YeshuaAgapao.com Blog

Update 10/19/2006 – Added 2 new Links. The BlockQuote is from the ‘Autism rates hinge on definition’ link.

Thus, the 1980 requirement of “a pervasive lack of responsiveness to other people” has been relaxed to a requisite for only “a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people.”

Likewise, the criterion of “gross deficits in language development” 14 years later became the more inclusive difficulty to “sustain a conversation with others.”

Whereas the 1980 autism definition comprised only two diagnostic categories — “infantile autism” and “childhood onset pervasive developmental disorder” — the 1994 version swelled to five “pervasive developmental disorders,” the scientific jargon for autism spectrum disorders, that range in severity from having little speech and few daily-living skills to functioning well in most settings.

Three of these connote what is commonly called autism: the severe autistic disorder, the much milder Asperger’s syndrome, and the tongue-tripping “pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified,” PDDNOS in doctors’ shorthand, which lumps together children who show symptoms but do not meet the criteria of either of the other two conditions.

The Autism epidemic is mostly artificial. Primarily it is from increased awareness. Then laxed criteria (occurring in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression and other mental illnesses too) and the creation of ‘mild versions’ (Asperger’s syndrome) and ‘incomplete or in-between versions’ (PDD-NOS) and then rolling it all up into one label.

I also learned that Autism didn’t exist at all before the DSM-III. I know Asperger’s Syndrome, Rhett Syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrative were added as of DSM-IV. I don’t know if the loosening up of the autism diagnostic criteria has occurred in the DSM-III-R or the DSM-IV. I know I was diagnosed ‘Infantile Autistic’ before 1980 (1977-1978 i think). My grade school psychologist diagnosis was just ‘atypical’ with a mention of ‘an earlier diagnosis of infantile autism, but has seemed to have grown out of it’, which was in 1981-1982. I know I have had an LD (Learning disabled) label until 3rd grade, which was then changed (or the label was created) to ‘ED’ (Emotionally disturbed) for the rest of the time that I was Minisink. I was completely out of any special education or counseling after leaving Minisink due to a combined reason of father’s attitude and records transfer failure due to debts owed (lost textbooks, etc).

I definitely think there will be an adult diagnosis explosion due to the same 3 reasons in the first paragraph — more awareness, mild versions, and laxed criteria. Very lucrative to the medical, counseling, mental health, and pharmaceutical industries, especially if medicare/medicaid programs become exploitable. I definitely know that a firm ain’t gettin’ paid by government programs or private insurance if their is no relevant code for it in ‘the book’.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Autism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.