Published on 12, July, 2020
https://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/resources/asperger-united/new-name.aspx
If the folk at the NAS are so easily swayed by some whiny emoting from a tiny minority of folk that seek to deny history, I don't know that I can be bothered to read the thing any more.
There was nothing wrong with the old name. It matched my diagnosis.
To avoid a load of pointless arguing, no, I really don't care what Asperger did, or whether he ate peeled, salted babies for his breakfast.
On a balance scale between logic and fact, versus the emotional burden of the entire human race throughout history, logic and facts must tip the scales every single time, or humanity is lost.
Yes, some people won't like it. So what?
A concern I have is the effect Asperger vs autism has on employers. I have been raising awareness of Asperger Syndrome amongst employers in the engineering and computing industries. Around 10 years ago managers were very behind the curve when it came to Asperger Syndrome although this had the advantage of a clean slate where one could explain the condition from first principles and how it was a difference in mindset more than a deficiency in mindset. I made references to certain people including Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. However, when I mentioned autism the response I received was very unfavourable as it conjured up impressions of mentally retarded (for the want of a better description) people and learning difficulties that could never be employed in a highly skilled job requiring a degree in a STEM subject and would be lucky to find a job cleaning floors.
The NAS has absolutely no connection with the engineering and computing industries nor professional societies like the IET or the BCS.
Therefore the replacement of Asperger Syndrome by autism could be very detrimental to people with Asperger Syndrome when it comes to employment and could even consign them to an almost unemployable underclass regardless of what skills and qualifications they have.