I believe I was misdiagnosed with Asperger's

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jackbus01
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29 Oct 2011, 11:20 am

Actually, I am going to say that I think the more important issue here is whether you are coping with your traumatic past well, you may need counseling, and if so that may affect how well you socialize. Autistic people lie on a spectrum so I think comparing yourself to someone else is deceiving.
I am going to say it is unclear whether you have Aspergers or not and I wouldn't worry about it if is not causing you trouble. I hope that clears things up.



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29 Oct 2011, 1:30 pm

League_Girl wrote:
John Robison had crappy parents growing up and it was still obvious he had AS in his book.


Not only did he write his book, his brother wrote one called 'running with scissors' which was made into a movie. They really were quite bad! John was not around much if at all at this point though hence he is not mentioned in it.


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NextFact
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29 Oct 2011, 5:18 pm

I think some of you may have misunderstood where I'm going with this, I am not trying to make a blanket statement about everyone that receives an Aspergers diagnosis. But given the criteria for the diagnosis, it's easy to pick a child out of the crowd who displays quirky behavior and poor social skills and label him as an aspergers. This is such a broad diagnosis. Some of you may not have been through what I've been through growing up, I got to experience firsthand the effects of terrible self esteem and inept parenting from a very young age. Years of introspection has revealed to me and given me an understanding of how absolutely vital parenting and the home environment are to the psychological development of a child.

Some people may also disagree with my statement that American society and cultural values are decaying. That just depends on how aware you are of what's going on around you or how much you chose to ignore it, ignore-ance. I could literally write a book on the subject. Perhaps I will one day. But just briefly, go dig up some films from the 50's or earlier, take note how people act and behave with each other. Notice how people dress. Examine the plots and the subtle messages conveyed through the film. Examine how much violence and sexual behavior were in films of the time. By studying such things as films, television and music from another era, you can piece together a decent idea of what society was like at different periods.

Compare these things to modern day television/movies and notice how incredibly trivial, irrelevant, materialistic, lusty and violent they are compared to the past. Notice also how the divorce rate has doubled, mother-headed households have doubled. Criminality and drug use has exploded. There is an entire sub-culture of young people in america who join gangs, listen to violent, degrading rap music and make it their life's ambition to sell drugs and kill each other, not to mention the legions of "wannabes" who think these things are cool as well. You dont think american society is decaying? It's foolish to think that such things don't have adverse effects on our youth! I think there could be a link between society and asperger's misdiagnosis, but the bigger picture is hard to paint.

Basically the idea I'm trying to express is that bad influences on young people and the decline in cultural values have consequently caused an increase of bad parenting/divorce (obviously), peer conflict and emotionally struggling young people. Does anyone see where I'm going with this? Again I'm not making blanket statements regarding everyone who has been diagnosed with aspergers, certainly these factors will not apply to everyone, but what if these factors can account for at least some of the diagnosis's?



Last edited by NextFact on 29 Oct 2011, 5:49 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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29 Oct 2011, 5:28 pm

jackbus01 wrote:
You seem to be a very confused person. It's the well-known nature vs. nuture debate that has existed throughout the history of psychology literature. In other words: Is it a genetic issue or an issue of one's childhood.
Aspergers is a form of autism spectrum disorder. Autistic persons are born that way (ie. it is genetic) however a bad childhood will greatly worsen the symptoms, but a bad childhood doesn't cause autism.


Might I politely suggest that you simply don't get it?



cyberdad
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29 Oct 2011, 5:33 pm

I diagnosed myself online and I have some very autistic traits and a child formally DX.

However, despite being a social loner, I seem to cope in the NT world OK. So I would probably question my self DX but have little doubt that some of my traits are genetic given my child is autistic.



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29 Oct 2011, 5:59 pm

NextFact, is it your next step to get reevaluated?

I didnt read the entire thread, but it could help you to gain a new and fresh perspective, a good start either way. If you do have it, at least you can move past the doubt of it, and move ahead.



