LA Times story on autism's rising rates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's sad that fully functioning adults would ever refer to themselves as "autistic". The autism that I see rising is the 1 in 10,000 children that were unable to talk or function in the 1970s without full support in their lives. They flap and stim and perseverate on things. THIS is the autism that has skyrocketed.

I could care less how many cold fish, child-bearing, married, capable and working adults are living with social quirks....society doesn't have to pay to support them and they don't have to be monitored by their aging parents. Seriously, that is not autism...it's not even close.

What I care about is figuring out how the hell we're going to deal with hundreds of thousands of severly autistic adults in the near future. Apparently I'm going to have to find a way to live forever to care for my child, or leave a fortune and trust that someone will do right by him and take care of him in my absence.

You don't know much about Aspergers. My child has AS and my husband, mother, both brothers, and many cousins would probably meet the diagnostic criteria. I would not characterize any of them as a "cold fish" - WTH are you talking about? My child is sweet, gentle and loving but cannot "connect" with his peers and does not play with them. My husband is the kindest/gentlest person I know and he has never done a purposely mean thing to anyone in the 20+ yrs I have known him and has never lied to me about anything, ever. I'm sorry you have to a lot on you plate but disparaging and discounting others who you deem less "severe" is not just plain mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's sad that fully functioning adults would ever refer to themselves as "autistic". The autism that I see rising is the 1 in 10,000 children that were unable to talk or function in the 1970s without full support in their lives. They flap and stim and perseverate on things. THIS is the autism that has skyrocketed.

I could care less how many cold fish, child-bearing, married, capable and working adults are living with social quirks....society doesn't have to pay to support them and they don't have to be monitored by their aging parents. Seriously, that is not autism...it's not even close.

What I care about is figuring out how the hell we're going to deal with hundreds of thousands of severly autistic adults in the near future. Apparently I'm going to have to find a way to live forever to care for my child, or leave a fortune and trust that someone will do right by him and take care of him in my absence.

My brothers who have Aspergers are entirely disabled. They were never diagnosed as children and received no interventions. They cannot work. They have no friends. They lead very difficult, very marginal lives. Yeah they can talk, but they aren't saying anything anyone wants to hear. While it is not the same thing as Kanner autism I think you show an awfully cold heart to dismiss their disability. It isn't a competition. I get that you and your child have more significant challenges. But things can be very, very difficult at the supposedly high functioning end of the spectrum.

Oh and adults with Aspergers have higher suicide rates. This is just being a cold fish.

PP you quoted here. You missed my point entirely. I said I could care less about "cold fish, child-bearing, married, capable and working adults are living with social quirks". Your brothers are not capable, working, fully functioning adults and obviously don't fall into the category of people I was talking about. Your brothers sound a lot like my autistic son...he can speak, but cannot function on his own. I do not dismiss their disability at all, it is a valid disability...they are the type who embody autism. I disagree with every working and functioning person who lives an almost perfect life suddenly claiming to be aspergers or autistic because they don't feel like they fit in. These are the people I get frustrated hearing about. Life is full of challenges....everybody has them. And if you want to give up halfway through life an call it aspergers, and become a victim, so be it. But these types will never gain my compassion.

[Anonymous]

If someone is leading a fully functioning life they don't have Aspergers. Aspergers is a disability. There are people who have it who work, but that doesn't mean they are living an almost perfect life. Most adults who have AS are really struggling in one way or another. If you can't give them any compassion, if you think they are giving up when they are struggling against a disability, then I stand by what I said about you having a cold heart. I realize your son's issues seem, and probably are, more significant in a lot of ways but if having a child with a disability doesn't make you more compassionate toward other kinds of disabilities, then I'm sorry for you.

Never before have I heard that people with Aspergers lead "almost perfect" lives. jeez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If someone is leading a fully functioning life they don't have Aspergers. Aspergers is a disability. There are people who have it who work, but that doesn't mean they are living an almost perfect life. Most adults who have AS are really struggling in one way or another. If you can't give them any compassion, if you think they are giving up when they are struggling against a disability, then I stand by what I said about you having a cold heart. I realize your son's issues seem, and probably are, more significant in a lot of ways but if having a child with a disability doesn't make you more compassionate toward other kinds of disabilities, then I'm sorry for you.

