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The Changing Definiton of Autism
1 in 128 children are diagnosed with autism (Indiana Resource Center for Autism of Indiana)
Changes are being made to the primary book for diagnosis to make autism more broadly defined
Classic autism and Asperger's syndrome, and everything in between, will be labeled as “autistic spectrum disorders”
Cases of mild autism will be more widely diagnosed because of the updated definition
The Perception of Mild Autism
Asperger's syndrome (AS) became widely known after a “Wired” magazine article about it was published in 2001
The light shone on AS led to a great deal of self-diagnoses
Diagnoses will rise as more people become aware of the symptoms
The Perception of Mild Autism
There are many mildly autistic people on the Internet who give the rest a bad name
Foremost among these is Chris-Chan (at right)
“Fans” of Chris-Chan have created an online database containing his every action
Chris is perhaps the face of autism for the Millennial generation
The Perception of Mild Autism I used SurveyMonkey to ask ten
people who they believe is the face of mild autism
The majority picked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Evidence for his autism is shaky at best
Similarly, Albert Einstein and Bill Gates are too socially able to be considered autistic icons
Early diagnosis is best, but...
Early intervention can be the best chance a child with autism has to lead a normal life
For older people with autism who also suffer from depression, diagnosis is not always preferable
For children, however, early diagnosis can lead to the learning of vital social skills
The cost of lifelong care can be reduced by 2/3 with early diagnosis and intervention
Early diagnosis is best, but...
Famous author and animal scientist, Temple Grandin (at right), believes that efforts should be made to cultivate the child's strength
The strength is usually also the area of interest
This can lead to the person with autism finding a job he loves and that doesn't cause him/her undue stress
Depression and Diagnosis
If an older person with depressive tendencies is diagnosed, they can become focused on that fact
In this manner, their mental health can be adversely affected by diagnosis
Depression and Diagnosis
Excessive navel-gazing can cause anhedonia (lack of pleasure) to set in
Symptoms of autism make it easy for a sufferer to demonize himself or herself
One's autism should be accepted in order to function properly
Depression and Diagnosis One of the things a sufferer can
ruminate over is his or her lack of theory of mind
Theory of mind allows humans to put themselves in another's shoes
Without this ability, a person with autism can treat others like androids and alienate them in the process
This is because the person with autism sees himself or herself as like an android
The feeling is projected onto others
Depression and Diagnosis
People with autism also lack executive functioning, or “will”
Knowing this can lead to elevated depression because of a feeling of hopelessness
Without a chance for self-improvement, life can seem overly difficult and pointless
Depression can make an autistic person regress even further