Current statistics suggest that autism affects 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys. Those are amazing findings really, spurring a lot of people to wonder about the huge "spike" in autism over the last 3 decades. Honestly, I don't believe there has been as much as a "spike" as the statistics would have us believe. It is my belief that the spike has actually been in the proper diagnosis of autism, and not a huge rise in actual cases.
Only 30 years ago, we knew much less about autism than we do now. I think that literally hundreds of thousands of people with the disorder were lumped into the "Mentally Retarded" or "Mentally Ill" categories just a few decades ago. In fact I know a 25-year-old man - the son of some very close friends - who couldn't be more of an "Aspie" if he had "Aspergers" tattooed on his forehead and bore the name Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory), yet he was diagnosed as ADHD with a possible personality disorder throughout his school years. He struggled, but never received special help since he was clearly very intelligent. His poor parents heard no end to the whole "He just needs to apply himself better" song and dance from doctors and school officials.
The statistics also suggest that far more boys are in the autism spectrum than girls. Although this may be true to some degree, I also believe that currently girls are less likely to receive a correct diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. In fact, we waited years to get a correct diagnosis for Iraq.
Why are girls less likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder than boys?
This goes back to that age-old problem of medical science placing the vast majority of resources into studying males and simply assuming that females would obediently follow along in their presentation of medical disorders. This is why there is a push right now in the medical community to publicize emerging facts that heart attack symptoms are *different* in women than they are in men. The symptoms are different? It's freakin' 2011 and we're just telling people this now? Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women, but it took us this long to figure out that the symptoms in men and women aren't the same at all?
Welllllllllll... The same thing is true for diagnosing many issues, including autism spectrum disorders. While some doctors are privy to this enlightenment, there are still many who are muddling about in the dark ages of demographic diagnostics. Here is a *very* simplified and brief list of differences:
Because females are wired to be far more emotionally and socially aware than males in general, the differences in the way autism spectrum disorders manifest in females can be rather remarkable.
From the time Iraq was a small baby, we told her pediatrician that we though something was amiss. The doctor who happens to be one of the best pediatricians in the North Dallas area would reassure us time and again that Iraq was well within "normal" parameters and was likely just 'sensitive."
When Iraq was 3, we took her to a specialist who slapped a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder on her and showed us the door. When Iraq was 4 we moved from Texas to Virginia and took her to another specialist who felt she was ADHD. He insisted he did not see any of the "typical" signs of an autism spectrum disorder because Iraq made eye contact. (Don't you feel better knowing that an ASD in girls can be properly diagnosed based upon ONE symptom mostly present in BOYS?) Yeah... didn't think so!
When Iraq was 5 we took her to a different specialist in a different town. A female specialist. A female specialist who did her homework on the difference between boys and girls. To start, she gave us a diagnosis of PDD or Pervasive Developmental Disorder which is a rather non-committal term for a person showing some symptoms of being in the spectrum. At least we were finally on to something!
It took 5 more doctors of different specialties (the same awesome female specialist mentioned above sent us all around town) and another year before we landed on an diagnosis of Aspergers! Whew! What a ride!
Of course now Iraq is 7-years-old and we can really see the ASD behaviors now we know more about the diagnosis and what to look for.
The moral of this story is that if you are not satisfied with one doctor's opinion, get 10 more! Don't assume a doctor knows everything - especially as new information comes out every day. Don't assume that if you read a list of symptoms that any females were used in the study that determined what those symptoms were.
After all - it has taken us this long to make it publicly known that the symptoms of the leading killer of women - heart disease - are different in women than they are in men. Autism is not a leading killer, so it is safe to assume we still have a long way to go before autism spectrum disorders are properly diagnosed in girls as quickly as they are in boys.
Only 30 years ago, we knew much less about autism than we do now. I think that literally hundreds of thousands of people with the disorder were lumped into the "Mentally Retarded" or "Mentally Ill" categories just a few decades ago. In fact I know a 25-year-old man - the son of some very close friends - who couldn't be more of an "Aspie" if he had "Aspergers" tattooed on his forehead and bore the name Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory), yet he was diagnosed as ADHD with a possible personality disorder throughout his school years. He struggled, but never received special help since he was clearly very intelligent. His poor parents heard no end to the whole "He just needs to apply himself better" song and dance from doctors and school officials.
The statistics also suggest that far more boys are in the autism spectrum than girls. Although this may be true to some degree, I also believe that currently girls are less likely to receive a correct diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. In fact, we waited years to get a correct diagnosis for Iraq.
Why are girls less likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder than boys?
This goes back to that age-old problem of medical science placing the vast majority of resources into studying males and simply assuming that females would obediently follow along in their presentation of medical disorders. This is why there is a push right now in the medical community to publicize emerging facts that heart attack symptoms are *different* in women than they are in men. The symptoms are different? It's freakin' 2011 and we're just telling people this now? Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women, but it took us this long to figure out that the symptoms in men and women aren't the same at all?
Welllllllllll... The same thing is true for diagnosing many issues, including autism spectrum disorders. While some doctors are privy to this enlightenment, there are still many who are muddling about in the dark ages of demographic diagnostics. Here is a *very* simplified and brief list of differences:
Because females are wired to be far more emotionally and socially aware than males in general, the differences in the way autism spectrum disorders manifest in females can be rather remarkable.
From the time Iraq was a small baby, we told her pediatrician that we though something was amiss. The doctor who happens to be one of the best pediatricians in the North Dallas area would reassure us time and again that Iraq was well within "normal" parameters and was likely just 'sensitive."
When Iraq was 3, we took her to a specialist who slapped a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder on her and showed us the door. When Iraq was 4 we moved from Texas to Virginia and took her to another specialist who felt she was ADHD. He insisted he did not see any of the "typical" signs of an autism spectrum disorder because Iraq made eye contact. (Don't you feel better knowing that an ASD in girls can be properly diagnosed based upon ONE symptom mostly present in BOYS?) Yeah... didn't think so!
When Iraq was 5 we took her to a different specialist in a different town. A female specialist. A female specialist who did her homework on the difference between boys and girls. To start, she gave us a diagnosis of PDD or Pervasive Developmental Disorder which is a rather non-committal term for a person showing some symptoms of being in the spectrum. At least we were finally on to something!
It took 5 more doctors of different specialties (the same awesome female specialist mentioned above sent us all around town) and another year before we landed on an diagnosis of Aspergers! Whew! What a ride!
Of course now Iraq is 7-years-old and we can really see the ASD behaviors now we know more about the diagnosis and what to look for.
atypical use of toys - lining up instead of make-believe play
The moral of this story is that if you are not satisfied with one doctor's opinion, get 10 more! Don't assume a doctor knows everything - especially as new information comes out every day. Don't assume that if you read a list of symptoms that any females were used in the study that determined what those symptoms were.
Social issues
After all - it has taken us this long to make it publicly known that the symptoms of the leading killer of women - heart disease - are different in women than they are in men. Autism is not a leading killer, so it is safe to assume we still have a long way to go before autism spectrum disorders are properly diagnosed in girls as quickly as they are in boys.
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