nevermind

[SparklyUnicorn]

sorry...just not in the mood to deal with controversy!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[Hilltopmom]

What do you mean by “treatment�

You mean therapies like speech services and social skills groups?

There’s no “treatment†for ASD and I’m guessing you may get an earful about that term, just FYI.

[SparklyUnicorn]

nm

Edited December 18, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[SparklyUnicorn]

nm...

 

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[Hilltopmom]

I didn’t think you did, no worries.

 

I believe the issue is that the word treatment implies that something is medically wrong with you whereas not everyone feels that way.

As usual, not everyone agrees with that.

As far as I know, some will use the term, others won’t.

 

But yeah, I mean, there’s no cure for ASD after a diagnosis. There are therapies to work on skills.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Hilltopmom

[Jean in Newcastle]

They learn to cope with anxiety.  They learn to follow social norms and possibly to understand them a little bit.  They learn to cope with frustration and to find ways to navigate the world.  But they will not become neuro-typical in their own responses to things or in how they see the world. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I didn’t think you did, no worries.

 

I believe the issue is that the word treatment implies that something is medically wrong with you whereas not everyone feels that way.

As usual, not everyone agrees with that.

As far as I know, some will use the term, others won’t.

 

Thanks for answering.

 

I don't agree or disagree.  I'm just curious. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

They learn to cope with anxiety.  They learn to follow social norms and possibly to understand them a little bit.  They learn to cope with frustration and to find ways to navigate the world.  But they will not become neuro-typical in their own responses to things or in how they see the world. 

 

Thanks!

 

That is what I assumed, but was not sure.

[Jean in Newcastle]

There is treatment in the sense of Cognitive behavior therapy and social thinking.  And there are certain supplements and meds that help with comorbid conditions like anxiety or ADD or ADHD. 

[Pawz4me]

Ok and if you say "what do you mean treatment", are you saying there is no treatment?  That people get a diagnosis and that's it?

 

There is no treatment as in something that's going to transform a person on the spectrum into a neuro-typical person.

 

There are various therapies (speech, occupational, social skills classes, etc.) that can help a person on the spectrum perhaps "get along" better in the world. And there are medications that can help for co-occurring conditions like anxiety.

 

But a person on the spectrum is always going to be on the spectrum.

 

I "know" you well enough that I'm assuming nothing but good intentions about your questions and terminology. I hope others will do the same.

[Hilltopmom]

It’s ok, pretty sure you weren’t trying to be controversial. It’s ok to ask questions about stuff we don’t understand.

Terminology does hang people up, was all I wanted to point out :)

[Joyofsixreboot]

My son has learned to "fake it". He says he still thinks it's stupid and pointless.( speaking to others, hand shaking, eye contact. Small talk will never happen). He is smart and considers it a stupid game to getting/keeping a job.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[SparklyUnicorn]

There is no treatment as in something that's going to transform a person on the spectrum into a neuro-typical person.

 

There are various therapies (speech, occupational, social skills classes, etc.) that can help a person on the spectrum perhaps "get along" better in the world. And there are medications that can help for co-occurring conditions like anxiety.

 

But a person on the spectrum is always going to be on the spectrum.

 

I "know" you well enough that I'm assuming nothing but good intentions about your questions and terminology. I hope others will do the same.

 

Thanks!

 

So I guess I'm wondering why an adult would pursue such a diagnosis. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

My son has learned to "fake it". He says he still thinks it's stupid and pointless.( speaking to others, hand shaking, eye contact. Small talk will never happen). He is smart and considers it a stupid game to getting/keeping a job.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

This precisely answers my question.

 

Thanks

 

(and I fully agree with him..LOL) 

[Hilltopmom]

Access to services. Social skills training needed to keep a job paid for by insurance or special programs. (My friends dh sought a diagnosis as an adult after not being able to keep a job due to social skills)

[OrganicJen]

Well in talking to my child who has ASD, I get the impression that part of it is just learning how to behave in society and really the underlying issues don't actually change, but then it also seems that part of the benefit is a better understanding of his own thought processes and why he may interpret and understand things differently from others, which overall actually does improve his social skills and general behavior beyond just learning how to act in a socially appropriate way. So for my child there has been actual improvement in his thinking skills to where his behavior improves by gaining a better understanding of what his words and actions look like to others and how to actually get his words and actions to match what he truly wants to convey. So part is just learning how to act, but part is also learning the why of it which I think goes beyond just learning to act more appropriately.

[Pawz4me]

Thanks!

 

So I guess I'm wondering why an adult would pursue such a diagnosis. 

 

Usually because it answers a lot of questions they have about themselves. And I think most find a diagnosis to be a relief. It's kind of like if you were constantly more tired/had less energy than other people and you thought you were lazy and then you found out you had some type of auto-immune illness or something that was causing it. You'd likely think something along the lines of "Oh! That explains it and I'm not lazy after all!" Plus a diagnosis opens the door to some services.

