Do you think the diagnosis/veiw on "Autism" is imp

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I think it is very broad and doesn't take into consideration someone's age and learned coping skills or the many ways the characteristics can be expressed and the degree with which these characteristics can manifest. In other words, if you've met one aspie...No one can even agree with what's the single most defining characteristic of Asperger's. When my son was diagnosed, I had never heard of it and thought it related entirely to his sensory issues. The fact that he was just like me as far as personality had already been noted by family. It would be very easy for a diagnostician to miss a proper assessment by adhering to only the most rigid interpretation of the criteria. I can think of only a few here who fit that criteria, and I'm not one of them. So I don't think it's impartial.

My own case causes me to have to vote for "Not really" If Aspergers is to be considered part of the autism spectrum, this defintion will miss or misdiagnose hordes of Aspies, and that is the viewpoint from which I respond. Even if it is intended to address only those who are deeper into the spectrum, then I feel that it will do many a disservice.

A1, C1, C4 These are still strong in me

A2, A3, B2, B3, C3 These are weaker, especially now.

At age 65, I find it hard to apply this definition to me as it is apparantly directed at children and adolescents. But if Aspergers (and autism) is a condition of how the brain is "wired" then I have to arrive at the conclusion that if one is born aspie, one lives aspie, and one dies aspie.

After the hell, that was heaped upon me by neurotypicals, while growing up with my own peculiarities, I learned how to become a "stealth aspie" That is to say I analyzed how things went wrong and if I could find a mode to avoid problems I used it. I did not "outgrow aspergers" I learned how to cope with others who were different when I could and avoid situations where I could not cope.

Another problem I have with the definition is it is shallow. It is based on what is outward and observable and avoids underlying causes. For instance I and several others here have commented on heightened responses to sensory stimuli. Not specifically an ability to sense a stimulus at a lower level but a stronger than usual response to those stimuli. I am readily overwhelmed by sounds, scents certain visual phenomena and certain tactile sensations. I avoid or even flee these things, My flight might be observed and interpreted by some of the things in the list but those are just outward manifestations of what is at the root of the problem and goes unmentioned. I always have had these atypical characteristics but I have found ways to cope with them when I have a degree of control over my circumstances.

For a higly isolated Autistic and particularly a child who does not have the ability to express themself the diagonistic rules may be a useful tool but to say that it is the last word on diagnosis is WAY WAY inadequate. Where is the stuff like "face blindness" and clumsiness, etc. Those are the "real problems" that cripple social interaction. I suspect that this definition was written by some sort of doctrinaire behaviorist with all too much confidence in his own theories and will miss a lot of people who could benefit from a less rigid and more comprehensive defintion. Now if there are words to accompany the definition in that manual, the perhaps taken as a whole it would not be so bad, but I have juged based on what was presented here.

I have A1, A2. I am not very successful at A3 or A4.
I have B across the board.
I think C has to narrow of a description. I do have restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities. I do have C1 and C2, but they don't seem as rigid as the definitions makes them sound. I never asked others about C3, but never noticed it myself. And I don't understand the definition of C4. Does it mean I cant appreciate the whole of a thing? Or does it meant I must pick up on minutia?

The severity of my traits have softened gradually over the years and significantly after medication later in life. I have less of an inner censor now; once I virtually said nothing unless to a very close friend or family member. Now I am not quite so overwhelmed at the prospect of talking to someone I don't know, but I still find it difficult to do for an extended period of time. If I do say something wrong or stupid, I don't self flagellate mentally for as long.When I was a child, I think I would have fit the criteria more easily. The evidence of my social inability was glaringly obvious. As a young adult, I gravitated to older friends because they treated me with respect and I found them more interesting. All the little behavioral quirks in me are quite mild and not debilitating, but have always been a part of me. I am not one to be rude just for the sake of being honest; I'd rather just keep my mouth shut. If I am it's absolutely unintentional. My parents were particular about teaching us that other people's feeling were to be respected.

Wow I must say I think that's very braud, even though when reading it I pass 4/4 for each catagorie I guess I'm really AS. Lol.

I voted no for the following reason:
The basis of autism as a disease/disorder(much lols) and the follow on perspective of professionals and individuals involved is based on

I think it's easy to think someone doesn't fit if they don't match some of the criteria exactly and forget there is a number of "or"s in there and not completely "and"s.

I don't like it. It catches most Aspies, but I'd prefer a different set of criteria. The main problem here is validity-- these behaviors are learned and can be worked on throughout life. You cal learn by adulthood not to show them.

I would like to see diagnoses based on this rough draft that of course no one will ever read because I'm a layman, never mind that I live with myself every second of every day. This would be for the entire spectrum (yeah, I did just presume to speak for the whole spectrum).

Disturbance in information processing, as manifested by at least one of the following:
1. Face-blindness not resulting from some other cause (e.g., stroke)
2. Sensory integration issues (hyper-, hypo- or just plain weird sensitivity in one or more senses)
3. Synesthesia

Difficulty in nonverbal behavior as evidenced by at least one of the following:
1. Impaired eye contact
2. Difficulty modulating tone of voice
3. Flat affect
4. Difficulty understanding exchanges with significant nonverbal content

Difficulty in one or more types of interpersonal interaction, as manifested by at least one of the following:
1. Unintentionally antagonizing authority figures
2. Difficulty understanding or forming peer relationships
3. Difficulty behaving appropriately in social situations such as making small talk, speaking to the person at the cash register, etc.
4. Excessive tiredness during or after socializing

Miscellaneous Aspie-ness as evidenced by at least one of the following:
1. Deficient personal grooming
2. Intense interest in one or more fields that generally results in becoming an expert
3. Below average interest in socializing
4. Routines which are at least two of the following:
i. Inflexible
ii. Nonfunctional
iii. Highly specific
iv. Maladaptive or otherwise detrimental to function

So, do you agree with me?