Thomas Sowell on False Diagnosis and “Genuine” Autism
Autism is being overdiagnosed, says conservative thinker Thomas Sowell in Crusades Versus Caution, Part II, in which he suggests that the recent call for universal autism screening of children aged 18 to 24 months will lead to unnecessary alarm among the parents of young children. Sowell, a fellow of the Hoover Institute, writes that parents are being advised to get an autism diagnosis only for a child who is a “late talker” or displays some of the diagnostic criteria for autism, and only in order to access services. “Many parents have told me that they have been urged to let their children be labeled autistic, or on the autistic spectrum, in order to get money for speech therapy or other conditions from grants that are available to deal with autism,” Sowell notes. Sowell cites Professor Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt University who (says Sowell) has seen many children with “inaccurate diagnoses”:
There is already considerable evidence of false diagnoses of preschool children as autistic, and the treatments inflicted on them can be abusive, with incalculable negative effects on their development.
What about the positive effects of “early intervention”?
According to Professor Camarata, those children “with true autism” are “very difficult to treat and may never say ‘mommy’ or learn to take care of themselves without Herculean efforts by their parents and teachers.”
The limitations of what can be achieved with even early intervention mean that there can be real heartbreak, whether a toddler or preschooler is either falsely or correctly diagnosed as being autistic.
Sowell points to the changing, and broadening, of the diagnostic criteria for autism and the tendency to describe a child as “on the (autism) spectrum,” rather than saying that they “have autism.”
While there are some conditions which are much like autism, there are other conditions, such as having a very high IQ or simply being late in talking, which often include characteristics listed on checklists for autism. These are open invitations to false diagnoses.
We would see the dangers immediately if people who wear glasses were included on “the blindness spectrum” or people with harmless moles were included on “the cancer spectrum.”
Blindness, cancer and autism are all too serious — indeed, catastrophic — to use loose definitions that fudge the difference between accurate and inaccurate diagnoses.
Loose definitions of autism produce bigger and more newsworthy statistics, which in turn can attract more children into existing programs and attract more money from the government, foundations and other sources to support those programs.
I see where Sowell, whose books include Late-Talking Children and The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late, is coming from. Having a speech delay is not a necessary harbinger of autism—indeed, while Charlie’s not talking when he was a toddler was a first sign of autism, it was his lack of joint attention, his sensory responses, and his restricted play that were most indicative of “something wrong.” But Sowell’s comparison of the “autism spectrum” to hypothetical spectra of blindness and of cancer is not an accurate analogy. A child who is “very bright” and who “talks late” can still not only need special services, but may lack social skills and not have friends or be able to attend classes without an aide; he or she can excel academically, but have great difficulty being in a classroom with the children his or her age. While not every student requires services ranging from speech therapy and OT and PT and a 1:1 student:teacher ratio, just saying their needs are “not a big deal” is something I would think school administators would like to hear. But what happens when a student cannot learn because he struggles so much in a classroom? Because she is bullied? Because people say that “understanding the material” is the criteria for “doesn’t need any extra help”? My years of teaching have shown me that students can understand the subject matter, but so many other realities—-trouble being organized and knowig how to study a lot of material, to note a few things—can impede their learning and, ultimately, their success in school and beyond.
When my son was not talking back in the winter of 1998, friends of the family insisted that we read Sowell’s Late-Talking Children. I am sure that different families have different experiences, but this book was not Charlie and a conversation with the friends—-whose grandson had talked late—confirmed that his was a very different situation. A friend has a son who she describes as having “Einstein Syndrome”; far from leaving him to his own devices, my friend schedules her work around his school schedule (he is in high school), meets with every teacher regularly, and, last summer, had to devise sometimes elaborate activities to keep him busy (her son needs the structure and does not get any school services in the summer).
Sowell’s cautionary words about the potential for over-diagnosis of autism are well-taken, but, in his criticizing of universal screening for autism and his questioning of early intervention, it might be said that he is on a sort of crusade of his own. I can say that I can somewhat join him in critiquing early intervention, though for different reasons: To me, the term “early intervention” suggests that if a parent does not do everything he or she can to get a child to start talking and catch up to his peers developmentally by a certain age, this will be (in Sowell’s words) “catastrophic.” I would rather say, education for my son Charlie and kids like him is a lifelong process that requires a lot of specilized teaching and services and that takes as long as it takes and that we need to think beyond early intervention. Each to his own sweet time.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Baby, Diagnosis, Education, Family, Health, Parenting, Politics, Psychiatry, Psychology, Stereotypes
53 opinions for Thomas Sowell on False Diagnosis and “Genuine” Autism
KimJ
Nov 14, 2007 at 5:56 pm
One of the first books we were given when my son was first assessed for autism, was The Einstein Syndrome by Sowell. I was surprised to read that many people thought the book was dangerous, that it would prevent people from getting “help” for their kids. I didn’t take that from the book at all. I saw it as one aspect of late-talking.
