Aspies For Freedom

http://schoolpsychology.blogspot.com/200...rgers.html

Much of the research however, was not conducted with the CHC theory.Catell, Horn, Caroll, McGrew, and Flanagan, have all indicated that most IQ tests (specifically the Wechsler tests) do not appear to measure what they purport to measure. For instance, on the Wechsler tests, the Verbal IQ (which is "supposed" to measure verbal skills) is actually measuring a skill called crystallized knowledge or Gc, a sum of your cultural, verbal and linguistic knowledge.

This makes sense.

However, the Performance IQ (which is "supposed" to measure non-verbal reasoning) does not measure visual-spatial reasoning or Gv solely; it also taps fluid reasoning, or Gf � the ability to apply reason to deal with novel situations. Taken in this light, it makes perfect sense when you say that within an AS individual, Gc is greater than Gf.

To focus on VP differences, is in essence, very 20th century. Intellectual ability is not a simple construct, but incredibly complex and different depending on the child�s developmental level.

http://schoolpsychology.blogspot.com/200...rgers.html

The way that the DSM-IV-TR criteria are currently laid out, Woodbury-Smith, Klin and Volkmar (2005) indicate that the AS onset criteria is a poor criterion, as most of the data is often collected retrospectively. Thus, the parental reporting of �no problems in the development of early language� is a problem, as it is sensitive to reporter bias. Therefore, it is difficult, to ascertain truly if language development was normal or not.

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My question then is fundamental is: If the difference in cognitive profiles and the onset of difficulties is not different, then is it worth distinguishing two constructs on the basis of one difference if they have two similarities? Scientifically, the concept of null difference needs to apply UNTIL we find a difference.

Gillberg, Christopher. Functioning Autism: Shared Deficits or Different Disorders? Journal of Development and Learning Disorders 2001; 5:79-94.

Setting aside whatever issues I have with some of the perspectives and word choices in the article, I generally agree with the

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So, in conclusion, there is no good evidence, I think, that so-called high functioning autism and Asperger�s are different disorders. When we use these concepts, we are probably referring to the same group of individuals, and depending on where we work, and what history we have, we tend to use one diagnosis more than the other. The only possible difference that we could tease out from this rather large scale study was in regard to IQ or verbal IQ, and even that could only distinguish between groups, not between individuals.

and the
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The label Asperger syndrome may, to some purists, present a major obstacle: why use it if it is only another word for high-functioning autism? Asperger syndrome was the term introduced by Lorna Wing at a time when very few people realised that autism stretches far beyond the boundaries of the condition outlined by Kanner. It has been very useful in that it has served as an eye-opener. In the old days, mere mention of the word autism produced images of extreme impairment, non-speaking, completely withdrawn individuals. You could not tell parents or teachers that this high-functioning child had that. Asperger syndrome was more �neutral�. By using the term Asperger syndrome for two decades now, we have moved forward in the field of autism. It is now seen as a spectrum of conditions in which there are severe and milder variants, and a wide variety of clinical presentations. I doubt that this leap forward would have been accomplished so quickly if the term had not been there to help us disregard the long shadow of the past that was cast by those who insisted on the old myths about �classic autism�.

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