No more asperger dx?

[skepticalpeach]

My DD's OT recently told me that aspergers will no longer be considered a diagnosis. Asperger people will fall onto the autism spectrum now. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seems that people with aspergers are higher functioning than people with ASD. They also have an easier time with interpersonal communication. Has anyone else heard anything else about this?

[speck135les]

turmeric heals all of us with aspergers which actually eliminnates thd need for drs with their invasive tecniques of prescriptions and surgery.

[skepticalpeach]

Your doctor does have a point, sometimes it is better to go the way that is going to get you the most help. How is he going to learn to function in the real world without any extra help? I also wouldn't want to fight over treatment plans with the insurance. If the dx gets him what he needs then the doctor is doing you a huge favor.

[tom_h]

The sentence in my last post should have read....
Almost like a "wink" "wink" situation.

[tom_h]

My grandchild's physician refused to label him with Asperger's but instead classified him as "high functioning austic" purely because he understands that the state they live in is eliminating state aid for anyone diagnosed with Asperger's.  Consequently my grandson would lose all of the state sponsered help that is presently available to him; everything from specialized classes to the little bus that takes him to and from his home every day.

It's very obvious to my son and his wife that the doctor wishes to avoid any discussion regarding Asperger's/Autism and my grandson.  Almost like   situation.

[IChris]

In the beginning there was no real difference between the autistic behavior Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger observed in children, and so it is, to be classical in understanding of autism, no real difference between Autistic Disorder and Asperger syndrome. Cognitive abilities was found to be great in both disorders, and there was for the most no delay in language, but there was a pragmatic impairement in language. In addition, sensory problems was found in both disorders. The DSM-V seems to take this into account; paving the way in a discussion which has last since the work of Kanner and Asperger, and removing delayed language development and impaired cognitive abilities from the criteria, as well as adding the observations of sensory problems.

This does not mean that autistic who has delayed development would necessary be missed. I think it is more probable that those autistic get an additional diagnosis which rule out the delayed language development, and so also for impaired cognitive abilities. As comorbidity often is the case in diagnosis such as autism spectrum disorders, this is a great solution which include more people and make up for treatments which are pointed to the specific symptoms, rather than in example treating all autistics in the same way because some of them has gastrointestinal symptoms.

[anacyde]

There was so much overlap and not a real clear, distinct definition, so they decided to lump ASD all into one.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, either.  My diagnosed with autism.  He most definitely has deficits in typical communication, but I've found that alternative means of communicating (i.e. writing down his thoughts and feelings, drawing a picture to talk about) works.  It's not that they're incapable, just that they have different methods.  In terms of functioning, he has an IQ of 160 and is working two to three full grade levels ahead in school, so I don't really believe that autism means "lower-functioning".  That is precisely why the AS/autism distinction was removed.