I know a young lady with Asperger's Syndrome. She was not diagnosed until she was twenty-three years old. My sister-in-law, who has an autisic son, confirmed that she had the condition. I don't know about the USA, but I do know that in the UK Autism is not covered under the Mental Health Act, which means that you can have people who, in practice, cannot comunicate with the outside world, deemed 'normal' and fully capable of making decisions for themselves.