Do you thinkg autism is being over diagnosed?

Question

I understand that autism is real and happening, but do you think that we sometimes " over diagnose " it. The reason I am asking is because I am a teacher assistant and right now work in the building with children from 2mo-3yrs. Children all grow and develop at different ages, some faster or slower than others. I hear so many parents freak out over their kids tho, I mean, its good to freak out, it shows that you care and are concerned for your child, but some people are like, my son isnt speaking well, he must be autistic! Some of my collegues are the same way! It upsets me. Autism does NOT equal stupidity I know that , but what if maybe your child is gifted and cant express it at this age?Why dont we try to look at another reason instead of automatically assuming its autism? More and more children are "becoming" autistic, so much so that it is by definition an epidemic, but how do we really know that that is whats really up?

Im just questioning, NOT judging! Opinions Please

Answer 1

You're in America, so don't feel bad for questioning.  I see what you're saying, but I do feel so many children have gone undiagnosed and now the attention to that is bringing more to the surface.

Answer 2

I was identifying that there was something "different" going on with my sons development when he was 9 months old. Nobody took me seriously. I could see professionals glazing over and giving me a "neurotic mother syndrome" look.

He was finally given a formal  diagnosis of classic autism and moderate learning difficulties at age 3 years.

Always listen to the parents observations and anxieties, they do know the child best. As a school worker you only see the child in one setting so can have only limited knowledge of how the child is functioning overall.

As to "over diagnosis", people voicing concerns that their child may be on the spectrum is hardly a diagnosis!

Diagnostic criteria certainly cover a much wider range than they used to, but that is because we have a better understanding of the wide ranging spectrum and now are more able to recognise a-typical presentation which would formerly have been missed or misdiagnosed.

Answer 3

This obviously won't be a popular answer, but as a parent of a learning disabled child, as well as an observer of the world, I say yes, that certainly appears to be the case.

This distresses me not only for the children who are misdiagnosed, but for the children who truly do suffer from spectrum disorders -- everyone clamoring for services they may or may not need hurts those who really need them most of all.

Answer 4

You're the one who is judging. NEVER question a parent. they do twice as much as you, on half as much sleep.

Autism is now known as a spectrum disorder. That means that there are varying levels, degrees, severities, causes and outcomes. So, some people who never got a diagnosis are now falling along the spectrum.

I just saw your response. I believe you will refuse to teach a child if you disagree with the parents.

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Answer 5

With all the media about Autism recently parents are worried..soem even know that getting an autism diagnosis will help them get services--

I don't so much think it is overdiagnosed-it is not adequatley understood-

The PDD-NOS category needs to be studied-I believe there are 'cousins' to autism that fall into the PDD category and need to be specified and get a category of their own-It's not so much that a label matters-but a label is a starting point to help the parent understand and help teh child

Answer 6

my austic son is 44

when he was young there was no such word....just"blame the mom"

he has had a nightmare of a life

i do not think this is over diagnosed.....just a word and awareness of this condition

Answer 7

It's so important to question and not just stand by and take everyone else's word for it. You are probably a better teacher because of this. You're right . We do live in a society now that wants to label anything and everything out of the norm. For example, doesn't 1 out of every 3 kids have ADD now. That's incredible and most likely untrue. We have become a society that no longer embraces differences in people. We want everyone to act the same, grow the same, think the same, etc. But we ARE different and should embrace that fact. However, I do feel that autism has become a serious issue for us and we shouldn't look the other way or take it lightly. We need to educate ourselves. Check out this site for more info:

http://www.symptoms-treatments.com/sympt...

Answer 8

I think many disorders such as ADD and ADHD are over diagnosed. I don't really feel that way about autism though. I really feel like it seems that it is suddenly on the rise but the Truth is we just know more about it now that less people are going undiagnosed with it. I also think that because of the varying degrees (the spectrum), more people are being diagnosed with a mild form where as in the past only those with severe autism were diagnosed while others were told they didn't have it because they didn't have it to the degree that many did.

I hope that makes sense. I do understand how you feel though, it not only seems like more and more childhood disorders are being diagnosed but more and more parents use them as an excuse (not so much with autism but with ADHD I find this).

My youngest son has a learning disability and I was worried when he got evaluated that they were going to misdiagnose him but they were really good about not giving him a label that didn't fit. He has no label aside from non specific learning disability and he has an IEP and gets help at school.

Answer 9

Probably not, because there are different levels of autism.

Answer 10

Teacher's assistants are not teachers.

Answer 11

One reason for this is because there aer so many symptoms that are considered being autistic, it's called 'autistic spectrum'.

Yes I do think it's over diagnosed, all children are just different and are not all the same. THey will develop at their own pace.

However, if a child keeps having problems it should be looked into, it shouldn't be overlooked because a parents opinion of 'over diagnosis'

I do agree with you, though.

I believe it is the c**p that is put into FOOD that is causing all this.