What exactly is Residual Asperger's?

Post Reply New Topic

is it another word for mild AS or borderline AS or someone who has aspie traits that cause them impairments but they didn't have enough to meet the criteria but needed to be labeled so they get the help they need and As was closest they could get to for a diagnoses for closest match? Or is it someone with PDD-NOs and the doctor just doesn't like NOS labels so he goes for closest match and diagnoses them with AS instead?

So what exactly is Residual AS? Another new term I have learned for ASDs.

My understanding is that it is someone who has had a diagnosis but as they age, symptoms reduce and the person no longer meets the criteria for a full diagnosis. I am open to correction though...

Edit - I can understand your confusion, there isn't much out there about it. I was lucky enough to hear an interview with Tony Attwood on the radio a little while ago, and he discussed it (briefly).

Last edited by Shellfish on 13 Jan 2013, 5:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, that's also how I understand it. But the point is, that the can "fall back" into a state where they meet the criteria again. Too much stress, different environment or whatever.
Especially in some children that's the case.

That's also why they don't lose the diagnses ASD anymore, if they met the diagnostic criteria for ASD at some point in their lifes.

You once were able to be diagnosed, now you're not.

Not PDD-NOS, as you still need to have the pervasive impairments.

Mmmm this may be me actually. Possibly.

This is definitely not me. If anything, I've regressed.

If that's a term to use. Is it progress to have less symptoms? I don't want to go down that road - this is a rhetorical question.

A way to explain how you can go from having "impairments" to not having "impairments".

I'm not fond of the concept myself. A difference in neurology and processing system is a difference, and ignoring anyone who does'nt meet the right person's definition of "impairment" does'nt change that fact.

Mild AS??? Borderline AS??? Residual AS??? for real? I had someone told me they had "very mild Asperger's" and I thought why even bother telling me, might as well explain it as a personality trait without the autism label attached. Why go to all the trouble? When the new Diagnostic criteria comes around are people going to say they have ASD Level 0.5?

So...you have a mild form of mild autism or your on the border of having mild autism?

This is becoming insane.

It's what's left in the bottom of the bathtub after I get done showering.

There is also severe Asperger's and moderate Asperger's and very severe Asperger's. It's like rating how bad your condition is.


I have even heard of terms like early Alzheimer's, pre diabetic. borderline schziophrenia. People keep making up terms for conditions. I have also heard of "touch of Asperger's." What does that mean? That they have traits of it but not enough for the criteria or that they have very little of it? It was even in House Rules when Emma said she thinks her ex husband had a touch of it.

So I guess that means they get better as they got older where they are at a point where they are not AS anymore but they still have symptoms of it or still process things differently than others since it's a neurological condition.

Mild, borderline, severe... they really don't mean anything official. "A touch of Asperger's" may mean subclinical, barely diagnosable, or AS-like traits in a neurotypical. Depends on what the person is thinking of when they say it.

Asperger's isn't necessarily a mild form of autism. I mean, it's a form of autism, obviously, but it's not necessarily mild. While you're required to be able to take care of your own basic needs and to have developed speech on time, AS symptoms can still be extreme. Some people with AS cannot live independently. It's also possible to need full-time care with "only" AS, because of meltdowns, transition problems, or issues with safety or self-injury. So on average, AS isn't as extreme, but because the range is so broad, some cases of AS can actually be defined as severe autism, not mild autism.

"Residual" is a term that refers to whatever traits are left over after recovery. So you could heal from a broken arm and have residual soreness in the limb. I am guessing that "residual Asperger's" refers to sub-clinical traits that remain after someone has lost an AS diagnosis, usually because they learned enough to compensate fully without additional effort or accommodations. They may, for example, be prone to strong hobbies (but not obsessive special interests which take up impractical amounts of time), be introverted and socially awkward (but within the normal range of social ability, and no longer socially withdrawn), and be sensitive to their environment, but not to the point of overload. If you're a doctor, especially a psychologist, you don't want to go willy-nilly sticking labels on everybody. Eccentric, different, unusual... those aren't things you want to diagnose. Human diversity is a strength, not something to be medicalized, because there's no need for treatment. So someone who had a diagnosis of Asperger's, but no longer needs it, may still be different, and it's that difference that they are probably referring to as "residual Asperger's".

It's actually not just impaired (the usual ways like work, school and/or independence).

It's actually losing the symptoms themselves, i.e., you don't have a severe impairment in reciprocal social interaction anymore.

Some people do have this.

Whether is was because they never had it to begin with, it was borderline in the beginning (most people tend to improve a little), or it's pointing to perhaps an autoimmune/inflammatory response as a possible cause for some cases of ASDs (which is actually one theorized cause -- a proven one too IIRC).

Absolutely brilliant.

I am wondering now if my online friend has residual AS. After he found he had it and got diagnosed with it, he improved and it took help and support from others like at work. Now he is very sociable and loves going to bars and drink and hang out with his peers. He seems to have tons of friends now. He also doesn't see his obsessions as his obsessions and they are now his interests. They don't take over his life anymore. he doesn't get upset anymore if his routine changes and he always finds something else to do because he planned all his back ups for when something happens liek the power goes out, friends cancel out on plans, etc. He still has his AS memory and the thinking and people can still tell he is different. He doesn't think about the label and isn't concerned about the new criteria. He just doesn't care and all he knows is he found out what was wrong and it explained everything and he moved on. Plus he talks about other things too instead of his interests and he can chit chat.

I knew another aspie online who I was once friends with online and he claimed he recovered from it. I wonder if he has residual AS also. Anyone who says they don't have it anymore or they grew out of it or recovered from it, I wonder if they just have Residual AS.

I wonder if they had life experiences and were taught coping mechanisms. Coping mechanisms are for everyone, Aspie and NT.

I think I used this example in another post, if you had a 13 year old who loved....say...Battlestar Galatica, were obsessed about it, and it caused social impairments, they would probably meet the DSM-IV/DSM-5 definition of AS/ASD.

Take the same person, put him at 22, and he now can talk about baseball scores, fantasy football, beer, financial charts, CNBC, and currency markets. Would that person still be on the spectrum? Nothing changed except that his/her interests have changed and are now socially acceptable.