Autism Spectrum Syndrome?

[SomeRandomAspie]

I'm not saying Autism is or isn't a disorder (I don't have much of an opinion about it because I don't mind the word disorder), but some suggest that it isn't a disorder. I realized at 2 am (the best time for pondering) that if it's not a disorder it would be a syndrome. The only issue is that it becomes Autism Spectrum Syndrome which doesn't have a nice acronym. What would you call it instead of a syndrome? Also, since we're here, do you mind the word disorder?

Edit: I want to make it clear I'm not saying autism is or isn't a disorder. Just to clarify.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Autism Spectrum Condition, ASC, is one such that is already being used by clinicians and professors alike in Britain. Simon Baron-Cohen is one person already using it. Much more neutral thing than disorder - which is only being used because of American insurance companies.

Not a huge fan of the word disorder, personally. But at the same time I just think maybe I should have a thicker skin on the topic. There's more important battles out there anyway.

 

[adh2d]

I don't feel like it's a disorder at all tbh. Same with ADHD. Although it has some aspects which seem like a disorder, both ASD and ADHD are more of a different neurological "hardware". It's not better or worse, both have trade offs.

NTS:
(pros)
- more socially inclined
- confident
- can deal with crowds
(cons)
- self focused, leading to being inconsiderate
- don't have the drive to learn absolutely everything about what they love

ADHD and Autism:
(pros)
- INCREDIBLY good at what we're interested in because we put all our energy into it.
- Often extremely intelligent to make up for processing issues and other difficulties in an NT run world
- pick up ideas and solutions to things that NT people would never think of
(cons)
- NT people make the rules, which are designed to help NT people not us
- it's hard to get important but uninteresting tasks done
- too much noise and touching is hell and can cause meltdowns so concerts and similar crowded events are a no-go

Sorry if I diverged from the topic it's very late!

 

[SomeRandomAspie]

Autism Spectrum Condition, ASC, is one such that is already being used by clinicians and professors alike in Britain. Simon Baron-Cohen is one person already using it. Much more neutral thing than disorder - which is only being used because of American insurance companies.

Not a huge fan of the word disorder, personally. But at the same time I just think maybe I should have a thicker skin on the topic. There's more important battles out there anyway.

I like that. It'd take some getting used to for me, but I suppose it's better for stigma.

 

[SomeRandomAspie]

I don't feel like it's a disorder at all tbh. Same with ADHD. Although it has some aspects which seem like a disorder, both ASD and ADHD are more of a different neurological "hardware". It's not better or worse, both have trade offs.

NTS:
(pros)
- more socially inclined
- confident
- can deal with crowds
(cons)
- self focused, leading to being inconsiderate
- don't have the drive to learn absolutely everything about what they love

ADHD and Autism:
(pros)
- INCREDIBLY good at what we're interested in because we put all our energy into it.
- Often extremely intelligent to make up for processing issues and other difficulties in an NT run world
- pick up ideas and solutions to things that NT people would never think of
(cons)
- NT people make the rules, which are designed to help NT people not us
- it's hard to get important but uninteresting tasks done
- too much noise and touching is hell and can cause meltdowns so concerts and similar crowded events are a no-go

Sorry if I diverged from the topic it's very late!

You say that autistic people often compensate for their lack of social skills with intelligence. What about the ones that can't? Plus, I don't want to be accepted just because I can occasionally do something cool. I'd rather be accepted for who I am. I would agree that the term 'disorder' does create some stigma because it can imply 'worse' to most people. I wish it weren't so.

 

[Tom]

If you want another D word to replace 'disorder', 'discombobulation' might serve.

 

[Progster]

My diagnostic report says 'Asperger's Disorder' but I prefer 'syndrome' or 'condition'.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Technicly what its the difference between disorder/ condition/ syndrom?

 

[Ezra]

People should use whatever way of saying it that makes them feel comfortable.

As for myself I am autistic /have autism.

 

[tree]

Brief definitions of the terms Disorder, (Medical) Condition, Syndrome:

dis·or·der
(dis-ōr'dĕr),
A disturbance of function, structure, or both, resulting from a genetic or embryonic failure in development or from exogenous factors such as poison, trauma, or disease.
https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/disorder

medical condition
A disease, illness or injury; any physiologic, mental or psychological condition or disorder (e.g., orthopaedic; visual, speech or hearing impairments; cerebral palsy; epilepsy; muscular dystrophy; multiple sclerosis; cancer; coronary artery disease; diabetes; mental retardation; emotional or mental illness; specific learning disabilities; HIV disease; TB; drug addiction; alcoholism). A biological or psychological state which is within the range of normal human variation is not a medical condition.
https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/medical+condition

syndrome
/syn·drome/ (sin´drōm) a set of symptoms occurring together; the sum of signs of any morbid state; a symptom complex.
https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/syndrome

For further discussion and examples, click the links provided.

