My First Argument on #wrongplanet!

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Well, tonight was a big night! I had previously heard some people mention the heated arguments on #wrongplanet, but I'd never experienced one first hand. Tonight that changed. First someone mentioned how their local NAMI in Seattle, Washington, classified Asperger's syndrome as a "severe mental illness." Then another person gave voice to their contention that legal permanent residents and citizens of the United States of America should call themselves something other than Americans because Canadians, Mexicans, Venezualians, Brazilians, et ali. are Americans too. I said I have heard that point of view before; and, as an American, I was fine with sticking with the word I and everyone I know have always used to describe my nationality. I have seen this conversation before on [url]news:alt.usage.english[/url] and thought it was beating a dead horse because there's really no resolution to an argument like that. I prefer to remain with common usage instead of promoting a more correct usage based on the fact that the Americas encompass many other countries. This got one chatter a bit irritated, but it was my "monologue" about psychiatric disorder (per the DSM-IV-TR and Chapter V(F) of the ICD-10) that really got a few people angry.

As Asperger's syndrome and the other pervasive developmental disorders are currently defined in both the DSM and the ICD, behavioral signs and psychological developmental signs are used as the criteria for establishing a diagnosis; no neurological test has been conclusively established for diagnosing autistic spectrum conditions. Apparently, the root of those who were angry at me's argument was that psychiatrists can pretty much only prescribe psychopharmaceutical treatments for "mental illnesses," which AS is not. I mentioned the fact that schizophrenia has a neurodevelopmental and biochemical basis. One can find unusual brain development, chemistry, or activity in all manner of psychiatric disorders. It's not as simple as autistic brain or neurotypical brain. I stated that neurologists were more versed in treating senile dementias like Alzheimer's disease, head aches, Tourette's syndrome, brain damage, and diseases of the nervous system (not the brain in particular) that one would never confuse with mental illness. Another point they had was classifying it as a mental illness meant the wrong services: Seeing a psychiatrist was not the appropriate treatment for them (and I would agree); they wanted help with sensory integration, learning disabilities, and that sort of thing.

Somehow this disagreement, or misunderstanding each others' points of view, led to a lot of hostility against me. I added a joke satirizing Freudian-style psychoanalysts, but this only made matters worse; I was characterized as "thinking I was superior" and being rude and obnoxious. I expressed my confusion about the anger because these events did not seem to me to be anything to be so worked up over. I stated that maybe I did not become offended as easily because severe bullying in elementary school led to a divergent personality strategy. Also, on another channel for people with Asperger's, someone suggested a neuropsychiatrist would probably be best for diagnosing and treating AS; this would be ideal, but how common are they? I'm not exactly sure what their training is. Perhaps they are psychiatrists with additional training in neurology (that's got to be a lot of school!).

I find it funny (as in odd, unusual, or surprising) that trying to discuss intellectually the exact nosological placement of the autistic spectrum could lead to such hot tempers. It was also a little exhilerating that I had experienced one of these much-talked about arguments first hand--and was even a primary participant!

This reminds me of a time a few months ago when I was at my dad's and my grandma and grandpa were there, too. My grandpa, after some commercial ended, said that he thought there was too much filth on television. I started a bit of a parody, saying that television should be strictly regulated and all "filth" should be eliminated immediately. I admit I was a little bored and I guess I was stirring up the flames a bit; but I didn't mean to offend my grandpa, of course. My grandpa took the joke in good humor; he actually joked back, saying that I should be in politics. My grandpa and I are both quite interested in politics.

I guess you could say I almost thrive on a small amount of none-too-serious conflict. When passions are flamed and ideas are exchanged, that's when people speak their mind. I have even seriously contemplated becoming a lawyer before, but I decided against because I didn't want to go through so many more years of school, which I dislike. I like to learn, but I dislike formal education.

It is thought possible that ASDs might have familial backgrounds but may be triggered by birth complications or infections. Indeed there are even cases of individuals who develop Aspergers with pre-/perinatal complications and no family history or suspicion of any ASDs.

"Mental illness" is an incredibly broad category, spanning the biologically-caused, the biologically-/environmentally-caused, and the mostly-environmentally-caused. And just because there is no treatment or no clear neurochemical abnormality, that doesn't mean it couldn't be considered a "mental illness". It would more likely take the definition of cognitive/psychological impairment with regards to the individual's level of functioning in his/her environment.

Despite its positive sides, Aspergers carries with it deficits as well.

True. But not all of Schizophrenia's symptoms can be helped by medications. The Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia frequently prove incredibly resistent, leading researchers to consider that the negative symptoms are not caused by a neurochemical abnormality but an abnormality in the brain material, itself.

way hay, neanthumain! and may you have many more arguments...

why can't i access your bloody posts? i'm getting really cheesed off, not being able to read your stuff. pah! (see the thread about posts not loading).

Onya Sluggo!

...not to mention the politically-caused. (Drapetomania for example.)

A lot of arguments about causes of "mental illness" also tend to avoid the chicken-and-egg nature of the whole thing. They assume that biochemical differences means biochemical causes. But for instance, my brain activity changes when my eyes open. Does this mean that the world I see in front of me is caused by a change in my brain, or that the process of looking at what's in front of me is changing my brain? If you take a person who doesn't have any eyes, the brain area used to handle vision in most people is going to be doing something else. Does this mean that the person is blind because the visual area of their brain is not working "properly", or is that area working differently because they don't have any eyes sending information to it?

Nearly anything that causes a person to think differently enough to get noticed by psychiatry is likely to involve some sort of differences in the way the brain is functioning, but there is a common idea that this happens spontaneously and for no reason (other than vague notions of "brain diseases"), when this is not always the case.

anbuend, LOL. Just clicked that link. OMFG.

But I quite agree in regards to "They assume that biochemical differences means biochemical causes".

And sometimes it can even depend on the type of environment as well and what is required from the individual in that setting. One "disorder" in one setting could very well be an "ability" in another. Extreme example: even psychosis (such as hallucinations) in a couple cultures, if I recall correctly, was considered "visions" and thus reveered.