Autism on the Horizon

Mike DiamondComp 106Prof. Yerks

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

Autism on the Horizon

Although diagnosis is best for most sufferers, it can be damaging to people with other conditions

For older people seeking a diagnosis, they should consider whether or not they want to know the truth