Do you ever question your kid's ASD diagnosis?

[Anonymous]

The only time I ever questioned my dd's dx was the day we got the dx! We had a full neuropysch eval done, not looking specifically for asd. Her dad looked at the Dr and said, do you think the teachers at school (this was just before K) will know? Dr looked at him as though he had three heads and said, Yes. (and they do).

Anyhow, one thing I've learned is that ASD is really a spectrum. I know several families with dc around my dc's age in our community, and every kid is different, especially as they are getting older. For example, my dd is fully verbal, unlike one kid we know, but that same kid is quite ahead of dd in motor skills and potty trained years before dd. That kiddo has ID and my dd does not. Another kid has way less sensory issues than dd but is more rigid. So it varies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The only time I ever questioned my dd's dx was the day we got the dx! We had a full neuropysch eval done, not looking specifically for asd. Her dad looked at the Dr and said, do you think the teachers at school (this was just before K) will know? Dr looked at him as though he had three heads and said, Yes. (and they do).

Anyhow, one thing I've learned is that ASD is really a spectrum. I know several families with dc around my dc's age in our community, and every kid is different, especially as they are getting older. For example, my dd is fully verbal, unlike one kid we know, but that same kid is quite ahead of dd in motor skills and potty trained years before dd. That kiddo has ID and my dd does not. Another kid has way less sensory issues than dd but is more rigid. So it varies.

This is why our neuropsychologist won't assign levels. Plus it varies based on environment, exact situation, over time, etc. https://neuroclastic.com/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. They're in line with the new, lower thresholds for diagnosis. My husband and son have more classic autistic traits, with socio-communicative impacts, and my daughter and I have the so-called "girl autism", which means we have a greater capacity for social integration and communication and major social anxiety, and fit the other ASD criteria at a minimal level.

Which is not to say my daughter's recent diagnosis, at 15, didn't come as a surprise - I didn't think her symptoms were sufficient to cross the threshold, because I was stuck on my son's earlier diagnosis from years ago. But when the psychologist explained all the criteria, I was convinced. And it was very apparent during that meeting that I, too, am on the mild end of the spectrum.

What’s the new lower thresholds for diagnosis compared to the older ones, does it also involving understanding social cues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. They're in line with the new, lower thresholds for diagnosis. My husband and son have more classic autistic traits, with socio-communicative impacts, and my daughter and I have the so-called "girl autism", which means we have a greater capacity for social integration and communication and major social anxiety, and fit the other ASD criteria at a minimal level.

Which is not to say my daughter's recent diagnosis, at 15, didn't come as a surprise - I didn't think her symptoms were sufficient to cross the threshold, because I was stuck on my son's earlier diagnosis from years ago. But when the psychologist explained all the criteria, I was convinced. And it was very apparent during that meeting that I, too, am on the mild end of the spectrum.

What’s the new lower thresholds for diagnosis compared to the older ones, does it also involving understanding social cues?

Yes, dsm v requires deficits in social communication.

[Anonymous]

Nope. My kid is level 1 and fully verbal but has many challenges that make his autism quite obvious. More so as he grows up. It was less obvious when he was little because he doesn’t have any of the very obvious stimming behaviors. I may have been in some state of shock and denial when he was diagnosed, but I don’t actually doubt the diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I do frequently. Almost no symptoms until middle school other than being very independent. Very cuddly, social child with lots of friends, good eye contact, and tremendous empathy. Still has a lot of friends now, though almost all the middle school friends now are wonderfully "quirky" versus the whole class in the smaller elementary.

Diagnosed in 6th grade after the ADHD assessor suggested it was a possibility, now in 8th.

Oh boy.

Thus does not sound like autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes and no. I think that he does not and possible never did meet the criteria for a clinically significant impact of his symptoms. I think his main challenges are unrelated to autism but attributed to it. He socializes fine, communicates fine, is flexible enough to deal with school and every day life. Just because someone has “quirks” that fit the description of autism doesn’t mean they have autism - those quirks are supposed to cause an impairment.

Socializes fine…communicates fine…what are his symptoms then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yep..it is a very broad spectrum. Sometimes I think they put all the other non-specific neurodivergents under the umbrella

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The only time I ever questioned my dd's dx was the day we got the dx! We had a full neuropysch eval done, not looking specifically for asd. Her dad looked at the Dr and said, do you think the teachers at school (this was just before K) will know? Dr looked at him as though he had three heads and said, Yes. (and they do).

Anyhow, one thing I've learned is that ASD is really a spectrum. I know several families with dc around my dc's age in our community, and every kid is different, especially as they are getting older. For example, my dd is fully verbal, unlike one kid we know, but that same kid is quite ahead of dd in motor skills and potty trained years before dd. That kiddo has ID and my dd does not. Another kid has way less sensory issues than dd but is more rigid. So it varies.

This is why our neuropsychologist won't assign levels. Plus it varies based on environment, exact situation, over time, etc. https://neuroclastic.com/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

"Levels" of ASD refers to significance of impact on life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yep..it is a very broad spectrum. Sometimes I think they put all the other non-specific neurodivergents under the umbrella

+1

+2.

