Too Many Auties/Aspies

[Nitro]

Psychiatry being in a sad state is nothing new, well in my opinion it's much worse than just a "sad" state, it's still in the dark ages. Giving people highly addictive mind altering drugs as a "quick fix" is usually detrimental in the long term and amazingly so called "treatments" such as the barbaric electroshock therapy still exist today, due to receiving such bad press it's now been renamed to Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in fact I could write a lot more about barbaric practices still used even today. If you go back psychiatry was even worse still however, there was a lot more psychiatric hospitals just 25 years ago which operated under extremely questionable procedures and were in my opinion rampant with severe abuse. I could write pages on this, for instance I could talk about the testing powerful hallucinogens such as LSD, the normal prescribing of what are now various banned street drugs to patients, psychiatry in Nazi Germany that lead to a lot of modern psychiatry and much much more that completely demonises psychiatry as a profession, in fact I could even go right back to as early as 1247 when the first mental institution was opened in England named Bethlem Hospital.

Transorbital Lobotomy | Asperger's & Autism Forum a little more to think about

 

[pjcnet]

Transorbital Lobotomy | Asperger's & Autism Forum a little more to think about

Here is the missing video from the article:

(Warning - this video maybe disturbing to some viewers!)

Shocking, and many people who would have been diagnosed as autistic today would have instead ended up in psychiatric hospitals and some would have almost certainly ended up going through this barbaric procedure which effectively causes irreversible brain damage. According to another article about 50,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States alone, and Freeman himself performed between 3,500 and 5,000. Even if some people are playing the system, it's still better that there's a lot more recognised people on the autistic spectrum today than having so many in mental institutions that were rampant with abuse and questionable procedures.

According to the end of the video this procedure is still done in rare cases of OCD around the world, I'm not sure exactly when the video was made, but it's later than 1972 since it mentions the death of Walter Freeman! So even after all this the psychiatry profession still didn't completely learn from it's mistakes and this means that many aspies probably would have still ended up going through the procedure even after Walter Freeman left the medical profession in disgrace and perhaps even after his death.

Edit:

Modern Lobotomy

Despite the risks and adverse effects that were witnessed in previous patients, lobotomies remain a valid, if rare, form of treatment today. Instead of removing parts of the brain as Phineas had endured, the first lobotomies used alcohol to sever the fibers that linked the frontal lobe to the rest of the brain. Today, lobotomies are used often to treat epilepsy, and those such as the amygdalotomy use drills to create a hole in the head.

Quoted from Lobotomy: How An Explosives Accident Brought This Brain Surgery To Prominence

If this is true it's beyond belief, although it doesn't mention that it's ever still used for treating mental illnesses.

Edit 2:

(Warning: Again some people might find this video disturbing!)

 

[Chance]

Here is the missing video from the article:

(Warning - this video maybe disturbing to some viewers!)

Shocking, and many people who would have been diagnosed as autistic today would have instead ended up in psychiatric hospitals and some would have almost certainly ended up going through this barbaric procedure which effectively causes irreversible brain damage. According to another article about 50,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States alone, and Freeman himself performed between 3,500 and 5,000. Even if some people are playing the system, it's still better that there's a lot more recognised people on the autistic spectrum today than having so many in mental institutions that were rampant with abuse and questionable procedures.

According to the end of the video this procedure is still done in rare cases of OCD around the world, I'm not sure exactly when the video was made, but it's later than 1972 since it mentions the death of Walter Freeman! So even after all this the psychiatry profession still didn't completely learn from it's mistakes and this means that many aspies probably would have still ended up going through the procedure even after Walter Freeman left the medical profession in disgrace and perhaps even after his death.

Edit:

Quoted from Lobotomy: How An Explosives Accident Brought This Brain Surgery To Prominence

If this is true it's beyond belief, although it doesn't mention that it's ever still used for treating mental illnesses.

Edit 2:

(Warning: Again some people might find this video disturbing!)

That is horribly sad... and to have it done twice, is unthinkable.

Oh gosh... I watched the first one afterward... I wish I hadnt...: (

 

[OkRad]

Maybe if they could fine ONE defining thing, a gene, a chromosome, a specific enzyme deficiency... Some real thing and then base diagnosis from that base point.

At that point I might not be labeled as having ASD at all... and SPD, OCD, PTSD would just be stand alone situations...

OR maybe pull out all those over laps they have lumped in with ASD, that help make assumptions of ASD...

As far as I know the current DSM refuses anything concerning SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder)... Which blows my mind since it is nearly impossible to distinguish SPD from ASD...

