I find it difficult to believe 2.4% of all males out there are autistic. I realize it's a spectrum, but if 2.4% of males have a disorder, then perhaps the criteria for diagnosis is a bit too inclusive? Seems like we would be pathologizing normal behavior... Maybe ASD is the new ADD/ADHD. It's something that damn near everyone who doesn't fit the mold has. I'd be interested to know what percentage of humans have no diagnosable mental disorder. 1%? 0? Geez.
Why call it a mental disorder when it's just a different way of processing reality.
If it's a spectrum isn't everyone at least a little Autistic?
Seriously mate? wrote:
If it's a spectrum isn't everyone at least a little Autistic?
^This. Can you say over-diagnosis? This whole autism thing is waaaayyyy over-blown. Autism is definitely a thing but this is getting out of hand....
I mean, not all people with autism visit letsrun, but its a high percentage
If you "know" you are autistic, you're really not.
I think for a lot of guys AS just means clueless with women, frankly.
Many of the core symptoms for AS and ADHD overlap. Hard to distinguish the two. Lots on re-diagnosis going on.
In my school we had one guy with aspergers. Which is now under the ASD umbrella on the mild end. It was extremely obvious this kid was not normal.
He went though phases where he would obsess about bizarre things for about 6 months then move on to something else.
He claimed he would meet with GW Bush at his ranch, and occasionally fly to Washington with him (not long after 9-11)
Then he claimed he was an airline pilot, flying around the country on the weekends (Catch Me if You Can came out),
Then he was a psychic and could talk to the dead on demand. We'd ask him to do it every day for months. He'd sit at his desk and go through convulsions telling kids he'd just talked to their dead grandparent. (some psychic show was on TV at the time)
Then he got really really into ringing church bells, then bagpipes and kilts.
He had all the classic signs, physically and socially, mimicking humor in painfully awkward ways. You could tell he was off within a minute of meeting him. If this guy was on the mild end of ASD and 1/42 people have it, you'd think we'd notice more. Either that or the criteria for diagnoses has shifted in the last 20 years.
LRC PHD wrote:
Many of the core symptoms for AS and ADHD overlap. Hard to distinguish the two. Lots on re-diagnosis going on.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4010758/
The two seem quite different to me, though there is a relatively high comorbidity with ASD. People who are ASD frequently have something else, and ADHD is common. Their core traits are quite different though. A "normal" kid with ADHD is unlikely to want to spend hours and hours alone reading about a special interest, for example.
The old ratio I used to hear was 1 in 88. But was that in 1 in 88 males, or everyone? I honestly don't know. If the latter, then isn't 1 in 42 males basically the same as 1 in 84 of everyone since AS affects far less females? I honestly don't know. Someone clarify.
Correct answer Fred! I am so glad you see my disorder the same way as me/
fred wrote:
Why call it a mental disorder when it's just a different way of processing reality.
Seriously mate? wrote:
If it's a spectrum isn't everyone at least a little Autistic?
Yes. In my case it is more than a little.
cool kid wrote:
I mean, not all people with autism visit letsrun, but its a high percentage
Very, very, very, very true.
enabled spectrum wrote:
If you "know" you are autistic, you're really not.
Incorrect answer. Sorry.
Also very, very, very correct answer.
zero T wrote:
I think for a lot of guys AS just means clueless with women, frankly.
dreamin wrote:
In my school we had one guy with aspergers. Which is now under the ASD umbrella on the mild end. It was extremely obvious this kid was not normal.
He went though phases where he would obsess about bizarre things for about 6 months then move on to something else.
He claimed he would meet with GW Bush at his ranch, and occasionally fly to Washington with him (not long after 9-11)
Then he claimed he was an airline pilot, flying around the country on the weekends (Catch Me if You Can came out),
Then he was a psychic and could talk to the dead on demand. We'd ask him to do it every day for months. He'd sit at his desk and go through convulsions telling kids he'd just talked to their dead grandparent. (some psychic show was on TV at the time)
Then he got really really into ringing church bells, then bagpipes and kilts.
He had all the classic signs, physically and socially, mimicking humor in painfully awkward ways. You could tell he was off within a minute of meeting him. If this guy was on the mild end of ASD and 1/42 people have it, you'd think we'd notice more. Either that or the criteria for diagnoses has shifted in the last 20 years.
Asperger's syndrome was a so much cooler name. Now it is Autism Spectrum Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) which is not really that cool sounding at all. I do not like the new name for this mental disorder...but I really did not have that much say in the final decision.
NeuroDiverse wrote:
LRC PHD wrote:Many of the core symptoms for AS and ADHD overlap. Hard to distinguish the two. Lots on re-diagnosis going on.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4010758/The two seem quite different to me, though there is a relatively high comorbidity with ASD. People who are ASD frequently have something else, and ADHD is common. Their core traits are quite different though. A "normal" kid with ADHD is unlikely to want to spend hours and hours alone reading about a special interest, for example.
Correct.
The updated number is 1 out of 1.3562738 males at this forum right now.
honestly dont know wrote:
The old ratio I used to hear was 1 in 88. But was that in 1 in 88 males, or everyone? I honestly don't know. If the latter, then isn't 1 in 42 males basically the same as 1 in 84 of everyone since AS affects far less females? I honestly don't know. Someone clarify.
I think there is a lot of pressure from affluent parents to get a diagnoses for kids that just have very normal developmental issues. High achiever parents do not like the idea that their children are not perfectly well adjusted and smarter than all the other kids. As soon as a kid goes through any sort of normal childhood phase, the parents rush them in for testing to see if they are on the "spectrum". Kids who are just very shy or need more active playtime or burn out when they get pushed to hard to start doing academic work too early and get oppositional (like my kids) are swept up by their parents and plopped into the child development psychologist's office for testing instead of just letting them be and grow out of very normal issues. Family friends of mine were very high achievers. Both ivy league with senior VP positions at giant tech firms. Their little boy developed a big phobia of all things slimy (snakes, slugs, salamanders, etc.) when he was in kindergarten. Having grown up in day care and with nannies, he was also very clingy and shy. He got tested and was put on the very, very far end of the spectrum. I also sometimes wonder whether expanding the spectrum is just a billing opportunity for psychologists, etc. who provide care for autistic kids. it might be better to tighten the spectrum and not over label kids. I think you can get a kid over a snake phobia without having to give him a lifetime label of being on the Autism spectrum.
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