Asperger's Syndrome Could Disappear in Autism Criteria Revamp

Asperger's Syndrome Could be Eliminated

The American Psychiatric Association is redefining Autism, and, if  Asperger's syndrome could no longer be recognized as the Autism spectrum is more strictly defined.

Asperger's syndrome, to the extent that it has ever really been defined, has been used to describe someone who shows some of the social symptoms of Autism, but is otherwise "normal", i.e. neuro-typical.

If the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is approved, the change in the criteria for what qualifies as "Autism" will exclude lots of patients who would normally be diagnosed, but is that really a bad thing? As it stands, roughly one in 100 children is diagnosed with Asperger's, arguably due to the vagueness of the definition of "Asperger's" itself.

The reason we don't understand Asperger's syndrome is that it's so ill-defined. To many, "S/he has Asperger's" means "s/he's really smart and really weird". Yes, you just thought of Sheldon Cooper, and we're getting to that.

Here are the current Mayo Clinic entries on Autism and Asperger's:

• Asperger's Syndrome Symptoms
• Autism Symptoms
  

Sheldon Cooper: Asperger's or Autism?

This naturally brings us to Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. You won't be able to ask, "Does Sheldon have Asperger's?". You have to ask, "Does Sheldon have Autism", or "Is Sheldon autistic?"