Is there such thing as a mild form of asperger's syndrome?

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Jerry123
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01 Dec 2009, 9:30 pm

Because I show most of the symptoms but I am not sure if I have the syndrome



Francis
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01 Dec 2009, 9:47 pm

If you have some of the traits but not all, it would probably be diagnosed PDD-NOS.



88BK
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01 Dec 2009, 9:56 pm

no. if you have mild AS you're either;

a) an NT who is not well adjusted
b) an aspie (nothing mild about it) who is well adjusted.



01 Dec 2009, 9:57 pm

There is PDD-NOS. I have no idea what people mean when they say they have a form of AS. Either they have it, or they don't.



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01 Dec 2009, 10:12 pm

Spokane_Girl wrote:
There is PDD-NOS. I have no idea what people mean when they say they have a form of AS. Either they have it, or they don't.


Kind of like with pregnancy, eh?! Some people just show more than others?


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01 Dec 2009, 10:50 pm

It is an spectrum, so the answer is yes. Do notice though that the DSM is clear that AS should have caused you a real impairment in some part of your life. Else it is not AS, it is something else.

Quote:
There is PDD-NOS. I have no idea what people mean when they say they have a form of AS. Either they have it, or they don't.
Though there are milder and stronger forms of AS , the DSM is full of things like "at least N of the following" mild ones would have exactly N, strong cases would have all of the items in the bullet list...


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01 Dec 2009, 10:53 pm

leejosepho wrote:
Spokane_Girl wrote:
There is PDD-NOS. I have no idea what people mean when they say they have a form of AS. Either they have it, or they don't.


Kind of like with pregnancy, eh?! Some people just show more than others?



Yeah but all women show as the baby grows inside them. There are very few who never show simply because they are fat. Some show later than others but the thinner you are, the sooner you start showing. But every pregnancy is different. Some start showing sooner than others, some tummies are bigger than others when they are at seven months. Some even start showing in their first month.



88BK
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01 Dec 2009, 10:54 pm

Vexcalibur wrote:
It is an spectrum, so the answer is yes. Do notice though that the DSM is clear that AS should have caused you a real impairment in some part of your life. Else it is not AS, it is something else.

Quote:
There is PDD-NOS. I have no idea what people mean when they say they have a form of AS. Either they have it, or they don't.
Though there are milder and stronger forms of AS , the DSM is full of things like "at least N of the following" mild ones would have exactly N, strong cases would have all of the items in the bullet list...


the spectrum is an ASD spectrum autistic spectrum disorders, of which AS is included.

it goes LFA, MFA, HFA, AS, PDD-NOS

not LFA MFA, HFA, AS, MILD AS, PDD-NOS

i do think AS should have it's own spectrum away from the ASD spectrum to cater to the extreme diversity within asperger.



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01 Dec 2009, 11:16 pm

Hmmm... I don't see why it would be so black and white. Isn't the whole point of a 'spectrum' that there should be a continuum? And therefore, whatever cutoffs you choose, they'll be somewhat arbitrary?

Anyway, I'd say it's possible to have a 'mild version' - however you decide to define AS, there will always be someone near the border.



88BK
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01 Dec 2009, 11:22 pm

grad_girl wrote:
Hmmm... I don't see why it would be so black and white. Isn't the whole point of a 'spectrum' that there should be a continuum? And therefore, whatever cutoffs you choose, they'll be somewhat arbitrary?

Anyway, I'd say it's possible to have a 'mild version' - however you decide to define AS, there will always be someone near the border.


but then...wouldn't everyone be autistic, because everyone on the planet has at least one autistic trait. a person who is completely NT in every way except he does not like eye contact, is he a super-ultra-mild-very-high-functioning-aspie?? nah. he's an NT who doesn't like to look people in the eyes.. i mean EVERYONE stims, it's not autistic, it's human. just autistic stims are different. i see people here calling normal human behavior 'stims' it's very funny!! ! "OH OH I STIM MY FOOT TAPS ALOT" yeh? well so does alot of my friends who aren't even close to being on the spectrum.

sure it's a spectrum, but lines need to be drawn on hard far it can be stretched. mild AS is a stretch and a half with the spectrum being the way it currently is.



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02 Dec 2009, 12:01 am

Well, drawing clear boundaries leads to silliness as well: there will inevitably be someone classified as AS who is practically indistinguishable from someone barely less autistic on the other side of the boundary. That's the problem with boundaries and spectrums: however you define things, if you stick rigidly to the definition, you'll inevitably get something vaguely absurd.

