Diagnosis of autism I discussed the history of autism diagnosis a previous post. As the science matured, the psychogenic origin (blame for autism on the ‘refrigerator mother’) was replaced by consideration of the premise that autism could arise from biological origins. Both versions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) use behavior as […]
Empathy is the ability to vicariously feel what another person is experiencing, while sympathy is the ability to understand what another person is going through. The medical profession has many people who care deeply about their patients. I think this is a fair assumption, even though there may be some who are in the field […]
My brother, Michael is autistic, very low functioning and has never spoken. He is about 3 years older than me. I am 4 years older than my younger brother. Our family lived together until Mike was 13 years old. From the time Mike was born, he never progressed. He couldn’t take care of himself and […]
Why such an odd title for a post in a blog about issues relating to autism, neuroscience and mental health issues? Lately I’ve been thinking about how things are classified. In particular, how the medical establishment classifies mental illnesses, and how diagnoses are meted out. Many of you chafe at the idea of being defined […]
I just started reading ‘The Book of Woe’ by Gary Greenberg, about the generation of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5, the document that physicians will use to diagnose the mental illnesses of their patients and to receive reimbursement from insurance companies. The first several chapters outline the […]
Entire books have been written about psychiatric diagnosis. Diagnosis comes from a Latin application of the Greek: ‘gnosis’, to know and from the Greek: ‘dia’, through or thorough.[1] To diagnose something is to have thorough knowledge of it. Dx of physical ailments The means of understanding of a physical ailment is quite different from the […]
Diagnosis What does this word mean anyway? It is very important to know this for many reasons. It is particularly relevant to me for two major reasons: autism and Lyme disease. Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of anything.[1] If someone knows the nature of something, then one knows how to respond […]
First reaction When I first heard of this malady a couple of days ago, I must admit, it appealed to my macabre sense of humor, especially when Wikipedia[1] described Americans afflicted with strokes speaking with English accents after recovery, a Norwegian shrapnel victim in 1941 suddenly speaking with a German accent, and so on. It […]
Some of you may be aware of the controversy surrounding Lyme Disease. This is an important topic, in that it exposes the forces that control medical decision making and the consequences of commoditization of health care. Below is a very interesting speech by Dr. Kenneth Liegner of Armonk, NY, a leading Lyme Disease specialist. Full […]
Setting At home, circa 1960; My brother Mike was still at home. My parents found some doc; her name was Dr. May as I recall. She had some ideas about autism and needed data (read: blood) from family members of autistic children, to test a theory or to form a hypothesis or something. What did I […]
