Aspergers or Autism?

House said:

are we now supposed to tell others we're autistic as opposed to having Aspergers?

Aspergers is just no longer being used by the medical community. It describes a sub-group of autism and as such was considered divisive.

In essence people with an Aspergers diagnosis are autistic with fairly limited need of support and adaptations to live their lives. This is sometimes referred to as "high functioning" although the term is not used in the medical guides and is also considered by some to be divisive.

By contrast, autistic people with significant need of support to live their lives are considered "low functioning" in the same context - you can see why this may cause some to see it as divisive.

There is a good article explaining the differences here:

https://www.healthline.com/health/aspergers-vs-autism#aspergers-vs-autism

The medical community (ie defined in the DSM5) use terms of levels 1-3 to desribe the support needs of autists. Level 1 is equivelant to the high functioning and level 3 to low functioning - changing words to numbers doesn't seem to make it any less divisive, but it is at least formal medical talk.

House said:

I am concerned I will make a mistake.

Then just call yourself or the person in question autistic. Problem solved. No need to define your subgroup or needs unless you feel there is a stigma for it.

I just call myself autistic although I have been able to live a relatively normal life at extereme effort and cost to myself. By doing this I hope it helps destigmatise the condition a bit to others and encourage them to ask questions about it knowing I can give them an informed answer.

I really appreciate your advice and help. Much obliged to you. THANK YOU

I really appreciate your advice and help. Much obliged to you. THANK YOU