Bureaucracy in high level Psychology: The Autism Conspiracy

As a Master's student a few years ago it brought me quite a bit of concern when I heard how the upcoming DSM 5 ("DSM-V" to be released end of 2012) was changing the rules on defining Autism Spectrum Disorder. The DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and is basically the Bible for clinical Psychology. It tells the exact rules for when to diagnose someone, for example, an individual must be depressed for 6 weeks before a diagnosis of Depression can be made (to be very simple about it).

The DSM leadership are changing the rules to make MANY more people diagnosable with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) including high-functioning individuals with Asperger's Syndrome. People with Asperger's fit in reasonably well into society and you likely had some people with it in your schools over the years without even knowing.

One aspect of the conspiracy is that mainstream news sources are saying this change will help people by allowing more people to be diagnosed, however the wrong people will be diagnosed!

The upcoming version of the DSM is changing the ASD diagnosis as follows:

DSM-V Development: concerning Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis: "The work group is proposing that this disorder be subsumed into an existing disorder: Autistic Disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder)."

The DSM-V precise definition of Autism is included in the second post below.

Scientific American (which used to be exceptionally respected and valid until the last decade or so) says the opposite of actual facts:

Redefining Autism: Will New DSM-5 Criteria for ASD Exclude Some People?

Experts call for small and easy changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the "bible" of psychiatry, so that everyone with autism spectrum disorder qualifies for a diagnosis

This is just reverse psychology (pun intended) ... they assume Asperger's kids belong in the group with Autism (which most Psychologists I've met adamantly disagree with). The current way doesn't exclude people - but the new way will include many, many more people who shouldn't be diagnosed as Autistic.


One HUGE problem with this is that Autism Spectrum Disorder has been shown to have over 300 different components and it's as-of-yet impossible to diagnose properly (sorry I don't have a current source for this but have been an intern at one of the most respected Psychiatric Hospitals in the U.S. and it is common knowledge that there's no single source for ASD). The symptoms they've named can be mutually exclusive, not consistent, caused by foods and allergies, etc, etc. There is no one cause for Autism - there are 300+ causes ... and furthermore, the authorities are not including possible alternative causes such as the societal stress, amount of chemicals we ingest, etc we experience in America (where Autism rates are 4 times higher than any other country on the planet).


Where will this lead??

A "CURE"

Not a REAL cure but a mix of mind-altering chemicals to further disconnect these people from life and make this growing population both docile and a huge profit for the chemical manufacturer's


PREDICTION

Shortly after the DSM-V is released, with it's new Autism diagnoses, an American company will come up with an "Autism Cure" drug. It will make huge headlines and the company's stock will soar! Then this group will again be forgotten and no one will notice the drug works 30% of the time and doesn't actually help the target audience.

I don't know exactly who's behind this; it needs more research. As an insider in the field I see a lot of people complaing about this, as it's simply an unjust assessment which Clinical Psychologists will have to follow or risk losing their licenses.


One other sign this is coming right from the top.

Doctors published the following paper in The American Journal of Psychiatry: Differences in White Matter Fiber Tract Development Present From 6 to 24 Months in Infants With Autism. Their results include the word "may precede the manifestation of autistic symptoms" and that "Longitudinal data are critical"... this means that the data may or may not be the cause; all they have right now is a correlation and need a longitudinal (many-years-long study) in order to have any value in the data. Good science with appropriate attention to validity.

BUT LOOK WHAT CBS NEWS HAS FALSELY REPORTED IT AS!!

Autism signs detected in brain scans of infants and they include:

Brain scans of infants may predict high risk for autism, new research shows. While symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder usually appear before age three, they are typically not identified until after a child's first birthday.

** EDITED to address age issue **
The DSM has NO mention of specific age but it's rare for a child under 10 to be diagnosed, in my personal experience as an intern in a major Psychiatric hospital. In fact our youngest "autism patient" was 12. This can certainly be argued on both sides because, especially in the media, there's been a trend to diagnose more and at an earlier age even though in Psychology, in my experience as a Psychologist, it has not trended that way for Autism.
(Edit)I agree Autism and Asperger's can be recognized at a pretty early age, however I don't know much about the treatment and drugging of these children below age 10 or so. It is definitely a hot topic right now.(/edit)

Furthermore, a look at the specifically designated DSM symptoms for Autism CANNOT be diagnosed by neuroimaging in babies... Autism is BEHAVIORAL!


CBS (and other mainstream sources) are pushing this total lack of understanding of Psychology in a way that will allow people to favor a "cure" while completely disregarding what Autism is - we are being prepped for an investment opportunity.


