AS or pddnos (atypical autism)- are they the same thing?

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sorry this post is so long- i was just wondering, i feel as if i have AS much more than atypical autism, which is supposed to be closer to classic autism. i never had delayed speech, i began learning my first language, french, when i was 9 months old, and i began to learn english when i was around 2. despite my severe withdrawal and poor communication my iq is in the high average range. therefore one would assume that "atypical autism" is more like AS. but then again, i did not show any joint attention until i was six years old, i would often mumble complete nonsense to myself despite my intact language skills (mostly), i would create nonsense words, i played with toys really weirdly (like lining up toothbrushes all the time), i would often suddenly scream and cry for no reason, i had a a lot of irrational phobias, and i would often reverse pronouns and make grammatical mistakes. i guess what did not resemble AS was my inconsistent language skills. my verbal iq is in the gifted range now, which is why i sort of think i have AS rather than autism, yet it was not always that high, mostly because when i was 1st tested when i was four, i had a hard time answering verbal questions. yet it was still in the normal range then. back then, i would answer questions selectively, meaning that if they interested me i would miraculously communicate well and if they did not i would either walk away or not answer. i also would not always respond to my name, which is unusual for someone like me who has very high auditory and verbal skills. i also had such a hard time understanding complex questions, especially when i was tired or stressed out that i either would not answer, or ask the person to repeat themselves, or answer with a completely tangential statement, mostly something that i had heard before. i also find it really confusing how i someitmes expressed myself really well, like creating word games in 2 languages when i was 2, yet sometimes could not even express basci needs such as hunger. i am convinced that learning 2 languages really confused me. is this stuff common in AS? i am pretty sure that i am not hyperlexic, even if i am also very good at math (i tested at the college level in math when i was 10 years old), since i did not learn to read until i was 6 years old, because the rules of spelling made no sense to me until they were taught explicitly. i guess another non aspie trait that i have is that even when i was very affected when i was younger, i always had a lot of interests and i usually was a bit less rigid than one would expect of someone with asd. i was only rigid when i was confused and could not make sense of the world. perhaps all these traits that defy any specific diagnosis are the reason for the "atypical autism" label. does anyone else feel that they do not really fit any specific label and that all these labels are just meaningless, artificial, categories created by psychiatrists? i guess the main reason why i think i have AS rather than autism is the fact that i am mildly dyspraxic (i have finger agnosia and i still struggle to distinguish left from right). anyone with pddnos on this forum?

I was never diagnosed with PDD-NOS..but i might have it or skirt some sort of borderline between PDD-NOS,ADD-inattentive, and Asperger's...which essentailly would maybe put me on the PDD-NOS side of things...
I went to a ASD center to be assessed, kinda expecting to get a PDD-NOS...and the lady who assessed me seemed very comfortable with the idea that I was an aspie....The next psych that I saw...(i mentioned to him that I had been assessed as having Asperger's...wrote PDD-NOS on my chart...

I am higher-functioning in some ways and lower in others compared to some people who are actually diagnosed with Asperger's ...and functionality between folk who have true and bonified diagnoses seems to vary widely.,,,

My partner (who is not a doctor or some sort of specialist) thinks that I am more on the PDD-NOS side...and he thinks the same about himself. He, in fact brought up the question...can one have PDD-NOS but not be on the Autistic Spectrum.,..I almost started a thread asking this question, but thought better of it.

It seems like PDD NOS can be either higher functioning than Asperger's or lower......it just means that they do not fit the exact criteria for Asperger's or Classic autism, but are still on the spectrum...If I am an Aspie, I guess I could be concidered an atypical one if there is such a thing....otherwise...I guess I am likely on the higher functioning PDD-NOS end of things....if such a thing exists anymore

I believe all labels are artificial and made up by experts (or "experts"). In my opinion everybody who is diagnosed autistic or AS is a unique individuality, different from other people with autism or AS as well as each NT person is different from another NT person. Actually, when I think of autism or AS I imagine a long line. On the left side of the line is "pure" neurotypical and on the right side of the line is "pure" autism. And in between are all the various conditions that are not purely neurotypical neither purely autistic. And somewhere in the middle an expert arbitrary draws a line and says that everything to the left is neurotypical and everything to the right is autistic. But the line could be drawn on various different places depending on how the expert sees autism (AS), what diagnostic criteria he uses etc. Well, I don´t know whether I made myself clear and at least I tried.

And I am diagnosed with AS, the description of AS fit me quite neatly, but my social skills are way worse that "should" be. I guess we are all individuals with our strengths and weaknesses.

Your story very much resembles how I acted.
But I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (first that, then autistic disorder, then PDD-NOS again) because I was not rigid enough for Asperger's syndrome.

I also used to have difficulties with distinguishing left from right, I would have to consciously look at both my hands and make L shapes with them to see which was which.
I also mixed up the order of numbers like 95 to 59, but I think that may have to do with the order Dutch people pronounce numbers (nine-fifty instead of fifty-nine).
But if I were more rigid, I would be a textbook child with Asperger's syndome.

CollegeGeek say:

"I believe all labels are artificial and made up by experts (or "experts"). In my opinion everybody who is diagnosed autistic or AS is a unique individuality, different from other people with autism or AS as well as each NT person is different from another NT person. Actually, when I think of autism or AS I imagine a long line. On the left side of the line is "pure" neurotypical and on the right side of the line is "pure" autism. And in between are all the various conditions that are not purely neurotypical neither purely autistic. And somewhere in the middle an expert arbitrary draws a line and says that everything to the left is neurotypical and everything to the right is autistic. But the line could be drawn on various different places depending on how the expert sees autism (AS), what diagnostic criteria he uses etc."

You stole my line.

If we ever met THE NORM we would Green Monkey him

Well, i went to a local Autism support organization (TEACCH) and the person i met with said that AS, PDD-NOS, and one other were pretty much the same thing: similar dx criteria, or overlapping i should say. The only real differences between there were learning, socializing, and communication factors . . . but they could all just be clumped up and called mild autism.

PDD-NOS doesn't have any criteria of its own. It's just a category for autism that doesn't fit into any other category. It can be mild or severe or in between; it can involve speech delays or not; it can involve just about any other feature you'd see on the spectrum, and many things you see off it. It's just basically what the doctors say when they see, "Well, this kid's autistic, but I can't figure out the exact category to put him in." PDD-NOS is another name for atypical autism. It's not surprising, given our high degree of variation, that PDD-NOS is the single biggest category of autism diagnosis.

PDD-NOS diagnostic is made in situations in which there are prominent symptoms of autism or AS but full diagnostic criteria are not met, or when there is insufficient information to establish one of these more specific diagnoses. Any one of the three categories of symptoms that characterize autism (that is, social deficits, communication deficits, and unusual behaviors/interests) can form the basis for a diagnosis of PDD-NOS. However, the
diagnosis of PDD-NOS does not establish which symptoms are present and to what extent.

Some clinicians use PDD-NOS as synonymous with AS.