is autism spectrum disorder an actual disease or just a name of a group of disor!

Question: Is autism spectrum disorder an actual disease or just a name of a group of disorders?

my friends sister was disgnosed with autism spectrum disorder and thats all that was said on thier results. But I thought there were many types such as aspergers. Does this mean she can get spergers later or she already has it? wikipedia lists like 5 types of autism spectrum disorders so im confused

Answers:

The autism spectrum consists of five individual disorders. These are autistic disorder (or simply autism), Asperger's syndrome, PDD-NOS, childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett syndrome. The term autism spectrum disorder can be used to describe anyone who is somewhere on the spectrum. Some professionals use ASD to refer to any spectrum disorder instead of giving the person a diagnosis in a specific category. Since the differences between autism, Asperger's, and PDD-NOS are not always clear, these three may be merged into a single category called autism spectrum disorder in the upcoming DSM-5. So, short answer: it's not a distinct disorder at present, but it likely will be in the future.

I have Asperger's

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is autism spectrum disorder an actual disease or just a name of a group of disor!

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