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Thread: That’s Not Autism - Is autism being, quite subtly, misdiagnosed?

  1. #1

    That’s Not Autism - Is autism being, quite subtly, misdiagnosed?

    Doctor Teacher dxed my youngest with Asperger's. His psychiatrist laughed and said, "To the untrained eye, generalized anxiety disorder can look like autism." We took him out of school, and for some strange reason, he no longer has anxiety attacks. He is not on any meds. He was going to Montessori at the time, and the teacher refused to accommodate his needs as per his shrink (nothing much; allowing him to go out for recess even if he hadn't completed his morning work [he's a bit of a perfectionist and works slowly], leaving the classroom when he was becoming stressed, help him get his work organized so he wouldn't get overwhelmed) and I pulled him out not only because they refused to accommodate him, but because they refused to let boys be boys. I suggested they turn it into a Montessori School for Girls, since they obviously want boys to behave like girls.

    From the article: "There’s still a pervasive sense in our culture that to be educated is to be gender-blind, and there is something of a taboo against voicing aloud explanations for a child’s behavior in terms of his or her gender. If you don’t believe me, try uttering some version of the following statements at your son’s next parent-teacher conference: Jamal is so logical and brusque when he talks. I know he needs all our help to ease up. But these are traditional masculine behaviors, after all, and we might need to accept him more for who he is. Or, Billy overtalks and really needs an audience, especially when he has a new favorite hobby or interest. He needs to be a better listener. But he’s not unlike a lot of boys I know."

    The front line of the war on boys is in the schools (charters included), and because of that, the fundamental misunderstanding of boys and masculinity has infected everything.

    Like this kid, sometimes they're just really smart, shy, and/or just being boys.

    Therapist Enrico Gnaulati contends that we are overdiagnosing autism spectrum disorder. Excerpts:

    I have followed William in my therapy practice for close to a decade. His story is a prime example of the type of brainy, mentally gifted, single-minded, willful boys who often are falsely diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when they are assessed as young children. This unfortunate occurrence is partly due to defining autism as a “spectrum disorder,” incorporating mild and severe cases of problematic social communication and interaction, as well as restricted interests and behavior. In its milder form, especially among preschool- and kindergarten-age boys, it is tough to distinguish between early signs of autism spectrum disorder and indications that we have on our hands a young boy who is a budding intellectual, is more interested in studying objects than hanging out with friends, overvalues logic, is socially awkward unless interacting with others who share identical interests or is in a leadership role, learns best when obsessed with a topic, and is overly businesslike and serious in how he socializes. The picture gets even more complicated during the toddler years, when normal, crude assertions of willfulness, tantrums, and lapses in verbal mastery when highly emotional are in full swing. As we shall see, boys like William, who embody a combination of emerging masculine braininess and a difficult toddlerhood, can be fair game for a mild diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, when it does not apply.
    Gnaulati goes on to describe the behavior in young William that resulted in a diagnosis of Asperger’s. It’s behavior that’s very close to what we dealt with in our family with our son. And then William’s parents brought him to Gnaulati, who in a single session with him knew this kid was not on the spectrum:

    Fast-forward to the present. William is now a high school student who is very active in student government. He is quite at ease with other teenagers who share his level of intellect. He continues to demonstrate the same thirst for knowledge that he had as a toddler. When classroom subjects interest him, his academic performance is stellar. When they don’t, William’s grades suffer. His report cards often contain peaks and valleys of As and Fs, which is immensely frustrating for his parents. His interests are not highly obscure and detail oriented, characteristic of autism, such as memorizing the names of dinosaurs or the serial numbers on Ford trucks. He is an abstract thinker who labors to understand issues more deeply. For instance, he has a complex understanding of different forms of government, and he is able to articulate the arguments for and against democratic, fascist, and oligarchical arrangements. This conceptual, philosophical way of acquiring knowledge tends not to be autism-friendly.

    Granted, William is far more comfortable isolating himself and studying political geography and rock-and-roll memorabilia than he is hanging out at the mall. In addition, he can still explode emotionally when he is forced to switch activities, such as applying himself to his homework rather than researching Fender guitars or the geography of Iceland on the Internet. Moreover, he’ll only incorporate new food items into his diet when he has tried them at a fancy restaurant that doesn’t have kiddie foods such as pizza, hot dogs, or peanut butter sandwiches on the menu. However, these traits and behaviors don’t mean that he’s autism spectrum disordered. They reveal William to be a brainy, somewhat introverted, individualistically minded boy whose overexcitement for ideas and need for control cause problems with parents and peers.

