Lovelyboy, in the USA it gets confusing (label wise) because in our educational system there is a different term for kids on the spectrum than in the medical community (for now, that is changing). So, up to now...the schools use Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) for any child on the spectrum including kids who are profoundly impaired or who have Rett's Syndrome all the way to people who have Asperger's. But in the medical community, the current DSM uses the general category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) (pervasive developmental disorder) and under that are the sub categories (or diagnosis) of Autism, Asperger's, Rett's Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified.
The medical community may or may not look at school test results-all depends on the doctor, but the individual needs a medical diagnosis from a dr. or psychiatric. to have insurance pay for any therapies.
The school is supposed to consider all medical results, and indeed mine used the most recent standardized evaluations like the ADOS which was done in the medical setting, but they do not have to accept the category solely based on medical say so, unless their own evaluation fully shows that the child meets the educational criteria including it affecting the child in school performance (which is supposed to include non academic things)
Now, with the new edition of the DSM, the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) categories are being collapsed into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) which they say will include people who have Asperger's and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified but many dispute that and it will remain to be seen how this all goes. But as in the schools,officially anyone on the spectrum would have the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). I believe that in the general public, Asperger's and terms like High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Aspie lite...will go on and on because most people can relate to these kinds of ideas better when truly discussing symptoms and problems and ideas with each other. That's just my opinion.
And here again, the DSM...what the doctors use for diagnosis for insurance purposes... the category is ADHD and ADHD-inattentive type. yes, that's odd if you ask me. But people in the general public know what people mean if they say ADD versus ADHD.
Clear as mud, right?