As far as perspectives go, the more the merrier I say. Sowell illustrated a very particular picture of one type of late talker. When you first have children, people discuss the milestones as though “everyone” meets them. Kids don’t all fit into the cookie-cutter we all try to push them in.
I do agree with Sowell’s point about early diagnosis. We had Pop’s hearing checked at 18 months. Then at 30 months (2 1/2 years) he was referred to the neurologist. Although he was considered autistic, he wasn’t officially diagnosed until he was 5. They recommended waiting until then to see what happened.
He still got some services, just not the 40 hours/week kind. Which I don’t think are necessary or helpful anyways.
ASDmomNC
Nov 14, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Wow, and I usually like what Sowell has to say. This really rubs me the wrong way; the most glaring offense being lumping autism in with cancer, something I fight tooth and nail in daily life. Yes, there may be some incorrect diagnoses. However, early intervention, when needed and when not in the form of quack “alternative” treatments, is almost always a good thing, so why all the fuss?
Cliff
Nov 14, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I usually find that these type of analyzes are products of a very restrained understanding of autism. Autistic individuals aren’t restrained by simply being unable to talk, for it falls into all kinds of fallacies to assume so. Just because we once considered some AS individuals “simply bright” or “eccentric” doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a closer and understanding look. Sowell, to me, shows a remarkable lack of understanding of autism.
I will say, on a side note, that I do think that early intervention is important, but so long as it doesn’t get seen as an ultimatum or the ticking down of a bomb. That’s not right, either, and it dehumanizes the person. The communication that is gained is great (sometimes), but it’s not the contingent and necessary part of a good life.
Cliff
Eleanor
Nov 14, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I’m not even slightly convinced by Sowell’s suggestion that parents are out there trying to get autism diagnoses for their kids. First of all, most parents I know had a very hard time accepting a diagnosis. Second, getting an autism label is hardly some sort of golden ticket to getting services. Rather, in many cases, it is a ticket to insurance-coverage exclusion.
That aside, I just fundamentally disagree with Sowell’s basis thesis. My son certainly fits the mold of late-talking and high IQ, but the idea that he doesn’t need special services would be considered laughable by any educator that met him. (He has a 1 on 1 aide, and still needs most of his instructions in writing, because auditory processing lags far behind his reading abilities.)
I’m frankly pretty irritated at the idea that my son shouldn’t be getting services because only children “lower on the spectrum” are deserving of special education. All students with special needs should be entitled to services.
Regan
Nov 14, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I’m not sure what to think about Dr. Sowell’s treatise.
With admitted oversimplification,
If the kid is misdiagnosed then EI don’t make no never mind because it’s not really needed.
If the kid really has autism, then EI don’t make no never mind because of the gloomy prognosis.
?
I take a slightly different definition on EI, which is intervention that commences before the age of 3, as opposed to ECSE.
Mercy me–we certainly were not rushing to the Pediatrician to beg for a diagnosis. She was the one who took the “little Einstein” stance. I was pretty sure that there was more involved. As it was, it took almost a year from noticing that there might be something different to getting educational services.
VAB
Nov 14, 2007 at 7:52 pm
I think that Sowell is generally opposed to state sponsored support and this is just and extension of that.
KimJ
Nov 14, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Actually, there are parents that are seeking early diagnosis because they hear the hype about the “deadline”. Which is what Kristina was talking about. I talk to parents that seek autism and Asperger’s diagnoses as early as 2, which for the latter is really early. These children are then subjected to a lot of scrutiny and intense intervention to make them normal or granted high levels of special ed by school age.
If the doctors misdiagnosed in the past, it makes sense that they’ll misdiagnose in the present an future. Yesterday it was schizophrenia, ADHD/ADD, and NVLD. Today it’s Asperger’s, autism and OCD. I’m sure there are overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis now.
5 years ago, when my son was first assessed by educators in Indiana for EI, they checked that he was more severe than he was. They checked traits he didn’t have or they exaggerated them. “So he could get more services”.
The thing was, in Indiana, it was a one size fits all service they were providing anyways. When we moved to California, he had to be completely re-evaluated because he had been placed in the wrong class due to the Indiana paperwork.
Patrick
Nov 14, 2007 at 8:04 pm
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell
His “bio” is listed here. I don’t see anything in it that would qualify his statements as anything other than an opinion, regardless of his previous publication record.
I see no Social Work or Medical background, his training appears to be that of an economist.
I can’t say that his words are without merit, but like the Geiers, he is apparently speaks out of his field of expertise on many subjects, kind of like Mr’s Kirby and Olmstead.
Sarah
Nov 14, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I think Sowell’s understanding of autism is limited and inaccurate, but so too is the understanding of those who insist on “early intervention” and the need to push autistic kids into therapy to make them more normal.