One final aspect, and a possible key in the alleged conspiracy:

Many of the Asperger's kids have genius level IQ. They are known as "twice exceptional" meaning they have advanced anti-social issues while having an IQ higher than 140. A lot of these kids have synesthesia and varying levels of "genius" and truly think in unconventional means. These are people who can change the world - but not if they're on serious medications from age 2.

American Psychiatric Association DSM-V Development
(source)

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Must meet criteria A, B, C, and D:



A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across contexts, not accounted for by general developmental delays, and manifest by all 3 of the following:

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity; ranging from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back and forth conversation through reduced sharing of interests, emotions, and affect and response to total lack of initiation of social interaction,

2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction; ranging from poorly integrated- verbal and nonverbal communication, through abnormalities in eye contact and body-language, or deficits in understanding and use of nonverbal communication, to total lack of facial expression or gestures.

3. Deficits in developing and maintaining relationships, appropriate to developmental level (beyond those with caregivers); ranging from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit different social contexts through difficulties in sharing imaginative play and in making friends to an apparent absence of interest in people

B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities as manifested by at least two of the following:

1. Stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements, or use of objects; (such as simple motor stereotypies, echolalia, repetitive use of objects, or idiosyncratic phrases).

2. Excessive adherence to routines, ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior, or excessive resistance to change; (such as motoric rituals, insistence on same route or food, repetitive questioning or extreme distress at small changes).

3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus; (such as strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).

4. Hyper-or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment; (such as apparent indifference to pain/heat/cold, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, fascination with lights or spinning objects).

C. Symptoms must be present in early childhood (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities)

D. Symptoms together limit and impair everyday functioning.

I have two friends who have children who are diagnosed with autism. The only thing connecting these friends are the military.
One friend has a daughter who was diagnosed long before she was 10 (she's 12 now).
Another friend has two sons, ages 5 and 3. They both have autism.
From personal experience, I have to argue your point that autism is commonly diagnosed after age 10.

If I'm reading this right, you are saying autism will be more commonly diagnosed?

My friend who has the two boys is worried about the redefinition of autism limiting treatment, not adding treatment. From our understanding, autism would be diagnosed less and her boys could lose their diagnosis. She fears she could lose access to therapy that has helped her boys so much.

Here's one of many articles mentioning parents fears of autism services being cut to their small children.
From Hartford Courant

reply to post by collietta


great info! thanks for sharing.

It really is a mess and needs to be discussed WELL BEYOND mainstream news sources.


My biggest concern is that basically "normal" people with Asperger's, who could easily be unrecognizable from any other citizen after teen years, will be drugged from an early age.

I have a real issue with kids of age 2, 3, 5? being diagnised with a behavioral issue such as Autism.
is this

Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity; ranging from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back and forth conversation through reduced sharing of interests, emotions, and affect and response to total lack of initiation of social interaction

Taken directly from the DSM-V basis, really be used to ascertain the mental health of a three-year old??

While I agree with your op and find a lot of your information spot-on, I disagree with the age diagnosis.

Most parents with children who are severely autistic know something is wrong before their child enters school.

For children who are on the spectrum but not severely autistic, it's usually noticed by the child's teacher.

What you said about Asperger's has me confused. It was my understanding that Asperger's was already on the autism spectrum. Is this not the case?

Thank you for an informative thread!

reply to post by smyleegrl


Currently Asperger's has it's own diagnosis criteria. In the new DSM-V it won't even be called Asperger's, it will simply be known as Autistic Disorder.

DSM IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for Asperger’s Syndrome

I edited my OP concerning the age issue between "diagnosis" vs treatment.

2nd

reply to post by Thermo Klein


Thank you for the clarification.

Going to read your sources. Great thread!

reply to post by Thermo Klein

i regret to inform you that the DSM also known as The Big Book of Mental Illness is a tool of political and social control. it's definitions always change to suit the political tides.

evidence?

Is Schizophrenia Really a Black Disease? bigthink.com...

Who decides what "insane" means? This was the major question of Ken Kesey's countercultural classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which illustrated how mental illness could be deployed by the establishment to crush the individual. But a recent book by University of Michigan psychiatry professor Jonathan Metzl suggests that Kesey's novel might not have been far from non-fiction. In "The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease," Metzl documents the shifting interpretations of schizophrenia through the 20th century, tracing its evolution from a "white middle-class woman's disease" to an "African-American man's disease." Specifically, with the political upheaval of the civil rights movement, popular culture began to associate angry black men with schizophrenia, which in turn influenced the way doctors interpreted and diagnosed the illness.
***
"In particularly the early 1920s, 1930s, 1940s when the idea of schizophrenia itself was first coming to the United States from Europe there was a general assumption that persons who suffered from schizophrenia were either shy or calm or they were geniuses," Metzl says. "It was often represented as an illness that afflicted white novelists or poets and as I say, these were very often in popular and psychiatric representation assumed to be white people." But during the massive societal upheavals in the middle of century, ideas of sanity and insanity took on new meaning. "All of a sudden in the 1960s, American culture, newspapers, magazines, movies start to represent angry African-American men as in part being inflicted with a new form of this particular illness," and this change in popular perception of the disease directly influenced the clinical definition of it, Metzl argues. "All of a sudden in 1968, the second version of the Diagnostic Manual comes out and there is new language that says 'aggression, hostility, projection.'" The image of a schizophrenic person was all of a sudden more violent and unstable than the schizophrenic of 20 years before.

