Bring Back Aspie

Aside from the name, I think the problem with classifying or dividing into aspergers/high functioning/low support is it suggests a linear spectrum. I prefer the thing with circles and different segments.

I agree with what Roy said too that support needs can change daily/monthly/yearly.  This time last year I was signed off with stress and the main goal the doctor gave me was to try and leave the house every day. I was surviving not high functioning which I guess is where that classification would put me.

But why should they be separate services? Why not just have one service that can attend to all levels of support? That would be much more efficient both organisationally for the service and logistically for autistic people not having to go to different places potentially on the same day (which can be overwhelming because of sensory issues when travelling).

I'm currently waiting on my assessment but I'm what would be considered Asperger's or high functioning. Personally, I would never want to be associated with a man that initially labelled a group of children with distinct psychological characteristics like mine as ‘autistic psychopaths’.

Further, taken from another page:

"Asperger managed to accommodate himself to the Nazi regime and was rewarded for his affirmations of loyalty with career opportunities. He joined several organizations affiliated with the NSDAP (although not the Nazi party itself), publicly legitimized race hygiene policies including forced sterilizations and, on several occasions, actively cooperated with the child ‘euthanasia’ program. The language he employed to diagnose his patients was often remarkably harsh (even in comparison with assessments written by the staff at Vienna’s notorious Spiegelgrund ‘euthanasia’ institution), belying the notion that he tried to protect the children under his care by embellishing their diagnoses."

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6

No, never call me Asperger's, I'm autistic, level 1, high functioning, whatever, but not Asperger's.

I understand completely. I find that a lot of people are very dismissive of the diagnosis if they do not see the typical signs of autism in me (I mask heavily - working on that) and then I don't feel seen.  It's also very difficult for me not to mask. Ive been doing it for the better part of 30 years.  I think Aspergers explains my specific situation much better. I don't mind being grouped into the broader umbrella term just as autism, but just in terms of clarification, I think it is helpful and could bring more awareness. 

A scientist once said all models are wrong, but some are useful. I think you can expand that to labels. All labels are wrong ... but some are useful. ... to paraphrase humpty dumpty “When I use a label it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."

Instead of 'Asperger's' or 'high functioning,' could we say 'invisible autism' or 'hidden autism?'

Services for autistic people

I think that the term "late diagnosed" is useful for describing the different life experiences of this group, but I also am firmly against creating a hierarchy based on the perceived competency of autistic people.  

I am a firm believer in neurodiversity, and that we should all support each other as part of the autistic community.  Those who can articulate more clearly have the opportunity to be a voice for those who struggle to be heard.  We will not achieve any significant change in society until we realise that we all need each other.  

There are several autistic people who don't speak with their mouths, but are able to communicate in other ways such as typing, and when they get their thoughts out it can be so profound that it makes me question how many people are lumped in the "low functioning" just because they don't speak when in fact their minds understand much more than others perceive.

From a social stigma point of view, I think it is more important to raise the voices of the autistic community as a whole, no matter what form they take, so that we can challenge that stigma and make being autistic as minimal a problem as being left-handed.

I find the different functioning labels unhelpful, I suppose I would be classed as a HFA, I work, drive and have a family.  Some days I’m unable to work, become non verbal and need to be totally alone. On those days I can just about dress myself and certain sensitivities can become greatly magnified. 
This is why autistic descriptor labels aren’t suitable for autistic people, our needs can vary on a daily basis.

From reading about Hans Asperger and his involvement with the N*zis, I am of Jewish descent and would not have his name linked to me.

Peter said:

advertising purposes

Advertising what exactly?

Asperger's for me doesn't feel like a helpful term. If the old system were still around, I'm not sure if I would be in this category or general 'autistic' because although I am very high functioning, one of my traits I was told was "at odds with my intellect". Asperger's just feels like another way to say "high functioning", which doesn't fully capture the fact I am very able but I often need help with understanding people's spoken words. I much prefer the idea of being just "autistic" - I am on the spectrum, not in a box.

I agree I don't like that we now have to use the same terminology for both types. Partly because I don't want anyone to think I am 'low functioning' and also because I don't want anyone to underestimate the difficulties of someone who is 'low functioning' by comparing that person to me (I have some difficulties, but I am independent and I have achieved a lot). 

