Here's a post I wrote about labels and how I feel about them: http://iknowwhatweregonnadotoday.blogspot.com/2010/05/labels.html Interesting post. I believe labels have their place. Twenty years ago my autistic son would have been labeled as "trouble. He would have been left to stim in the back of a classroom. Because he has this label he has the supports he needs firmly in place to help him reach his potential. He's a brilliant kid.
Brenachicka, I really appreciate your comments here. Sometimes a label can open doors and allow an appropriate treatment to happen that would have otherwise been impossible. And a label, when applied correctly, opens doors instead of closing them. It sounds like your son is lucky to have you for his mom! :-)
I really enjoyed Aditi Shankardass' talk on TED where she was actually looking beyond just behaviors and looked at EEG's to diagnose and provide proper treatment for these children. http://www.ted.com/talks/aditi_shankardass_a_second_opinion_on_learning_disorders.html
Were do you go to get an EEG? I would love to see what the results are for my ten year old daughter - she has really been struggling in school. She had a TBI at age 2. Her teacher last year thought it was more attitude problem than learning disability. (She's on the speced radar since kindergarten.) My 8 year old son is thriving currently. If you met him you may not even notice the autism at first. His latest accomplishment: starting an engaging conversation with a couple who was traveling and visiting our church!
You write: "The reality is that labels are usually chosen based upon behavioral checklists filled out by parents and teachers. It is an unscientific process based upon what the adults in a child’s life are seeing."
That's right, and in other words it's not actually a diagnosis. It's merely a subjective assessment that people choose to refer to as a "diagnosis".
More on that here:
"ADHD [in this particular case] is not a diagnosis, legitimate or otherwise PERIOD! A diagnosis is reached after examining symptoms and carrying out appropriate tests by reference to a known aetiology. ADHD has no universally accepted aetiology and there are no tests for it short of a tick box classification based often on second hand subjective value judgements on what is normal behaviour. Therefore there is no diagnostic formulation. It is highly unusual and deeply disturbing that some of this "diagnosis" is not carried out by medical professionals at all. Many of the children who have had this condition inflicted upon them have had it done by schoolteachers and teaching assistants whose knowledge of the subject has been gleaned from cod psychology articles in the plethora of "health" magazines to be found in the newsagent. In many cases that is the sum of the scientific basis for this "diagnosis"."
6 comments:
Here's a post I wrote about labels and how I feel about them:
http://iknowwhatweregonnadotoday.blogspot.com/2010/05/labels.html
Interesting post. I believe labels have their place. Twenty years ago my autistic son would have been labeled as "trouble. He would have been left to stim in the back of a classroom. Because he has this label he has the supports he needs firmly in place to help him reach his potential. He's a brilliant kid.
Brenachicka, I really appreciate your comments here. Sometimes a label can open doors and allow an appropriate treatment to happen that would have otherwise been impossible. And a label, when applied correctly, opens doors instead of closing them. It sounds like your son is lucky to have you for his mom! :-)
I really enjoyed Aditi Shankardass' talk on TED where she was actually looking beyond just behaviors and looked at EEG's to diagnose and provide proper treatment for these children.
http://www.ted.com/talks/aditi_shankardass_a_second_opinion_on_learning_disorders.html
Here is the clickable link
Were do you go to get an EEG?
I would love to see what the results are for my ten year old daughter - she has really been struggling in school. She had a TBI at age 2. Her teacher last year thought it was more attitude problem than learning disability. (She's on the speced radar since kindergarten.)
My 8 year old son is thriving currently. If you met him you may not even notice the autism at first. His latest accomplishment: starting an engaging conversation with a couple who was traveling and visiting our church!
You write: "The reality is that labels are usually chosen based upon behavioral checklists filled out by parents and teachers. It is an unscientific process based upon what the adults in a child’s life are seeing."
That's right, and in other words it's not actually a diagnosis. It's merely a subjective assessment that people choose to refer to as a "diagnosis".
More on that here:
"ADHD [in this particular case] is not a diagnosis, legitimate or otherwise PERIOD! A diagnosis is reached after examining symptoms and carrying out appropriate tests by reference to a known aetiology. ADHD has no universally accepted aetiology and there are no tests for it short of a tick box classification based often on second hand subjective value judgements on what is normal behaviour. Therefore there is no diagnostic formulation. It is highly unusual and deeply disturbing that some of this "diagnosis" is not carried out by medical professionals at all. Many of the children who have had this condition inflicted upon them have had it done by schoolteachers and teaching assistants whose knowledge of the subject has been gleaned from cod psychology articles in the plethora of "health" magazines to be found in the newsagent. In many cases that is the sum of the scientific basis for this "diagnosis"."
http://www.parental-intelligence.com/barryturner.html
That clip on TED is amazing (and so scary that this went on soooo long.) I'll be sharing on FB!
I talk a lot about labels in my book!
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