Autism
Asperger's Syndrome: What Happened to the Diagnosis?
It stopped being a diagnosis in 2013 — what it described, why it went, and what it means if you still use the word.
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Asperger's syndrome was a diagnosis used from 1994 to 2013 for autistic people who did not have a language delay or intellectual disability. The DSM-5 removed it in May 2013 and folded it into a single autism spectrum disorder diagnosis1; ICD-11 made the same change effective 2022, so it is not a current diagnosis anywhere. The main reason was practical: clinicians could not reliably distinguish Asperger's from autism without intellectual disability, meaning the same person might receive either label depending on who assessed them. Existing diagnoses remain valid and do not expire. Many people diagnosed before 2013 still identify with the term, which is a personal choice rather than a clinical one.
What did Asperger's syndrome describe?
Introduced in the DSM-IV in 1994,7 it described people with the social communication differences and restricted, repetitive interests seen in autism — but without a significant delay in language development or an intellectual disability. In practice it was applied to people who spoke on roughly the expected timeline, often had strong vocabularies, and whose difficulties centered on social interaction, sensory experience, change, and the unwritten rules other people seemed to absorb automatically.
The term entered wide use through Lorna Wing, who named it in 1981 after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, whose 1944 paper had described a similar group of children.
Why was Asperger's removed from the DSM-5?
It wasn't reliable. After nineteen years, the evidence did not support Asperger's as a condition separable from autism without intellectual disability. Two clinicians assessing the same person could reach different labels. A distinction that depends on the assessor rather than the person isn't doing diagnostic work.
The underlying model changed. Through the 1990s researchers expected each autism subtype to map onto distinct genetic causes. After the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, studies identified hundreds of genes associated with autism but none exclusive to any subtype. The subtypes weren't describing biologically distinct conditions.
It created a service gap. This cuts against the assumption that the change was purely a loss. Some US states funded services for autism but not for Asperger's, and because the presentation was subtler, children were frequently left without support they needed. Consolidation closed that gap.
The change was contested at the time. A petition started in January 2012 by the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership, asking the DSM-5 committee not to narrow the autism criteria, has gathered close to 9,000 signatures.6 Its objection was to who would still qualify, rather than to the loss of the label itself. Those objections were serious and came largely from people who had built an identity and a community around the label.
What is the Hans Asperger question?
Some readers will encounter strong feelings about this word and won't know why. Here is the reason, stated plainly.
In April 2018, the historian Herwig Czech published a study in Molecular Autism4 drawing on previously unexplored Vienna archives, including Asperger's personnel files and his clinical assessments of patients. Published the same year, the historian Edith Sheffer's book Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna5 drew on the same material.
Their findings: Asperger accommodated himself to the Nazi regime and was rewarded with career opportunities. He joined several organizations affiliated with the Nazi party (the NSDAP), though not the party itself. He publicly legitimized "race hygiene" policies, including forced sterilization. And he referred children to Am Spiegelgrund, a Vienna clinic where disabled children were systematically killed — including, as Czech documented, signing the transfer of a young child, Herta Schreiber, to that clinic in 1941, where she died.
Lorna Wing, who named the syndrome in 1981, said she and her colleagues had not been aware of this history.
The two historians who uncovered the evidence disagree about what should follow. Sheffer has argued the term should be retired from use altogether, as a way of honoring the children killed under the Nazi program and those still labeled with it. Czech has taken a more measured position, framing his work as establishing an evidentiary basis for the discussion rather than settling it.
We're not going to adjudicate that here. The diagnosis was retired in 2013 for reasons entirely unrelated to this history. What the research means for people who still use the term as an identity is a question for them, and both positions are held by serious people.
What if I identify as having Asperger's?
Your diagnosis remains valid. Nobody was undiagnosed in 2013. No reassessment is required and existing support should not be affected by the terminology change alone.
Many people still use the term, and that's a personal choice. For people diagnosed before 2013, "Aspie" was often the first word that explained a lifetime of difference, and it came with a community. Losing an official category does not oblige anyone to abandon a self-description. Others have moved to "autistic" and prefer it — some because it's the current term, some because it avoids the subtype hierarchy the old system implied, some because of the historical research above. Both are reasonable, and this page isn't going to tell you which to use about yourself.
