In Your Own Words, What Is Autism?

That’s a question that most people probably can’t answer. And those who can will produce a myriad of different responses.

Why?

Because the term autism has morphed time and again throughout the years. It has been applied to the truly autistic but also the developmentally delayed and even those children who are just a little left of center. To confuse matters more, there are several “types” or “levels” of autism that doctors use to classify the level of the disease in their patients, the most common being Asperger’s disorder. Today, 1 in 88 children in the US are diagnosed as autistic, leading many to believe that autism is heavily over-diagnosed. As a result, a portion of the medical community is suggesting it’s time to redefine autism.

The proposed redefinition would eliminate classifications such as Asperger’s with all cases falling under the new “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Children who are diagnosed will exhibit three types of communication problems and two limited, sometimes non-typical, interests or repetitive behaviors.

Both proponents and opponents of this redefinition have exceptionally strong opinions, as one would probably imagine. Opponents include some parents that are worried their children will lose treatment and other benefits and the “mildly” autistic who suffer from Asperger’s or PDD-NOS (Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) that do not want to be categorized by umbrella terminology. Proponents include many members of the medical community, including a panel of the American Psychiatric Association.

As a nanny or a parent, has a child you love been diagnosed with Autism? If so, does this emotional connection produce a strong opinion regarding the validity or benefits of the proposed redefinition? What are your thoughts? Will this be beneficial or detrimental to Autistic children?

No matter the outcome, in our opinion there is one glaring benefit of this proposed redefinition—a very important increase in Autism Awareness.