I was wondering how many of you are still referring to Aspergers as a diagnosis? In the advent of the recently released DSM 5, Aspergers and PDD-NOS have been removed and are no longer a diagnosis.
With that being the case, how have your doctor’s decoded to proceed?
Has you or your child’s diagnosis been changed from Aspergers to Autism? I know that most kids won’t notice the difference but I would guess that many adults would.
How do you feel about having your diagnosis changed?
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Going through the initial evaluation process in Oct/Nov our team was aware of the changes. My son has Aspergers but his paperwork/IEP only says Autism. So thankful to have worked with a team with this foresight.
@Fuzzy Cabbage Stephenie @tazzteacher @Stacey @Dawna Bowman Flowers I agree that as long as services are in place and insurance plans nice, who cares? The other side is that many autistic adults consider Aspergers part of their identity. Removing that could be problematic.
Until last year we only had the educational eligibility of ‘autism’. Then we went through a neuropsych for actual testing and a medical diagnosis (it was time to try meds) and my son got a diagnosis of “childhood autism, Asperger’s specific, atypical”.
I wish it had, but apparently you can’t be diagnosed again here in uk!!!!
Labels are subjective. Each professional has his or her own
opinion and might not even agree on a diagnosis. Asperger’s and PDD-NOS are
just ways in which they can try to be as specific as possible when describing a
child’s condition. Of course such an endeavor can never truly be possible because
each child is unique in how their symptoms are expressed. The professionals who
perform the diagnosis only get a small glimpse into the child’s life and what
he or she is normally like. It depends on the environment in which the child is
being evaluated as well as if he or she is having an on day or an off day.
I don’t think it should really matter what diagnostic label
a child is given as long as he or she is able to receive the services that are
much needed. And that is something that can be a big problem. Before my son was
diagnosed, it was explained to me that in order to receive much needed
services, an autism diagnoses was preferable because many children tend to fall
through the cracks and consequently do not get the help that they need until it
is almost too late. He ended up being diagnosed with plain old autism, mainly because
he had absolutely no speech or communication.
I think the difference between the two is so subjective — like my son’s dx was straight out autism because he had a speech delay and all the hallmarks of autism, yet so many professionals say he presents now as Asperger’s. I call it a lot of hard work on his part, some say his dx has just changed. It’s all semantics. I think Asperger’s has some issues that are extremely disabling, and it’s hard to hear people say that those with Asperger’s don’t have ‘real’ autism, when the difference between the two — until this latest DSM fiasco — can be so miniscule and depends on who observes the child, where and on what day. ASD is ASD, and speech or no speech, life can be ugly for our beautiful children. I hate to think of those falling through the cracks now because they got the PDD or Asperger’s dx and now suddenly are told they don’t qualify for something or aren’t disabled enough to get help. Hopefully, schools and practitioners still continue to treat the problem, not the label.
DeeDangerousCupcake very interesting take. 🙂
I agree with Stephenie – it doesn’t really matter to me (or my son) as long as he still qualifies for the same services. I’ll probably keep calling it Asperger’s though since that’s the word we’ve used when talking to him about it, and because it conveys a more specific description that happens to describe him quite well.
@Stacey Stephenie I agree as well.
I’ve been doing a lot of research into many of the DSM changes recently, and honestly, I don’t think the changes mean much for me (or my Autistic child), other than a few differently checked boxes on paper when I’m filling out the usual testing and school forms a couple times a year. Two years ago, my son was an Asperger’s child. This year, he’s a high functioning Autistic child, which is what he was two years ago, minus the sub-category. The sub-categories are just extra labels that parents, teachers, therapists, and doctor’s use to try and define a condition as specifically as possible. I think it’s a little silly that they removed this particular classification after it’s been in use for so long, and so notably recognized, but on the other hand, it doesn’t really matter. The treatment my child receives, is the same. The specialized education my child receives, is the same. The way everyone treats him, is the same. The way I love him, is the same. The label is different, yes, but labels don’t concern me. His health, and understanding his personal needs are what concern me most. Every child is different, in uncountable ways. The DSM is just a book that tries to help professionals who don’t know my child, try and understand my child in a way that they likely will never be able to do. Parents, teachers, and personal physicians are the only ones qualified to make these assessments, and unfortunately, they aren’t the one’s writing the DSM. It’s usually a panel of retired psychiatrists who haven’t seen a patient in 15 years who have the last say so in the editing of these revisions. So, personally, I’m not too worried about it.
Much love to you and your family, Rob. 🙂
My oldest was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago. At the time, the change was being discussed, so his doctor verbally told me he was more of an Aspie than typical autism, but wrote the diagnosis as autism so we would not face problems down the road. So really, no change on paper now for him. My middle child was officially diagnosed about a month ago and she too was given the autism label even though PDD NOS was more fitting. It does feel weird to have the Asperger’s label being done away with as it is one a lot of people really identify with, but I don’t care what it’s called as long as the individuals affected are able to get services.
Stephenie that’s a great attitude to have.