To say that Asperger Syndrome does not belong with other Autism Spectrum Disorder simply proves a lack of knowledge about the disorder. Asperger's is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, one that exhibits many of the same characteristics as Autism. Although it is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, and has an onset at age 3 or later, it is still clearly a form of autism, however mild it may be.

I said this on Katie's post yesterday - but here it goes again...

I'm even more terrified with the new DSM-IV criteria coming down the pike.

The "aspergers diagnosis is going to be removed!" brew-ha-ha is a smokescreen for the terrifying reality I now see before us:

The psychiatrists/psychologist really won't let go - the new DSM-IV won't say a word about autoimmune, mito, bowel, etc.

OMG

I have some theories about why lumping all the subcategories together serves industry, for which Grinker is a paid mouthpiece.

1) The DSM, more than anything else, is a psychopharmaceutical prescription code manual. Consider the fact that industry has lost billions and faced criminal charges for off-label marketing and that autism represents a growing "market niche" for drugging. So placing all related diagnoses under the same umbrella is a way to proactively simplify the approval process and close loopholes by which doctors who prescribe off label would be liable and makes drug injury suits more difficult for victims. If PDD-NOS was not, for instance, universally designated as "autism" in all cases, there would be wiggle room to hold drug companies and doctors responsible for marketing and prescribing to individuals with this not-quite-autistic condition if a drug was only approved for "autism".

Then, if a psychopharmaceutical is tested on one subtype of autism (for instance, a new antipsychotic or antidepressant for Asperger's)-- and if all forms of autism are lumped together-- the drug's approval can be extrapolated to all subtypes, broadening the market, and again reducing liability by closing "litigation wiggle room".

This is particularly tempting to do because, if Asperger's represents a "lighter" form of autism (i.e., less severe brain damage than "classic"), individuals with Asperger's might generally develop fewer immediate side effects or die less frequently in drug trials than those with more severe forms (whose brain damage might be more easily exacerbated by the drugs in other words), making Asperger's patients more convenient subjects for the drug approval process.

Also very importantly, the drug can then be mandated for all subtypes. Mandated and court-ordered drugging of individuals with autism is a "growth market" as the tsunami of children with autism reach adulthood and sometimes end up in institutional and residential care. This is because their treatment will often be decided by industry-embedded state health authorities (guardian consent only lasts as long as the adult child is not reported as violently disruptive). Again, death and injury lawsuits for drug injuries in institutions are easier for victims/families to file if the drug forcibly given was not strictly approved for the condition.

2) Lumping together helps to muddy the "missing adult cohort" search as well as to muddy the fact that autism is statistically more severe in younger cohorts.

When the UK report came out that "1/100" adults had autism, most of those answering the poll could report for themselves, speak on the phone, etc. Chances are, many of these individuals didn't have childhood-onset autism but "symptoms" of autism which emerged from environmental factors, most often psychopharmaceutical drug treatment.

Certain drugs induce OCD, stereotypies, social withdrawal, dementia, language problems, etc., which are uncannily similar to autism. There is a difference in onset and effect but mainstream medical authorities will not be actively trying to differentiate. The effects of some drugs mimic on a cellular level the damage found in autism.

With 11% of adults taking psychiatric drugs, there's a parallel epidemic going on of adult/teen-onset drug-induced dementa which provides an ample pool of adults ripe for diagnoses of "Asperger's", which is very convenient for supporting an "increased diagnosis/no epidemic" stance. Since Asperger's sounds more glamorous than "drug induced dementia" and since patients frequently have to go along with doctors' edicts in order to continue receiving prescriptions for the drugs they're addicted to, many patients will accept the label.

3) Last but not least, lumping diagnoses together is convenient so that people like Ari Ne'eman and other industry-friendly astro-turfing neurodiverse types can be perceived as speaking for/representing "all individuals with autism". Even if the bulk of individuals with autism smear feces, can't live independently, die young and can't even communicate-- much less hold government posts and rub elbows with government officials.

Just my two cents.

Anne D:
Does your son have a job?

I was suppose to take my son over to be tested for a state runned vocational rehabilation this morning. It is an hour away over not very good roads to this city, but it snowed and we were going to be half an hour late. When I called to tell them this they said never mind they would rescehedule him. They said they might call next week - with emphasis on MIGHT!!
This scheduled test only took them a month to schedule, but since he goes to class a couple of days it seemed to upset their apple cart. It took calling other people in the vocational rehabiltation - to get permission to do a one day test. (not that I asked them for a one day test, it is what someone decided to do since two days out of the week was not possible).

For five years vocational rehabilation has never mentioned any testing or anything to help.

This past Novemeber after I looked high and low and called back and forth with health insurance and psychologists - I got some testing done. There was a lot of inconsistenceies: for example the psychologist sas my son has superior left hand dexterity - my son can not cursive write and he cannot cut with scissors - he is by the way right handed - It is my fault - I must of made him use his right hand when he was small. Because of these inconsistenceis I spent 400 dollars for a second opinion with a psychiatrist. My advice from both was to travel an hour and half to the big city and get vocational training- which I will pay for and it will be training him to make eye contact and small talk.

