It sounds nicer to say Aspergers Syndrome or Aspie than Autism Spectrum Disorder anyway. It’s kind of a shame that they took out a nicer sounding term that people identify with and replaced it with one that has “disorder” in the wording.
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My story - How I overcame most of my autism symptoms
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It sounds nicer to say Aspergers Syndrome or Aspie than Autism Spectrum Disorder anyway. It’s kind of a shame that they took out a nicer sounding term that people identify with and replaced it with one that has “disorder” in the wording.
It could mean we "no longer exist" in many ways even if we are here to disprove the clam! It's clear from everything that is going on, lies work. There were countries who said they had no "cases of homosexuality"!!! So, while of course, there was same sex or multi sex attraction, there were "NO CASES."
There could be several ways to reduce the cases......First, by continuing to narrow the criteria. By kicking out all aspies, even though we are ON THE SPECTRUM and supposed to be included, I can't tell you how many Aspies have been left behind.....It is the same as they have done with poverty. By lowering the benchmark-WALLA! Overnight reduction in poverty!
Another way is to again change the wording and change how we are seen. Inserting one little word or two or shading a meaning can also make a difference. Calling meltdowns "tantrums" or "dangerous and violent outbursts" could also change how we are perceived, thus reducing the number of people willing to come forward to be dxed.
Those who had kids like us in safe places in safe times worked SUPER HARD to change the language from incorrigible to overload from sense issues, from self centered to hyper focused, from undisciplined to having a little delay, from hopeless to full of potential. All it takes is a few people in power who think autism has too much funding and the language and diagnoses will change again.
It's not magic. The meaning of words changes over time. For example, in the DSM-II, what's called autism today was called childhood-onset schizophrenia. When DSM-III came out, those people no longer met the criteria for schizophrenia but instead met the criteria for a new condition called autism. Those people weren't magically no longer schizophrenic. They were simply given a new label based on the latest scientific research that showed autism and schizophrenia were separate conditions.
If scientists prove in a few years that 50% of people who meet the DSM-5 criteria for autism have those symptoms due to a mast cell disorder, the DSM-6 will change the criteria and the 50% diagnosed with autism today will no longer be autistic (based on the new meaning of the label) and instead diagnosed with a more accurate mast cell disorder.
The DSM used to include homosexuality as a mental illness. Did removing homosexuality from the DSM mean that homosexuals no longer exist?
That’s all I was trying to say, but it *maybe* got misunderstood or misreprented for the sake of debate that I think that Aspergers no longer exists as a set of symptoms
I am not a big fan of the way the DSM system works in general, in that everything has to be a disorder. Like you can’t just have an anxious personality, you have to have an anxiety “disorder.” Like getting sexually assaulted meant that I have a “Panic Disorder” and so on.
Everything I say is being critical of the way the DSM works, not questioning whether the underlying thing exists.
I suspect that @FormerlyAutistic concerns are along the same lines as mine
It’s a bit hard to explain issues with the DSM without it seeming like Aspergers or autism are being criticized. I think maybe my response to @FormerlyAutistic earlier kind of might kind of ok
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That will NEVER happen and regardles how many times they tweek or change the name or said criterias ALL thats alredy been diagnosed will still have there given diagnose be it Asberger / Autism / ASD 1 -3 etc.... It will only apply for new diagnosis. NOT us that are alredy diagnosed (i still have MBD in my Evaluation papers as cause of said ADHD and the rest. NO doctor can remove youre diagnose against youre will. They need youre aproval to do so.
And reg DSM there is a constant debate regarding its different flaws and what still needs to be addressed in future versions (incl said criterias for each level i might add )
Noone in here as far as i can see is against any given earlier name on this diagnose and there is nothing wrong in using any of the old names as thats the diagnose name you were given. Be it Asbergers / Autism and all other previos names for this diagnose.
