Autism is inherently present and rarely mild

November 27, 3:49 PMPublic School Reform ExaminerElizabeth Brown

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Early signs of autism

Quinn/San Fransico Bay/youtube.com

Aspergers with a dash of autism, please, is the overriding opinion of Aspies who have fought for recognition, the right to be accepted, finally, for their eccentricities Heroes include other purported aspies such as Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson and Mozart. The expected backlash from the Aspie community is a reaction to the proposed elimination of Asperger Syndrome from the Diagnostic Statistics of Mental Disorders (D.S.M. V) in 2012. Asperger Syndrome and PDD-NOS, both high functioning autism disorders, will be folded into the category of autism spectrum disorders and measured by degrees of severity along a spectrum.

Undeniably, the distinction between an Aspie and a classic Autie, on first glance, is glaring (in some cases), which leaves young Aspies, new to the diagnosis, bewildered, fearful of the idea that they, too, have a form of autism.

Nevertheless, the two, the Aspie and the Autie, are closely acquainted by most accounts.

Contrary to Tony Atwood's celebratory tone when diagnosing Asperger Syndrome, there is the adolescent that is anything but thankful to receive a diagnosis associated with autism. He's already set on the idea that is somewhat different, but he has learned ways to compensate. He knows autism by the boy next door who needs someone to tie his shoes and walk him to the park; he knows it by the boy who is flapping his hands, or waving his fingers in front of his mouth, or spouting off television commercials verbatim.

The newly diagnosed adolescent doesn't connect the dots, because he can't see it in himself--his desire to bounce, bite, and cringe when he hears the chair moved against the floor; his fixation on paper and the way it sounds when it's ripped; the way he likes to look at an object's edge or sideways; the way he's attracted to neon lights and office products; the way peers seem to reject him, turn away when he talks ad nauseam about animation or computer sites.

Tragically, when a child with a mild form of autism rejects autism, they are, in essence, rejecting part of themselves. They will struggle to become "normal" or neurotypical, and fit in with the rest of the group and fail every time. The child who is "mildly" affected, is articulate, and, seemingly, capable with an average or above intelligence and assumed able to do handle the mainstream, work, college, life. Expectations are higher, and he is more apt to be misunderstood than the child who presents more prominently

To miss the signs, prejudge based on a score, words or no words, or outer presentation can have tragic ramifications for anyone found to be on the autism spectrum.

Both Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger, although an ocean apart, played with the word autism, defined it in similar ways with one major distinction--language and intellect. Hans Asperger used words like "menace" and even "a primitive spitefulness" when describing four enigmatic boys and their stereotypical behavior. Both he and Kanner noted an apparent detachment, an absence or lost gaze, a self-engagement that excluded the outer environment.

Kanner's kids were mostly nonverbal, and if they did use language it was mechanical, and the words were somehow thrown out into the air rather than used as a means of reciprocal conversation. On the contrary, Asperger observed the exceptionalities, the manner in which the boys used words in advanced ways like "little professors" as he referred to them, storing vast amounts of knowledge on a subject.

Despite the distinctions, more similarities than differences were reported. Both Kanner and Asperger agreed these kids resisted outside interventions and could not be taught in a conventional manner. In fact, Asperger, if he were alive today, would not be surprised at the severe difficulties kids with Asperger Syndrome endure. He had never suggested otherwise. As he noted, despite the splinter gifts and verbal precocity, the kids sabotaged themselves (through no fault of their own) with their rigidity and odd mannerisms; autism was inherently present in each of Asperger's boys.

Fast forward to 2009: aside from the difficulties associated with high functioning autism, or what we refer to as Asperger Syndrome, it's described in terms of social deficits and eccentricities, but the prognosis is, overall, good and college is in the picture. Classic autism, on the other hand, is a more dreaded diagnosis saturated with interventions and treatments, ways to fix the individual.

Nevertheless, there is currently a growing force in the autism community: Temple Grandin, Associate Professor at Colorado State University, author and speaker on the topic of autism, was nonverbal until the age of three and a half. She was diagnosed with autism in 1950, and her parents were told their daughter would need to be institutionalized. Daniel Tammet, author of Born on a Blue Day which was a New York Times best seller, is a high functioning autistic savant and strong spokesperson for autism. Sharisa Joy Kochmeister, poet, writer and former president of Autcom and editor of The Voices and Choices of Autism, communicates mostly by keyboard. All three were considered unteachable, with a grim future ahead of them. Today they are well established professionals, powerful advocates for the autism community.

We'll never know exactly what Hans Asperger was seeking when he discovered a higher functioning autism. We call it Asperger. He called it autistic psychopathy. Would he agree with the aspie culture, the way it has evolved since its inception? We do know that Asperger Syndrome has done a fine job of removing some of the stigma of autism. Schools across the country categorize Asperger Syndrome as "autism" so kids can receive the appropriate services.

With the purposed elimination of Asperger Syndrome from the D.S.M. V, the spectrum would allow for movement within the diagnostic category of autism. Therefore, why not call it what it is? If it looks like duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it's not, then maybe it's something else entirely--not autism.