Revised January 26, 2011
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Must meet criteria A, B, C, and D:
A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across contexts, not accounted for by general developmental delays, and manifest by all 3 of the following:
1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity; ranging from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back and forth conversation through reduced sharing of interests, emotions, and affect and response to total lack of initiation of social interaction,
2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction; ranging from poorly integrated- verbal and nonverbal communication, through abnormalities in eye contact and body-language, or deficits in understanding and use of nonverbal communication, to total lack of facial expression or gestures.
3. Deficits in developing and maintaining relationships, appropriate to developmental level (beyond those with caregivers); ranging from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit different social contexts through difficulties in sharing imaginative play and in making friends to an apparent absence of interest in people
B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities as manifested by at least two of the following:
1. Stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements, or use of objects; (such as simple motor stereotypies, echolalia, repetitive use of objects, or idiosyncratic phrases).
2. Excessive adherence to routines, ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior, or excessive resistance to change; (such as motoric rituals, insistence on same route or food, repetitive questioning or extreme distress at small changes).
3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus; (such as strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).
4. Hyper-or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment; (such as apparent indifference to pain/heat/cold, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, fascination with lights or spinning objects).
C. Symptoms must be present in early childhood (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities)
D. Symptoms together limit and impair everyday functioning.Above is the latest in the 2013 addition of the DSM 5 . Aspergers is now but a foot note in history as we are all to join in the family of autism spectrum disorder .
If you care to see what ancient criteria I met to receive my Aspergers diploma, you need to look no further then the following link ......
http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=94#
Ah, those were the days . Back in yore when things were numbered succinctly and had at least as much form as pudding . Now I am afraid we have reached the state of completely fluid DX which allows those who Dx a more comfortable area in which to move with less "friction" . In case all the above rambling is lost on those of "us/AS" who were once defined as unable to grasp abstract reasoning....(thanks but no thanks Temple), what I mean is the following .......
To "classify" something, you must define the perimeters of the traits that makes that "thing" different from that other "thing" . (and an important side note....before you can decide that something is a "dis/bad" order you must agree that there is a good order . What world do they see in which order rules....surely it is not the one that shows me constant abuse of resources, animals, people.... maliciousness towards friends and strangers . Odd obsessions with wealth, power and the esteem of others . Do you believe that the current majority of "sane people" are an "order" that is worth of emulating (not to be confused with immolating) ?
Do I become fixated on something to an "usual degree"....how many degrees is unusual...30, 60 180?
At least with the past (admittedly atrocious DX criteria), I could recognize myself in some of the criteria but this latest attempt has further boiled the DX down to two simple traits....that are so vague as to have little meaning to anyone not skilled in double speak . Reduction is great in a sauce but clarification is not just useful for butter ....(sorry, to much Gordon Ramsey this month ).
I began this blog to give my view of the current classification of Aspergers but it no longer exists...yea, I'm "cured" , problem solved . I can't discuss the DSM 5 version of autism spectrum because it has no shape and although some might tilt at windmills, I prefer to stick my dagger in something with a pulse .
So, I think I will try and different approach and just generally rant about whatever topic about AS catches my
attention....(my attention is not easily caught as it tends to sprint in odd directions) .
The latest thing that has been driving me to fits of rage and general growling is SB Cohen and his latest book on empathy . I think him writing a book on empathy, having shown so little to autistics, is like asking a blind man to review a painting . They could certainly describe the smell, texture of the paint and size of the fame but I think they just might miss a few important things like....shading, light, content, symbolic meaning, etc .
But instead I will share this interview and the comments that follow, some much more interesting and enlightening then the interview itself . So, I think I will refrain from trying to pick apart SB Cohens treaty on Evil since I doubt I will have the patience to read his book unless I find it in my local thrift store .( I try and not give money to people I think are working against my best interest...it's one reason I quit smoking . )
What I will do is give you another interesting link ......
http://www.science20.com/countering_tackling_woo/interview_simon_baroncohen_zeroempathy_autism_and_accountability-79669
I'm no scientist but "they" say I'm autistic and what I want to share is that I recall feeling guilt so strong when I was about 5 years old because I let another child get in trouble when I could have saved him the pain by lying to an adult . I remember clear details of the experience and the feelings of pain and regret when the words left my mouth that I could not take them back .
I recall as a small child, around 8 and interested in insects, finding a bug that I though had it's tail stuck in a piece of wood, I tried to help it get unstuck and "broke it" . I was devastated . I felt like something inside me was ripping . When I later learned that the insect was never stuck but trying to lay eggs, before I so stupidly killed it, I swore to myself that I would try and refrain from interfering with nature unless I knew what I was doing . ( That was before I learned the Dr.s oath..."do no harm" which I am not sure many take seriously any more ).
According to SB Cohen those examples would indicate that I am either not autistic or that I had a very sophisticated code of moral systematizing at a pretty young age . What he doesn't seem to explain is the intense emotional response I had about the boy and bugs suffering .
I do have a hard time with ToM when it comes to human cruelty . I can guess at psychological reasoning of some pleasure principles that might result in some individuals experiencing pleasure in causing pain to others but I simply don't know what that feels like and so can not adequately give them an "appropriate" emotional response followed by appropriate action . I can feel disgust, rage fear, depression and anxiety that such people share my world and share it in more abundance then the meager 1-6% of autistics . You've probably met a few in your life . Most aren't serial killers they simply are indifferent to other peoples feelings . My life is littered with them so perhaps my next post I can help clarify what NT empathy looks like to me . (You could also go to Wrong Planet .net and google bullying) .
Pardon for the rambling rantings but I have had a headache creeping towards migraine for the past 10 hours . What I really want to say is that I do believe that there is an absence of empathy in the world but I do not believe that my inability to read peoples faces, eyes or minds makes me unable to feel pain when they suffer . Indifference to suffering is not something that I see in other people in the autism community . I Do not believe that our fury at injustices and cruelty is some rigid following of rote memorization of "rules/morals" but that we feel suffering so strongly that we can often strike out blindly in attempt to end that suffering . That someone would try and dehumanize us with such insinuation is appalling to me . It is hard for me to "empathize" with someone who could be so thoughtless and cruel to a group of already oppressed and abused individuals . It is sad to me that this kind of dehumanizing propaganda, similar to that which has been used against different races, genders and religions for so long, still passes as science .
