

Proposed autism diagnosis angers ‘Aspies’ - edw519
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35348917/ns/health-mental_health/

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enjo
Aspergers has to be the most self-diagnosed disorder in history. Everyone who
is a bit socially awkward is convinced they suffer from it.

I don't have much of a point... Just find it interesting how often folks in
these articles are always 'self-described'.

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omgsean
I agree. I think a lot of self-diagnosed "Aspies" are really just people who
are afraid to get out of their comfort zone and like the idea of having
something legitimate-sounding to blame.

If I was an actual Asperger's sufferer I would be a lot angrier at fairly
normal people pretending they have it and wearing it like a badge of honour. I
doubt the real deal is a lot of fun.

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andyking
I don't think you can generalise in such a way. I had a proper diagnosis made
whilst at school but manage to hold down friendships, family relationships and
work in a fairly "social" and communicative field (radio).

It makes a few things like reading social cues a little more difficult than
for many people but it really doesn't have a particularly detrimental impact
on my life - quite the opposite when it comes to economically useful things
like language learning and understanding technical concepts.

Asperger's just isn't something I think about day-to-day and I certainly don't
see myself as a "sufferer".

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potatolicious
I have friends who have been diagnosed (i.e. not self-described), and
Asperger's really runs the entire gamut. You have the slightly awkward people
who prefer to be alone, and then you have full-blown inability to fit into any
social situation. It sounds like your case is somewhat mild - but I do think
for more extreme cases it can be "suffering".

Note: I too dislike the amount of self-diagnosis that goes on with things like
this. Asperger's and autism are real conditions that real people suffer from -
diagnosing yourself just because you're antisocial and afraid adversely
affects how seriously people view these conditions.

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aaronblohowiak
One of the hopes is that people with Asperger's will now be eligible for more
care, as there is a belief among some mental health professionals that this
population is underserved. By grouping these people with people that
experience the more severe Autism, the seriousness of the condition should be
made clearer. There was an interesting discussion about this on NPR. Many
MHP's have considered Asperger's and Autism to be along a spectrum for years
(and it is taught this way in some psych programs.)

However, the DSM is still a broken and kludgy diagnostic tool.

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neurotech1
I think they should add Aspergers by Proxy to the DSM-V, for all the clueless
psychologists out there who are unable to understand anything logical, and
think any kid who isn't within their idea of "normal" has Aspergers.

In all seriousness, part of where the problem comes in is that psychologists
deviate from the "core" differential diagnosis between Aspergers and High
Functioning Autism.

I think they should keep Aspergers in the DSM-V for persons who have social
difficulties, eg. "Difficulty understanding others emotions" - and get rid of
all the Autistic Spectrum symptoms that confuse the diagnosis.

I am an EEG tech experienced with Quantitative EEG (qEEG) technology -
According to my professor, the part of the brain that plays a role in
Aspergers is the posterior temporal lobe, primarily on the right. That is
difficulty understanding others emotions.

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electromagnetic
You're confusing psychologists and psychiatrists, the two have little
association with each other. Psychiatrists carry the prescription pad and
diagnose diseases, psychologists typically deal with functionality issues and
work with their patients through the solutions.

Psychologists typically diagnose behavior issues, they're not medically
trained whatsoever and rarely tackle conditions as a "disease". People with
phobias and addictions are typically best served by psychologists as a
psychiatrist usually throws pills at the situation and treats nothing.

I'm not disagreeing with your point, just psychologist should be substituted
for psychiatrists as they control the DSM-V.

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neurotech1
I was making a reference to the way psychologists interact with and diagnose
patients, not who controls the DSM.

To be completely accurate, the DSM-V task force is made up of both
psychiatrists and psychologists, although it comes under the umbrella of the
American Psychiatric Association.

I work with both psychologists and psychiatrists in my job, (I know the
difference) and on average, the general attitude towards patients, especially
ASD patients seems to very condescending and clueless.

On a slightly related topic, a lot of psychiatrists seem to forget the basics
of medicine, shouldn't be allowed to call themselves MD. They should have
their own category, like Doctor of Psychiatry, not Doctor of Medicine

