Are aspergers researching autism prevalent?

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I use DSM-5 diagnoses in my all reports, which is basically required; however, billing makes use of ICD-10, so I include and use those codes as well (as I mentioned above, each DSM diagnosis is also assigned an ICD-10 code).

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How come so many people with non reading disability still got Asperger diagnosis in the past? Isn't that contrary to "normal cognitive development"? Math disorder is surely part of cognitive development?
 
I use DSM-5 diagnoses in my all reports, which is basically required; however, billing makes use of ICD-10, so I include and use those codes as well (as I mentioned above, each DSM diagnosis is also assigned an ICD-10 code).

How do you technically differentiate self relying autistic individuals from gravely impacted ones? This change has made it worse for future diagnosed Aspies in their job pursuits.... Asperger actually has positive connotations for a lot of job employers. They want to hire these people. Autism has negative connotations.

My uppdated one reads: Asperger, Autism spectrum.
 
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Autism is homogenous? I didn't think we even know what causes autism and if there are different types with different etiologies. Besides how can we know when they keep changing the labels and we are using different descriptions for clinical, billing, and research.
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That's exactly why Asperger was merged with autism, because it is homogenous. There was no difference found when high functioning autistics grew up, besides a lower full scale IQ. This was attributed to the earlier language development in aspergers. The conclusion was that Asperger is simply "high IQ autism", which does not warrant a distinct diagnosis.

It was first believed that HFa performed better on block tests than AS, and AS higher on verbal than visual, but larger sample sizes revealed that both groups had dead-even overall scores in everyhing besides verbal IQ.

Here is one comprehensive study showing that block tests are not generally weak in Aspergers syndrome. It was simply poor sample sizes in some studies


 
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The term Aspies makes me think of some kind of awards show for those with a touch of the 'tism. "and the Aspy for 'Most Awkward Social Interaction' goes to...."

Most people attribute it to self-reliant, intelligent people. Surely autism is no help to these people... Employers will invaribly think of Rain Man since that's the public perception of autism. Nobody want's to hire such a person. An aspie however is much more welcomed.

Fortunately, my diagnosis predated DSM-5. But people in the future will have a much harder time due to the Psychiatric Associations non-elitistis stance. Shame on them.
 
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How do you technically differentiate self relying autistic individuals from gravely impacted ones? This change has made it worse for future diagnosed Aspies in their job pursuits.... Asperger actually has positive connotations for a lot of job employers. They want to hire these people. Autism has negative connotations.

My uppdated one reads: Asperger, Autism spectrum.

I generally don't see individuals with ASD in my work, but I would imagine it's done primarily though the DSM-5's severity levels (1, 2, 3) and additional intellectual/language impairment specifiers. Or possibly by use of unspecified neurodevelopment disorder for folks in the very, very mild range who don't meet full criteria for ASD.
 
One of the puzzling things about Autism and Asperger is that there is no correlation in performance for these groups, unlike neurotypicals. For an example I scored in the 84 percentile in picture completion (Above average), but below average in everything else in performance IQ.

I scored verbally in the low average range as a kid, and above average range as a teenager.. That's quite an improvement! I must have eaten some pretty good cheerios.
 
I generally don't see individuals with ASD in my work, but I would imagine it's done primarily though the DSM-5's severity levels (1, 2, 3).

*Laughs. And you believe that's equivalent to an Asperger distinction in an employers eyes?

"Hi there, I have level 1 autism"
 
The term Aspies makes me think of some kind of awards show for those with a touch of the 'tism. "and the Aspy for 'Most Awkward Social Interaction' goes to...."

/verified psychologist.
 
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Trained in DBT. Trying to practice my irreverence and genuineness.

Do you see my point or not? Geek or not, Aspergers does carry with it positive connotations.

For an example:

Inaccuracies as usual from neurotypicals, but the overall description is farily accurate.
 
*Laughs. And you believe that's equivalent to an Asperger distinction in an employers eyes?

"Hi there, I have level 1 autism"

Not saying it's equivalent; was answering your question as to how someone would diagnostically differentiate (via DSM) varying levels of severity in ASD.
 
Not saying it's equivalent; was answering your question as to how someone would diagnostically differentiate (via DSM) varying levels of severity in ASD.

Are you within your rights as a psychologist to specifiy Asperger, within the autism spectrum? Or was that only because I had been diagnosed prior to DSM-5? It did indeed reference ICD-10.
 
Are you within your rights as a psychologist to specifiy Asperger, within the autism spectrum? Or was that only because I had been diagnosed prior to DSM-5? It did indeed reference ICD-10.

You could technically put whatever you want, so long as there's support for it. I could see it becoming an ethical-type issue if someone is using diagnoses for which there is no longer empirical support and/or which are outdated. But I also wouldn't be surprised to see a report that might say something like, "Autism Spectrum Disorder without Intellectual or Communication Impairment, Level 1 (formerly Asperger's syndrome)."

Although I don't work in that area, so others may be able to offer more insight than me.
 
