I think I might have some form of an autistic spectrum disorder but have never sought a diagnosis but should probably ask my doc for work up. I've always "hid" from doctors the best I can due to a lot of social anxiety. I have a cousin who was recently diagnosed and I know it's highly genetic.
I think that autism is being diagnosed better these days and also I think maybe possibly it's being over diagnosed. Like a lot of those cases might be extremely mild autism or something else other than autism. There are a few younger people on the Wrong Planet autism forum who feel they were misdiagnosed. In my case it was blatantly obvious and I was classified as severe when I was 2 years old. In other cases it's like barely detectable.
Yes, you should get diagnosed ASAP. My dad took me to the doctor once when I lived with him because he suspected that I had Asperger's. Turns out my symptoms are much closer to bipolar disorder and OCD. Plus, there's a history of bipolar disorder on my mom's side, and it can be genetic too. I don't have health insurance, so they never properly diagnosed me, but I don't really need them to. I suspected it for a very long time and the fact that they brought them up without me having to mention them was enough of an answer for me. ---------- Post added 28th Mar 2014 at 08:23 PM ---------- I agree. They do the same thing with ADHD. Some doctors assume that a kid has ADHD right away just because he's hyper and has trouble focusing, which is really sad. I believe children don't need to be put on medication unless they REALLY need it. As for autism, some autistic kids have very few symptoms, which can make it hard to diagnose.
The thing I would say about that, not meaning to discourage you from getting diagnosed, is how big of an impact is potential autism causing you and how will a diagnosis make a difference? I mean it's not like undiagnosed diabetes that needs to be treated with insulin. There's no treatment of that kind for autism. But it's good for peace of mind or whatever I suppose. Just make sure having that on your permanent record isn't going to mess up you getting jobs and such.
That's a big reason why I don't want to get diagnosed with bipolar disorder or OCD. I know they'd give me hell as soon as they see the word bipolar on my record. As for autism, I didn't think that'd be as big of a deal. Now that you you mention it, there's probably a ton of stigma surrounding ASD as well.
Oh yeah. Any neurological disorder of any kind basically. And def anything psychological. No matter how far I progress, I'll never get away from that initial diagnosis of severe autism.
I'm more inclined to believe the frequency of autism and Address is rising than a mass wave of mistaken diagnoses.
I think its a mix of better diagnosis and misdiagnosis. My sister has autism and it caused her to regress, but a friend of mine has it as well and has a job and takes care of himself, so I wonder if there is a major increase of diagnosis that they are minor cases.
I think the ability to diagnose autism and recognise less prominent forms is improving, not the actual number. Of course, I could be wrong, but I hardly think it's on the rise given its nature; it's genetic, as far as I understand it.
I have autism and was diagnosed when I was just three but it wasn't until my teen years that my mom really sat down to explain it all to me and what it all meant. I think it is great that we raise awareness of autism and people who have it. It's unfortunate that the numbers have increased of people who have autism but I hope we can someday find a cure to this once and for all. I also had a cousin died in a tragic accident a few years ago but he had a very severe case of autism compared to mines which is a lesser case. But I thank you for sharing. I will be sure to pass this forward and share with others I know.
This is pretty interesting, I dont know how legit this is but they may be finally starting to find a reason for autism. Autism research dispels vaccination theories - LancasterOnline: Local News http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/27/cell-growth-abnormal-in-autistic-youths-study/