new here and have a question

[justme]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=Indigo] Hi everyone. I'm a new member to the forum and wanted to introduce myself and ask a question if I could. I just got diagnosed with AS in January. They have now sent me to a specialist and changed the diagnosis to HFA so my question is what is the difference and what is that suppose to mean for me. I'm 16 years old and do homeschool because I had so many problems interacting with both teachers and other people at my normal school. I would really like to better understand what my diagnosis means, what I can do to make myself better and have other people that can understand me more. So thanks for anyone's help!

[Amy]

In the UK they seem to be interchangeable. That has been my experience in dealing with doctors. AS/HFA seems the way they use it. You are the same person as when you were first diagnosed so its not that you have changed. Some people feel that the main difference would be that HFA would show a language delay, whereas AS wouldnt.

[mlwear]

I have asked that quiestion here in U.S. a few times, too. There seems to be a lot of different opinions. Some doctors here do use AS and HFA interchangably. Some will disagree on this board based on their experiences, but many in medical communities here make the difference this way: individuals with AS never had a language delay while those with HFA did. I would be curious to know your history as a child, if you want to share. I also have heard psychologists remark that individuals with AS have a stronger desire to socialize and will often try, but don't understand or use typical social rules; whereas, someone with HFA has less of a desire to socialize. I have not read this personally in any literature, but only have been told.
Welcome to the forum! As a parent I am glad when individuals on the spectrum join our group as it gives me so much insight into my son's world.
My son is 6 years old and is diagnosed HFA. We have been told that if he gains some skills that later his "label" maybe changed to Aspergers. He did not have a language delay and has an extreme desire to be social. He is at a day camp this week with several children who are moderate or severe. The socialization desire is quite remarkable. He has a long way to go in order to socialize in a way that is considered acceptable, however. So, much of it ends up with adults. My son struggles academically as he has a very short attention span and many sensory issues. I don't know if any of this information has helped. As I said, you will get other opinions, this is just what I have personally read and have been told.

[Annabelle]

mlwear

Your son sounds like mine, apart from N has a language delay....

[graciela]

mlwear, :idea: My son has a delay in speech and he was diagnosed HFA but the developmental pediatrician said that he will be AS because he has more caracteristics of AS than HFA, go figure! I told her exacly what you said because in my readings I find the same information. She said that there is no difference betwen HFA and AS. This developmental pediatricial has an autistic child and everybody said that her especiality is autism. Still, it is quite cofusing :confused:

[mlwear]

I've had a doctor tell me that, too (come to think of it he had a son with autistic characteristics, but swears that he has Sensory Integration Dysfunction only). He said AS and HFA are the same thing. Like I wrote before, it seems that there is some controversy there in the medical community. I'm with you, who cares what you call it as long as they get therapies and an education that help them reach their potential while being happy.
Oddly, one education specialist recently told me that I should be glad that Austin has HFA and not AS. ????? Something about having a better relationship with him. I still don't understand it. Any idea what she means by that?
I think this board is great. The information shared has helped me more than any book. Also, I have really grown as a person and so much hurt that I experienced at diagnosis that lingered has passed because of what I have learned here. So many different opinions and experiences. I try to keep an open mind and take it all in.

[StrictNon-Confo]

mlwear:

I would also be incredibly curious as to what was meant as to it being better for someone to be HFA versus AS, and how that fits into anything. In my immediate family there is both (me AS, older sister HFA, youngest nephew somewhere on the continuum) and I find it a very puzzling statement, to say the least. :huh:

Is it better to be one or the other? I don't think there's a clear answer to that which is universally true. And, how do you define "better"??? For whom??? :eek:

[Lisa S]

StrictNon-Confo,
What we were told by our school district's autism expert was that young adults who have Asperger's syndrome are much more likely to suffer from depression than those who have high-functioning autism. Not only is she the expert, she also has a 25 year old son who has Asperger's, so I believe she knows what she is talking about. But I guess it is possible she was trying to make me feel better about Catherine's HFA diagnosis when she told me that HFA was better to have than Asperger's even though many people believed the opposite to be true. I believe the "better" referred to the likelihood of co-morbid conditions. Like Amy said, you are still the same person you were before you received your label. Every person is unique. You are not your label, you are yourself. I love your sense of humor, for example.
Lisa

[David Andrews]

Can I just join in a little here? Might have a point that could be useful.

I published a paper, on the topic of mental health issues in Asperger syndrome, in Good Autism Practice (http://www.corelearning.co.uk/gap/contents.asp#55 for editorial comment). I am interested in the situational conditions which allow the development of things like depression to become "co-morbidities" in Asperger syndrome. My undergraduate mini-thesis dealt with this aspect of such issues, and the above referenced paper dealt with how we should look at these issues in developing a preventive strategy about mental health problems.

Do let me know if you wish to have some input on this matter.

StrictNon-Confo,
What we were told by our school district's autism expert was that young adults who have Asperger's syndrome are much more likely to suffer from depression than those who have high-functioning autism. Not only is she the expert, she also has a 25 year old son who has Asperger's, so I believe she knows what she is talking about. But I guess it is possible she was trying to make me feel better about Catherine's HFA diagnosis when she told me that HFA was better to have than Asperger's even though many people believed the opposite to be true. I believe the "better" referred to the likelihood of co-morbid conditions. Like Amy said, you are still the same person you were before you received your label. Every person is unique. You are not your label, you are yourself. I love your sense of humor, for example.
Lisa

[Lisa S]

Hi David,
I read your abstract. I wanted to read your paper but I don't subscribe to the GAP journal. This sentence, a quotation from the abstract, was especially interesting to me. "He maintains that when an individual with an asd is showing signs of anxiety or depression, it is important not to assume this can be attributed to the biochemistry of autism or even the autism itself, but to how the individual is experiencing society." I would love to read more.
Lisa