4 ms·

Since always? It’s a developmental disorder, and a disease is “a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces sp

Since always? It’s a developmental disorder, and a disease is “a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.” Pretty much every medical body would list it under its classification of illnesses. e.g. NHS: https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/brain-nerves-and-spinal-cord/autistic-spectrum-disorder-asd https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/brain-ne...

DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
Perhaps the GP was referring to the role that social norms play regarding whether some abnormality is considered a disease or not, and the ensuing debates about whether or not is should be.
- dogma1138 7y ago
  Any abnormality that adversely affects the form or function of the human body that does not stem form physical injury is a disease. The problem here is that most people think that those who suffer from autism are the quirky guy at work who’s good at math while in reality most of them would be in diapers trough adulthood. In reality it is a terrible debilitating disease that enacts a huge toll on both those who suffer from it and their families. I really hope no one would have to live through the fear that they can’t die because no one would be there to provide the life long support their child might need, not to mention having to live with that responsibility for the rest of their natural life.
  - anoncake 7y ago
    The issue is that it's really both. It's kind of pointless to debate the effects of autism when one side is thinking "Light Aspergers" and the other "Adults in diapers".
    - dogma1138 7y ago
      Unlikely, at least not in a clinically useful manner. A disease is a disease, one of the strongest arguments against the "high functioning" part of the autism spectrum these days is that these people don't seem to exhibit much if any of the comorbidity syndromes prevalent to autism especially the physiological one. The lower you go on the spectrum the higher the chances for comorbidity for a lot of other conditions, mitochondrial and metabolic syndrome, fragile x chromosome, gastrointestinal diseases and many many more horrific things. For example the reason why many people who suffer from autism would require diapers after being potty trained isn't because of MR or any other intellectual disability but because they are more likely to suffer from encopresis which leads to fecal leakage. It also doesn't help that the image of autism was changed from kids that would require tremendous support for the rest of their life to SV engineers making 500K a year that can't seem to be able to not be a jerk or are too introverted. As an anecdotal evidence I managed to get myself diagnosed on the spectrum in the UK I went to an official diagnosis center and had sessions with an "occupational therapist", at no point have I ever seen a doctor not to mention a neurologist. As morbid as it sound I have that framed just by my ordained minister license which I got despite being Jewish. If ASD has a single or a subset of related underlying genetic causes then it's a single disease, and if these causes are present both in high functioning and low functioning autistic individual then it is truly a single condition, however it is still a disease just like relapsing MS is a disease even if it never fully flares out. That said however I have a strong feeling that the more we understand the epidemiology of ASD the more likely we'll find out that it's much more likely a group of distinct diseases with different causes. And some might not even be classified as a condition anymore.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - astine 7y ago
        "The lower you go on the spectrum the higher the chances for comorbidity for a lot of other conditions, mitochondrial and metabolic syndrome, fragile x chromosome, gastrointestinal diseases and many many more horrific things." Or the greater the likelihood that the autism symptoms are caused by one of these conditions as opposed to it being a primary condition. Fragile-x in particular is a genetic condition known for its physical and mental effects, much like like prader-willi syndrome or down syndrome. It's just as likely that effects from these conditions are being misdiagnosed as autism. Your post seems confused more generally, though. What clinicians are diagnosing with ASD is a cluster of symptoms, not a specific syndrome. Symptoms can have multiple etiologies and that would still be useful clinically. A cold is treated similarly regardless of the exact viral strain causing the infection. That a particular person doesn't have to deal with anal leakage is not an argument that they don't have a different condition. "As an anecdotal evidence I managed to get myself diagnosed on the spectrum in the UK I went to an official diagnosis center and had sessions with an "occupational therapist", at no point have I ever seen a doctor not to mention a neurologist. As morbid as it sound I have that framed just by my ordained minister license which I got despite being Jewish." If I was willing to lie to a therapist, I could probably get diagnosed with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or any of a large number of disorders, but the presence of malingering creeps doesn't disprove the existence of those conditions.
  - her_tummy_hurts 7y ago
    The problem is how diverse people with Autism are. So in reality autism is the quirky guy with social problems, those who need life long support, and everything in between.
dazfuller 7y ago
With 2 kids and a partner diagnosed as being autistic, it's a massive trigger for me. Seen so many health professionals because of my family, not one has ever referred to it as a disease. Just to elaborate further. Child 1 - ASD/ADHD Child 2 - ASD/SPD possibly PDA Partner - ASD/SPD They're all different and display different characteristics,have differing needs and have different mental health issues. Child 1 is about 2 years behind their peers educationally and socially, Child 2 is on par.
- wswkb 7y ago
  The fact that it's a massive trigger for someone doesn't mean it's less of a disease. Maybe the problem is the negativity the word "disease" brings, but someone who suffers autism is a diseased person.
  - dazfuller 7y ago
    Or not https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/