The practical consequences of this popular-cum-clinical shift in perception was that in the 1960s far more African-American men were institutionalized in psychiatric wards with schizophrenia. "Some had committed crimes, some had participated in civil rights protests, some had been participants in urban riots at the time. They all passed through various forms of the penal system and ended up diagnosed with schizophrenia and locked in the psychiatric wards," says Metzl. But were these men really schizophrenic? Or were they victims of shifting clinical definitions of disease, one that was prone to metaphoric interpretation?

How Schizophrenia Became a "Black Disease" bigthink.com...

the psychotherapeutic community has not only betrayed the Hippocratic oath, it is in essence a priesthood at the service of TCOTBIP.

it has arrogated for itself the social role shamans and medicine people while simultaneously labeling the former as fakers and frauds, never mind the utter irrationality of attempting to deal with /explain the Subjective from a materialist/objective POV.

none of them have made the inner journey, healer heal thyself doesn't seem to apply to them.

congratulations on begginning to see through the BS, thermo, this is a result of you being an exception having made the inner journey or in the process of doing so,
you must be careful though, as it could cost you your certification as you are joining the ranks of such people as Reich, remember what happened to him at the hand of the false priests of orthodoxy.

S&F

reply to post by Thermo Klein


some of these criteria would have had einstein on drugs
and thus no relativity theory as a result

don't forget that all those kids that act out and shoot up their schools, like columbine, etc, and the 15yr old girl that killed another girl and posted it online

were all on anti-psychotics since they were little

reply to post by DerepentLEstranger


Thank you

Thank you for your concern as well, although I have the Master's degree and trained in therapeutic practices I purposefully am not a licensed therapist because I focus on things such as Consciounsess Studies, paranormal, working with clients who have or believe they have been abducted, etc. Long as I provide the right paperwork and disclose that I'm not licensed I am able to work with clients and help people in alternative means, not bound to the DSM and APA restrictions.

reply to post by Thermo Klein




not at all.
there's nothing we can do for all those angry black men [and with good reasons] who were criminally misdiagnosed, and as suspect, many of the women decades earlier; along with other victims of such processes
as lobotomy and electroshock [my best friend from childhood started hearing voices, was electroshocked multiple times, and is now a mega-cluster of memes and engrams trapped in a human body, no complete personality at all left]

but maybe it can be stopped this time.
or at least minimized.


i also wanted to get that posted material in before the psycho-shills and
the psycho-priesthood of The Church of The Poisoned Mind gets here and starts using NLP and other nefarious tricks of the trade

my own education and opinions re modern psycho-therapy began at 7 when i realized that daddy was mental
fortunately i was a bookworm and dad was stupid enough to have tons of books on the subject, he needed them to construct the "face he kept in a jar by the door"* , sociopath that he was

*[eleanor rigby, a beatles song]

reply to post by Thermo Klein


There is far more to the autism conspiracies than aspergers definition being changed. From the US government (and it's owners) trying to shout parents down about vaccine injury to "autism purists" claiming it's an evolutionary mutation and so never a disability. The community is already at war with itself meanwhile they are all being used as both guinea pigs and cash cows by the entire medical industry.

reply to post by riley


I agree! It's is a pretty far-reaching, and influential agenda

great avatar btw

Interesting. My son was "officially" diagnosed at 3 with moderate autism. He's now considered high functioning. We knew something was wrong when he was 11 months old. He started global therapy at 2 yrs on the nose. Definitely genetic. We've had a nephew and a cousin diagnosed Aspergers in the last 24 months, and my father-in-law, brother-in-law and dad all show autistic traits.

We do have him on one pharmaceutical that he's been on since he was 3. (he's 13 now). Fluvoxamine Maleate, also known as Luvox. We tried it due to some coincidental information I found at the time. The first was a book I read about high functioning autistics. (Basically the author just ripped off long passages written by the people with autism.) I have clinical depression myself, and I was struck by the similar symptoms they described, specifically fuzziness in thinking, inability to concentrate. The same month I read a newsletter mentioning studies being done by European universities on the use of SSRIs with autism.

