Posted on May 23, 2021
SGT Hr Nco Team Lead
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Hello, my brother wants to join the Army but has Aspergers? Will this disqualify him?
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SFC Kelly Fuerhoff
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This came up when I searched "can you join the military with aspergers" in Google:

From 2019:

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/09/05/army-launches-inquiry-into-how-teen-with-autism-and-arm-disorders-was-recruited/#:~:text=Army%20applicants%20with%20autism%20spectrum,health%20consultant%2C%20according%20to%20Ferguson.

"Army applicants with autism spectrum disorders are automatically disqualified, per Defense Department accession policy, though sometimes medical enlistment waivers are granted after a visit to a DoD behavioral health consultant, according to Ferguson.

“All waivers are considered on a case-by-case basis, but generally speaking, autism isn’t something normally waived if the diagnosis was appropriately given,” Ferguson said."
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SFC Kelly Fuerhoff
SFC Kelly Fuerhoff
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Also - Asperger's is no longer an official diagnosis:

"Today, Asperger's syndrome is technically no longer a diagnosis on its own. It is now part of a broader category called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This group of related mental health issues shares some symptoms."

"Once regarded as one of the distinct types of autism, Asperger's syndrome was retired in 2013 with the publication of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It is no longer used by clinicians as an official diagnosis.

Even so, the term is still used in some circumstances and by some practitioners, although people who were once regarded as having Asperger's syndrome would today be diagnosed as having level one autism spectrum disorder (ASD) per the revisions in the DSM-5."
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SGT Christopher Hayden
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You can't join the military with autism, no.
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