adult autism regression

If someone is diabetic but has insulin, their condition is controlled and you see no signs of their condition.  But they are still a diabetic.

Being autistic and using masking skills (and frequently medication too!) means you can often see no visible signs of the condition.  They are still autistic.

Someone can't be a "little bit pregnant".  They are either pregnant or they are not.

So failure to give a diagnosis to some people because they using coping, masking, mimicking skills is ridiculous.

By this, I mean the diagnostic criteria state that it must cause a particular level of impairment.  Who is to say what the level of impairment is?  If the person uses their social mask when they go to their assessment, the clinician will think they seem fine and not diagnose them, no matter how many difficulties they describe.  This is ridiculous!

Autism is a neurological condition, the brain is wired differently, you either have it or you don't.  Yes there might be degrees of impairment, or more accurately, different blends of the traits in each individual, but you still have it.

How can a diagnostician judge in a short assessment what someone's level of impairment is?

Also, there is the issue of alexithymia (difficulty recognising feelings) which would hinder someone greatly in describing their impairments.  Alexithymia is common in autism.  Issues in understanding the 'correct' answer the clinician is looking for may also hinder the autistic person in their assessment.  If you can't describe your difficulties accurately, especially if you are the passive subtype described above, you will 'fail' the assessment test from the off.

The quicker a medical way is found to diagnose the better.  The brain scan they are researching that is 90% accurate for instance, perhaps if they could hurry up and fine-tune that for diagnostic use it would help some people who are otherwise failed.

I believe it only costs £200-300 as well, probably a drop in the ocean to what these snooty psychiatrists earn for wielding their power per assessment...

If someone is diabetic but has insulin, their condition is controlled and you see no signs of their condition.  But they are still a diabetic.

Being autistic and using masking skills (and frequently medication too!) means you can often see no visible signs of the condition.  They are still autistic.

Someone can't be a "little bit pregnant".  They are either pregnant or they are not.

So failure to give a diagnosis to some people because they using coping, masking, mimicking skills is ridiculous.

By this, I mean the diagnostic criteria state that it must cause a particular level of impairment.  Who is to say what the level of impairment is?  If the person uses their social mask when they go to their assessment, the clinician will think they seem fine and not diagnose them, no matter how many difficulties they describe.  This is ridiculous!

Autism is a neurological condition, the brain is wired differently, you either have it or you don't.  Yes there might be degrees of impairment, or more accurately, different blends of the traits in each individual, but you still have it.

How can a diagnostician judge in a short assessment what someone's level of impairment is?

Also, there is the issue of alexithymia (difficulty recognising feelings) which would hinder someone greatly in describing their impairments.  Alexithymia is common in autism.  Issues in understanding the 'correct' answer the clinician is looking for may also hinder the autistic person in their assessment.  If you can't describe your difficulties accurately, especially if you are the passive subtype described above, you will 'fail' the assessment test from the off.

The quicker a medical way is found to diagnose the better.  The brain scan they are researching that is 90% accurate for instance, perhaps if they could hurry up and fine-tune that for diagnostic use it would help some people who are otherwise failed.

I believe it only costs £200-300 as well, probably a drop in the ocean to what these snooty psychiatrists earn for wielding their power per assessment...