Essay on Autism

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My biology professor assigned us an essay on AUTISM and, for once, it's a topic I actually care to write about. He's not so, uh, knowledgeable on the subject (he considers autismspeaks the best site on autism...) and so I'd like to set him straight about some things and perhaps make the majority of the essay focus on Asperger's Syndrome.

Here's what he wrote:
"The thrust of the paper will be to outline and discuss symptoms, cause(s) and treatments for autism, with particular reference to the book Dibs in Search of Self. The paper should include specific references to Dibs, as well as to other sources. I leave it to each of you to formulate a plan of attack."

So! I wonder if any of you have some advice for me?

Sounds more like a book report than an essay to me.
You can try to "set him straight", but if he thinks he's very knowlegdable, he probably won't listen. Some people are just like that.
Unless the book you mention has a good bit on Asperger's, you're risking a bad grade. But it does say other sources, so I guess anything can count.
I wonder what would happen if you referenced Wrong Planet?

he will think he knows best cos he doesnt want to be one of those people who are surpassed by one of thier students

you could try to plant the idea in his head, by saying something like "what do you think about me doing this?" and things like that :D then make a big deal about what a wonderful idea he's had. That's always fun for me :D

Haven't got a clue what Dibs is but . . .
Symptoms: make sure you get a hold of Tony Atwood's, "Aspergers Syndrome" book
Causes: Hereditary and some random
Treatment: Well, basically there's no cure, but you can do things to help, ranging from teaching social skills, behaviour cognitive therapy, trying gluten free diets and vitamins etc.

I would make sure your essay covers the positive aspects of Aspergers such as many AS people having high intellect and abilities beyond NTs. Aspergers is not a disease. It is a way of thinking and being that is different from the NT world.

Also maybe start some specific threads on here relating to information you require. Don't necessarily mention you are doing it for an assignment, as people may respond more to a discussion-type thread than an information-gathering thread.

All the best for your essay and let's hope you enlighten a few people.

Dibs: In Search of Self by Virginia Axline, published by Ballantine, New York (1964) tells the story of Dibs, a boy from an upper middle class family in New York City, who is very withdrawn and does not interact with his teachers or his fellow pupils at nursery school, and is thought to be mentally ret*d. Here is a review of the book: http://www.allreaders.com/topics/info_7864.asp

Virginia Axline, a psychologist who originated play therapy, rescues Dibs from his isolation through play therapy. It transpires that he is really a gifted and highly sensitive child. She speculates that Dibs might be autistic.

The book was written when the 'refrigator mother' theory of autism was prevalent. Ms. Axline contronts Dibs' mother, portrayed as a cold intellectual type, who breaks down and admits that her emotional coldness is the cause of Dibs' behaviour.

I read the book sometimes in the 1980s, if I remember rightly, and was the first autism related book I read. I remember I identified with Dibs in his being withdrawn. I read it again two or three years ago.

Heart-warming is a common description of the book.

Unless your professor has said something that indicates that he thinks that Dibs is an accurate portrayal of everything, you are safe in using it as a reference point without using it as an authoritative source. You could compare Dibs' symptoms to those in the DSM; point out the differences in the diagnostic criteria at that time compared to now (this is where you can bring in Asperger's - the expansion in the diagnostic criteria to include autism spectrum disorders). If you compare Axline's view of the refrigerator mom as the cause to Atwood's book that clarifies the falsehood of that claim, or even go back to the debunking of that myth in the early '60's, it should be worthy of some credit.

Unless you speak to the professor beforehand, and get his okay about focusing on Asperger's, I don't think you should do that unless you're okay with sacrificing your grade for the sake of a political statement. You can make your political statement without sacrificing your grade, by highlighting the inaccuracies of Dibs with references you prefer. Don't use sources from AutismSpeaks - use articles from WrongPlanet (if they apply), and use sources that you respect, including known autistics (if they have the published the kind of information you need).

As to treatment, there are tons of treatments out there, some of which have "scientific" support, some of which don't, and you can talk about as many as you want. I don't really remember the "treatment" in Dibs (I read the book decades ago), but you could say whether it compares to any currently in vogue (Floortime?). and what the various pros and cons were. Refer to the sites/articles you trust. Good luck!

There were none back then.

Sorry if I was unclear.

There were no diagnostic criteria for Asperger's; there were for autism (Dibs was autistic). The general autism criteria have expanded to include the spectrum, and some reference could be thrown into the paper that way. But if the professor really wants the paper to be about classic autism, I don't think it's a good idea to turn the whole thing into a paper about Asperger's without speaking to him first.

Appreciate Woodpeace's summary of book. I've seen this book at store, in section on ASD but it never caught my interest, so haven't read it. Seems bizarre for a teacher to assign paper on topic using out-of-date publication as primary source, considering how the study of ASD's (whether autism or Asperger's) has ballooned/expanded in recent years.

