Comments on: More Thoughts on Labels and How to Use Them

By: Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:25:03 +0000

Jace, I understand your concern, but the DSM-V criteria designate autism as a spectrum condition.They make explicit that there is a spectrum, whereas the DSM-IV criteria make an arbitrary distinction between AS and autism, as though the former isn’t a subset of the latter. Like you, I’m concerned about what will happen to people with AS diagnoses (will we need to get re-diagnosed or will our old diagnosis just translate into a new one?), but I’m glad to have our way of being called autism, since that’s what it is.

By: jace

jace — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:48:26 +0000

the problem is, everyone diagnosed with AS will be screwed when all the terminology changes and the already abusive and greedy “healthcare” corporations will screw everyone around, forcing rediagnoses and proffering up inappropriate meds. disaster in the short term is coming with DSM-V. the long term will create a lot more sociopaths out of the autistics who somehow survive. there will be more suicides and commitments and more negative press about how screwed up autistics are because no one understands the concept of shades of grey or a spectrum, because that’s what autism is: a spectrum of severity and comorbidities. all syndromes are.

By: Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:46:22 +0000

Hey bluedancer, I know what you mean about liking the term “autistic.” I’ve always been drawn to it, even though I had such a narrow view of it at one time in my life that I wouldn’t have thought it fit me. Glad those days are past.

Anyway, if you feel like you belong here, then you do!

By: bluedancer

bluedancer — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:02:51 +0000

i’m so glad to see you again… funny, since i don’t know you.

i’m not even sure i’m on the spectrum. NLD for certain—it makes way too much sense of my life for me to be able to deny that “label.” but i’m still not sure about AS. (now that i have access to health care, i may go for diagnosis, so that i know one way or another.)

even so—i like the term “autistic.” i’m not sure why, but it feels right to me in terms of describing what my inner world feels like—the social confusion, the love of repetition, the sensory richness of it all, the frequent overwhelm. i don’t like that there’s so much stigma to the word. i think it’s brave to de-stigmatize it as much as possible. cheers to you.

By: John Dale Lyons

John Dale Lyons — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:23:54 +0000

I am an Aspie, which means I’m autistic. My autobiography should be “A Portrait of the Autist as a Young Man.” (Apologies to James Joyce).

By: misfit

misfit — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Yay!!! You’re back!!!!
I was really upset when I tried to get to your blog t’other day and found a weird generic looking page with all kinds of links, none of which were to you. I was worried about you and hoped everything was o.k., but I kept checking back every once in a while. I’m very happy you’re back up and running