dave-o

You really don't know what you are talking about. I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with the mental health field, but there is a lot of great help and information out there, if one knows where to look.

OldBoy

are you trying to be a dick?

dave-o

My guess would be that if he went to someone who did a thorough evaluation (and 6 hours sounds pretty thorough), he probably got a solid diagnosis. It never hurts to get a second opinion, and there is certainly a lot of over diagnosing and general misunderstanding of what AD is....but based on his own reaction to this, I'm guessing the doctor was on to something here. If you know what you're looking for and specialize in working with this population, it is often pretty clear who has it and who is just introverted and awkward...

Rockmjd23

No way!

junglalien

and prison once

Decadance

Well aren't you a dick. Yeah yeah personal attack. Don't care this time.

Jaymole

moviefan2k4, just ignore a couple of the posters here.

I think it is great that you are honest and wanted to open up about your problem here on the forum, that takes courage. We may not agree on a lot of things, but you seem like a good person and deserve support in dealing with your problem.

PhantomStranger

Western culture reviles introverted behavior for some reason. It's likely tied to European genetics. It's completely the reverse in certain Asian cultures, where extroverted behavior is frowned upon.

Jason

This is a common criticism of autism, ADD, Aspergers. I think it come's from America's bullshit machismo. Suck it up, crybaby, and that sort of thing.

VinVega

mod note - Whatever you think of someone's comments, this is not the way to go about showing it.

VinVega

I don't know much about the mental health field, but it does seem like a lot more people are being diagnosed with Autism related health issues over the past 20 years or so. Is it because more people have those conditions, or are we better at diagnosing it, or some other reason?

My cousin's daughter is Autistic. It has been a very stressful childhood for her and her family.

DeputyDave

I can't speak for anyone else but I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and there was certainly no real reason other than teachers not wanting to deal with a kid with too many questions. Because of that misdiagnosis I was medicated and as a result (I believe) almost completely lost my memories of grade school (from 3rd through 6th, the time period I was on Ritalin).

moviefan2k4

I think some kids are definitely misdiagnosed, whether it be with a mental condition or anything else. At different times in my life, I've been told I had epilepsy, ADD, ADHD, social anxiety, and bipolarism. Of those five, the only consistent one has been the first (I'm on Keppra for seizures).

The main problem I noticed with that article was that Dr. Gnaulati's first expereience with William seemed hypocritical. He chastises another doctor for only spending a few minutes with the boy, but then makes a different conclusion about the boy's behavior after just a short time himself. My psychologist put me through six hours of intense questions, puzzles, and memorization tests; I also had both a CAT scan and EEG done almost 3 years ago.

There is clearly something very different about the way i think, talk, and act around people, and many don't react kindly at all, in spite of my attempts to convince them I have no ill intent. For proof, just look at the religion discussions on this board; vicious personal attacks are flying everywhere, all because I firmly hold and defend an opposing ideological worldview.

Supermallet

moviefan, I'm glad to hear that you're getting help. My cousin is autistic and though he is brilliant, he also has trouble finishing basic tasks laid out for him, so I do hope you are able to work through this.

Alan Smithee

I was diagnosed with Asperger's 15 years ago, certainly explained a lot of things. I was a little ashamed of it at first but I've grown to just accept it and see it as a reason for why I am the way I am. There's a group in my city that meets once a month which has helped a lot. I've made a few friends through that though I wouldn't say anyone there is exactly like me, seems it affects everyone in different ways. At the group meetings we often discuss ways in which we're "better" than "normal" people yet still don't seem as happy as they are- a big debate is whether Asperger's is something that should be "cured" or just accepted. I'm fortunate in that I've at least been able to obtain and hold down jobs easily, though that's a hard thing for a lot of other people. The past year has been interesting as I finally got into a long-term romantic relationship after several short-term failures, and yet for the first time *I* was the one who ended up breaking it off.

PhantomStranger

Some of the increase is definitely due to better diagnostics and a further understanding of human psychology. But there is a widespread belief in the medical community something else is truly causing a rise in autism-related disorders separate from those issues.

Some believe it's intimately tied to the increased age when women first start giving birth these days. Others believe mating selection has been distorted by changes to society, leading to many couples from certain professions getting together that wouldn't have met in prior generations.

Why So Blu?

Was it that one chick who told the cops she didn't need a driver's license to drive, because it was her sovereign right to drive without one?

solipsta

I would say the biggest thing is that the diagnostic criteria has developed as we learn more about it. As we can identify patterns in functional problems and give them names, then we can look at treatment. Then we can give it a name. With diagnosis comes funding. Funding increases research and so on and so on.

Or vaccinations are causing it. Either or, really.

Alan Smithee

Yes. Basically it ended because we were talking about marriage (and this was the first relationship that ever made it to that stage) and she wanted me to change a bunch of stuff about myself but she wasn't willing to change things about her, and I ended up telling her that just wasn't going to work. Funny thing is she said she was once diagnosed with Asperger's but refuses to believe it, and she said she didn't think I had it either.

SkullOrchard

Ass burger.

moviefan2k4

Comments like that are precisely why I pronounce it with either a soft "A" or "J" sound instead of "G", sometimes both. The scientist who first researched this condition was German, so there's a different accent used when saying the title properly.

Obi-Wanma

As someone with a Geman last name, the hard G is appropriate. I think the soft A is actually accurate though.

Nick Danger

So it's pronounced Obi-Wan Gabroni?

wishbone

Throat Warbler Mangrove*





*emphasis on the soft A

dave-o

You won't have to worry about it much longer anyways (if you don't want to use the term), as back in May when the new DSM came out, this was one of the labels they did away with. They wrapped it in to the Autism Spectrum Disorders classification and are just referring to it by its other name, High Functioning Autism. It's caused quite a bit of controversy, as many people do not like the change (not so surprising as change tends to be met with resistance among AS individuals). Ironically enough, the German doctor who it was named after was actually studying truly autistic individuals and not the high functioning variety... Anywho...just a little background for ya!