A new term for autism and why not "instant diagnosis"

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Only appropriate here because it's my first post.
What do you guys think about the terms neurotistic (score!) neuropathic and ofc NT? Also why aren't MRI machines used in diagnosis? There could be a preliminary "diagnosis" and if they thought there was a chance you could be booked in at a hospital somewhere for an MRI, obviously they're not free but is there a chance that such a "two-step" diagnosis could pay for itself?

e2a: Hello!

Are you kidding me?

No, what have I done ¬_¬

Well a diagnosis is not as easy as looking at images of the brain- I do not think the technology is at the point where something like that would be possible quite yet. Also a diagnostic screening generally takes a lot of tests and verbal interviews with the possible Autistic and family members before a diagnosis can be reached.. So simply, I'm not sure (although I could be mistaken) that we are at the point where mri's could be used to definitively be used as a diagnostic tool (even if preliminary). In addition, many people never get an MRI within their lifetime as well. Tell us more about your idea for renaming... It sounded interesting. Where did you get the idea?

Hello and thank you.

The idea for diagnosis via MRI scan came from looking at scans of NT and Autistic brains (the brain has to be active so I guess they attempt to stimulate the areas of the brain that they know will react in a certain way depending on your type.
I think it is probably the most reliable method and although they are not cheap I imagine a lot of money would be saved from the normal method/s of diagnosis.

My idea for the terms stems from disdain for the fact that it is seen as a disability (If autist's outnumbered the other brain types would they be considered disabled?) and I am not very keen on the word "disorder" (true it is "atypical" like psychopathy but typical and disorderly are relative terms), what is wrong with autistic spectrum order? I suppose "neurotastic" isn't the best term (sounds the best) as it abbreviates to NT also so possibly neuroautonimous or neuroautistic (both NA).
I would also like a clear distinction between affective/emotive and cognitive empathy (they're a bit of a mouthful, how about a new word for each [though no ideas]).

e2a: It is a shame that neurotistic abbr. to NT, maybe we should take it back (we coined the term) and rename the term to neuro-dominus (I would just really like to refer to things as being neurotastic, because sometimes they are!)

Research into the exact regions of the brain connected with autism is still a work in progress, so I don't think they're quite ready yet to use it as a diagnostic tool. Its also true that some functions can be shifted over time from one area of the brain to another, so you might find very different configurations in the brains of autistic children, as opposed to adults who have developed coping mechanisms to make up for deficits over many decades.



Autism is very much a disorder and after many years of struggling to survive on one's own in a neurotypical society, it becomes virtually impossible to see it as anything else. Sorry if it stings your self-esteem to have it classified that way, but impaired ability to navigate socially resulting in failed relationships and unstable employment, thus depression and sometimes anger issues; hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli that leads to chronic anxiety and insomnia; ADHD focusing impairment that limits employment opportunities; Poor Executive Function that makes long-term planning and preparation overwhelming and confusing - these things are disabling handicaps. If you don't suffer from any of these issues, you're singularly lucky - I would even question whether one actually has autism if they are not impaired by it in any way.

As someone who spent years taking verbal and psychological abuse for being different, who went through 33 jobs in 30 years and was fired from 28 of them, who has survived 3 failed marriages and countless other botched temporary relationships - all failures directly attributable to various autistic traits, and who would now be homeless if autism were not classified as a legitimate disability, I'm not too proud to call it what it is.

And it ain't no superpower.

The actual diagnosis process in itself was very usefull in itself as it meant I gained a far better understanding of myself. I first self-diagnosed a couple of months before I started the process of an official diagnosis. There were quite a few aspie traits I did not identifiy in myself in the self-diagnosis, but which surfaced in the official diagnosis process. The psychiatrist helped me ask the questions I did not know to ask.
The diagnosis process is not just about labeling. It is about helping the patient understand their problems and what they can do about it, in addition to provide a "label" of what these problems are so that you can get further help.
The use of MRI scans during a diagnosis is an interesting concept which im all for as long as it is merely a part of the process.
A diagnosis after an MRI scan should not be "well, your brain patterns tells me you have autism, so here are your papers. Bye now" This is not a patient focused approach and will provide the patient with basically zero insight into their own disabilities. This insight is especially critical in a diagnosis that differs so much from people to people as ASD.

I don't think it stings anyone's self-esteem.

Because I think people are not happy with words like 'disability' and 'disorder' etc for two reasons.

1) First.
Because at the highly functioning end it easily ends up with a bunch of NT's being freaked out by your dx and starting to behave as if you had all of sudden turned into a contaminated object… No-one wants to be stigmatized.

OK, I do exaggerate a little here but the point is - for a really mild end a dx of having 'autism' as 'disorder' can cause more trouble than give benefit. People end up hiding the diagnosis etc.

