Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

This is for a healthy adult discussion....no flames, no nastiness etc...


**I want to add this comes from more of a "children diagnosed with ASD prior to age 3"....



I write because I am in this situation and it hits home for me...the other post about Jenny McCarthy got me thinking (more so than I already do).

I see my son. I know he does things that aren't completely typical. However, I've been told that 2 of my brothers did similar quirky things, both had significant language delays and both were 100% fine as they matured.

I know that if we had Johnny brought for an official "labeled" diagnosis at 18 months they prob would have said PDD. I researched it like crazy, did my own tests at home and although some things were good, some things prob placed him on the spectrum.

I feel (as well as his therapist and my doctor) that he has some sensory problems....in terms of seeking out sensory input.....but the emotional/social areas are not considered "abnormal" which is typically the reason for an autism diagnosis. Maybe not always, but usually.

I just know I've met kids in his class....kids in the 3 year old class too that seem quite typical. They run up and say "hi", they go to their teachers for comfort, they play VERY well with kids and seek out companionship etc...some have been diagnosed, some have not...and there are others that most definitely are dealing with a more severe autism.

I don't know. I am writing way too much and prob not explaining myself as clearly as I could. But interested in what others think....

My mom said that if these diagnoses existed 25 years ago that both my brothers prob would have had early intervention and been labeled. I just don't know what to think.

Message edited 10/20/2008 2:17:12 PM.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Yes! I actually recently read two books... late talking children and Einstein Syndrome by Thomas Sowell. In both they talk about children getting misdiagnosed.

Both of Lance's therapists also seem to think that children are overdiagnosed with PDD/ASD all the time.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I do think nowadays there is much more emphasis being placed on diagnosing and labeling and treating children who are not meeting typical milestones.

It always makes me think maybe that is why there is more prevalence now of Autism or ADHD.

Why do I think this? My dad didn't speak until he was about 3 or so. Nowadays he would have gotten labeled with some label and been treated/gotten therapy of some sort, etc. My dad had none of that obviously 65 years ago and is a highly intelligent productive member of society...I definitely feel the more we learn as a society, the more we will find that needs to be "treated".

I hope I am making sense. I guess it just makes me wonder, what would my dad have been labeled with if he was a child in today's world?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

yes i agree. You know my story.. all 3 of my children have been diagnosed on the spectrum.. one with aspergers, and two with PDD>
my 10 year old has all of a sudden seemed to have "grown out" of his diagnosis although maybe still has some einstein syndrome...
my other two are a bit quirky but not at all PDD

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Yes and no. I have to say that I see a LOT of kids with the diagnosis who don't really have ASD, but a combination of other things that look like it. For lack of a better diagnosis, they get the one that will get them the services they need....

Also, Asperger's Syndrome is a more recent diagnosis that gets classified as autism since its under that spectrum. Once upon a time these kids would have had no diagnosis or the wrong diagnosis, but that definitely bumped the numbers up significantly (it became a Dx in 1994)

Then, I see kids who clearly have autism with the wrong Dx as well.... So it all gets muddled in one way or another.

That being said, I think that there are waaaay more kids with disabilities in general than there ever have been, as well as kids with allergies and other health issues. Something is up.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I do think so.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I totally think children are being over-diagnosed. But I think most diagnosticians err on the side of caution and that's why they make the diagnosis-- first to not have the child slip through the cracks, and also because a diagnosis on the spectrum will qualify the child for more services.

My 2 1/2 year old DS had a significant speech delay. No words and only limited babbling at 18 months. He also has a huge head (thanks to his daddy who also does), so I was sent to a neurologist at around 19 or 20 months to follow up on the head thing. The head size turned out to be a non-issue, but when providing the rest of his medical history, I started discussing the speech problems. She assesses DS for maybe 5 minutes. DS is tired and cranky after the hourlong wait to see this doctor, and is very uncooperative. She then announces that she thinks there's at least a 50% chance he had PDD... I asked why, she couldn't really give a reason, she just said he had "the look". Meanwhile, I had never observed a single red flag of autism in this child, durng all the months of obsessing I had done!!!

Anyway, long story short, DS was ultimately diagnosed with oral-motor problems shortly after that. We did speech therapy for over a year. Today, he is the most conversational, social, totally normal 2 1/2 yr old. The oral-motor problems still give him a minor articulation problem, which I still take him to speech for. If the neurologist could see him today, she might think twice before throwing out judgments based on 5 minutes of interaction!

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I wholeheartedly agree that ASD is completely overdiagnosed. I like that in the schools here in Maryland children before age 5 are uaually diagnosed as "developmentally delayed" rather than pigeon-holed into a formal Dx.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I am no expert at all but I will say this.

30 years ago, if you were "different" you were put in a special classroom and called "retarded" or "hyper". It was a one size fit all.

