5 ms·

NYTimes had a podcast today about how the autism category—which used to mean something closer to nonverbal or mentally disabled—had broadened and includes a lot

by tyleo 11mo ago

NYTimes had a podcast today about how the autism category—which used to mean something closer to nonverbal or mentally disabled—had broadened and includes a lot more people now but with symptoms that aren’t at the same severity. I feel like that’s true for a lot of these categories. I feel like severity of illness is really important when talking about mental disorders since the spectrum is so wide.

potato3732842 11mo ago
People want pills and because you can't just get pills for symptoms cheaply the industry has responded to demand and diagnosed everyone. It's like a cross between everyone at a bank being a VP and your doctor being a bro and prescribing you viagra for blood pressure so insurance picks up the tab.
- oliyoung 11mo ago
  ASD isn't treatable with medication. Its impacts can, but Autism itself is largely pharmalogically untreatable
  - potato3732842 11mo ago
    Treat and "mask symptoms so I can hold a job at my full potential" are different things. And even if ASD isn't a whole bunch of other things are.
    - watwut 11mo ago
      That sounds like a good thing, no? People able to hold jobs at their full potential is good for them, good for their families and good for people who would had to be their helpers/caregivers otherwise.
      - oliyoung 11mo ago
        It is! It's why we advocate for a broader umbrella of dx for ASD. There are kids who are are independant and almost functionally neurotypical, they probably don't even need "helpers", but still need assistance that they wouldn't get if they didn't get a dx under the "old" definitions
    - oliyoung 11mo ago
      That's what I mean by "impacts of" :)
tmnvix 11mo ago
It occurred to me the other day that young people rarely get described as 'shy' anymore. 'Anxious' is more common now. Interestingly it was common to hear "they're shy, but they'll grow out of it". I don't think the same is ever said about anxious people (and I say this as someone who was very shy/socially anxious as a teen and 'grew out of it'). I'm thankful I struggled with this at a time when medications were not easily available or readily prescribed.
- xkcd-sucks 11mo ago
  > 'Anxious' is more common now Or 'having anxiety', which diminishes the subject's agency even more
  - watwut 11mo ago
    People do not choose to have anxiety.
    - kelseyfrog 11mo ago
      I can turn my anxiety on and off at will.
      - array_key_first 11mo ago
        Then you do not have an anxiety disorder, you just experience the emotion of anxiety. Similarly, you can be sad, and not have depression. The thing that makes it depression is not being able to trivially drop it. If you 'have anxiety', and can flip it on and off at will, then by the clinical definition you do not have generalized anxiety disorder. That's very nice property of the DSM.
        kelseyfrog 11mo ago
        Is this medical advice?
tpmoney 11mo ago
This is in part because the term "Asperger Syndrome"[1] (which has always been related to / a subtype of autism) is no longer used and is now just under the Autism label. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
- mindcrash 11mo ago
  Together with PDD/NOS (which is an entire category on its own, because you also could be diagnosed with this if you "just" have brain damage, leading to autistic like symptoms), Childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett syndrome. But to simplify diagnosis they swept it all up and since DSM V was released all those things are now under the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) umbrella
oliyoung 11mo ago
You're right. It's now ASD or "Autism Spectrum Disorder" and it much better describes the broad range of impacts the disability can have because it really is a spectrum; all the way from non-verbal to the mild, but real impact it has on social development, communication and interactions and putting a label on it means access to help
mindcrash 11mo ago
They do take a severity into account, they look at the amount of support which is required by the person which has been diagnosed. Which according to DSM V either can be level 1 ("Requiring support"), level 2 ("Requiring substantial support") or level 3 ("Requiring very substantial support"). As explained here: https://www.autismspeaks.org/levels-of-autism https://www.autismspeaks.org/levels-of-autism
- tyleo 11mo ago
  I’m talking about the linked article.
- magnetowasright 11mo ago
  Autism $peaks is an anti-Autistic eugenics organisation that only stopped publicly perpetuating vaccines-as-a-cause in 2017. That's just the tip of the iceberg as to problems with A$. Info about Autism is best found, well, pretty much anywhere else as long as it's not A$.

