After I finished my medical degree I was told that I had just been through an education that doubled my vocabulary.
Medicine has so many new words for body parts, illnesses, treatments and more, that you end up with an entire volume of language just to comprehend what this is all about.
But medicine is a risky business, so to make sure you actually have a reality base for the meanings of those words they require you to have an internship.
That’s the safe way to guarantee learning.
These days in counselling I spend a lot of time getting people to UNDO the medical labels they have for themselves, such as depression, panic attacks, Asperger’s, ADHD and many, many others.
In the wrong hands these terms are dangerous.
The most widely used official source of psychiatric diagnoses is called DSM-IV and the abridged version I refer to most often comes with a chapter titled “Cautionary Statement”.
Among other cautions it says, “The proper use of these [diagnostic] criteria requires specialized clinical training that provides both a body of knowledge and clinical skills.”
This means it isn’t intended for use outside medical circles.
I think that’s a sensible rule.
Otherwise it’s like kids in a school yard calling each other names that they’ve heard adults use, but with no idea what they actually mean.
At least those kids realize the names can be hurtful.
Do we?
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Martin,
One of the things I enjoy most about you is your sense of humor and your willingness to say what needs to be said, whether people like it or not.
Great blog!
Hmmm, food for thought
And sometimes even with the appropriate training, these conditions can be misdiagnosed!
Good example is my youngest son.
His older brother was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (and ADHD) by a prominent Pediatrician, then confirmed by an independent diagnosis with Autism SA.
(His diagnosis was extremely simple; to show us just how simple, Autism SA gave us the “crib sheet version” of the ‘diagnostic criteria’ (of the day – since revised a lot!) and at the time, he scored “yes” to 31 out 33 criteria!)
When our youngest son was 4, his kindergarten teachers started having difficulty with his behaviour. He was ‘extremely bright,’ but was prone to ‘fits and outbursts.’
(He actually is quite different from his older sibling, even though they are “both Aspies.)
While waiting to see the other pediatrician, we saw *another*, prominent pediatrician to see if our youngest had Asperger’s too. He studied our son and said “Definitely not. He’s just Gifted,” and referred him to a Psychologist for a “Psychometric Evaluation.”
(I felt proud, as you would expect, but my heart disagreed with his diagnosis… I don’t suffer from denial…)
The Psychologist didn’t want us to hang around with our 4 year old, in a strange clinical room, so we were told to come back after an hour.
When we did, we found that our son was underneath the table, mostly undressed, shoes off, kicking the table that the Psychologist was sitting at. A very pissed off Psychologist, I might add…
Giving a diplomatic “get him out of my office,” he diagnosed our son with “Global Maturity Disorder.”
Armed with this strange condition that nobody else seemed to know about, we waited to see the original Pediatrician – I always stated I wouldn’t be comfortable until I had seen him. Apparently most parents hate this particular doctor, claiming he is rude, arrogant and blunt (Maybe he has Asperger’s? Sorry – couldn’t resist!). Personally, I didn’t see the problem and wonder if it is because people “shoot the messenger” when they get a diagnosis that they don’t want…
Anyway, 30 minutes into the examination, he said “He’s got Asperger’s too. Why didn’t you pick it?” My wife was crushed at first, but I expected it. (Of course, it was confirmed with Autism SA again)
I laughed at his response to the diagnosis of Global Maturity Disorder. “I’ve met a lot of people diagnosed with Global Maturity Disorder… I’ve only met one person *with* it, but a lot that have been diagnosed…”
So there you have it – 3 professionals, 3 different diagnosis. (Aspergers really is the right one, btw… Trust me – we’ve lived with (Diagnosed) Aspergers for 8 years now – two of them in “Aspy Stereo!” (my pet name for when both of them are Hyperverbal simultaneously…)
I wonder if some of these “experts” even *read* DSM-IV nowadays!
It’s not limited to neurological disorders, either! 4 years ago a I went to a GP because I exhibited several signs of Sleep Apnoea. I needed a referral to a sleep laboratory (I didn’t *want* one – who wants to sleep with 30+ electrodes?!
He categorically ruled out Sleep Apnoea and looked up other sleep disorders, in the meantime diagnosing me as clinically depressed.
This year, after suffering a single “narcoleptic episode,” (if there is such a thing – I don’t have narcolepsy!) my current GP happily referred me to a lab (Repat Hospital in Adelaide!)
Turns out that I actually have Severe Sleep Apnoea (and have to have yearly reviews for my driver’s license now!), with over 50 interruptions per hour and my oxygen sats dropping into the 70% range!
(I love my CPAP machine, by the way! And I recommend that anyone who has problems with snoring, twitching while sleeping or any other symptoms of sleep apnoea, to go to a Sleep Lab ASAP! One night of even-more-terrible sleep is worth it for the *huge* benefits of getting *great* sleep – and being less likely to die in your sleep!
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