Neurotypicals HIJACKED the Aspergers diagnosis!

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Since the diagnosis of Aspergers became popular in the early 1990's (I myself was diagnosed in 1994), the increase in Aspergers diagnosis has accelerated.

When I went to a special school in 1997, I was a rare case. Everyone else were mentally ret*d infantile autists.
Then there came others like me. And then some who were more well-functioning than me. And then some that are so socialized that I can't see the difference between them and
Neurotypicals.

While nobody are alike, there are some main characteristics defining Aspergers and Autism Spectrum Disorder in general.
The problem is that whenever I point that out, the ones I suppose to be NT's disguising behind an Aspie diagnosis, play the "No True Scotsman" card:

"Don't say that we aren't aspies, we are all different, I'm not an NT!" is the summary of their comments.

What has happened is what I feared in the early 2000's when I heard about the rise of Aspergers diagnosis and my worries became stronger when I read about the "Geek syndrome".

My worries are that the increase in Aspegers diagnosis leads to inflation, like economic inflation, in the diagnosis, devaluing the importance of the diagnosis.

This in turn means that people who truely need help will be deprived of it in the future, and duties imposed upon them (like military conscription etc.) will be more heavily enforced in countries with such measures, because Aspergers is now nothing more than another NT-variety.

What has really happened is that the Neurotypicals are hijacked the diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome, in order to say "hey, if he can avoid military conscription, thats unfair, lets prove that his diagnosis is worth of nothing, so I'll just fake some of the symptoms and get a diagnosis myself, HAHAHA!"

Well said.

Your concern over military conscription is completely ridiculous.

I think it's pretty obvious that you're resentful of all the newly diagnosed aspies because they make you feel less unique and special. You sound like one of those hipsters who gets irritated when some indy band they like goes mainstream.

I agree.
AS has become much of a stereotype in the last 20 years, and has gotten to the point that it is "just being a genius who's a little introverted".

However, AS doesn't exist anymore.
Now there's only autism.
I myself am officially diagnosed with HFA now.

What is your concern here? Are you upset that more people have a diagnosis now than in the 1990's? Well that is because more time has lapsed since Asperger's became known in the western world. So naturally there are going to be more people with a diagnosis.

It's like saying you are upset there are more people with iPods, or mobile phones since the 1990's.

Yes, I think what you describe is a very real effect.

When a diagnosis or idea is new, the only people who bother who learn about it will be the most astute, conscientious and passionate of psychologists. These are the people who are likely to diagnose accurately.

Then as the diagnosis becomes more and more well known, so will less and less intellectually rigorous people get hold of it.

This leads in to a steady decrease in the quality of diagnostic assessent (and so a rise in misdiagnoses). The effect is cumulative, because as more and more people become misdiagnosed, the more it appears to the psychiatric community that these diagnoses are in fact correct (because of it becoming the norm)

The effect is also sadly irreversible, as you can't turn around to all the people you diagnosed and say "sorry, we got it wrong". and yes it does screw up peoples lives. For an exactly analogous situation, see grade inflation which is a very real and measurable occurrence.

The only point I disagree with you on is that it is some NT conspiracy. I don't believe that at all, rather I think it a very explainable statistical effect.

I suppose I am one of those folks that you describe. I can seemingly fit in many social situations and can appear to fit in quite well. So well, in fact, that I did join the military.

My life has been spent mimicking the social people to the extent that now, at age 44, I am just beginning to learn what I like. Who knew I was allowed to make choices? Not me.

So go ahead and piss, moan and groan that someone like me came along and spoke up about my own, personal and JUST AS DIFFICULT of an experience and how this effects you.

All of these years searching for where the hell I fit in and then I find out that group is too cool for me too. Go figure.

Beyond close relationships, I suffer from very little social malfeasance. Not that you'd know it from looking at me, but its' taken the better part of two decades to reach this point, and I got my diagnosis from a speech language pathologist. My MOM is a believer in 'geek syndrome' and I believe it's morally corrosive, providing excuses for unpleasantness where they don't really exist . I could tell you to shove it in XML, but I'm a PERSON, so I'm not used to rearranging the syntax that way. I think you just judged a LOT of books by their covers, so enjoy your flame war I guess.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

I could seek an HFA diagnosis to quiet the naysayers but I know myself better than to be able to justify spending the money. And believe me, the naysayers are everywhere, not just WP.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos

I briefly attended an "all ASD" private school, and I can say this; there were some 'infantile' autists, there were some possibly misdiagnosed individuals with perhaps no more than severe ADD, and there were some HFA people such as myself. What you neglected to mention is that such organizations are focused on improving all aspects of the lives Autism Spectrum affects, INCLUDING misdiagnoses. Everyone there got the resources they sought.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos