Autism
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The issue that I see with Autism is that many conditions have been lumped in together into the blanket term of Autism Spectrum Disorders. I agree that many conditions lumped into this category may not belong there and this may be why they breaking them back out in the next revision of the DSM (or so I have been told).
From what I understand, this is one of the reasons DSM V, which was due in what, 2010? 2011? has been put off until 2013. At the earliest.
Big differences between DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR exist in the Asperger's and ASD arena.
(Disclaimer - I'm not a mental health professional, I just work with them...)0 -
I think you're a real piece of work putting your special needs child on a higher pedestal than someone else's because you don't think Aspergers and Autism are very much so real.0
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Having worked with that population for quite some time, I would say that doctor-shopping and seeking a diagnosis just to have a diagnois is more common with ADD/ADHD than it is Autism. However, that being said, I think there are lots of things labeled Aspergers that are probably not.
I don't think many parents want their child to have a disability. I think most want their children to be happy healthy typical functioning children but when something is a little off, they freak out and need something grasp on to. I get that. I understand that. I also think there are good parents and bad parents when it comes to this. There are parents who, once they get the diagnosis, will give their child every therapy and nudge up in the world. And there are also parent who will say, well, my kid has xyz, oh well, schools, recreation divisions, deal with it.
It's very hard to generalize when it come to Autism and Autism-spectrum disorders because there is such a wide-range of manifestations. Additionally, because we don't know the cause, it makes a definite diagnosis difficult.0 -
Is it possible a parent might be "doctor shopping" for a diagnosis because they know there is something up with their kid, and would like to address it? Having a diagnosis often means getting some answers, qualifying for services, and starting a path toward a more livable solution. I don't see any other pay-off with getting a disability diagnosis for one's child. It's not like it immediately qualifies them for the cool kids club, or places them on the football team. Parents don't get a merit badge for having special needs kids.Back when I was in high school it seemed like every kid who was failing was suddenly getting a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD. Today the "fashionable" diagnosis seems to be Autism or Aspergers.
My 7 year old daughter has cerebral palsy due to extreme prematurity. She has physical limitations which require her to use a wheelchair and she has the mind of a 2 year old. Her teacher and 2 of her therapists have agreed that as many as 40% of the supposedly Autistic kids they see are just plain old brats who need to be properly disciplined and pulled away from the TV from time to time. Doctor shopping is not uncommon. If a parent wants a diagnosis, they will move from one doc to another until they can get someone to write the diagnosis they want.
Thoughts?
I think "fashionable" may be getting misused here. As scientists and doctors discover and utilize better methods of detection, there will naturally be more positive diagnoses. At some point in our history, cerebral palsy was "fashionable."0 -
I think you're a real piece of work putting your special needs child on a higher pedestal than someone else's because you don't think Aspergers and Autism are very much so real.
Show me where I did that. I mentioned my daughter's conditions only to show how it is that I experienced what I have experienced. I do not put my daughter above others. I hate being an special needs parent, but she's mine so I do the best I can.0 -
I understood what you were doing in your original post. (I didn't feel you were putting your daughter's condition on a scale, but saw it as qualifying.)I think you're a real piece of work putting your special needs child on a higher pedestal than someone else's because you don't think Aspergers and Autism are very much so real.
Show me where I did that. I mentioned my daughter's conditions only to show how it is that I experienced what I have experienced. I do not put my daughter above others. I hate being an special needs parent, but she's mine so I do the best I can.
Still, I have to push back on your response here. If you say you hate being a special needs parents, why would other parents feel differently about other diagnoses? Your original post sounded like you felt parents were looking to join some club, be in vogue, by having a child with an Autism or Aspergers diagnosis. Maybe that's not what you meant.
What about your closing sentiment?
Wouldn't it makes sense that other parents feel the same? Wouldn't the act of "doctor shopping" fall under this? Have you always simply accepted every diagnosis you were told about your child?she's mine so I do the best I can
I think being a parent of a special needs kids requires stength, resolve, patience and dedication. Caring for special needs kids is tough. I commend you for doing the best job you can.0 -
I've never had this thought in my life.I hate being an special needs parent, but she's mine so I do the best I can.0 -
In addition to this, not everyone who has a child with a learning difference receives financial "benefits". I know families with children with autism, and not one I know receives SSI/disability benefits because of it.Is it possible a parent might be "doctor shopping" for a diagnosis because they know there is something up with their kid, and would like to address it? Having a diagnosis often means getting some answers, qualifying for services, and starting a path toward a more livable solution. I don't see any other pay-off with getting a disability diagnosis for one's child. It's not like it immediately qualifies them for the cool kids club, or places them on the football team. Parents don't get a merit badge for having special needs kids.0 -
I've never had this thought in my life.I hate being an special needs parent, but she's mine so I do the best I can.