Where the term does cause practical difficulty: newer clinicians may not use it, some services require a current-framework diagnosis, and the word can complicate conversations with people who've read about the history. Worth knowing, not worth changing your identity over.
What is it called now?
Most people who received an Asperger's diagnosis would today be described as having autism spectrum disorder, generally at level 1 (requiring support) under the DSM-5's support levels.
A note on "high-functioning autism." The two terms were used almost interchangeably, and clinicians' inability to reliably separate them was part of what drove consolidation. “high-functioning” is also not a formal diagnosis, and carries its own significant problems — chiefly that it describes how well someone masks rather than what support they need, which is one route into autistic burnout.
Where does sensory processing fit?
Both current diagnostic manuals — the DSM-5-TR2 and ICD-11 — include sensory features in their autism criteria: the DSM-5 added hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input in 2013, and ICD-11, effective 2022, includes sensory processing differences too.3 Assessments carried out under older frameworks did not evaluate sensory processing, because it wasn't a criterion. For many people it is the most persistent daily factor, and it is a legitimate thing to raise with an occupational therapist.
Browse occupational, physical, and speech therapy providers by city and state.
Browse the DrSensory Therapy Directory →Frequently Asked Questions
Was Hans Asperger a Nazi?
Historical research published in 2018 by Herwig Czech in Molecular Autism, and by Edith Sheffer in Asperger's Children, documented that he cooperated with the Nazi regime, publicly supported race hygiene policies, and referred children to a clinic where disabled children were killed. He did not join the Nazi party itself, though he joined affiliated organizations. The two historians who established this disagree about whether the term should now be retired from use.
Why do some people still use the term?
For many diagnosed before 2013, it was the first word that explained their experience, and it came with a community and an identity. That doesn't disappear because a manual changed. Others have moved to "autistic," including some who learned about Hans Asperger's history.
Is Asperger's syndrome still a diagnosis?
No. It was removed from the DSM-5 in May 2013 and from ICD-11 effective 2022, so it is not a current diagnosis in either system. Some sources incorrectly state it remains valid in ICD-11; it does not.
Is Asperger's the same as high-functioning autism?
They were used almost interchangeably, and clinicians could not reliably distinguish them — which contributed to the 2013 consolidation. Neither is a formal diagnosis now, and "high-functioning" has its own problems, chiefly that it describes masking rather than support needs.
What's the difference between Asperger's and autism?
Under the DSM-IV, Asperger's required no significant language delay or intellectual disability, while autistic disorder did not exclude them. That distinction proved unreliable in practice, and both now fall under a single autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.
Can you still be diagnosed with Asperger's anywhere?
Not under the two systems in general use. Neither the DSM-5 nor ICD-11 includes it. A clinician may note an earlier Asperger's diagnosis in your records alongside a current-framework one.
Does an Asperger's diagnosis from before 2013 still count?
Yes. A diagnosis made under the criteria in force at the time remains valid, does not expire, and does not need to be redone. The only common reason to seek a current-framework assessment is that a particular service or accommodation asks for one — not because the original was wrong.
Do I need a new assessment if I was diagnosed with Asperger's?
No. Existing diagnoses remain valid and do not expire. You may want a current assessment if you're seeking services that require one, or if sensory processing was never evaluated — but the terminology change alone doesn't require it.
Sources
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). APA Publishing; May 2013.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). APA Publishing; 2022.
- World Health Organization. ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, 6A02 Autism spectrum disorder. Effective January 2022. Checked August 18, 2026.
- Czech H. Hans Asperger, National Socialism, and “race hygiene” in Nazi-era Vienna. Molecular Autism. 2018;9:29. doi:10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6 (PMID 29713442). Correction: Molecular Autism. 2021;12:45. doi:10.1186/s13229-021-00433-x
- Sheffer E. Asperger’s Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna. W. W. Norton; 2018.
- Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP). Don’t Reduce the Criteria for an Autism Spectrum Condition in the DSM-5. Petition started 25 January 2012; 8,971 supporters at the time of checking. change.org. Checked September 3, 2026.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). APA; 1994. The edition that introduced Asperger’s disorder as a separate diagnosis.
Medical disclaimer. This page is for general educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Diagnostic terminology changes over time; a diagnosis you or your child received remains valid. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about your child.