Should they want this?

As you will hear in my lecture, Asperger’s was a relatively new diagnosis in the US, and was applied to children with a fairly mild degree of autistic symptoms (the same people are now classified as having a mild autistic spectrum disorder, but it’s basically the same thing). When called upon to evaluate some children, I  found that some parents almost seemed to WANT that diagnosis for the child. I found this a little disconcerting, because I still find it a really difficult thing to clearly diagnose, as the symptoms are not always so obvious or distinct from normal behavior. A friend who teaches special ed. suggested that maybe getting the diagnosis is a way for parents to assure needed services for their child. What do you think about the relative benefits or disadvantages of applying such a diagnostic label to a child? You do not need to limit your discussion to Asperger’s, or mild ASD.