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Asperger Syndrome should the label stay?

David

My family and I refused to believe that I was Autistic until we were told in family therapy in 1990 that I had Asperger Syndrome.

 

In 1966 aged nine a Psychiatrist wanted to send me to a special school for Autistic children.

She looked up Autism in the dictionary and it said that Autistic children cannot speak.

By the age of nine I could speak fluently so she thought I could not possible be Autistic so I went to main stream schools.

In 1976 a Psychiatrist who visited us said that I was mildly Autistic.

We did not believe him either and his successor also said that I was not Autistic.

 

In 1990 my Father asked in family therapy when I was not in the room if I had been more strictly brought up whether I would have turned out better.

The family therapist said that the way I am has nothing to do with up bringing but because I have Asperger Syndrome.

After that we could believe that I have Asperger Syndrome and my Father stopped blaming my Mother for how I am.

As a matter of fact the only thing on my records is the Psychiatrist in 1976 who said that I was mildly Autistic

The question must be asked is how are we going to describe people who are not really Autistic at all.

We could describe Asperger people as just having Autistic traits.

The difference between an Asperger person and a so calle.d NT person can be very slight and the difference between an Asperger person and an Autistic person is often great.

We should not lump Asperger people with Autistic people.

The NAS leaflets would have to be changed if the Asperger label disappeared.

It could be a step back removing the Asperger label which I understand they are going to do next year in the USA.

David

  • Part of the 'should the Asperger label stay' debate is naturally one of 'what do such labels mean anyway'.

    So we were still on the same topic, longman, just maybe not discussing the precise points that you wanted to discuss.

    Well, isn't that a shame?

  • That was it....isn't it fortunate some people can follow the plot....... apart from the quote in quote in quote etc designs we seemed to be entering another world..... where something was seeking our attention, but what I know not....

  • longman said:

    I've completely lost the thread of this discussion.........

    Asperger Syndrome should the label stay?

  • I've completely lost the thread of this discussion.........

  • Scorpion0x17 said:

    [quote][/quote]

    [quote][/quote]

    [quote]i wish i was normal.[/quote]

    Normal is boring!

    Much better to be different!

    do you really think that i could be on my own for the rest of my life because i'm not normal.

    Depends what day you ask me.

    I too could be on my own for the rest of my life.

    But I'd still rather be me than be normal.

    Normal = 100IQ = going to the pub with your mates and getting into fights = watching footy on the telly = being happy to be stuck in a dead-end job for your entire life.

    (or the female equivalent, if you're female)

    i don't like the idea of being a in a job i don't like maybe i can find someone who thinks like me which is a long sort. lol

  • i think what they mean by high functioning is that you can get on with day to to day life some can't do that because it stops them from doing it.

  • What's the difference between so-called "mild" and "high functioning" (including Aspergers) ?

  • I agree with Longman's point about the stupidity of the term 'mild' when used in relation to autism. We are all so different, and presumably we all have challenges, but they vary. For some of us, like myself, the challenges will be anxiety, co-existing OCD, need for routine. I also, of course, find it hard to relate to people, but this is less of a challenge because it does not bother me so much. Other people with AS, however, will get depressed because of this issue, or their challenge will be extreme sensory issues. So we all vary, none of us are affected 'mildly' because we all have a disability which excludes, to a greater or lesser extent.

  • Temple said:

    [quote][/quote]

    [quote]i wish i was normal.[/quote]

    Normal is boring!

    Much better to be different!

    do you really think that i could be on my own for the rest of my life because i'm not normal.

    Depends what day you ask me.

    I too could be on my own for the rest of my life.

    But I'd still rather be me than be normal.

    Normal = 100IQ = going to the pub with your mates and getting into fights = watching footy on the telly = being happy to be stuck in a dead-end job for your entire life.

    (or the female equivalent, if you're female)

  • Scorpion0x17 said:

    [quote]i wish i was normal.[/quote]

    Normal is boring!

    Much better to be different!

    do you really think that i could be on my own for the rest of my life because i'm not normal.

  • Temple said:
    i wish i was normal.

    Normal is boring!

    Much better to be different!

  • the whole thing confuses me both autism and mental health i don't know what to think. 

    i wish i was normal. 

  • Temple said:

    i hate all these god dam labels your that your that and so on we people that what we are myself you can call me what you like autistic a nut case whatever you want.

    Whilst I can understand where you coming from, and to a certain extent agree with you, I also think that taking such an extreme stance is also pretty pointless.

    After all, why say we're 'people' why not just 'mammals'?

    Is it perhaps because there are very real differences between, for example, horses, pigs, cows, humans, and all other types of mammal?

    Is it not also useful to give those differences a concise name, rather than a lengthy description?

    It's just the same with different types of people. And the categorisation of people, as long as it is along reasonable lines, is even more useful for dealing with those different categories of people.

