Controversy for Autism
The New York Times wrote an article of a "new study" today, entitled, "New Definition of Autism May Exclude Many, Study Suggests." You can read the article here: http://nyti.ms/NYTimesAutism
The article itself is premature, and is causing such an uproar amongst people who do not work in the mental health community, particularly parents and other primary caregivers. Parents of children with Autism are some of the hardest working people I know. They devote their lives to their children. Unfortunately, I fear people aren't understanding the need to guide the diagnosis properly. When I was a kid, everyone had ADHD. Nobody wanted to address their social communication issues; why do that? It's easier to drug them. In the 80s, everyone who was anyone had Multiple Personality Disorder. My point is, clinical diagnoses do become sensationalized, whether we want to believe it or not. Yes, Autism is a real disorder; it is also a disorder with a broad spectrum of possibilities. The reason behind the APA's Revised DSM is to address this very problem. Currently, the DSM is categorical: black and white. You either fit it or you don't. With the revisions, clinicians hope to have a more dimensional approach to diagnosis, so children who lack social skills don't mistakenly get diagnosed with Aspergers. In order for the mental health community to continue to grow, it is essential to address these issues of concern NOW so that a cause of Autism can be identified.
For all of you against this process, I hope that you realize that with all mental health disorders, this has been the process of understanding since Freud imagined his theory of development in the early 1900s. The DSM is not the end-all to the be-all, hence the need to revise. Please consider how social psychology has affected the previous DSM in the 70's, which claimed homosexuality was a mental disorder. We may view this as absurd today, but this was how researchers explained what seemed to become a phenomenon. Homosexuality didn't just pop up - it was always a part of humanity. People simply became aware of its existence and were unafraid to talk about it. Same thing with Autism. It has been here all along. We've named it. Now we need to trace it's cause.
Here was my inspiration to write this post. A comment made by an average person on the NYTimes Article:
I am confused why doctors of mental health are charged with formulating a diagnosis of autism. I though austism concerned a number of developmental delays of people caused by physical abnormalities in the brain, which is a medical not mental condition.
Ignorance will not serve us well. Generalizations do not serve us well. Friend in Austin, TX, if it were as easy as you are stating, don't you think we would have found a cause by now? No two cases of Autism are alike. The "common symptoms" do not occur in every diagnosed case. How do you explain that? How confident would you feel going to your doctor to receive a diagnosis of the flu when you have a stomach ache, and your friend getting the same diagnosis when she had a headache? The treatment available for your stomach ache is the same treatment for your friend's headache. Does this make any sense? No, it doesn't make sense - a stomach ache and a headache may be components of the flu, but if not accompanied by a fever, you would demand different treatment for your stomach ache to your friend's headache. In the same sense, refining the DSM is essential for refining treatment, so our children can actually get the treatment they need.
I will always be an advocate for children with special needs. They are my loves, and my world would be nothing without their sweet hearts.