Autism Societies in each state in Australia have massive lists not just of who can diagnose, but also those that treat and/or assist with the condition. They have specailists in every single conceivable number of fields. The occupational therapists association, Australian psychological society and the like, also have lists on their websites of on accredited autism specailists, who have done some level of professional development in autsim and who claim to have experience, they do list how many years, not sure of other fields, but I suspect it would be similar.
Having said that it all depends on what you want to be told. There are professionals out there who will tell you you have XXX disorder, because it is the only thing they could possibly consider, to them every single thing of that nature means XXX. If you want that diagnosis, great, if you want another one, not so great. It is amazing to me just how many parents pick and choose the specialists they see to find the one that will give them the diagnosis they want. I know of a child who was assessed by 307 different pediatricians and child psychologists, the majority of whom said he had XXXX, the parents were not happy which is why they kept searching for another diagnosis. They ended up seeing Toni Attwood and got the diagnosis they wanted of Aspergers. It was the ONLY diagnosis they would accept. I can say that there is not one thing that I see in this child that is typical of someone on the spectrum, but then again Toni Attwood does not diagnose anything else. I know of people who have seen him and he has saved their lives and there children's lives, but diagnosing every single person who has the slightest bit of social isolation as aspergers is not necessarily making someone a good diagnositican. I do respect what he writes and a lot of what he has said, but some of the people who see him really do have questionable diagnosis to my eyes, but then again in his state in Australia the rate of Autism Spectrum Disorders is now at 1 in 30 children?? Are we honestly going to say that we are that common. Because that would mean that being on the spectrum is more common than wearing glasses, having blonde hair, etc. But when the only daignosis that gets you any services is autism spectrum disorders is it any wonder that people go looking for that diagnosis.
I was daignosed as a child, but it meant nothing and I had no documentation. I was rediagnosed a number of years ago as an adult in their mid thirties on the advice of a psychiatrist that does not do those diagnoses, that has never done one, but could see that that was really what my issues were. When parents diagnose their own children and then search out a professional to give them the word they want to hear, I have a problem. When they go asking for a diagnosis for this, rather than saying I think there is something wrong and I would like your assessment I have a problem. I agree that parents know the child better than anyone, but they are not specialists and there are so so so many conditions that all overlap each other, and when there is no definitive test then it murky's the water all the more.
Yes we are diagnosing better and as a result seeing an increase, but there is also a huge amount of wrong diagnosis going on. At one stage one in 20 children had ADHD that has now changed, but in doing so we have 1 in 30 on the spectrum. It seems to me like we are taking the same problems and labelling them with something else. That does not mean that such conditions do not and cannot co-orrur but when the rates are that low in one area and not others one really does have to question what is happening.
22 Jul 2010, 7:08 pm
