Re: OT: Asperger's syndrome

>From: BP Jonsson <bpj@...>
>>1994-95's fad behavioral disease was a syndrome called Attention Deficit
>>Disorder (ADD), supposedly characterized by (among other things) a
>>combination of short attention span with an ability to `hyperfocus'
>>imaginatively on interesting tasks.
Every male member of my family has ADD.  That's why I'm always drinking
caffeine beverages.  What's weird is that ADD is (supposedly) rare among
girls and women, but my former fiancee had it and had it *bad*.

It is definitely overdiagnosed in children.  And ritalin, which works very
well for those who need it, has its dark side, like Prozac...

... In 1998-1999 another syndrome
>>that is
>>said to overlap with many hacker traits entered popular awareness:
>>Asperger's syndrome (AS). This disorder is also sometimes called
>>`high-function autism', though researchers are divided on whether AS is in
>>fact a mild form of autism or a distinct syndrome with a different
>>etiology.
That's the term I was searching for -- "high function autism".  That's what
I was diagnosed with way back when.  Bear in mind that the hacker behavior
could also be a symptom of a conduct disorder like oppositional defiance,
etc.  Or even worse, antisocial personality disorder, which is also called
sociopathy.  (My ex had that too.  I know how to pick 'em.)

... AS patients exhibit mild to severe deficits in
>>interpreting
>>facial and body-language cues and in modeling or empathizing with others'
>>emotions. Though some AS patients exhibit mild retardation, others
>>compensate for their deficits with high intelligence and analytical
>>ability, and frequently seek out technical fields where problem-solving
>>abilities are at a premium and people skills are relatively unimportant.
>>Both syndromes are thought to relate to abnormalities in neurotransmitter
>>chemistry, especially the brain's processing of serotonin.
Mental retardation is, I feel, a simplistic, antiquated, and pejorative
diagnosis, since it's diagnosed solely on the basis of an IQ score.  The
threshold for "mild" MR is 70, and the most severe form, profound mental
retardation, is an IQ below 25, which is very sad considering that an
average dog has an IQ of 15-20 or so.)

>>Many hackers have noticed that mainstream culture has shown a tendency to
>>pathologize and medicalize normal variations in personality, especially
>>those variations that make life more complicated for authority figures and
>>conformists. Thus, hackers aware of the issue tend to be among those
>>questioning whether ADD and AS actually exist; and if so whether they are
>>really `diseases' rather than extremes of a normal genetic variation like
>>having freckles or being able to taste DPT.
That could also be related to the old argument of nature vs. nurture.  I --
and bear in mind I am no psychiatrist or social worker -- feel that
seriously chaotic childhoods can cause schizophrenia or at least some sort
of psychotic disorder.  Severe depression or mania can take on
characteristics of schizophrenia.  I have schizoaffective disorder, which
"sits on the fence" between schiz. and bipolar disorder.  It sounds like a
"none of the above" kind of diagnosis if you ask me.

Personality disorders are a weird case.  I'm not sure I even believe they
exist.  These lean more towards behavioral disorders rather than mental
disorders.  Alcoholism is another case.  I recently found out that Americans
consider it a disease, but Europeans consider it a behavioral problem.  I
consider it both, and it too runs deep in my family.  (Also many
schizophrenics, depressives or manic-depressives "self-medicate" with
alcohol and/or drugs, which in and of itself is, I believe, a symptom and
not the illness).

By the way, can anyone recommend a good mental health e-mail list?

>In either case, they
>>have a
>>sneaking tendency to wonder if these syndromes are over-diagnosed and
>>over-treated. After all, people in authority will always be inconvenienced
>>by schoolchildren or workers or citizens who are prickly, intelligent
>>individualists - thus, any social system that depends on authority
>>relationships will tend to helpfully ostracize and therapize and drug such
>>`abnormal' people until they are properly docile and stupid and
>>`well-socialized'.
It's weird.  There is a serious stigma attached to some mental disorders
even today -- but others are more desirable, in vogue today!  A lot of
celebrities are open about depression and bipolar, as well as anxiety-type
disorders, but few will admit to being schizophrenics.  Schizophrenia in
America is still popularly considered a problem only violent criminals have;
it carries the worst stigma of all.  (In some countries, the seriously
mentally ill are sterilized in the name of "eugenics".)

And you also have the practice in some regimes of committing political,
social and religious dissidents to psychiatric wards for "re-education"...


Daniel A. Wier  ¶¦¬þ
Lufkin, Texas USA
http://communities.msn.com/DannysDoubleWideontheWeb
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