    As we shall see, boys with these traits and behaviors are often falsely diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, especially when they are assessed at younger ages.
    Read the whole thing. When Gnaulati says that kids who are truly on the autism spectrum typically don’t get humor, I immediately thought about how our son, allegedly an Aspie, has an extremely well-developed sense of irony, and is one of the funniest people we know. Listening to some of his sophisticated jibes, I’ve wondered from time to time how an Aspie can be so hyperaware of subtleties necessary to make those jokes and observations. Now I wonder if he was simply misdiagnosed. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have special needs — boy, does he! — but that they come from a slightly different place. Gnaulati says a misdiagnosis can lead us to seeing a child’s odd gifts as a flaw that needs treatment rather than a gift that needs to be encourage:

    Boys like William don’t need to be channeled into unwanted and unnecessary social-skills classes to obtain formal instruction on how to start and sustain normal conversations. They don’t need to be prodded to be more sociable with the neighborhood kid whose mind works completely differently from theirs. They need unique school programs that cater to the mentally gifted in which others will not be chagrined by their intense love for ideas and where they have a shot at making true friends and therefore have the opportunity to feel truly sociable.
    Man, I saw so much of my young self in this piece, especially the part about making As in the subjects I was interested in, and failing those I wasn’t.
    It is a good piece. Definitely worth a read, especially if you have young boys in your family.
    Last edited by Lucille; 10-02-2013 at 01:17 PM.
    Based on the idea of natural rights, government secures those rights to the individual by strictly negative intervention, making justice costless and easy of access; and beyond that it does not go. The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the idea of natural rights, but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him. It has always made justice costly and difficult of access, and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.
    --Albert J. Nock



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  3. #2
    his being near genius level is my guess prior to seeing his I.Q test results

  4. #3
    You guessed right.

    Their assessment revealed that William had an IQ of 144—placing him squarely in the mentally gifted range. A formal speech and language assessment indicated that William was well over a year ahead in all areas.
    Based on the idea of natural rights, government secures those rights to the individual by strictly negative intervention, making justice costless and easy of access; and beyond that it does not go. The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the idea of natural rights, but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him. It has always made justice costly and difficult of access, and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.
    --Albert J. Nock

  5. #4
    That's one of the biggest problems with public schools. They have to standardize everything.

  6. #5
    //
    Last edited by specsaregood; 05-17-2016 at 09:03 AM.

  7. #6
    seriously, Lucille... i didn't click on the full link when i did my posting up above,
    just reading the excerpt had me thinking that he is quite bright and motivated.

  8. #7
    Thanks for sharing, specs! We have to fight for our boys, and I hope you keep that article bookmarked because he sounds like a normal boy and so you probably haven't heard the last from what will be a long line of Dr. Teachers.

    I believe you, Aratus!
    Based on the idea of natural rights, government secures those rights to the individual by strictly negative intervention, making justice costless and easy of access; and beyond that it does not go. The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the idea of natural rights, but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him. It has always made justice costly and difficult of access, and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.
    --Albert J. Nock

  9. #8
    If the teachers cannot control them, they want them drugged. It is so much easier to deal with zombies rather than dealing with a child who is alive, vivacious and bored.

    My mother worked in an elementary school. There were over 600 students in this school, over half of them (no exaggeration) were on meds for ADD/ADHD.

    The "father" of ADHD, Leon Eisenberg said ADHD was a "fictitious disease," that wound up making him and some others lots of money! The people who shout that science works--where is the science behind drugging our children, at young ages, setting them up to be future drug addicts and failures? As with the medical industry they try to put everyone on the same conveyor belt, drugging them equally. It is a shame what is happening to our children. They are being systematically drugged and indoctrinated!
    “The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner



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  11. #9
    I have the exact opposite problem - an autism diagnosis for something that is clearly not autism, yet is clearly a problem.
    My daughter is turning 5 next month and is almost totally nonverbal. She knows what a toilet is for but just isn't interested at all. She's clumsy - if I stand her up on an overturned bucket she just stands there looking pathetic, because she knows she doesn't have the muscle tone and/or coordination to get down off it without falling. Plus a bunch of sensory issues, where she doesn't feel things the same as other people.

    We took her to the "experts" early on, and they said "Put her in childfind". Childfind is a program that spans a couple counties here in NoVA, and is the public school's "shove a bunch of 'tards into one room" program. We knew as soon as we found out it was tied to the public schools that we wouldn't be doing it, but relatives pushed us, so we went and read the fine print on their site...

    ...and found out that it's also connected to CPS. So then we went through a couple months of explaining to everyone that putting a child that regularly walks full speed into doorframes (and can't really feel herself getting bruised) into a program tied to CPS isn't the best idea. I found it very interesting when the staunchest defenders of CPS would repeat over and over that I'm a great parent and they're not coming after me. I would reply with "You know, I only have to find ONE example where they went after a great parent for this to be a bad idea. The fact is that that's a possibility. Do you deny this?" And nobody can.

