Are We Labeling Personality as Autism?

[almostalwayslaura]

is Autism being over diagnosed/suggested? Can’t someone just have different quirks and personality traits without it having to be part of some broad spectrum of diagnosis?

• my 11 year old daughter attended a child psychologist due to some dental related health anxiety and after a few awkward appointments he turned to us as parents and said ‘have you ever considered she might have autism?’ I’m genuinely curious regarding the Fine Line Between Personality and Diagnosis?

Historically, autism has been massively underdiagnosed in women and girls. I don't think it's being overdiagnosed now.

You only a couple of days ago posted asking for tips on how to parent said autistic daughter, who was 12 in your other thread

‘Might’ is the operative word.

Yep. And was asking the same question a year ago.

No.

OP, you said about your dd on another thread that she is “truly horrible and difficult to love”.

You probably need to seek help for yourself and stop worrying about other people’s ASD.

No we are not.
And don't assume too soon that it's "just little quirks" - a LOT of autistic teens in the "high functioning" part of the spectrum start off y7 seeming basically ok, just a little eccentric and can end up having a full-scale breakdown by y10 if they don't get the right support. Diagnosis is a good thing when it helps everyone to understand what the additional needs are, which a lot of the time aren't too hard to accommodate. Your DD won't thank you if she needed that extra help you left her to struggle on through until she potentially seeks diagnosis as an adult as she tries to process what went wrong. If she isn't autistic she won't get a "false positive" diagnosis, the criteria are quite capable of identifying if it's "just quirks".

You'll have to give a bit more detail about what you think the downsides are.

I would have thought knowing that you have deficits in social functioning and other key areas that have a negative effect on your daily life would be important information to know, rather then everyone pretending it doesn't exist or is just a "quirk"

Yep.

But you’ll get a hard time for it on here, where every other poster has an autistic child.

You've got quite a long posting history about your daughter. It's pretty clear that she absolutely does have some additional needs and you've acknowledged that in other threads so in confused as to why you seem to be saying she's not ND on this one?

Detective mumnet 😂this actually made me laugh - am I now allowed to ask the question, to debate why it’s always the default whenever a child shows any sign of not being ‘normal’ I have a long history of asking similar questions because I am in a constant battle with myself, family members, school, psychologists and people say, she is and she isn’t. Sorry that I took to the internet to debate with strangers… I actually thought that was what threads were for, I must have been wrong!

11 when she attend psychologist - you know more about me than I do, I forgot!

You’re not really looking to debate, though. Your argument falls at the first hurdle because it is built on a false premise that suspecting autism is the default.

No. A diagnosis of autism requires significant difficulties in several key areas.

Please rest assured nobody is diagnosing autism for shits and giggles.

Considering a possibility is not a diagnosis.

So she has challenges, that are significant enough to need assessment/support.
What reason would you prefer for her difficulties? Why do you think it’s her personality rather than a condition?

And why is a condition not a personality? Surely it’s part of who she is either way?

to debate why it’s always the default whenever a child shows any sign of not being ‘normal’

If that was actually true, I'd have been diagnosed at 14 and not 44.

"Personality quirks" don't give women a 90% victimisation rate for sexual violence. Autism does. The reality of my disability is not up for debate.

There are quirks and there are things that make life a struggle for the child and those around them. Even when it comes to basic things. That’s where the difference lies.

DD not liking tomatoes is a quirk. Her losing weight because she barely ate for a week on a school trip isn’t.

Her taking things literally can be funny. Her not saying anything when someone was hurting her because it was during “quiet time” is a problem.

And so on…

No.

Well, she either is or isn’t autistic. If you’re seeing a psychologist, one might presume that there’s some neurodivergence.

No psychiatrist, clinician, or multi disciplinary panel is diagnosing autism of the basis of “different quirks and personality traits”, so no.

I do think looking for a diagnosis as soon as a child doesn't fit some imaginary norm is getting a bit daft, it seems no children are normal these days. But all children have always been different no two children are the same or 'normal'.

No we don’t.
There is an obvious difference between little quirks and autism. People who can’t see it either don’t know anything about autism or don’t want to know anything about autism or both.

yeah… no one is doing that.

No, thank you for coming to my Ted talk

It's better to screen and rule out autism than not screen and miss a vulnerable child who needs safeguarding and support.

Yours sincerely, the vulnerable child whose autism was missed.