 

[OlLiE]

i'm too busy living with its symptoms to worry about its name

 

[HidinginPlainSight]

I would say that by definition it is a disorder. If the brain was wired in an autistic manner for 99% of the population then it would not be a disorder. You could argue that the typical order of things is detrimental to the most beneficial world view, even if successful autism would still be a disorder.

Add whatever value you want to the word "disorder", but without more information it is not negative on its own.

 

[Chance]

I don't mind the word disorder as much as I do the word Autism... (and the stigmatism that go with it)

I could just go with non-neurotypical... or even just neurodiverse maybe for all the higher functioning ASD people. But thats just my weird sense of things. : )

 

[Iamnotarabot]

I dont like the fake acceptance trend that consists of basically saying that things are not mental illness or disorders , because the word is "rejecting"

The real acceptance is to admit someone has an ilness or disorder and accept that person accordingly.

In my opinion the closest is syndrome aswell because it's not about one feature of symptoms BUT I may be wrong but medically syndrom seems worse than disorder xD

 

[adh2d]

You say that autistic people often compensate for their lack of social skills with intelligence. What about the ones that can't? Plus, I don't want to be accepted just because I can occasionally do something cool. I'd rather be accepted for who I am. I would agree that the term 'disorder' does create some stigma because it can imply 'worse' to most people. I wish it weren't so.

I say "often" it was a list of some known things that don't apply to everyone but, I get what you mean. And I was listing pros and cons as to why I don't think autism should be classified as a disorder, not why we should be accepted.

Also I don't think disorder means worse it means, in the best way I can try to describe:
"A condition that makes it difficult or even impossible to go through day to day life the way able people do."

So, I see how its classified as a disorder but, also disorder implies its something that needs to be fixed. Autism doesn't need to be fixed because there's nothing inherently wrong with autistic people.

HOWEVER, it being classified as a disorder is very helpful when it comes to health coverage. Like in Canada gender dysphoria is classified as a disorder under the DSM 5, and I feel that's definitely wrong. But the diagnosis lets me get HRT and top surgery for free (or at least a lot cheaper regarding medication and such)

 

[Crossbreed]

Autism Spectrum Neuroscheme...? It would mean "neurological configuration."

Though, I still like "neurd" < neuro-diverse.
I also have conscripted "geek" for gifties [< G.K., "gifted kids"

].

 

[ksheehan88]

Disorder works for me... My thoughts and life in general are very disordered, so it fits.

 

[AO1501]

For me, it simply doesn't matter what it is called because it is merely a label. Having lived most of my life without the label, or at least not knowing that it applied to me, it is nothing more than a starting point for discovering who I am.

'Disorder' implies something that needs to be fixed if that were possible, and I don't feel that for myself, but there are plenty of people on the spectrum that suffer the consequences of it far more than I do, so I don't believe it to be my place to make it sound 'nicer' by applying a 'better' label.

 

[keebles]

For me, it simply doesn't matter what it is called because it is merely a label. Having lived most of my life without the label, or at least not knowing that it applied to me, it is nothing more than a starting point for discovering who I am.

Couldn't have said it better! I don't feel like I really knew who I was until I was diagnosed an Asper (which, if we're talking labels, is what I prefer to be called). Disorder, condition, syndrome, whatever, makes me no never mind.

So much of my life was wasted because I was trying so hard to figure out what was "wrong" with me and why couldn't I be "normal", that I missed being "me". Granted, because of trying so hard to fit in, I'm sometimes able to fake being NT better than most NT's, although, according to the docs, I do tip the high end of the Asper scale and probably fall more in the Autistic range. I still think that having OCD and ADHD along with Asperger's has always helped with some of the more NT-negative traits and still helps me acclimate better...the docs disagree with this opinion (but I generally disagree with them on most of the finer points, so there you go).

I do seriously struggle with the word "Autistic" though and I hate myself for buying into the stigma associated with the word. I've gotten more used to using ASD, but I still grimace when I have to explain the acronym. That's something I need to work on.

 

[Tesseract]

Disorder, syndrome, handicap - does it really matter?