Leila
Nov 14, 2007 at 8:10 pm
VAB hit the nail in the head. It’s just more conservative politics. Bleargh.
And who is this Professor Camarata with his own version of true autism? Newsflash: “true autistics” can develop speech, that doesn’ mean it will be the most functional; “true autistics” can get potty trained, and that doesn’t mean they won’t have trouble with many other hygiene and self-care issues; “true autistics” can go from low functioning to high functioning throughout their childhood, but that doesn’t make them “not autistic” as adults, since they’ll still have many autistic characteristics for the rest of their lives - including, sometimes, the “Einstein-like” traits.
He’s just trying to promote the “fear” (another typical conservative strategy) of an explosion of misdiagnoses, where there is not a real risk of that happening. Diagnosing autism is fairly easy for trained professionals, and in any rate the children are constantly re-evaluated throughout their school years, with lots of chances to lose the diagnosis when that’s the case.
Mr. Sowell’s argument is also feeding the ignorant line of thinking of people that say “your child is not ADHD/autistic, he’s just a brat/you’re just a bad parent”, etc.
Cliff
Nov 14, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I understand that conservative politics will feed the desire to underdiagnose, but his argument should be, if he really wants to be honest, “autism isn’t necessarily, in all cases, severe enough to mandate services”, rather than making highly ignorant statements to back up a political view. I’m going to assume he actually has a more solid belief (incorrect or otherwise) in his statements than just simply being at the command of his politics for sake of charity.
Cliff
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 14, 2007 at 9:42 pm
From reading Late-Talking Children and Sowells account of his son I got the sense that (maybe I’m reading in too much) some of his argument was somewhat personalized.
Daisy
Nov 14, 2007 at 10:38 pm
From a mom of one who is visually impaired and has Asperger’s, even blindness has a spectrum. My 15-yr-old has some vision, enjoys watching the big screen TV, and likes fireworks, but reads braille and walks with a white cane. I am hearing impaired, but not deaf. To imply that high-functioning autistics do not have “true” autism… is worrisome.
Misha
Nov 15, 2007 at 12:56 am
I really don’t like that part about what equates to “true autism”. By this professors standards he’d most likely say that J doesn’t fit with the disability because my family and I and all of his teachers and therapists have not made the “Herculean efforts” he mentions. We’ve helped him along the way but so much that J has gained has been through his own development. To say he should be difficult to treat or may never say ‘mommy’ or learn to take care of himself really is a statement that reeks of ignorance.
athina
Nov 15, 2007 at 3:31 am
Speech delay isn’t the sole criterion for autism diagnosis, as it is suggested in the article. What about autistic children who actually talk on time? Were they diagnosed as autistic because their parents suddenly decided that their talking child should be labeled autistic in order to access other services? That’s all nonsense.
As for early intervention, my son started getting an intervention only six months ago, at the age of 3 and a half, although we knew he is in the spectrum for a year before that. I guess he is doomed to fail!!!
Harold L Doherty
Nov 15, 2007 at 4:49 am
Early intervention is now on the “autism must not say list”? Along with low functioning, severely autistic, profoundly autistic, cure, treatment etc?
Regan
Nov 15, 2007 at 5:49 am
Just to return to the definitions of “Early Intervention”, I ran across this very recent policy statement from AAP—
“…Early intervention services are designed to meet the needs of children from birth to 36 months of age who have delays in 1 or more areas of physical, cognitive, communication, social, emotional, or adaptive development. Services are also available to children who have a diagnosed condition that has a high probability of resulting in delayed development. States must offer early intervention services to children with delayed development or those with an established disability. States also have the option of serving those who are at risk for poor developmental outcomes. The type and extent of services are determined through the development of an individualized family service plan (IFSP). In designing the IFSP, the family plays a lead role in the assessment of resources, priorities, and concerns in conjunction with a care coordinator.1,2 ”
AAP Policy Statement,
Council on Children with Disabilities. (2007) Role of the Medical Home in Family-Centered Early Intervention Services. Pediatrics, Vol 120, No. 5, November 2007, pp. 1153-1158 (doi:10.1542/peds.2007-2638)
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;120/5/1153
This is what I was alluding to at least in regards to the IDEA definition of what Early Intervention might mean–i.e., 0-3 services under the IFSP. Now the particulars of that in regards to delivered services and what it means by personal definition may vary depending on who is doing the defining and individual circumstance.
I’ve had a little after dinner time to muse on Dr. Sowell, and I think that his premises are set up to lead to his personal conclusions, and as someone pointed out, it’s not really his academic area.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 15, 2007 at 10:49 am
Speech delay was just one reason why we had concerns about Charlie—-I’ve noted many more on this post at Fertility Notes, on early, early diagnosis and prenatal testing.