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29 Oct 2011, 6:38 pm

NextFact wrote:
Some people may also disagree with my statement that American society and cultural values are decaying. That just depends on how aware you are of what's going on around you or how much you chose to ignore it, ignore-ance. I could literally write a book on the subject. Perhaps I will one day. But just briefly, go dig up some films from the 50's or earlier, take note how people act and behave with each other. Notice how people dress. Examine the plots and the subtle messages conveyed through the film. Examine how much violence and sexual behavior were in films of the time. By studying such things as films, television and music from another era, you can piece together a decent idea of what society was like at different periods.


This kind of "golden age nostalgia" idea about the 1950s an earlier is BS.

Here are some American values that have "decayed" since those earlier halcyon decades:

* Jim Crow laws
* Racial segregation
* Warehousing mentally ill people (including autistic people)
* The use of lobotomies on mentally ill people (including autistic people)
* Eugenics and their application to poor people, people of color, and disabled people
* The expectation of the "stay at home mother" who is only supposed to work in the household for her husband and children
* The lack of the civil rights amendment
* And hey, there was always the US government's genocidal policies against Native American tribes
* Slavery
* The Ku Klux Klan

Quote:
Compare these things to modern day television/movies and notice how incredibly trivial, irrelevant, materialistic, lusty and violent they are compared to the past. Notice also how the divorce rate has doubled, mother-headed households have doubled. Criminality and drug use has exploded. There is an entire sub-culture of young people in america who join gangs, listen to violent, degrading rap music and make it their life's ambition to sell drugs and kill each other, not to mention the legions of "wannabes" who think these things are cool as well. You dont think american society is decaying? It's foolish to think that such things don't have adverse effects on our youth! I think there could be a link between society and asperger's misdiagnosis, but the bigger picture is hard to paint.


The divorce rate has doubled because divorces are easier to access and less likely to leave women completely destitute and subjected to social punishment.

I don't think American society is decaying. I think some of the things you describe are signs and symptoms of past problems our society has had, that have never been adequately dealt with. Your perspective on history is extremely skewed and heavily influenced by popular conservative notions of a false golden age that never existed for most people.

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Basically the idea I'm trying to express is that bad influences on young people and the decline in cultural values have consequently caused an increase of bad parenting/divorce (obviously), peer conflict and emotionally struggling young people. Does anyone see where I'm going with this? Again I'm not making blanket statements regarding everyone who has been diagnosed with aspergers, certainly these factors will not apply to everyone, but what if these factors can account for at least some of the diagnosis's?


I would argue there's an increased awareness of "bad parenting" but I know for a fact that bad parenting and child abuse have been fairly rampant in the past. This isn't a symptom of today's cultural values or assumed lack thereof. Things were much worse in the past.

And no, I think your theory is bunk. You're taking your own assumptions about your own history and extrapolating them to an entire generation. This is sort of like coming across a mantis in the middle of a road facing down oncoming cars and concluding that mantises evolved to live on freeways.



btbnnyr
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29 Oct 2011, 6:44 pm

I don't know if the OP should be undiagnosing himself based on the differing social behaviors of this one guy.



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29 Oct 2011, 6:47 pm

btbnnyr wrote:
I don't know if the OP should be undiagnosing himself based on the differing social behaviors of this one guy.


I certainly wouldn't. If you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person.

I agree with everyone who says that he should at least get some counseling because of his trauma growing up - and it is possible to develop autistic-like behavior from trauma. If he thinks it's worth it and can afford to, might be worth getting reevaluated.



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29 Oct 2011, 7:23 pm

Ichinin wrote:
PDD-NOS which is a even lighter form of autism which is even more hard to spot than Aspergers.


PDD- NOS is not simply a lighter form. It is a pattern that does not fit either autism or Asperger's but is still on the spectrum. I have known two children with this condition. Both were affected more severely than me, and I have Asperger's. One didn't talk until he was 4 or so. He has a lot of self-stemming behaviors. The other had obsessions, excellent motor skills, used very few words, and was often aggressive. Both children were definitely on the autism spectrum but their symptoms would not have fit autism or Asperger's.

As for the link between Asperger's and abuse.... I was raised in a very abusive home. For me to be diagnosed my psychologist and I looked back to before the major abuse. I have hypersensitivity issues, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, and social issues. The dys- issues started when I started school as that is when they are usually first noticed. The social issues and sensitivities to stimulus started at birth. Based on that information I received an Asperger's diagnosis that I believe is correct. There were symptoms before the major abuse. However, I definitely thing it is possible for the factors mentioned in this thread to contribute to a mis-diagnosis. My counselor was very careful and really looked at the information present.



