I can only guess that the current Google ad (for Neulasta) is meant to help our Asperger-suffering friends count their small blessings.
You do know people feel that way, right? People are skeptical of some diseases and feel that the “diagnosis” is just putting a medical label on a personality trait, with the goal of getting people to buy medication for it. There are certainly people who doubt ADD/ADHD exists [not me - I’ve seen it], and some aren’t sure about autism either. Many people see those conditions as vaguely defined and “made up.”
I was referring the physical maladies the OP mentioned, that have been “named” recently in concert with new drugs. Acid reflux, IBS, etc.
I found someone at the local University who was working on the subject. Remember this was 10 ten years ago, before Asperger’s hit it really big. The process was sort of wierd because she was used to working with kids. We went through the same sort of process that she would use with parents to determine if their children fit the mold only in the first person instead of the third.
Restless Legs Syndrome? You can’t be serious.
There are almost 1400 articles on RLS listed on PubMed.
Here’s the eMedicine review.
And here’s one from what is arguably the most prestigious medical journal in the world - The New England Journal of Medicine…
Acid reflux not a real condition? IBS? Did you know that IBS existed long before there was any treatment for it. Even today, there are very, very few treatments yet the disease exists. You really can’t blame these things on the “pharmaceutical companies”.
Let me chime in and state here that I, too, am certain that these diseases exist. I’ve seen the radiologic proof.
I would guess they aren’t so much bragging, but are glad they now can put a name to what they have.
I was diagnosed with having severe dyslexia. My parents were told I should be put in a special school for kids with special needs. My parents decided against this. They felt I would be better off struggling at a “normal” school, rather than have me think there was something seriously wrong with me and either use that as an excuse to not work through difficulties, or to withdraw, feeling sorry for myself that I wasn’t like everyone else. So I went to the “normal” school and struggled, never knowing why because my parents and teachers never let on there was a reason for the things I had such a hard time with.
Years after I graduated from college, my mom finally told me about my dyslexia. I knew I couldn’t identify right and left, often transposed numbers, and misspelled common words, etc. I had just assumed I was lazy about things like that, not making as much as an effort to learn those things as other people did. It was strange after all those years to find out what I had was not that unusual, and even had a name. So part of me felt relieved to find I wasn’t just lazy, or slow, or not very smart. My mind was just wired a bit differently than others.
After that when someone would tell me to turn right, and I turned left, instead of my usual embarrassment over it, I would tell them I had dyslexia, and had trouble with right and left. People would nod and often tell me about someone else they also knew who was dyslexic. It surprised me, but I ended up telling lots of people about my dyslexia. After a while, I found I did start to use it as an excuse. Instead of using spell check and carefully rereading my posts to a message board before posting, I just wrote and posted. When someone would point out all my spelling mistakes, I would tell them I couldn’t help it, I had dyslexia.
After a couple of months of that, I got over it, and realized there was no reason for me to claim dyslexia as an excuse, and went back to using spell check. (It is funny; I often misspell words so badly that the spell check doesn’t have a clue what word I was trying for. And when trying to use an online dictionary, I often try 10 versions of the word I am trying to spell, and end up having to ask my husband how to spell something because I am not even getting close to what it is.) And when asked for directions to somewhere, I have gone back to my old standard of, “I am not really good at giving directions, you should ask someone else,” instead of saying, “I can’t tell you how to get there because I am dyslexic.”
So from my experience, I can understand how people who are diagnosed and found to have AS would be likely to mention it. Not because they are proud they have it, but because it can explain why they are a certain way. In the past they didn’t have the words to really express what they were going through. Now by knowing the name for it, and using it, they can more easily be understood. And that can feel like a huge relief after years of people not having a clue as to why you are the way you are.
And from my experience, I can also see how some people could start to use their diagnosis as an excuse. I would not have expected to feel like I did, but for a while I really thought my dyslexia gave me permission to stop making an effort. All those years of having to work harder for lesser results seemed a big waste to me. I felt I shouldn’t have to go to that much more trouble to get something right when others didn’t have to. It seemed unfair, that I was being penalized for something I had no control over. Luckily those thoughts only lasted a short amount of time and I could realize everyone has issues to deal with; life is unfair to everyone in one way or another. And having gone through those months where I was content to blame dyslexia for not making more of an effort, I realized my parents most likely did me a great favor by not telling me of my diagnosis until I was an adult and had learned to compensate for it. I am pretty sure I would have slacked off and not worked as hard as I did to keep up with the others.
