Question for those against the DSM v merging of the autism s

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Doesn't make it true.

I think addiction is largely a colloquial term, and I am comfortable with describing at least one of my special interests as having characteristics of an addiction. It does eat up my time and make it difficult for me to get other things done (on top of all the other difficulties I have with getting other things done).

In the medical sense of "dependency" as described in the DSM-IV, I would not describe my special interests in terms of dependency.

I agree. It seems the professionals didn't like the extra term that was rightfully identified by the man called Asperger.

The DSM-IV-TR didn't fully capture what Hans explained either. You need to look towards Gillberg's Criteria for that (it's still applicable today).

Agreed.

I disagree with having been diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria that I do not meet.

I would not have any issues with being diagnosed with the Gillberg criteria. I think they are much more accurate and capture the actual differences noted between Kanner and Asperger, rather than simply diagnosing by nearly impossible to meet exclusions.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine, has provided a definition that includes behavioral addiction with similar underlying factors as substance addiction; however, the DSM5 has not yet agreed, with that issue pending approval for a diagnostic category sometime in the future.

http://www.asam.org/research-treatment/ ... -addiction

Addiction has been associated with ADHD, and of course symptoms of ADHD are common among individuals on the spectrum. There probably have been more than a few individuals diagnosed on the spectrum with ADHD and behavioral addictions ticked as RRBI's, particularly between 1994 and 2000 when a person could technically be diagnosed with PDDNOS with impairments in RRBI's alone, because of an editorial error in the DSMIV. And, obviously behavioral addictions can affect real life social interaction.

All types of addictions can impact ability to function in every day life, so that ticks another current requirement for an ASD. Seeing a psychiatrist is not something that most people take lightly and not something that many can afford or have access to. A lot of these folks are in prison or homeless, with criminal or hobo attached by society as a diagnosis.

It is probably no coincidence that 4 out of 11 of Kanner's patients had fathers that were psychiatrists.

Access, awareness, and availability for a diagnosis makes the difference, and likely part of the reason that numbers like 1 in 38 come up when fuller scans were done in South Korea. A diagnosis of any DSMIV disorder is a huge stigma in South Korea and those that did not get permission from parents were not allowed to participate, so the number would have likely been even higher with an actual full screening. That's relatively almost impossible to do because parental permission is required in most cases.

South Korea is understood to have a severe issue with video game addictions among children and adults. How much of that is related to the 1 in 38, is hard to say. But, it was definitely not an issue for Kanner or Asperger's patients.

There are other sources of behavioral addiction. It is hard to say where one can draw the line, as dopamine is involved in all pleasure seeking activities. Humans and other primates are evolved for intermittent gratification not instant gratification. The potential for instant gratification per pornography and other stimulating avenues for dopamine, has never been as easily available as they are today. No doubt that is posing problems for behavior in human beings of all types.

People with addiction problems can be the last to recognize it. It doesn't help when behavioral addictions are not recognized by the DSM5 as real addictions. But it is understood that some are more vulnerable than others. I never recognized I had an addiction until I was no longer able to do intense aerobic exercise. Running marathons can and does damage hearts and kills otherwise healthy people, but it is a powerful source of behavioral addiction and one that some can not easily let go of. I doubt anyone with an ASD was ever diagnosed with running as an RRBI, but it could certainly serve the purpose of an RRBI, whether to reduce anxiety, stimulate focus, or to escape social interaction. Endorphins can help sensory issues, as well.

And as mentioned in another thread RRBI's can be fulfilled as a requirement to meet a DSM5 ASD diagnosis by patient history alone. It is the one criterion that the DSM5 working group determined can be adapted to in life where it is no longer a significant source of impairment. It makes sense as an RRBI could be work in some cases, that may or may not interfere with one's home life. But, not likely something that would actually be identified as an RRBI in a clinical analysis.

If you haven't seen this video by Gillberg, it is an interesting one in what he describes as the "Autisms". He also interviews Lord in another associated video in the youtube links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... e-iik&NR=1

Thank you for linking that video. It has a lot of very interesting information.

I especially like these points:

* Girls are drastically undiagnosed, and Gillberg thinks that the ratio is closer to 1.5:1 boys:girls.
* That if a parent brings a child in for something like hyperactivity, it is probably worth looking into instead of dismissing it (as happened to my mother and myself when she took me in for some of these issues)
* That early diagnosis nearly always helps - especially with the received wisdom on this site that somehow being diagnosed as a child supposedly limits people and not being diagnosed forces autistic children to excel. I have never found this plausible, and it is nice to see experts saying that the opposite is true.
* That children with anxiety and depression should be checked for neurodevelopmental problems, and that they are more likely to be present in such cases
* Emphasis on autism not being the sole diagnosis, and putting effort toward identifying other problems (epilepsy and ADHD, for example)
* "You can't say he'll grow out of it. There is no indication whatsoever that children grow out of these problems without help in any large proportion at all. A small proportion yes, but more than 90% presenting with one of these problems as an impairing problem before the age of five will have a major problem five years down the line if you don't do anything about it."

I started to watch and it was very interesting. Then I saw the link on the right for CRAZY AIR BATTLE - BATS VS CROWS. Then I saw MAN CHASED BY HIPPO. then I saw WORLD'S MOST DETERMINED DOG. Then I saw.....

Ah, you have ADHD too?

I think many of those are sensitive to one's viewing history. I see Minecraft videos mixed in with autism videos.

I have my browser set to clear cookies and history continuously, and have the firefox add blocker, so I don't have that issue. I didn't consider others might have that issue, per my reference to the Lorna Wing interview. Here is the link to the Wing interview with Gillberg, in case it didn't show up in the side bar. It is also very interesting.

I too have ADHD, from the time I was born when they used call it hyperactivity. The firefox add blocker has made my internet experience completely different. Otherwise all it takes is to mention girls or females, and one is bombarded with soft porn commercial pokes. Google adds seem to monitor every word a person types in addition to the sites they visit. I've mentioned chicken before and got kentucky fried chicken advertisements almost immediately and talked about the zombie apocalypse video in the CDC and received a barrage of zombies for months. The add blocker also makes my internet browser seem twice as fast.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_4loBEg9kw[/youtube]

And, in case you didn't see this, it is the link from the APA from the video of the Chair of the DSM5 workgroup, Susan Swedo, who suggests that RRBI's can be adapted to and diagnosed from history but Social Communication difficulties continue throughout the course of life.

http://www.psychiatry.org/practice/dsm/ ... m-disorder

I've been slowly watching the interview with Lorna Wing, but I find I disagree with her intense focus on social instinct as the core impairment.

What is Lorna Wing's focus on social instinct?

I lasted 2 minutes.

is this a love in?

I will watch this in stages. Its really dull and to be honest I have to google who it is.

Google ads freaks me out too! I assume its chrome related. I should go back to firefox.

She says it's the core element of autism.

I do like how she says that the DSM-IV exclusion of an autism diagnosis if you have ADHD is "barmy."