Asperger's vs Autism: What Changed

If you were diagnosed with Asperger's in the 1990s or 2000s, or a relative was, you may wonder whether that diagnosis still means anything, and how it relates to autism. The short version: from the moment the term entered English-language research, it was described as part of the autism family. What changed later was the name and the way the diagnostic manuals draw their boundaries.

A short history of the term

1. 1944: Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger published a long paper describing a group of children he called "autistic psychopaths" (a label that reads very differently today).
2. 1981: British psychiatrist Lorna Wing published a clinical account that introduced the name Asperger's syndrome to English-language research and argued it belonged within a wider group of autistic conditions.
3. 1992 and 1994: Asperger syndrome entered ICD-10 and then DSM-IV as an official diagnosis, separate from autistic disorder.
4. 2013: DSM-5 retired it, along with other subtypes, and placed everyone under one diagnosis: autism spectrum disorder.
5. ICD-11: the World Health Organization classification, adopted in 2019, made the same move, with autism spectrum disorder coded 6A02.

Asperger's vs autism: the old differences

Under DSM-IV, the main line between Asperger's disorder and autistic disorder was early development. People given an Asperger's diagnosis had no significant delay in early language or general cognitive development, while autistic disorder could include those delays. In daily life, that often meant someone with an Asperger's diagnosis spoke fluently, sometimes very formally, and had average or above-average intellectual ability, while still experiencing social communication differences, intense interests and sensory differences.

In practice, adults who would once have been diagnosed with Asperger's are now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, sometimes with notes such as without intellectual disability and without language impairment. If you hold an older Asperger's diagnosis, it describes the same broad picture, and services generally treat it as an autism diagnosis.

The Hans Asperger history

For decades, Hans Asperger was often portrayed as someone who protected the children in his care during the Nazi era. Archival research has challenged that account.

This history is one reason many autistic people and organizations now avoid the eponym. It also explains why some people diagnosed with Asperger's find these revelations upsetting: the word described them long before they knew anything about the man.

Why some adults still identify with Asperger's

All of these are reasonable. Diagnostic manuals change; people's identities do not have to change on the same schedule. On SpectrumFox we use autistic as our default and explain Asperger's in its historical context, but we respect whatever language you use for yourself. Some people also prefer person-first phrasing, such as person with autism.

If you are writing or talking about someone else, follow their lead. Asking which words a person prefers is simple and respectful, and it avoids correcting someone's description of their own life.

Asperger's vs autism in adults today

If you are an adult who thinks the old Asperger's description sounds like you, the route today is an assessment for autism spectrum disorder. You will not be assessed for Asperger's itself. Assessors look at social communication, restricted and repetitive patterns, sensory experience and your developmental history, regardless of how fluent your speech is or how well you did at school.

Why only a professional can answer the personal question

No online quiz, including ours, can say whether autism fits you or whether you would once have been given an Asperger's label. A qualified clinician gathers a full developmental history, often with input from a parent or someone who knew you as a child, and observes how you communicate. If your old diagnosis is in question, they can review it with you.

• Asperger's syndrome: what it meant and where the term wentWhat Asperger's syndrome meant, the traits it described in adults, why it was folded into autism in 2013, the Hans Asperger history, and who still uses it.
• Looking for an Asperger’s test as an adult?Asperger’s is no longer a diagnosis, so there is no current Asperger test. Here is what replaced it, what older tools measure, and a free adult self-check.
• DSM-5 autism criteria in plain languageThe DSM-5-TR autism criteria in plain language for adults: the two core areas, early onset and masking, impairment, ICD-11 6A02, with adult examples.