Ohio Mom
Nov 15, 2007 at 11:42 am
Thomas Sowell is a radical right-winger. He does not believe government should provide any sort of social service. At all. And I can’t say for sure, but he probably doesn’t believe the government should provide public education, either.
If you read his columns on a regular basis, he’s always going on about how taxes are a form of theft. Even before I had a kid who needed lots of supports, I thought of taxes as the dues we pay to live in a civilized society. No, I don’t like paying them, but I don’t like going to the dentist, either. Adulthood is full of things I know I have to do because they are the right things to do.
For a quick example about how wrong Sowell is, think about what your life would be like without Social Security and Medicare. Your parents might be living with you, you might have to pay for their medical care; that’s what people did before these programs were established. It was hard for most people to give their kids a good start in life because an awful lot of their resources went to supporting the older generation.
Sowell’s attitude is “I’ve got mine, it’s no matter to me what you have.” But I know my family and my country are better off when we all take care of each other. In my mind, advocating for making the United States a more selfish nation is NOT patriotic.
HCN
Nov 15, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Some decade old comments that still seem relevent:
http://www.apraxia-kids.org/site/c.chKMI0PIIsE/b.980831/apps/s/content.asp?ct=464705
Sowell first wrote in his newspaper column about late-talking children about the time my son starting special ed. preschool (he is in community college now). I was given clippings, and the ever-so-popular comparisons with Einstein. Ugh.
Then I read a very good biography of Einstein made after the release of the Princeton papers, it was the _Private Lives of Albert Einstein_ by Highfield and Carter. There it had a family story that showed Einstein speaking a whole sentence when he was two years old (it is included in other biographies, including an earlier one that also said that Einstein being a poor student was mostly myth). My son only had a dozen mono-syllabic utteraces, no sentences (except in sign language). No way would anyone compare my language DISORDERED son with Einstein (and if you read _Private Lives_ book, there are other reasons I would not want my kid compared to him… Einstein was a jerk to his first wife, and his oldest son — the younger son was institutionalized where it seemed the treatment probably made him worse).
Also, the reason I capitalized “disordered” is because one of my son’s speech therapist explained the biggest difference between Sowell’s experience and ours. My son had a seizure disorder and had a definite neurological speech disorder (oral motor dyspraxia). It takes a trained evaluator to diagnose the difference between a speech disorder and a language delay.
My younger son had a language delay (noticed by one of his older brother’s SLPs). He did get early intervention and his language was at “low-normal” before kindergarten. Thomas Sowell’s son also received this kind of early intervention.
In the mid-1990s Camarata and Sowell had a website about the “Einstein” syndrome. I did what it said and emailed a question about the difference between speech disorder and language delay, and I never received a reply.
mom
Nov 15, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I have quoted the lines I take exception with, commentst to follow:
“But what happens when a student cannot learn because he struggles so much in a classroom? Because she is bullied? Because people say that “understanding the material” is the criteria for “doesn’t need any extra help”? My years of teaching have shown me that students can understand the subject matter, but so many other realities—-trouble being organized and knowig how to study a lot of material, to note a few things—can impede their learning and, ultimately, their success in school and beyond.”
What happens? We accept the difficulties, help them where and how we can, expect them to deal with being a different person than everyone else the best they can and move on, without giving everyone who doesn’t fit society’s predefined “normal” personality a “disease,” “disorder,” or “syndrome” so that we can sanitize them out of our culture. I remember when daydreamers were afforded a certain amount of respect even as they were being punished, (yes PUNISHED) by having to sit next to the teacher all day. Today on the playground, out of THREE classrooms full of first graders, my supposedly autistic child was the only one playing make-believe. Tell me, who’s got the problem? The difficulties you describe above are NOT a disorder. It’s called having a distinct PERSONALITY. Aspbergers is a FRAUD! Social engineering at it’s worst.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 15, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Do you mean that your child does not have a formal diagnosis? (You don’t need to answer to this question if you would rather not.) All that you describe in the first part of your comment about accepting difficulties and helping students as we can are good teaching; thank you. Asperger’s is no “fraud,” though. Daydreamers are happily welcomed in my classroom.
Patrick
Nov 15, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Well Mom, until you have dealt with adults with asperger’s you are living in your own FANTASY. (to copy your mode of emphasis.)
Perhaps the children you are noting have been misdiagnosed, having parents that went diagnosis shopping for the disorder du’jour.
But your candor is not that of knowledge.
My parents would not accept that their child was ‘hyperactive’ when that of one of the diagnoses du’jour, later in life I was misdiagnosed with a personality disorder with hypomanic, schizoid, and paranoid features. Today my current active diagnoses are major depressive disorder and Asperger’s.
Beleive me, the social deficits fit.
Your extremism is blinding you.
mom
Nov 15, 2007 at 5:33 pm
>Today my current active diagnoses are major depressive disorder and Asperger’s.
