[QUOTE=DrDeth]
What exactly *is * Autism? How is it Diagnosed, is there a proven test? Do all medical experts agree on the diagnostics?
http://web.indstate.edu/thcme/anderson/DBruk.html
"*Secondly, despite the organic basis of the disorder, the diagnostic criteria have been derived through consensus, rather than being organically based; no biological “test” exists for autism. Diagnostic cut-offs have been hard to define, because the manifestation of the core impairments and behaviours of autism varies greatly from person to person, as shown in the table.9 10 Symptoms vary in any single person with autism, and as autism is a developmental disorder change occurs over time.10 * "
http://www.autism.org/dsm.html
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Excellent sources of info on this developmental disability. Autistic spectrum disorder is such a multi-dimensional “gray area” that keeps getting redefined almost on an annual basis. My youngest son (4.5 y.o.) has had a few tests, and at first it seemed his mannerisms fell into the spectrum category, but now it seems like he is “growing out of it” in some areas, but not all…he still has speech and language issues, but we are having those issues addressed through a special pre-school program. His frustration and acting out is because he is very intelligent, but can’t communicate effectively his wants or needs and loses his temper unless we understand him the FIRST time. Fortuanately, we (as parents) can pick up on this most of the time and he is having less tantrums as his language and speech improves. There are other peculiar mannerisms that he does have, but even those are ever so slightly diminishing in occurrences too.
Some clinicians see this more as ADD or ADHD, or an extension of the autism spectrum. Even someone diagnosed with autism 15 years ago may not be properly diagnosed and may need to be re-evaluated. I’m not dismissing the recruiters actions here, but if the kid passed the test and showed no peculiar outward behaviors, who are they to determine whether or not he’s fit to be a soldier even if the parents had medical documentation? The kid is 18 (majority), not 3. Maybe he overcame many of his disorders, or some of these disorders were simply outgrown when proper therapy is applied early in life? (Hence, our position). Just because the label of “Autism” got slapped on him early on in life, should not mean that he will not be a totally functioning human being as he/she matures. I do believe that if there are other tests that the military requires this kid to do, that they will eventually weed him out IF he has problems with focusing on tasks that require concentration that he may not be able pass because of his own personal disabilities that may limit it. I would suspect that this would have happened if the parents didn’t intervene in the first place. I don’t blame the parents either, they did what they thought was in his best interest, although he might be resentful of them because of it.
The word “Spectrum” is the apt word to describe this disorder…not everyone who has this disorder is “disabled”…so please, read up on the advances. Unless he is clearly autistic (in the classic sense) and not under the spectrum, then I doubt he would have been able to pass any of the tests and his outward behavior would have been a red flag to the recruiters. He was more likely in the spectrum (or even ADD/ADHD) and therefore functioning well enough to pass the tests. Lately, this categorization is being used (along with ADD/ADHD) to pigeonhole a lot of kids who are not performing up to a school’s standards (and some schools welcome the extra cash from the state to fund the education of these kids). And some of these kids get mislabeled because of it. That is something my wife and I pay particular attention to because that label tends to stick to that individual until he reaches adulthood…which can be detrimental.
From the sample I saw, many high-functioning autistics would do fine on it. Many would not, of course!
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