Jiheisho wrote:
madbutnotmad wrote:
I believe what you guys are trying to explain is that you believe that psychological conditioning created by being brought up by a person with autism spectrum disorder can lead to a person learning to behave like a person with autism spectrum disorder while not actually suffering from autism spectrum disorder.
whitetiger wrote:
I was first diagnosed NT with aspie traits and non-verbal learning disability. Then, another psychiatrist dug deeper, asking for baby book records and interviews by family. He diagnosed HFA.
Then, a vocational counselor diagnosed me with Asperger's. Then, a neuropsych center also diagnosed AS. I moved to Oregon and found out my AS is moderate to severe (through a functional assessment) but I don't know how low it is, since I haven't seen my report yet.
I guess the moral is: More information helps for a more in depth analysis, and we are not all what we appear to be on the surface at a first assessment.
I'm not. ASD is a cognitive problem, but not a personality disorder or an intellectual disorder, although things can be co-morbid. You can't grow out of your autism nor train yourself out of it. What distinguishes autism from NT cognitive psychology is the difference in social interaction. It is a lifelong condition.
But ASD is a clinical diagnosis that specifies the need for support. If you learn to function and need no support, you will still have ASD, but the clinical diagnosis might not be needed.
I am starting to think that criteria for ASD is way too broad.
I think that it is too broad and I am afraid the spectrum is more than just a full-blown disorder, it can also include anyone who are undiagnosed that have traits of ASD.
In reality, being neurotypical means that you are not never diagnosed and never diagnosed until you get diagnosed one way or another.
I think we really should stop calling anyone NT, just because they don’t have diagnosis of ASD or any mental health and developmental disorders for that matter, because we may never know if they have the same or similar issues as us, but were not diagnosed at the time, or they suffered like us, but they were never diagnosed for the rest of their lives
There are also reports or stories that some lose their ASD diagnosis as they get older, just because they got improved, even though some forget that ASD is a developmental disorder ( especially milder forms of ASD ) and a developmental disorder is something you have for the rest of your life.
Even my brother's friend said he was diagnosed with Autism, but he thinks it is stupid, because from his perspective, it never caused him any distress in daily life, but his doctors thought otherwise.
Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term.
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The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Disorders of Psychological Development" in the ICD-10.
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These disorders comprise developmental language disorder, learning disorders, motor disorders, and autism spectrum disorders.
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In broader definitions ADHD is included, and the term used is neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Yet others include antisocial behavior and schizophrenia that begins in childhood and continues through life.
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However, these two latter conditions are not as stable as the other developmental disorders, and there is not the same evidence of a shared genetic liability.
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Developmental disorders are present from early life. Most improve as the child grows older, but some entail impairments that continue throughout life. There is a strong genetic component; more males are afflicted than females.
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This is just an example, but it’s not accurate.
Females should get the same treatments and therapies just like men get.
Should we change the criteria for Autism Spectrum disorder? In order to have diagnosis of ASD you need to have traits of part of ASD for four months, after 12 months of age and if traits are gone after more four months you are developmentally delayed.
In order to qualify for diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder, symptoms must be present for four months right before the age of one.
Autism can be diagnosed at age through 0-3 years of age, but moderate to milder form of Autism can be diagnosed at the age of 4+
According to Wikipedia a chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term chronic is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months.
Even if symptoms of Autism is gone, you are still considered to have history of developmental delay, because the traits of ASD lasted for more than three months
Symptoms of ASD for four months before the age of one:
1. Not respond to their name by 12 months of age
2. Not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14 months
3. Not play “pretend” games (pretend to “feed” a doll) by 18 months
4. Avoid eye contact and want to be alone
5. Have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
6. Have delayed speech and language skills
7. Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
8. Give unrelated answers to questions
9. Get upset by minor changes
10. Have obsessive interests
11. Flap their hands, rock their body, or spin in circles
12. Have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel
13. Does not respond to name by 12 months of age
14. Avoids eye-contact
15. Prefers to play alone
16. Does not share interests with others
17. Only interacts to achieve a desired goal
18. Has flat or inappropriate facial expressions
19. Does not understand personal space boundaries
20. Avoids or resists physical contact
21. Is not comforted by others during distress
22. Delayed speech and language skills
23. Repeats words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
24. Reverses pronouns (e.g., says “you” instead of “I”)
25. Gives unrelated answers to questions
26. Does not point or respond to pointing
27. Uses few or no gestures (e.g., does not wave goodbye)
28. Talks in a flat, robot-like, or sing-song voice
29. Does not pretend in play (e.g., does not pretend to “feed” a doll)
30. Does not understand jokes, sarcasm, or teasing
31. Lines up toys or other objects
32. Plays with toys the same way every time
33. Likes parts of objects (e.g., wheels)
34. Is very organized
35. Gets upset by minor changes
36. Has obsessive interests
37. Has to follow certain routines
38. Flaps hands, rocks body, or spins self in circles
39. Hyperactivity (very active)
40. Impulsivity (acting without thinking)
41. Short attention span
42. Aggression
43. Causing self injury
44. Temper tantrums
45. Unusual eating and sleeping habits
46. Unusual mood or emotional reactions
47. Lack of fear or more fear than expected
48. Unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel
It’s to make it even more broad and most with Broad Autism Phenotype should have some form of ASD diagnosis, because Autism is a spectrum developmental disorder from very severe to very mild.
The reason why I said this, is because the term broad autism phenotype describes an even wider range of individuals who exhibit problems with personality, language, and social-behavioral characteristics at a level that is considered to be higher than average but lower than is diagnosable with autism.
Even if you slightly had some problems with personality, language, and social-behavioral characteristics from early to late childhood, early to late adolescence and adulthood, I would still consider you to have history of developmental delay, regardless if it is diagnosed or not and also, because the DSM changed all subgroups of Autisms into a spectrum disorder, from very severe to very mild.
02 Apr 2011, 12:25 pm
