What's in a Name?

It's still very early days, and whilst the discovery that Asperger's syndrome describes me to a T is comforting, encouraging and liberating, this new found Aspie identity takes some adjusting to.

In the last few years, I've often lightheartedly, but accurately, described myself as 'fundamentally antisocial'.  Now I have a new label to describe that aspect of myself, and so much more besides.  And, honestly, Aspie sits quite comfortably.  I have a physics degree, for goodness sake, I've known plenty of people more socially awkward than myself.  I'm not phased by the idea of AS.  To me, Asperger's is not a negative, any more than left-handedness, it's just a different way of being wired.  But I admit, I am struggling more with the notion of Autism or Autistic Spectrum Disorder.  As well as a degree in physics, I have one in psychology (yep, the numerous degrees, some half-completed is seemingly a feature of AS), and I remember doing some pretty in depth reading on autism in the course of my studies.  The bulk focused on classical autism, and whilst I always felt considerable empathy with descriptions of the difficulties of people with autism, it all seemed very extreme and disabling.  I'm completely aware that autism falls on a spectrum, and I'm clearly high functioning/less severely affected.  Yet I still feel a degree of discomfort with sitting under the same umbrella label as people with severe learning difficulties and extreme disabilities in communication.  Perhaps this will just take some getting used to.