Autism, just a temporary fashion...

Post Reply New Topic

ASDs belong in psychiatry. They affect people's behavior. Sure, ASDs have a neurological cause, but so do all of the other disorders listed in the DSM. Neurological disorders are ones that simply are a problem with the nervous system but have no real impact on behavior. Epilepsy (other than temporal lobe epilepsy) and multiple sclerosis are examples of neurological disorders. But ASDs, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, etc. have BOTH a neurological component and a psychiatric component. Thus, the correct term to use for DSM conditions is "neuropsychiatric disorder." The push to classify ASDs as a "neurodevelopmental condition" greatly undermines the very real psychiatric component that is present, as well as making it seem as though neuropsychiatric disorders that typically begin in adulthood AREN'T a result of abnormal neurodevelopment. Even if you don't consider ASDs to be psychiatric in nature, the fact remains that virtually all individuals with ASDs have anxiety issues that are intertwined with having the condition.

It's a fancy word for sucking up to people.

It also includes knowing who you have to suck up to and who you have to tread on to climb up the ladder.

Hiya, I an not sure how to quote. Regarding psychiatry and neurology, actually - there is a whole lot of overlap. In fact, MS has quite a 'psychiatric' profile, for example - and like every other condition, there is a broad presentation. MS can look like a bipolar mood disorder and in some cases there is sort of a dementia, for example. Even temporal lobe epilepsy can present like a mood disorder. It's the same organ, so there has to be overlap - maybe the better idea is to have the disciplines co-operating. With any chronic condition - depression and anxiety can co-occur, behavioral issues, what have you - it's all brain stuff. The neurologist I saw had some good advice about depression - the benefit of exercise, which, at the time I saw him, was not popularly known - as we now know it can be beneficial - so, he had a different take on the same thing. My ex-husband was critically brain injured, and though he had behavioral problems - he was under the care of a neurologist - there's another example. Lot's of cross-over. I am just wondering about how to disambiguate as there does seem to be a lot of problems when a psychiatrist does not have specific experience with AS - especially with adults and, more-so it seems, with females. Maybe we need neuro-psychiatrists to better deal with the whole picture. I realize neurologists follow the peripherals as well - but with both disciplines, it gets back to the brain. I think we could even throw in an endocrinologist for good measure In a perfect world we'd have a co-operative diagnostic work-up, in my opinion. I am just appalled by the number of bad-psychiatrist stories - and I wonder if 'the powers that be' in medicine needs to have a collective look at this issue.

My kids see a pediatric neurologist who only sees kids with neurobehavioral issues. Primarily classic autism, AS, ADHD, TS, etc. It took me a long time to find him, but I think eventually--or I HOPE eventually--this will become the mainstream practice. He does not treat my kids as if they have behavioral problems or social problems. He treats them as if they have neurological differences that impact their behavior and socialization. Two wholly different things.

But, OP, I would have marched right out of that psychiatrist's office, saying "Gee, I wish you would have told me you were ignorant when we first met. It would have saved us both some aggravation."

Yes, MS can affect cognitive function, but this doesn't happen in all cases, and if it does, it happens later in the course of the illness. What are currently known as neurological disorders MAY have behavioral effects involved, but not always.

The big dividing line between neurology and psychiatry right now has a lot to do with diagnostic procedures. For neurological disorders in general, some procedure will show consistent results that point to a specific condition. Neurology has EEG, EMG, MRI, PET, and more at its disposal. But at this point in time, all neuropsych disorders are an educated guess based on symptom presentation. Until the literature starts finding results that can be repeated many times over instead of the hodgepodge of data we're currently seeing, the field of psychiatry can't progress further. Tools such as fMRI and genetic analysis are wonderful, but there is still much work to be done to make the leap from using questionnaires and Likert scales for a diagnosis to making a diagnosis that is actually medical in basis.

I'm a psychology student, and... well, some of my classmates really don't have much intellectual curiosity. They just want to get the grades and get out. But it's hard to get into graduate school, and they're undergrads. I don't think a lot of them will be making it to a profession in clinical psychology, because while they can spend the sort of effort you have to expend to get the sky-high grades you need to get into clinical psychology graduate programs, they don't really enjoy learning. They'll probably get their undergrad degree and go into a field unrelated or peripherally related to psychology.

But if some of those non-curious people who don't like to think very much were to get that graduate degree and end up as psychologists and counselors, yeah, I could see them causing some serious problems. They're not bad people; they're just not people who like to think things through thoroughly--they're not natural scientists. A psychologist needs to be capable of--and enjoy--critical thinking and ongoing education. About three-quarters of the ones I've met do enjoy learning and thinking, but there are quite a few that don't. And those people, I can run circles around. It's sad when an undergrad like me knows more about psychology than a guy with a doctorate, but it can happen, if the undergraduate is an information sponge and the guy with the doctorate isn't really interested in learning. When I get somebody like that, I try to find somebody else. If I want to consult an expert about my weird neurology, I want them to actually be able to tell me things I don't know already, and to be willing to explain things to me and answer my questions instead of just expecting me to take it all on authority.

Well said. Unfortunately, I think academia in general is coming to this- more and more people are going to college because it's "expected," so more and more people are then going on to grad school for better jobs/money. I see students of higher education being less and less passionate about learning. This is a topic that really upsets me, because, for whatever reason, I haven't yet been accepted to grad school, despite science being my life's passion. But there are lots of grad students who I see who love their work but don't consider it to be part of their core being. School is just becoming all about grades to get jobs that are all about money. The learning and the experience don't matter nearly as much as they used to, and this is frustrating. I feel that, since I only have my bachelor's, I am not taken seriously as a neuroscientist, even though I do have graduate-level knowledge about certain areas in my field.

Well I am glad such people are regarded as professionals that can provide psychological help...makes me look forward to seeking professional help even more .

I don't see how anyone who knows what autism and BPD are could say they are one and the same. It sounds like she is dangerously ignorant and you should find someone else.

This psychiatrist thinks that all people who have SIB (I don't) have BPD and also a lot of people who have mood disregulation difficulties. (I do)
A lot of autistic people have difficulties in those areas and also have impulsivity a lot of times.

Find a new doctor ASAP!

I worked in psych for a number of years. I would have to say I ran across quite a few psychiatrists and psychologists who had their own issues, and those issues often clouded their judgment. This particular psychiatrist sounds like others that I have known. While I do have respect for good psychologists and psychiatrists and at one point wanted to be one, there are quacks out there. You should run when you notice that's what you've got. I once went to a therapist who actually made me worse, and in hindsight, I think she was trying to work through her own issues through me. The problem with that was that my issues were not like hers.

Yes, I will, I will call one on monday.

This shrink thinks most cases of autism are actually BPD? Reminds me of shrinks who think that because someone didn't get diagnosed as a kid, they must not have an ASD. And she told you that if you don't agree with her, see another psychiatrist? Seems like she doesn't value her patients. Get out of there ASAP!

Callista,

Only too true. That was my experience as a psychology undergrad as well. Only the percentage of students actually interested in the science when I was in college (circa 81-87) was even lower than in your experience. And I also learned a lot more reading than a fair share of my professors, also.
This one strikes me as ignorant. And how the heck can children have BPD at 2-10 years old? Not to mention BPD itself is mostly a wastebasket dx to begin with..

Sincerely,
Matthew