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Thinking about the 'spectrum' approach

firemonkey

Is it better than how things were previously? I was dxed with Asperger's  because that was still an official diagnosis in May 2019. These were how a dx was given. 1)social communication & social interaction at Asperger's level = Asperger's . 2) One at classical autism level,one at Asperger's level = Asperger's  3) Both at classical autism level= classical autism.

I fitted the second group. Social interaction = Asperger's level. Social communication= classical autism level . I would say that I'm different from both groups 1 and 3. Does the spectrum approach  make that difference more or less clear? I'm not at all sure.  Is it important that that difference is acknowledged  by those working with autistic persons? I would say 'yes' to that.   Although closer to those in group 1, I don't fully identify  with such people. That may or may not be increased by having a comorbid SMI.

  • It's the changing of rules, as the process goes along. Psychology is notrious for altering lingusitics, to suit themselves. Some Research Student, with an Agenda, suggests something. Suddenly, it becomes Gospel.

    Same with Politics. Thomas Sowell outlined how the US Liberals alter linguistics to obtain consent.

  • I think that the spectrum approach was introduced, in part, to do away with having to classify individual people into 'boxes'; boxes that often had arbitrary boundaries. Plus there was an inevitable variation between assessing clinicians as to where these boundaries were drawn. On a spectrum, at least in theory, all possible variable individual traits can be accommodated. On the whole, I think the move from the separate 'boxes' towards a recognition of a wide range of presentation was a useful transition.

  • in reply to A

    The irony i that 'spectrum' is right. But for some reason, people confuse it with a linear scale. Whereas a spectrum isn't 1 dimensional. It has many colours which can go from dark to light.

    What people seem to think a spectrum is, for some unknown reason...

  • I think it’s likely correct to group all of this together into one phenomenon, and it may well be that they eventually lump ADHD in as part of the single same condition too at some point.

    But I would like to see the term “spectrum” dropped because it has resulted in a widespread perception that autism is a linear distribution of traits that everyone is on.

    It’s a more complicated concept but the spiky profile radar chart is a better representation what’s really happening.

  • I wish I knew what all these levels and things others talk about were, I don't know what mine were/are, I was never told and it wasn't on the final report from the psycholgist, that just said he was happy to diagnose me as ASC or Aspergers as it was then and give a couple of pages of general explaination of why he thought so