Simply because the general NT public does not really understand how much variation and gradation 'autism spectrum' can contain. So they put it all in one pot. Mix it up.

They look at someone with real struggles (non-verbal, ADHD etc) once, decide "Oh, right, so this is Autism". And mistake inability to express oneself in speech as lack of intelligence...
And next time when they meet someone with mild Aspergers think: "Gosh, 'autistic' … He looks normal … for now! I better be careful, he is probably really dumb! I better explain everything three times …"

That can be somewhat bugging, especially when coming from, say, a colleague who has behaved normally with you until he learned about the dx.

2) Second.
Think how many people are probably on spectrum. Including non-diagnosed. Was the most recent estimate 1 in every 68 males and 1 in every 120-something females?

That's a lot.

So, statistically speaking… Let's take the female number as applying to both sexes. So let's say 1 in every 120 people are on spectrum (thought the actual number is more, because it is higher in males;
I just want to have a think of what those numbers imply - to visualize the number of people)

If 1 in 120 people were on spectrum, and if in one school year in a medium size urban school in a medium size town there are about 120 students, then this means on each year there is bound to be at one person on spectrum included. One in each school, on each year.

If a company has more than 120 employees there is a chance there is somebody on spectrum included…

In a medium size town of, say, 400 000 inhabitants there are 3333 people on spectrum...

There just are so many spectrites around it does not sound like a 'disorder', rather like a 'variation'.

…


Just thought this two might be good reason why not everyone likes the word 'disorder'.

Hey Autisto welcome.

Yes it is still a work in progress but you can see autism in an MRI scan (the pathways for empathy are very different as too are the "co-processors") if you know where to look. Enough is known to make a diagnosis of autism from an MRI scan.



Yes it is a disorder (I did not disagree) but I still feel it is a dirty word (and it is a relative term, it should only really mean "atypical" but the word does have negative connotations). How do autist's "survive" in ASD dominant social structures / environments (they do exist and they appear to be extremely beneficial, this is from a limited observation of a school for children with learning disorders)?
I have suffered some serious depression (16+ hours a day sleep at it's worst and I would wake up feeling exhausted), hypersensitivity may have it's downfalls but it is also very beneficial at times. I attribute my failed relationships to incompatibility, to my knowledge I have only dated NT's and I have not had the best experiences (far too empathetic to love someone who has less control over their emotions then they do over them). Yes, "disabling handicaps" but they do not exist in environments that are more suited to us (at least imo). As for jobs I have never had trouble keeping one, I get a lot of hassle for timekeeping and such but luckily if you are good at your job it can be accepted / overlooked (though pointed out often enough). I have been in environments where my autism is in no way an impairment (my own company in my own environment for starters), I find more often than not it is beneficial.



This is your experience in life (and it sounds less than ideal, obviously not all there is to your life but still a bit of a s**t hand, sorry for your toubles), for sure I struggle in the NT world but I am in no way disabled and it really isn't that much of a struggle (yes it's a struggle but for most of us it is nothing compared to the struggles of others



Hyperpowers then, a hypersensitive affective empathy and senses, extreme logic / reasoning, a link to high intelligence (they are more super than the controls but it does come at a cost - massive deficit to cognitive empathy)



I self diagnosed some 10-12 years ago and have only felt the need for a diagnosis once (though was fobbed off by my GP). I understand myself fairly well and have developed effective coping mechanisms. Could you go in to a little more detail wrt the benefits of a diagnosis?
An MRI scan would be the only step needed in a diagnosis (though a preliminary evaluation would certainly ease traffic) for a confirmation (afaia and I'm not pulling this out of my ****), I do not think the diagnosis would be as important (other than being the right one and an MRI scan would be far more precise) as the after care.



Hey RR . Thank you for the warm welcome / nice feelings!

Great post (I can relate, especially to the stigma attached), thank you for your important input.
Food for thought; maybe the "low functioning" autist's are such due to their environment and can you attribute their "level of functionality" to autism for definite?
I think with the fact that women can be harder to diagnose and the fact that so many will go undiagnosed we could just use the figures for the occurrence in males.

Also do you know what I find interesting (ofc not, you're not psychic)? Scientists have found "proof" that mice can pass memories (simple to find if you are good with google, a skill I recommend all learn - just type "mice pass" and check auto-complete) on to their offspring and I did read that there is an increased risk of autism with a higher age of conception (although one explanation would be that autisan's are more likely to breed / mate at a later stage in life compared to NT's) - fun to think about!

e2a: thank you for everyone else who posted (except for you DailyPoutine1 as your post was in noway constructive though I guess you had your reasons) as a discussion is best when there are opposing opinions

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Thank you AA