But all that is okay because now my son had be tested yet again by the state.

I have been saying it all over the web. To do this is a HUGE mistake, for those with autism and with Asperger's! The issues those with Asperger's ACTUALLY HAVE will continue to be ignored, while money iis wasted testing and treating us for everything we DON'T have! So the problems for us remain, plus more money down the drain! Here is what I have been sending out in other places on the web:

"I am very much opposed to the change. I am one of the few who believes that HFA and Asperger’s are not the same thing. And yes, for more than just the early language delay thing.

With Asperger’s, we actually do want to be a part of the rest of society. We want to be able to understand how to be social, how to have ordinary conversations to make friends. We want to be a part of the rest of the world, we just don’t know how.

We look for a bridge between our own world and the world everyone else is in, somewhere we can reach out to your world, and you can reach out to ours.

For those with HFA, those whom I have gotten to know, and I am not wanting to offend anyone it is different. They are very content in thier own world. Whereas they will talk to and socialize with others as much as needed to get along in life, they don’t feel this need to fit in or be a part of society the way someone with AS would. As stated before, they are content in thier world. They like friends, but society as a whole doesn’t hold a lot of meaning for them.

What they are doing is a mistake for many reasons! I understand that parents are wanting services for those with Asperger’s. And this is desperately needed, as I have AS I know this! But we need services that make sense to deal with the issues that we on the other side of the spectrum face! I already have to go through therapies and tests that I don’t need, waisitng tons of state money, because issues that are apart of other kinds of autism. I don’t have these issues. No one that I know with AS does.
But we are put through the tests and therapies anyway.

Meanwhile, in the areas we actually DO need help, there is absolutely nothing!! I see no programs helping the college bound HFA/AS with transitioning from highschool into college. I see no programs to help us find, apply for, learn interview skills for, and keep jobs. As well as communicating with your boss, and your fellow employees.

I see no programs that teach us how to budget, how to balance a check book, how to clean, how to cook, how to spend wisely. No programs on how to deal with and live in society and deal with people in a way that would make it easier to live independently on our own.

I see no help with housing, on helping us learn how to be a part of the community, on helping us cope with anxiety, or helping us understnad what is expected of us by society and why. No, all these services don’t exist. And continue to not even be discussed unless someone like me comes along who forces the issue!

This cookie cutter style of services has got to stop! They already treat almost all of us the same, giving us all the same therapies, same lessons, same benefits, etc. No matter how drasticly different we and our needs are from one another.It’s a waiste of time, money, resources, and continues to allow millions of people to fall through the cracks of our system, with still no help.

This will only make it worse. For along with lumping AS under Autism, they are changing the criteria to better fit it under that area. Which means more will fall through the cracks, even though they have genuine issues that need to be addressed!

I know, parents want to be able to get benefits for thier children. But why are there not programs out there to help and teach us how to transition and help us throughout college or employment so that we can get meaningful jobs and not NEED goverment benefits? Why is it so hard to understand the idea of paying a little now for these services to save alot later when we are able to get along without goverment benefits?

We have got to stop this cookie cutter one size fits all approach to treating a Spectrum of disorders! Especially one as large with such drastic differences as the Autism Spectrum! We have got to start indivudualizing care based off the needs and the goals of each individual on the Spectrum.

And with someone with AS will have needs and issues that are different from someone on the otherside of the Spectrum, to lump us in with those who need different services doesn’t make logical sense and in the end we will be no better off than we are now.

I think we need to keep Asperger’s seperate. That Special Education should instead widen it’s criteria, and supports that truly need to be finally get put into place. And that care and supports be put in place based on the needs of the individual, not all on the Spectrum getting the same treatment and being thought of the same.

That is why the system is failing so miserably now, and after this will continue to fail. Because they don’t get it! THey are doing nothing but going in circles instead of addressing the issues at hand. The “at least we are doing something” mentality is total bs. Because if your something is the wrong thing, nothing will ever change.

This will just make all the special educators, the teachers, staff, case managers, doctors, and therapists to treat us all the same, with the same therapies, treatments, etc even though we do not have the same issues or in some cases the issues that are in the same areas are not as severe as in other types of autism.

No one wants to help with the problems we do have. Everyone wants to treat us for the problems we don’t have.

Maybe it’s just me."

Help me remember...didn't we used to say Grinker is a Stinker from his past articles?

I have said it before .. ad nauseam .. but .. in my humble opinion:

Psychiatry is to medicine .. what astrology is to astronomy.

All stroke victims are the same?

All those with head injuries are the same?

What do you with a child that has classic autism at 3-4 years old (is still non verbal till the third grade), dignosed as PDD-NOS all through middle school to finally aspergers in the middle of high school?

Let us through in a dignosis of tourettes, obsessive compulsive disorder, and I am sure the psy people have a fancy name for them being moody and unreasonably losing their temper and ruining every Thanksgiving/weekend big family meal ever given.

The Psych people just might have a tendency to --- well this study-ology might- could be, a pseudo science hiding behind rearranging words to see how many times and ways they can say the same thing but at different angles and points of view.

I am not sure in the end - it matters