Big Fat Rant: What is ASD

recombinantsocks it is very likely you hit a nail on the head with regards to ambuity and I (that has been a common theme with me these last 2 weeks it seems). I like to imagine I'm a friendly person and that if that ambuity were acknowledged I wouldn't be so ranty. On a side note, I'm very happy to hear you were seen by someone competent who you can believe in.

KaloJaro that was a phenomenal rant I entirely agree with and I fully encourage ranting in this thread. It is my understanding that if you do not emphasize with soul-sucking jackels than you lack empathy. (Okay, yes I'm being very obnoxious now).

From what I can tell, society as a whole has always sought a 'common foe'. Whether it was fighting another tribe, another country...

Even in society, theres misconceptions about 'race' defining an individual, as well as gender, but as we move towards a more 'equal' society where such things as gender and ethnicity become obsolete for arguements, the society then looks for another 'foe'.

In recent years, permanent disability has almost become its own ethnicity, with politicians calling for debates on euthanasia of disabled children (UKIP, Cornish MP), progressive Governments stripping away assistance for the disabled as though they would suddenly 'recover' in order to survive.

There is a lot of public hatred towards a certain demographic of the disabled however... the 'unseen disability'. Many still rely on the old saying, 'seeing is believing', yet in a society where more and more individuals are presenting symptoms of/are being diagnosed with mental health problems, there is still this state of denial, that 'they can get better if they try'.

I theorise this is the 'fear of the unknown'. Due to the fact that there is so little research into conditions such as autism, the criteria remains ambiguous for intitial diagnosis.

Which leads on to a knock on effect. With no real solid basis for the 'cause' of autism, researchers have yet thoroughly investigate the symptoms and the effects upon the individuals in question.

Admittedly theres been a surge in support and awareness for children within primary schools with an ASD diagnosis, yet in the workplace there is next to no flexibility. In fact, flexibility is discouraged by the business dynamics in order for companies to thrive. Its of little wonder that most people are now suffering from some form of stress or anxiety disorder due to their workplace, so how, if NT's cannot cope, are individuals on the specturm who could work expect to manage without dire consequences?

And a final parting word....

If those on the spectrum have difficulty emphasising with others, then why is it so many with forms of ASD feel the pain of others (both on and off the spectrum) suffering when those in Government do not?

People should start treating those on the spectrum with respect, whether its as individuals, or be able to respect that a doctor is correct in giving a diagnosis. Education is the only way to overcome the misconceptions of society as it is at the present.

....apologies, that went on a bit more of a rant than I'd anticipated.

Elan, i think i understand what your rant was aimed at now.

is there a fundamental unease with ambiguity at the heart of your issue? Dealing with ambiguity is often (always?) a problem for people on the spectrum. Here is a situation where there is no chemical or physical test that can say, black or white, whether you have the condition or not.

the best we can do at the moment is to have a profession, the psychiatrists, who we hope will try their best to sort the wheat from the chaff. I'm a physicist so i have previously been sceptical of the methods of the psychs. But what else can we do? I found the psych that examined me to be plausible, knowledgable, sensible etc and in the end I chose to believe him. It made sense, i had no more reasonable doubts and having had the diagnosis for two months i am still comfortable having the label. I'm not much further forward in understanding why i have it but that doesn't bother me too much. Simply knowing that i have the syndrome is enough to help me get on with my life.

www.deni.gov.uk/overview.pdf 

The ASD commonality is the triad, the hetergenity lies in the degree of the triad and the comorbidities:

Individuals within the autistic spectrum differ in how severely they are impaired in each of the triad areas - some will have significant difficulties in all areas, while for others, their difficulties may appear to be quite subtle. Some people with the condition may also have accompanying learning difficulties, while others are much more able, with average or above average intelligence (Wing, 1996). Similarly, linguistic skills range from those who display complex, grammatically correct speech to those who have none. Despite all the wide-ranging differences, everyone with the condition has difficulty with social interaction, social communication and social imagination. In addition, there are variable features which may be displayed by some, but not all, individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. These include specific language difficulties, eating problems, sensitivity to sound, touch, smell or taste, fine and gross motor difficulties, attention difficulties, behaviour problems and/or special skills (Wing, 1996).

That was some rant > >

NAS18906 said:

All of the extra problems you talk about are common problems for people with asd. they don't however help with the clinical diagnosis of asd.

That clinical diagnosis though...the core of the rant for me was that essentially it depends on an enlightened doctor engaged with a solid body of knowledge neither of which exsist are easy to come by, in fact you'd have a better time just playing the lottery at least that game of chance doesn't depend on someones random opinion of me

ha ha ha XD @mdagli1 that made my day.