    For example you have stated that you have a mental health condition, and, whatever that condition is, it will have specific symptoms, and specific treatments, so, by identifying those symptoms, grouping them, and naming them, it is then easier for practitioners to give you the right, more effective, treatments, rather than giving you wrong, ineffective, treatments designed to treat a different condition.

  • The other thing about "mildly autistic" is that it is quite meaningless. This idea of a continuum is a nice simplification, but as Scorpion0x17 has reminded us, quoting Tony Attwood, that we're all different and the range of manifestations is very different.

    One factor that is not discussed much is "coping strategies". Most people with a disability cope to varying degrees with their disabling factors. With autism I suspect most people develop coping strategies but the more marked or complex the symptoms the harder it is to sustain the coping strategy.

    Correspondingly towards the "milder" end, the coping strategy may appear to compensate substantially, so it looks like "mild" autism. But it is still there, just the individual has found ways of compensating. Unfortunately our coping strategies tend to wear off when we tire from trying or the environment gets harsher.

    More unfortunately, as GPs and other health workers (and those benefits office assessors with no idea what they are on about) only see us for very short times.

    The word "mild" should never be used with reference to autism.  The only mild is when you haven't actually got it.

  • i hate all these god dam labels your that your that and so on we people that what we are myself you can call me what you like autistic a nut case whatever you want.

  • Playing the "I have this, that, and these other co-existing conditions therefor it falls into the such and such category" is pointless.

    As Tony Attwood says "When you've met one person with Asperger's, you've met ONE person with Asperger's".

    Not only is Asperger's part of the Autistic spectrum, but, like all ranges within that spectrum, it is a spectrum itself!

    And having co-existing conditions doesn't mean we're not part of the autistic spectrum, it just means one has co-existing conditions.

    I mean, some people with Asperger's also have mental health conditions, so does that mean we should lump Asperger's in with mental health conditions?

    NO! It doesn't! Why? Because Asperger's IS NOT a mental health condition!

    Likewise Asperger's shouldn't be lumped in with other non-autistic conditions, because it is not a non-autistic condition!

    We should not try and make Asperger's something that it isn't!

    Oh, and to all those "I'm not Autistic, I have Asperger's" people out there - get over it already! You have Asperger's, therefor you are autistic! It is nothing to be ashamed of!

  • Also not all people exhibiting these symptoms are autistic spectrum. Difficulty recognizing people is quite common to some extent, but where marked can exist as an independent phenomenon or with other disabilities.

    I have difficulty recognizing people in a different context, both visually and between heard in person or on the phone. This has caused major problems not even recognising family members, and people getting quite upset that I don't know who they are.

    More often I just play along with it, sometimes only placing the face hours later. Means having rather strange conversations with people who clearly know me, and talk about things I can relate to, but I have no idea who they are.

    But then its the old story - describe any AS symptom and an NT will confidently tell you that's nothing and it happens to them all the time. If it did I think we'd read about this problem more often.

    My navigation skills are ambiguous. I have considerable visual spatial skills but can still get hopelessly lost walking around a block of streets. I'm forever asking people directions.  Alway leaving myself plenty of time to get somewhere, I'm then too early. My often fateful error is to go for a walk around to fill in the time because that's always when I get lost and am late.

  • I would say strangely one can.

    One can be a seriously disturbed person but be mildly Autistic.

    The point is that screaming and swearing and being violent is not directly Autism.

    What Autism is having communication problems.

    That means not understanding what he is told.

    If an Autistic person is caught and punished he would ask more questions than a so called NT person.

    When  I was late and given halfa n hour detention about forty years ago I asked the Head Master whether I have a Punishment Note.

    The Head Master said no as he cannot be bothered to write one out.

    Three punishment notes in a term could result in being caned at that school

    Another boy outside the Head Master's study said I was stupid to ask the Head Master whether I had a punishment note.

    As it was I helped the handy man sweep the floors who could not speak or hear.

    David

    Might take a long time to reply as I cannot log in on my home computer but am now using a libriary computer and had no difficulty loging in.

    An Autistic person tends to give himself away more than so called NTs.

  • I used to think that these problems are part of AS. Asperger Syndrome soon will mean

    Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

    Not all Autistic people have poor perception, difficulty in recognizing faces, difficulty finding their way round.

    I know some Autistic people who do not have these difficulties.

    One Autistic person who stayed with us was very tidy and played Monopoly very well.

    Organised every thing tidily.

    He was able to be employed that is more then what I could do.

    This proves that those who have those difficulties must be a Co Existing Condition.

    David

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    I have OCD and constant anxiety but I've always considered these to be part of AS.

    Also problems with recognizing faces and getting lost easily but this is  often included among the indications of AS.

     I have problems with spatial awareness, clumsiness when I'm nervous, dificulty in determining left from right if I have to do it in a hurry and to a certain extent I'm ambidextrous.  I've always thought this was just me.