same coin".
So a diagnosis doesn't reflect a discrete physical reality out there, like a tumor in an organ. This can also apply to medical diagnoses. It's a useful handle for discussing treatment and prognosis with other professionals, nothing more. In fact, quite a few mental health professionals only use DSM diagnoses because insurance coverage forces them to. Aspergers was removed from the ASDs because it was convenient to do so -- the symptoms are different in certain ways.
I won't in many cases discuss diagnosis with a client -- I take a solution focus in working with clients, and the diagnosis isn't really relevant in that model. In fact, a diagnosis can be something that negatively impacts a client for a lifetime: instead of Joe who has certain challenges to deal with and certain strengths (and who doesn't) becomes Joe the Narcissist - or Joe the ASD guy.
DSM diagnoses can be useful to mental health professionals in discussing a case with peers, and with finding treatment techniques that have worked well for clients with similar symptoms in the past. Some diagnoses - personality disorders for example - tend to bleed into each other; often you see a person exhibiting traits that are typical of more than one personality disorder. That's because a personality disorder as defined in DSM is a cluster of symptoms, many of which are shared by other diagnoses. Some disorders involve the same biochemical pathways. It's been said, for example that depression and anxiety are "two sides of the same coin".
So a diagnosis doesn't reflect a discrete physical reality out there, like a tumor in an organ. This can also apply to medical diagnoses. It's a useful handle for discussing treatment and prognosis with other professionals, nothing more. In fact, quite a few mental health professionals only use DSM diagnoses because insurance coverage forces them to. Aspergers was removed from the ASDs because it was convenient to do so -- the symptoms are different in certain ways.
I won't in many cases discuss diagnosis with a client -- I take a solution focus in working with clients, and the diagnosis isn't really relevant in that model. In fact, a diagnosis can be something that negatively impacts a client for a lifetime: instead of Joe who has certain challenges to deal with and certain strengths (and who doesn't) becomes Joe the Narcissist - or Joe the ASD guy.
ASD is just a way for me to talk about my problems. It sounds a lot better, then "yeah, I'm thirty years old and I've never been out on a "real" date. I hide behind my work because I'm literally afraid of people, and, oh yeah, I have this weird tendency to misunderstand and forget common social rules that other people take for granted. I can go to college, though, and make A's on exams." I bet before ASD was a diagnosis, a lot of people left the psych totally frustrated and wishing they hadn't gone in the first place.
"Oh, you probably just need to get out more often and surround yourself with people who will help you build your confidence. (and tell me how I'm supposed to do that if I literally can't even communicate in a "normal" way with them, as in making people angry with me and not knowing until they tell me, usually in a huff of frustration and rage, what I did wrong?)"
I, for one, am happy that ASD is a diagnosis.
Einstein really wasn't autistic? Now, that's hard for me to believe. I thought he was a CLASSIC ASD sufferer, didn't do great in college, wasn't accepted as a professor at first, didn't comb his hair, didn't change his clothes, didn't care about a man's station in life, knew he was smart and wasn't afraid to brag about it, now if that isn't autism, what is it? I don't want to hear that Einstein was just another pompous genius know-it-all. I think if HFA autism would have been around as a diagnosis, he would have had it. I really did think ASD and creative genius went hand-in-hand. I thought that all autistic people were super creative and brilliant, if they ever start being able to interact with society.
I'm sorry. I'm also really bad at keeping track of things. Sometimes I start new threads because I don't remember all of the other stuff I have up. I really need to address this attention issue and constantly forgetting things first of all, I guess. I was tested for ADHD, but sometimes they miss it in women. Do you think it's possible I have ADD in addition to the ASD? Sometimes I find it really hard to keep up with important things. My attention fades when I'm not really interested in the activity. I also find it really difficult to do everyday tasks because of forgetfulness and constant daydreaming. For instance, I frequently forget to brush my teeth and don't always comb my hair. When I was a child, it was easy enough for me to sometimes forget essential daily hygiene tasks. I was elected "president of the class" in elementary school, but I couldn't keep up with the tasks the teacher wanted me to do, so she gave my position to someone else. I also couldn't keep up with the teacher when she taught us some of our handwriting skills, and it never occurred to me that writing my letters over and over again incorrectly wouldn't yield better handwriting. My parents didn't even seem to know this; if they did, they never took the time to explain it to me. As a child, I wasn't aware that pen strokes have to start in a certain place. I didn't learn that until college when one of my Chinese clients was trying to explain how to write some words in Chinese! What ever my problem is, I think I've been at a major disadvantage.
I am an adult female diagnosed ASD/ADD in 2005. It's totally possible.
LOL on the handwriting! I remember in the 3rd grade; I had SO been looking forward to learning cursive. I was humiliated to be seperated from the class, put in a room by myself & told to "cut circles" out of construction paper with scissors because I "wasn't coordinated enough to handle" cursive writing.
To this day if I have to write in front of somebody I get the "Ewww; how do you hold your pen like that?"
I also cannot STAND writing with pencil; it feels "squeaky" to me. I HAVE to use a pen.
Several years ago Temple Grandin held a lecture for SPED teachers in Colorado. Apparently; she discussed the "Autism Grip"; a strange way they can identify people that are borderline ASD by the way they hold a writing utensil. Who knew?
Einstein really wasn't autistic? Now, that's hard for me to believe. I thought he was a CLASSIC ASD sufferer, didn't do great in college, wasn't accepted as a professor at first, didn't comb his hair, didn't change his clothes, didn't care about a man's station in life, knew he was smart and wasn't afraid to brag about it, now if that isn't autism, what is it? I don't want to hear that Einstein was just another pompous genius know-it-all. I think if HFA autism would have been around as a diagnosis, he would have had it. I really did think ASD and creative genius went hand-in-hand. I thought that all autistic people were super creative and brilliant, if they ever start being able to interact with society.
Oh no, I didn't say Einstein wasn't autistic. Nobody knows that for sure, and it's quite possible.
I said Asperger Syndrome (usually shortened to AS rather than ASD) would have been ruled out. A DX of AS required no clinically significant speech delay. According to detailed written records from Einstein's family, he spoke only a handful of phrases, garbled and inappropriate to the situation, until the age of 2.75 years, at which time he spoke a sentence regarding his sister.
OTOH, near the end of it being an actual DX, parents were pushing and yelling for AS rather than ASD as a DX for their children even if the child did have a speech delay, ultimately making an AS DX functionally and practically meaningless (which is probably why it was dropped as an official DX). The Aspie Wars were and are ridiculous.
It's autism and there you have it. But I'm good with it if a person wants to say "I'm an Aspie." The person can say "I'm a unicorn" if s/he wants to, that is the person's business.
Bottom line, regardless of the label will you wear it as a shield or are your considering trying to step in front of the label to find a way to help you to achieve your goal? We all have labels of one sort or another, some more dibalitabling than others. There are resources fortunately for many conditions. Whether one chooses to seek them out is a different issue. Identifying a problem is definitely step one. Giant next step is dealing with it. Much luck.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ask me how I know this. BUT people have a vision of autistic people as never learning. Well, they do, including socially. MANY autistic people (high-functioning) are ultimately able to navigate life as their NT peers do - job, family, et. al. - but there will always be certain issues and sensitivities.