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@FormerlyAutistic So in a nutshell, what you’re saying is:
-Autism is a personality disorder, not a neurological disorder. Its symptoms are the result of negative childhood experiences, and like any other personality disorder (e.g. borderline, antisocial, OCD, etc.), it can be cured through CBT and other psychological therapies.
-“Autism” means whatever the DSM says it means, so we may all wake up tomorrow and find that a symptom has been added or removed from the DSM that disqualifies us from the diagnosis, rendering us formerly autistic as you say.
-Autism is a personality disorder, not a neurological disorder. Its symptoms are the result of negative childhood experiences, and like any other personality disorder (e.g. borderline, antisocial, OCD, etc.), it can be cured through CBT and other psychological therapies.
-“Autism” means whatever the DSM says it means, so we may all wake up tomorrow and find that a symptom has been added or removed from the DSM that disqualifies us from the diagnosis, rendering us formerly autistic as you say.
The purpose of the DSM is to identify and categorize disorders for the purpose of research and treatment. If you "just have an anxious personality" then you don't have a disorder and the DSM isn't interested in it.
Around 10% of people have the core symptoms of autism (These people are considered part of what's called the broader autism phenotype which isn't included in the DSM). Only 20% of people with the core symptoms of autism have enough impairments to meet the DSM's criteria of having a disorder which menas the criteria for ASD is based solely on the symptoms of the 20% who are significantly impaired by their symptoms. That's why psychological symptoms are part of the criteria for ASD and why ASD is listed in a book for mental disorders.
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Those with the core symptoms of autism are part of what's called the broader autism phenotype which affects approx. 10% of the population and is probably genetic. The DSM is only concerned with mental disorders so only about 20% of those with the core symptoms of autism who developed psychological problems (caused by negative thought patterns and coping mechanisms) are included when setting the criteria for ASD. That means the DSM-5 criteria for ASD includes symptoms with both genetic and psychological causes. Only the psychological aspects can be treated with psychological therapies.
All medical conditions are defined by experts in charge of defining them based on scientific consensus. Some people diagnosed with schizophrenia, childhood onset in the DSM-II found they no longer met the criteria for schizophrenia in the DSM-III and had their diagnosis changed to autism. The same thing happened with Asperger's Syndrome. Research increases knowledge which results in more accurate diagnostic categories. That's how science works.
Which psychological symptoms of autism do you think can be cured?
Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
Nearly all of the restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (with a few sensory symptoms being the exception)
I'm NOT saying those symptoms are SOLELY caused by psychological problems (anxiety, coping mechanisms, negative thinking patterns, cognitive distortions). Genetic and/or biological causes may contribute to some of those symptoms in some people.
Aspertastic7
Well-Known Member
Hi @FormerlyAutistic, have you ever considered the ICD-10 criteria? I think they are different from the DSM criteria (that are only used in the US as far as I know, meanwhile ICD is the common classification system used in Europe). Maybe you're interested in them as well.
The ICD-10 criteria are very similar to the older DSM-IV criteria. (The ICD-10 was released in 1990, the DSM-IV in 1994). I looked up proposed changes in the upcoming ICD-11 and found this:
“The definition of autism in ICD-11 and the one in the DSM-5 are not identical, but they’re very, very close,” says Michael B. First, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University and a member of the committee that drafted the mental and neurodevelopmental disorders chapter of the ICD. “So it’s not likely that there’ll be significant differences in who gets labeled.” Proposed revisions to global diagnostic manual for autism raise concerns
By the wise words of Captain Jack Sparrow: 'The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem'
I'm not saying autism doesn't create problems. It most certainly does. However! A negative outlook about being on the autism spectrum, in my personal experience, creates more problems - preventable problems. In contrast, approaching such problems - namely, those created by having autism - with realistic optimism reduces, not only the number of problems but also the scale. Depression and anxiety tends to cause us to perceive even the most minute problems as more insurmountable than they really are. But a well-adjusted and balanced attitude allows us to see problems as they are, and to think about practical steps we can take to improve our situation if and when possible. And if we can, then great. But if we can't, then that's okay, too. It's not the end of the world because we are still focused on what is most important to us, and we have hope that our problems don't necessarily have to control our lives.