It seems like some psychologists are placing kids who have one or two of the many characteristics associated with ASD under the ASD umbrella. It feels like any kid who isn't socially adept has ASD. Likewise kids who don't have mainstream likes and preferences. Has the DSM (and diagnosing professionals) gotten to the point where anyone who is not within one standard deviation of the mean with respect to social skills is on the spectrum? I really, truly believe that there are many people who have ASD, that it makes their lives really hard, and they need support. My concern about over diagnosis is that it signals to a kid that they have a condition that requires treatment. Can a kid march to the beat of their own drummer (or be a "nerd") without being placed on the spectrum? It doesn't seem like there's any grey area anymore. The DSM standard seems to be vanilla and other flavors are a condition. This is overly simplistic, I admit. But in the rush to provide support to kids (insurance coverage and IEPs), have we really narrowed what it means to be neurotypical, and are we less accepting of those who aren't mainstream?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yep..it is a very broad spectrum. Sometimes I think they put all the other non-specific neurodivergents under the umbrella

+1

+2.

It seems like some psychologists are placing kids who have one or two of the many characteristics associated with ASD under the ASD umbrella. It feels like any kid who isn't socially adept has ASD. Likewise kids who don't have mainstream likes and preferences. Has the DSM (and diagnosing professionals) gotten to the point where anyone who is not within one standard deviation of the mean with respect to social skills is on the spectrum? I really, truly believe that there are many people who have ASD, that it makes their lives really hard, and they need support. My concern about over diagnosis is that it signals to a kid that they have a condition that requires treatment. Can a kid march to the beat of their own drummer (or be a "nerd") without being placed on the spectrum? It doesn't seem like there's any grey area anymore. The DSM standard seems to be vanilla and other flavors are a condition. This is overly simplistic, I admit. But in the rush to provide support to kids (insurance coverage and IEPs), have we really narrowed what it means to be neurotypical, and are we less accepting of those who aren't mainstream?

Our doctor did it so we could access therapies via insurance, as you needed an ASD diagnosis to get speech, ot and Aba. Years later, another doctor didn't agree and removed it without us asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yep..it is a very broad spectrum. Sometimes I think they put all the other non-specific neurodivergents under the umbrella

+1

+2.

It seems like some psychologists are placing kids who have one or two of the many characteristics associated with ASD under the ASD umbrella. It feels like any kid who isn't socially adept has ASD. Likewise kids who don't have mainstream likes and preferences. Has the DSM (and diagnosing professionals) gotten to the point where anyone who is not within one standard deviation of the mean with respect to social skills is on the spectrum? I really, truly believe that there are many people who have ASD, that it makes their lives really hard, and they need support. My concern about over diagnosis is that it signals to a kid that they have a condition that requires treatment. Can a kid march to the beat of their own drummer (or be a "nerd") without being placed on the spectrum? It doesn't seem like there's any grey area anymore. The DSM standard seems to be vanilla and other flavors are a condition. This is overly simplistic, I admit. But in the rush to provide support to kids (insurance coverage and IEPs), have we really narrowed what it means to be neurotypical, and are we less accepting of those who aren't mainstream?

Can you elaborate on this? Are you an educator who questions ASD diagnoses in kids at your school and think the parents are "gaming the system" (to what end??)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes and no. I think that he does not and possible never did meet the criteria for a clinically significant impact of his symptoms. I think his main challenges are unrelated to autism but attributed to it. He socializes fine, communicates fine, is flexible enough to deal with school and every day life. Just because someone has “quirks” that fit the description of autism doesn’t mean they have autism - those quirks are supposed to cause an impairment.

Socializes fine…communicates fine…what are his symptoms then?

He has a variety of every symptom listed in the DSM for autism - they just are not really causing clinical impairment IMO. it’s a personality type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yep..it is a very broad spectrum. Sometimes I think they put all the other non-specific neurodivergents under the umbrella

+1

+2.

It seems like some psychologists are placing kids who have one or two of the many characteristics associated with ASD under the ASD umbrella. It feels like any kid who isn't socially adept has ASD. Likewise kids who don't have mainstream likes and preferences. Has the DSM (and diagnosing professionals) gotten to the point where anyone who is not within one standard deviation of the mean with respect to social skills is on the spectrum? I really, truly believe that there are many people who have ASD, that it makes their lives really hard, and they need support. My concern about over diagnosis is that it signals to a kid that they have a condition that requires treatment. Can a kid march to the beat of their own drummer (or be a "nerd") without being placed on the spectrum? It doesn't seem like there's any grey area anymore. The DSM standard seems to be vanilla and other flavors are a condition. This is overly simplistic, I admit. But in the rush to provide support to kids (insurance coverage and IEPs), have we really narrowed what it means to be neurotypical, and are we less accepting of those who aren't mainstream?

These are good points but I think that most parents don’t seek out a diagnosis unless they perceive their kid as struggling in some way. I never would have if my kid wasn’t having massive behavioral issues. OTOH maybe parents are jumping the gun. It certainly is easy enough to get fixated on your kid not being perfect and there are plenty of private practice psychologists willing to diagnose.

[Anonymous]

Read the DSM criteria - it requires pretty significant funcational impairments across settings.

If someone in your family has ASD, you know it and it doesn't take long before anyone who interacts with them can tell something is different about them too.

TikTok autism (that so many seem to have now) is a whole different ballpark and isn't a clinical diagnosis.

Kids and adults have weaknesses, imperfections, vulnerabilities, unique characteristics, etc. That is part of being human. Those should not be psychopathologized. A diagnosis means you have substantial clinical symptoms that cause functional impairment across settings and that you require support / intervention to function.