Reply to Do you ever question your kid's ASD diagnosis?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]yep..it is a very broad spectrum. Sometimes I think they put all the other non-specific neurodivergents under the umbrella[/quote]

+1[/quote]

+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?

[/quote]

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. [/quote]

Struggle is part of the human experience. No one is great at everything. That is being a human. When parents can't identify any waeknesses or non positive traits in their kids outside of ASD related things - you know they got a diagnosis just because their child wasn't perfect and they wanted a perfect child - not an actual human. [/quote]

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