Now I rarely mention I have dyslexia. Once in a while I feel I need to, but most of the time I don’t talk about it. The last time it came up was when I was asked to help at a charity auction. I was asked to be the one to collect the money from the buyers. I declined, and the person who asked me to help thought I just wasn’t interested in getting involved. I had to explain that I would be happy to help in some other way, but if someone bought an item for $35.00, and gave me a $50.00 bill, I would have to write out on paper 50-35, would come to the conclusion that equalled 25, then transpose it and give them $52.00 in change. When he thought I was talking crazy, I said, “I am dyslexic, please don’t ask me to help with anything having to do with numbers.” Then he got it, and decided I was much better suited to greet people at the door.
I realize AS is not the same as dyslexia, and I don’t mean for my experience to come off as advice for AS or to speak for people who have AS. But my experience with dyslexia does allow me to see both sides of this issue. And I do worry that kids with minimal AS symptoms may be labeled as having AS and it may end up harming them more than helping them.
Sure they exist, they’re just common maladies which are given a new-fangled name.
Acid Reflux Disease = heartburn.
IBS = nervous stomach. (Though, according to the commercials that played many years ago, only gorgeous women with tight, flat stomachs get it.)
RLS = ok, maybe I’m wrong about this one, the link provided describes something different than what I thought it was.
Social Phobia Disorder = shyness.
My point is, a lot of these illnesses seem to be over-diagnosed, mainly to fill a prescription for some brand new drug that’s being marketed. Who needs an expensive purple pill when TUMS or Alka-Seltzer will do just fine?? I didn’t mean to suggest that such disorders are made up, however I do get suspicious when the big pharmaceutical companies appear to be driven towards creating a hypochondriac culture – or, in the case of psychological “conditions” (I’ll avoid the word “illness” for now), covering up the symptoms with medication rather than dealing with the root issues.
Case in point – ADHD. While growing up, I knew a kid who was hyperactive. He was pretty wild, even while medicated. Whenever he skipped a dose, he would tear his clothes off and run up & down the street, screaming his head off, for hours at a time. Thing is, he was the only kid I knew, out of dozens, who had that kind of problem. Decades later, I met a lot of kids & teens who were diagnosed with ADD and Ritalin-ized, and none of them came close to the wildness of Devon. Some of them may have had hyperactive issues, yes…but I suspect many were just medicated for the hell of it. Heck, one of them confided in me that he asked for Ritalin just so he could sell it to his friends, who would crush up the pills & snort 'em like meth. (I’m not making this up!)
I do see the point of Asperger’s being a very “new” condition, which makes it attractive not only for doctors, but for people who feel there is something wrong with them, and are looking for an easy explanation. What I wonder is – how do you distinguish between having a pervasive developmental disorder, or just being somewhat nerdy? (Not that there’s anything wrong with either one.)
Of course they shouldn’t be embarrassed – it just seems like an odd thing to identify with.
Perhaps I’m slightly biased, because I’ve never felt the need to assume any kind of group identity – indeed, it’s something I reject outright. But that’s just me. I don’t take issue with someone who wants to identify as a goth, a metalhead, gay or lesbian, a religious or racial minority, a cancer survivor, or even an ex-drug addict. But…Asperger’s? Ok, whatever. It’s just that – well, when it comes to any psychological issue, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a shrink somewhere who TOLD this person what they are, and is raking in a profit because of it. Believe me, there are some slimy psychiatrists out there, I’ve met quite a few.
IANA psychiatrist, but clearly “Devon” was not just afflicted with ADHD. As for other disorders, we come up with “new names” for these when we understand more about the pathology of them. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, for instance, has a specific set of biological causes (generally damage or incompetence of the esophageal sphincter) whereas heartburn is anything that causes distress, including eating too many hot wings. ADHD has many distinguishing hallmarks, although the graduation is more incremental; if you have enough of a problem that you can’t force yourself to focus on a required task or topic, regardless of what methods or incentives you use, and this impairs your ability to function, you probably have some kind of attentional disorder, though only a trained diagnostician can make an objective and credible assessment of this.
And despite your ad hominin attempt to blame this on the pharmaceutical industry, there is no medical regimen for Asperger’s Syndrome; treatment and therapy involve learning coping skills. No doubt the emergence of a new pathology is accompanied by droves of self-diagnosed sufferers looking for a reason for their discontent (the people who claim, or who have been told by an unqualified physician or psychologist that have “a touch of Asperger’s” among them), but particularly with a disorder like Asperger’s there are some dramatic differences between normal variation of human interaction and someone who is a diagnosable sufferer; the latter demonstrating significant impariment in communication and interactions with other people.
Stranger
I don’t have IBS, but from what I gather, it’s far, far worse than a “nervous stomach.”
