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The other day I was talking to a doctor who mentioned “the autism”…

The other day I was talking to a doctor who casually mentioned “the autism” in reference to me.

I volunteered the correction, “I’m not autistic; I have Asperger syndrome.”
To which the doctor retorted:
“That is a form of autism.”
To which I retorted:
“No, it’s not.”

And this doctor, being young and relatively inexperienced—next to me, that is, in age if nothing else—continued with the always creative comeback:
“Yes, it is.”

And I, having an excuse to be the way I am, and having about 40+ years on the doctor, decided to see how far I could push the issue.
It went for four more iterations before I got tired of it and stopped.

This is not the first time I’ve run into this.

I was in the ER a year or so ago and wanted to make sure Asperger syndrome was in my history, as they—a group of doctors—were reviewing it in the room as if I wasn’t there and hadn’t mentioned it.

I wanted them aware, just in case somehow, somewhere, some intelligence had slipped in about possible implications of Asperger syndrome that might influence their diagnosis of my current issue.

I said, “I have Asperger syndrome.”
One of the doctors said, “That doesn’t exist anymore.”

(To the other doctors—remember, I’m not in the room.)

To which I said, “Oh, so I’m cured?”
Which went over about as well as screen doors on a submarine.

This doctor snapped at me, “It’s part of the autism spectrum!”
With enough enthusiasm for me to perceive that this doctor had some skin in the game.

So I pushed it. As, I’m wont to do.

Having an excuse of course.

I said, “It’s a unique variation of the human condition—not related to autism.”
Which pushed the doctor over the edge: “I have a son who has autism.”

Confirming the skin-in-the-game perception.

I pushed just a little more, but stopped when the doctor’s face got so red that I thought she might need medical attention herself.

So what?

This whole thing started when Dr. Hans Asperger thought he had discovered a form of autism among a group of boys he was treating, and abruptly ended when he realized he had something completely different.

He documented this in his paper in 1942.

And it progressed very well when Dr. Lorna Wing introduced Asperger’s work to the English-speaking community and coined the term Asperger syndrome in 1981, and Uta Frith, PhD and others built on this for years.

Finally, in 1994, all this was distilled very nicely in DSM 4.

And with that—I, and I can’t imagine how many more—were relieved to finally have an applicable diagnosis for a condition that, at least I can attest to, had been searching for for a long time.

What broke it for me was an article I stumbled upon on August 16, 2014 (Just that should tell you something.) entitled Lesser-known things about Asperger’s syndrome by Robyn Steward.

With that as a starting point, I got myself diagnosed, read DSM 4, and was well on my way over, under, and around the syndrome that had plagued me for 60 years.

Free from “lack-of-knowledge-of-what-it-was” and now equipped with the Owner’s Manual for Asperger syndrome, AKA: DSM 4, I could now play the game more efficiently, and within a year which included reading everything I could find on Asperger syndrome, a list of which I keep in the Resources section of my web page, had negotiated my way into a new job with a + 50% salary increase.

You see, I already had the Owner’s Manual for Normal for comparison.

Until DSM 5 appeared—at least to me—in May 2015.

Suddenly, the comprehensive work distilled in DSM 4—the breakthrough for me—became, as it is now commonly stated:
“Asperger syndrome is no longer a formal medical diagnosis, having been absorbed into the broader Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) category in 2013.”

And just like that, anyone not already diagnosed and savvy was shoved into that situation I had been in for 60 years.

That being: WTF is wrong?

All of a sudden everyone was “On the Spectrum.”
Sounds nice, huh?
Warm and fuzzy.
We’re all here—On the Spectrum.

All of us, ranging from Albert Einstein to Rainman.
From Elon Musk to individuals with significant communication challenges.

No thanks!

Spectrum is a weasel word.

It’s very clever. And it doesn’t describe the continuum of degrees of a specific condition.

It is much wider, has more dimensions, and includes pretty much everyone.
Which is akin to no diagnosis at all.

I’ll stay off.

What did Mark Twain say,

“A half-truth is the most cowardly of lies,” or was it,
“Use the right word, not its second cousin?” Something like that.

Oh, I remember now: “When in doubt, tell the truth.”
That way there’s not so much to remember.

I was lucky.

I had found that article.

Realized what it was.

Saw the right doctor.

Read DSM 4, disregarded DSM 5, and am doing quite well.

Except for the fact that I see a lot of poor souls who have been convinced that being “On the Spectrum” is a happy place, where they can kvetch online with others “On the Spectrum” about how bad their lives are.

Instead of being properly diagnosed, getting the facts—or, as we used to say in the PD, the True Facts—sorting themselves out, and finding their place.

I feel, if there’s a place on the planet for the Honey Badger, there’s a place for everything.
I found mine.
I figured out what I was good at.
And found someone who paid me for it.

And I started businesses.

When I read that article. I saw myself in it.

I wonder if you’ll see if you see yourself in it.

When I read DSM 4 I saw myself in it.
I wonder if you’ll see if you see yourself in it.

I studied normal people.

When I saw them doing something I didn’t get, I found someone I could trust and had them translate.

This is Earth.

It’s their planet.

You’re probably too young to have heard the expression,

“When in Rome—do as the Romans do.”
But it’s good advice.

When in Germany, don’t try to walk across the street against the red light. They’ll hiss at you.
And don’t expect eggs and bacon for breakfast.
Do expect the best sausages you’ve ever had.

When in England, you will get eggs and bacon, but don’t expect to recognize it, and you’ll probably get some dodgy beans as well.
And the worst sausages you’ve ever had.

I realized early they were not about to change anything they do to accommodate me—any more than the Star Ship Enterprise changed anything to accommodate Spock.

Even if it’s stupid.

They’ll never stop watching football—no matter my opinion of that.

Here’s a quote that I made up:
“Eidetic memory is good news—bad news. The good news is you remember pretty much everything; the bad news is you remember pretty much everything.”

Cute, huh? The thing is, when something disappears from the web, or the news, or from the library, it’s still in the eidetic memory.

Which can be a little frustrating. Like being gaslighted—or is that gaslit?

When you’re 70+ years old, a lot of things fall into that void.

Here’s an example:

I have a clear memory of a video on Youtube where a doctor, an M.D. elaborates on studies he and his father, also an M.D., did relating to Asperger syndrome in which he states:

1. Brain scans show that the Asperger brain is different in structure than both normal brains and in brains with autism. Further, the normal brains are more similar to the autistic brains than either are to those in Asperger brains,
2. That he and his father, both mused that Asperger syndrome may be the next step in human evolution.

And, another video wherein another M.D. states, showing graphics, i.e., brain scans of actual normal brains vs. Asperger brains:

The Asperger brain is lit up like NYC at night.

The normal brain looked like Nebraska at night.

There were lights on, just not as many.

He went on to note his frustration that the medical community was fighting him over the use of the scans, something verifiable, for his argument.

Both of these videos are gone from the web.

I wonder what happened to them.

Written May 24 2026