They are working toward that now. When I was genetically tested, the genetcist, said it was now protocol to genetically test all who are thought to be autistic. I am sure it is because they are keeping a data base. But that is why I was tested. One day it WILL replace these dxs

 

[the_tortoise]

Do you think that the Autism label is slapped on too quickly and on many people before a proper diagnosis or by inept practitioners?

No, at least no more than with other diagnoses.

 

[Fitzo]

A big part of the problem is that too many psychs have big egos and think THEY already know everything. Therefore they don't defer to or even educate themselves on research done by others. Only a few months ago a young psychology student started a thread on here where he took screenshots of one of his 2017 textbooks, where it talked about autism being a curable "disease". Frightening to think that people are being taught stuff like that in this day and age!

It also may well be that a much larger proportion of the population has some level of autism than used to be believed, but they were undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to sheer ignorance on the part of the shrinks and even sufferers themselves.

Additionally I think the increased awareness among the general population has occurred due to auties such as Chris Packham coming out and shining a light on something which tended to be hidden or covered up until very recently. Then you have the popularity of recent TV shows such as 'The Good Doctor' and others with autistic characters.
Let's face it, most people get their information from TV so it's not surprising that to some it suddenly seems to be everywhere!

 

[Crossbreed]

1. Geeks & nerds were considered distinct from the very rare autistics, which were marked by pronounced PDD and other severe co-morbids.
2. Incidences of severe autism inexplicably shot up around the world starting in the mid-1980s.
3. While investigating this phenomenon, it was determined that geeks & nerds were on the spectrum, too. That wasn't considered before because we were able to take care of our own affairs.
4. We geeks/nerds/Aspies are not on the increase and have always been present.
5. Severe autism has been on the rise, most prominently among our children.

So many NTs still want to think that LFAs are the only form of autism. And that Aspies are just hypochondriacs.

 

[Progster]

Sometimes I think that, rather than being too many auties/aspies, there should be more!

 

[WereBear]

Additionally I think the increased awareness among the general population has occurred due to auties such as Chris Packham coming out and shining a light on something which tended to be hidden or covered up until very recently. Then you have the popularity of recent TV shows such as 'The Good Doctor' and others with autistic characters.
Let's face it, most people get their information from TV so it's not surprising that to some it suddenly seems to be everywhere!

Very true. For instance, after the election of President Obama, US advertising started using more models who were African American, and in my area which is 98% white people, there were people who said "there seem to be more." Well, not around here, our twenty or so people haven't changed! They don't even realize more visibility in mass media means... more visibility in mass media. They interpret it along with their actual space!

There's actually far more evidence that Vitamin D levels are part of LFA than vaccines, since the reported rise coincides with pressure to wear sunscreen. I think it will turn out that low D is a factor in turning HFA into LFA. Because, as I see it, autism is not the problem; but it might make other issues more of a problem.

This is undoubtedly a factor since Somalian refugees in Minnesota now report children with autism; something for which their language has no words. And rates vary widely by state, even adjoining states, which means better diagnosis and support has something to do with it.

And once again, we are not talking about the higher functioning end of the spectrum, and we never will until everyone is diagnosed and out. I have it, and no one in a million years of interacting with me had the slightest glimmer, and neither would I have, until my brain went on strike and forced me to seek out new knowledge.

And yes, there are definitely "more" because it used to be that you took the toddler to the doctor and then to the institution and then no one ever spoke of them again. There's thousands of homes out there with a baby book in the attic and no younger siblings even know. It was a "scandal" and an embarrassment and making it known would mean the other children would be shunned and couldn't get married.

 

[pjcnet]

They are working toward that now. When I was genetically tested, the genetcist, said it was now protocol to genetically test all who are thought to be autistic. I am sure it is because they are keeping a data base. But that is why I was tested. One day it WILL replace these dxs

If genetic testing becomes the trusted way to diagnose autism it is bound to cause a lot of upsets when many people who are already diagnosed as autistic find they're tested negative. The problem will be if they totally trust the genetic test when it's not fully conclusive, it could be that there's different types of autism where only some are picked up on the genetic test (I actually think this is likely), then people who still need support and came up negative could suddenly end up being thrown off the support system or won't receive the support and recognition they need in the first place. Obviously this is worrying as it could be a step in the wrong direction for some autistic people.

PS: Since I'm 1 of 3 autistic brothers I strongly suspect that I would be tested positive on a genetic test.

 

[Bella Pines]

Why is there so much autism lately?

That is really funny . If I didn't have aspergers I probably would have laughed. In that situation I would definitely had told them "Oh I read a paper by Dr [make up a name like Uri Lee Arunidiot] that says the autism gene has mixed with herpes and mutated, it's now contagious".

