[QUOTE=EJsGirl]
Sorry, didn’t mean to jump. I always wonder, though- diagnosed by who? No neurologist or PhD worth his or her salt would dx a “weird” child as autistic (at least I bloody well hope not).
This always makes me laugh- parents who would WANT their child to labeled with a serious disorder that they don’t have… or do they just want to get on Dr. Phil? :rolleyes:
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This is a tangent, but I have myself been through this cycle three times so far, and the child in question is 8 years old. Eldest has a language disorder which has yet to be specified. He has a number of the markers of autism, and since one of the three pillars of autism (if you like) is impairment in communication, this is not a big surprise. * When examined by psychologists, speech paths, educational specialists, linguists, and various other not-MDs, the conclusion has generally been that he is somewhere on the autism spectrum. Then he is referred to an MD-type, a psychiatrist or neurologist or neuropsych (respectively). Whereupon they have said that it is not even a close call, he is nowhere on the autism spectrum.
This is as a parent rather frustrating. This cycle takes between six months and a year each time.
I have until now insisted that an MD come into the mix somewhere, because I once gave up in the face of overwhelming pressure and allowed a school to proceed with teaching him with methods designed for people with autism, and it was an unmitigated disaster. It is to date my greatest regret, that I set my own knowledge about my child aside – I thought maybe they were right, maybe I really was in denial and thereby harming my child.
Maybe I still am. I don’t think I am, but I have no way to know, not really.
It is all very subjective, there is no objective test for any of the things which come into play for an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis I expect a lot of parents simply want to have some help for their child or an explanation for what they do not understand.
You know, a diagnosis is not a label so much as it is a ticket. It’s a ticket to various services, support, what have you. If I buy a train ticket to go see the Van Gogh Museum, my ticket does not go door to door. I have to get myself to the train station in Breda, then buy a ticket from Breda to Amsterdam, then get a bus or walk the rest of the way. But I don’t want a ticket to Brussels as that is the wrong way. In just the same sense, I don’t care if my kid varies in some ways from the listed criteria. People do. But I do want to be damn sure that this diagnosis will in any event get me the resources needed for the main problem.
Some people aren’t as clear about their goals for one reason and another and all they know is that they need to get somewhere.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
- The other two are impairment in social interaction and restricted/sterotyped behavior