Do you guys actually care about this?

Yea. Don't get wrong impression though when i say i wish maybe they didn't separate them, I don't believe people with 'asperges' or 'high functioning' or 'level 1' or whatever should have to go without support. 

So I do understand to some degree why there needed to be a change. But it seems we change language more than we actually change attitudes? 

Although sometimes you have to change language before the attitude, but I don't know that it's necessarily working out that way.  

I can relate to this a lot. I don't like the way that I'm treated by society because of my functioning label.

Not really, but some things do bother me. Eg when NTs give me *** for being on benefits and tell me to "try harder" to get a job, be a social butterfly etc because I'm "high functioning"...

I care about what functioning labels people use against me because it influences the way they treat me because of the function label they use against me. I strongly dislike functioning labels. Using "high functioning" doesn't mean that I'm "high functioning" 24/7 but people treat me as if I'm high functioning 24/7 and it really does affect me.

Thank you. (Though it's Ms....or just Odd...  :-)

I don't think "high functioning" is a diagnostic term, so one isn't diagnosed as high or low functioning. It's just something used to separate the verbal from the non verbal, because that's really all it means. I would be called high functioning, but I function terribly! Lol!

I'm diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Condition. They've not diagnosed me specifically as "high functioning" and I'm glad because whilst I have a job, good education, husband and kids, house, all the conventional goals basically, I don't think my autism makes me high functioning at anything, and I don't always function well thanks to autism when trying to meet even the smallest of demands. 

I refer to myself as being autistic in conversation. I don't really know what I'd have been labelled as in times gone by. 

One former NHS nurse I know said that labels were counterproductive, whilst at the same time demonstrating a considerable number of supposedly ND behaviours herself. I told her that I found labels could also be quite convenient personally. But what do you do when no one wants to even discuss a label, least of all former NHS employees. I would say that actually it helps to talk / act out to yourself aloud quite a lot, so that no one can easily imagine that you are just faking it. So they get the point, even though the label is never mentioned. I find it suits me just fine to do that, and it keeps the doubting Thomases at a very safe remove at the same time. Nice!

that's the best explanation i've read Mr Odd. thank you.

Aspergers Syndrome, as a separate diagnosis, was removed in order to make diagnosis (and getting help) easier (and when I say easier diagnosis, I don't mean, easier to *get* a diagnosis, but easier for the clinician to make an evaluation). There were several different 'varieties' of autism, as it were, and PDDs, and they all had their own diagnostic criteria. Research, over many years, showed that there were so many overlapping symptoms/traits, that it was obvious it was the same condition, with just differing levels of severity/help required. So they removed the individual labels and placed them all under the umbrella term, 'Autism Spectrum Disorder', and simply divided it into levels 1, 2 and 3. I do believe the list of symptoms was reduced a little too, but the qualifying number of symptoms required for a diagnosis was increased. People think AS was removed because of the bad association that Hans Asperger has but it wasn't that. It was simply a streamlining of terms/diagnostics.... 

People that already have an Aspergers diagnosis can either continue to use that term, or change it to ASD, if they want to, but that's their personal choice. I think, to a certain extent, neurotypicals might understand the term "Aspergers", better than they might understand "ASD, level 1". Though, from talking to people, it seems they don't consider Aspergers to be particularly serious. They see it as just someone with a bit of a quirky nature, whereas they see autism as pretty serious. Neither of which, I think, is particularly helpful. I don't really like the term "high functioning", either, because (as Hannah Gadsby jokes), it gives the impression that the person "functions highly"! 

Personally I don't really mind how people label themselves, or me, really. We're all labelled to a certain extent, regardless of whether we like it or not, though most of us are happy with most of our labels,  such as mother, father, grandparent or artist, sportsman, musician or straight, gay, bi...

So long as people are respectful and polite, they can call me what they like! Lol! I'll continue to label myself, "me"....

yeah, you may be right there. Mr O just told me that aspies and autists used not to be classed as the same group, but it was only because aspies thought they were getting support that they made us join together. 

that's a bit like putting everyone with depression in the same group as those with bipolar disorder.

thanks Mr O. so, it's not the same thing then, but similar. and they only put them together so Aspies could get the same level of support. if this is the case, it's a bit unfair. because in my experience, aspies tend to dominate other autists and look down on us as lower than them. i wonder no if it was such a good idea. maybe it was wrong to put us both together.

very well said .

I've never cared about labels, but I don't care about many things. I've learned that the less time you spend worrying about things like this the more time you have to enjoy what you want to do in life.

Of course labels can be hurtful when you are a teenager but it's something you will learn as you get older. 

Well the I understand it is that it was a different diagnosis to ‘classic autism’ people with an aspergers diagnosis weren’t entitled to same support either and they changed it 2013 to just Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) just to bridge the gap because they basically said because they think there is a lot of similarities between the two just make it one condition and everyone can get the same help

i don't understand. did people with aspergers not used to be autistic ?

Yeah I think I’m with you there it could take away from those who need more help than someone like me. I do need help with things and more patience from others I can’t help but think it would perhaps be easier if they brought back Asperger or another term and maybe just re shape the terminology surrounding it so it wouldn’t be as hard to get help as it was when Aspergers was around 

From my observations, it's mostly 'high functioning' autistic people who have a problem with functioning labels. I can't help but feel it's from a privileged space of needing less help to 'function' and thus seeing autism as simply 'thinking' different rather than a condition that can be disabling. 

This is why I kind of wish (controversial as it may be) that they never stopped separating out 'asperges' from 'autism' 

I wouldn't want a functioning label if I am diagnosed, because I wouldn't want people to think that I wasn't deserving of help.  I chose I don't know though as I couldn't get my head around whether your two questions went together - they probably do, but I can't think properly at the moment!

good to see u're still the same