Nothing to fear about autism
“Mental illness is something to be treated, not feared, say experts” is the title of an article in today’s North County Times (California): Yes it can be treated and it is not to be feared.
Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, anorexia and bulimia, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s and phobias, are listed as “mental illness”: No, autism is not a mental illness. Autistic children can most certainly be taught.
And autism is not to be feared.
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POSTED IN: Health, Psychiatry, Psychology, Stereotypes
5 opinions for Nothing to fear about autism
Nicole
Apr 1, 2007 at 12:57 am
According to the DSM IV-TR, the definition of mental illness (mental disorder) is a “clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering, pain, death, disability, or important loss of freedom.”
Therefore, the definition of “mental illness/ disorder” has nothing to do with etiology. The usual argument is that autism is not a mental disorder because it’s biologically-based. However, many of the traditional “mental disorders” are as biologically-based as autism (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar, OCD). The DSM also says “a compelling literature documents that there is much “physical” in “mental” disorders and much “mental” in “physical” disorders.”
Might you be adding to the stigma of the “mental illnesses” by insisting that autism is a biological disorder not a mental illness (which inaccurately implies that mental illnesses are not biologically based). Also, if autism is not a mental illness/ disorder, then should the National Institute of Mental Health study autism or should Psychiatric/ Psychological clinics and Community Mental Health provide services to individuals with autism (assuming they do not have a comorbid psychiatric/ mental health diagnosis)?
I’m not trying to be argumentative and I don’t think it would be better to call autism a mental illness or that we should provide fewer services. I know you didn’t specifically do it here, but it just bothers me when people say autism is not a mental illness because it’s biological, as this implies (like I noted above) that mental illness are not biological when they often are. This unfortunate distinction puzzles me even more as many “mental illnesses” are treated medically/ biologically (i.e., medications) whereas autism intervention is primarily educational/ behavioral not biological.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 1, 2007 at 1:05 am
Nicole, thanks for pointing all this out. I was responding to the more popular use of the term “mental” and the associations of such words as “crazy” etc. with “mental health.” Perhaps what the article and your comment points to is a need to reconsider all mental health illnesses as having a biological and even a genetic basis (such as has been found in regard to anorexia).
Rochelle
Apr 1, 2007 at 11:12 am
I think Nicole’s distinction also applies to the fact that “mental illnesses” require the adjective “mental” to distinguish them from “physical disorders”–even though both are part of the physical and biological being. When someone has a tumor, we don’t typically note: “Sally has a physical illness.” But, when someone experiences clinical depression or bipolar disorder, we note: “Sally has a mental illness.”
I’m reading Stephen P. Hinshaw’s The Mark of Shame: Stigma of Mental Illness and an Agenda for Change, and he refers to autism as one of many “mental disorders” (xiii)–a distinction that I think speaks to Nicole’s observation.
Perhaps a distinction between “mental disorder” and “mental difference”, as well?
Rochelle
Apr 1, 2007 at 11:16 am
Kristina, your final sentence reminded me of the paper I did on the film, Relative Fear, in which the autistic child was thought to be a sociopathic murderer. The tag line for the film: “Trusting your children can be deadly.” To which the filmmakers really mean: “Trusting your autistic children can be deadly.”
pcwork
Apr 21, 2007 at 12:53 pm
When there is a disparity between the
actual experience and a person’s
expectations, a person experiences
stress. If the person does not have very
high expectations, he or she may not
experience stress. I found informations
at http://mshn.org/
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