Here is an offical explanation for the revision:

(I corrected the grammar flaw)

"...the criteria for Asperger syndrome in the DSM-IV are (is) flawed and hard to implement in practice, as highlighted by a number of researchers10,11,12. At least two problems exist: It is often difficult to establish whether single words were spoken before age 2 and phrases by age 3, as required for the Asperger diagnosis. Individuals receiving this diagnosis typically come into the clinic in middle childhood or later, and parental memory may be understandably vague. For the increasing number of people diagnosed in adulthood, the issue is even more problematic.

The other major problem with applying the current DSM Asperger criteria comes from the precedence rule: diagnose Asperger disorder only if the individual doesn’t meet criteria for autistic disorder.

The Asperger diagnosis is distinguished from autism by a lack of language and cognitive delay. However, language and cognitive delay are not diagnostic criteria for autism. So, to fail to meet criteria for autism, a person with Asperger syndrome must not show the communication impairments specified for autism. Since these include “marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation,” most — if not all — people with Asperger syndrome do meet diagnostic criteria for autism."

Really? It's that hard for a parent to know if their kid spoke at an appropiate age? One would think a parent would remember that, since it's pretty deviant if the child doesn't.
 
Anyway, my mother had no trouble recollecting if I spoke as a child. Does she possess Kim Peek-like abilities?
 
I was late in developing speech and my mom has a tough time remembering if it was before or after third bday. She always says that it was right around there somewhere. So maybe I meet one of those criteria, maybe I don't. That's consistent with the authors statement. My anecdote counters your anecdote which is why we would have to research this to determine which is more representative of the population as a whole. Based on many diagnostic interviews where I have asked mothers about developmental milestones, I doubt that my mom is unusual in not being able to pin that down well. This second statement is an example of multiple anecdotes which is still not research data. I am probably not very good at getting that information either as it is rarely clinically relevant in my practice. A neuropsychologist or a specialist in autism might be better at getting that information. The reason I am stating this is that a psychologist conducting research or even doing assessments or treatments needs to be able to see alternative explanations.
 
A neuropsychologist or a specialist in autism might be better at getting that information. The reason I am stating this is that a psychologist conducting research or even doing assessments or treatments needs to be able to see alternative explanations.

It's near impossible to get that information when we get these as adults. Even when we ask them to inquire about it from their parents. Both parties usually have no idea.
 
It's near impossible to get that information when we get these as adults. Even when we ask them to inquire about it from their parents. Both parties usually have no idea.

Yep. It's also frustrating with ADHD in adults. I've only once or twice had someone come in with actual childhood records documenting ongoing difficulties while growing up. Parents are sometimes more helpful with the folks who were hyperactive as children, or the inattentive folks who also had concomitant emotional/adjustment difficulties. But it's a bit of a crapshoot.
 
It's near impossible to get that information when we get these as adults. Even when we ask them to inquire about it from their parents. Both parties usually have no idea.
Yep. It's also frustrating with ADHD in adults. I've only once or twice had someone come in with actual childhood records documenting ongoing difficulties while growing up. Parents are sometimes more helpful with the folks who were hyperactive as children, or the inattentive folks who also had concomitant emotional/adjustment difficulties. But it's a bit of a crapshoot.
The important point was that I was open to the potential that my own experience could be the outlier and not to over-generalize from that. Not that I really thought it was. :D
 
A neuropsychologist or a specialist in autism might be better at getting that information. The reason I am stating this is that a psychologist conducting research or even doing assessments or treatments needs to be able to see alternative explanations.
I do ASD diagnostic assessments exclusively for chilren und 4 years old. Even for kids 2-3 years old, parent often have only a vague sense of when speech started (e.g. "sometime in the past few months"; "around 2 years, give or take a month or two"). No real trick for getting as accurate information as possible. I will try to use some calendar markers (e.g., "was he talking at Christmas last year?"), but it's not an exact science. Parents seem more focused on what the first words were, not when they were said. Put this in the context of questionnaire or interview asking for dates when child first sat/crawled/walked/used gestures/used phrases, and there is a lot of ambiguity. Heck, I only have a rough sense of when my kids did all that stuff, and have no idea when I myself did.
 
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I was late in developing speech and my mom has a tough time remembering if it was before or after third bday. She always says that it was right around there somewhere.

That's insufficent for you to be classified as an autistic individual. You are not autistic if you interact with other children normally. Or at least not if interactions catch up once you start communicating freely.

I communicated and read easily as a child and was therefore eventually diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. I talked back to the psychologists as a kid and questioned their method of enquiry.
 
That's insufficent for you to be classified as an autistic individual. You are not autistic if you interact with other children normally. Or at least not if interactions catch up once you start communicating freely.

I believe you missed the point that he was trying to make.
 
I believe you missed the point that he was trying to make.

If he spoke just before 3 or just after turning 3 is irrelevant. The important thing is how the language develops - is it characterised by echolalia? Things of that nature. Not the exact date.
 
