So, what's the difference between autism and Asperger's? Other than severity, my response is NOT MUCH. It was Uta Frith who first said that individuals with Asperger's had a "dash of autism" and I believe that this idea still holds. A more important area of inquiry is to investigate the heterogenity of those within certain sub-groups...for example, two children diagnosed with autism might differ greatly in terms of the nature of their emotional processing deficits. One might be grossly deficient in interpreting, say, the emotions behind a facial expression, while another may have more trouble in exhibiting various emotions (i.e., emotional expression). We need better tools to assess, for example, how well a particular child with autism interprets emotional expression of others. Ultimately, we will be better able to design therapies that speak to an autistic child's specific deficits, if we follow this approach.
4:47:15 PM 
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