Asperger's is not a form of autism

I have recently been diagnosed with Asperger's, which I understand to be an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Of course, this does not make me an expert!  But I'd like to share how I tend to think about this particular issue.

As I understand it, Asperger's Syndrome is not Kanner's Syndrome, but whether or not it's always possible or sensible to put a particular case clearly in one and not the other, I don't know.  I tend to think of Kanner's as being 'classic autism', like ordinary Coca-Cola, or non-avian dinosaurs, while Asperger's is 'diet Coke', or avian dinosaurs - birds!  And just as there are plenty of people who say birds are not dinosaurs, there are people - yourself included - who say Asperger's is not a kind of autism.

Birds are certainly in the clade dinosauria, whether we consider them dinosaurs or not, and Asperger's is an Autism Spectrum Disorder, whether we consider it autism or not.

Birds are in the clade dinosauria, because of what clades are by definition, the fact that birds are descended from (other) dinosaurs, and how the clade dinosauria itself is defined.  (You can acceptably define it as being the most recent common ancestor of triceratops and chickens, and all descendants of that most recent common ancestor.)  This happily means that we know, for sure, that some dinosaurs taste exactly like chicken, by virtue of being chickens!

This stuff about birds being in the clade dinosauria, whether we like saying they're dinosaurs or not, is a matter of both how we define and organise terms and categories, and of what we learn and discover about birds and (other) dinosaurs.  Similarly, as knowledge and understanding of Kanner's and Asperger's Syndromes and the Autism Spectrum has developed, and as terms and categories have been defined, developed and updated, we've ended up with Asperger's being regarded as a kind of dinosaur.  Or something like that.

I have recently been diagnosed with Asperger's, which I understand to be an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Of course, this does not make me an expert!  But I'd like to share how I tend to think about this particular issue.

As I understand it, Asperger's Syndrome is not Kanner's Syndrome, but whether or not it's always possible or sensible to put a particular case clearly in one and not the other, I don't know.  I tend to think of Kanner's as being 'classic autism', like ordinary Coca-Cola, or non-avian dinosaurs, while Asperger's is 'diet Coke', or avian dinosaurs - birds!  And just as there are plenty of people who say birds are not dinosaurs, there are people - yourself included - who say Asperger's is not a kind of autism.

Birds are certainly in the clade dinosauria, whether we consider them dinosaurs or not, and Asperger's is an Autism Spectrum Disorder, whether we consider it autism or not.

Birds are in the clade dinosauria, because of what clades are by definition, the fact that birds are descended from (other) dinosaurs, and how the clade dinosauria itself is defined.  (You can acceptably define it as being the most recent common ancestor of triceratops and chickens, and all descendants of that most recent common ancestor.)  This happily means that we know, for sure, that some dinosaurs taste exactly like chicken, by virtue of being chickens!

This stuff about birds being in the clade dinosauria, whether we like saying they're dinosaurs or not, is a matter of both how we define and organise terms and categories, and of what we learn and discover about birds and (other) dinosaurs.  Similarly, as knowledge and understanding of Kanner's and Asperger's Syndromes and the Autism Spectrum has developed, and as terms and categories have been defined, developed and updated, we've ended up with Asperger's being regarded as a kind of dinosaur.  Or something like that.