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... but there are a range physical symptoms that come along with A.S./autism too that are NEVER talked about.
Doll Eyes, would you mind expanding on that please? In my limited experience with Aspies they have good physical health, high intelligence (not a physical trait), are rather strong and quite athletic. That's my family and one other who is now married into my Aspie family.
My son was very strong for a baby/toddler (think 'worlds strongest baby' - there's a name for that syndrome), had exceptional co-ordination (never fell on his face - always onto his hands), could climb like a monkey, had extremely good aim with throwing things but as a teenager he became clumsy and socially inept but very good on a computer (games). He finally learned social skills and became an outgoing socialite (and a very popular one at that).
FYI, as some other posters have pointed out:
there is no medication for Autism/Asperger's, so it's hardly an invention by big pharma...
ASD's were discovered through observation and analysis of human behavior, not cooked up in a lab.
Skepticism about the label doesn't change the fact that many folks have had lifelong problems (and instead have been incorrectly branded as other things)
and only after decades did they finally find a label that at least gave a name (along with ideas that make more sense) to their constellation of troubles.
Depression, anxiety, and other mental/brain perturbations do indeed exist, are "real"-
I don't care what Autism Spectrum Disorders are called, the point is that withholding a diagnosis doesn't make the symptoms go away.
Doll Eyes, would you mind expanding on that please? In my limited experience with Aspies they have good physical health, high intelligence (not a physical trait), are rather strong and quite athletic. That's my family and one other who is now married into my Aspie family.
My son was very strong for a baby/toddler (think 'worlds strongest baby' - there's a name for that syndrome), had exceptional co-ordination (never fell on his face - always onto his hands), could climb like a monkey, had extremely good aim with throwing things but as a teenager he became clumsy and socially inept but very good on a computer (games). He finally learned social skills and became an outgoing socialite (and a very popular one at that).
I wasn't talking about physical health, I should've been more clear, I was talking about physical characteristics, not like sickness or something. 'Stimming' is a big sign as well as balance issues, clumsiness. I have had problems with all of those. I linked to a page that gives you different characteristics including physical. I could never and still can't walk up and down bleachers even with a railing, that's just an example of my balance issues. I've never known Aspies to be very athletic because of our problems with the above and some have depth perception issues too. But it is a spectrum and maybe you know the more sports inclined ones.
OP, are you kidding? People who have social learning disorders may not be as obvious to the rest of society, and their problems may not seem extreme, but if your social skills are innately so bad that you can't hold down a job, make friends, or do many of the normal things people without social learning disorders can do without effort, you need a label so that people will take your condition seriously and create support systems to help you learn and cope and not, as has happened in the past, write you off as lazy, a jerk, or, as has happened in other cases, give you a completely wrong diagnosis and labeling you as "crazy" and "unfit" for society. I'm sure no one likes being blamed for something they have no control over, and it makes me angry when people give others license to bully. The person may think, " If the people who claim they have Aspergers don't really have it, this person doesn't have a social learning disorder but is genuinely being a jerk; I should teach him/ her a lesson!" Social learning disorders should be treated as real conditions so that society accepts the people with them.
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.
Not to burst your bubble, but Aspergers is a form of autism.
Doll Eyes, as has been stated, Asperger's is a form of autism which allows quite a variation of characteristics as I'm discovering. That depth perception thing - my young grand-nephew had it it. He has now been taught to use both eyes. It comes about because for some reason some Aspies ignore one eye and therefore lack depth perception. There will be nothing wrong with the eye being ignored. Curious! My Grand nephew is one bright little guy.
My own son was very bright but was more physical when very young. He developed into a computer games geek then grew up into a socialite. That last one threw me but it was wonderful to see him interact. He did have to learn it though. It helped that he was good looking and personable. He was bright and cheerful in between the depression and anxiety. He had so much going for him. But then he made a move that he could not sustain. That was the beginning of the end. All his adult difficulties began at that point. Had we known more about Aspergers and its implications early on we might well have been able to steer him clear of that first disaster and the ones that followed. So what I'm suggesting is that early diagnosis and understanding can be critical for people with Aspergers. He had the makings of being a successful and happy adult but he was very vulnerable and that vulnerability was not recognized and understood. Well, I recognized it and understood it but no one else would listen or believe me. Re-read kmb501's post;
Quote:
OP, are you kidding? People who have social learning disorders may not be as obvious to the rest of society, and their problems may not seem extreme, but if your social skills are innately so bad that you can't hold down a job, make friends, or do many of the normal things people without social learning disorders can do without effort, you need a label so that people will take your condition seriously and create support systems to help you learn and cope and not, as has happened in the past, write you off as lazy, a jerk, or, as has happened in other cases, give you a completely wrong diagnosis and labeling you as "crazy" and "unfit" for society. I'm sure no one likes being blamed for something they have no control over, and it makes me angry when people give others license to bully. The person may think, " If the people who claim they have Aspergers don't really have it, this person doesn't have a social learning disorder but is genuinely being a jerk; I should teach him/ her a lesson!" Social learning disorders should be treated as real conditions so that society accepts the people with them.
