4 ms·

I don't really understand this view of therapy. In my experience, it's something you choose for yourself, because you recognize the need. The odds that you rece

I don't really understand this view of therapy. In my experience, it's something you choose for yourself, because you recognize the need. The odds that you receive a psychiatric evaluation against your will and be compelled into therapy are amazingly slim. Especially for something like 'autism-spectrum' disorders, where the majority of sufferers appear to be high-functioning.

lutusp 14y ago
> I don't really understand this view of therapy. In my experience, it's something you choose for yourself, because you recognize the need. That would be nice, but it doesn't reflect reality. In schools, children are frequently given autism spectrum diagnoses against their better interests, or wishes, or the wishes of their parents (but not always -- sometimes parents force these things on their children). But the patient's wishes are often the lowest priority. Ideally, people would volunteer for therapy solely on issues they choose for themselves. But this isn't how clinical psychology works in modern times. Schools have a vested interest in getting diagnoses, because special-education funds are only available for those with a diagnosis. The reason Asperger's is being abandoned is because it was applied in exactly the way described above, until everyone realized it was a scam -- even the therapists who benefited the most. Now it's slated for removal from the next edition of the DSM, and further, the diagnosis criteria for autism spectrum is being reworked to prevent another epidemic of nonsense diagnoses such as we have just seen. > The odds that you receive a psychiatric evaluation against your will and be compelled into therapy are amazingly slim. On the contrary, it's an everyday occurrence, especially among children, who aren't mature enough to realize that psychologists aren't doctors. > Especially for something like 'autism-spectrum' disorders, where the majority of sufferers appear to be high-functioning. Yes, and that is the present problem area -- bogus diagnoses, using vague criteria that can be applied to nearly anyone, with obvious advantages to everyone except the patient. Mental health professionals, aware that autism spectrum diagnoses are out of control and no longer have any connection to reality, have joined an American Psychological Association task force charged with redefining ASD to stem the tide of nonsense diagnoses. One of those behind the redefinition effort (Dr. Fred Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine) says of the diagnosis surge, "We would nip it in the bud."
- charlieflowers 14y ago
  "... Asperger's is being abandoned.... Now it's slated for removal from the next edition of the DSM" REALLY??! Wow. I sure thought I was seeing a bunch of misguided hullabaloo, but I'm surprised to see the "industry" itself is aware of it and addressing it. Do you have a link or any kind of substantiation?
  - lutusp 14y ago
    > Do you have a link or any kind of substantiation? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html?pag... The above is just one of the many links to this topic -- here's another: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/29/132407384/whats-a-mental-disorder-even-experts-cant-agree http://www.npr.org/2010/12/29/132407384/whats-a-mental-disor... It's important to say that DSM-V (the new edition of the diagnostic manual) is being compiled in secret, contrary to the open nature of science, and demonstrating that the psychological community are circling the wagons against what is certain to be a storm of criticism once it's published (slated for May 2013). One of the tidbits that has slipped out of the secret process is that grief over the loss of a loved one will qualify for a depression diagnosis, which will allow the prescribing of drugs to treat this new "mental illness." Further reading: http://arachnoid.com/trouble_with_psychology http://arachnoid.com/trouble_with_psychology
  - polshaw 14y ago
    >Asperger’s syndrome... will be folded into a single broad diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder ^ FTA quoted as a source. It's not going anywhere, just re-labelling. There are definitely things behind AS, it's certainly not all just 'hullabaloo', even if a lot of cases might be.
    - lutusp 14y ago
      > It's not going anywhere, just re-labelling. Not really. Two things are happening: 1. Asperger's is being dropped as a diagnosis. 2. ASD diagnostic criteria are being redefined with the specific aim of reducing the number of diagnoses, to avoid another epidemic of nonsense treatments of people who, apart from being intelligent, are otherwise normal. Further reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/health/research/new-autism-definition-would-exclude-many-study-suggests.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/health/research/new-autism... > There are definitely things behind AS ... Yes, there certainly are. It's a gold mine for clinical psychology, because anyone to the right of the mean population I.Q. can be diagnosed using the present criteria, and because of this kind of abuse, it's being abandoned -- it's just too tempting to apply it to everyone. As one of its prominent critics has said, "It's not an evidence-based term."