    So we saw a child psychologist last year who seemed like a straight-shooter, who was the first person to offer to do a formal work-up on her. I was really hopeful because he kept talking about cutting through the bull$#@!, and had some bad things to say about Childfind (namely that they'd put her in a room full of other kids and call it quits). But then the diagnosis came in: Autism, moderate to severe.

    The problem is that the word "autism" was chosen to describe a specific condition. It comes from the Greek word autos meaning "self". As in, it was specifically meant to describe people who are wrapped up in themselves, and unable to interact successfully with others. At least that's what Leo Kanner meant by it.
    And we're talking about a girl that I have to watch while we're out - and we go out often because she doesn't like being in the same place for long stretches - because while we're out she'll go and sit in the laps of complete strangers or actively try to con them out of their food.

    A valid diagnosis can't be given both to people who are extremely insular, do not like leaving the house or changes in routine, and do not relate to others well, and also to people who are extremely outgoing, take delight in changes in routine, and know how to get strangers to part with their belongings.

    So it turns out that straight-shooter we thought was doing to do us right was most likely just giving us a meal ticket. We certainly have gotten ABA therapy without a hitch with that magical autism diagnosis, and there are other sources of "free" help that wouldn't be possible without it.

    The best hope we have so far for our obviously-not-autistic daughter is neurofeedback therapy. It's like chiropractic in the sense that it's not mainstream science.
    It's also like chiropractic in that they don't take insurance, and as a result they are extremely flexible with scheduling, and we got in for an initial consult in under a week....

    When they started they wanted to do a QEEG wherein she'd have to sit completely still for 10 minutes at a stretch. We told them that was completely out of the question, unless she's asleep. They did 20 sessions of neurofeedback with the goal of "calming her down", which I thought was pretty vague. Well it turns out they were doing this with the mission of getting her able to sit still for the QEEG, and last week we found out they were successful, as she got it done and the data they got back were beyond expectations. Now we have a better brain map and they have a specific targeted plan for helping unlock her.

    I've also noticed that near-constant screaming has been replaced almost completely with babbling, and there is significantly less flotsam to pick up around the house at the end of the day. She hasn't ripped up all the pages in a book in months now.

    If any of you has a child with developmental problems, please, look into neurofeedback. The whole theory of it is that the patient self-trains his brain into working better. Then the patient is able to have things click into place, and start making connections the way the rest of us do by default.

    ABA and autism therapies, on the other hand, rely heavily on external behavior modification - mainly through endless repetition and habituation. The patient only figures out what is being required because he's done it hundreds of times. It's basically treating people like lab rats.

    Or worse, they go to the pharmaceuticals.

    Well that's my story of "That's not autism". At this point, given my experience, I refuse to believe autism is even a real thing. It's just the latest "that kid is $#@!ed in the head" bucket they're throwing people into.
    There are no crimes against people.
    There are only crimes against the state.
    And the state will never, ever choose to hold accountable its agents, because a thing can not commit a crime against itself.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by fisharmor View Post
    I have the exact opposite problem - an autism diagnosis for something that is clearly not autism, yet is clearly a problem.
    My daughter is turning 5 next month and is almost totally nonverbal. She knows what a toilet is for but just isn't interested at all. She's clumsy - if I stand her up on an overturned bucket she just stands there looking pathetic, because she knows she doesn't have the muscle tone and/or coordination to get down off it without falling. Plus a bunch of sensory issues, where she doesn't feel things the same as other people.

    We took her to the "experts" early on, and they said "Put her in childfind". Childfind is a program that spans a couple counties here in NoVA, and is the public school's "shove a bunch of 'tards into one room" program. We knew as soon as we found out it was tied to the public schools that we wouldn't be doing it, but relatives pushed us, so we went and read the fine print on their site...

    ...and found out that it's also connected to CPS. So then we went through a couple months of explaining to everyone that putting a child that regularly walks full speed into doorframes (and can't really feel herself getting bruised) into a program tied to CPS isn't the best idea. I found it very interesting when the staunchest defenders of CPS would repeat over and over that I'm a great parent and they're not coming after me. I would reply with "You know, I only have to find ONE example where they went after a great parent for this to be a bad idea. The fact is that that's a possibility. Do you deny this?" And nobody can.

    So we saw a child psychologist last year who seemed like a straight-shooter, who was the first person to offer to do a formal work-up on her. I was really hopeful because he kept talking about cutting through the bull$#@!, and had some bad things to say about Childfind (namely that they'd put her in a room full of other kids and call it quits). But then the diagnosis came in: Autism, moderate to severe.

