A New Definition of Autism Could Exclude Many Now Diagnosed, Expert Says

A New Definition of Autism Could Exclude Many Now Diagnosed, Expert Says

www.thedailybeast.com

What is known comes from Volkmar himself. He and his team at Yale examined the case records of roughly 1,000 children diagnosed with autism in 1993 and asked what would happen if the proposed new diagnostic criteria were applied to the group. Focusing on the highest-functioning members—372 out of the sample of 1,000—Volkmar concluded that more than half of the children diagnosed with autism in 1993 would no longer receive the same diagnosis.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This has parents of the autistic flipping out! I and my daughter have Asperger's, so I'm interested in the outcome.
Apparently this research is part of the revision (the last of which was 17 years ago) of the book shrinks use to diagnose folks...
"The definition could have far-reaching effects, because it is being prepared as part of revisions to the forthcoming DSM V, the fifth edition of the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a manual that is the standard reference for mental disorders, affecting everything from research and treatment to insurance coverage. DSM V will be the first major revision of the text in 17 years."

What's your take, ATS-ers?


www.thedailybeast.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by RoswellCityLimits


Last year, one of the monthly conferences at school was about communication, non verbal, eye contact, etc. I raised my hand and asked the speaker if she had ever worked with someone with autism. She said that "those people" need a special person that can tell if they are distressed by interpreting their sounds and such.

I very politely explained to her about Asperger's syndrome, and that it's considered high functioning autism, but she dismissed my explanation saying that "those people" need special treatment.

Some people feel this way, that if a person isn't sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, they don't have autism. With these changes to the criteria, they will say "See? I told you so.".

I think part of the problem comes from all those people that go around saying "Oh, I have Asperger" because they think it makes them more interesting (and because of something they read on the internet), not realizing that they are making it difficult for all those who DO have AS.

They still haven't decided if the change is definitive, so maybe the it won't be made at all.

In other words, according to Lord, the children included in Volkmar’s analysis would not meet the new criteria, because at the time they were diagnosed, they weren’t asked the questions that the new criteria will demand. The information was simply not gathered at the time of their assessments. To come to the conclusion, then, that a major portion of these children would no longer be included on the autism spectrum is the product of faulty reasoning.

“The fact that they didn’t meet the criteria—it just means that nobody asked them,” says Lord. “I don’t know how you could interpret that data—it’s just not interpretable.”

“We can understand why parents are anxious, but this is all very premature. The fact that a diagnosis can become more rigorous and more specific doesn’t mean that kids who do not meet the diagnosis still don’t have another disorder that also still will require intervention.”

Source

So... what? Are they going to replace the autism diagnosis for a different one?

I'm going to keep an eye out for news about this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention

reply to post by Casandra


I have Asperger's, and I mention it because it explains A LOT to the people who know me. I don't know of anybody who goes around and advertises it because it makes them "interesting". The main reaction I get is that people want to stay farther away from me, there is no reward for letting people know you have a disorder.

I have worked with autistic individuals in depth. When I told my boss about my diagnosis (which was done by a professional and not from some internet quiz), it was the beginning of the end of my career. They always thought I was weird and quirky before, but after my revelation, they started treating me like I had a low IQ as well. Pretty sad that people who work with those on the autistic spectrum, and are supposed to be supportive and open, are every bit as closed-minded and cruel as anybody else.

This revision of the DSM was probably prompted by the insurance industry, as well as government agencies who are required to pay for special education and support services. By excluding high-functioning autism and Asperger's, they save themselves a pile of dough. This is all about money, and not about truth.

The DSM was expanded exponentially in the last 10 years to include all kinds of disorders which really aren't disorders in the true sense of the word, but now when it comes to paying for assistance and medication and special education, they are going to cut out a lot of individuals who need the help. Big Pharma was there to make sure the diagnoses were created and expanded to they could sell their meds to a much larger customer base. Now Big Insurance and the government are pushing back, but at the wrong group.

The incidence of autism has now gone up exponentially, and they don't want to pay for it. It's just that simple.

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
reply to post by Casandra

 

When I told my boss about my diagnosis (which was done by a professional and not from some internet quiz)

You've gotten an official diagnosis, that's what I mean.

But I've seen people on the internet comment that they have everything on a checklist and now they know they have AS, but don't bother getting a professional opinion.

Since when is an online quiz an official diagnosis? It's like OCD, these days everyone goes around saying they have it, or make jokes about it, "Oh, I'm so OCD!", and they laugh. They have no idea how difficult it can be to live with it. And because of their jokes, when you explain someone that you have OCD they laugh and say "Oh, so you wash your hands all the time?" and think it's silly. I've come across many people like that, and it makes me angry.

Sorry about the rant, it's just that pretending to have something because some may think it's "cool" or want to be different actually makes things difficult for someone who has it for real, and that just irritates me.

I'm glad you haven't encountered these kind of people, they can be very annoying. And thanks for sharing your story, by the way

A smack on the rear end can do the same so what ?

Regards
Lee

They ought to clamp down on Autism diagnosis, especially, ESPECIALLY Aspergers diagnosis's. I believe there are thousands upon thousands of kids being mis-diagnosed with this "disorder". I was misdiagnosed with it when I was in the 9th grade and the effects of this diagnosis were extremely damaging to me during my development. I convinced myself that I was some sort of freak with brain damage who couldn't socialize, but later in life I became aware and figured out that all of my problems growing up had to do with the circumstances surrounding my childhood and the extremely negative home environment I lived in constantly.

I have met genuine kids with this Aspergers disorder, so I know they exist. BUT, in my opinion it can be very very easy to misdiagnose a young child that's going through major depression and anxiety with this disorder. A kid that's very anxious probably will have a monotonous voice and might not look you in the eye and I think factors like anxiety and depression can account for and mirror a lot of the documented signs of the disorder, which turned out to be the case for me. I know there are a lot more people out there going through life with this horrible label convincing themselves that they're brain damaged freaks that can't socialize and this is very very unfortunate and could be prevented with stricter, more accurate diagnosis criteria.

I'm all for it, they ought to change the definition of Autism and it's related disorders ASAP.