The APA is revising the DSM, and the autism world is up in arms. That's predictable, of course, since the label "autism" often opens the door to thousands of dollars of funding for therapies and services. The new definition removes PDD-NOS (William's educational diagnosis) and Asperger's, leaving a more narrow, classic definition of autism.
Personally, I'm not too upset about what the change means for us specifically. That's easy for me since I never thought William had autism. Autism treatments have never worked for him, and even when you explain that to therapists, it's hard for them to break out of the stereotype and work with William differently.
It also helps that the proposed DSM 5 is adding 5 communication disorders, including a general Language Impairment that is a much closer fit for him. They are also adding the more familiar (but still pretty unheard of) Specific Language Impairment and a Social Communication Disorder. Of course, none of these new disorders have any money attached to their names... yet.
The new manual is not expected out till May 2013. So that gives us time to benefit from the funding we currently have. William is making so much progress and God has proven Himself so faithful, I am sure he will continue to excel whatever funding is available.
Still, I'm not sure it's good to get rid of those other labels. Shouldn't it be the people and organizations handing out the funds who decide how broad or narrow they want to go? I know how frustrating it can be as a parent when your child doesn't fit any label, and so people assume there's nothing wrong. And should we really be having psychiatrists and psychologists diagnosing language disorders?? I wonder what ASHA thinks of that...
No comments:
Post a Comment