Sorry, it makes me feel bit combative, imagining what messages the book might convey (given the outdated vein of "refrigerator mothering is to blame")-but I haven't read it, so my "first impression" is not sufficiently informed. Only thing I can think of is for it to be critical essay, disputing assumptions in the book. Is it fiction, or is it non-fiction with pseudonyms & "creative license" ? It might well be good book with important message about individualized ways of treating unusual kids or people, and environment (interpersonal relationships with family, interactions with one's home conditions, etc.) does influence people to varying degrees.

You could compare that book to newer more comprehensive literature, such as what has been recommended by other members here. There are many angles from which to approach subject: For instance, play therapy: Stanley Greenspan's "Floortime" (see book "Engaging Autism") is one, there are so many. Also agree that Tony Attwood's "Complete Guide to..." is excellent. Sounds like more specificity would "help us help you" with suggestions for material ?

My personal, singular pet peeve is denial/illusion/delusion (held by too many) about ASD's only being infantile or childhood thing-some of us do get old & the ASD doesn't just "poof !" disappear. So many misconceptions & overly reductive portrayals/depictions...we differ from each other, same as it is with "NT" people-Autism Spectrum Disorder(s) can mean very different things to different people.

In the DSM, there were no criteria for autism until 1980. I thought someone said the book was from 1964.

Prior to 1980, there was a lot of fluctuation in who got classified as autistic (in various experimental criteria) already. Kanner's original patients included people who would today be more likely to be diagnosed as Asperger's, all but one could speak, and nearly all of them (really, possibly all) would be considered high-functioning today. There was a lot of confusion as to who counted as autistic, and who was "merely" experiencing childhood psychosis (autistic people were often said to be brighter, among other things). For a long time, people who would now be considered "lower functioning" were seen as an add-on to the original concept of autism and possibly not the same thing. Then that eventually became part of the normal stereotype of autism, and then people who would be considered "higher functioning" had to be added back in. In old papers, I have seen "Kanner autism" used as a synonym for "high-functioning autism", whereas now it's often used to mean the opposite.

But all of those definitions were complex and changing and up to the opinions of whoever was involved, and everyone had an opinion. There were no DSM criteria for autism and no standardization of what autism was. It's sort of like the term "Asperger's syndrome" between 1980, when the term was coined, and 1994, when it entered the DSM. Between Kanner's original paper and 1980, it was the same only a whole lot more tangled and complicated because there was a lot longer to tangle it around.

I'd suggest to someone interested in looking at these definitions over time, that they go to a university library and read a lot of the books and articles on the subject of not only what is now called autism, but all forms of childhood psychosis, because childhood psychosis in various forms back then (even when separated out from autism) has mostly turned into what we call autism now. I've been trying to write such a history for awhile now, but it will be very difficult because while I can read these things I have a hard time writing out the entire tangle into words that make sense.

But I really think such an essay, or better yet more than one essay, needs to be out there, because very few people seem to understand all the ways that the definitions flexed and changed over time, it's certainly not like the modern fairy-tale version that says that Kanner discovered all these kids who didn't talk and sat in the corner banging their heads on walls and then Asperger discovered all these kids who could talk and went on about their special interests and Kanner got the original definition of autism which stayed the same until Lorna Wing dug Asperger's paper up in 1980, because that's not what happened. There was a ton of widening, narrowing, and conflicting of various ideas about what autism meant, prior to 1980 (and after, for that matter). But there were not truly standardized criteria in the DSM prior to then for autism even, and Lorna Wing translated Asperger's paper around then as well.

Also, I wish I was living in my home right now because if I was (and if I had the energy) I would dig up a bunch of references for anyone interested in really exploring these various ideas and their changes over time, in the hopes that somehow between all of us at least one person would be able to write a good paper on it.

Unfortunately it was awhile ago that I even dug them up, and I'd have to do a lot of digging to find them, so I can't do that easily.

I read a good article that explained autism over the years, from Kanner's ("HFA"), and then the inclusion of "LFA" individuals, which then became the norm for many years (and "HFA" individuals were starting to be missed as they then weren't "severe" enough). Then the "reinvention" of "HFA", and then Asperger's, which became "HFA" with normal speech development (also explaining how Asperger had "LFA" individuals from childhood too, but they are neglected from the modern definition).

It was from a research paper; it was short, so it was easy to read, but it seemed to include everything.

I'll try and find it.

Thanks, anbuend. I hadn't realized that. I do remember the old time view that autism and childhood schizophrenia were basically the same thing, with the primary, or sole differentiating issue being whether the child was diagnosed prior to a certain age - I forget whether it was age 6 or something else, but it was quite young. Your grasp of this history is really important - I appreciate you sharing.

From the DSM I (1952)

Taken from http://unstrange.com/dsm1.html .

However in the 1960s autism was used as a diagnosis for children. The terms autism, childhood psychosis and childhood schizophrenia were used interchangeably.

In the Dibs book, the word autism or autistic is mentioned only once or twice.

A good source of articles on autism, childhood psychosis, childhood schizophrenia and related subjects is The American Journal of Psychiatry, which with its predecessor the American Journal of Insanity, has every issue online since Vol 1 Issue1, July 1844, here:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/archive .