Posted on 06/22/2009 2:30:44 PM PDT by mainestategop
“Aspergers is REAL”
Indeed it is.
To better understand the difference between a diagnosis of Aspergers and other syndromes, the DSM-IV TR would be the manual of choice. All DSM diagnoses of psychiatric disorders involve a specific pattern of symptoms. As our knowledge expands, these patterns and diagnoses change.
That said, the Wikipedia definition makes it clear that Aspergers is quite a bit different (and far less severe) than MR or autism. Perhaps, that is one reason it is over-diagnosed (along with AD/HD) in educational settings.
IMO,the human brain is *SO* complex and we know *SO* little about it that we should be careful not to attach political/social motives to everything that psychiatrists or neurologists do/say.
I appreciate your comments.
I am frustrated, as I have family who will NOT try to learn anything about Aspergers, and insist on taking things personally, when the poor social skills of my son cause a problem.
It is not an excuse to allow under achievement.
It is not an excuse to allow malice or abuse or even bad manors.
However, understanding the syndrome does help reduce the hurt, the pain, the guilt, and even a bit of the frustration in dealing with this disorder.
It is like you are dealing the “Dr. Spock” on Star Trek, or a robot, at times.
They just don't think or react like the rest of us.
Just because I am hungry for information about Aspergers, from the Shrinks, does not mean that I will listen to them, when it is time to vote in any election!
Several states including Maine require that children entering school be screened for Asperger’s disorder and the criteria for diagnosis has been expanded and over stretched. In the years following the inclusion of Aspergers into the DSM, diagnosis has skyrocketed throughout the nation.
Maine sucks on disability issues. The Educrats will disable anyone for the bucks.
I appreciate your response. Your emotions are perfectly understandable and not something to regret. IMHO, there are things in life that we should get angry about.
Unfortunately, “psychiatric disorders” are loaded terms for many people. As a result, many deny that disorders exist and others conflate them into much worse clinical syndromes than are the case.
As a psychologist, I blame my profession for failing to educate the public about how diagnoses are made and what they mean. The result is that some people feel stigmatized and fail to get the help they need. Others struggle because their social network does not provide them social support because of their ignorance. You may consider expanding your social network, such as finding an Asperger’s support group in your community.
If you are not getting the appropriate professional help, I recommend that you seek a specialist referral from your state APA or a well respected hospital system in your area. Please don’t be afraid to switch doctors.
Thank you, again.
You’re absolutely right. Children aren’t permitted to have different personalities anymore. All must conform. If they are unique in some way, they’re labeled with a disorder, and professions make money off it. Welcome to the Brave New World.
I'm inclined to agree, although I do believe that Asperger's Syndrome is real. The diagnosis can be used to bully the out-of-step, just as schizophrenia was so used in the 1960s. The best way to see if Asperger's is being used to lean on an out-of-step kid is to look at how loosely the diagnostic criteria are being used - and how the diagnoser takes to being rebutted provided that there are objective grounds to do so.
A rule of thunb used to detect real Asperger's is the theory-of-mind test. Here's an example, which closely follows the standard quiz:
Person A walks into a room with two boxes, Box 1 and Box 2. He puts his watch into Box 1, and leaves. Shortly afterwards, Person B comes in. She takes the watch out of Box 1 and into Box 2, and then she leaves. A couple of minutes later, Person A comes back in the room. What box does he open for his watch?Someone without Asperger Syndrome would answer "Box 1." Asperger's sufferers answer "Box 2," because they can't place themselves into another person's shoes. They just remember that the watch was moved. Note, though, that a person could answer "Box 2" for other reasons. "Person A saw person B sneak in and spied her moving the watch", for example.
Because of that theory-of-mind deficit, Asperger's sufferers do much worse in English-literature class than in others. To take a single example, they're incapable of comprehending dramatic irony.
The danger with a too-loose diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome is that an abused person shows many of the same superficial symptoms - i.e., little or no social life, restricted activities, narrow focus. A diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, in addition to stigmatizing the different, can be used to cover up cases of abuse. Therein lies the potential for getting rid of a problem (i.e. giving a hurting kid the heave-ho) instead of recognizing it.
I think any responsible clinician should have a differential-diagnosis checklist that (s)he should work through for any suspected case of Asperger's Syndrome. That list should be used to tease out cases of pseudo-Asperger's. It should include abuse and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as "very high I.Q. score."
Also, it should include narcissistic personality disorder and psychopathy. Not every case of misdiagnosed Asperger's is a saint or victim.
Common-sensically, I think the English-literature disparity is a good sieve. If a kid is getting As and Bs in science and math, ad Ds or Fs in English literature, (s)he shoud be looked at more closely. Someone whose English-literature grades are comparable to or higher than his/her math and science grades should be spared.
Hi there. I’m sorry I missed your well-reasoned reply to my post. I’ve been away from the forum due to medical reasons. I agree with you that Asperger’s is real; I know a young man diagnosed with it. He is a very intelligent young man, I might add, who is doing very well under the guidance of his loving parents. I believe he will go far in life. However, I also agree with you that the diagnostic criteria is too loose as it is applied to many other children. Have a good night.
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