You did the same thing to my post and then accuse me of cherry picking. I din’t realize you were a doctor and could make this diagnosis by “red flags” I know alot of people who don’t make eye contact with people, but I am not ready to prescribe medication for it. the diagnosis of autism is totally and I mean totally subjective. I think if we had a better understanding on how the fascinating organ we call the brain works, then we can actually make some headway on this issue.
I am just wondering why they consider not making eye contact is a “red flag”. My take on it is that so many people do communicate with out making eye contact. So the more people that don’t make eye contact are being classified as autistic which= more money in the pockets of people who really don’t have your child’s welfare in mind. I have heard through ut my life another reason that people can’t maintain eye contact when communicating is that they might be “lying” also. People who are dishonest don’t look at peoples eyes.
And when I was in highschool we called those people nerds not autistic. If you look back alot of those people are very successful now.
“You did the same thing to my post and then accuse me of cherry picking.”
If you feel I have misrepresented your statements, let me know where I erred so we can understand each other better.
It was my impression you were claiming I thought the boy might be autistic only because he scored well on tests.
If I really thought that - then I would have to think all smart people are autistic - which I don’t.
“I din’t realize you were a doctor and could make this diagnosis by “red flags” I know alot of people who don’t make eye contact with people, but I am not ready to prescribe medication for it. the diagnosis of autism is totally and I mean totally subjective. “
I never claimed to be a doctor, and I never made a diagnosis.
I said “I’ll bet” he had it - which is an opinion based on what I’ve learned, but certainly not a diagnosis.
Maybe I could have been more clear and stated “he exhibited many characteristics associated with the disorder”
I have received information, however, from medical doctors, and from observing the testing my son went through.
And what I learned is that they do not make diagnosis based on only one or two signs - there are quite a number behaviors and characteristics they are looking for before they make that leap.
Any doctor willing to quickly make the assumption based only on a quick exam should be treated with healthy skepticism while a 2nd opinion is sought.
It appears to me you are concerned that a child will be incorrectly labeled based only on a few quirks.
Maybe that does happen, but from my personal experience - I haven’t seen that happening.
“I think if we had a better understanding on how the fascinating organ we call the brain works, then we can actually make some headway on this issue.”
Absolutely! And I think any parent with an autistic child would wholeheartedly agree with that statement.
“I am just wondering why they consider not making eye contact is a “red flag”. My take on it is that so many people do communicate with out making eye contact. So the more people that don’t make eye contact are being classified as autistic which= more money in the pockets of people who really don’t have your child’s welfare in mind. I have heard through ut my life another reason that people can’t maintain eye contact when communicating is that they might be “lying” also. People who are dishonest don’t look at peoples eyes.”
It is only one thing they are looking for. One thing among many other things.
I don’t know why they don’t make eye contact.
They also tend to refrain from close physical contact (not very cuddly). They have difficulty understanding or interpreting emotions in others.
Some cannot speak - but those that do speak often show difficulty with engaging in a 2 way social conversation.
Their responses may not seem pertinent or connected to the context of the conversation.
These are only a few things I learned while my son was being tested.
One reason they decided my son was not autistic or had asperger’s was due to his ability to maintain eye contact during his testing. While his conversation can be awkward at times, he was attempting to give appropriate responses to questions asked.
He is also very cuddly, and when they requested him to draw pictures of an “angry boy” and a “happy boy” or a “bored boy” - he did that very well showing he understood what those emotions meant.
“And when I was in highschool we called those people nerds not autistic.”
Yes we did - but we really didn’t know what autism was then.
Do a google search on asperger’s and on brainman.
I recently read an article that many accomplished mathematicians and computer scientists exhibit those type of characteristics.