do you think autism is genetic?

[Crossbreed]

When it comes to 2s & 3s, you have no idea what you are talking about.
You have only described the experiences of 1s (who have bad coping skills).

 

[Timelord]

I am describing all three. I am describing the whole Spectrum. It is you who doesn't know what you are talking about because your views have blinkers on them. Please take them off.

 

[Crossbreed]

It is you who doesn't know what you are talking about because your views have blinkers on them. Please take them off.

I have an ASD2 son and an ASD3 daughter. Neither would have gone undiagnosed during the supposed lack of awareness preceding DSM-4. Only 1s flew under the radar (at that time).

That you think that 3s could have gone uncounted (or under-counted) bespeaks your unfamiliarity with the condition.

 

[Timelord]

No it speaks to your unfamiliarity with the history. Your daughter pre DSM-IV would have been diagnosed as mentally retarded (not Autistic) and depending on when the diagnosis took place (and maybe where as well), she would have been put in an institution automatically. The earlier the more likely (it was happening in the 1970's for sure in the US). As I said, the ONLY criteria for Autism available was Kanner's. Your son would have been picked up as Autistic because he would have fitted that criteria. Your daughter would not, and therefore would have been misdiagnosed. This is fact and ignoring this fact is why you have blinkers on that need to be taken off.

 

[Crossbreed]

Your daughter pre DSM-IV would have been diagnosed as mentally retarded (not Autistic) and depending on when the diagnosis took place (and maybe where as well), she would have been put in an institution automatically.

She would have still been in the system, just under a different label. Special education would not have an unprecedented boom of new cases. They would have just changed the labels of people who were already in their system. (Ponder that a bit before you reply...)

These [cognitive deficit] cases are new and overwhelming special education, beginning with 1979 births.

 

[Timelord]

They are NOT new! Yes they were in the system but they were NOT in special education! They were in institutions! When the change came with the DSM-IV, those who were in the institutions came out with the corrected diagnosis - hence the explosion in cases you are talking about! Now are you getting it? If not ponder on this one - if your daughter had hit the system in the 1950's she would not only have been institutionalised, she would NEVER have been released no matter what! That's what they did as late as that to ASD3's! Further back she would have been thrown into an asylum! And that is exactly what was happening back then!

 

[Crossbreed]

That might be the scenario in Australia, but in the USA, the then-rare [Kanners] kids were in special education right next to the (more common) Downs kids.

(That is probably why our contradictory experiences do not line up...)

 

[Timelord]

It was worldwide. I've done my historical research - Australia, USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand - even Germany! Yes, Germany!

You got it right though - and you know why it was rare? Kanner's syndrome wasn't in the DSM. Yes even ASD2's were being missed (meaning misdiagnosed per the ASD3's). It was only added in the DSM-III-R in 1987. But that doesn't mean they weren't there. They were also being DXed as mentally retarded but with a lower severity level. The only ones that got through were the ones that were evaluated in ignorance of the DSM at the time and actually used Kanner's criteria. Those youngsters were the lucky ones given what horrible places institutions were (and to a degree still are - the JRC springs to mind!).