Poll 13: Is diagnosis the correct word for you?

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Hi, it is important to me to try to get autistic people to speak more about autism, to discuss who is currently presenting it to society, to discuss how it is currently presented to society and to discuss whether there are any wrongs which need to be righted.

I think the word diagnosis sound correct wherever i like it or not you just have to accept it.

Diagnosis is associate with diseases and disorders as well as other sorts of identifying things based off of symptoms. It's not actually associated most strongly with illness according to anything that I've seen.

It is associated with negative because not being normal is associated with negative.

That's why I also chose Option C. I wasn't diagnosed with "Asperger Illness". A diagnosis helps to explain why you are the way you are, but autism is not an illness.

Disease and disorders are both types of illness, "disorder" can mean a specific illness and "disease" a specific disorder. The words Disorder, syndrome, condition, disease etc are all related to the word illness.

No you weren't diagnosed with "Asperger's illness" you were diagnosed with "Asperger's Syndrome" "Syndrome" meaning the symptoms of disease. The word "Condition" which you would have heard to describe you means "illness"

Option C. Diagnosis refers to a condition, the definition of such basically boiling down to "state of being."

So I think you're looking for the wrong definition here. I think perhaps you want to know if the word "illness" is appropriate to autism, which I also refute.

Standard definition of condition: a state of being.

Medical definitions of condition:

1. A disease or physical ailment
2. A state of health or physical fitness

Definition of disease: any deviation from or interruption of the normal structure or function of any body part, organ, or system that is manifested by a characteristic set of symptoms and signs and whose etiology, pathology, and prognosis may be known or unknown.


Definition of syndrome: a set of symptoms occurring together; the sum of signs of any morbid state; a symptom complex.

Definition of disorder: a derangement or abnormality of function; a morbid physical or mental state.

Disorder, syndrome, and the non-medical definition of condition fit best, I think.

Also, illness:


an abnormal process in which aspects of the social, physical, emotional, or intellectual condition and function of a person are diminished or impaired compared with that person's previous condition.



I think that last part is important, as there is strong evidence that autism in many cases occurs before birth. If that is the case, there is no baseline "precious condition" corollary. Therefore, autism would not be an illness.

Hi, yes I've also copied definitions myself on my poll dealing specifically with the terms but I'll just copy them here as well. You are aware however that people will jump to the negative meanings? When you say that you think "disorder" (The definition of disorder you used: a derangement or abnormality of function; a morbid physical or mental state.) is an accurate word I assume you are not agreeing with "a morbid physical or mental state"? I do not have a morbid mentality anyway.

From The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus

syndrome noun 1 group of concurrent symptoms of disease. 2 characteristic combination of opinions, emotions, etc.



disorder noun 1 confusion. 2 tumult, riot. 3 bodily or mental ailment.

1 anarchy, chaos, confusion, disarray, disorderliness, disorganisation, jumble, mess, muddle, colloquial shambles, tangle, untidiness. 2 clamour, commotion, disturbance, fighting, fracas, fuss, lawlessness, riot, colloquial rumpus, tumult, uproar 3 see ILLNESS 1.



condition noun 1 stipulation; thing on fulfilment of which something else depends. 2 state of being or fitness of person or thing. 3 ailment. 4 (in plural) circumstances. verb 1 bring into desired stare. 2 accustom. 3 determine. 4 be essential to.

1 limitation, obligation, prerequisite, proviso, qualification, requirement, requisite, restriction, stipulation. 2 fettle, fitness, form, health, colloquial nick, order, shape, state, trim, working order. 3 see ILLNESS 1. 4 (conditions) see CIRCUMSTANCE 1. verb 1 educate, fit, prepare, teach, train. 2 acclimatize, accustom, brainwash, educate, mould, re-educate, teach, train.



Illness noun 1 disease. 2 ill health.

