My oldest son has Asperger's, so your article hits right at home for me. I was aware of the reclassification to remove AS as a separate diagnosis, but in my own experience, it's been detrimental. Instead of including all who would identify as having AS in the autism classification, they seem to have moved the line and actually excluded some previously AS diagnosed people from the new classification. I'm guessing it's due to doctors being more hesitant to diagnose someone as autistic who would have previously identified as AS. This makes it a lot harder to get any psychiatric help, especially if insurance will no longer help. (Of course, it's been near impossible to find psychiatric help for children anyway, and most don't take any insurance anymore.) I understand the point of the article, trying to find a positive spin on the new classifications, especially since AS != autism. But like I said, they also seem to have moved the goalposts in the process. As for your Sheldon reference, we've called our son our own Sheldon on occasion. He doesn't take offense to it, and actually rather embraces it. It seems to help him deal with things sometimes, so I'm glad the character exists, even if the portrayal isn't entirely accurate at times.
The DSM really is the book of woe http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Woe-Unmaking-Psychiatry/dp/0399158537
It has turned, over the last few years especially, into a popular (and importantly: stigma-free) "my kid is special and needs special treatment" diagnosis, like ADD/ADHD did a decade before. Just about every social misfit, geek, introvert, etc. I knew suddenly decided to start self-diagnosing as 'Aspergers'. It made them feel unique and gave them an excuse for not trying to correct their bad behaviors. They felt validated in being an antisocial asshole because their brains are wired differently. Rolling it all into ASD makes it more real and more serious. It isn't as sexy to talk about being "autistic" in the same way, and at the same time it says "perhaps you're on the spectrum, but if you're high functioning and able to live a productive life why not just consider it a personality quirk to overcome instead of defining yourself with a syndrome or a disorder?" Other people may argue different reasons for combining the diagnosis or not, but that is my read on it and I think it is for the better. ASD is a better overall system because it really is a spectrum without clear boundaries at any point to draw the strict lines that a medical diagnosis should have. :: shrug :: YMMV