A diagnosis serves three functions: **naming** the condition (provides information about cause; clarifies what it is not — e.g., AS is not a mental illness), **prognosis** (course and likely outcome — AS is lifelong but compensable), and **treatment** (defines interventions). For AS specifically: naming ends the isolation of "being different." Prognosis reveals AS doesn't disappear in adulthood — individuals learn to compensate, but the condition remains (Liane Holliday Willey, *Pretending to Be Normal*). Treatment research focuses on early identification via fMRI (Yale Child Study Center) and early brain plasticity. **Source:** Lovett, *Solutions for Adults with Asperger Syndrome*, Ch 2 (pp50-56) See also: [[AS Misdiagnosis Risks]], [[History of AS Diagnosis]]