Are there really people who think autism is over-diagnosed?

Florak8

An acquaintance's FB status was all about how she is glad that the definition is being narrowed so autism can stop being over-diagnosed. She is a young teacher, and it just really annoyed me.

Am I missing something? Do people really think this? I realize some family members in the denial stage can think this, but do people unrelated to the situation think this? It just seems absurd to me.

 

Glendi428

Yup. I've even heard it in regard to me own DD by well-meaning but uninformed friends and family. I get the idea... reality is, in our case, I truly believe school services have been much easier to come by as a result of DD's PDD-NOS dx, but I certainly don't think she was dx'd to in order to GET those services... she needs them BECAUSE of her issues related to her dx. For some reason, that's a hard concept for some to grasp.

I will say, that comment coming from a teacher would def. irk me as well... like I said, I'm usually willing to cut people and their comments some slack if I know they're not totally informed and knowledgeable about the autism landscape. A teacher, though? Shame on her... she should know better.

lite-bright

I thought this LA Times article was verrrry interesting, on that topic. 

https://www.latimes.com/news/local/autism/la-me-autism-day-one-html,0,1218038.htmlstory

I see both sides of it. As a parent whose insurance pays absolutely nothing for any kind of therapy, the services that we receive through the state/preschool are a lifeline and have made a huge difference for DD1 and we would be in a very tough spot if we lost them. But our school district qualified her for services before she even had an official diagnosis -- because of her needs, not because of any pre-existing label. I absolutely think that the autism dx is accurate for her. And I can certainly see how high-functioning kids would've been overlooked, and just thought of as weird or shy, in previous generations but get a diagnosis now. 

On the other side, I didn't particularly like reading that at least one doc admitted to giving an ASD diagnosis if it would get the child services even if the symptoms were ambiguous, and parents doctor-shopping for the dx that would get them state-funded services, or the mom who deliberately didn't feed her kid the morning of his eval. That did make me wonder about some percentage of over-dxing. I think it's probably small and certainly doesn't account for the overall rise in autism, but I do think it exists.

But I also don't think that there are doctors and school evaluators who are out there who are slapping labels on kids willy-nilly, which I think is generally where people are coming from when they throw that kind of stuff out there. 

malcivar

I can definitely see both sides.  Part of the process of getting our son into our state's EI program involved a lot of conversations with evaluators and such and a good number of them, it felt, were trying to steer our answers towards our son having less abilities than he actually had, most especially when it came to physical therapy.  It really did feel like they wanted us to answer a certain way so he would qualify for those services, even though, at the time nobody could give us a REAL reason why he might have needed it, other than "well if he can get it for free, why not?"  So, now that other things are being suggested for DS, I'm naturally a little skeptical, but the reasoning provided now is much more sound.  Honestly, if they'd have said THIS 6 months ago, I wouldn't have questioned it at all.  

My mom also works with kids with dx and she does say that many a time, she will seriously question how a child got a dx and will get the same kind of feedback from the kids' teachers.  Her biggest peeve comes with children who have ADD or "behavioral problems".  Being a former teacher herself, she sometimes will say that this new breed of teachers lacks the patience to find the way to get through to the child.   As soon as the child is difficult, they send him/her to the school psych, give him/her a dx, give them some meds and then unload them on the spec. ed teachers, many times short-changing the child.  Of course she also blames this on our overcrowded school system.  Is that the truth in all cases, I really don't think so.  Does it happen?  I'm going to say that maybe yes it does happen but not a lot - least I hope not. 

Sorry if my answer seems all over the place but to answer your question - yes there are ppl who really think autism is over-diagnosed - but before we say they're in denial, we need to place their opinion in perspective.  

 

BrookeAWestling

There's no denying that autism diagnosis has greatly increased in recent years. I think most people see that and wonder where all the additional diagnosis come from. I think it's a combination of better understanding of autism and early diagnosis....but some would argue that it's over-use of the label, especially when you're talking about a disorder that falls on a "spectrum" and there is such variation between cases. There is no concrete definition of autism like there is for heart disease or epilepsy. Psychiatry/psychology in itself is often criticized as not being a true hard science and people will always find fault with it. I think that the field has come a long way but still has a very long way to go until we fully understand the workings of the human psyche and how to properly address it. It's an imperfect science and I think that anyone would be naive to put 100% faith in today's methods when we know that the field is constantly evolving. Right now, a huge number of symptoms is grouped into ASD, it's very possible that, down the road, those groupings will be further broken down into more precise subsets allowing for more accurate treatment of each case.

I guess my point has more to do with the fields of psychiatry and medicine and the fact that it's always evolving more than people's opinions of autism. To me, any time there is a disorder with such a wide range of qualifying symptoms which can vary so greatly from patient to patient, that shows that there's still a lot of work to be done to understand the disorder and perfect treatment. And maybe it's the lack of focused/clarified understanding that makes some people skeptical. 

2lovelyboys

Yes and even some doctors I have spoken to think it's over-dianosed.   I do know someone who has a son who has been to every doc under the sun and they all say he is not autisic, however, it is written down like so.....hence he gets services that he needs through the school.  Sad but true!

Assembly_Reqd

I think another factor is that awareness has been brought way up by organizations such as Autism Speaks. More awareness of a disease by the general public means they "see" it more or pay attention to it more. Therefore it seems like everybody has it.

Kind of like when you are pregnant you see tons of pregnant women and when your not you don't "see" as many. Your brain is not registering those that you see because that topic is not on your mind.

nicolita14w

Since my own son has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS, I've already personally gotten this reaction from a few people. A teacher at his preschool told me he "didn't seem like a kid on the spectrum" to her and a couple of friends looked at me oddly and said "Well, it's really mild, huh?" All those times I got a vibe that they thought I was being paranoid and that DS didn't really have it.

In my post today, I am questioning the diagnosis myself, but not because I think it is overdiagnosed, just because I have seen some big changes in DS's behavior lately. 

Florak8

I have appreciated all of these viewpoints. I think my own made it hard for me to consider them before reading what you wrote. My own viewpoint has always been very pragmatic. My thought is, the kid needs help working on behavior goals. If an ASD DX is approved by a doctor who has his/her reputation on the line, why question it? What does it hurt to give kids the help they need, regardless of the name we put on it?

I also live in a DX-less world with DS, so I have experienced first-hand the, "Well, if you had this DX you would get X, Y, and Z services, which could really help your kid." But, we don't have a DX. Whenever we do get one, if we do, it most likely will not be autism (then again, who knows?), but I just hate to see anyone who needs help going without, due to nomenclature.