About Asperger's Diagnosis

After many months of research into Hans Asperger's studies in Vienna, Austria (during the 1930s and 1940s,) I came to some controversial conclusions:

(1) As a diagnosis, Dr Asperger's "original" conception of this neurological condition is totally valid. There is no reason at all why the diagnosis can't be used today.
(as a footnote, I concluded Lorna Wing's 1980s derived diagnosis called Asperger Syndrome was never quite the same as Asperger's conception. L. Wing and Asperger apparently met once at a London clinic and didn't seem to agree.

(2) The diagnosis is not all that common. Out of a population of under 7000,000, Asperger's team dealt with some 200 patients. Careful analysis reveals, a large percentage of these cases were a mixed bunch. A significant smaller percentage of the 200 children met the full criteria for diagnosis of "Autistic Psychopathy" (pathology of psyche).

Often what I see today is the muddling of autistic traits in people with the actual complete diagnosis. A far higher number of the population have traits of autism yet the full diagnosis I find to be more serious. Usually the people with traits are more able to function socially, although sometimes with difficulty.

Two PHd researchers Judith N. Miller, Sally Ozonoff seriously "rocked the boat" more recently when their well-documented study reached a worrying conclusion: If Hans Asperger's original patients had been treated under the guidelines of the DSM, they wouldn't have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. The diagnosis was later scrapped as we know Effectively this boils down to one basic, harsh reality: Some of the best and most advanced German research we have into autism has been ignored, skipped over and misinterpreted. At least that's my view.

(3) The original research placed the focus on information processing and intelligence testing. Therapy was based on adaptation of teaching systems and the recognition that standardised, graded education systems don't reflect an accurate picture. Unlike in modern psychology, Asperger didn't feel social intelligence should be a stumbling block.

Often in an attempt to correct poor social interaction, you can lose sight of the more positive sspects that compensate. So Asperger accepted patients on an equal basis and they were not dismissed as inferior. Every effort was made to develop aspects of giftedness where present.
Having outlined these points, we can point to some existing problems:

(1) Asperger's diagnostic method has been tweaked and fragmented. So much classification and emphasis on groupings of symptoms eventually eroded a quite functional diagnosis. We should be aware too Asperger didn't fuss too much over subtle differences. One patient, for example, was autistic but the cause was found to be encephallitis. Most other patients were considered to have inherited the disorder through genetics. Despite that, they were all simply called "autistic children". The emphasis was on testing and understanding how and why the patients processed information differently. I detected no focus on correcting the odd behavioural traits or even the concept that people should at all costs be socially acceptable.

Diagnosing this condition is often not so complicated but sometimes there are grey areas. I consider childhood anamnesis to be crucial. Asperger referenced heritage factors, physical illness, anatomy and then family and school factors. I made a list a few weeks back which was made purely with reference to Asperger's direct texts.