Asperger and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Separate or Part of One Continuum?

By Andrew Evans, Psy.D.
February 26, 2010

In May of 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is planning to publish an updated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), the authoritative manual for identifying psychiatric conditions. One of the proposed changes for the DSM-V is to drop the diagnostic category of Asperger disorder. While first described by Viennese pediatrician Hans Asperger in the 1940s, the APA did not recognize Asperger disorder as a distinct diagnostic category until 1994. Since that time, the Asperger label has expanded people’s understanding and conceptualization of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by highlighting a subgroup of individuals who do not exhibit language and cognitive delays that are typical of the majority of people with ASD. The inclusion of Asperger Disorder in the DSM-IV not only prompted more autism research, but enabled many people to access supports and services that were previously unavailable to them because they were not identified as having any disability.

While clinicians continue to debate the accuracy and utility of the Asperger diagnosis, a lot of people currently diagnosed with Asperger disorder are strongly against the proposal to eliminate it as a separate diagnostic category. Many people with Asperger disorder refer to themselves as “Aspies.” Aspies have developed an extensive cultural network where their differences from others are embraced and even celebrated. For many Aspies, the APA proposal to eliminate Asperger disorder feels like an attack on their identity. Others argue that eliminating Asperger disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), another diagnostic subgroup often ascribed to people with autistic tendencies, would reduce the confusion and inconsistency in applying diagnostic criteria. Reducing this confusion, they feel, would improve research and treatment service delivery

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