Tadzio wrote:
This article seems to make people claiming things being "factually incorrect" fail to make additional comments. I disagree with the article about "Pragmatic..." involving the (IMO) lack of valid and objective constructs, which I tend to label as fictional constructs that have detrimental results, instead of them being beneficially useful.
It took me way too long to parse that sentence. I hope the correct interpretation is "Reading this article makes people stop saying that making a distinction between AS and autistic disorder is factually inaccurate," as that is what I concluded after multiple readings, although I disagree with you that it makes a firm, bounded distinction between diagnostic labels and rather points out the diversity of manifestations possible within the autistic spectrum.
This article does not conclude that AS is separate from the rest of the autistic spectrum, but concludes that there is a diagnostic profile that includes superior language skills. Yes, there are differences in diagnostic profiles among different people on the autistic spectrum. It does strike me as strange when "spectrum" becomes meaningless when dealing with someone who is invested in the idea that Asperger's is really a separate condition and not actually any form of autism.
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This proposal will do more harm than good because it will further perpetuate stereotypes and misunderstandings about Asperger’s, it will serve as an insult and a mockery to those who are severely affected by Asperger’s, it will cause further confusion and ambiguity in diagnostics, and it will attack the identity in which many Aspies, like me, take pride.
This is all an appeal to emotion. Emotive phrases like "more harm than good," "an insult and a mockery," and "attack the identity" catastrophize the change beyond its practical and currently demonstrable impact. Further, she doesn't really critique stereotypes and misunderstandings about anyone on the spectrum, but simply says they are bad for people with AS.
She does this again:
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First of all, many Aspies already suffer enough from the negative stigma and stereotypes society holds against them. To call Asperger’s “high-functioning autism” or “a form of autism” will only contribute to this stigma. The label of Asperger’s at least gives observers the impression of intelligence and ability. But, when most people think of “autism,” they think of someone who should be institutionalized and cannot live independently. Therefore, if people with Asperger’s are merged under the autistic group, brilliantly gifted and capable individuals could be unfairly stereotyped as incapable and unprofitable.
The problem is again not that people diagnosed with autistic disorder are stereotyped as incapable, but that she will be grouped with them, thus being stereotyped as incapable herself.
I am also uncertain that the general impression of "Asperger's" as a label really gives observers the impression of intelligence and ability. Perhaps I am simply confused by occasions such as the time when my niece decided that my diagnosis of AS meant that I was "ret*d" and actually threw a tantrum because I fixed something that she managed to muck up. Or perhaps incidents such as seeing multiple people using "Asperger's" in a way to indicate they don't consider those diagnosed with that label to be intellectually capable. Perhaps she could have been clearer about just how much a label such as AS actually provides positive benefits.
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For example, many people with Asperger’s are not hired for a job or are denied promotion or advancement in an occupation because their employers assume that all people with Asperger’s are incapable of performing the tasks required. They might stereotype all Aspies as being completely inflexible, clinically hypersensitive to the sensory environment, or 100% incapable of getting along with or relating to their coworkers, without realizing that the Asperger’s symptoms vary according to the individual.
I found this interesting as she seems to think that it's the
label that creates difficulties for us. My own experience is that not having a label still made it hard for me to get promotions or advancement or even hold a job for very long, regardless of my actual on the job performance. It also seems to me that I have seen most of these stereotypes used to reference people diagnosed with AS in the past.
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Additionally, I also find the DSM-V proposal to be an act of insensitivity toward the adversity people with Asperger’s encounter. I’ve always been annoyed and offended when Asperger’s is referred to as “a mild form of autism,” which is how it will be classified under this suggested revision. Let’s get one thing straight. ASPERGER’S IS NOT MILD!
This argument makes no sense. How is it insensitive? If
anything the DSM-V change makes it
easier to more accurately judge the severity and difficulties anyone who falls under this diagnostic label face. People who are diagnosed with AS
already deal with assumptions about how mild their condition must be. I have caught this multiple times on this forum, from my therapist, and from others online - that since AS is mild my condition cannot be as impairing as it really is. Based on this and what I've seen from others, it seems to me that this already happens.
If you are diagnosed with AS now, you're automatically mild. If you are diagnosed under the new criteria, it may be that some of your symptoms are recognized as moderate or severe, rather than the bland assumption that all symptoms are at roughly similar severity.