So no, 'mild AS' is not a diagnosis: more of a name for people who are technically on the spectrum but are very close to being NT. I suppose we can call them 'well-adjusted AS' but that seems to be quibbling over terminology.

Also, what do you do with people when it's not clear whether they'd get diagnosed? For myself, I know I'm close-ish to the boundary, but have no idea which side of it I'm on.



02 Dec 2009, 12:05 am

88BK wrote:
grad_girl wrote:
Hmmm... I don't see why it would be so black and white. Isn't the whole point of a 'spectrum' that there should be a continuum? And therefore, whatever cutoffs you choose, they'll be somewhat arbitrary?

Anyway, I'd say it's possible to have a 'mild version' - however you decide to define AS, there will always be someone near the border.


but then...wouldn't everyone be autistic, because everyone on the planet has at least one autistic trait. a person who is completely NT in every way except he does not like eye contact, is he a super-ultra-mild-very-high-functioning-aspie?? nah. he's an NT who doesn't like to look people in the eyes.. i mean EVERYONE stims, it's not autistic, it's human. just autistic stims are different. i see people here calling normal human behavior 'stims' it's very funny!! ! "OH OH I STIM MY FOOT TAPS ALOT" yeh? well so does alot of my friends who aren't even close to being on the spectrum.

sure it's a spectrum, but lines need to be drawn on hard far it can be stretched. mild AS is a stretch and a half with the spectrum being the way it currently is.



The line does get drawn. Having a few traits doesn't make someone on the spectrum. That's just a myth. You have to have so much to be on it.



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02 Dec 2009, 12:24 am

88BK wrote:
but then...wouldn't everyone be autistic,

No more so than having variations of functioning within the kanner category would make everyone Autistic.
Quote:
because everyone on the planet has at least one autistic trait. a person who is completely NT in every way except he does not like eye contact, is he a super-ultra-mild-very-high-functioning-aspie??

Obviously not since the criteria very clearly establish that a minimum number of criteria items must be met for a diagnosis of AS and one single trait is not sufficient to meet this standard. I have no idea how you get from "variation in severity of instances of AS" to "anyone with only a single trait who therefore absolutely cannot be diagnosed with or classed as having AS might have some varient of AS". That makes absolutely no sense at all. It is like suggesting if there can be various strengths of flavours in raspberry drinks, that all drinks must be raspberry, or any drink that shares a single feature with a raspberry drink must then be raspberry. In reality the severity of Asperger Syndrome can and does vary so that some people are more severe than the majority with the DX, some are more mild than the majority with the DX, with a group of people who fall closer to group average in respect of severity. None of this means that people who do not meet the minimum number of items could be reasonably construed as having AS.

Quote:
sure it's a spectrum, but lines need to be drawn on hard far it can be stretched. mild AS is a stretch and a half with the spectrum being the way it currently is.

There are lines (aka diagnostic criteria), and within the scope that lies between those lines are varying degrees of severity of clinically significant impairment and/or distress.



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02 Dec 2009, 1:06 am

grad_girl wrote:
Well, drawing clear boundaries leads to silliness as well: there will inevitably be someone classified as AS who is practically indistinguishable from someone barely less autistic on the other side of the boundary. That's the problem with boundaries and spectrums: however you define things, if you stick rigidly to the definition, you'll inevitably get something vaguely absurd.

So no, 'mild AS' is not a diagnosis: more of a name for people who are technically on the spectrum but are very close to being NT. I suppose we can call them 'well-adjusted AS' but that seems to be quibbling over terminology.

Also, what do you do with people when it's not clear whether they'd get diagnosed? For myself, I know I'm close-ish to the boundary, but have no idea which side of it I'm on.


Same here. I see this topic the same way you do. I think many who disagree are visualizing a brain which is either autistic or isn't, but I don't see why there can't be degrees of autistic brains as a cause of the traits. A mildly autistic brain could cause mild traits, for example. We still don't know about these things yet do we?


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02 Dec 2009, 2:07 am

you'd probably be diagnosed with aspergers and they may say mildly affected or not. For pddnos you usually have to have some language delay in order to get that diagnosis usually.


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BoringAaron
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02 Dec 2009, 3:21 am

it's possible that one can have strong symptoms, but is very good at hiding them. this just means you're well adjusted, and not a mild case.