NextFact
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30 Oct 2011, 4:33 am

Quote:
Here are some American values that have "decayed" since those earlier halcyon decades:

* Jim Crow laws
* Racial segregation
* Warehousing mentally ill people (including autistic people)
* The use of lobotomies on mentally ill people (including autistic people)
* Eugenics and their application to poor people, people of color, and disabled people
* The expectation of the "stay at home mother" who is only supposed to work in the household for her husband and children
* The lack of the civil rights amendment
* And hey, there was always the US government's genocidal policies against Native American tribes
* Slavery
* The Ku Klux Klan


You listed mostly policies, not cultural values


Quote:
The divorce rate has doubled because divorces are easier to access and less likely to leave women completely destitute and subjected to social punishment.


That sounds plausible, but I would also argue that because there is so much sexuality and lust in pop-culture, men are getting into relationships more often for a girl's bodily appearance rather than for her mental qualities, like personality. Back to that little thing called "values", which you didn't understand.

Quote:
I don't think American society is decaying. I think some of the things you describe are signs and symptoms of past problems our society has had, that have never been adequately dealt with. Your perspective on history is extremely skewed and heavily influenced by popular conservative notions of a false golden age that never existed for most people.


I wasn't influenced by anyone or any political philosophy, my coming to the conclusion that American society is decaying is the result of intellectual investigation and deep contemplation of social and political culture. I could list my arguments but I'm afraid it would fill several pages. But how would you know if your "perspective" isn't "extremely skewed"?


Quote:
And no, I think your theory is bunk. You're taking your own assumptions about your own history and extrapolating them to an entire generation. This is sort of like coming across a mantis in the middle of a road facing down oncoming cars and concluding that mantises evolved to live on freeways.


I stated several times that I'm not making a blanket statement about every person diagnosed with Asperger's. I theorized that SOME people could be being misdiagnosed with asperger's, whose symptoms could possibly have been the result of other factors, which I listed. So by stating my theory is bunk, do you deny the possibility that a person can be misdiagnosed with Asperger's? What factors do you believe could result in a misdiagnosis of this condition? Why is it "bunk" to theorize that some problematic children with significant emotional problems, resulting from several possible home-environmental factors, could be misdiagnosed with asperger's?

Verdandi wrote:
And no, I think your theory is bunk.

Verdandi wrote:
it is possible to develop autistic-like behavior from trauma.


Well which one? Bunk or possible?



Verdandi
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30 Oct 2011, 5:14 am

NextFact wrote:
You listed mostly policies, not cultural values


Those policies reflect social values. That is, intense, structural, foundational racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, etc. If you were white, middle-class, heterosexual, and not disabled, and male, then the 50s were a great time to be alive.

Quote:
That sounds plausible, but I would also argue that because there is so much sexuality and lust in pop-culture, men are getting into relationships more often for a girl's bodily appearance rather than for her mental qualities, like personality. Back to that little thing called "values", which you didn't understand.


Oh, I do understand, just like I understand history, and what you're saying isn't actually consistent with history.

Oh, and there's nothing wrong with sexuality.

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I wasn't influenced by anyone or any political philosophy, my coming to the conclusion that American society is decaying is the result of intellectual investigation and deep contemplation of social and political culture. I could list my arguments but I'm afraid it would fill several pages. But how would you know if your "perspective" isn't "extremely skewed"?


Which perspective? That the 1950s were extremely racist and sexist, and in ways that were supported by laws and policies? That is a matter of public record. There are entire libraries of books on these topics. Web pages all over the internet. You can google everything I mentioned and even see how they weren't simply matters of "policy", but reflected deeply held social "values".

And your statements about the how things were so much better in those days when we had legalized segregation and women were basically trapped in terrible marriages just happen to line up with so many awful social commentators that I find it nigh-impossible to believe you've escaped any social influence. You don't live in a fishbowl, you live in a society filled with people who present ideas in a variety of ways, and you no doubt had to get your history from something.