[Robin M]

That's a good question and no worries about verbiage.   My kiddo does both speech and occupational therapy.  He never says anything about it, but we do notice a difference in his behavior and how he relates to other people.   Sometimes. Totally depends on his anxiety level and the function.  Lots of times I have to take into account his temperament, just as I do since I'm an introvert.  We learn to tolerate certain situations.  Our speech therapists has gone from teaching him how to 'go through the motions' or rehearsed actions to talking about paying attention to his surroundings and go from there.  She just went to to a conference and is doing a being aware, follow the eyes type of thing, which I don't know if that's going to work.   A lot of therapy is learning those skills which for most of us would probably be common sense.   

Edited December 18, 2017 by Robin M

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ds was diagnosed at age 16 so not quite an adult but not a young child either.  He finds knowing that his differences from other people have a reason to be comforting and helpful.  He also has been able to get certain accommodations based on his diagnosis (esp. in college but also at work).  And it has helped the rest of us in the family to know that he's not just being a butt about some things but that he really doesn't see things that to us seem to be "common sense". 

[kbutton]

Are you looking for feedback from parents or from adults? Interventions have changed over time, and like anything else, people have good and bad experiences.

 

I would also note that levels of ASD vary even among people who are what has been termed "high functioning" in the past.

 

On the "tolerable" note, I would say that some (depending on their own level of self-awareness) are not fond of their own negative responses to life, stimulation, etc.--for instance, someone might want to hold a particular kind of job but be unable to handle a particular stressor than cannot be worked around in a meaningful way.

 

It really just depends. The person I know best is pretty aware of his own differences (strengths and weaknesses), and wants to maximize the strengths while learning to compensate for the differences that create a relative weakness. I am not sure all people on the spectrum would view things that same way. The person I know is very aware of his differences and struggles to do "normal" things the "normal" way. In some cases, he has no other way to do it, and his way doesn't work. In some cases, his way is fine, but he has to learn to bridge any gaps in understanding or advocate for people to accommodate his way. Whether an individual finds that problematic or not is probably very personal. It might vary with the circumstances as well.

 

One weakness that is present to some degree or other is the ability to see things from other's perspectives, but it's not equally impaired in all individuals with ASD (just like not all neurotypical people are able to take perspectives equally).

[OrganicJen]

Usually because it answers a lot of questions they have about themselves. And I think most find a diagnosis to be a relief. It's kind of like if you were constantly more tired/had less energy than other people and you thought you were lazy and then you found out you had some type of auto-immune illness or something that was causing it. You'd likely think something along the lines of "Oh! That explains it and I'm not lazy after all!" Plus a diagnosis opens the door to some services.

I agree with this, as my son felt like all sorts of things must have been wrong with him befire he understood his diagnosis. He said he was glad to know because he was basically thinking something much more horrible was wrong with him. And he truly doesn't want people to take him the wrong way and he wants people to like him, so he doesn't feel like he is just faking it when he acts a certain way, he really wants to learn how to fit in better so therapy for him has helped in many ways.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Also for my son, knowing that he is 2E (because he has more than one thing going on that makes him unique) has helped him to embrace some of his particular strengths.  Sometimes it is hard to see those strengths when all you are doing is to compare yourself against the majority who see the world in a very different way. 

 

It does depend a lot on the level of ASD but even someone like Temple Grandin, who is much more affected in some ways than my son when it comes to the social side of things, has found some unique strengths that she has exploited in a good way. 

[kbutton]

Well in talking to my child who has ASD, I get the impression that part of it is just learning how to behave in society and really the underlying issues don't actually change, but then it also seems that part of the benefit is a better understanding of his own thought processes and why he may interpret and understand things differently from others, which overall actually does improve his social skills and general behavior beyond just learning how to act in a socially appropriate way. So for my child there has been actual improvement in his thinking skills to where his behavior improves by gaining a better understanding of what his words and actions look like to others and how to actually get his words and actions to match what he truly wants to convey. So part is just learning how to act, but part is also learning the why of it which I think goes beyond just learning to act more appropriately.

 

:iagree: This.

 

It is also my understanding that how well the bolded part goes is somewhat determined by the "levels" of support needed (ASD 1, 2, etc.). However, those are not the only things that go into determining a support level. 

 

It's also a process of becoming aware--some people get farther into that process than others, including neurotypical people. So, a child might start with ABA, which is more concrete technique for learning appropriate behavior, and then progress to CBT, which means changing behavior based on understanding and on changing your thoughts. Many neurotypical people use ABA and CBT techniques on themselves without any assistance from a therapist naturally, and lots and lots of people see a counselor for CBT. But even without help, many NT people give themselves a reward for starting or stopping a behavior (ABA), or they learn new thinking patterns (my friend really needs someone to just listen when she's frustrated, so I will stop giving her suggestions and just listen--CBT). That's a really rough summary. Some people don't get past ABA, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't mean it's "less than" CBT. It's just a different way to learn appropriate behavior.

 

There are other dimensions to autism, but I thought I'd weigh in on this piece since it's a big thing with the person I know who has autism.