I will openly admit that I am not the best parent. I regret having children and I regret that my children don't have the best possible mother. I have psychological issues which it very difficult for me to form attachments to other people. Perhaps this is why I don't see the world as others do.0 -
I don't know about autism, so I won't comment on that. But I watched my mother's best friend doctor shop to get an ADHD diagnosis for her youngest. He misbehaved terribly with Mom, who was a pushover and never said no to anything. When his oldest sister (my best friend) had him away from Mom, and actually disciplined him, he was perfectly fine.
Another friend, when I met her, had her kids at a private religious school and the teachers didn't have to be certified. Her middle daughter's teacher was pushing for ADHD meds to control the girl. She was difficult, I will admit. Anyway, my friend finally won the battle with her ex and got her daughter into a public school with a certified, trained teacher and suddenly the behavior problems at school cleared up entirely.
I'm sure there are children out there actually in need of treatment, but I have very personal experience with two who didn't.
Treatment isn't always medication, sometimes it is behavior modification, sometimes it is both, doesn't mean there isn't a diagnosable problem. Doesn't mean that there is. We must be careful in using personal experiences and unvalidated "insight" to generalize others experience.0 -
In addition to this, not everyone who has a child with a learning difference receives financial "benefits". I know families with children with autism, and not one I know receives SSI/disability benefits because of it.Is it possible a parent might be "doctor shopping" for a diagnosis because they know there is something up with their kid, and would like to address it? Having a diagnosis often means getting some answers, qualifying for services, and starting a path toward a more livable solution. I don't see any other pay-off with getting a disability diagnosis for one's child. It's not like it immediately qualifies them for the cool kids club, or places them on the football team. Parents don't get a merit badge for having special needs kids.
I never mentioned finances at all. We do not receive financial benefits, and I assume they are just as impossible for everyone to get as they are for us.
I was asking if Autism had become fashionable as an excuse for behavioral or academic issues. Not for financial benefit.0 -
I've never heard of autism being fashionable for excusing behavioral or academic issues. Kids with high functioning autism are often far brighter than the other kids in the mainstream classroom. Regarding "behavioral issues" with kids with autism, you'd have to understand autism. Certain sounds, colors, lights, smells can send them into panic mode. This will make a young child cry, scream, and appear to be having a temper tantrum. If their schedules get off, some feel as though their world has disappeared and they'll act out. It's not a discipline issue; it's an autism issue.I was asking if Autism had become fashionable as an excuse for behavioral or academic issues. Not for financial benefit.0 -
I've worked with these kids. Some may shrug off the diagnosis of Aspergers or Autism as being "fashionable", but these conditions are real, and the families living with them struggle with society's perception of their kids, and of them as parents. That sucks.
I don't think anyone is doubting that these are real conditions, but more that they are over-diagnosed.
Any hyper kid can go to the docter and be diagnosed with ADHD. A HUGE fraction of kids I knew in high school were prescribed to medication for it.
Edited to add: IN my high school experience many kids WANTED to be diagnosed with ADHD so they could get their hands on Adderall. Still today I have come across it being used recreationally by aqquaintances. I WAS diagnosed with adult ADHD and all the medication does is make me feel lousy and tired, so much that I stopped taking it at age 20.0 -
While I'd agree that a hyper kid can get an easy ADHD diagnosis, that's quite different than an easy autism diagnosis. There is much more involved in the process.Any hyper kid can go to the docter and be diagnosed with ADHD. A HUGE fraction of kids I knew in high school were prescribed to medication for it.0 -
Well, if you look at a map of the USA it quite clearly shows that ADHD dianogis has cultural elements (the percentage of diagnosed children is different in different parts of America).
This indicates quite clearly that a large number are being diagnosed on either poor grounds, or lacking understanding - there is no genetic reason why which state you are in would change the propensity to ADHD.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
An excellent video on the subject of education, it touches on ADHD - an excellent website for educational videos btw.
http://www.thersa.org/events/video (The main website)0 -
I have an autistic grandson, he also has CP, is partially deaf and other disabilities because of a disease called CMV; this is how living with a special needs child is. those of you who don't have one can assume you know how it is - but you don't and never will.
''I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip -to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
" Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ...about Holland.''0 -
This is lovely. I am definitely going to copy/paste this to share it with others.
Awesome.0
