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Is the NAS phasing out AS?

Arran
over 5 years ago

Asperger United was renamed The Spectrum by the NAS as a result of the findings about the life and work of Hans Asperger by Herwig Czech earlier in 2018.

https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/news/2018-04-19-study-on-hans-asperger.aspx

www.autism.org.uk/.../the-spectrum.aspx

Is this an indication that the NAS is (quietly?) phasing out Asperger from their website and publications?

The services that the NAS has provided for people with AS have been the point of much contention over the years. This has included criticism that the NAS focuses the majority of its efforts onto people at the more severe end of the autism spectrum or those who require residential care services whereas people with AS only get the crumbs. Therefore the NAS could take advantage of the findings of Herwig Czech as a backdoor way to abandon supporting people with AS and effectively turn the clock back to the 1980s when people with (then undiagnosed) AS would almost always fail to meet the criteria for autism.

Some people argue that AS should be phased out anyway because it is no longer included in DSM-5 but DSM-5 is American and it has been rather cynically referred to as a catalogue of billing codes for insurance companies rather than a list of medical conditions.

Parents
  • over 5 years ago

    Forgive me for asking a dumb question... but is anyone else bothered by the fact that inclusion of ASD in ICD means that it will continue to be officially classified as a 'disease'?

    Is it a disease?

    Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of disease: 1 : a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.

    NAS definition of autism:  Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently to other people. If you are autistic, you are autistic for life; autism is not an illness or disease and cannot be 'cured'.  Often people feel being autistic is a fundamental aspect of their identity.
    I came across a research paper the other day (should have kept the link) which referred to autism as a 'neurological disease.'  Either it is or it isn't.  Surely, inclusion in ICD simply adds to the misunderstanding of the condition, possibly the stigma associated with it, and perpetuates the idea that a 'cure' might be available now or in the future.
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