4 ms·

Autism is a spectrum, not a single type disorder. Problem with this label is that it has 100+ different things lumped into one category. Not all autistic folk

by rdudek 11y ago

Autism is a spectrum, not a single type disorder. Problem with this label is that it has 100+ different things lumped into one category. Not all autistic folks are the same, it really depends on where they land on the spectrum. Also, the word spectrum is not real good word to use, should be more like a cloud instead of a straight line since different autistic people exhibit different problems. Also, more kids are labeled as autistic so they can get the extra help they need as early as possible to improve their life in the future. Insurance companies won't cover costs of therapy unless there is a medical condition that requires it.

dogma1138 11y ago
I'm perfectly aware that it's a spectrum but at the end there's a limit to how much you can throw at it before it becomes a jackson pollock painting. Look at autism today vs even 10 years ago, look at how many perfectly adjusted individuals are diagnosed with it something just doesn't seem right to me. When I've started school we have had 2 kids with ADHD during my entire primary school class, by the end of high school half the class had some sort of form of learning disability which many of them got to get extra time on tests or other type of exemptions (verbal testing for example). I've seen this happen in front of me within a decade and it seems to happen now again with other so called disorder. Don't get me wrong I have the utmost respect to children with developmental disorders I've volunteered with a special care group for 2 summers during high school and I've seen what the ends of both the disfunctioning and functioning spectrum looked like then and the very clear similarities you could tie between them in many activities. But now? not really I've met some people that were diagnosed with Autism late in their life mostly with AAS (usually after a fairly short diagnosis session) all of them are to me perfectly functional adults yes each and everyone of them had their issues but I've seen in none of them the actual "signs" that I've seen in actual children that were professionally and clinically diagnosed with what back then was while quite polar but fairly narrow spectrum.
- rdudek 11y ago
  Well, part of it is that they increased the size of the "spectrum" by adding more conditions and that doctors now check early in case intervention may be required are why the numbers are not so high. Take for example my daughter. She was able to walk by herself when she was 8 months old. She got very independent quickly. She was about to recite entire alphabet and count to 20 by 15 months. The concerning fact that doctors had was that she did not point at things of interest and had poor eye contact. By her 2nd birthday, she started receiving speech and occupational therapies from a local early intervention program. It definitely helped her along with putting her into daycare/early preschool environment. She is very good at memorizing songs and objects. We're a bilingual family and she understands both Polish and English languages. Recently, she started learning some bits of Spanish at preschool. She can draw pretty well and can write her own name. Her biggest weakness that we're working on now is her speech / communication. She is currently at 27% for her age.
  - andreasvc 11y ago
    > She is currently at 27% for her age. That sounds precise... Is that based on the size of her vocabulary?
    - dogma1138 11y ago
      Various states, comprehension, engagement, expression, and quite a few other factors. It's not the most accurate assessment but child development disorders including autism are very well measured and quantized compared to any adult syndrome.
    - rdudek 11y ago
      I questioned that part but could not get a concrete answer how they established that. I just mentioned it because that's what the report states. However, the location and setup did not look very kid friendly and my little one didn't like it one bit so she refused to cooperate with the folks doing the evaluation. I think part of the problem was the main entrance had a big swimming pool right past the main doors, and all my little one wanted to do was to go swimming.
  - 11y ago
- SolaceQuantum 11y ago
  Okay but have you considered that people who seem like fully functional adults can also have autism and that they are fully functional by finding coping mechanisms to work with their autism? That is a thing that happens. To assume you know better than someone about their own mental scape because they 'seem fully functional' to you seems like a position without actually believing or listening to other people's experiences.

by rdudek 11y ago

dogma1138 11y ago

I'm perfectly aware that it's a spectrum but at the end there's a limit to how much you can throw at it before it becomes a jackson pollock painting. Look at autism today vs even 10 years ago, look at how many perfectly adjusted individuals are diagnosed with it something just doesn't seem right to me. When I've started school we have had 2 kids with ADHD during my entire primary school class, by the end of high school half the class had some sort of form of learning disability which many of them got to get extra time on tests or other type of exemptions (verbal testing for example). I've seen this happen in front of me within a decade and it seems to happen now again with other so called disorder. Don't get me wrong I have the utmost respect to children with developmental disorders I've volunteered with a special care group for 2 summers during high school and I've seen what the ends of both the disfunctioning and functioning spectrum looked like then and the very clear similarities you could tie between them in many activities. But now? not really I've met some people that were diagnosed with Autism late in their life mostly with AAS (usually after a fairly short diagnosis session) all of them are to me perfectly functional adults yes each and everyone of them had their issues but I've seen in none of them the actual "signs" that I've seen in actual children that were professionally and clinically diagnosed with what back then was while quite polar but fairly narrow spectrum.

rdudek 11y ago
Well, part of it is that they increased the size of the "spectrum" by adding more conditions and that doctors now check early in case intervention may be required are why the numbers are not so high. Take for example my daughter. She was able to walk by herself when she was 8 months old. She got very independent quickly. She was about to recite entire alphabet and count to 20 by 15 months. The concerning fact that doctors had was that she did not point at things of interest and had poor eye contact. By her 2nd birthday, she started receiving speech and occupational therapies from a local early intervention program. It definitely helped her along with putting her into daycare/early preschool environment. She is very good at memorizing songs and objects. We're a bilingual family and she understands both Polish and English languages. Recently, she started learning some bits of Spanish at preschool. She can draw pretty well and can write her own name. Her biggest weakness that we're working on now is her speech / communication. She is currently at 27% for her age.
- andreasvc 11y ago
  > She is currently at 27% for her age. That sounds precise... Is that based on the size of her vocabulary?
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    Various states, comprehension, engagement, expression, and quite a few other factors. It's not the most accurate assessment but child development disorders including autism are very well measured and quantized compared to any adult syndrome.
  - rdudek 11y ago
    I questioned that part but could not get a concrete answer how they established that. I just mentioned it because that's what the report states. However, the location and setup did not look very kid friendly and my little one didn't like it one bit so she refused to cooperate with the folks doing the evaluation. I think part of the problem was the main entrance had a big swimming pool right past the main doors, and all my little one wanted to do was to go swimming.
- 11y ago
SolaceQuantum 11y ago
Okay but have you considered that people who seem like fully functional adults can also have autism and that they are fully functional by finding coping mechanisms to work with their autism? That is a thing that happens. To assume you know better than someone about their own mental scape because they 'seem fully functional' to you seems like a position without actually believing or listening to other people's experiences.