And I highly doubt people are going to their doctors for prescriptions if Tums were effective.
Then again, there are people (mostly cultural conservatives, it must be said) who are essentially suspicious of ALL psychology as a plot by the educated elites to make excuses for aspects of human behavior they feel would be better addressed with a good old-fashioned ass-kicking.
The list of those in line for said ass-kicking is, not surprisingly, a very, very long one.
Point taken – and I have met some kids & teens, and even some adults, who do have some level of genuine ADHD. When they’re off their meds, the difference is like night and day. But you must agree, the condition has been vastly over-diagnosed, especially during the past decade, often to treat unrelated behavioral problems…or basic “teenage angst”, for which the only cure is growing up & moving out of the house. 
My youngest brother, for example, was diagnosed with ADHD – but as far as I could tell, the Ritalin didn’t have that much of an impact on his personality. In my (admittedly non-professional and somewhat cynical) opinion, he didn’t have the affliction at all…he was just a troublemaking brat. 
That’s what I find puzzling – you would think, with all the recent media attention on autism & Asperger’s, that some drug company would be marketing a pill for it, whether it worked or not. (Who knows, maybe they’re working on one right now? Time will tell.)
I think it’s just a new name for the eccentric uncle (or whatever) we all have in our family history(ies).
Should my son be embarrassed to have AS?
As was pointed out upthread, AS isn’t a “mental illness” anyway, its a PDD. And no, he doesn’t take medication. Nor, BTW, does he any longer require (at age 11) specialist intervention at school. And I wouldn’t call it popular.
I’ve always known that my kid was different. HE knows he’s different. He’s had to be taught such basic things as “look at people when you talk to them” and “don’t stand too close to others, it makes them uncomfortable.” He’s been preyed upon at school by other kids who have discovered he will do almost anything he’s asked, if its not actively dangerous, because he a.) doesn’t get why that might make other people laugh at him and b.) he wants to be friends, but isn’t sure how to do that. I get to deal with the hurt, puzzled, frustrated kid that comes home to me, not understanding why people laugh at him. That’s fun, let me assure you. Well worth the benefit of getting him diagnosed with AS. </sarcasm>
It doesn’t help that he’s brighter than average, another “symptom” of AS.
As far as you wondering about doctors making money, please give me a break. The doctor I have for him earns his money, because he’s one of the few that doesn’t try to shove my son off on some medication or another. Really, he does more for me than my kid by giving me tips on how to deal with him and relate to him in a way he can understand. He has the knowledge and the skill to assess and work with AS kids, which he won through hard years of education, he should be paid appropriately.
My son did after school classes for two years just to learn to be like everybody else, as much as he can. He isn’t the problem - other people are his problem. He doesn’t - and never has, bar one incident* - been a disruption in class.
I don’t understand your point, really. Cancer rates are rising alarmingly too, seems to me. Is that because some doctor decided to make money on cancer patients?
Cheers,
G
*He was scared, and bit an older child when he was in Kindergarten. The older child (5th grade) was the “bus monitor” and supposed to help the little kids get off the bus and into their classrooms. My son got fascinated with something, like AS kids do, and dropped the plot as to where he was supposed to go. The older kid grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him off to where he was supposed to be. He was monofocussed, apparently, and was startled and then scared, so he bit her. He’s got a better understanding now and wouldn’t do it again, but there was nine days wonder over that at school.
He **isn’t **…
Sorry,
G
Heh. Until 3 years ago, the solution was misdiagnose Aspies and put them on medication for ADD, depression, hysterical pregnancy or whatever other dangfool wrong diagnosis they had.
Seriously, Aspies exist. I can look in a mirror and tell you that, and whatever anyone tells you, being Aspy SUCKS. Growing up unable to keep or make friends is NOT a life, and rote memorization of topics is NOT the way to advance in them as careers; creative synthesis in a field is.
Whether or not the legions of kids being diagnosed as Aspies are… that’s something I’m less sure of. Whatever the case is, they should be excused no poor behavior; the grown-up world won’t let you beat your wife because you can’
Well, they’d have to get it thru the FDA first, so I don’t think it’s all that puzzling.
't communicate with her, and you might as well let school model real life.
[post messed up by hitting TAB then ENTER on accident.]
Y’know, it’s not like they are in on an evil plot to medicate humanity for the hell of it…
But yes, it does help to have an actual diagnosis when you have an identifiable disorder; it helps you do something about it, other than just tell the kid “why can’t you just act normal like all the other children?”
And yes, too, increased visibility of the diagnosis causes an increase in self-diagnoses and excuses. But the good of being able to better identify the real problem outweighs this.