A huge problem I see online (and a little IRL) is people diagnosing themselves and/or their family members with Asperger's or high-functioning Autism. Some of these people are asked how they know, whether or not they were diagnosed by a medical professional, and they have no story, they "just know." As others have stated, being socially awkward and feeling like you "don't belong" don't make a syndrome.
Also what is with "diagnosing" people from the past (Lincoln? Edison?) with this syndrome? Of course Asperger's has existed in some way or another since the beginning of human civilization, but how do we know these dead smart people had it? We don't. We should just leave these great lives of the past alone.
One big way to help clear up people's misconceptions of Asperger's is to show and tell us what it is, because most of us "typical" people don't seem to understand. I really want to know because otherwise my skepticism is going to keep growing, and I do not want to ignore AS people's real problems. I remember one thread a while back in the Special Needs Children subform was titled "Aspergers or just ass?" Good question, I'd like to know the difference too; there are too many a--holes in most of our lives to stop and ask each one, "why are you such a jerk to everybody?" Those jerks aren't going to come out and say "it's because I have a syndrome/condition/disorder/whatever-it-is called Aspergers," they're going to say "f-you, that's why." Who has time for that nonsense? I thank the people on this thread who have provided links for the rest of us, because search engines turn up all kinds of stupidity that can look like reality. And another important way to help us "typical" people is to give us tips on how to deal with the Aspergers people we meet in our work, school, neighborhood, etc. Once we know they have a real problem and they're not simply a--holes, how do we communicate effectively and make our relationships better?
Overall with psychology and other parts of our health, I wish we could start a movement to not toss around terminology that is used to diagnose people with real problems. It seems people want a label these days--the pendulum has swept from the danger of denying a label to the danger of desiring one (a different problem altogether, but related). The way society tosses around words like "Aspergers," "narcissism," "bipolar," "psychopath," etc. contributes to people calling themselves AS, OCD or what have you. The words aren't taken seriously, and then the conditions are not taken seriously.
***Now for a non-PC opine... Society now is self-absorbed and self-isolating, and I believe this is increasingly affecting our newest members. Seems a lot of parents and other adults can't be bothered to bond with their children, or do not know how important their bond is. Babies and young children need the older people in their lives to model empathy, sociability and body language (including facial expressions), and the way many of us live, being so self-absorbed, those qualities are not being nurtured well enough in children. Now I'm not saying this causes Asperger's in the little ones, but it contributes to the characteristics that we associate with AS, and I wonder if people are having trouble telling the difference between a child with AS and one who was poorly socialized from birth.
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'm under the impression that Asperger's Syndrome is generally someone with some spectacular abilities in certain areas, but who cannot decipher social cues. These folks have to learn social cues the way most people learn dancing, in steps and with practice. Is that correct?
I'm under the impression that Asperger's Syndrome is generally someone with some spectacular abilities in certain areas, but who cannot decipher social cues. These folks have to learn social cues the way most people learn dancing, in steps and with practice. Is that correct?
Sort of and sometimes. Aspergers has a large range and mixture of symptoms and they could be just "average" in most all their abilities.
My son has two things that stand out to us and that we've got to figure out how to use to his advantage. He notices where everything is placed and no matter how much time goes by can tell if we've moved something.
Secondly, he's obsessed with sports and stats. Remembers most of the stats and can recite them back easily. Otherwise he's perfectly average in intellect.
Sort of and sometimes. Aspergers has a large range and mixture of symptoms and they could be just "average" in most all their abilities.
My son has two things that stand out to us and that we've got to figure out how to use to his advantage. He notices where everything is placed and no matter how much time goes by can tell if we've moved something.
Secondly, he's obsessed with sports and stats. Remembers most of the stats and can recite them back easily. Otherwise he's perfectly average in intellect.
Ah, ok. I didn't know. I guess I went by the stereotype, the sort of guy that doesn't ever look at you or talk to you, but can calculate any formula in his head, and such.
As for your son, if he must endure the difficulties that come with that condition, at least it's pretty neat that he has a set of unique and nifty abilities/talents (the obsession with sports and stats and capacity to know where things are placed). Those are two pretty amazing abilities.
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I wonder the same thing
Aspergers has a large range and mixture of symptoms and they could be just "average" in most all their abilities. 
