On the debate of: "Asperger syndrome" or "Autistic spectrum disorder"?

 

This is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or the DSM for short. It's practically a bible in the psychiatry field. Now, I'm not criticising it in any way; I couldn't even if I wanted to, because I haven't read it. Anyhow, in 2013 for its fifth edition, Asperger syndrome (along with other pervasive developmental disorders) was re-categorised in it as simply "Autism spectrum disorder." This was done primarily, to my knowledge, because it had recently emerged that its namesake, the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, was involved in Nazi Germany's eugenics program which killed and injured countless disabled adults and children. (To put that into perspective, Asperger syndrome was given that name in 1994.)

Now, I have come to accept that fact about him, and I do not mean to trivialise it in any way. Nobody should. But he was by no means the only doctor (and I don't just mean the medical sort) who was, or is, guilty of evil or negative things. He certainly wasn't the only such one in Nazi Germany; many Nazi doctors were later involved in the creation of thalidomide, maybe the worst medical scandal of the 20th century. However, I digress. for all the damage he did elsewhere, Asperger still helped to pioneer autism research and in any case, somebody else named Asperger syndrome after him. And my key point with this post is this: AS may not exist as a diagnosis anymore, but it still does as a condition. It's simply listed under a different name. I can't help but liken it, in that sense, to manic depression. That still exists; it's just known as bipolar disorder today.

Nonetheless, for several reasons, I interchangeably say I'm autistic and that I have Asperger's, at specific times in conversation. I have no issue with either label. Regardless, I'm certain there are many Aspies out there, particularly ones older than me and who were diagnosed before me, for whom identifying as having Asperger's has become very much routine (and remember, routine is enormously important for most autistics), even if they know of Dr. Asperger's crimes. That's another reason why we should let people identify as whatever, and whoever, they want to. Anyway, the spectrum is long and vast, and everybody on it, whether high- or low-functioning, has something to bring to the world.