On the Spectrum…

[Ylva]

Opinion : EVERYTHING makes children autistic, where does the guilt end?

 

[King_Oni]

Oh, I'm not even going to argue about this statement. I do believe that there's a certain truth in it.

The thing however is, how much of their "autism" is an actual impairment in their functioning. Just because a kid has a tantrum, doesn't make it so that he should be on the spectrum for example. Though if I look at myself and some other people; the issue with dropping out of college because you have a serious issue with the way information is being processed.

And quite frankly, even if they would do away with the notion of autism because it's so "common" then by all means, enlighten me as to why my brain is wired differently (well I suppose NVLD is a thing; which eventually will be the next thing to point out everyone has, just like ADHD).

The notion of ASD being diagnosed to much is a two-edged sword in that it's both happening because of increased methods to diagnose it, but it also seems to be a fad (or so it is thought). I've discussed this with someone else a while ago; it requires a proper psychologist to be able to see through it and perceive someone has actual issues in life, issues which I think are mostly apparently in the teens and later. A child being a bit strange in it's behavior.... I don't know. It's the same quackery I've heard when they diagnose 4 year olds with depression.

 

[photoaddict]

Early diagnosis is really hard. With some kids, it's pretty clear from an early age, but with others, it's just borderline. My 4 year old shows a lot of signs. He's not diagnosed, but mostly because the only specialist in the area doesn't actually seem to understand ASD. I have no doubt he will be, when he's older, but for now, he has nothing. (The psych said that the fact he *wanted* friends, even though he's wholly incapable of making them or even talking to another child, he is not autistic, despite sharing "many characteristics with ASD". Umm, ok?) At the same time, he would benefit from OT for fine motor issues and other things, but he hasn't been able to get it because he doesn't have a "good enough" diagnosis (SPD & hypotonia, at the moment) to deserve it. His delays are getting greater because he's not able to receive appropriate therapies. I don't care about the label, if I could just get him help that I can't provide. Hypotonia should be enough to get help with fine motor delays, but not here.

My brother and I were not diagnosed as kids. He was 21 when he finally sought diagnosis. Looking back, my family can see that we showed very clear signs and should have been evaluated for *something*. Things they thought were "cute" or "quirks" turned out to be part of ASD.

I think I would be content with some kind of pre-diagnosis that allows for therapies, but isn't an official diagnosis of ASD. By the teens, it's pretty clear whether it's childhood quirks that needed a bit of extra help or ASD.

 

[Athelstan]

photoaddict: My medical doctor believes that I may have AS, but as this isn't the area of expertise for a PCP, she is searching for the best psychatrist possible for me to speak with.

That said, as we were talking about my struggles, my social life and friendships were obviously a major focus. I don't have friends; well, I have one, but I don't desire to keep the friendship alive anymore, even though he has been my best friend since kindergarten. And she asked me if I wished I had friends, if I wanted to have friends. My answer was no, I don't wish I had friends; rather, I wish I WANTED to have friends. She thought that was very interesting. Perhaps that's a perspective the specialst can understand with your 4 year old.

 

[Nitro]

I am originally self-diagnosed,but now have two brain professionals who work in brain damage recovery,cerebral palsy and autism who confirmed it. One of my pros has had weekly sessions with me for over two years now guiding my recovery from my traumatic brain injury. He is the one who showed me autism because he works hand in hand with it and other brain malfunctions. I have so many yet unanswered questions and dig deeper into obsessive study now that I know what I am. They now believe my brain's neuroplasticity is due to my autism. I truly hate the grandstanding "look at me I found it!" approach to the autistic spectrum and have a distrust of many in the field of psychiatry. It is a damned shame that so many in the field ruin the work of those who actually understand autism by grabbing at straws and hoping to come up with the short one with their answer.

I feel the need to add again that quite a few pros missed the mark on my autism when they were only focused on my TBI and became myopic to what was really going on inside my head from the beginning. My live-in TBI recovery program "experts" will be taken to task in the near future for butchering my recovery process as they tried to stuff this round peg into their square holes. They basically wasted a half a year of my life and $80,000 of my money playing the role of deities and did more harm than good to me.
I do remember having a meltdown at their facility and was pushed by them to become more socially active and act more "proper" to their agenda.

Never try to push this autie unless you want a fight you can never win...

Sorry for bouncing off-topic here,a rant was past due

 

[AsheSkyler]

I think my favorite blame-game has been genetically modified food. I don't know how long scientists have been tinkering with their microscopes and tweezers, but I suspect GMOs did not cause the autism of some of our 60+ friends, nor Einstein's autism.

For my own AS, I heavily believe it is genetics. And it's very likely that in time I will dismiss any outside influence and believe that is it simply a genetic thing all around for everybody (outside of freak mutations like how Progeria is currently believed to be) until they get a good, solid, infallible case for an outside influence. Autism isn't good, not bad, just luck of the draw. Heck, I think that part now anyway!

 

[Ste11aeres]

I don't really like that "everyone is on the spectrum" phrase, since it can be used to ignore/nullify the reality of genuine autism/aspergers, however, the author is right about the ridiculousness of the multiplicity of theories about what the heck the parents supposedly did to cause autism.

And ironically, searching on that site she is writing on, I came across several articles positing several more possible causes of autism. One was about high fructose corn syrup, something I'm pretty sure I'm pretty sure I didn't consume in any significant quantities while while growing up.

 

[Nitro]

I am going to tread lightly to the genetic side of the fence on this topic

I just hope I have enough moderator get out of jail free cards saved up to use as my defense strategy

 

[photoaddict]

photoaddict: My medical doctor believes that I may have AS, but as this isn't the area of expertise for a PCP, she is searching for the best psychatrist possible for me to speak with.

That said, as we were talking about my struggles, my social life and friendships were obviously a major focus. I don't have friends; well, I have one, but I don't desire to keep the friendship alive anymore, even though he has been my best friend since kindergarten. And she asked me if I wished I had friends, if I wanted to have friends. My answer was no, I don't wish I had friends; rather, I wish I WANTED to have friends. She thought that was very interesting. Perhaps that's a perspective the specialst can understand with your 4 year old.

The key is in not having friends, whether because you don't want to or because you are unable to do so. My brother has been diagnosed. His psychiatrist, who diagnosed him, was well aware of the fact that he's desperate to make friends. The key for him and for my son is that their attempts at "friendship" are disastrous. My brother clings, gets angry when there's a communication problem, hates the person, then goes crawling back and acts like nothing ever happened. That doesn't bode well for friendships. My son wants to be *near* people. To him, friendship means "I can be in the same room as this person". He talks about "friends" and desires people in his life, but he doesn't interact with children at all and his adult interactions are very, very limited. For me, I struggle to establish or maintain a friendship, but I also don't really want more than one friend. That's all I have energy for, so I don't pursue more. There are periods where I have limited energy and would rather just be alone.