Do you think that the Autism label is slapped on too quickly and on many people before a proper diagnosis or by inept practitioners?

Yep. I did science and uni and well over half my year had symptoms. I think it's way more common that people realize and most computer nerds have it to some extent.

I also think people are over analyzing nowadays, you have to have a label in order to be something. Whether it's a 'return to work mum' or 'OCD' or a 'youtuber'. No one can just "be" anymore. Bring back hippies I say.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

Yep. I did science and uni and well over half my year had symptoms. I think it's way more common that people realize and most computer nerds have it to some extent

Iatrogenic disorder

 

[Progster]

Perhaps, one day, we will become so many in number that we are in a majority, and instead NTs will be the ones getting a diagnosis, ie. they will be the neurodiverse ones

 

[WereBear]

Perhaps, one day, we will become so many in number that we are in a majority, and instead NTs will be the ones getting a diagnosis, ie. they will be the neurodiverse ones

And there's a fine science fiction novel!

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Keep in mind that I am not diagnosed yet , and i dont want to be mean but, i have a personnal point of vieuw about it..

I think that what i have inside me as a illness , and with what I have learn in school about natural selection i think this is the case somehow...

I mean that now i remember countless time i put myself in danger due to this,( when i was outside my family circle) so, to me in a less civilized society, maybe i wouldnt have so much luck and died early + I am so unable to have relationship that i wont be able to find someone easely so...At the moment there is a big chance that i wont reproduce myself. So in our modern world its somehow a problem...

So here the paradox, Today we have less birth in western worl, and we overprotect the child , so , it leads to a situation with low death rate of children that maybe before had asd and didnt make it for long in life...

So somehow our society help asd people staying alive(espcially people with visible asd), so their number increases .

But the other part of the paradox, is that for many people , i think people with an invisible asd , its our modern society that "triggers" our issues.

I mean before , the world was less noisy, less crowed, repetitive tasks were how people lived, communication wasnt realy an important think outside of the family, we had no cars , and the rule were more simple..and forced mariage was a common thing.

So many people may had an invisible asd and couldnt be diagnosted , and even before, when the medical science didnt realy exist, well people would just live their life and asd wouldnt bother them as much.


I even think that my asd is a curse in my world , but could have been a blessing in ancient times, i mean, at night i dont use light, being hypersensitive to sound may be helpfull for instance, always eating the same food can also be usefull in a time were food poisoning was common.


So tldr : ofc there is more asd people now, but it works like a paradox, people with asd may be more protected by society, even if its actually our modern society that make asd a real issue xD

 

[WereBear]

It is true the world is more complicated now, but a lot of us feel the computer revolution wouldn't have happened without autism. NTs couldn't live without their Candy Crush!

 

[pjcnet]

And there's a fine science fiction novel!

Maybe in a parallel universe. We'd probably be also more advanced technologically and there would most likely be a lot less war. The whole environment would be setup for aspies so there would be less to trigger anxiety making us happier and obviously we'd the accepted while NTs would be ones who were seen as a bit odd. Even the world's population would most likely be at a more reasonable and stable level meaning less pollution and more resources to go around, especially with more technological advances. In other words overall it would probably be a good thing, of course I'm only talking about high functioning, low functioning people on the autistic spectrum such a both my brothers would still sadly be impaired as many aren't able enough to survive without a lot of support.

 

[Forgotten Aspie]

Lots of good points being made on this thread. For me, I'm just looking for a confirmation I'm on the spectrum so I have a shot at understanding issues that negatively effect my life. I want to rediscover the real me and who I am, what I truly like, what I excel at, and what I don't. I want to work on areas that improve my relationships in general. Get me out of a life of isolation. Let me see myself for who I really am. I just want to be the best, happiest person I can be and live life on MY terms... not the terms I think I'm suppose to live on.

 

[granolaturtle]

While modern psychology isn't infallible, I wouldn't point to the lack of diagnosis of autism in the 60s as proof that autistics diagnosed today aren't "true autistics". Remember, back in the 60s they literally cut up people's brains and performed conversion therapy on gay people and stuff like that. Some of the medications they administered were super dangerous and didn't actually help. I would trust modern psychology way before I looked to the 60s for more accurate views on any kind of disorder. Doesn't mean there isn't any use in going back to older studies or whatever, but it's important to keep in mind that a field's definition of something changing doesn't make it wrong or less valid. Think about the expanding knowledge of how space works and what's out there in space. Or our ever increasing understanding of what goes on in animals' heads. Professional academic fields aren't going to be static.

 

[Crossbreed]

@granolaturtle , while I agree that the therapies were more primitive, one can still spot the LFAs of the time and there were significantly fewer.