Asperger’s syndrome is now called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The American Psychiatric Association officially retired the Asperger’s label in 2013 when it published the fifth edition of its diagnostic manual, the DSM-5. Rather than existing as a separate condition, Asperger’s was folded into a single, broader diagnosis that includes what were previously called autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified).
If you or someone you know was diagnosed with Asperger’s before 2013, that diagnosis didn’t vanish. But clinicians no longer assign it to new patients. Here’s what changed, why it changed, and what the current system actually looks like.
Why the Name Was Dropped
The short answer: clinicians couldn’t reliably tell Asperger’s apart from other forms of autism. People with Asperger’s showed the same core traits as those diagnosed with “high-functioning autism,” including difficulty with social interaction, atypical communication patterns, and restricted or repetitive interests. The differences between the two were subtle at best, and brain imaging studies comparing them produced contradictory results.
The diagnostic criteria themselves were a major problem. To qualify for Asperger’s under the old DSM-IV, a person needed normal cognitive and language development. But normal language and cognition weren’t required to be absent for an autism diagnosis either, so most people who met Asperger’s criteria also met the criteria for autistic disorder. Researchers found that even the original cases described by Hans Asperger himself wouldn’t have qualified for an Asperger’s diagnosis under the DSM-IV rules. Different research teams used different definitions, sometimes swapping “Asperger’s” and “high-functioning autism” interchangeably or inventing their own criteria, making it nearly impossible to compare findings across studies.
Two camps eventually formed in the field: one argued that Asperger’s simply didn’t exist as a distinct condition, and the other argued that the DSM-IV definition was too narrow and still couldn’t separate it from autism. Either way, the diagnosis wasn’t working. By 2013, the consensus was to replace the old subcategories with a single spectrum.
How ASD Is Categorized Now
Instead of separate labels, the DSM-5 uses a three-level system based on how much support a person needs in daily life. This approach recognizes that autism varies widely from person to person, without drawing hard lines between subtypes that couldn’t be reliably distinguished.
- Level 1, “Requiring Support”: A person at this level can generally function independently but has noticeable difficulty initiating social interactions. They may respond to others in unusual ways or seem less interested in socializing. Repetitive behaviors may interfere with some aspects of daily life.
- Level 2, “Requiring Substantial Support”: Social communication is more significantly affected. A person at this level has limited ability to initiate or maintain social relationships, even with support. Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors are obvious to a casual observer and cause distress or frustration when interrupted.
- Level 3, “Requiring Very Substantial Support”: Daily functioning is severely impaired. Social interaction is minimal, verbal communication may be extremely limited, and fixed routines or repetitive behaviors make it very difficult to cope with change.
Many people who would have previously received an Asperger’s diagnosis now fall under Level 1. But the levels aren’t meant to be permanent labels. A person’s support needs can shift over time and across different environments.
The International System Changed Too
The World Health Organization made a parallel move with its own diagnostic system, the ICD-11, which countries around the world use for medical coding. Asperger’s syndrome was discontinued as a valid diagnosis in the ICD-11 as well. The updated system no longer requires a history of delayed language onset or clear autistic symptoms before age four or five, reflecting the reality that many autistic people with typical verbal intelligence were never flagged that early. They’re now included under the same ASD umbrella.
What Happened to Existing Diagnoses
If you were diagnosed with Asperger’s before 2013, your diagnosis is still recognized. Healthcare systems and insurance plans that processed Asperger’s under its old diagnostic code (299.8) have records going back decades. You don’t need to be re-evaluated or “re-diagnosed” unless you want an updated assessment. In practice, many providers simply note that a previous Asperger’s diagnosis is equivalent to current ASD, typically at Level 1.
A Related Diagnosis Worth Knowing
When the DSM-5 merged everything into ASD, it also created a new, separate diagnosis called social (pragmatic) communication disorder, or SPCD. This applies to people who have significant difficulty with the social use of language, like understanding implied meaning, taking conversational turns, or adjusting how they speak depending on the situation, but who don’t have the restricted interests or repetitive behaviors that are required for an ASD diagnosis. Some people who might have previously landed in a gray area near Asperger’s could now receive an SPCD diagnosis instead.
Language the Community Actually Uses
Terminology is personal, and preferences vary. Some people who grew up with an Asperger’s diagnosis still identify as “Aspies” or say they have Asperger’s because it feels like a meaningful part of their identity. Others prefer the current terminology.
Within the broader autistic community, there’s a notable split between identity-first and person-first language. A study of nearly 300 autistic adults found they overwhelmingly preferred identity-first terms like “autistic person” rather than “person with autism.” Professionals working in the autism field, on the other hand, tended to favor person-first phrasing. Neither is wrong, but if you’re unsure how to refer to someone, asking their preference is the simplest approach.
The shift from Asperger’s to ASD isn’t just a relabeling exercise. It reflects a genuinely different way of understanding autism: not as a collection of separate disorders with hard boundaries, but as a single condition with a wide range of presentations and support needs.