I'm not saying autism doesn't create problems. It most certainly does. However! A negative outlook about being on the autism spectrum, in my personal experience, creates more problems - preventable problems. In contrast, approaching such problems - namely, those created by having autism - with realistic optimism reduces, not only the number of problems but also the scale. Depression and anxiety tends to cause us to perceive even the most minute problems as more insurmountable than they really are. But a well-adjusted and balanced attitude allows us to see problems as they are, and to think about practical steps we can take to improve our situation if and when possible. And if we can, then great. But if we can't, then that's okay, too. It's not the end of the world because we are still focused on what is most important to us, and we have hope that our problems don't necessarily have to control our lives.
For many years I coped by convincing myself there was nothing wrong with me, that I was neurodiverse, and just as good as everyone else. While I felt better, I still felt the need to mask my symptoms. I still got upset when people criticized me for differences or said I was weird.
After researching CBT, and learning how our feelings are caused, not by what people say or do, but by our own thoughts, I realized I got upset because I didn't actually believe what I convinced myself was true. I unconsciously still saw myself as inferior which is what caused me to get upset when people criticized me for stuff related to autism. I had masked my belief that I was inferior from myself to suppress how it made me feel.
After reading about cognitive distortions, I learned that having a disorder, symptoms, and flaws did not make me inferior (that's labeling, a form of overgeneralization). My coping mechanism, believing I was neurodiverse, was another cognitive distortion (black and white thinking) that caused further misunderstandings that made it more difficult to understand other people. After correcting those distortions, the internal stress I didn't know I had (caused by those distortions and the belief I was fundamentally different than other people) went away and I could think more clearly and understand people better than I ever thought was possible.
Great advice @Pondering I could have saved myself a bunch of unnecessary hardship if I had accepted I had a disorder and dealt with my problems instead of trying to avoid them by convincing myself I was neurodiverse and that there was nothing wrong with me. I wish someone had told me earlier that autism wasn't part of who I am but something I had and that having a disorder, symptoms, flaws, and weaknesses didn't make me any less worthy than anyone else because everyone has problems and weaknesses. Our intrinsic worth as human beings makes us equal and worthy which is all that's needed to have a good self-esteem. There is no need to mask symptoms or be ashamed of having autism. We can all be our true selves while working to improve our weaknesses.
After researching CBT, and learning how our feelings are caused, not by what people say or do, but by our own thoughts, I realized I got upset because I didn't actually believe what I convinced myself was true. I unconsciously still saw myself as inferior which is what caused me to get upset when people criticized me for stuff related to autism. I had masked my belief that I was inferior from myself to suppress how it made me feel.
After reading about cognitive distortions, I learned that having a disorder, symptoms, and flaws did not make me inferior (that's labeling, a form of overgeneralization). My coping mechanism, believing I was neurodiverse, was another cognitive distortion (black and white thinking) that caused further misunderstandings that made it more difficult to understand other people. After correcting those distortions, the internal stress I didn't know I had (caused by those distortions and the belief I was fundamentally different than other people) went away and I could think more clearly and understand people better than I ever thought was possible.
Great advice @Pondering I could have saved myself a bunch of unnecessary hardship if I had accepted I had a disorder and dealt with my problems instead of trying to avoid them by convincing myself I was neurodiverse and that there was nothing wrong with me. I wish someone had told me earlier that autism wasn't part of who I am but something I had and that having a disorder, symptoms, flaws, and weaknesses didn't make me any less worthy than anyone else because everyone has problems and weaknesses. Our intrinsic worth as human beings makes us equal and worthy which is all that's needed to have a good self-esteem. There is no need to mask symptoms or be ashamed of having autism. We can all be our true selves while working to improve our weaknesses.
