Dr. Phil thinks AS is a disease.

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I sent off an e-mail too. I think everyone should send an e-mail! Maybe if they got a few thousand e-mails sent in the period of a couple of days they might pay attention!


Dear Dr Phil,

I am an Australian who has been a fan of your show for years.

However I was extremely disappointed at your 'Extreme Disorders' show (no 634). This show aired some time ago, but I have only recently become aware of the content.

I am the mother of 3 sons aged 9, 7 and 4. My 9 year old and 7 year old sons both were diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome this year.

When we were given the diagnosis, the psychologist first explained all the positive things about having Asperger's. She then explained some of the difficulties people with Asperger's have.

At first it was difficult coming to terms with their diagnosis, but at no stage did I want my sons to be 'normal' because then they would be different children.

Dr Phil, you are such a powerful person and can reach such a wide audience. The Asperger's Community would appreciate the opportunity to give a more positive light on Asperger's Syndrome.

Please do another show about Asperger's. I would suggest the following points made:
- Asperger's is not good or not bad. It is a different way of being and viewing the world
- People with Asperger's have strengths.
- People with Asperger's have difficulties.
- The world is a better place for having people with Asperger's.
- These are famous people with Asperger's that have made the world a better place eg Andy Warhol, Hans Christian Anderson and Dianne Fossey just to name a few.

I would love the opportunity to discuss this with you further.

Regard
Helen
Brisbane
Queensland
Australia

Dr. Phil is also a cat hater. I don't care what the idiot thinks.

I have given up on such people,Dr Phil and Oprah.I do think we could make some progress with Rosy O'Donell(sp),who has a lot of AS traits herself.I have tried to contact her by email(after joining her site),but never received a response.

I saw one of Rosie's shows on autism. She seemed more understanding of them than many people... very NT to them still, but... I dunno. Why don't we do all of them?

Disease: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.

Technically, Asperger's is a disease.

All hail Tony Attwood !:heart:



Good onya luv!

By this definition, being an elite athlete is also a disease ... distinguishing signs and symptoms may include larger than normal lung function and cardiac output and abnormal urges to do extreme amounts of exercise.

I can just picture the Dr Phil show ...... on today's program we show the tragic story of Carl Lewis .... a man who destroyed his youth by avoiding social contact by hiding on the track.

Cue scene of sobbing Mother, "When I first found out Carl was an elite athlete I was devestated. I just wanted to have a normal child. All he wanted to do was run. Why couldn't he just hang out in the mall like all the other kids .... wail, wail"

Dr Phil looks at camera and says in serious voice, "Warning signs your child may have elite athlete disorder .... they run faster than other children, the have a desire to eat excessive carbohydrates, no matter what you feed them they stay skinny ........"

Helen

The definition is its definition.

The severe impairment in social situations and the stereotypical obsessive/narrow interests are obviously a detriment to the individuals’ life to some extent. Being an athlete generally doesn't inhibit ones’ social, academic and vocational achievements; whereas AS by its very definition does.

nothing will change as when the show was originally on [over a year ago?],internet users everywhere complained and reported it-nothing was done about it then.

chat shows show the worst side of everything because it makes the topic more complex,gets more attention and sympathy.
dr phills show might be rubbish but at least its not the jeremy kyle show,he probably would have done a slightly better show of it,but would have filled it with lie detector and dna tests.
jeremy kyle has done shows with people with adhd,and he told them adhd is just an excuse to not work hard or get out of bed,and that if everyone with it stopped eating fatty food and drinking caffeine etc,they wouldn't have the traits.

What is a disease without a pathogen? I believe this is the root difference between a disorder and a disease. The defintion is not a good one.

There's about a zillion and one diseases that aren't caused by an external pathogen. Here's more (under "disease" in my local medical dictionary): "...to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies),..." Disease can refer to infections, toxins and innate defects. "Disorder" can equate to the same ("an abnormal physical or mental condition").

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is....

A disease has a distinct and obvious cause that one can test and achieve highly reliable results for. This is a notable difference. Why? For instance...because the antipsychiatry movement and Scientology uses this distinction to question the validity of Asperger's and other disorders. "If there is no blood test, there is no disorder. The disease is made up. It's fake." The words are not interchangeable. The meaning of a word can be used to twist reality.

Not really, there's many diseases where there's only a verifiable effect with no cause evident.

What an IDIOT!
Dr Phil is doing nothing more than feeding his own already-bloated ego!
Has Dr Keith done something on Autism Spectrum Disorders?
I watch Dr Keith's show & he's more understanding than that pear-shaped, baldass jerk!

I can see this now: "On today's show, we present the story of Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, a man who destroyed his own future by holing himself in his room in his adolesense doing nothing but writing.

Cut to scene of crying mother & tense father, "When we first found out Charles was a genius writer, we were scared. I just wanted to have a normal boy. All he wanted to do was write. Why couldn't he focus on his studies like most of the other kids .... wail, wail"

Dr Phil looks at camera and says in annoyingly serious voice, "Warning signs your child has Genius Writer Disorder .... they have unusually light-colored skin tone, the have a desire to take meals in their bedrooms , no matter what you tell them to do, they will be able to multi-task ........"

I love it!

Helen

The problem with this is it DOES need more! Tom Lykus(sp?) once declared, as several have, that a fetus is a parasite! He claimed that a parasite was an organism living off another. When I got home, I read my dictionary! It said "a parasite is an organism living off another OF ANOTHER SPECIES"! !! !!

Maybe, to disease, you should add..."That is progressive, or overall adverse.". After all, if an ape became human, by YOUR definition, it would be DISEASED!! After all, humans can't do some things as well as apes can, and are certainly different. And what of plants that send out tubers? If they get stimulated, they may grow which can crowd the plant, sap energy, delay blooming, reduce growth, etc... AGAIN, a DISEASE! Even PREGNANCY is a disease! OBVIOUSLY, we need a better definition!

At least dictionary.com has a better definition:



Even that one needs a little work, though it at least excludes my examples!