Our neurologist at the time was not enthusiastic about the trial. She had seen too many parents looking for a miracle cure. Once we explained we didn't expect an SSRI to be a "cure", but to take care of specific problems such as my son's propensity for self injury, she readily agreed. The difference was night and day as they say. We've weaned my son from the medication a few times to see if it was still needed, and it was a nightmare. Without the medication, my son isn't aware of where his body is and becomes, in the literal sense, head to toe bruises.

One interesting note. Because of the clinical depression, I was on an SSRI when I was breastfeeding him. (No judgement please, medication was better than my knock-myself-off ideation!) I weaned him at 9 and a half months, his symptoms showed up at 11 months.

The rest of his "treatment" is diet & supplements. He's on a gluten free diet which helps immensely (much to my surprise - I was a real skeptic) When he has gluten it's as if he's been on a three day bender. He takes B-2 (riboflavin) for migraines. Magnesium, B6, folic acid, flax oil, fish oil to make up for common nutritional deficiencies in children with autism. D3 because (according to my doc) over 70% of the US population is D deficient. I've added kelp for the iodine. Lots of fun filling pill boxes on Sunday nights!

Asperger's syndrome is a garbage waste-basket diagnosis. I know from experience. I was diagnosed with Asperger's first when I was in the 4th grade, later "confirmed" in the 9th grade. I went through a lot in my childhood and lived in an extremely negative, chaotic, dysfunctional environment. I won't go into it very much, because I could seriously write a book on my experience. To make a long story short though, I spent my adolescence convincing myself that I was born as a brain damaged human being who couldn't socialize and who wasn't worth anything. The diagnosis was not only completely worthless and adverse, but it was also wrong. I later, through the help of a psychiatrist got undiagnosed and discovered through introspection that all the "symptoms" I was showing in childhood were 100% the result of the environment I was living in and not the result of this bull# asperger's diagnosis.

The diagnosis was particularly damaging to me and took a long time to reverse the stigmas attached to it but I eventually got through it. Today I socialize and interact with people like everybody else without any signs of this asperger's syndrome. It's such a wastebasket diagnosis, really. I believe that there are tens of thousands of people out there being falsely diagnosed with Aspergers, whose symptoms can be attributed to things like anxiety, depression and other environmental factors, but not brain damage.

This diagnosis is another trashy stigmatized unnecessary label that serves to divide people further and make people feel like # about themselves. If you need evidence for that, go over to wrongplanet.net and look at the 'the haven' section, you'll see exactly what I mean. We don't need more labels and categories in our society today! Why do they feel the need to make more categories and labels? I think there are some incompetent individuals behind this DSM manual. We don't need any more in our society today.

In Discover Magazine for March 2012, there is a piece about how autism starts in the womb. That people with autism have an explosion of neuron growth and neuron overwiring, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, starting before birth. Then it arrests, with gains lost to overpruning.


I find this very interesting. When seen within a continuum of other prefrontal cortex based disorders on the rise I have to wonder if what we are actually seeing is a whole series of related evolutionary forces acting on our new wiring. Most fail, some don't, but we don't see the not-failed examples of this mutation in PFC wiring.

Historical evidence of genome pruning precipitated by PFC related rewiring / new linking going haywire might be hard to come by. Looking for examples of populations which have displayed sudden widespread symptoms that might be consider diagnostic to some PFC disorders (say schizophrenia like), and test grave sites for full/mtdna/ydna contributors from that period and then test modern populations of their supposed descendants to see if there is suggestion that some genomes didn't make the cut might make for an interesting project.

reply to post by RadioactiveRob


Thanks for telling your story - and I agree with everything you said about the diagnosis procedure, reasons, etc. Congrats on beating the diagnosis through help of introspection and therapy

A lot of this is about drug profits and lessoning the value of humanity. It will take a long time to fight!

reply to post by Mountainmeg


I know I keep saying this to people, but thanks for sharing! And if no one has thanked you recently for the tremendous amount of work, awareness, possibly un-returned compassion and caring... thank you for doing so much. I've talked to dozens of parents over the years and truly is one of the most difficult things a parent can go through with every emotion in the book being felt (and/or suppressed!) daily.

Quite a few parents I've talked to about diet concerning the Autism population have said that gluten free makes a difference. Gluten free also seems to be a pineal gland cleanser... interesting correlation.

Originally posted by Aeons

I have to wonder if what we are actually seeing is a whole series of related evolutionary forces acting on our new wiring.

I COMPLETELY agree!

Working with the kids with ASD I was amazed how so many them truly have hidden genius, sense auras/energy, connect things on an almost spiritual level (similar to functioning, non-medicated people with Schizphrenia).

One possible positive thing about the PFC "over-wiring" is the presence of synesthesia! Imagine if the new generations to come all had the ability to communicate telepathically, sense auras.... it takes practice to not be overwhelmed when having those abilities. And it's no help when most of society doesn't believe they exist and want to drug you for being you.