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What are the genetic and/or biological causes you're referring to here? I think you're contradicting yourself a bit. You say autistic traits can be treated with psychological therapies but then say that sometimes they may be caused by genetic/biological factors (which means they cannot be treated with psychological therapies). So are you saying that autism is a neurological disorder in some people sometimes but in most cases it is just a personality disorder?
By the way, I would not have developed a personality disorder by the age of three. Personality disorders begin in the teen years and adulthood. They don't develop in little kids who haven't even entered school yet (I've had autistic traits since I was an infant) and come from stable, loving homes.
I think the keyword there is "understanding." It implies a neurological cause. I remember entering kindergarten and not understanding how to interact with the other kids. I was confused - I wasn't sad or depressed or anxious in any way. Not in the slightest. I just wasn't sure what to do. I still don't. I also preferred to wander off and play by myself. And again, I'm still this way, and I don't at all consider it a psychological problem--it is simply the way I am, the way I have always been.
I have rocked since I was a baby. Little babies in their cribs don't develop psychological disorders (i.e. there is no psychological explanation for my rocking). Other repetitive behaviors (insistence on sameness, adherence to ritual, intense fixated interests, etc.) also develop in toddlerhood (kids ages 1 - 3 years). Again, kids that young don't develop psychological disorders. Behavior observed that young in children belies a neurological/biological/genetic cause.
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Before I used CBT, I noticed milk made me more autistic and that I felt less autistic during the winter. It wasn't a huge difference and I didn't notice it for most of my life. After using CBT during the winter while avoiding dairy, nearly all of my symptoms went away (including the ones I attribute to genetics). Once spring started, some of those symptoms returned at the same time my seasonal allergies started bothering me. I searched online for a connection and found research suggesting that mast cell disorders may cause 50% of cases of autism. Mast cell disorders are allergic diseases that can affect the brain and cause cognitive dysfunction. They can be triggered by many things (different for each person) like milk and pollen but the biggest trigger is stress. After using CBT to overcome lifelong internal stress, my remaining symptoms varied more noticeably. The second biggest trigger for me is pollen and after overcoming stress, there was a huge difference between my symptoms during the last two winters (hardly any) to the symptoms I have during the rest of the year (the pollen affects me from March through October).
That pattern makes it easy to tell which symptoms are caused by mast cells and which are psychological. There is definitely some overlap. Both negative thinking patterns and mast cell activation make it harder to understand and relate to people. I prefer sameness and routine when my mast cells are triggered to cope with the cognitive dysfunction but also when I had anxiety. I also get overstimulated more often and am more socially awkward than I am during the winter when I can avoid all the triggers.
In my case, I'd say the milk I consumed daily in the first few years of my life triggered my mast cells causing me to suffer continually from cognitive dysfunction which caused confusion and wanting to be alone. Insistence on sameness and adherence to rituals would be a way of coping with cognitive dysfunction. Rocking may have been your way of coping with stress caused by being confused and not understanding people and you may keep doing it now because you enjoy it.
Other symptoms developed later could be due to developing maladaptive thinking patterns based on the way you were treated. These would vary for each person since we were all treated differently and respond to what happens to us differently.
Also, while it many not apply to you, studies have shown that babies can suffer from psychological disorders. Babies can feel rejected (especially if they are emotionally neglected) and become depressed because of it which causes symptoms very similar to autism (speech delay, loss of interest in people, irritability, sensitivity to criticism, etc.) Repetitive behaviors can be caused by rumination due to depression or anxiety.
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Ezra
Relax, it's just chaos.
I'm not sure I understand why some people are bothered by the term "Asperger's Syndrome" being dropped. What it seemed to infer is there are those who aren't really autistic. That they only have a form of autism that needs a separate designation. Instead it was decided that was not the case and those people just simply have autism. That there was no aspergers vs autism, or pddnos vs autism, but rather that it is all autism.
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