Thank you, NostalgiaKick and Folc4evernaday, for your support and kind words. I had debated whether to reply to Thaeri's comment -- I even wrote up a possible reply -- but had decided not to post it since I feared it was getting too off topic and just belaboring my point. (I have been told that I don't know when to let something drop, and I have been trying to be better in that regard.) But your e-mails made me realize that my non-reply may have been interpreted, in and of itself, as being a reply that was sending an unintended message.
I am not offended by what Thaeri wrote. NK is correct; I do consider people with Aspergers Syndrome as being on the spectrum. I also strongly suspect that the only reason I was never diagnosed as being on the spectrum myself (as an Aspie) was because I'm old enough that if my teachers had even heard the word "autism" before, it only conjured up images to them of a nonverbal child rocking back and forth alone in a corner. I clearly did not fit that definition, so (in their minds) I was not autistic -- I was just an outcast and a nerd.
For what it is worth, here is what I wrote last night and decided to save rather than to post immediately:
Hello Thaeri,
Actually, I do consider people with the-condition-formerly-known-as-Aspergers to be on the spectrum, but my understanding is that that is still a separate diagnosis from social (pragmatic) communication disorder.
Again, I refer you to the DSM-V: "Individuals who have marked deficits in social communication, but whose symptoms do not otherwise meet criteria for autism spectrum disorder, should be evaluated for social (pragmatic) communication disorder." Did I forget any ritualistic behaviors, restrictive interests, etc. on Barry's part? (Other than his trying to get his father out of jail; as far as I know, that is one of the few constants in all of the different versions of the Barry Allen character and seemed more indicative of determination, love, and family loyalty than of ASD.)
Joy,
Lynn
