Reply to Washington Post on identification of distinct autism subtypes

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Reply to "Washington Post on identification of distinct autism subtypes"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The only people that seem to care are the parents of kids who have more difficult symptoms/experiences. [/quote]

I’m not sure that’s quite true. I got diagnosed recently as an adult… I’m very high functioning (have a doctorate, high paying career, etc) but have struggled socially forever and sought a diagnosis after pretty much realizing it for myself a few years back. My mother refuse to accept I have autism because her vision of autism is the very high needs, low functioning type… [/quote]

What symptoms did/do you have?

I’m asking because I believe my 18yo DD might be on the spectrum. She’s never really completely fit in with other girls her age. She’d try and like the same things but it wouldn’t come natural to her, at 13/14 when other girls were experimenting with makeup/fashion, she felt too young and wasn’t as interested, and now regularly says she still feels 12 and can’t imagine having the independence to do adult things like drive, work, etc.[/quote]

I’m fiercely independent so not like your daughter in that way. I have always, always been perceived as weird by the people around me and was severely bullied pretty much my whole life. In high school I had a girl pretty much tell me to my face that she didn’t want me to come to a social gathering because I was weird. I never understood social cues and would end up trying to mimic things I saw on tv shows to try to fit in which just made me weirder. In my adult life I don’t have many friends. I am married (my husband is also neurodivergent and accepts my weirdness). I also get really easily frustrated at things. Oh and I never realize how loud I am especially when I get excited about what I’m talking about… my husband always has to shush me, lol.

But as I said besides socially I’m prettt successful… I’ve always been smart and excelled academically and in my career. Professionally I’m able to mask and fake my way through being collegial and I supervise a ton of folks who have all raved about me as a manager, so it doesn’t manifest there… [/quote]

If how you described yourself is autism, then that tent is pretty big.[/quote]

Exactly. The reason why scientists have basically have had to create new autism categories is to fix the overly broad diagnostic criteria of the DSM 5 and clinical practice. If you don’t filter out the adults who are normal in all ways except some social quirks then you cannot do any sort of meaningful research. [/quote]

I’m not disagreeing with you and fully acknowledge that those currently classified as levels 2 and 3 need far more support. At the same time this comment comes off as incredibly dismissive that high functioning autistics don’t benefit from a diagnosis. We do. I’m working through a lot now that I have a diagnosis that is helping me understand my childhood and who I am that I wouldn’t be able to do without the clarity around how my mind works. Don’t dismiss my experience I won’t dismiss yours or your child’s [/quote]

You could understand your mind without a diagnosis so broad as to be understood by many to be meaningless. [/quote]

Who literally thinks it's "meaningless"? Many autistic people and their families can tell you the diagnosis has been very meaningful to them and helped them get the support they need.[/quote]

The problem is that many adults are insisting on an autism diagnosis because it has some kind of identity benefits/secondary gain, when their actual issues are not autism. [/quote]

Yeah it's more palatable to be "high functioning autistic adult" than "person with few friends who isn't particularly likable" (me).[/quote]

lol. The other thing is that there are autism characteristics that are subclinical but people want a diagnosis to get the secondary benefits of it. At the end of the day, autism seems like one of the few things where it has to be an all-encompassing identity instead of just being a condition you have. Like I have legit generalized anxiety but I don’t call myself “an anxious” or seek to see everything through that lens. instead I try to cope with it (and take medication that helps it go away). [/quote]
Anxiety is a treatable condition. You can provide supports for autism but you can't make an autistic person not autistic (though a small percentage of autistic kids go on to not qualify for the diagnosis as adults)[/quote]

Yeah that’s exactly what I mean. I will always be predisposed to anxiety and medication is only so effective. It’s genetic and I have passed it down to my kid. But nobody is telling me that being “an anxious” is my immutable self. [/quote]

Because you can treat your anxiety and have it not impact your life. Autistic people don't stop being impacted by their autism because they have supports.[/quote]

That’s not true at all. I wish it could disappear but I will always have it and it corresponds to a certain way my brain interprets events (and sometimes just spontaneously generates). As we start diagnosing more and more very mild cases of autism it absolutely becomes something more like a personality or way of being in the world. But people want to make it their whole identity. 
[/quote]

Everyone worries, what matters is how you respond to it. Worries that don't limit your life are not anxiety.[/quote]

Of course. Not sure what your point is. [/quote]

You're conflating worries with anxiety. You can treat your anxiety and have it not impact your life. It is not  impairing you. An autistic person will always have some level of impairment.[/quote]

Really? Because a lot of people got through life and only found out they had autism when their child got diagnosed. Was the parent really “impaired” if they didn’t even know? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have som issue or another. The term neurodivergent is becoming completely meaningless. Neuro diverse compared to what? Who exactly is the baseline not diverse? [/quote]

The vast majority of people do not have autism or suspect it in themselves.

I have a child with confirmed autism.

I don't know if I would qualify for a diagnosis but I can point to several ways in which the way my brain works limits my life in meaningful ways.

Just because a disability is not visible to you as an outsider does not mean it does not exist.[/quote]

Maybe not autism but they may be alcoholics, have body dysmorphia, eating disorders, depression, and a host of other issues. Is that who we are comparing the neuro diverse to? Seems like they all belong under the same neurodivergent umbrella so that there are more people under the umbrella than not.[/quote]

No, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety are not considered "neurodivergence" which is itself not a clinical term in the DSM.[/quote]

But we’re talking about a limited life. Who decided that’s the qualifier?[/quote]

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