Do you think Asperger's Syndrome is over diagnosed?

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I guess this is also why I'm against many notions to treat AS and NT people as different species as I've seen so often. NT's aren't morlocks, they, just like AS people, have an extreme variety of personalities ranging from stereotypically extroverted to borderline, just-shade-of-a-diagnosis NT like me.

All I know is... I've been aware of the POSSIBILITY for well over 2 yrs... And yes, I have my own opinion on the matter but I'm not trying to gain any leverage with my situation... Hell, I don't even come crying to WP anymore with my woes, which are actually causing me much strife currently despite my best attempts at coping with my newfound "insight"... I'm trying every venue financially available to me for seeking a dx (am doin an fMRI study which may be able to assess me as well as being put on a waiting list for testing at my university which does testing for students at a discount (lol, right... still will probably cost me and arm/leg/and would-be testicle)... it's all so trying... I half way don't even know WHY I'm trying anymore.

The only reason DXed people hate on self-DXed is because they feel it makes them less of an autie/aspie/whatever... trivializes them. All that is about is whiners having a pity party about themselves and being angry at other people for doing the same (and i am referring to all the comments about these loud boisterous self-Dxed apsies out there, which i myself am none too aware of-- yet are apparently storming the forums and taking control of the internetz).

I highly doubt you can DX ANYONE over the internet either way.

AS is definitely overdiagnosed; and in my professional opinion as a psychologist and a researcher, it is unfortunately now being misdiagnosed to mentally-ill patients. I really have a major dispute with Craig Nicholls' diagnosis of it. No person with AS would behave the way he did. People with AS are non-violent and unaggressive and it isn't a consistent finding that they use drugs or engage in risky behaviors. His behaviors seem to resemble bipolar; there's no way he has AS. The other case I disagree with is the Sean Honeysett case. It's very rare that someone is suddenly discovered to have been misdiagnosed with a mental illness; usually someone who spends their childhood in and out of mental hospitals is mentally ill. And I think that his sudden inability to communicate with his parents at 30 might have more to do with schizophrenia than AS. The onset of schizophrenia tends to occur later in life. THe other thing is, he has a history of assaulting people, and this isn't a consistent finding with AS. It is with schizophrenia. Also, a lot of the behaviors of schizophrenia appear similar to those of autism, but this is deceptive, as they are of completely different origins. So I really think he might have schizophrenia or some variant of it, like schizophreniphorm disorder. Or he could have anger problems, paranoid delusions or misconceptions of himself, and a distorted sense of identity...and this is a common finding with schizophrenia and dissociative disorder, and not AS. AS can be confused for schizophrenia or mental illness, but it is very unlikely that mental illness can be confused with AS, as AS isn't a mental illness. And it must be remembered that the characteristics of schizophrenia, dissociative disorder, or mental illness appear similar to AS but have different systemic causes (ex. odd posture, catatonic behavior, paranoia, difficulties with communicating due to a chemical imbalance which causes a sudden disruption of the brains neurocognitive functions - speech, cognition, etc are all found with schizophrenia, but not AS).

Also, at the onset of schizophrenia, the brain suddenly loses its ability to function cognitively. And from my readings of Honeysett's case, this is exactly what happened. He experienced mental instability in his youth, which progressively got worse over time, such that he had a full breakdown of his mental functions at 30...such that it altered his ability to communicate and perceive things. This is a classic case of dissociative disorder. If it's confirmed that he had mental delusions/hallucinations, then it's definitely schizophrenia. If not, it's dissociative disorder, a form of mental illness that doesn't necessarily consist of hallucinations. However, it does consist of a disordered sense of perception and sudden impairment of cognitive functions for neurological reasons (and not brain damage). This seems to be what he is experiencing.

* Dissociative Disorder is not to be confused with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Dissociative Disorder is loss of one's cognitive functions and perceptions of self, and loss of one's identity. But it is NOT the multiplicity of one's identity. That is the central difference between the two.

I have no professional opinion, only gut instinct: I think AS is the mental version of fibro-myalgia. I believe it truly exists, but FAR too many people have that when there is no other label to put on the pain.

Let the stoning commence.

My opinion differs here, I think it is about the aspie trait of truthseeking and things having to be perfect. A few self-diagnosed are either mistaken and therefore the diagnosis is imperfect and messes up the pattern or system and a few are outright lying, which is an abomination if you are a truthseeker and like thing to be either totally correct or incorrect as in 2 and 2 makes 4 and not 5.

Personally I think my diagnostician over-diagnosed me as very much on the spectrum when I believe that I am borderline almost neurotypical, but that may be a small error on my part of 0.0002 ha ha

Not over-diagnosed, but poorly understood. It is a catch-all, sometimes used by misinformed doctors, sometimes by individuals. I'm sick and ******* tired of the dx/self-dx debate - there are too many external factors for anyone to reliably have cause to criticize others unless they are unhappy with their own predicament. How it affects one is different, and the effect on another will be quite different. Over the years, I've found a certain level of functioning that works for me. I'm keenly aware that I have many differences from others here, yet many commonalities, and for the first time - when I take advice or an approach, it is relevant to my system of thought.

I think there is more in this arena of experiential difficulties than we are aware of at this time.


M.

Underdiagnosed, particularly in females.
Overdiagnosed through self diagnosis.

What I can't stand is people who play the "I'm more Aspie than you, so you aren't Aspie" game. One more stupid social game that I simply refuse to engage in.