1 affliction, ailment, slang bug, complaint, condition, disease, disorder, health problem, indisposition, infection, infirmity, malady, malaise, pestilence, plague, sickness. 2 disability, infirmity, indisposition, sickness, weakness.



disease noun 1 unhealthy condition of organism or part of organism 2 (specific) disorder or illness. diseased adjective

affliction, ailment, blight, slang bug, complaint, condition, contagion, disorder, illness, infection, infirmity, malady, plague, sickness. diseased ailing, ill, infirm, sick, unwell


As you can see it's fair to say that from their literal meanings they are all linked to the word illness, you can write a lot about each word relatively and try to separate them in ways which most people will never ever bother learning and indeed are disputable and relative to the individual's conditioning towards the word in question, but if you look at the set literal definitions in a combination of dictionaries you will have to come to the inevitable conclusion that it's acceptable to say that, in the context used to speak about autism; "condition" means a specific illness, "syndrome" means specific symptoms of disease", "disease" means a specific disorder, "disorder" means a specific illness. This is all what you're getting "diagnosed" with. There is of course a fine balance between the strict literal meaning and relative interpretation. As I said I this balance is being abused, the word "illness" is just as acceptable as a substitute for any of the others e.g.

"Autism is a brain development disorder, this is a serious, disabling and lifelong condition which can have a profound effect on individuals and families. Asperger's syndrome is a form of autism."

compared to

"Autism is a brain growing illness, this is a serious, disabling and lifelong illness which can have a profound effect on individuals and families. Asperger's illness is a form of autism."

to

"Autism is a brain disease, this is a serious, disabling and lifelong disease which can have a profound effect on individuals and families. Asperger's disease is a form of autism."

or

Original statement
"Autism is a development disorder, this is a serious condition, Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism."


Alternative 1
"Autism is a development illness, this is a serious illness, Asperger's illness is a form of autism".



Original statement
"Autism is a development disorder, this is a serious condition which without the right treatment can have a profound effect on individuals and families, Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism."

Alternative 1
"Autistics don't grow up in the correct way that normal people do, autistics are seriously ill, autistics need treatment for their illness, autism is bad, autistics are diseased".


In my opinion the alternatives are all literally acceptable at conveying the exact same implications and relative meanings in the intended context, it's the weasely vagueness of (a plethora of) terms (which all boil down to the same meaning) used due to the relative interpretation which makes the first seem acceptable and even giving the impression that the speaker is knowledgable about the subject, when they are in fact not.



I can make tests to prove that the English used is too vague, open to interpretation and unfair (probabilities of precipitation is apparently unfair English for weather reporters to use). For example:


Autism is a disorder and autistics are diseased

Autism is a disorder but autistics are not diseased

Autistics are diseased but autism is not a disorder

Autism is not a disorder and autistics are not diseased



Autism is a condition and autistics are mentally ill

Autism is a condition but autistics are not mentally ill

Autistics are mentally ill but autism is not a condition

Autism is not a condition and autistics are not mentally ill



"Asperger's Syndrome" is a correct term to be used when describing some people on the autistic spectrum and autism is a disease

"Asperger's Syndrome" is a correct term to be used when describing some people on the autistic spectrum however autism is not a disease

Autism is a disease however "Asperger's Syndrome" it not a correct term to be used when describing some people on the autistic spectrum

"Asperger's Syndrome" is not a correct term to be used when describing some people on the autistic spectrum and autism is not a disease



Which is the most appropriate term to describe autism and autistic people?

Condition
Disorder
Illness
Syndrome
Disease
Ailment
I think they are all equally appropriate
I think none are appropriate

Why do you think your chosen term is more appropriate than the others? (Comment below)



But specific to this poll: I am adamant that the word "diagnosis" is linked to the word "illness", that autism is thought of as a "mental illness" and that the terms used "disorder, condition, syndrome" etc are all related to the word "illness".

I didn't realise having to debate this when I made the poll, I thought it was fairly straight forward that if you're getting diagnosed with something by a "healthcare professional", you are, in one way or another, regardless of the specific terms used, thought of as being ill.