Germany is notorious for being shitty to people with mental illness. Even people with something as common as ADHD struggle to get the care they need there!

On the subject of Asperger syndrome, after learning about the history I was surprised that there are people previously diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome who were (and still are) very angry about the term being removed resulting in them being lumped in with everyone else diagnosed as autistic.

Being labeled as "autistic" could mean anything from seeming a bit strange but being highly intelligent and perfectly capable, to being totally non-communicative, being drastically intellectually and emotionally underdeveloped and being unable to function requiring 24 hour care. Some "Aspies" saw Asperger's as a very convenient way to differentiate their particular flavor of autism. Convenient enough that the usefulness of that distinction far outweighed the shadow of the terrible origin of the name itself and also the fact that it hilariously sounds like "ass burgers".

Personally, I'm glad that Asperger's was removed but I have to agree with the Aspie crowd that they got screwed over when no new term was given to replace what they had. The still grossly overbroad "3 level" system is trash. The spectrum of autism is so wide that the term is nearly useless.

> could mean anything from seeming a bit strange but being highly intelligent and perfectly capable

No, everyone that is diagnosed under ASD has some sort of care needs. If you are just a bit strange and it is not disabling in any form, then you are just strange.

People see autistic people on the internet and seem to miss that video editing exists and that the they are seeing just a very specific and carefully chosen part of this person. They are seeing the highlight reel not daily life that can look very differently.

One of the fears with removing Aspergers was indeed that some people diagnosed under Asperger might not be diagnose under ASD as it is arguably stricter.

> to being totally non-communicative, being drastically intellectually and emotionally underdeveloped and being unable to function requiring 24 hour care.

The problem is that many people see things as single line from low care needs to high care when in reality it is multi dimensional. Just being non-verbal does not mean that one is not intelligent, that is a huge stigma that non-verbal autistic people suffer. Many autistic people struggle with sensory issues but some don't. You might struggle heavily in one area but not so much in another.

If you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.

> The still grossly overbroad "3 level" system is trash.

It is a step in the right direction because it realizes that care needs can change over the course of a persons life. You are born autistic but how disabling it is for you can change depending on how much help you get. It can get better or worse depending on your life situation.

Otherwise you have a current situation where people assume it isn't worth giving a non-verbal autistic child a proper education because they they think that they will never be able to life on their own anyway, acting like their outcomes are already predetermined. Or when someone with Asperger is assumed to never have serious care needs.

That said, people that have been diagnosed as Asperger, I don't correct them if they cling to their diagnosis. It is the diagnosis they have identified with for years or decades and if it what works for them then that is fine.

Still the new system is a good step in the right direction. Not perfect but better.