And who the heck are all these so-called fakers? I've never met one. But I guess I rarely meet any new people. Any person's diagnosis is between them and their doctor. It is extremely immature to go around questioning a professional's diagnosis and/or a person's integrity. But I guess a lot of WP members are young teenagers, so are not to be taken seriously until they show some better judgement.

I am only self-DX'ed right now. My therapist says I definitely have sensory processing disorder, and have many Aspie traits, but she just isn't a specialist in autism and doesn't feel comfortable handing out a diagnosis. I like her and plan on continuing seeing her for a while. When I find a physician I like, I will ask for a referral to get evaluated for a real diagnosis.

It's important to not get 'stuck' behind your diagnosis. I am so happy that I found out about AS. Because now I know what I have to work with, I know how to handle my own brain. For example, it's as important as knowing your learning style so that you don't try to study wrong for your brain. If you are visual, then you make flashcards. If you are auditory, then you tape record your lecture classes and listen to them again, and don't bother with flash cards.

Getting diagnosed is like getting handed the map of your own brain. Whatever your diagnosis is: ASD, ADHD, SPD, etc. Now I finally know that I won't just 'snap out of it' and become a socialite if I just try harder to go out and meet people. But I can make some plans to step out with a friend once in a while, and not be so hard on myself for not being 'bubbly', and not being like everyone else.

Underdiagnosed in females, for sure.

i posted a thread a while ago... but i'm obtaining a dx via participation in a fmri study.

i do think there is merit to self-diagnosing.... just have to consider all possibilities and be honest with yourself.

I think to consider that you might have it is a good starting point on the way to confirmation; there was a point when I had to accept that it may be why I was a bit different; unfortunately it turned out to be true but once you know what you are dealing with, it helps a lot with working out how to live from that point onwards.

I hope your practice does not include interaction with people with AS. From your comments below, it is clear to me that you lack basic knowledge about and understanding of AS.

Some people with AS perhaps. People with AS are capable of violence and aggression. Not only is there no reliable evidence that backs your claim, there is plenty of evidence in the form of clinical, parental, school, peer and self observation, that having AS does not prevent aggression or violent behavior.


Consistent with what? I know of no evidence that demonstrates people with AS either cannot take drugs or engage in risky behavior, or that they all universally refrain from doing so. As a professional psychologist and researcher, can you posit any reliable evidence to substantiate your premises?


His behaviors as reported in the media?
Evidently, there is no cause to assume that if someone has AS they will not have a bi-polar mood disorder, nor to assume that if someone has a bi-polar mood disorder they will not have AS.

As a professional psychologist, do not find making this statement in the circumstances, utterly unprofessional?



Please provide the statistics and their providence for this claim.

As for above, stats and their providence. I'm particularly skeptical that one could reliably differentiate between those who were incarcerated in mental institutions throughout youth because they were ill, and those who are ill because they were incarcerated in mental institutions, particularly if when young.

That's not what I recall from when I did look into the numbers. I understand the majority of cases have an onset that occurs around adolescence through to early adulthood and that 30 as an age of onset would be atypically late. None of the people I know with schizophrenia had an onset later than very early 20s (23 is the oldest, and even they had had some historical aspects that in hindsight are best interpreted as early symptoms).

Is there some evidence for these claims you keep making?

So we should believe that mental illness is commonly being misdiagnosed as AS because it's very unlikely that it would be, and that AS is over-diagnosed even though it is easily mistaken for mental illness, and therefore not unlikely to be missed and undiagnosed?
I actually do not know what to say about that.....

I find it very unprofessional and personally immoral, for a psychologist who has not examined these individuals, and whose comments demonstrate such a lack of basic understanding about AS, to be commenting on their diagnosis in a public forum.

Further, I find it unprofessional, unethical and frankly immoral for someone who is a professional psychologist to spread disinformation about a condition, especially while pretending the nonsense they spew is backed by professional expertise. It is immoral for anyone to spread such disinformation about a condition while pretending it is reliably backed by professional expertise.

I think a lot of people on this thread have forgotten that as is defined by patterns of behavior. We infer that there is a neurological thread to tie everyone together but the truth is that we have no idea how the various brain systems actually differ between nts and aspergians.

This also means two neurologically identical people (couldn't happen I know this is a hypothetical) who have very different upbringings could end up with a completely different diagnoses.

Furthermore it seems to me that a lot of people on this thread are exhibiting the exact kind of elitist behavior that they complain about coming from nts. I mean we all seem to have more in common with each other than we do the rest of the world so who cares how we label ourselves.

More people say no? What the f***?

AS is turning (or has turned) into the new ADHD. Every parent on earth think their kids are "oh so autistic" just from one tiny thing, then they get the specialists and therapists to stalk them... How could you ever say NO!?

Easily enough - when any condition comes into diagnostic existence, there are going to be misdiagnoses and misses diagnoses. Equilibrium will be reached in time, but it is part of the process. To dismiss it so readily is to throw the baby out with the bathwater, in my opinion. This same sensationism appears with each condition, each evolution in knowledge.


M.

Come on. I can't see that many professionals putting their reputations on the line like that. Most people I know (parents and non-parents) have never heard of Asperger's, and I hadn't even heard about it until I read about it recently. It was my own curiosity that made me research it before coming to the conclusion that I should seek a professional diagnosis. I have no doubt that a specialist in this field will not hesitate to tell me I don't have it if he honestly feels that I don't.

Over-diagnosed? When most people probably haven't even heard of it still? I just can't see it.