CMN - 6/24/2014 08:53

My 22 year old son is truly hand flapping, arm waving, autistic.

I have to agree with emtbd1979, the "autism spectrum" diagnoses is nothing but a money grab, and a cop out for poor parenting in many/most cases. Or maybe the kid's IQ is just average or slightly below. It does not mean the kid is autistic. It means the kid will probably be...just average. Great expections usually leads to great disappointment on the parents part. Having kids is crap shoot, no guarantee of outcome.

IMO, the kids should be diagnosed and treated for the mental mental illness they have. Or if it's a parenting or abuse issue deal with that. But what parent wants their kid to be diagnosed as mentally ill? Poor parenting or mental and physical abuse? Not in my house is the typical response. Plus there is little or no funding for mental illness no matter what the cause. What healthcare provider would diagnose a patient with something they can't get paid to treat?

Parents thinking that being labeled as autistic is somehow more socially acceptable than being labeled as mentally ill need to remember that some time later in life their kid will also be diagnosed as being mentally and or socially retarded...Nobody wants that.(sarcasm intended)

The good old fashioned diagonoses of autism should have never been expanded to "autism spectrum disorder". Parents and doctors should just call a spade a spade and deal with, or treat the problem accordingly. But then there's the promise of big money...for the health care providers.

We all have autistic tendencies and could be labeled as such if we really wanted too. There is no personal big money windfall that comes with the diagnoses.

As far as this claim is concerned. It's as flawed as the vaccine claim and just as BS. These are my personal experiences and opinion only. I cannot back these claims up with links.