2 ms·

> The criteria for diagnosing ASD today are vastly different Not that much. The difference between now and 50 years ago is that a) we don't just throw them in

> The criteria for diagnosing ASD today are vastly different Not that much. The difference between now and 50 years ago is that a) we don't just throw them into asylums, b) we actually have accessibility of getting diagnosed, c) employment opportunities suitable for many people with mental disabilities (such as factory line assembly) have gone down the drain.

AlecSchueler 2y ago
None of those points are related to diagnostic criteria.
- crote 2y ago
  No, they are related to the pool of people being diagnosed. You're only getting a diagnosis if a) you have access to a psychiatrist and b) you are running into enough issues in your daily life to warrant having it looked into. Life has gotten a lot more complex over the past few decades, so people run into issues more often - and earlier in life. Someone who would've just been "a bit of a weird guy" 50 years ago is getting an autism diagnosis today, simply because these days they run into issues as a child and are being put in front of a psychiatrist.
  - dns_snek 2y ago
    Even 50 years ago they weren't just slightly odd people who were otherwise happy to exist in a simpler society. Those people ran into the same issues and turned to alcohol, drugs, and suicide. The only difference is that nobody understood why they were suffering.
dns_snek 2y ago
> Not that much. Very much so. What we now call Autism Spectrum Disorder was referred to as "childhood schizophrenia" in the DSM-2 [1], things only started moving in the right direction with the DSM-3 [2] when it was finally sort-of recognized as an independent disorder of "infantile autism", but some core elements of ASD like sensory processing differences were only recognized in the DSM-5. There's a good overview at [3]. It's good that criteria are different today, the criteria from decades ago failed to include majority of ways that autism expresses itself, many of which benefit from support and accommodations even though they're not obviously debilitating. [1] https://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DSM-II.pdf https://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DSM-... [2] https://aditpsiquiatriaypsicologia.es/images/CLASIFICACION%20DE%20ENFERMEDADES/DSM-III.pdf https://aditpsiquiatriaypsicologia.es/images/CLASIFICACION%2... [3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8531066/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8531066/
- pridkett 2y ago
  And let’s not forget that until the DSM-V, a child could not be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD (see section E at the bottom of this table [0] showing changes from the DSM-IV to DSM-V): > The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of a pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, or a personality disorder). The DSM-V states that they can exist together. In fact something like 28-44% of people with Autism exhibit some form of ADHD. [1] It just goes to show that we’re still evolving in how we understand things. And then we can get into things like twice exceptionality and Asperger’s…and yeah. Lots to learn. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t3/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t3/ [1]: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61539-1/abstract https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...

AlecSchueler 2y ago

None of those points are related to diagnostic criteria.

crote 2y ago
No, they are related to the pool of people being diagnosed. You're only getting a diagnosis if a) you have access to a psychiatrist and b) you are running into enough issues in your daily life to warrant having it looked into. Life has gotten a lot more complex over the past few decades, so people run into issues more often - and earlier in life. Someone who would've just been "a bit of a weird guy" 50 years ago is getting an autism diagnosis today, simply because these days they run into issues as a child and are being put in front of a psychiatrist.
- dns_snek 2y ago
  Even 50 years ago they weren't just slightly odd people who were otherwise happy to exist in a simpler society. Those people ran into the same issues and turned to alcohol, drugs, and suicide. The only difference is that nobody understood why they were suffering.

dns_snek 2y ago

> Not that much. Very much so. What we now call Autism Spectrum Disorder was referred to as "childhood schizophrenia" in the DSM-2 [1], things only started moving in the right direction with the DSM-3 [2] when it was finally sort-of recognized as an independent disorder of "infantile autism", but some core elements of ASD like sensory processing differences were only recognized in the DSM-5. There's a good overview at [3]. It's good that criteria are different today, the criteria from decades ago failed to include majority of ways that autism expresses itself, many of which benefit from support and accommodations even though they're not obviously debilitating. [1] https://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DSM-II.pdf https://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DSM-... [2] https://aditpsiquiatriaypsicologia.es/images/CLASIFICACION%20DE%20ENFERMEDADES/DSM-III.pdf https://aditpsiquiatriaypsicologia.es/images/CLASIFICACION%2... [3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8531066/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8531066/

pridkett 2y ago
And let’s not forget that until the DSM-V, a child could not be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD (see section E at the bottom of this table [0] showing changes from the DSM-IV to DSM-V): > The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of a pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, or a personality disorder). The DSM-V states that they can exist together. In fact something like 28-44% of people with Autism exhibit some form of ADHD. [1] It just goes to show that we’re still evolving in how we understand things. And then we can get into things like twice exceptionality and Asperger’s…and yeah. Lots to learn. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t3/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t3/ [1]: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61539-1/abstract https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...