AS an artificial delineation

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Do you believe that the separation of neurological behaviours into specific groupings along the Autism Spectrum is a fallacy

I recently read notes from an aspergers conference discussing the contemporary belief that there should be no delineation. in other words it is quite possible, in fact, quite normal to display behaviours that come from all aspects of the spectrum.

This would explain the very varied symptoms exhibited in this forum from people all with the same diagnosis. For example I have aspergers and really want to be able to socialise but lack the necessary skills, others here with exactly the same diagnosis could not give a damn about socialising and feel that it is a banal exercise attributable to those shallow 'NT's'. The ability to display behaviour from across the spectrum goes a long way to explain this


Any thoughts?

It depends on what your purpose for grouping things is. If you are in the field of Behavioral Psychotherapy then everything is a behavioral disorder and you group them according to diagnostic criteria. If you are in the field of Neurosciences then everything is a neurochemical disorder and you group them according to diagnostic criteria. If you are in the field of Religious sciences then everything is a sin disorder and you group them according to how angry the higher power is at you about your transgressions.

I think you are missing the point. The new concept is that there should be no disctictions between the vasrious groupings, that the spectrum is just various combinations of autism, and there should be no hard and fast rules to categorise.

The newer research suggests that autism is not a discrete condition, like Down's. Rather, autistic and AS traits are spread through the population, and when a person exhibits enough of these traits in sufficient intensity, they receive a diagnosis. The dividing line is completely arbitrary.

I understand the desire to do away with boundries within the spectrum, but the fact remains that someone on one end is very different than someone on the other end. Someone with mild Aspergers or HFA shares traits with someone with autism, but the fact remains they're simply not the same.

The dividing line is dysfunction and distress. If it interferes with functioning and is upsetting enough to get someone in for treatment, it's a disorder. If not, it's "quirkiness" or something along those lines.

As brain imaging and neurology evolve as sciences, we'll likely get more concrete answers, based on what's actually different in the brain. For now, there's not much more to do than compare symptoms and theorize on possible causes and connections.

I doubt many people have a "typical" case of asperger's.
I for one have no sense of routine at all. I don't know if my passion for guitar is intense or narrow enough to be an obsession. There are many so-called "NTs" who share my passion though, unlike if it were astronomy or something. My interest in musical theory, though, is quite nerdy.

Yeah, I feel it kind of is. What's the difference in actuality between PDD, PDD-NOS, AS, hfa, (to say nothing of NLD, hyperlexia, and Sensory Integrative disorder etc.) Someone can come up with some definitions, but basically they are some on paper thing that doesn't matter all that much when you have an actual human being in front of you (or are that actual person).

--des

Actually those with HFA are more right brained whereas those with Asperger's are more left brained. Those with HFA are less verbal whereas those with Asperger's tend to be more verbally adept.

I wasn't missing the point, I was commenting on why the status quo is the status quo. I've said essentially exactly what you are saying a few times in the last few days. I explicitly addressed the issue of neuroscience regarding the underlying physiological neurochemical causes of disorders and the separation of diagnostic criteria for behavioral clinicians versus diagnostic criteria for a neurological clinician, diagnosing the same individual. It does not make it a fallacy for one group to collate one way for one purpose and another to collate another way for another purpose. They just need to have clearer communication between the groups so they understand the context, and they have to educate the general populace about the difference.

The problem is people have started to try and fit the existing categories, rather than the categories reflect the existing people. This is counterproductive and that's why it's a good idea to do away with the categories. I've recently started calling myself "in the Autistic spectrum" and given up desperately trying to determine whether I'm NLD, AS, PDD, etc.

According to some, but not others. And then there are those that show traits of both.

True there are some who show traits of both but this is what I have read in studies. I based my conclusion on what I have read about the topic as well as personal experience.

So in other words, the diagnostic criteria separates them by language delay, but the studies in general show the difference in right vs. left brain activity, even if there are exceptions to the rule?

This is interesting, I want to learn more about this.

The Big A.

Which diagnostic criteria from what school of sciences as taught at what time at what accredited university programs?

Diagnosticians that diagnose by observing behaviors via one on one interviews with a patient discussing life experiences, interviews with friends and family about same, having them take psychiatric tests and do visio-motor exercises like hop on one foot while touching your nose with alternating hands and fingers will separate disorders by things observable in this way and treatment style considered optimum. How else would they?

Diagnosticians that diagnose by observing neurochemical reactions in the brain via fMRI and EEG will seperate Autistic Spectrum Disorders by observable patterns amongst one group not considered Neurotypical. They are able to associate these patterns with particular behavior disorders.

When things are done right they are taking the time to see how the other half lives and combining the data sets into one grouping that utilizes both schools. Good psychotherapy includes a brain scan. In my experience, a lot of screening is done by occupational therapists who generally are less aware of the underlaying neuroscience to a condition. Honestly if they were working from a diagnostic manual that was better kept up to date with the most recent, well supported model available they wouldn't need to be. As a mental health researcher, there is no money in that. There is money in researching new biomedical therapies to get patents on so you can retire from this soul destroying rat race and go retire on a tropical beach.

Bottom line is really just that the planet needs single payer health care. Make a planet wide risk pool and we will turn each other into Immortals.