Monday, I was listening to a talk show on NPR. I don’t remember what talk show but I do remember the topic, Geriatric Psychiatry. They were discussing how the diagnosis and even the manifestation of mental illness changes as a person ages. A woman called in. Her husband, aged about 65, had recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. She was upset because he refused to get any help or acknowledge the diagnosis at all. The tension had become so great that he had asked for a divorce.
The doctor launched into a discussion of how elderly people can struggle when being diagnosed with a mental illness, even if they have had the symptoms of that mental illness for years.
Mental Illness? I sat there a little stunned. I have never thought of my son as having a mental illness. Is Asperger’s Syndrome a mental illness?
I decided the best place to start was the dictionary. After typing in, “Mental Illness” at Merriam Webster’s online dictionary, all I found was a link to “Mental Disorder.”
Definition of MENTAL DISORDER: a mental or bodily condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological functioning of the individual.
Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism does change the psychological function of an individual. However, is it an impairment?
I think the first thing I had to deal with is my own emotional reaction to the word illness. It became clear that my reaction to the word illness was closely linked with the still lingering social stigma attached to mental illness. Illness to me is something that has to be cured, eradicated, beaten. A cold is an illness, something you “get over.” I have never seen Daniel’s Asperger’s as something he needs to get over.
Then I thought about illnesses you can never get over. Diabetes is something you can never get over and must find a way to live with and I consider it an illness. I guess, I would have to admit that I have always further defined illness in my own mental dictionary as something that causes the body to be broken in some way. Is Daniel broken? My gut response – NO!
It dawned on me that whether we consider something broken depends on how we expect it to function. For example if I sat down to play piano and drum beats started coming out, I may consider it broken because it didn’t do what I expected.
We define Asperger’s particularly and Autism too by our expectations. The “symptoms” of PDD are measured primarily by our expectations. We expect that our child will speak by a certain point. We expect that they will interact with us in a typical way. We expect that they will learn the unspoken social codes we all live by without us having to delineate it for them. We expect that they will potty train within certain parameters. We expect nuerotypical behavior and developmental progression. It is when the expected progression does not occur that we seek a diagnosis.
The atypical development of a person with Asperger’s or Autism creates struggles in how they interact with a typical society. In that way, I can see how there is an argument for impairment as a description of the Autistic person’s experience. Based on that assumption, there is an argument that PDD, Asperger’s and Autism could be described as a mental condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions as to seriously impair the normal psychological functioning of the individual or Mental Disorder or illness.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classifies Autism Spectrum disorders as an Axis I disorder, clinical disorders, including major mental disorders, and learning disorders. Under that very general definition, I can see why some may classify Asperger’s Syndrome as a mental illness. However, for me, PDD, Aspergers, Autism will never be a mental illness. It will always be an alternative way of developing.
My son, and others Aspies I have met have such unique ways of looking at the world that I can not see it as a serious impairment. This unique perspective allows them to understand and observe the world in a way we NTs (Neurotypicals) don’t and sometimes can’t reach. I think in the past we have benefited greatly from the discoveries and developments made by people whom, in today’s society, would be classified as Asperger’s if not high functioning Autistic.
While Aspergers and PDD-related syndromes have struggles that can be classified similarly, I can not see this type of development as something that is broken, an impairment or an illness. Instead I see it as a unique set of strengths and weaknesses, similar to the strengths and weaknesses we all have, only more pronounced by their uniqueness.
When I speak to my son, I don’t pity him. I challenge him to overcome his unique struggles similarly to how I have had to overcome my own weaknesses. I encourage him with stories of other great men and women who have overcame adversity and used their uniqueness to benefit humanity and achieve personal greatness. I don’t believe my son is broken. Quite the contrary, I believe he has something amazing to offer this world.
What is the perspective of the Aspie community? Do you see yourself as mentally ill? Do you think Asperger’s syndrome, Autism and other PDD disorders as mental illness? How is this defined for you?
Note: My experience is primarily with Asperger’s and high functioning autism. I realize that severe Autism and other disorders have more pronounced disabilities. My perspective is influenced by my son’s high functioning. I can see how with severe Autism, it could be seen as an impairment.