hi, we meet again.

I'm glad the diagnosis of bipolar was reconsidered but for the life of me I can't understand how any trained professional could confuse bipolar with aspergers. That's the danger of using different criteria for juvenille bipolar I guess.

My question would be - is he now off the meds? That might be complicating things, either being on them when they are treating for something he hasn't got or withdrawal. How long was he on the meds?

Re symptoms appearing and disappearing - well no. Asperger's symptoms are there all the time but I guess you are talking about the rage? That's not a symptom of Aspergers but in some it can be a by product of Aspergers - e.g as a way of dealing with sensory overload.

If it's that you may be able to get a specialist therapist to work with him to help him find better strategies for dealing with his frustration.

well bipolar was sort of obvious because of the mood swings and family history, so it's not asperger OR bipolar but asperger AND bipolar. In different moods the same challenge can be met either with "ok/yes sir/ma'am" or with defiance, being oppositional, agressive, and also violent. I looked at the DSM IV criteria for asperger and he really has none of them other than being engrossed in his favorite fields of interest (though not to the exclusion of everything) and the fact that he often prefers to be by himself, though he can be like a fish in the water with other kids, and it's not impairing by any stretch of the imagination. I guess what the diagnosing doctor referred to were other indicators outside of DSM that are present in asperger such as precocious adult language, lack of empathy (though even that comes with an on/off switch with him), some difficulty expressing his emotions, but it's all borderline. The one thing that's not borderline is the periodic anger/violence, we have the holes in the wall and storm door screen to prove it.

I have both Aspergers and Borderline personality disorder. BPD is a lot like bipolar except my moods change within seconds and can last for only a few minutes and change, yet I have no control over them.

Aspergers and Bipolar both can cause the anger issues. Symptoms of Aspergers usually can cause the frustration that gives the short fuse, while with bipolar the defiance, violence, and aggression will just come with an aggressive mood.

I think if you can find a special therapist that deals with children with Aspergers and Bipolar they would be able to help a lot. They can teach the child many things on how to deal with issues and symptoms of the disorders and help them with the mood swings and such. They also can help the parents in dealing with the child.

I was told Thursday by a Therapist with over 30 years Experience with Social Disorders that they are no longer calling Aspergers.... ASPERGERS.... Timmy is just now considered on the Spectrum, they have taken the Aspergers name away?????

Although he does agree with the Diagnosis of Aspergers.... I am not to call it that anymore..... doesn't make sense....

The label Asperger Syndrome will no longer be used because the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-V) has removed Asperger Syndrome since it is too closely related to Autism.

There was always a fine line between what people called High Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger Syndrome; Autism is a spectrum disorder to start with (some have extreme symptoms and some have minor symptoms, some have very few symptoms and others have many symptoms), so there is great variation within autism itself. It did not make sense to take one separate level of Autism and give it a separate name (referring to Asperger Syndrome), so they combined them into one disorder that has almost infinite levels of severity.

This is how it was explained to me, and it makes perfect sense. Since Asperger Syndrome was an official diagnosis for about 15 years, I am sure that we will hear and use the label Asperger Syndrome for many more years to come - it just will not be used for anything official such as medical insurance or other official documentation. There was other reasons for the change, I heard that with school funding for special education classes, having the separate name was complicating qualification for funding of certain services. This name change may actually make it a lot easier to get approved for special education/assistance (I dont know what you call that) for a child who has what used to be called Asperger Syndrome.

I personally have no preference one way or the other. I use the 2 names interchangeably; I tell people that I have Asperger Syndrome or sometimes I refer to myself as being Autistic, to me they both mean the same thing.

I think of myself as Autistic, although I haven't been diagnosed with anything ASD. Different terms mean next to nothing to me. It is like being called "legally blind" as opposed to "blind."

What does Aspergers mean to me? Maybe that I have a problem that no one will help me with because they can't tell I have a problem... What good is that?

I don't think "symptoms appear/disappear" so much as behavior.

ASD is a communication disorder. Sometimes you understand what people are getting at and sometimes you don't. Communication is complex. Behavior can vary a lot depending on what the child understands in the communication process.

To really understand ASD, in my opinion, one must understand how the sufferer's senses work.

Is your child hypo, hyper, or normal sensing in: Taste? Smell? Touch? Sight? and Hearing? How you teach your child depends on the answers to these questions.