The shortage of Autism experts

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This is the real tragedy and burden, not Autism itself.
This has helped cause 60% false psychiatric diagnosis in autistics because the autistic traits were not recognized

http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/blog/ ... -in-autism

Thanks for this link. I am not surprised by the 60% misdiagnosis rate and the ignorance of psychiatrists in this is both a tragedy for, and an abuse of, the mental well-being people on the ASD spectrum.

The article is encouraging. I suspect in the next generation of doctors, there will be plenty of autism specialists.
The comments were a let down though. Especially the one about the mother's diet causing her baby's autism. Back to the refrigerator mother.

What would be fantastic would be to see some talented people with ASD go into medicine, then into psychiatry and then do a fellowship in developmental neuropsychiatry. Imagine an autism expert who really knows the experience first hand. The potential contribution that could be made would be so valuable.

Wouldn't people with autism make the best autism experts? In the past I could recognize people with autism in a heartbeat.

I wonder if anyone here has the ambition to become a psychiatrist.

Above all else what is needed is open-mindedness in psychiatric practice. So many seem to be narrow-focus, box-ticking, arrogant, "I am superior hence I know best types".

I do wonder about the reasons that many people choose this speciality. I am sure if you asked them they would largely give you the cliched "I wanted to help people" though when privileged people say that, and self-interest and unequal power is involved, it is often instructive to remember that help can be no more than the presenting mask that control wears.

The people who choose it must know - at the point of choosing if not long before - that it is a speciality with a huge power differential - more so than in any other profession. Psychiatric patients are stigmatised, patronised, labelled, treated as inferior; psychiatrists are believed, admired, trusted, treated as superior. Careers which have power imbalances that are so vast seem to be attractive some very dubious personalities, especially narcissists of the Cluster B type. Psychiatry and also politics are troubled areas I think in this respect.

Have to absolutely agree with B19. # My learning / communication needs only began to be considered by professionals when my youngest child was diagnosed with ADHD, and ten years later they're still umming and ahhing about 'whats wrong' with me, because they still don't believe the things i've been telling them about myself and my family ...and aren't interested in doing anything that might prove im right. # Basically, when you're seen as having behavioral problems you're treated as if you're anti social [which is of course an anti social thing to do], and are seen as being too stupid to have a valid opinion about anything ~ all of which simply makes things worse.
 # When you have undiagnosed physical health problems (inc eg metabolic problems) as well, you get 'treated' as if you're just imagining things.
And if there was ever any evidence of PTSD you can forget getting help with the above learning / diet problems from such people ~ they are not trained to even consider the possibilty of such a reality, let alone to appreciate that reality. Hence 'society' is ignorant / remains our biggest obstacle to having a healthy (as well as productive) life. (sorry about # ...this forum doesnt like the 'enter' button on my mobile phone :-(