Mostly anecdotal, my school psychologist back in the day sure believed it, and this would vary from place to place. She was a champion of "You give children the diagnosis that gives them the services they need". Autism being the one which gave children the services they needed, and she often expressed frustration at not being able to get such a diagnosis.

In general Aspergers basically meant no verbal delays, where Autism meant verbal delay. Autism was also around longer as a diagnosis. In general, I think theres a reason they changed the name of Aspergers to Autism and not the other way around.

It can be helpful to get a diagnosis of autism for kids in public school. Kids end up needing additional one on one time and resources are limited. Those with the biggest problems are the first to be approved for these resources, and a formal diagnosis makes it easier to get that approval.