April 03, 2001

Disease of the DAY! Asperger's Syndrome is an 'autism lite' as it has been called. People who have it are frequently misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, which I spoke about a year ago on this web site. At the time I thought I might have ADD, and I even went and tried some Ritalin. Certainly a lot of the indicators applied to me. Now, reading about AS, I'm trying to find the distinguishing factors that would mean the difference between the two. AS talks alot more about social dysfunction than ADD did (in fact ADD patients are frequently violent?). I'll do some more reading, but AS is my new pet disease.
Do you think the psychologists invent these diseases so they can stay in business? or is the classification of such personalities as a disorder or disease possibly damaging to those who are 'afflicted'? What are the psychological ramifications of even diagnosing someone with ADD or AS? Is it truly a disorder, or are 'normal' people lacking something that ADD/AS folks have? Is empathy a necessary emotional trait to being a human being?

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