Why does everyone have Aspergers? (introvert, psychologist, fixate, anxiety)
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Seriously. Every time on this board or anywhere it seems someone had trouble in their life they say they must have Aspergers. You can't make friends? Aspergers. Can't find a job? Aspergers. Kid failing or not doing well in school? Aspergers, of course. When I was growing up (not *that* long ago) nobody even heard of it. It seems to have become a catch all diagnoses for anyone with a less than perfect life.
I personally know someone who has an autistic son and to even compare what some people "claim" is autism to him is absurd. You could tell he was different from the second he was born. He can't verbalized his feelings, doesn't really speak at all, gets fixated on a single thing. He is 12 but has the mind and behaves almost like a toddler. It makes me angry people have almost glamorized the whole thing. Billionaires writing books about them "being on the spectrum". NASCAR races.
When doctors broadened the criteria in the mid 1900s, the numbers rose obviously. Since there is no physical test or scan, it is purely subjective and everyone started seeing it everywhere. It is based on things such as lack of eye contact, poor language skills, etc. That can apply to many people, not just a true ASD diagnoses. The CDC has said ASDs rose to what was originally 1 in 2000, to 1 in 88. In the latest DSM, since many have been diagnosed wrongly, they tightened the criteria to try and clear things up. Now, up to 40% of people who have been diagnosed as having an ASD are supposed to no longer qualify.
It bugs me because the people who really have the disorder are being watered down.. Example?
How about the person claiming to have cured their vaccine induced autistic kid with vitamins. People are going to stop taking it seriously if everyone claims to have it, when they don't. It will harm the people who actually do suffer from it and I am sure they feel the same way when they hear people making light of it when they have suffered for years.
I think it's become a catch-all phrase for pretty much everything these days. Sometimes people are just different and, yes, even weird, but that doesn't require a diagnosis.
What Ceece said (sorry, the board won't let me rep you right now).
I'm not a mental health professional, but I think there are a lot more people around right now than in the past 20 years who have social disorders of one type or another. Whether that's related to "living" online or other causes, I'm not in a position to say.
I agree. People seem to think socially awkward or inept or shy or introverted or 'geeky' and focused all equal Asperger's. They don't! Someone CAN just be a geeky, socially awkward nerd without having a neurological disorder. I think so, at least.
Asperger's is a fairly specific diagnosis. There's a certain criteria - not interpreting social cues and non-verbal communication, difficulty with communication and eye contact, fixations and obsessive interests to the exclusion of everything else, etc. My husband's cousin has Asperger's and he fits that criteria to a T, even though he's never been formally diagnosed.
Your average kid though that has trouble making friends and is 'obsessed' with dinosaurs or the solar system, for example, is not likely to be on the spectrum.
Although..I guess to play the devil's advocate - if you take the view that it IS a spectrum, that would mean we're all on it somewhere to one extent or another...so anyone could technically have a diagnosis?
Asperger's is today's fad thing as an excuse to take another pill or explain away anything and everything.
Autism is another one.
If pregnant women would stop taking pills for every little mood swing and tummy ache, their kids would not be so warped. It would take a couple of generations to get back to normal.
Although..I guess to play the devil's advocate - if you take the view that it IS a spectrum, that would mean we're all on it somewhere to one extent or another...so anyone could technically have a diagnosis?
That's just it... We're all humans and imperfect by nature. Even "normal" people can miss a social cue or non-verbal hint sometimes. Maybe experience some social anxiety or said something inappropriate or odd, or used the wrong word. Of course, we can always strive to improve, but none of us will ever be perfect.
I'm one of those people who has explored the idea that I may have Aspergers. I certainly don't seem to fit in too well anywhere, and when meeting me, it becomes quickly apparent to others that I'm not what one would deem 'normal'. I have always had tremendous difficulty in forming friendships, and currently have no friends at all. I have only had one brief relationship, which was an online affair with me only meeting the person one time.
On those online tests for Aspergers, I tend to score very close to the threshold deemed to warrant a diagnosis of Aspergers (although the tests bear the caveat that they are not, in fact, diagnostic). Usually slightly below the cut off mark.
I haven't pursued a diagnosis, but I did have to go to a child psychologist a few times when I was a child. Ultimately, if I do have Aspergers, it would probably just serve as a convenient shorthand for 'I'm a bit odd and nobody really likes me'.
I do think that Aspergers is something that is overdiagnosed, though. I do seem to come across an inordinate amount of people who claim to be 'on the spectrum', and much of the time, they appear much more 'normal' and well adjusted than I.
If pregnant women would stop taking pills for every little mood swing and tummy ache, their kids would not be so warped.
You can't be serious with this post. I agree that pill popping in general is definitely a big issue; but to say that's why their kids are so "warped" is a quite a leap.
Last edited by Moe'sTavern; 05-29-2014 at 09:43 PM..
If you look at some of his other post then you would see he is.
To the OP, this is a debate that will truly never be solved for the reasons you have stated there is no test or scan meaning that diagnosis are usually subjective.
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