Proper diagnosis is the key ~ I never really thought about learning disabilities being classified as a "psychiatric disorder", but of course that makes sense ~ my former boss' youngest daughter had/has a fairly severe learning disability ~ it's a form of dyslexia, she sees letters as different shapes ~ thanks to early diagnosis and lots of therapy, her schools' involvement and commitment to help, and MUCH hard work by her and the family, she earned a high school diploma, an undergrad college degree, and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Development ~ she is now working with kidlets who have learning disabilities ~ she was lucky in the sense that her family was able to provide the needed therapy not covered by insurance and committed themselves to her success ~ but I'm not sure how much, if any, of her accomplishments would have been possible without early and proper diagnosis ~ Sooz

Asperger's dropped from diagnosis manual
4 days ago| By Lindsey Tanner

The first major revision to the psychiatric diagnosis guide in nearly 20 years also covers severe temper tantrums and broadens the category of learning disorders like dyslexia.

CHICAGO — The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation's psychiatrists.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide "defines what constellations of symptoms" doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it "shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care."

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association's board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger's disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger's families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term "autism spectrum disorder," which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger's disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger's.

"To give it separate names never made sense to me," Gibson said. "To me, my children all had autism."

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won't affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors' guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won't be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook "represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders," Dr. David Fassler, the group's treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization's fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won't be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders."

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don't provide services for children and adults with Asperger's, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don't lose services.

Other changes include:

— A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums: disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

— Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder." It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

http://news.msn.com/science-technology/aspergers-dropped-from-diagnosis-manual

Oh goody.
New labels.

If it helps with proper diagnosis, I'm all for it ~

Sooz

Diagnoses also mean dollars to the schools. Basically I don't think the label matters so much. If the symptoms are identified as a part of an autism spectrum disorder or asberger's is not particularly important.

Further explanation ~ I'm hoping that proper diagnosis will lead to better-targeted programming care ~ Sooz

Transgender No Longer Classified As A Mental Disorder But Hoarding Now Is
2012/12/05
By Nathaniel Downes

The psychiatric field has grown by leaps and bounds since the last update to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) came out in 1994. Since then, the widespread use of magnetic imaging and genetic testing has identified brain features previously unknown, which helps to explain the mysteries which psychiatrists and psychologists have been trying to tackle for over a century.

One of the most radical changes, considered as fundamental as the dropping of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, is the removal of transgender from the list of mental disorders. Instead, transgender now falls under a new category, “Gender Dysphoria,” which more accurately describes the emotional distress that is many times experienced by a transgendered person. This may seem minor, but for transgendered people, this can mean a huge difference in their lives. Under the old diagnosis, a transgendered person was often discriminated against at the workplace, had their diagnosis used to take away their children, could be labelled as delusional or mentally ill, even arrested.

Those on the autism spectrum are facing an even more dramatic shift as better understanding of the disorder has resulted in a narrower, clearer definition of the condition. Under the older diagnosis, a person with autism could be labelled as autistic, having Asperger’s, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified. Now they are all being put under the term “Autism Spectrum Disorder,” or ASD, with clearly defined areas underneath. The new category now opens up treatment options for adults who may have had a milder or “high functioning” form of ASD and were not correctly diagnosed in childhood. The new category enables people to get the help they need, as it is now fully understood to not be solely a childhood disorder, but one found throughout life. The clearer guidelines also will help prevent misdiagnosis–such as when another condition such as ADHD, ODD or Tourette’s is sometimes applied to someone on the autistic spectrum–enabling people to get the proper treatment as well.

Substance abuse and substance dependence are now being merged into a single category of “Substance use disorder.” This is a common sense solution, as the two conditions blended and the line was very blurry between one to the other. The new definition enables the diagnosing doctor to look at a wider spectrum, in order to gain a more accurate picture of the addiction. This will enable a more concise treatment plan to be developed for those suffering from addictions. With the heavy link between substance disorders and the U.S. prison population, this is a step forward for treatment of the addicted.

One of the more surprising elements is that the condition known as hoarding (the collecting of things to excess) is now listed as a disorder on its own. Over the years, psychologists have found that including it under the obsessive compulsive disorder did not work, as the issue was far different from someone with traditional OCD. Hoarding is now being treated as a more severe issue, as the impact on people’s lives can be devastating.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is now being added to the chapter on “Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders”, and new information on the effects of PTSD on adolescents and children has been included. Research over the past 20 years on PTSD has resulted in a far better understanding of the impact trauma has on the brain. The physical changes to the human brain, now mapped out, made PTSD a far better understood disorder than it was even 10 years ago. For those of us with friends or family with PTSD, this may help bring them a sense of normalcy again.

The world of psychology is often misunderstood. When someone has a mental disorder, you know what is told to them by well-meaning, but not understanding people: “It’s all in your head.” “Just perk up.” “Get over it.” Physical differences in the brains of people with mental disorders is not something so easily brushed off, and the improvements in diagnostics as well as treatments for those with mental disorders is bringing new hope and new life to those who only 50 years ago might have spent their entire lives in an institution, or worse.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/12/05/transgender-no-longer-classified-as-a-mental-disorder-but-hoarding-now-is/

if hoarding is a disorder, we are a nation of the disordered.

Did you ever watch one of those hoarding shows on cable? True hoarding is the equivalent of keeping a dirty hamburger wrapper and valuing it more than your family. Hoarding is NOT just keeping a pair of jeans that hasn't fit in 30 years.

It's definitely a mental disorder.

Perhaps Asperger's has been bled dry and it's time to stimulate the psychiatric economy.