I wish she had been given Autism as her assigned project, but she wasn't. She would definitely have set them straight!
Maybe the teacher will switch her topic once he gets my email. I agree with Hmschlmama. So maybe call the assignment on mental disorders or impairments. I would love my dd to do a report about autism, regardless of the name of the assignment. She's in 4th grade and wants to know how to explain autism to her classmates as it is. Your daughter could state that it is not an illness in her report. Don't make her do a different subject, people need to know about autism. At the risk of sounding crabby, there is one thing I want to add:
Some responses were making the point that mental illness was 'aquired'
and 'crazy' and that they should not be associated with our kids. I have a
stepsister with schizophrenia and a good friend with bipolar. They did not
go out and 'aquire' their mental illness any more than our kids aquired
them. They were just symptom free until age 18, just like many of our
kids were symptom free until age 2. The did not deserve it, they did not
ask for it and they are struggling just as much as our kids. Their
behaviors are directly related to how the illness makes their brain work -
just like our kids. While mental illnesses might fit into a different group
medically speaking, there really is no need to put these people and there
behaviors down like somehow they deserve it more and it's okay because
they are just 'crazy'. Mental Illness is not a put-down it is a disorder.
Okay I am crabby - but I just had to get that out. Thanks for reading.[QUOTE=Disney Girl]
Thank you all for the information. I had my DH and DD look over the email before I sent, and they said I sounded "nice"
Thanks again.
[/QUOTE]
Do we get to read ??
And I am waiting to hear the response from the teacher !
Either way.....good for you and your daughter for speaking out !
He wouldn't say a stroke patient had a mental illness, so he ought not to teach the children that autism is one either. Thank him for helping educate the kids about this physiological disorder that is now impacting 1 in every 94 boys born.
Good luck!
Karen, thanks. I don't want to be adversarial, but I get riled up easily by ignorance like what the teacher obviously has.My NT 14 y/o DD came home from school today upset about a project that was assigned in her Health class. The students are doing projects on different mental illnesses (bi-polar, schizophrenia, dementia, anxiety disorder, etc)., and apparently the health teacher feels that AUTISM is a mental disorder as he assigned that to several of the students. My DD was so upset; my son has moderate autism, and she KNOWS it's not a mental illness. But, she was hesitant to approach the teacher about this. I don't know what to do. I want to email him and give him some "education" about autism and that it is NOT a mental illness, but I have a tendency to come off a little abruptly about things like this, so I'm trying to think of exactly what to say. Any help would be appreciated!
Autism is a neurological disorder that impacts a persons social and communicative functioning on varying levels, depending on its severity. I would email the teacher, as he clearly needs to be educated if he is going to hand out assignments using incorrect information. That being said, there is no need to be adversarial. Simply explain that you are the parent, and your daughter the sibling of an autistic child, and you were both upset by his assignment. Include links to sites that explain the nature of autism, so he can better educate himself, and perhaps correct this error in his assignment. He may choose to do nothing, but at least he will know that you know, KWIM?Autism is in the DSM together with mental illness and does get moreDid you realized that the DSM is The American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Technically, the teacher is consistent with the current diagnostic criteria. It is the descriptions in this book that allow our children to receive special services.
In answering Saka's post, I think, overall, that the legal system looks at eachADD/ADHD is also in the DSM-IV by the way and I don't think anyone considers it a mental illness. Personally, I feel our whole coding system needs to change! I do think that by it being in the DSM that this causes a lot of problems with insurance companies who then see it as something that is a mental illness.
I would try to educate the teacher on this. If the teacher is old enough s/he may have been taught that autism is a mental illness. I was taught that even though I went to college in the late 80s!
Thank you all for the information. I had my DH and DD look over the email before I sent, and they said I sounded "nice"
Thanks again.
[QUOTE=snoopywoman]ADD/ADHD is also in the DSM-IV by the way and I don't think anyone considers it a mental illness.[/QUOTE]
Learning disabilities are also listed on the DSM-IV. So someone with dyslexia is mentally ill? No. The Wikipedia definition of mental illness states that, "The DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), the U.S. standard reference for psychiatry, includes over 300 different manifestations of mental illness. Psychiatrists themselves are in dispute over how common some of these conditions are, or whether they should be listed as 'mental illnesses'". I don't think that you could ever find a reputable professional who would say that autism, ADHD or learning disabilities are a mental illness.
Autism is a disorder, not an illness. The difference is that a disorder is inborn and an illness is acquired. It is diagnosed clinically, which is why it needs to be in the DSM-IV -- Psychiatrists and neurologists need to agree on the CRITERIA since that is the only way it can be diagnosed, not thru some medical test (such as a blood test). I think the problem is with the word psychiatric. Too many of us associate that word with "crazy." Mental ILLNESS has nothing to do with autism.
Okay, I know I have said it before, that sometimes I like to stir the pot a bit, but here is something that concerns me. If, in an uncontrollable impulsive act a child (or adult) with ASD hits and injures someone (or even kills them), should he/she receive the same punishment that an NT child (or adult) would receive in the same situation? Isn’t their a legal implication to a mental disorder, and isn’t it sort of a good thing?
Autism does appear in the DSM-IV. It started there because in the DSM-II it was grouped with childhood schizophrenia. In 1980, when the DSM-III was published, autism was differentiated from schizophrenia, with autism being developmental and NOT a psychiatric disorder.
You can see this referenced on the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/overview_changes_diagnostic .htm
CDC does describe autism as a "developmental disabilty." Their definition of developmental disability is the following: "Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living. Developmental disabilities begin anytime during development up to 22 years of age and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime."
While the definition of developmental disabilities does use the phrase "mental and/or physical impairment" they do not use the phrase "mental illness" in conjunction with autism anywhere that I can find.
When you look at the NIH site, all of the information of autism appears on the National Institute of Mental Health area. They don't call it out as a mental illness, but it's grouped with mental illnesses on the site. However they do provide a link to the CDC site, which has a lot more information.
Even the all knowing Wikipedia describes autism as a "brain development disorder."
Autism information is also featured on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website and here it is also characterized as a "developmental disorder."
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
I agree that you should handle it nicely with the teacher and this assignment could be a wonderful way to increase understanding and tolerance if handled properly. I think the references above might help the teacher understand better why autism today is no longer thought of as a mental illness.
If the medical community can ever come up with a method for diagnosing autism medically (through a test) instead of clinically (through observation) then it will likely no longer be part of DSM-IV. Just my opinion there.