If AS is not a disease, what is it?

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nemorosa
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14 Jan 2012, 4:13 pm

Frieslander wrote:

To those of you you who said or seemed to say that it was neither a disease or disorder: aren't Aspies born with a moderate amount of anxiety, depression, and paranoia? Isn't this hard to live with regard to the Aspie (I am a "near-Aspie"), her or himself? And doesn't it make it difficult on relationships with others, even fellow Aspies?

With regard to whether it is disease or disorder or both, here is my Webster's computer dictionary definition of disease:

1. any departure from health; illness in general
2. a particular destructive process in an organ or organism, with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms; specif., an illness; ailment.

Webster's thesaurus list for disease:

sickness, malady, ailment, illness, indisposition, unhealthiness, disorder, condition, complaint, spell, distemper, unsoundness, infirmity, affection, visitation, morbidity, pathological case, psychosomatic illness, epidemic, plague, pestilence, infection, virus, contagion, affliction, complication, syndrome, fever, nervous disorder, functional disorder, pathological condition, attack, seizure, collapse, breakdown, pathology, symptomatology, bug*, temperature*;

Seems to me it can be considered both a disease and disorder.

You look at all those definitions of disease and you'll see that they all describe a departure from the normal, healthy and functioning; a degradation. People with aspergers start off that way, so it is not a case of something failing or degrading, so it is not a disease.

aspi-rant
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14 Jan 2012, 4:13 pm

a difference, a variety, an alter-native.

Frieslander
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14 Jan 2012, 4:23 pm

nemorosa wrote:

Frieslander wrote:

The first definition from Webster's is indicates that it does not need a progression.

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Magnus_Rex
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14 Jan 2012, 4:24 pm

Frieslander wrote:

No, we (they? I am not diagnosed) are only more likely to develop anxiety, depression and paranoia. That is understandable, given the way society is more suited to NTs than people on the spectrum. As I said before, I do not think Asperger syndrome is a disease/disorder/whatever you call it. It is, as DerStadtschutz and XFilesGeek put it, a neurological profile/divergence. Sure, depending on how well an individual copes with the hardships resulting from his/her differences, it could very well feel like a disorder or even cause other disorders, but that does not mean it is a disorder.

That said, I still get a lot of problems because of it, but I just need to learn to deal with them.

nemorosa
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14 Jan 2012, 4:45 pm

Frieslander wrote:

The first definition from Webster's is indicates that it does not need a progression.

Eh? What?

If you have a "sickness" then you must surely have started from a position of being "well".

Cryforthemoon
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14 Jan 2012, 5:38 pm

A disease is something that can be cured and that others can get from someone else. ADHD, aspergers, autism, etc are not diseases. You can not get them from being around someone. You are either born with them or you are not.

The_Walrus
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14 Jan 2012, 5:59 pm

Cryforthemoon wrote:

A disease is something that can be cured

Not necessarily.

dianthus
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14 Jan 2012, 6:16 pm

Cryforthemoon wrote:

Diseases are not always contagious. Probably most diseases are not. Heart disease and cancer are common diseases, that are not caught from other people. Diseases are also not always curable, some of them just keep progressing until death.

Some diseases are inherited, people are born with them. Sickle cell anemia is one of those.

CyclopsSummers
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14 Jan 2012, 6:35 pm

It is generally agreed upon that Asperger's syndrome is part of an entire spectrum of ASD's. That spectrum also includes many people who are severely impaired by their neurological 'condition'/'divergence'. People who, for instance, are extremely sensitive to certain outward stimuli, to sounds, to light, to certain colours, to touch- to the point where they feel physcially hurt by these sensations because its overwhelming their senses. People who have severe problems with their motor control due to their 'different wiring of their brain'. People who cannot talk because they CANNOT, not because they are so inclined and prefer not to talk when they don't feel like it, but because their brain won't let them communicate properly.

Asperger's is described by many as a 'mild' ASD. Now I find terms such as 'mildness' and 'severity' in this case difficult to define, just as I don't place all too much value on labels like 'low-functioning' and 'high-functioning'. But I do think the conditions that are Asperger's syndrome and HFA, are neurologically related to what would be called 'severe', 'classic', and 'low-functioning' autism. I don't think the blame for any problems someone with AS may experience, should be placed on society being 'geared at NTs', when the vast majority of NTs have only the flimsiest notion of what autism is. Just as I, myself, for example, have only a passing knowledge of Down's syndrome, blindness, or diabetes- and how those affected with any of those conditions experience a world that is not tailor-made for them.

You could say that this is a right-handed world, yet while the left-handed experience some ergonomical problems wielding tools and appliances that were designed for the right-handed, in general it can't be said that the left-handed become disabled pariahs because of this. So I'd say Asperger's syndrome is a bit more than simply 'different wiring'.

EDIT: I forgot to say. I think 'disease' is the wrong word. I am comfortable with the word 'disorder'. I don't attach negative connotations to this word.

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Frieslander
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14 Jan 2012, 7:05 pm

Cryforthemoon wrote:

There are many diseases for which there are no cures. I have hypothyroidism which is treated continually by meds but not cured. Those with diabetes usually are treated with meds much of their lives. Not all diseases are "caught" from someone.

My mom became very depressed later in her life. She was not born depression, but was born with genetics that made her likely to be depressed later in life. My grandmother on my mom's side was not born with Parkinson's Disease but got it late in life because of her genetics.

I am quite convinced I was born with ASD and ADD, which means, I believe, that I was also born depressed. ADD is related to low norepinephrine levels--and norepinephrine levels lead to depressionas well. Also, I am quite convince that my norepinephrine levels decreased later in life because I had an even harder time focusing and became sleepier. So ADD, I am convinced, can have a progression.

Frieslander
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14 Jan 2012, 7:16 pm

Check this out. This Aspie calls it a neurological disorder.

You may disagree with Webster, but I think it is splitting hairs to not call it a disease, too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YDtxmL0i_88[/youtube]

oops. Sorry, don't know how to make the video work. Go instead to the page below and you can find the video imbedded there.

http://2echild.blogspot.com/2011/06/lif ... nside.html

pensieve
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14 Jan 2012, 7:22 pm

It's kind of like how people think there is a difference between asocial behaviour and anti-social behaviour. There is not, according to the dictionary.

We still don't completely know what the cause is so it's best to keep an open mind. Disorder is less insulting than disease, although some people think it's just as insulting. But like I always say if it was not classified as a disorder it wouldn't be diagnosable and therefore many people will just be very confused and not know how different they are. Although they might jump on some other bandwagon; ADHD, APD, BPD, Irlens, SAD, SID, etc.

That said I think it's a virus.

You may commence the flame war.

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CockneyRebel
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14 Jan 2012, 7:43 pm

AS is just a different way of being. It's a different way of seeing the world and interacting with it. It's a differences and being different is nothing to be ashamed of.

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abitclueless
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14 Jan 2012, 7:56 pm

Hi

Thanks, I've been wondering why they say it's not a disease. My defintion of a disease though is anything that has symptoms, which impair us and stop us from being at our ease, notice the different use of the word "ease". That's probably why I didn't get that statement.

From my own experience in life, Asperger's is an impairment of cognitive reasoning in certain social situations. That is that NTs understand certain social concepts with deep meanings, which I for one either don't get or only get after having to think for a second.

Remember that's my opinion and I'm entitled to it, hehe. Oh btw, is talking in long sentences one of the symptoms? :lol:

When can I have the custom rank: only citzen of my own little world???