And when the next fad disorder comes along you’ll claim you were misdiagnosed again. Your need for a label to set yourself apart from the crowd is blinding you.
Regan
Nov 15, 2007 at 6:32 pm
I guess we can argue about whether Asperger’s is “real” or not, but there is criteria in the DSM-IV
http://web.syr.edu/~rjkopp/data/as_diag_list.html
FWIW–I have worked in an intervention program with a couple of children clinically diagnosed with Asperger’s and while the difficulties are different from those of my daughters (ASD and ADHD), they were pretty significant and I would say, real. I can’t speak to people who self-diagnose.
Cliff
Nov 15, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Need for a label? Somehow, I doubt it.
Labels are useful things that, like any word, set up a (hopefully) understanding description. Though I understand the idealism in expecting that people will simply accept who you are, experience tells me otherwise, very significantly. In fact, usually that “personality” you describe will be seen as “deficit”, “stupidity”, or something along those lines. In that regard, the label is putting the person back into society as a legitimate person.
Cliff
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 15, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I thank Patrick for noting his diagnoses here; who knows the diseases des jours futures will be.
Sarah
Nov 15, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Difference shouldn’t be a disease. But who says that using the “Asperger’s” or “autism” label signifies defect? It shouldn’t.
Cliff
Nov 15, 2007 at 9:00 pm
You’re right, and that’s the thing. Taken as simply symptoms, they come off to the person as an overall deficit. Taken in a social framework, that effect isn’t so. But people aren’t necessarily inclined to understand the circumstance without some general framework.
Of course, there is some of that vibe of negativity associated with the labels, those of diseases. But there shouldn’t be. And that’s something that needs to be worked on.
Cliff
Wade Rankin
Nov 15, 2007 at 9:34 pm
We have a somewhat unique perspective in this discussion. Prior to his diagnosis of autism — indeed, prior to his regression into diagnosable autism — the Little Rankster was a late talker. He used speech and language to a limited extent, and that was our only real concern. Still, it was a concern we took seriously. Having learned of Dr. Camarata’s work in the field of late talking, my wife contacted him, and we were invited to Vanderbilt for an evaluation. Dr. Camarata spent several hours with us and our son, and felt that the Little Rankster fit the profile of the typical late talker. We were told that with continued speech therapy, he would eventually do just fine.
We were starting to hear more and more about the rise in autism spectrum disorders, and we specifically asked Dr. Camarata about that possibility. He performed some standard screening instruments. Based on those screenings along with his overall observations and findings, Dr. Camarta declared that he was confident autism was not the problem. (I should add that he was not alone; we also had a similar opinion by a prominent pediatric neurologist.)
It was not until a couple of months later, very shortly after receiving seven vaccines in a single visit to the pediatrician, that our son regressed sharply into autism. (I’m really not trying to segue into THAT debate; I know that most who hang out here disagree with me on the possible causal connection.) He lost what speech he had developed. He lost all eye contact. His sensory integration . . . well, it became more like sensory disintegration. Perserveration and OCD seemingly began to define his relationship with the world around him.
Again, the change we saw was not gradual; it all occurred very quickly! Did Dr. Camarata miss autism because of entrenched attitudes, or was there nothing to spot? Dr. Camarata struck me as a decent and very intelligent man. But he certainly has very definite ideas about what is and is not autism. Had he mentioned ASD as a possibility, perhaps we would have taken a harder look into the subject. Maybe we would have reconsidered the timing and number of vaccines being put into our son’s body. Maybe we would have taken a hard look at the environment around our home. Maybe changing those things would have made no difference, or maybe it would have made all the difference in the world. We’ll never really know for sure. All we can say with certainty is that the sense of security we got from that visit forestalled our looking into issues that possibly warranted examination. Perhaps we could have used a little scare.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 15, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Wade, thanks for this narrative—when you say your son was thought to be a “late talker,” how old was he, if I may ask? Charlie was not so much a late talker as just not talking at all. Thanks especially for the details about your visit to Dr. Camarata.
John Barr
Nov 15, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Sowell’s phrase “genuine autism” may not be the best but there’s no doubt in my mind that an expanding definition of autism has contributed to the “autism epidemic” hysteria that drives initiatives like universal early screening.
If there wasn’t an “autism epidemic” would anyone be proposing universal screening at 18 months?
Those interested in the connection between service availability and the autism diagnosis might be interested in this:
http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/2007/07/malibu-and-compton-compare-and-contrast.html
MFA
Nov 16, 2007 at 3:34 am
[…] This is a question that I keep hearing again and again. To be “lfa” seems to be what Thomas Sowell calls “genuine” autism while being more on the “hfa” end of things is to […]
RAJ
Nov 16, 2007 at 10:30 am
John Barr wrote:
‘Sowell’s phrase “genuine autism” may not be the best but there’s no doubt in my mind that an expanding definition of autism has contributed to the “autism epidemic” hysteria that drives initiatives like universal early screening”.