If it's so irrelevant, why did you make a big point about it yesterday? STP was referring to your notion that its easy for a parent to recall when a child learned certain language milestones. Pretty much everyone with actual clinical experience corroborated how it actually works in real life.
 
If it's so irrelevant, why did you make a big point about it yesterday? STP was referring to your notion that its easy for a parent to recall when a child learned certain language milestones. Pretty much everyone with actual clinical experience corroborated how it actually works in real life.

None of the reports here refuted that. The parents gave rough estimates, which are good enough. The crucial point is a delay accompanied by echolalia. Aspergers don't have that.

Brain studies have proved that they are separable from autistic individuals, as a sub-group:

http://www.livescience.com/38630-autism-asperger-eeg-connectivity.html

At first, the test showed that children with Asperger's and those with autism were similar: both showed weaker connections, compared with typically-developing children, in a region of the brain's left hemisphere called the arcuate fasciculus, which is involved in language.

However, when looking at connectivity between other parts of the brain, the researchers saw differences. Connections between several regions in the left hemisphere were stronger in children with Asperger's than in both children with autism and typically-developing children.
 
You should write a book. Maybe get yourself on the panel for DSM-VI. Usher in a new age of diagnosis of the neurodevelopmental disorders. Please, bring us out of this Stone Age of diagnostic uncertainty!
 
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You should write a book. Maybe get yourself on the panel for DSM-VI. Usher in a new age of diagnosis of the neurodevelopmental disorders. Please, bring us out of this Stone Age of diagnostic uncertainty!

A professor in psychology told me that my objection to one of his arguments was so strong that he will no longer use the argument for future students, and thanked me for the insight I provided.

No joke.
 
Usher in a new age of diagnosis of the neurodevelopmental disorders. Please, bring us out of this Stone Age of diagnostic uncertainty!

There never was an age specification. It was normal language development (no delay) for aspergers syndrome.
 
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A professor in psychology told me that my objection to one of his arguments was so strong that he will no longer use the argument for future students, and thanked me for the insight I provided.

No joke.

It seems like correcting others is something you value quite a bit.
 
A professor in psychology told me that my objection to one of his arguments was so strong that he will no longer use the argument for future students, and thanked me for the insight I provided.

No joke.

Are you sure that wasn't sarcasm?
 
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There never was an age specification. It was normal language development (no delay) for aspergers syndrome.
Here is an offical explanation for the revision:

(I corrected the grammar flaw)

"...the criteria for Asperger syndrome in the DSM-IV are (is) flawed and hard to implement in practice, as highlighted by a number of researchers10,11,12. At least two problems exist: It is often difficult to establish whether single words were spoken before age 2 and phrases by age 3, as required for the Asperger diagnosis. Individuals receiving this diagnosis typically come into the clinic in middle childhood or later, and parental memory may be understandably vague. For the increasing number of people diagnosed in adulthood, the issue is even more problematic.

The other major problem with applying the current DSM Asperger criteria comes from the precedence rule: diagnose Asperger disorder only if the individual doesn’t meet criteria for autistic disorder.

The Asperger diagnosis is distinguished from autism by a lack of language and cognitive delay. However, language and cognitive delay are not diagnostic criteria for autism. So, to fail to meet criteria for autism, a person with Asperger syndrome must not show the communication impairments specified for autism. Since these include “marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation,” most — if not all — people with Asperger syndrome do meet diagnostic criteria for autism."

Really? It's that hard for a parent to know if their kid spoke at an appropiate age? One would think a parent would remember that, since it's pretty deviant if the child doesn't.
I think you just like to argue for the sake of argument. Seems rather pointless.
 
I know a researcher with ASD (originally diagnosed with Aspbergers) researching career outcomes for young men with ASD. He's smart and driven but he tends to think everyone he meets who is even slightly awkward is on the spectrum. I guess when you're a hammer everything is a nail. It's kind of strange to me how he values his own Dx as credibility and looks down on neurotypical researchers as lesser, because I couldn't see him clamoring for example for people with paranoid schizophrenia to be the only ones doing that research.
 
This reminds me of a mild concern that I have that media portrays of Asperger's (e.g., Big Bang's Sheldon, Community's Ahbed) have created a weird dynamic in which some people without significant pathology really really want to be dxable with Aspergers.
 
This reminds me of a mild concern that I have that media portrays of Asperger's (e.g., Big Bang's Sheldon, Community's Ahbed) have created a weird dynamic in which some people without significant pathology really really want to be dxable with Aspergers.

I have two stories on that.

My psychiatrist informed me that she had vast amounts of patients over the years who desperately wanted to be diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

There was a philosopher who wanted to converse and help me with an uppcoming exam because his idol had Aspergers syndrome. He always wished he had it but didn't.
 
Also, there was a girl I met who said I am "totally like Sheldon". I had no idea who Sheldon or the Big Bang Theory was before being shown a clip on her mobile. She does not know I have Aspergers, but was quite ecstatic over it.
 
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