Differential Diagnosis of Asperger Disorder

Abstract

(from the introduction) The author finds that Asperger syndrome (AS) can be distinguished from pervasive developmental disorder and from autism, but not from high-functioning autism (HFA). The reader is led through a research trek to learn about the possibilities of diagnostic distinctions between AS and other disorders including schizoid, schizotypal, schizophrenia, semantic and pragmatic language disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and social phobias. It is concluded that a differential diagnosis of AS is premature, that no clear distinction between HFA and AS has yet been established, but that the rate of improvement in language may offer the distinction between AS with more rapid improvement and HFA with slower improvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).