Well put. The entire epidemic can be traced with the vastly expanded definition of autism introduced with the publication of DSM-III-R (1987) and beyond.
The criteria is now so vague, ambigous and subjective that an epidemic, that started with the introduction of DSM-III-R (1987) was inevitable.
I continue to be surprised by how many parents now self diagnosis themselves as being ‘on the spectrum’ by taking Baron-Cohen’s personality test. If Baron-Cohens test had any validity then we should talking about autism as a personality disorder rather than a developmental disorder.
The same self-diagnosed Aspies who are thrilled to place Einstein, Bill Gates and others ‘on the spectrum’ may not be so thrilled to realize that Hitler, Stalin, and virtually all serial killers and mass murderers also meet criteria for being ‘on the spectrum’ at least with respect to the new concept of autism.
Many parents describe their children who carry an ASD label as friendly and affectionate, an impossibility under the diagnostic criteria for ‘autism prior to the early 1980’s.
KimJ
Nov 16, 2007 at 11:25 am
Dr. Temple Grandin said that one day autism may indeed be seen as personality variance rather than a disability.
I haven’t heard the claim that “virtually all serial killers and mass murderers also meet criteria for being ‘on the spectrum’. That’s a new one, where is that being discussed shown?
“Many parents describe their children who carry an ASD label as friendly and affectionate, an impossibility under the diagnostic criteria for ‘autism prior to the early 1980’s.”
Well, Asperger’s wasn’t yet under the “ASD” label so you’re not counting them, therapies geared at teaching or enriching socialization was vastly different and reached fewer people (as they didn’t met criteria for EI and autism services) and perhaps, “unaffectionate” was just an incorrect criterion for meeting autistic standards?
My own son had to be trained to give, accept and request affection. At 7, he’s still being trained on “friendliness”. I think “friendly” is a subjective term.
Ohio Mom
Nov 16, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Some commentors seem to be bothered by the idea that we should have universal screening for autism. We already universally screen for lots and lots of things — newborns are routinely screened for PKU (which surely must be much rarer than autism), women are routinely screened for breast cancer (which I would guess is much more common than autism). That’s what doctors do! An autism screening is pretty simple and shouldn’t add more than a few minutes to a well-baby exam. So I don’t see what there is to protest.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Nov 16, 2007 at 2:09 pm
A concern about universal screening at a younger age is that parents may become overly panicked and, perhaps, rush into various “interventions” and try to “fix” their child. I do think that educational interventions such as speech therapy, OT, and ABA (if done with the intent of teaching, not of “recovering” a child form autism), are certainly helpful and my own benefited much from them. From reading some of the books and other materials from some biomedical/alternative treatment providers, there is a tendency to call on parents to “hurry hurry hurry” and do as much as they can in a brief “window” of time—whereas my own son, who was diagnosed while quite young, has done well and better as he has gotten older.
RAJ
Nov 16, 2007 at 4:51 pm
KimJ;
You won’t find any references to any well known historical figure on any Aspie site who isn’t a well admired person eg Bill Gates or Albert Einstein. Every mass murderer and serial killer had severe problems with social interactions and obsessiveness, but you don’t want to hear that.
There is a book by Professor Michael Fitzgerald that discusses Autism and Creativity. Below is a review of Fitzgerald’s argument about Hitler being ‘on the spectrum’.
All of that is psycobabble, including people who self-diagnose themselves as being an Aspie. You can’t cherry pick only admirable people as being ‘autistic’. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder of unknown cause(s), it isn’t an interesting and delightful collection of admirable quirky behaviors.
Here’s the review:
“Adolph Hitler - Prof. Michael Fitzgerald in his book, “Autism and Creativity: Is There a Link Between Autism in Men and Exceptional Ability”, stated that Hitler was autistic. I also saw a documentary about Hitler, I agree with Prof. Fitzgerald.
Hitler exhibited the following autistic features. Need for routine, narrow obsession, interacted with children and dogs better then adult humans, emotional immaturity, inability to establish social relations, one sided conversations and suppressed sexuality. Also most telling, a failed artist his paintings rarely depict people, they are austere painting of near empty streets and buildings, this is an insight to his autistic mind. It is likely that his high intelligence offset and masked much of his autism, he was thus an excellent orator.
peony
Nov 16, 2007 at 5:46 pm
“Dr. Temple Grandin said that one day autism may indeed be seen as personality variance rather than a disability.”
I like Dr Grandin. However, I don’t think this view can be applied to all autistics. Autism spectrum covers a wide range behaviors and abilities. There are some autistics who can function well in life whose autism may indeed be considered as personality difference in the future. However, we have to recognize that there are autistics who have not only difficulties in social interaction but also difficulties in speech, motor coordination and low cognitive skills. This group of autistics most likely need support for the rest of their lives. For this group of people, autism is not just a personality difference. It is also a disability.
