draelynn wrote:
There is a high degree of overlap and someone extremely experienced in dxing all of these conditions can see those differences fairly easily. I think it is fair to say that neurochemical imbalances are unique to every individual and that there may never be a cure all or treat all medication for any of these conditions. I also think it is unfair to discount all of these conditions unless you have some experience in them.
In my experience with my daughter, medicating her ADHD was one of the best things we could have ever done. Her ability to focus improved almost immediately and it made learning a much easier task for her. She is still just as AS as before - they say ADHD meds can 'make AS preservation worse'. What I see is that the ADHD is not longer competing with the AS and, at times, it definitely seemed as if she was struggling with herself - two very different dynamics pulling her in opposite directions. She isn't preservating more - she's probably preseverating as much as she would have been without the ADHD in the first place.
I'm not saying that doctors don't diagnose incorrectly because they absolutely do - but that doesn't invalidate the conditions they are getting wrong.
I'll put it this way. AS, and ADHD and oftentimes bipolar as well, are largely problems not inherently, but because we live in a capitalistic, corporate society. In order for us to make a living in the type of society we have structured for ourselves we need to put on a mask and conform to what the dominant culture of what the working world is--i.e. to live in a box, put on our suit, and do what we are told. In a more egalitarian society, one that values people and workers as individuals rather than just producers--like, say, much of western Europe, or on a kibbutz in Israel, these "conditions" would be a whole lot less problematic than they are in the United States. In fact, an enlightened CEO would know that people with Asperger's and bipolar are very disproportionately represented among the brightest, most talented, and most creative people on the planet.
The majority of people with AS and ADHD (whatever that is, there are conflicting definitions) are of at least normal intellect and able to do just about anything, and get rejected for jobs because they look and act a little differently. BD is in a separate category because some people with bipolar are so severely affected that they simply cannot function, or are a danger to themselves, without medication or psychiatric commitment. But many aren't--they just can't get a job because they are outside the social mainstream similarly to us.
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Sometimes the easiest way is no way at all.
06 Dec 2011, 2:02 am