I honestly think topics like ASD are used to validate the self-importance of people whose jobs are primarilly to fluff. Like I just read a spin doctor article about how money needs to be spent more on research (rather than care) -- more research -- really? To research what? How to get the definitions in the DSM to rhyme more? To figure out how much more journal time you can wring out of how much penis an ASD brain has? Do we need more light up show studies where the people get the people to look at the pretty shapes? 

I wonder if the fluff of ASD is just giving people jobs.

I'm repeating myself.

The thing about the definitions is, not all of them mention the full Triad, the most consistently mentioned member of the Triad is the communication difficulties (I reword it as interacting in my rant), the SD, LD, EF and MD Longman mentions is essentially the rest of the pick and mix of comorbidities that may or may not appear in varying ways and degrees in the individual. The rest of the triad appear secondary and the rest of the rest is the pick n mix, which is fair enough no two people with ASD are exactly the same. However the second most consistent thing appearing in the definitions is developmental---something is wrong with the brain, that makes you communicate, not up to scratch, or something. So I would love to know what this wrong thing is because nobody checks your brain---they check you, then give you their opinion. And god help you if it's not the right one. I think they're something wrong with their brains.

To be honest though, they need /something/ even if it's the Triad. The Tossers.

Also forgive me for my spelling, it sucks

All of the extra problems you talk about are common problems for people with asd. they don't however help with the clinical diagnosis of asd. for example, depression and anxiety aren't hallmarks of ASD. These problems afflict asd and nt people alike. NAS acknowledge the issues that we are prone to. The page "mental health and autism" http://www.autism.org.uk/15350 acknowledges some of the issues we are likely to encounter.

Re: the diagnosis manual and legalised subjugation - well said mdagli1.

I see no way forward until the "D" is removed from "ASD". 

Sadly all Elan's researched definitions are based purely on the Triad of Impairments. See anything about sensory overload? Hand and eye coordination/motor control sensitivity? Ability to initiate or take action for own self care? Greater risk of depression and anxiety? ...........

GOOGLE

autism

ˈɔːtɪz(ə)m/Submit

noun

a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.

NAS

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them.

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY

The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person's communication and social interaction skills.

Wiki

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY

ASDs are any developmental disabilities that have been caused by a brain abnormality. A person with an ASD typically has difficulty with social and communication skills.

Patient.co.uk

Autism is characterised by a 'triad of impairments' in social interaction, imaginative thought and communication.[1] (vague too)

NHS 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition that affects social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour. (a bit vague)

Autism iniatives

What is Autism?

Autism is the name used for a wide range of developmental conditions on the autism spectrum, including Asperger syndrome.

Autism education trust

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share three main areas of difficulty, their condition will affect them in different ways. 

ninds.nih.gov 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.  

Scottish Autism Site

Autism is a lifelong, developmental condition that affects the way a person communicates, interacts and processes information. The autism spectrum refers to the range of ways the condition presents in an individual which can vary greatly from person to person and throughout their life. (they have a nifty animation)

Autistica

Autism Spectrum Disorders (or conditions) are lifelong disabilities that, at their core, affect a person’s social and communication abilities.

Kidshealth

A group of problems that happen when the brain develops differently and has trouble with an important job: making sense of the world.

Autism webmd

Autism is a brain disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others. With autism, the different areas of the brain fail to work together.

autism spectrum.org.au

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people.

Understanding autism 

Autism is a lifelong, developmental condition that affects the way a person communicates, interacts and processes information. (that nifty animation from the scottish site)

Just an example. There's a lot of talk of empathy (thanks TOM) does anyone know what anyone is actually talking about with regards to ASD and empathy, no, do the 'experts' know, no they don't, do those that composed this theory know, no they don't, does anyone with ASD know, no, does the introduction of affective empathy and cognitive empathy to clear up the nonsensical mess make anything any clearer--no it doesn't.

Are we talking about compassion, sympathy, actual empathy, the capacity or ability to moment by moment guess anothers thoughts?---feelings? To do so after the moment? Are we talking about understanding nonverbal language? Expressing non-verbal language?  Responding in a particular way to certain cues? The physiological reaction to anothers phsyiological feelings? The ability to express responses to others physiological feelings? What the heck about context--and peoples ethnic, economic, religious, social, moral backgrounds and expierences? 

And this fantastical idea that if you're not ASD you have this dimension of empathy that I have never witnessed on my time on this planet in any human being, people generally suck at empathsiing, reading and understanding others, thus the drama, misunderstandings and suffering in the human condition, and since when is it okay to go around assuming you know what other people are thinking and feeling anyway, why is this an okay stand that ASD *lacks*. Who comes up with this shi-

And then there's the fact it doesn't matter. Why? Because ASD is heterogeneous anyway. There probably is as many expressions of empathy among the ASD populalation as there is the general population.