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Sora
Illogical, Irrational
Joined: Sep 16, 2006
Age: 20
Posts: 2477
Location: Europe
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 Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject: Would the label autism still exist? |
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Imagine that in some strange and unlikely(?) far-away future, all causes for 'autism spectrum disorders' would be known. And imagine that there are 'many different causes' for autism that lead to 'many different types of autism'.
Because that's what some people claim right now, right? Now, this got me thinking, because:
If all that were to happen, then who would keep the original autism label?
Would any original autism label still exist? Or would they all have to vanish completely to make way for new names?
Reading on ASpeaks, it just stroke me as completely odd if all those with an ASD would suddenly split in... 10-100 different diagnoses. Not like 'autism type A' and 'autism type B', but diagnoses with completely new names, with more refined definitions and specific causes.
Would that necessarily change any autistic groups and even internet forums for autistic people such as WP? Or would people still stick together even years after 'the discovery'?
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The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. Terry Pratchett |
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silentchaos
Toucan
Joined: Mar 08, 2008
Posts: 250
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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| I doubt that there are more than ten or so distinct conditions under the ASD umbrella. Even if there are ten disorders most of the people posting on WP would probably fall under a few closely related ones. I see the autism spectrum being divided into even less distinct syndromes with more manifestations and subtypes in the future. Kanner's syndrome type a,b,c,d etc, or AS type a or b if it still exists. I just cannot see any worthwhile reason to split up obviously related conditions into even more arbitrary and contradictory syndromes and whatnot. |
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Icheb
Fortysomething
Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 1313
Location: Switzerland
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| We still use the term "cancer" even though the diseases that fall into this category are as varied as leukemia, melanoma, lung cancer etc. and there are a million different causes for them. |
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Sora
Illogical, Irrational
Joined: Sep 16, 2006
Age: 20
Posts: 2477
Location: Europe
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Icheb wrote: | | We still use the term "cancer" even though the diseases that fall into this category are as varied as leukemia, melanoma, lung cancer etc. and there are a million different causes for them. |
Ah, excellent point.
I didn't think of how people treat the topic of chancer yet.
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The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. Terry Pratchett |
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bicentennialman
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Mar 21, 2008
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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I have thought that it might be helpful to define "categories" of autism more exactly.
However, if autism is truly a spectrum, that might eventually lead to everyone having their own syndrome that only describes them!-- so you would have "Sora syndrome" and I would have "bicentennialman syndrome," and so on. That might be the problem you ultimately run into when it comes to classifying humans-- everyone is unique (which really isn't a "problem" after all).
Still, I think it might help to come up with better descriptions of autism, as some of the ones out there seem more confusing than helpful. |
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Jainaday
in uncertain taste
Joined: Jul 09, 2007
Age: 23
Posts: 1301
Location: in the They
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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yeah. .
I think clearer diagnoses would be good, and I also think that autism will (probably/hopefully) become an umbrella term like cancer.
interesting line of thought. |
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anbuend
Oak-Type Autie
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Posts: 3050
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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Also, different causes might not be the issue.
For instance, trigeminal neuralgia (which I got diagnosed with after having it misdiagnosed as something else for years, for that matter). Which is a pain condition that has to do with the trigeminal nerve (it ennervates part of the face).
There are two types of trigeminal neuralgia under the current classification system.
One of the types there is no pain most of the time, but when a "trigger area" on part of the face is touched, the nerve becomes so sensitive that it basically shoots almost the worst pain imaginable down your face, but only for a second or so, sometimes a little repetitively, but generally just in response to those triggers. (This is how it worked at one point when I was a kid.)
The second type is similar, but in addition to the zaps that last only a few seconds each, there is also a constant severe pain in that part of the face even when it is not being triggered. (But the severe pain is not as bad, at least in my experience, as the acute zapping pain from a trigger.)
So those are the types it is divided into. But those types are not the causes.
The causes can be any number of things that can cause nerve damage, from multiple sclerosis to aneurysms to shingles to arteries acting weird and a bunch of other things.
But TN is not divided into two groups according to causes, it is divided into two groups according to how it works and how it feels for the person who has it.
There are already at least two pretty sure causes of autism: Genetics, and the mother of the autistic person having rubella while pregnant with them. Autism from both of those causes is just diagnosed as autism.
The only time I've seen autism actually divided out diagnostically by cause, is when it comes from the gene that causes Rett's syndrome. If the person doesn't have clear severe Rett's syndrome, though, they may be diagnosed as autistic, and never learn they have Rett's unless they have a child with it.
And in research they do sometimes divide autism into two categories by cause, essential autism and complex autism. Essential autism is autism that doesn't seem to be associated with another condition such as Down's, Noonan's, etc. Complex autism is when it is associated with another condition such as Down's, Noonan's, etc.
The main problem I have with that classification system, is that I bet there are a lot of people diagnosed today with "essential autism" who actually have genetic syndromes and such that haven't been discovered yet. They've identified some common physical features among some autistic people and it's only a matter of time before they find a gene or something for that and classify the people with that gene as having a specific syndrome associated with autism.
But for the most part, when it comes to everyday practical things, I don't see autistic people being divided up by causes, I see us being divided up (with a few exceptions) by results, if anything.
And personally I think it's more important to see patterns among autistic people as to how we function in different areas, rather than to see patterns among autistic people as to what caused us to be the way we are.
Unfortunately, we are often divided by a tiny number of superficial characteristics that put together people who often have next to nothing in common, and split apart people who often have lots in common.
And autism doesn't manifest as a small number of superficial characteristics, it manifests in patterns of large numbers of deeper characteristics that may be more important at times than, say, whether a person speaks or not.
From what I've seen of what passes for science in the autism field, there will not be a whole lot of people catching on to the real similarities and differences between autistic people for a long time, though. Nor will it take into account what autistic people think is important about our similarities and differences.
(I do for instance identify best with some autistic people and not others. However, the autistic people I identify a good deal with, have every diagnosis and every functioning label on the autism spectrum, because we are clearly not divided according to the characteristics that we find important.)
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