by tyleo 11mo ago

potato3732842 11mo ago

People want pills and because you can't just get pills for symptoms cheaply the industry has responded to demand and diagnosed everyone. It's like a cross between everyone at a bank being a VP and your doctor being a bro and prescribing you viagra for blood pressure so insurance picks up the tab.

oliyoung 11mo ago
ASD isn't treatable with medication. Its impacts can, but Autism itself is largely pharmalogically untreatable
- potato3732842 11mo ago
  Treat and "mask symptoms so I can hold a job at my full potential" are different things. And even if ASD isn't a whole bunch of other things are.
  - watwut 11mo ago
    That sounds like a good thing, no? People able to hold jobs at their full potential is good for them, good for their families and good for people who would had to be their helpers/caregivers otherwise.
    - oliyoung 11mo ago
      It is! It's why we advocate for a broader umbrella of dx for ASD. There are kids who are are independant and almost functionally neurotypical, they probably don't even need "helpers", but still need assistance that they wouldn't get if they didn't get a dx under the "old" definitions
  - oliyoung 11mo ago
    That's what I mean by "impacts of" :)

tmnvix 11mo ago

It occurred to me the other day that young people rarely get described as 'shy' anymore. 'Anxious' is more common now. Interestingly it was common to hear "they're shy, but they'll grow out of it". I don't think the same is ever said about anxious people (and I say this as someone who was very shy/socially anxious as a teen and 'grew out of it'). I'm thankful I struggled with this at a time when medications were not easily available or readily prescribed.

xkcd-sucks 11mo ago
> 'Anxious' is more common now Or 'having anxiety', which diminishes the subject's agency even more
- watwut 11mo ago
  People do not choose to have anxiety.
  - kelseyfrog 11mo ago
    I can turn my anxiety on and off at will.
    - array_key_first 11mo ago
      Then you do not have an anxiety disorder, you just experience the emotion of anxiety. Similarly, you can be sad, and not have depression. The thing that makes it depression is not being able to trivially drop it. If you 'have anxiety', and can flip it on and off at will, then by the clinical definition you do not have generalized anxiety disorder. That's very nice property of the DSM.
      - kelseyfrog 11mo ago
        Is this medical advice?

tpmoney 11mo ago

This is in part because the term "Asperger Syndrome"[1] (which has always been related to / a subtype of autism) is no longer used and is now just under the Autism label. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome

mindcrash 11mo ago
Together with PDD/NOS (which is an entire category on its own, because you also could be diagnosed with this if you "just" have brain damage, leading to autistic like symptoms), Childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett syndrome. But to simplify diagnosis they swept it all up and since DSM V was released all those things are now under the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) umbrella

oliyoung 11mo ago

You're right. It's now ASD or "Autism Spectrum Disorder" and it much better describes the broad range of impacts the disability can have because it really is a spectrum; all the way from non-verbal to the mild, but real impact it has on social development, communication and interactions and putting a label on it means access to help

mindcrash 11mo ago

They do take a severity into account, they look at the amount of support which is required by the person which has been diagnosed. Which according to DSM V either can be level 1 ("Requiring support"), level 2 ("Requiring substantial support") or level 3 ("Requiring very substantial support"). As explained here: https://www.autismspeaks.org/levels-of-autism https://www.autismspeaks.org/levels-of-autism

tyleo 11mo ago
I’m talking about the linked article.
magnetowasright 11mo ago
Autism $peaks is an anti-Autistic eugenics organisation that only stopped publicly perpetuating vaccines-as-a-cause in 2017. That's just the tip of the iceberg as to problems with A$. Info about Autism is best found, well, pretty much anywhere else as long as it's not A$.