November 14th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Thomas Sowell, no stranger to having a child with special needs, writes in TownHall.com regarding the potential dangers of expanding the diagnosis of autism. One effect is the filling of assistance lists.
Much has been made of statistics showing a sharp increase in diagnoses of autism in recent years.
What has gotten much less attention is the changing definition of autism, which raises the question whether there has been an actual change in the real world or simply a change in the way words are used when collecting statistics.
People today are often spoken of as being “on the autistic spectrum,” rather than as having autism.
While there are some conditions which are much like autism, there are other conditions, such as having a very high IQ or simply being late in talking, which often include characteristics listed on checklists for autism. These are open invitations to false diagnoses.
We would see the dangers immediately if people who wear glasses were included on “the blindness spectrum” or people with harmless moles were included on “the cancer spectrum.”
Blindness, cancer and autism are all too serious — indeed, catastrophic — to use loose definitions that fudge the difference between accurate and inaccurate diagnoses.
Sowell is on to something here, which is another reason why we should be cautious when trying new therapies that seem to work for other children. We are quick to mention that “no vaccine fits all”; no cure fits everyone either.
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November 15th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
My sibling is a certified teachers specializing in special needs, including autism. The biggest complaint my sibling has with regard to public and often private institutions is they often fall to the temptaiton to apply all the newest techniques (educational theories) regardless of diagnosis. And sometimes in definance of diagnosis. And sometimes without any proper diagnosis.
My sibling spends a lot of time helping parents to learn to teach their kids at home when the public and other for-profit learning centers fail their kids. My sibling lost a job once when the emplyer found out about out of school assistance given to the frustrated parents of a struggling student.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Fact check. Update.
I though my Sibling was fired, but was instead threatened with dismissal from the job in question and then chose to find a new position at another facility.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
“they often fall to the temptation to apply all the newest techniques (educational theories) regardless of diagnosis.”
I worked for ten years with children with autism, ADHD and other behavioral problems. I eventually left teaching because I got tired of teachers playing psychiatrist. I also couldn’t go along with what I considered very iffy borderline diagnoses when my gut told me that that child would eventually pull into line with his peers given patience and help. I wasn’t burned out by the kids but by the culture of special education.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Long before the public rise in awareness concerning autism psychiatrists were speaking of autism in the sense of spectrum because autism tended to be a catch all diagnosis. So really this idea of “autism spectrum” is not new. It is probably a very accurate view of autism because autistic people display a wide range of symptoms. The true danger isn’t the term, it is the arm chair psychiatrists going to WebMD and thinking they can diagnose a person.