Published on 12, July, 2020
I have Asperger’s syndrome. Why do they class Asperger’s and autism as the same now when they are so different from each other? I mean Asperger’s is a genetic condition which affects the way someone thinks and makes them slightly different and socially awkward and more anxious. Autism on the other hand in the classic sense is a debilitating condition characterised by the inability to speak and vocalise words, intellectual disability and aggression with violent outbursts. Why do people with Asperger’s dominate the perception of autism. Everybody seems to forget about these kids who cannot talk at all. People view people like us people with Asperger’s as what autism is. This is not the case classic autism as it used to be defined was basically someone who regressed around the ages 2-4 into losing all speech and ability to function. It seemed to start around the 50s to 60s. Whereas Asperger’s has been around for maybe thousands of years. There is cases documented of people who may have had Asperger’s way before the 50s. A woman in Russia in the early 1900’s at the beginning of that decade worked with under a dozen kids who would have been declared as autism highly functioning or Asperger’s syndrome nowadays. These kids were quiet and inhibited but showed great ability to work machines and understand mechanisms of things and patterns. However it appears that people who have Asperger’s are born with it and always have it. They may take a while to develop language but they never develop it and lose it forever the same way someone with classic autism does. I have known people who had one child who lost the ability to speak and function about 2-4 years old and never spoke again and had to be put in a care home. But none of the boys other siblings had this happen to them. So how do you explain this sudden regression in some people that doesn’t happen with every other kid in that same family. Something must be causing a sudden regression especially if it’s only in a specific family member and no others. Asperger’s on the other hand is genetic and if one family member has it they all are almost garuanteed to have it more or less. If anyone has any thoughts on this please do share them as I would like to make more sense of this.
I grew up in 90’s. Few times I was picked by teachers and commented that I’m autistic or probably autistic. I had selective mutism for some time at school, but even after that and before that I never learned to interact with a group. And it’s my life long persistent problem. One of many I have. I’m not diagnosed, but quite recently I heard from a professional that I have many autistic traits and most probably I have Asperger. Sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. In my family neurodivergent traits run in our blood. My mom, grandpa and me are very much alike. That’s why my mom answered my teacher that there is nothing wrong with me, I’m normal like her. But there are much more than the genetic factor. Also when we look at the diagnostic criteria- Asperger also falls there. Persistent problems with communication and social interactions (not necessarily meaning the person is severely disabled or unable to speak) but having problems to communicate on non verbal level, not understanding cues, talking too much or not enough, having restricted and very intense interests, maybe a low functioning person would study a closet for hours, high functioning person would sit hours and study derivatives. Once here on the site someone published details of their diagnosis, personal details removed (higher needs). A lot of the issues mentioned there affect also me. The difference is how I manage it and keep it for myself to not disturb others. That person was unable to mask like me. But the stress is similar. I think we all need to remember that there are in both groups autistic and allistic (I don’t like dividing people) - there are people with milder and severe disabilities. And I’m not sure if it’s true that the high functioning autists take the whole picture of autism, taking into account how often people hear the phrase: “you don’t look autistic”
I grew up in the 50's. I don't like division either, dear AH. It bring back how isolating it can be and how "normal" can make that isolation. My blood also carries the strain. The 90s were a bit better.