DoofusOfDeath 7y ago

Perhaps the GP was referring to the role that social norms play regarding whether some abnormality is considered a disease or not, and the ensuing debates about whether or not is should be.

dogma1138 7y ago
Any abnormality that adversely affects the form or function of the human body that does not stem form physical injury is a disease. The problem here is that most people think that those who suffer from autism are the quirky guy at work who’s good at math while in reality most of them would be in diapers trough adulthood. In reality it is a terrible debilitating disease that enacts a huge toll on both those who suffer from it and their families. I really hope no one would have to live through the fear that they can’t die because no one would be there to provide the life long support their child might need, not to mention having to live with that responsibility for the rest of their natural life.
- anoncake 7y ago
  The issue is that it's really both. It's kind of pointless to debate the effects of autism when one side is thinking "Light Aspergers" and the other "Adults in diapers".
  - dogma1138 7y ago
    Unlikely, at least not in a clinically useful manner. A disease is a disease, one of the strongest arguments against the "high functioning" part of the autism spectrum these days is that these people don't seem to exhibit much if any of the comorbidity syndromes prevalent to autism especially the physiological one. The lower you go on the spectrum the higher the chances for comorbidity for a lot of other conditions, mitochondrial and metabolic syndrome, fragile x chromosome, gastrointestinal diseases and many many more horrific things. For example the reason why many people who suffer from autism would require diapers after being potty trained isn't because of MR or any other intellectual disability but because they are more likely to suffer from encopresis which leads to fecal leakage. It also doesn't help that the image of autism was changed from kids that would require tremendous support for the rest of their life to SV engineers making 500K a year that can't seem to be able to not be a jerk or are too introverted. As an anecdotal evidence I managed to get myself diagnosed on the spectrum in the UK I went to an official diagnosis center and had sessions with an "occupational therapist", at no point have I ever seen a doctor not to mention a neurologist. As morbid as it sound I have that framed just by my ordained minister license which I got despite being Jewish. If ASD has a single or a subset of related underlying genetic causes then it's a single disease, and if these causes are present both in high functioning and low functioning autistic individual then it is truly a single condition, however it is still a disease just like relapsing MS is a disease even if it never fully flares out. That said however I have a strong feeling that the more we understand the epidemiology of ASD the more likely we'll find out that it's much more likely a group of distinct diseases with different causes. And some might not even be classified as a condition anymore.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - astine 7y ago
      "The lower you go on the spectrum the higher the chances for comorbidity for a lot of other conditions, mitochondrial and metabolic syndrome, fragile x chromosome, gastrointestinal diseases and many many more horrific things." Or the greater the likelihood that the autism symptoms are caused by one of these conditions as opposed to it being a primary condition. Fragile-x in particular is a genetic condition known for its physical and mental effects, much like like prader-willi syndrome or down syndrome. It's just as likely that effects from these conditions are being misdiagnosed as autism. Your post seems confused more generally, though. What clinicians are diagnosing with ASD is a cluster of symptoms, not a specific syndrome. Symptoms can have multiple etiologies and that would still be useful clinically. A cold is treated similarly regardless of the exact viral strain causing the infection. That a particular person doesn't have to deal with anal leakage is not an argument that they don't have a different condition. "As an anecdotal evidence I managed to get myself diagnosed on the spectrum in the UK I went to an official diagnosis center and had sessions with an "occupational therapist", at no point have I ever seen a doctor not to mention a neurologist. As morbid as it sound I have that framed just by my ordained minister license which I got despite being Jewish." If I was willing to lie to a therapist, I could probably get diagnosed with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or any of a large number of disorders, but the presence of malingering creeps doesn't disprove the existence of those conditions.
- her_tummy_hurts 7y ago
  The problem is how diverse people with Autism are. So in reality autism is the quirky guy with social problems, those who need life long support, and everything in between.

dazfuller 7y ago

With 2 kids and a partner diagnosed as being autistic, it's a massive trigger for me. Seen so many health professionals because of my family, not one has ever referred to it as a disease. Just to elaborate further. Child 1 - ASD/ADHD Child 2 - ASD/SPD possibly PDA Partner - ASD/SPD They're all different and display different characteristics,have differing needs and have different mental health issues. Child 1 is about 2 years behind their peers educationally and socially, Child 2 is on par.

wswkb 7y ago
The fact that it's a massive trigger for someone doesn't mean it's less of a disease. Maybe the problem is the negativity the word "disease" brings, but someone who suffers autism is a diseased person.
- dazfuller 7y ago
  Or not https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/