I think parents and experts over the years, were able to sort it out a bit and make classifications.

I do feel that the need to KNOW from parents have "forced" both the medical field, social workers, EI to categorize kids.

We may have gone too far. I honestly don't know whether we did or not.

I mean look at the pressure we have if our kid does not talk or walk within a certain time. We feel pressured that our child is not "normal" or a "genius".

Message edited 10/20/2008 3:40:46 PM.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I have a cousin who is 32 . When he was little he had all kinds of "problems" he started talking late, walking late, he was quiet and withdrawn , enjoyed playing by himself and threw terrible tantrums. His parents were told he was just a little behind and he would be just fine as he got older.
He got older, got into the best college in the country, graduated with honors and is a very successful lawyer.
He got married 4 years ago, they have a baby who has the same exact "problems" that my cousin did and doctors want to put him on all kinds of medications and have him go through PT. OT. ST .
So yes I think that sometimes kids are over diagnosed .

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I think so - but I also think that the media, research, and access to information fuels people's worst fears as parents. - You want to do everything you can to give your kids the best chance at the best life possible. What if you make a mistake? What if you vaccinate them when you shouldn't have? What if you use non organic shampoo? What if you feed them a peanut before you're 'allowed'

What if you don't get them diagnosed and there IS something 'wrong' (for lack of a better word) with their development?

I feel like we KNOW so much more now and educate ourselves so much more (ie: not taking the Ped's word as God's) that we ask MANY more questions and probably worry about things our parents would have at. I think a lot of the diagnoses are Dr.(s) covering their a$$es (not that I can blame them.......especially when it's a child involved)


My cousin didn't speak until she was almost 4 years old and was painfully shy -She would have absolutely been labled with SOMETHING ......Now, she's an OBGYN who graduated #1 in her class .......

But now, as a parent, knowing what we know, could you really take that chance? KWIM?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I totally believe its over diagnosing...but while I have read a lot on this, not enough so I cannot say 100% what the problem is.

I also think there are "issues" that mimic spectrum disorders.

So far the link between allergies and food havent been established.

BUT it is PROVEN that different diets help certain kids diagnosed on the spectrum. Low gluten, wheat free etc.

I think these children never relaly had a spectrum disorder to begin with but a food allergy , intolerance etc.

Some disorders mimic others, and I'm in the small community of people who believe what we feed our kids are making them sick. Not the popular opinion, but I am trying to learn more about it.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I dont know if I would say "overdiagnosing". I would say "MISdiagnosing." Years ago, kids that today would be classified on the spectrum would have been thrown into a non-specific special-ed classroom (or perhaps institutionalized) with a label of mental retardation. Their educations would not have addressed their learning styles or specific needs and they would never have been on track to be part of a society that would embrace them and teach them how to be productive members of society.

Like a PP said, there are other types of disabilities that mimic spectrum disorders. Children with these disabilities may or may not be getting what they need as well.

I think that each child is a different. No method of diagnosis, treatment or education of a child (with or without a disability) is a universal. I work with this population. I have had multiple kids in my classes over the years, with the same diagnosis and present COMPLETELY different from each other with very different social/emotional and learning styles.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

I hear what you're saying, but I'm not sure it's over-diagnosis. I think it might just be a case where we know more than we did 30+ years ago. We understand (from a medical and/or disciplinary standpoint) the subtle differences of one special need vs. another. I don't think it's a bad thing that more children are being identified early as needing some extra help to be successful in school - I mean let's face it, everything is more competitive nowadays.

As a Mom of a special needs child, I will say that I often feel torn with mixed emotions. Some days, especially when I'm finding it challenging to deal with my child's needs, I just wish I could STOP over-analyzing every little thing she does. I have felt angry over the pressures of constantly putting her abilities under the glaring scrutiny of a microscope, just to have a chance to "fight" for services that I know will help her.

And then I have my days were I am so glad and grateful that we know so much and there are tons of services available to help our children succeed! It's truly a roller coaster of emotions.

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

i might be in the minority here, but i don't mind the over diagnosing if thats what you want to call it. my son was severely speech delayed when he was little. had all the major red flags for autism, didn't point, didn't look at you, didn't answer to his name etc. didn't speak until he was 3. no babbling. we tried and tried to up his services, but without that label there was only so much we could do. when my EI coordinator finally got us into a preschool program, and his therapy went from 5 hours a week to 15,we finally started to see a difference. if we had the label of PDD, we could have had 15-20 hours of therapy at home earlier than we got it.

and i know people can be devastated by the label, but i would have taken it happily if it meant getting him the help we felt he needed.

(as a side note, my ds spent 3 years in special ed preschools working on his speech and social skills) he's now in K, and we are about to take him out of public school and enroll him in the long island school for the gifted. (where he was already accepted on the spot after his eval)

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?

Re: Do YOU believe children are being over-diagnosed with ASD today?