Are ASD's overdiagnosed?

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I would say the difference between AS and other diangoses that are more frequently diangosed than before, is that for the other disorders, criteria weren't changed. AS ismore frequently diagnosed because criteria are broader than they used to be, whilf or asthma, etc., criteria haven't been broadened but there are actually more cases.

Im wondering if we are entering the brave new world where all of us have some type of psychiatric disorder. Kids are not allowed to be kids. Special not only refers to delays but to brilliant people with delays (as if ANYONE can be everything). Hey where do you fall on the athlete spectrum or the math spectrum or the music spectrum art spectrum talking spectrum shyness spectrum emotion reading spectrum. Leo Kanner was rabidly against expanding the diagnostic criteria for autism. Also, the reason so many people are misdiagnosed with SEVERE autism is because they are diagnosed TOO SOON. Competing against the early early intervention narrative, alot of kids are neuro immature and will not talk and will spin in circles and let me tell you, without intervention, MAGIC, they do get better. Real autism is an inability to relate to anyone including parents!! !! If you relate to your parents you are not autistic or asd bull. Let me say this- there are other developmental disorders. Now today its all ADD, ASD/PDD/Aspie and ODD. Shame on everyone who is totally normal but using Asperger's as a crutch for their weaknesses. shame!

I'd guess it's under diagnosed, if anything.

I think this is highly possible. My youngest son is like that. He's very definitely not NT, but his dx of PDD-NOS has turned out to be incorrect. He had a severe expressive language impairment and we needed something for his IEP at school and that was our best guess. The Psychiatrist expressed some skepticism but it was the diagnosis that fit his behaviors best at the time. His two older brothers are Aspies, clearly diagnosed, really high scores in all the right places.

On the other hand, the thing I think is totally overdiagnosed is neurotypicality. I think most people have a little something going on, and are just a few changes of circumstance away from being diagnosable, maybe not with ASDs but as all kinds of neurodiversity. Just look at teenagers! I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but that people should not consider themselves above atypicality but embrace it. I've been reading again. Dangerous.

How about this, a brave new world where everybody has some kind of psychological diversity and it's a strength and gift that can be embraced and treasured. Sure there are symptoms and things that may sometimes require treatment, but put anybody under enough stress and they can develop depressive or psychotic symptoms. Maybe we need to ditch the stigma, seek treatment when it's helpful without shame, and get on with being the human race.

Just my spin on the same idea.

But that would require people work together! We all know how hard that is.

True Ferdy, and some people are just jerks regardless of their neuro-status. They might blame it on NT or ASDs or whatever, but they are just jerks.

I would guess that back when it was 1 in 10,000 it was underdiagnosed. I wouldn't call it overdiagnosed now because I can look around and see people who are clearly on the spectrum who have no diagnoses (people I've talked to and told me they don't have one or that "they just have the ADDD") Also most say it is still underdiagnosed in women. But there are probably some that are misdiagnosed with ASDs...people who have other disorders. And the people who have autism and "get better."

I also question the statistics. In my opinion the one thing that is over diagnosed is ADHD/ADD even my Psychiatrist wanted to give us that label until he found that we (mainly meaning me and my 17year old daughter. My younger kids were diagnosed through the Regional Center) do not understand social cues, body language, sarcasm, ect. Also that we have serious social and general anxiety. He still wants to call us Asperger's with ADD. I also think that ADD is simply a symptom of Asperger's.
I also think that in many places Asperger's/Autism is under diagnosed. Doctors are still telling people to wait it out which is why we have such a rise in what people call "low functioning" Autism. These kids arent getting therapy early enough. One of the reasons Im putting up my videos is not only to raise awareness of what Autism is but to spur people into getting their kids early intervention. My daughter was lucky enough to be diagnosed right before age three and receive all the early intervention therapy. She still gets therapy three times a week and is in a autism program in a specialized school for kids with disabilities (they mix in some typical kids with them as well) where she also receives speech/language, OT and TEACCH therapy. When she was diagnosed she was not speaking, would not respond to our voice and her name, spent most of her time spinning in circles and lining plastic animals across the floor.
I dont anymore want people to think that Autism is completely hopeless and liken it to cancer than I want anyone to think that it is over diagnosed because people and children with ASD will suffer for that.

If anyone is interested Im putting up videos of my now 5 year old daughter to show a realistic and more positive view of Autism. They are under Autistic Princess on youtube. So far we only have two videos but I am working on more and still trying to talk my husband into an HD digital camcorder.....right now using the digital cameras video function.

Last edited by liloleme on 06 Jun 2010, 9:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have no idea if the statistics are correct or not, what I do know is that there are some people whose lives would be greatly helped if they could get a diagnosis so that they knew what they were dealing with.

My life improved greatly after my own diagnosis, not at first though, at first I was knocked back and regressed somewhat and not only that but it took a while to get over the shock of it all, however, I do not seem autistic in public, a bit dreamy sometimes maybe or a little insensitive or blunt at times, but not autistic.

It could easily be thought that I would be in the category of someone who didn't need a dx at my age especially since my autistic bits are not obvious, it could easily seem that people like me don't even need one and that giving aspies like me a proper dx is an overkill, but it has helped me so much. Getting a report that tells you exactly where you are autistic helps in knowing what areas to work on.

If I am in the over dxed group, then I am happy about it because it changed my life for the better after the first awful realisation of it.

I think it's under diagnosed. Here, anyway.