Sunday, 05 February 2012

• Superbowl Sunday! Poems, DSM-5 and Autism Speaks!

  
  

  Time for one of my favorite days of the year...Superbowl Sunday! Obviously I am rooting for the Giants!  On Friday I went to the Autism Speaks Awards Reception in Princeton, it was such a fun night! They honored the top teams, individual fundraisers and shared some new studies with us. I am honored and thrilled to be the 2012 Publicity Chair for Autism Speaks (Central NJ) and hope this year's walk is the biggest yet! I will be blogging a lot about Autism Speaks, since I have been volunteering with them for a few years now, and I think they are wonderful. I wanted to talk about a few things that some of you have asked me to blog about! Feel free to send me ideas    

  First off, I highly recommend that you check out this blog! Anthony is on the spectrum, and writes this wonderful and VERY thorough blog about sports. He also writes a personal blog, but this is GREAT for Superbowl Sunday! http://theautisticsportsnerdsblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-weekend.html 

  Second, I mentioned before that I received a book in the mail called "Inside Out: Stories and Poems From an Autistic Mind" which was published in October, 2011. This book of poems and stories is written by Russell Lehmann, who is a 21 year old adult with high-functioning Autism. You can pick up a copy at www.autisticpoet.com which is Russell's personal website. Through poems and stories, Russell gives us insight into how his mind works. Some of these poems are quite dark, but it really shows what hard times he has gone through while growing up. He explains through these poems how depression, anxiety, OCD, an eating disorder and Autism have molded him into the person he is now. One of the things that I find most fascinating is the mind of someone with Autism. This book is one of those opportunities to take a deeper look, and Russell does this perfectly by laying it all on the line and being 100% open. I really recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what life is really like for someone growing up with Autism- from ridicule to heart break, this book has it all. Follow him on Twitter too! @AutisticPoet

  Third, let's dive into the new DSM-5...MANY of you have been sending e-mails and asking my thoughts via Twitter. From what I have heard, the biggest concern is from parents who fear the loss of state services and the loss of their child's diagnosis. The Huffington Post recently addressed concerns and they say: "When the APA publishes the DSM-5, people who have already met the criteria for autism in the current DSM-IV will not suddenly lose their current diagnosis as some parents have feared, nor will they lose state services. But several studies recently published in child psychiatry journals suggest that it will be more difficult for new generations of high-functioning autistic people to receive a diagnosis because the DSM-5 criteria are too strict. But in its efforts to make diagnosis more accurate, the APA may have raised the bar for autism a little too high, neglecting autistic people whose symptoms are not as severe as others." So..what will the qualifications be now you may ask? The Huffington Post goes on to say, "Essentially, to qualify for a diagnosis of autistic disorder in DSM-IV, a patient must show at least six of 12 symptoms, which are divided into three groups: deficits in social interaction; deficits in communication; and repetitive and restricted behaviors and interests. In contrast, the DSM-5 divides seven symptoms of ASD into two main groups: deficits in social communication and social interaction; and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests."

  The DSM-5 will be published May, 2013 so expect to be hearing a lot about this until then. Autism Speaks recently released a statement regarding this issue, and they have already voiced their concerns about the changes with the DSM-5 committee. On their website, they say:

  "Autism Speaks is committing substantial effort and resources to fund definitive research to ensure that the final definition of ASD meets the following criteria:

  1. Assures that all those who struggle with autism symptoms receive the treatment, services and benefits they need, without discrimination;

  2. Affirms that ASD can be a lifelong diagnosis, while allowing for treatment and services to change with an individual’s evolving needs;

  3. Supports the importance of early ASD diagnosis and treatment as essential for helping individuals achieve their best possible outcomes and avoids creating barriers."

   

  These next few months should be very interesting, as I am sure this will be debated back and forth for quite some time. My main concern is that no one loses their diagnosis OR services, and the criteria is not so strict that it becomes very difficult to be diagnosed on the spectrum. If criteria is too strict, thousands of children will be left without the services they need and deserve, and it will create huge financial turmoil for families. Well that is all for today! Hope you all have a fantastic Superbowl Sunday!

   

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