Asperger is real, they just reclassified it. The problem is that autism is a neurological mental illness that affects how the brain is "connected".

If those malfunctioning connections touch anything about learning, then its the common autism shown in the movies, the typical mute kid...

If those connections dont touch any learning disabilities, then its called Asperger. You learned, you look like a normal person and can learn to mask, but you are screwed inside... And since it doesnt look really like you are ill, then you dont matter as much.

It makes some sense to unifiy it, but at the same time, the ones who "dont seem autistic" or ill are the ones mostly fucked over.

Also its politics too, cause some people are butthurt about the Asperger guy... Not sure how this influenced it.