Autism. Aspergers. What’s The Difference?
Asperger syndrome is one of the autism spectrum disorders.
What are autism spectrum disorders? Also known as pervasive developmental disorders in the DSM-IV. These diseases are characterized by difficulties / deficits in social interaction and communication.
Autism spectrum disorders begin in infancy or childhood. These conditions do not “cure” as some might think. They are actually in a different way of thinking and seeing the world. However, the challenges that arise in communication and social interaction should not be minimized either.
According to Wikipedia,
ASD, in turn, is a subset of the broader autism phenotype (BAP), which describes people who do not have ASD but has autistic traits, such as social deficits. [10] Of the other four forms of ASD, autism is more like as in signs and likely causes, but diagnosis requires communication problems and allows for delays in cognitive development, Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder share several signs with autism but may have unrelated causes;. And pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) is diagnosed when the criteria for a more specific disorder are not met [11]
The debate on Autism Asperger
This is where the debate over the exact classification of Asperger (AS) begins. The current classification of autism spectrum disorders, according to researchers who are updating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (available in May 20 130, do not fully reflect the true nature of autism spectrum disorders.
The plan is to remove the name of Asperger disorder, and placed it under the umbrella of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. There will be a focus on levels of severity, compared with the exact name of Asperger syndrome.
This is a very controversial move, and researchers and physicians working in the manual have not yet decided whether to call it a disorder or syndrome.
(Personally, I like the syndrome a whole lot better. While we do not minimize the challenges that come with the autism spectrum, it is very easy to overlook all the positive features of autism spectrum disorder, instead calling it a spectrum ).
I hope this summary of the similarities and differences between autism and Asperers was useful.