KimJ
Nov 16, 2007 at 6:20 pm
RAJ,
You might want to refrain from making assumptions about what I want to hear and what I don’t want to hear and of whom I consider to be worthy of admiration. And I fail to see how Adolf Hitler covers, “Every mass murderer and serial killer had severe problems with social interactions and obsessiveness”.
Cliff
Nov 16, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Actually, if you’re going to make statements about “every mass murderer”, you won’t get far. In fact, many serial killers get away with their actions for long periods of time for rather developed social ability.
And I’m not sure that Grandin is wrong. Disability is a relative term, and so that line gets very blurry, especially having been there. Learning differently, and thus not responding to regular treatment (and thus being socially unresponsive), is not in and of itself a disability. And I would cast a very doubtful eye on statements about cognitive skills, because you simply can’t know that. If the person doesn’t communicate as well, they can’t communicate intelligently as well, and thus they can’t be seen to be intelligent. That issue is almost as much the issue of surrounding expectations (i.e educational norms) as the kid him/herself. Motor coordination issues is actually something you’ll see with intelligent and cerebral people (it’s an issue of asserting thought patterns over motor functions), and I wouldn’t be inclined to call that disability either (because it is a, though significant, lack of a rather specific skill).
What could make that mark are things like the gastrointestinal issues that appear and the like. The coincidence isn’t something I really know enough to explain, but in and of itself it is a medical issue.
On the other hand, this discussion may change as we learn more, and what we consider “autism” branches out into different things. But things like motor deficits and speech difficulties aren’t disability in and of themselves.
Cliff
Wade Rankin
Nov 16, 2007 at 7:48 pm
” . . . there is a tendency to call on parents to “hurry hurry hurry” and do as much as they can in a brief “window” of time . . . ”
Although we disagree on the need and efficacy of some interventions, I think you raise a valid point. There is an element of timing to interventions, and generally the sooner you start, the easier it becomes. But I have to agree that there is too much emphasis on jumping into things without taking the time to fully assess the situation. That rush probably accounts for more biomedical failures than does waiting to get it right. (And the same could probably be said of behavioral interventions as well.)
Michelle
Dec 8, 2007 at 9:29 am
I belong to Stephen Camaratas Yahoo group. I joined it thinking my daughter might fit the “Einstein Syndrome” profile. I was in deep denial at the time. What I found in this group were a bunch of parents, most with kids with autism and all in denial about it. They are like a cult and Stephen Camarata is their leader. They believe everything he says. They post his quotes and it relieves them because “Johnny is 12 and can’t jump, but Stephen says he’ll jump when he’s ready, so I feel much better.” They don’t bother to look things up, they just go with what ever the Camaratas say. It’s very weird and really a scary group.
Stephen Camarata seems to give the same diagnosis over and over. The majority of kids get “expressive/receptive delay. ” He’s hurting more kids than he is helping. I just hope these parents realize that this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about as far as autism goes and actually get some help for their poor kids.
Owl
Jan 23, 2008 at 1:40 am
I don’t appreciate anybody who attempts to assert that any particular disorder or what not doesn’t have its own developmental pattern of growth and improvement along certain lines. Stereotyping from such limited viewpoints can be very damaging. Sowell should stick to economics.
I also dislike the rush to find role models with autism or Aspergers. It leads to casual diagnostic ideas pervading pop culture, which in turn makes people disbelieve the diagnosis exists. Kind of like people saying every 5 year old boy who jumps and runs has ADD. Anybody knows 5 year old boys often jump and run. That’s a different person than the ADD diagnosis of 15 and stares at his homework till he cries but can’t keep his mind in one place…
Dave (School Psychologist)
May 24, 2008 at 10:52 am
I am a school psychologist and am also licensed as a Sr. Psychological Examiner and work in a larger southern city’s school system in the U.S. I’ve been searching for and finally found some information regarding Einstein Syndrome here and on a few other sites. The reason I’m so interested in this is because I have been told recently to “back off” from doing an evaluation on a student at one of my schools because he has been to Dr. Camaratas at Vanderbilt and ASD has been ruled out, but instead, this child has Einstein Syndrome. All teachers and even the Language therapist in the school were surprised that he is not diagnosed with ASD. More services would be available to him through the school system if he were properly evaluated and properly diagnosed. He has ALL of the classic symptoms of Aspergers and doesn’t quite fit the criteria for Einstein’s. For instance, I don’t know where Camaratas (he has a degree in Speech and Language) gets off giving anyone an IQ test…as far as I can tell, he is over-stepping his boundaries and the ethical guidelines of his own licensing board- only those qualified and licensed in the profession of psychology are allowed (have the proper training and expertise) to give such a test in mine and his state. I also was appalled that Camaratas used GRADE norms to say this particular child had an intellect in the superior range. In order to make such a claim, AGE norms must be used. If re-calibrating the test results properly, this child’s intelligence is in the high average range. I just wanted to interject my frustration with anyone who has been duped into being “wrongly diagnosed” with Einstein’s (which isn’t even an accepted disorder) and told to wait it out- that things will improve on their own. This is detrimental to a degree as much or more as being wrongly diagnosed with ASD. At least with a diagnosis of ASD, services such as social skills training (through ABA or through means) and even occupational therapy could be provided- services which would most likely help ANY child (whether diagnosed properly or not). Services provided through Language Specialists, though can be far reaching do not completely reach many of the areas which are seen to be in need of remediation, training or instruction.