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I also believe that Asperger’s should remain separate from autism because a separate diagnosis is more logically accurate in my opinion. I don’t believe Asperger’s should be incorporated into the autism spectrum, but should be its own spectrum. In the DSM, Asperger’s shouldn’t be considered “on the autism spectrum,” but should simply be called “the Asperger’s spectrum.” Even Asperger’s alone can vary from mild to severe; In that manner, it really does have its own spectrum. As Karen Siff Exkorn wrote in The Autism Sourcebook, “Asperger’s is sometimes mistakenly referred to as high-functioning autism because children with this diagnosis tend to have average or above-average intelligence and typical or advanced language skills. But, in reality, Asperger’s is not high-functioning autism. The difference between a diagnosis of Asperger’s and high-functioning autistic disorder lies in the realm of communication. Because children with Asperger’s develop communication skills within the typical range for the first few years of life, they usually present strong verbal skills, which is not a component of Autistic Disorder” (21). Therefore, Asperger’s should be classified as its own spectrum of diverse and variable individuals with strong intelligence and verbal skills because strong verbal skills are a truly significant characteristic that distinguishes Aspies from autistics. I don’t think it makes sense or does any good to put a strongly verbal Aspie with an advanced vocabulary in the same category as autism when some autistics never learn to speak.
This is an argument by tautology. Invoking experts making the same tautology does not make it more accurate. Nor does she properly make the logical case that Asperger's should be a separate spectrum. She simply argues that because AS is defined by a difference in verbal development, then it is different because of a verbal development and should not even be labeled as part of the autistic spectrum.
Back in the
real world, it is not difficult to find just how much experiences overlap between people diagnosed with AS and people diagnosed with autistic disorder and PDD-NOS. Never mind people who have had two or all three of those diagnoses at various points in their lives. If the diagnostic picture so clearly displayed such an obvious difference, it strikes me that it would not be that difficult to distinguish between someone who should be diagnosed as autistic vs. someone who should be diagnosed with AS.
You could make the dividing line severity of sensory issues - those who have more severe sensory issues such as agnosias and lack of processing go under this label, those who simply find sensory input to be overloading go under this other label, and those who have no sensory issues go under a third label. And then you would have people arguing that their differences in sensory processing are an obvious and necessary division between labels and that the diagnoses should not be merged because it will make things more difficult for one or more of these three categories.
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I also believe that the DSM-V proposal will make diagnostics more ambiguous. If we incorporate Asperger’s into the autism spectrum, the spectrum will only get wider and it will be more difficult to assess the severity of this disorder in its future victims.
This is explicitly inaccurate. Asperger's was
always part of the autistic spectrum, and thus cannot be incorporated in the manner she says will be problematic. The spectrum will not become wider because it is already that wide.
Her complaints:
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If Aspie children are only diagnosed as “autistic” and are no longer given a separate label, that title will raise more questions like, “What form of autism does this person have,” “How severe is it,” “What are the extent of the symptoms,” etc., The generality of the autism label will give parents less guidance about the proper interventions to take for their child’s best interest
Are already addressed by the current version of the DSM-V diagnostic criteria since severity is
already part of the diagnostic criteria. Further, children diagnosed as autistic are already not treated the same in schools, by medical professionals, by parents, etc. Each case is already unique and this is generally known. She is again catastrophizing the possible outcome.
Finally,
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The most personal reason I am against this DSM-V proposal is that I consider it to be an attack on my identity and I’m not the only Aspie who believes this. Asperger’s is indeed part of who I am and I have grown to become proud of that title. I take great pride in my positive aspects of Asperger’s, like intelligence, memory, and vocabulary, and I do not want those gifts to be overshadowed by merging them into a title that is perceived to be more negative. Besides, many respectable and inspirational figures, like Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Mozart, Marie Curie, Thomas Jefferson, and so forth are believed to have had Asperger’s. Many Aspies, like me, are honored to be associated with such geniuses and it would be a shame indeed to have this sense of pride taken away. We, Aspies, are unique in our own way and not “just more autistics.” I wish the APA would honor this uniqueness we hold dear. I will always refer to myself as someone with Asperger’s, no matter what any individual or organization says. If you’re an Aspie who’s determined to protect your identity or if you’re simply concerned about the ramifications of this proposal, stand with me and oppose DSM-V.
This is about how being considered to be on the autistic spectrum will somehow negate her "Aspie" identity. The DSM-V is incapable of revoking the Aspie label from those who identify with it, and it is too much part of the cultural fabric to simply disappear. It may very well be that parents will be told that under older criteria their child would have been diagnosed with AS.
The language she uses here talks about how positive and uplifting it is to have Asperger's. I would go so far as to say that it sounds like having AS makes one a special, unique snowflake. She goes on to say that being autistic would take all that away from her, that she would no longer be "special" but just another autistic.
Last edited by Verdandi on 02 Sep 2011, 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
02 Sep 2011, 4:04 pm
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