Asperger's has gone as an official diagnosis

[inappropriatelyemployed]

Asperger's has gone as an official diagnosis - see here

Yup, we were told this last week when we had my sons results from his ADOS assessment. He has been diagnosed with ASD.

Yes... It's been on the cards for a while. HFA too I believe.

yes.we had same last year when ds1 dx with asd - he's aspie.

It's not gone though. For some it is a part of their identity and contributes to how they define themselves.

Oh. How does this affect people alrwady diagnosed/labelled with Aspergers?

DDs official diagnosis is Autistic Spectrum Disirder, Aspergers Syndrome.

ASD feels 'worse' than AS somehow. I know that is my own problems with it clouding what I think.

DS2 was diagnosed with Asperger's in March 2011. Does this mean he now has autism spectrum disorder?

The aim was not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness but to ensure those affected were more accurately diagnosed so they could get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr David Kupfer, the University of Pittsburgh psychiatry professor who chaired the revision committee.

ummmm its not a mental illness?............DS report says he fits the criteria for moderate ASD and also dx Aspergers so I think this was done to cover the DSM alterations not heard about ICD 10 though? Is that following suit?

I agree Star - whatever they say in the DSM, Asperger's means something quite specific to a lot of people,

Icd-10 is following yes, but is lagging behind for the usual some reason.

Its interesting that the WHO ICD-10 is not following suit as yet and some proffs use this to dx instead.

Development and Well being Assessment for instance uses both to come to a clinically rated dx. Its going to be a battle of which should be put down in that case.

going to cause confusion why icd 10 delay it I mean :)

DS is pissed off and insists he's an Aspie.
Resistant to change, who'd have thunk it?

I specifically asked for DS's dx to be written as ASD not Asperger Syndrome when he got his written dx. I understand that there's a strong AS community (although I find that many of them online are self-diagnosed and might come below the threshold for dx if they were actually assessed.) But in terms of accessing services, ASD is definitely a stronger dx. People tend to respond differently depending on whether I've used the term ASD or AS.

I think AS can affect individuals severely and the general public often don't realise that when they see TV characters etc portrayed as simply quirky or a bit geeky, it doesn't show how debilitating it can be. DS attends a residential special school for AS, and all the students there have a dx of AS (or sometimes HFA, but fitting an AS profile). But they all have very severe needs, which will continue until adulthood, and that's a view that's usually been backed up by several professionals and a tribunal panel!

No it hasn't, not until DSM 5 becomes 'official' which is scheduled for May 2013. If you wanted to you could try to insist on aspergers if he meets that criteria before then. Diagnoses given before May 2013 can stand as aspergers, as I understand it (according to the ASC diagnostic team I work with). I assume your diagnosers are 'anticipating' the cahnge, in which case they might want to also follow NICE guidelines, also out next year, and drop the 'disorder' part of the label and just diagnose 'autism spectrum'.

I think the ICD 10 is keeping aspergers too, though I will make a point of asking at our next team meeting if you like

Krystal I totally agree with your 2nd paragraph - people think of aspergers as just slightly eccentric, clever awkward kids and that is so far removed from my experience> ds was diagnosed aspergers in march, but i would prefer asd tbh. that would better fit with perceptions generally.

My DS was diagnosed with 'High Functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Asperger Syndrome)' a few days ago.

I am really confused now as we haven't told him yet, and when we do, we want to know what name to call it! More people have heard of Asperger's I think, so we'll probably still with that...

DS still doesnt tolerate the word Aspergers due to the word Ass in it

Autism he can agree with.

DS1 is not your usual Asperger's (due largely to the interplay of SPLD and ADD annd a bad educational experience so far) and I prefer ASD as he is dyscalculic and has no interest in anything scientific and others tend to assume he fits the mould of the 'geek'.

But he prefers Aspergers. According to him 'all the best people are cheeseburgers' (he objects to the word ass as well)

AS is a subset of ASD, so for diagnostic purposes I would assume that it would be "just" ASD. Gone are the "HFA, AS" subset of classifications, but in reality, I would be inclined to think that the descriptive terms will remain - just not on formal paperwork.

It doesn't mean that those diagnosed with AS will magically become NT in the eyes of service providers, just that they will have a different descriptive term in formal diagnoses.

To be frank, in most situations, DS here fits the AS stereotype, just in extremes (highly intelligent, socially awkward, obsessive, severely deficient in social communication but a non stop motormouth prolific talker). For us, he is not severe enough to get ANY services (all of the "support" he gets at school is due to his fine and gross motor impairment, and the system is so stressed that only children who are most severely affected get any services at all) so the technical term for whatever it is that he has is not too concerning for us, but I can very much relate to the anxieties for those whose services were dependent upon a formal classification.