Dave (School Psychologist)
May 24, 2008 at 11:05 am
I believe the Yahoo group that is mentioned above is called NaturalLateTalkers I have just signed up for it… completely being honest that I am a school psychologist. Let’s see if they reject me as a member or not. It seems that this is really a group for parents because they have you fill out a questionnaire as you are accepted to find out what type of problems there are with your child. Anyway, we’ll see. I am curious if I can get some good dialog there about my concerns and have some basic questions answered.
danni rosen
May 25, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I agree with the previous poster on the cult-like nature of the NaturalLateTalkers site. I actually have a lot of sympathy for the idea of overdiagnosis finding it hard to reconcile that my language-delayed but bright PDD-NOS diagnosed son can tell me that he loves me (and has a lot of social intent). I joined the group. Man, these people are wierd, as rigid in their thinking as any old-old-school Lovaas person. They are clear there is nothing up for debate except how wonderful the Camaratas are. Anything against their faith is followed up by a denial of posting or a tract from the blessed Stephen or the blessed Mary. I’m sure the Camaratas are very decent people but their cause is not being helped by these kooks.
As to ASD, I think the definitions are way too broad to render such a diagnosis meaningful in my view. And its certainly pretty subjective the screening methods that I have seen. Also, its very much an American thing the early diagnosis; in the UK a child cannot be labelled until they are at least 5; there is such a huge variance in early child development. Thats not to say children suspected of issues shouldn’t be helped. That is completely wrong IMHO.
liat
Jun 15, 2008 at 12:25 am
this is insane. autism cannot be this common. my sister works in a ld class and she says she really believes many kids are misdiagnosed, that when a kid has autism, you know. sowell is merely pointing out that kids who follow a different learning curve may be mislabelled autistic. and frankly i know plenty of intelligent and nonintelligent people with poor social skills, youre hardly going to know how your kid will turn out at age 2! you just want them to be normal for that age.
“He’s Just a Late Talker—He’ll Grow Out of It”
Jul 18, 2008 at 5:16 pm
[…] July 18th editorial by conservative thinker Thomas Sowell about the false diagnosis of autism—–it’s entitled “Rush to diagnose autism causes more harm than […]
Susan
Jul 22, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Autism is real and should be diagnosed , when a child qualifies for this diagnosis according to the DSM IV criteria.A parent should educate themselves what that criteria is - it can be a real eye opener to what some claim to be an autism diagnosis.
Diagnostics are not supposed to follow school funding - they are supposed to follow correct examinations.
It is important that parents have their child examined by professionals who are properly trained in CARS and ADOS testing.
Below are a few screen pointers to appropriate testing although this does not necessarily cover all of it.
Autism examinations should not be under an hour to a conclude a child is autistic.
A full medical examination should be done on a child as well as a behavioral examination . A person should be specially trained to understand that late talking exists by itself, and what this is, as well as autism.
Any bizarre eye movements , should also be examined physically ( eye doctor) and not just be considered behaviorally.
Again, Late talking is not by itself PDD , or PDD NOS , or Autism.
There are numerous criteria to cover autism, and school systems more and more are using only one or two criteria to claim a very serious diagnosis, instead of considering all possibilities of what could be going on with a child. Outside professionals should be called in for fuller examinations.
Too many times children are not receiving enough speech therapy and only focusing on behavioral issues or OT , when a child simply needs language enrichment.
Dave (School Psychologist)
Jul 25, 2008 at 11:13 am
I agree 100% with the last poster (Susan). We certainly use the ADOS and CARS and GARS as well as observations, interventions prior to evaluation, a doctor’s rule-out and any other, as much as possible, “objective” data before consideration for diagnosis and eligibility- which is not driven by funding. Certainly, language delays in and of themselves is a concern and needs attention but not in and of itself a reason to consider ASD. Anyway, I’m glad this topic is being debated.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 25, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Savage—Camarata—Sowelll, all linked (”head-spinning” connections, indeed).
Of “Handouts” and the “Most Vulnerable”
Aug 22, 2008 at 12:41 pm
[…] specify what form “government money” for autistic children might take; he references Thomas Sowell’s argument that the increase in autism is too many children who are really […]
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: