Autism Vs eccentric personality

[BlooDeBloop]

Context: A health care worker suggested my 12yo DS may have asd. He is socially extremely awkward at school but copes in his way and brushes off taunts etc. There are some anxiety issues we deal with. He is certainly quirky. Many of the males on my side of the family can fairly be described as eccentric or oddball (...actually this is a good description of me too 😆).

Question: what is this autism spectrum that potentially includes my DS at one end and on the other includes non verbal or highly violent people needing full time, respite care into teens and beyond? Or even the more common presentation we see on TV, the rocking, meltdown prone, OCD type of person. I just don't see the connection. Depression presents on a scale but one end looks like the other end just more extreme. ASD is highly variable. Indeed, this is reflected by the commonly quoted 'if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism' i.e. no two cases are the same. If none are the same how can we be sure we're dealing with the same thing when we diagnose and talk about autism?

Can anyone explain?

So a rash of people had a full developmental history indicating neurodiversity and autism, the triad mentioned earlier with a previous history that impacts life, an ADOS and lengthy 3 hour diagnosis sessions during which previous traumas and struggles are raised and all these people are saying actually they suffered trauma that wasn’t discussed that negated all of it.

Okaaaaay

Asked them what?

My DS couldn’t tell you what was involved in his diagnosis, as far as he’s concerned it was chatting to a doctor for half an hour a few times.

He doesn’t know/remember the many many questionnaires detailing his development from birth onwards, the things asked about pregnancy, us, the reports done by other involved health professionals and school. The parenting courses I attended as part of the diagnosis...

So you weren’t actually there when the diagnosis sessions and assessments were done.

So you weren’t actually there when the diagnosis sessions and assessments were done.

You are really quite overinvested. Not everyone's experience mirrors your own.

I'm backing off now because I find arguing with brick walls boring :)

I don’t think you get to say such inflammatory accusations then disappear without people asking questions.

Dont dismiss me thanks. I have sat through 3 very lengthy diagnosis processes and have family who work in the field. You clearly haven’t.

Trans is nothing to do with this although I see from your posting history you’re very much over invested in that issue.

So you weren’t actually there when the diagnosis sessions and assessments were done.

I bet you are. Because you’re literally making this up as you go along. You’re making yourself look quite silly now. You say a lot but clearly know fuck all. 😂

I'm backing off now because I find arguing with brick walls boring :)

Sorry meant to quote this on last post not what I quoted.

FML, the faux ignorance is strong with this one.

Beyond this back and forth, I must say that trauma has been linked with a range of presentations such as ADHD, ASD, ODD (no not all and I don't know the figures and no desire to find out). Gabor Mate writes extensively about this. However I do know this is a sensitive topic and don't wish to be drawn into a debate. It also seems an aside on the thread but I'm not a policeman of course and have no wish to tell others what to discuss

However I do know this is a sensitive topic and don't wish to be drawn into a debate.

Lol. Your thread was designed to be goady from the start. Your language is very similar to other threads/posts like this. You knew exactly what this thread would attract and now don’t want to be drawn on this issue.

And there’s the usual 🧦. They should really at least try to change their writing style. 😅

This thread is fucking bollocks.

The same pattern as other threads that have been removed. There’s zero interest in understanding, plenty of interest in throwing out crap and offending counter-reasons.

Might be slightly better disguised, but it’s there all the same.

Oh do be sensible. You're trying to police this thread with your ideas of what should be discussed. I'm sorry if this thread has triggered something for you. You can turn off notifications if it bothers you. I have had some great insights and interesting ideas and have found this thread worthwhile. Others might too. I have no idea what the emoji is meant to mean and I've never posted on this topic before. I'm quite confused by your post actually.

@Furries

Not fucking faux ignorance
You have true arrogance however

Just because you understand doesn't mean everyone else automatically does - people are different

reading the stuff people have written here I could easily believe I am autistic , I can see nothing in the descriptions that doesn't fit. But I am not as far as I know.

If people can't explain it how the fuck do you expect people to understand?

Dd1 12
Rigidity
DifficUlty with people in charge (clubs/teachers/parents)
Sensory (suntan lotion/creams) sound
Limited foods like eg of only ordering one thing from menus. Now favouring certain nuggets etc
No sports
1 friend.
Wont now say hello or goodbye but did from 18m old
Only watches you tube and only 1 animal

Dd2 8
Tantrums at home
Good behaviour at school
Wont wear school trousers has to be tracksuit bottoms or is cold
Socks
Used to bolt frequently

I have had some great insights and interesting ideas and have found this thread worthwhile

😂

*I'm quite confused by your post actually.

Nah. You know exactly what’s happening here.

This thread is fucking bollocks.

The same pattern as other threads that have been removed. There’s zero interest in understanding, plenty of interest in throwing out crap and offending counter-reasons.

Might be slightly better disguised, but it’s there all the same.

Yep.

You do know what you’re doing OP it is plain to see. You seem to have read a lot on the subject to apparently know so little. 🤔

I may have read a lot and, shock!, come to slightly different conclusions to you. I would likely have kept my thoughts to myself other than for the fact this very issue was broached a few days ago in the dyspraxia assessment. I wanted to gauge wider opinions on this so posted here. DH for example is implacably against any form of diagnosis. Is he ableist? No idea but his is a common reaction in the population beyond MN. Why can't I discuss this?

Autism is a protected disability. You dismissing it as eccentricity is just the same as dismissing a visible disability.

You've been here since I started the thread with the triad thing patronising me to 'use Google'. I chose not to be goaded. Others posted, one to say actual clinicians don't always take one of the three pillars into account, another to say another factor was also included and the triads varied.

Again, if you don't like this thread - and it seems to me you hate it 😆 - then pass over, hide it if you must. Please, find something else to do.

reading the stuff people have written here I could easily believe I am autistic , I can see nothing in the descriptions that doesn't fit. But I am not as far as I know.

So? Go and read about second-year syndrome/medical students' disease. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_students%27_disease

It's totally normal to read about a condition, hear people describe what it's like, and notice where it fits you. We're pattern-matching animals with a strong tendency towards confirmation bias.

Maybe you're autistic and maybe you're not, but the fact that when reading descriptions of autistic traits you react like any old ordinary human being (whether autistic if not), with normal pattern-matching, confirmation bias and a bit of healthy paranoia, is neither here nor there.

Or go and read about the Barnum effect. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect

The way that autism is written about online, the descriptions tend to be written in such a way that, if taken in their broadest sense and by the average layperson, they could apply to everyone, but can feel very personal and specific to the person reading.

For example, social difficulties. Almost everyone feels socially awkward sometimes, or feels tired out after having to present their best face in a crowded environment for many hours. But most people don't let on about the fact they feel like this. So a normal person can read a description of autism that mentions social awkwardness and social exhaustion and think "OMG IT ME".

This is why you need experienced clinicians to assess people to determine whether they meet criteria for an ASD diagnosis. The criteria were never intended to be applied by laypersons with no experience of training, to themselves, and if you do that, you get the same phenomenon that happens to medical students where they notice that they have all the symptoms of a brain tumor/multiple sclerosis/something exotic and rare that they just read about.

You can't dismiss other people's professional, clinical ASD diagnoses as some kind of pathologisation of harmless quirkiness, based on your own spurious musings resulting from an inadequate understanding of medical diagnosis and cognitive biases. (Similarly, I'm sceptical of any self-diagnoses of ASD, too.)

*with no experience or training

Err no. Posters are perfectly entitled to point out ableism and disingenuous threads designed to minimise a protected disability.

You’ve got the reaction you wanted and many have called you out on it. You deciding who can and can’t contribute or how isn’t an option.

Again, if you don't like this thread - and it seems to me you hate it 😆 - then pass over, hide it if you must. Please, find something else to do.

These threads cause harm and are offensive. So I’ll stay and keep pointing out your utter shite. HTH.