    The problem is that the word "autism" was chosen to describe a specific condition. It comes from the Greek word autos meaning "self". As in, it was specifically meant to describe people who are wrapped up in themselves, and unable to interact successfully with others. At least that's what Leo Kanner meant by it.
    And we're talking about a girl that I have to watch while we're out - and we go out often because she doesn't like being in the same place for long stretches - because while we're out she'll go and sit in the laps of complete strangers or actively try to con them out of their food.

    A valid diagnosis can't be given both to people who are extremely insular, do not like leaving the house or changes in routine, and do not relate to others well, and also to people who are extremely outgoing, take delight in changes in routine, and know how to get strangers to part with their belongings.

    So it turns out that straight-shooter we thought was doing to do us right was most likely just giving us a meal ticket. We certainly have gotten ABA therapy without a hitch with that magical autism diagnosis, and there are other sources of "free" help that wouldn't be possible without it.

    The best hope we have so far for our obviously-not-autistic daughter is neurofeedback therapy. It's like chiropractic in the sense that it's not mainstream science.
    It's also like chiropractic in that they don't take insurance, and as a result they are extremely flexible with scheduling, and we got in for an initial consult in under a week....

    When they started they wanted to do a QEEG wherein she'd have to sit completely still for 10 minutes at a stretch. We told them that was completely out of the question, unless she's asleep. They did 20 sessions of neurofeedback with the goal of "calming her down", which I thought was pretty vague. Well it turns out they were doing this with the mission of getting her able to sit still for the QEEG, and last week we found out they were successful, as she got it done and the data they got back were beyond expectations. Now we have a better brain map and they have a specific targeted plan for helping unlock her.

    I've also noticed that near-constant screaming has been replaced almost completely with babbling, and there is significantly less flotsam to pick up around the house at the end of the day. She hasn't ripped up all the pages in a book in months now.

    If any of you has a child with developmental problems, please, look into neurofeedback. The whole theory of it is that the patient self-trains his brain into working better. Then the patient is able to have things click into place, and start making connections the way the rest of us do by default.

    ABA and autism therapies, on the other hand, rely heavily on external behavior modification - mainly through endless repetition and habituation. The patient only figures out what is being required because he's done it hundreds of times. It's basically treating people like lab rats.

    Or worse, they go to the pharmaceuticals.

    Well that's my story of "That's not autism". At this point, given my experience, I refuse to believe autism is even a real thing. It's just the latest "that kid is $#@!ed in the head" bucket they're throwing people into.

    Did your daughter get vaccines?
    “The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by donnay View Post
    Did your daughter get vaccines?
    Yes, fewer than her older sister did, and after first presentation of her issues.
    Don't think I haven't looked into it.
    Even if they were to blame, and they aren't, I don't see how knowing that could possibly help, because there is zero evidence to support chelation therapy.

    I literally just got done explaining that there is functionally no such thing as autism, so how can a thing that doesn't exist be caused by vaccines?
    There are no crimes against people.
    There are only crimes against the state.
    And the state will never, ever choose to hold accountable its agents, because a thing can not commit a crime against itself.

  14. #12
    nvm
    Last edited by donnay; 10-03-2013 at 08:56 PM.
    “The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner

  15. #13
    TY for sharing FA and I'm so glad to hear she's getting results with neurofeedback!
    Based on the idea of natural rights, government secures those rights to the individual by strictly negative intervention, making justice costless and easy of access; and beyond that it does not go. The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the idea of natural rights, but on the idea that the individual has no rights except those that the State may provisionally grant him. It has always made justice costly and difficult of access, and has invariably held itself above justice and common morality whenever it could advantage itself by so doing.
    --Albert J. Nock

  16. #14
    They have been exanding the definiton of what is considered to be part of Autism Spectrum Disorder so yes, people are being classified as having it who would not have been classified as autistic in the past. This is a major contributor to the rise in reported cases of autism spectrum disorder. Thanks for the info.

  17. #15
    //
    Last edited by specsaregood; 05-17-2016 at 09:02 AM.

  18. #16
    Bright kids are often the most distracted in the classroom. Since they know more or pick things up quicker, they get bored more easliy. They also want to explore more things and check them out. Schools are set up for average kids who are at a slower pace. Congratulation on a intelligent child!



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  20. #17
    We used to call kids like that "gifted kids with no social skills". Actually, that sounds reasonable. Sometimes you just look at life around you, and the people, and say, "I've got better things to do." I guess if you can put a label on it so it sounds like an aberration, you can market drugs and therapies (and special schools/remediation) for it.
    Interesting the connection someone made between the Asperger's diagnosis and GAD (used to be called "Free-floating anxiety" I think).



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