Never before have I heard that people with Aspergers lead "almost perfect" lives. jeez.

We're on the same side here. I agree with what you are saying...why are you taking offense to everything I post?

[Anonymous]

Because I have a son and brothers with Aspergers and life is hard and I found myself having to justify that to you. They may appear "fully functioning" to you, but they aren't. And all those people you dismissed as fakers or not trying hard enough or whatever it is could be struggling with serious challenges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's sad that fully functioning adults would ever refer to themselves as "autistic". The autism that I see rising is the 1 in 10,000 children that were unable to talk or function in the 1970s without full support in their lives. They flap and stim and perseverate on things. THIS is the autism that has skyrocketed.

I could care less how many cold fish, child-bearing, married, capable and working adults are living with social quirks....society doesn't have to pay to support them and they don't have to be monitored by their aging parents. Seriously, that is not autism...it's not even close.

What I care about is figuring out how the hell we're going to deal with hundreds of thousands of severly autistic adults in the near future. Apparently I'm going to have to find a way to live forever to care for my child, or leave a fortune and trust that someone will do right by him and take care of him in my absence.

I would love to meet one of these "cold fish, child-bearing, married..." slacker adults who want to fake an Aspergers diagnosis to explain away their miserable lives. I personally have never met one and the only adult I know who got a diagnosis was a parent who got it after their child was diagnosed. More common are people like me who recognize Aspergers tendencies in near relatives after a child is diagnosed. I cannot imagine why a person would seek a diagnosis for any disease nevermind something that carries social sigma like "autism" unless they were having significant problems. I suppose they could be "crazy" but if not, they probably have problems that are seriously impacting their life and they are looking for answers. I have no idea why you feel you can judge them.

[Anonymous]

A good friend works in CA with an autism program. She recently told me the numbers are up so that they can qualify more kids for services given the budget cuts in CA. I.e. kids that might have only met some developmental delay criteria are being "diagnosed" with autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good friend works in CA with an autism program. She recently told me the numbers are up so that they can qualify more kids for services given the budget cuts in CA. I.e. kids that might have only met some developmental delay criteria are being "diagnosed" with autism.

They are doing it so the kids get services. No diagnosis, no services, right? If the controversy is that the kids need an autism label to get needed services, the problem is how the program rations services according to the diagnosis and not a problem with the diagnosis of autism itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's sad that fully functioning adults would ever refer to themselves as "autistic". The autism that I see rising is the 1 in 10,000 children that were unable to talk or function in the 1970s without full support in their lives. They flap and stim and perseverate on things. THIS is the autism that has skyrocketed.

I could care less how many cold fish, child-bearing, married, capable and working adults are living with social quirks....society doesn't have to pay to support them and they don't have to be monitored by their aging parents. Seriously, that is not autism...it's not even close.

What I care about is figuring out how the hell we're going to deal with hundreds of thousands of severly autistic adults in the near future. Apparently I'm going to have to find a way to live forever to care for my child, or leave a fortune and trust that someone will do right by him and take care of him in my absence.

I would love to meet one of these "cold fish, child-bearing, married..." slacker adults who want to fake an Aspergers diagnosis to explain away their miserable lives. I personally have never met one and the only adult I know who got a diagnosis was a parent who got it after their child was diagnosed. More common are people like me who recognize Aspergers tendencies in near relatives after a child is diagnosed. I cannot imagine why a person would seek a diagnosis for any disease nevermind something that carries social sigma like "autism" unless they were having significant problems. I suppose they could be "crazy" but if not, they probably have problems that are seriously impacting their life and they are looking for answers. I have no idea why you feel you can judge them.

You're self-diagnosing your relatives? That is pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I have a son and brothers with Aspergers and life is hard and I found myself having to justify that to you. They may appear "fully functioning" to you, but they aren't. And all those people you dismissed as fakers or not trying hard enough or whatever it is could be struggling with serious challenges.

