Should autism and Aspergers be considered separate disorders?
The debate in the medical community rages on.
Hey, guys, this is Annie guest-hosting for D News.
This week, the Scottish singer Susan Boyle
made headlines by announcing her diagnosis of Asperger's
Syndrome, opening up new conversations
about the often misunderstood condition.
Asperger's is characterized by difficulty
in social interaction and nonverbal communication,
and in some cases, clumsiness, atypical use of language,
and other symptoms.
And currently, it's considered part of autism spectrum
disorder, a diagnosis that's increased significantly
over the past two decades.
According to the British Medical Journal,
autism diagnoses were rare in the UK and the US
until the '90s, when the rates began surging.
They've since leveled off in the UK,
but according to the Center for Disease Control,
autism rates have continued to grow in the US.
As of 2008, one in 88 children were
identified as being on the autism spectrum.
The spectrum contains a range of conditions, characterized
by social and communicated challenges
in certain behavioral pattern.
ASD is about five times as prevalent in boys as in girls.
The spike in rates is not fully understood,
though it's been suggested that the spike is related
to increased awareness and changing diagnostic standards.
What the autism spectrum entails is still
being hammered out in the medical community.
Earlier this year, for example, Asperger's Syndrome
was removed from the DSM-5, which
is the manual psychiatrists use to diagnose.
It was folded in with autism as basically a higher functioning
form of the disorder.
Asperger's patients don't typically
suffer from cognitive or linguistic impairment
and are often above average intelligence.
Still newer research finds that there may in fact
be significant biological differences between Asperger's
and autism.
Harvard neurologists and psychiatrists
measured brain connectivity among Asperger's and autism
patients using a measure called EEG coherence.
They found that this measure could
be a distinguishing factor but that larger studies are needed,
also pointing out that those differences can have
huge implications for patients, their families,
and their caregivers.
As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments.
For D News, this is Annie.