lutusp 14y ago

> I don't really understand this view of therapy. In my experience, it's something you choose for yourself, because you recognize the need. That would be nice, but it doesn't reflect reality. In schools, children are frequently given autism spectrum diagnoses against their better interests, or wishes, or the wishes of their parents (but not always -- sometimes parents force these things on their children). But the patient's wishes are often the lowest priority. Ideally, people would volunteer for therapy solely on issues they choose for themselves. But this isn't how clinical psychology works in modern times. Schools have a vested interest in getting diagnoses, because special-education funds are only available for those with a diagnosis. The reason Asperger's is being abandoned is because it was applied in exactly the way described above, until everyone realized it was a scam -- even the therapists who benefited the most. Now it's slated for removal from the next edition of the DSM, and further, the diagnosis criteria for autism spectrum is being reworked to prevent another epidemic of nonsense diagnoses such as we have just seen. > The odds that you receive a psychiatric evaluation against your will and be compelled into therapy are amazingly slim. On the contrary, it's an everyday occurrence, especially among children, who aren't mature enough to realize that psychologists aren't doctors. > Especially for something like 'autism-spectrum' disorders, where the majority of sufferers appear to be high-functioning. Yes, and that is the present problem area -- bogus diagnoses, using vague criteria that can be applied to nearly anyone, with obvious advantages to everyone except the patient. Mental health professionals, aware that autism spectrum diagnoses are out of control and no longer have any connection to reality, have joined an American Psychological Association task force charged with redefining ASD to stem the tide of nonsense diagnoses. One of those behind the redefinition effort (Dr. Fred Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine) says of the diagnosis surge, "We would nip it in the bud."

charlieflowers 14y ago
"... Asperger's is being abandoned.... Now it's slated for removal from the next edition of the DSM" REALLY??! Wow. I sure thought I was seeing a bunch of misguided hullabaloo, but I'm surprised to see the "industry" itself is aware of it and addressing it. Do you have a link or any kind of substantiation?
- lutusp 14y ago
  > Do you have a link or any kind of substantiation? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html?pag... The above is just one of the many links to this topic -- here's another: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/29/132407384/whats-a-mental-disorder-even-experts-cant-agree http://www.npr.org/2010/12/29/132407384/whats-a-mental-disor... It's important to say that DSM-V (the new edition of the diagnostic manual) is being compiled in secret, contrary to the open nature of science, and demonstrating that the psychological community are circling the wagons against what is certain to be a storm of criticism once it's published (slated for May 2013). One of the tidbits that has slipped out of the secret process is that grief over the loss of a loved one will qualify for a depression diagnosis, which will allow the prescribing of drugs to treat this new "mental illness." Further reading: http://arachnoid.com/trouble_with_psychology http://arachnoid.com/trouble_with_psychology
- polshaw 14y ago
  >Asperger’s syndrome... will be folded into a single broad diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder ^ FTA quoted as a source. It's not going anywhere, just re-labelling. There are definitely things behind AS, it's certainly not all just 'hullabaloo', even if a lot of cases might be.
  - lutusp 14y ago
    > It's not going anywhere, just re-labelling. Not really. Two things are happening: 1. Asperger's is being dropped as a diagnosis. 2. ASD diagnostic criteria are being redefined with the specific aim of reducing the number of diagnoses, to avoid another epidemic of nonsense treatments of people who, apart from being intelligent, are otherwise normal. Further reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/health/research/new-autism-definition-would-exclude-many-study-suggests.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/health/research/new-autism... > There are definitely things behind AS ... Yes, there certainly are. It's a gold mine for clinical psychology, because anyone to the right of the mean population I.Q. can be diagnosed using the present criteria, and because of this kind of abuse, it's being abandoned -- it's just too tempting to apply it to everyone. As one of its prominent critics has said, "It's not an evidence-based term."