That doesn’t surprise me at all. In point of fact, I think the majority of psych types know very little that’s meaningful about a lot of the things they’re supposed to ‘treat’. And seeing everything in terms of symptoms and pathology, how can they? I don’t think I ever had a shrink interested in what I could do.

Athena Ivan: I follow. (A bit too well for comfort.)

My viewpoint about how to handle sensory overloads (because I have personal experience with what works for me) was dismissed on a parent group because it went against their common sense thinking of forcing the child to stay in the overloading situation. Apparently you “cure” sensory overloads by increasing the exposure. When I suggested pretty much the opposite – looking for clues that your child is starting to get overloaded and leave the area and find a quiet place to regroup – it was dismissed as teaching the child to be avoidant (lol). It was funny though when a well respected therapist on the group told them that what I was suggesting was right on.

I’m officially diagnosed and atypical (the best description to quickly sum up is “between Asperger’s and demand avoidance syndrome”) but I know what you mean. I got told that what I said on an Angelman Syndrome list was “irrelevant” because I don’t have an Angelman child and autism isn’t Angelman Syndrome. Meanwhile I was a) stating clearly that I’m autistic and therefore my experience is not the same as an Angelman Syndrome person’s, and b) describing mostly those things that had a higher chance of being similar, such as sensory issues (present in Angelman Syndrome as well). What’s strange is that when I actually posted most of those posts I was thanked for my input. It was only after I expressed an unpopular opinion (not wanting to cure Angelman Syndrome) that they started claiming my posts were irrelevant.

“I personally find the idea that speaking privately and speaking publicly can entitle one to two differing viewpoints is verging on the dishonest. You may well say that you never meant for the original email to be made public. I can believe that as it is ill-judged, erroneous, assumptive and incendiary to say the least. However, I’m a strong believer is personal responsibility. If you said something, I can only assume you meant it as you wrote it. Why would you do otherwise?”

ai

This is very, very true. After a recent experience with psychiatry I am more convinced than ever that the psych industry doesn’t really know much in the way of accurate information about the autism spectrum at all. Which is sad, bizarre (considering that medicine is supposed to be based on science!), and dangerous.

Lacking a doctor’s diagnosis does not mean I twitch any less than diagnosed Touretters. And getting a diagnosis would be possibly dangerous, I am deathly allergic to what is used to ‘treat’ tics, plus it gives me more tics and compulsions not less. But I would expect another Touretter would not need a diagnosis to understand that I tic. Of course, Touretters have far more voice in the Tourette community than auties have in the autistic community… urgh.