However, on balance, I don't want to identify myself using a word derived from the name of that person so I'll continue to call myself 'autistic' for now.

Just because two separate terms exist, for example low functioning autism and Asperger’s, it doesn’t mean if a person is in need of services targeted to both that  they shouldn’t be allowed to access both. I’m not suggesting that medical diagnosis should adopt a different set of terms. Im saying that for informal and advertising purposes it’s helpful to use some of these old terms from time to time or possibly to develop new terms.

I would much rather be called autistic. I think that 'aspergers' causes people to underestimate my challenges. Also, I prefer not to be associated with a man who was involved with the ***. 

Peter said:

Low functioning needs / issues: Issues with mental capacity and issues with independent living, accessing healthcare and welfare services.

High functioning autism needs issues: Issues with social isolation, discrimination (especially in the workplace / education). exclusion from education / labour market unrelated to ability.

 But I have "HFA" but my needs are also "low funtioning" needs. Where do I turn if those support services get split in half and people doing triage only read "HFA" on a decades out of date document? That's a problem, because I'm not the only one in that boat either.
Because if my reality isn't that I'm always or mostly "High functioning" then having "HFA" is just a meaningless wild stab in the dark made by some shrink with a clipboard and outdated notions of what autism is back when it was thought that it was caused by vaccines.
What would you propose to remedy that issue for those who would fall through the gaps?

Low functioning needs / issues: Issues with mental capacity and issues with independent living, accessing healthcare and welfare services.

High functioning autism needs issues: Issues with social isolation, discrimination (especially in the workplace / education). exclusion from education / labour market unrelated to ability.

The issue to my mind is services for aspies / high functioning autistic people look quite different to services for low functioning autistic people. It is useful to have a separate term because the services for each needs to be set up and run differently with an emphasis on different needs.

As it is the one size fits all terminology hides the fact that people with 'Aspergers' type autism are not being well served and having their needs met. It also makes the services that are set up for them harder to find.

I find the functioning label vs support needs issue is more easily solved by saying something like:
"Hi I'm Bees, and I'm Autistic with high sensory sensitivity, and if you're new to me I may not be able to look you in the eye just yet."
Then I just bring up other stuff literally as and when it come up as needing to be addressed. If this was some kind of health assessment form I'd be listing examples of literally everything I struggle with anyway, but that's not something a random person I'm meeting for the first time needs to know so like a full list the "short hand" for an assumed full list is not required either.

I used to feel like this until I really thought about it and tbh I don't think I need to be put into a "higher" category, as functionaing is situational, and the term "HFA/Aspergers" was really only used traditionally to differenticate those of us on the spectrum who did or didn't have an intellectual disability/low IQ.
But I don't need it to be differentiated I just say I am autistic, without the need to say I am autistic and have an intellectual/learning disability.  If people assume I have a low IQ because I'm autistic then that is them being silly not me, and they'd soon find out to their own shame because I find most NTs to be intellectually vapid. But I don't think  higher IQ makes me any less Autistic to require it's own label, because Autism is Autism as a spectrum not versions of it as "their own thing" based on what else you have going on with you as well.
Also I think it is better for all of us if we disrupt people's misconceptions about what autism is and what it "looks like" by using it as an umbrella term.

I don't really find it limiting to be grouped in with people whose autism looks very different to mine- I feel that all of us being called autistic together helps to show just how varied it can look. I would also like to think that if we're all using the same label, people will think twice about underestimating people with high support needs and/or dismissing the difficulties those of us with low support needs can still have, though I'm not super optimistic about that happening!

I do get that it's harder to describe exactly what being autistic is like for you without having that familiar shorthand. 'Functioning' labels don't really seem to be as helpful for us as they are for allistic people who want to categorise us from the outside, and even talking about varying support needs is tough because it's so variable and difficult to define even on an individual level. I'm not keen to go back to 'aspie' or similar though because of the historical context. Maybe we need something else- but I don't know how to define this particular way of being autistic in a way that doesn't just push more stigma onto people who experience it differently to us.