06 Dec 2010, 11:42 am
thisisshe wrote:
It wasn't necessarily that I didn't feel like part III of the DSM was relieving somehow. It more felt like you were saying that none of my statements had any basis because of this particular stipulation. Maybe that wasn't what you were trying to convey, but it just felt negating at the time, which to some degree, was offensive.
That's not what I was trying to convey. Nothing I said minimized or invalidated all the things that I later said "sounded right on" about your original post. But, one way to go about all of this is to eliminate things that it can't be. (Maybe this will help... Take a look at the flowchart in the middle of this page: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt143660.html) You said you wanted feedback, opinions -- someone to shed some light. Someone before me suggested PDD-NOS, which I think is a better possibility than AS. And I told you precisely why I think that. I agree that was "negating," as you say -- but negating only of your likelihood of having AS, not negating of you personally. If you're offended, I think that offense ought to be directed toward the DSM IV and not toward me. Whether we like it or not, it really does work this way. (I also provided a link to an academic paper written by one of the world's foremost AS authorities that agrees with the stipulation.) All I did was engage in a very mechanical process -- along the lines of that flowchart -- and came out with an opinion that I thought might make you feel better. My mistake was in assuming that it would. I would have been thrilled if someone had come along and told me that I could not have AS because of X reason. (I guess I still kind of secretly hold out that hope.) But, that's just me.
thisisshe wrote:
I was more looking to see whether there were others out there that could relate to me, diagnosed or not. I wanted to know, based on others' opinions, if it was plausible to say that I at least exhibited some autistic tendencies (which is really hard to know when looking through DSM's literature. They don't exactly provide examples. I figured I'd try to ask people who probably knew more about it than I did, on a personal level).
Honestly, I shouldn't have responded to your post at all and regret doing so. The bottom line is that I don't have what you're looking for. (This is fairly typical, actually: I go into a situation thinking I can be of service and I try to help; but, I end up offending people and being insulted, treated sarcastically ... whatever, you can read ediself's and PangeLingua's posts about me as well as I can.)
The problem is that I have a very hard time with concepts that aren't black and white. Shades of grey usually elude me. So, "autistic tendencies" isn't a concept that I feel comfortable with. I was on board with the PDD-NOS idea as I said above (although this is, itself, kind of a grey area). I should have known that if what you wanted was someone to identify with, I probably wasn't going to be that person. Good with analysis, bad with emotions. Sorry.
No, the DSM IV isn't really big on examples. It is what it is: a manual for clinicians making diagnoses that fit into narrowly defined categories, mainly for the use of insurance companies. It's sterile and very rigid, as I admitted earlier. But, it's what we've got. It's definitely not the only thing that can inform a discussion, but it's always looming out there.
There are other things that can inform a discussion and that would also inform a specialist. The following two tests are very legitimate and serve for many clinicians as screens for AS. You can take them and probably find out more about yourself, if you're inclined:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html
http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/Empathy ... tient.aspx
Even just reading the questions will probably do a lot to inform you.
thisisshe wrote:
Trying to find a place where you belong is hard. Trying to find people that understand you is even harder.
Now this is something we can agree on!
Listen, I wish you well in figuring this all out. But, I'm going to saddle up and ride on out of this thread now. Even I eventually catch on to when it's that time. I tried to give you some very specific guidance and links to things that might help you out, but there are others here who are much better suited to explore this with you. Good luck
06 Dec 2010, 11:43 am
06 Dec 2010, 12:19 pm
RainingRoses wrote:
thisisshe wrote:
It wasn't necessarily that I didn't feel like part III of the DSM was relieving somehow. It more felt like you were saying that none of my statements had any basis because of this particular stipulation. Maybe that wasn't what you were trying to convey, but it just felt negating at the time, which to some degree, was offensive.
That's not what I was trying to convey. Nothing I said minimized or invalidated all the things that I later said "sounded right on" about your original post. But, one way to go about all of this is to eliminate things that it can't be. You said you wanted feedback, opinions -- someone to shed some light. Someone before me suggested PDD-NOS, which I think is a better possibility than AS. And I told you precisely why I think that. I agree that was "negating," as you say -- but negating only of your likelihood of having AS, not negating of you personally. If you're offended, I think that offense ought to be directed toward the DSM IV and not toward me. Whether we like it or not, it really does work this way. (I also provided a link to an academic paper written by one of the world's foremost AS authorities that agrees with the stipulation.) All I did was engage in a very mechanical process -- along the lines of that flowchart -- and came out with an opinion that I thought might make you feel better. My mistake was in assuming that it would. I would have been thrilled if someone had come along and told me that I could not have AS because of X reason. (I guess I still kind of secretly hold out that hope.) But, that's just me.
thisisshe wrote:
I was more looking to see whether there were others out there that could relate to me, diagnosed or not. I wanted to know, based on others' opinions, if it was plausible to say that I at least exhibited some autistic tendencies (which is really hard to know when looking through DSM's literature. They don't exactly provide examples. I figured I'd try to ask people who probably knew more about it than I did, on a personal level).
Honestly, I shouldn't have responded to your post at all and regret doing so. The bottom line is that I don't have what you're looking for. (This is fairly typical, actually: I go into a situation thinking I can be of service and I try to help; but, I end up offending people and being insulted, treated sarcastically ... whatever, you can read ediself's and PangeLingua's posts about me as well as I can.)
The problem is that I have a very hard time with concepts that aren't black and white. Shades of grey usually elude me. So, "autistic tendencies" isn't a concept that I feel comfortable with. I was on board with the PDD-NOS idea as I said above (although this is, itself, kind of a grey area). I should have known that if what you wanted was someone to identify with, I probably wasn't going to be that person. Good with analysis, bad with emotions. Sorry.
No, the DSM IV isn't really big on examples. It is what it is: a manual for clinicians making diagnoses that fit into narrowly defined categories, mainly for the use of insurance companies. It's sterile and very rigid, as I admitted earlier. But, it's what we've got. It's definitely not the only thing that can inform a discussion, but it's always looming out there.
There are other things that can inform a discussion and that would also inform a specialist. The following two tests are very legitimate and serve for many clinicians as screens for AS. You can take them and probably find out more about yourself, if you're inclined:
Even just reading the questions will probably do a lot to inform you.
thisisshe wrote:
Trying to find a place where you belong is hard. Trying to find people that understand you is even harder.
Now this is something we can agree on!
Listen, I wish you well in figuring this all out. But, I'm going to saddle up and ride on out of this thread now. Even I eventually catch on to when it's that time. I tried to give you some very specific guidance and links to things that might help you out, but there are others here who are much better suited to explore this with you. Good luck
I guess the unfortunate thing about life and human beings is that it can't all be black and white. I totally agree with you that it's hard to understand/appreciate/comprehend the gray area that comes in between. So much falls into that area, and it's really like treading through murky water. You're not really sure what's in there.
I believe that I misunderstood you through the first couple of posts. Initially, I was offended. Later on, I realized that you were trying to give me the objective truth of the situation, as it would be were I to try and undertake the task of figuring out whether I meet a certain set of criteria. While this wasn't exactly what I was looking for, that's not to say that your efforts were not appreciated. You definitely made me analyze myself for a good, hot minute.
But I don't want you to regret posting. You're obviously intelligent and know what you're talking about. That's clearly a commendable trait. All of us are likely to have disagreements sometimes. And with communication being in the form of text, some things are bound to be taken out of context or misunderstood. We have to remember that we're all here for the same reason, though. That's what's important in the end.