I understand your brother's and son's struggles. I have it too with my son. You don't have to justify it to me. I had an old boss when I was working....he was a real jerk, very egotistical. He was social, understood directions, had children, married, religious, and very smart, etc. Later, he reconnected with me on FB and was explaining to me that he decided to separate from his wife because she was abusive to him. He also claimed to be diagnosed with aspergers. Sorry, but THAT is where I call bullshit. When your life falls apart, after you've been perfectly capable of living a normal life, you don't crawl into a hole and claim mental disability in order to hide from your problems or hide from blame. I'm not saying that your brothers and son are doing that. They obviously have issues that are far greater then I am discussing here.

Almost anyone can go get a diagnosis of aspergers for themselves....I guess I shouldn't care so much. I just get so sick of people claiming to be victims.

[Anonymous]

And I get so sick of people judging everyone else based on their view of one person. So your old boss was a jerk. leaving aside the fact that maybe he does have AS and it doesn't sound like he's exactly flourishing, the fact that you draw from an example of one conclusions to tarnish a whole population of people who have serious challenges is the problem here. It isn't that you "care so much." Its that you are, and I'm sorry to say it, being a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I get so sick of people judging everyone else based on their view of one person. So your old boss was a jerk. leaving aside the fact that maybe he does have AS and it doesn't sound like he's exactly flourishing, the fact that you draw from an example of one conclusions to tarnish a whole population of people who have serious challenges is the problem here. It isn't that you "care so much." Its that you are, and I'm sorry to say it, being a jerk.

I'm sorry if I came across as a judmental jerk. Perhaps I deserve your judgment, but you are judging too. My point has been lost to an emotional battle involving too much ego. See ya on the next thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's sad that fully functioning adults would ever refer to themselves as "autistic". The autism that I see rising is the 1 in 10,000 children that were unable to talk or function in the 1970s without full support in their lives. They flap and stim and perseverate on things. THIS is the autism that has skyrocketed.

I could care less how many cold fish, child-bearing, married, capable and working adults are living with social quirks....society doesn't have to pay to support them and they don't have to be monitored by their aging parents. Seriously, that is not autism...it's not even close.

What I care about is figuring out how the hell we're going to deal with hundreds of thousands of severly autistic adults in the near future. Apparently I'm going to have to find a way to live forever to care for my child, or leave a fortune and trust that someone will do right by him and take care of him in my absence.

I would love to meet one of these "cold fish, child-bearing, married..." slacker adults who want to fake an Aspergers diagnosis to explain away their miserable lives. I personally have never met one and the only adult I know who got a diagnosis was a parent who got it after their child was diagnosed. More common are people like me who recognize Aspergers tendencies in near relatives after a child is diagnosed. I cannot imagine why a person would seek a diagnosis for any disease nevermind something that carries social sigma like "autism" unless they were having significant problems. I suppose they could be "crazy" but if not, they probably have problems that are seriously impacting their life and they are looking for answers. I have no idea why you feel you can judge them.

You're self-diagnosing your relatives? That is pathetic.

Where did I say I was diagnosing anyone? You really are judgmental. So I'm pathetic for looking for where my child's issues may have came from like family history? I'm sorry for you and your complete lacking in compassion for anyone other than yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Where did I say I was diagnosing anyone? You really are judgmental. So I'm pathetic for looking for where my child's issues may have came from like family history? I'm sorry for you and your complete lacking in compassion for anyone other than yourself.

No, that doesn't make you pathetic. What makes you pathetic is that you stopped there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/autism/la-me-autism-day-one-html,0,1218038.htmlstory

Autism boom: an epidemic of disease or of discovery?
Autism rates have increased twentyfold in a generation, stirring parents' deepest fears and prompting a search for answers. But what if the upsurge is not what it appears to be?

......The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1% of children across the country have some form of autism — 20 times the prevailing figure in the 1980s. The increase has stirred fears of an epidemic and mobilized researchers to figure out what causes the brain disorder and why it appears to be affecting so many more children.

Two decades into the boom, however, the balance of evidence suggests that it is more a surge in diagnosis than in disease....

A really compelling part of this series is the slideshows and the parents' perspective on their children. There's a lot of insight there.