Quote:
I stated several times that I'm not making a blanket statement about every person diagnosed with Asperger's. I theorized that SOME people could be being misdiagnosed with asperger's, whose symptoms could possibly have been the result of other factors, which I listed. So by stating my theory is bunk, do you deny the possibility that a person can be misdiagnosed with Asperger's? What factors do you believe could result in a misdiagnosis of this condition? Why is it "bunk" to theorize that some problematic children with significant emotional problems, resulting from several possible home-environmental factors, could be misdiagnosed with asperger's?


I think I already said it's possible for someone who's experienced trauma to appear autistic. I found a website that discussed this in depth but I can't bring it up now. The short version is that a lot of things you look for to identify in AS can also appear with complex PTSD.

That said, I don't know that there's a systematic degree of misdiagnosis, so much as occasional misdiagnoses - like AS children who have been misdiagnosed with ADHD.

Your theory about social values decaying is bunk.



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30 Oct 2011, 5:36 am

Verdandi wrote:
NextFact wrote:
You listed mostly policies, not cultural values


Those policies reflect social values. That is, intense, structural, foundational racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, etc. If you were white, middle-class, heterosexual, and not disabled, and male, then the 50s were a great time to be alive.

Quote:
That sounds plausible, but I would also argue that because there is so much sexuality and lust in pop-culture, men are getting into relationships more often for a girl's bodily appearance rather than for her mental qualities, like personality. Back to that little thing called "values", which you didn't understand.


Oh, I do understand, just like I understand history, and what you're saying isn't actually consistent with history.

Oh, and there's nothing wrong with sexuality.

Quote:
I wasn't influenced by anyone or any political philosophy, my coming to the conclusion that American society is decaying is the result of intellectual investigation and deep contemplation of social and political culture. I could list my arguments but I'm afraid it would fill several pages. But how would you know if your "perspective" isn't "extremely skewed"?


Which perspective? That the 1950s were extremely racist and sexist, and in ways that were supported by laws and policies? That is a matter of public record. There are entire libraries of books on these topics. Web pages all over the internet. You can google everything I mentioned and even see how they weren't simply matters of "policy", but reflected deeply held social "values".

And your statements about the how things were so much better in those days when we had legalized segregation and women were basically trapped in terrible marriages just happen to line up with so many awful social commentators that I find it nigh-impossible to believe you've escaped any social influence. You don't live in a fishbowl, you live in a society filled with people who present ideas in a variety of ways, and you no doubt had to get your history from something.

Quote:
I stated several times that I'm not making a blanket statement about every person diagnosed with Asperger's. I theorized that SOME people could be being misdiagnosed with asperger's, whose symptoms could possibly have been the result of other factors, which I listed. So by stating my theory is bunk, do you deny the possibility that a person can be misdiagnosed with Asperger's? What factors do you believe could result in a misdiagnosis of this condition? Why is it "bunk" to theorize that some problematic children with significant emotional problems, resulting from several possible home-environmental factors, could be misdiagnosed with asperger's?


I think I already said it's possible for someone who's experienced trauma to appear autistic. I found a website that discussed this in depth but I can't bring it up now. The short version is that a lot of things you look for to identify in AS can also appear with complex PTSD.

That said, I don't know that there's a systematic degree of misdiagnosis, so much as occasional misdiagnoses - like AS children who have been misdiagnosed with ADHD.

Your theory about social values decaying is bunk.


You are brilliantly perceptive, always enjoy reading your posts Verdandi.



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30 Oct 2011, 11:13 am

i think ultimately the thing for EVERYONE to do if they are seeking to debunk a diagnosis or to attain one is to get evaluated ... twice maybe even thrice for good measure. i understand that many undiagnosed ppl who believe they have the burgs really do but there are just too many that just want to justify any personality quirks. and yes divorce rates doubled because women became more able to stand on their own which really is a good thing


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30 Oct 2011, 4:13 pm

Ive seen videos of children who would have been otherwise normal who experienced neglect. The children tend to have very good social development but have problems attaching and feeling sympathy for others. It does not look anything like AS in its presentation.


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30 Oct 2011, 4:40 pm

Instead of whining about, or denying that you have Aspergers, get retested! I mean, what in the world do you want from us on this forum???

BTW, I had a normal middle class upbringing and I have Aspergers. You are either born this way or not. Go get counciling and further help for your issues.


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