Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by astine 2583 days ago
"Most people on the spectrum will require help to go to the bathroom or complete other basic tasks so them making medical decisions is unlikely."

What's your source for this claim? Is this the majority of all people diagnosed with ASD, or just the majority of people diagnosed with ASD that you believe should have been diagnosed?
1 comments
dogma1138 2583 days ago
1/3rd of people diagnosed with ASD are non-verbal. 56% would have an IQ below 85, 83% would have a other developmental, neurologic, chromosomal, and genetic conditions, with down syndrome, fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis accounting for about 10% of these.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20431403 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/ss6706a1.htm https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19268036

Overall this varies based on how many things you tack into the ASD, with PDD-NOS being thrown out of the DSM in 2013 it would take probably another decade if the needle moved.

link
astine 2583 days ago
Your statistics don't support your claim. Non-verbal people can use toilets. People with an IQ less than 85% can learn to use toilets. 'Developmental, neurologic, chromosonal and genetic conditions, includes ADHD and dyslexia, neither of which prevents the autonomous use of toilets.

Also, all three of these studies were conducted either before or shortly after the release of the DSM V, and explicitly use the DSM VI diagnostic criteria for autism.:

"Although new diagnostic criteria became available in 2013, the children under surveillance in 2014 would have grown up primarily under the DSM-IV-TR definitions for ASD, which are prioritized in this report."

You seem to be arguing that the relaxed criteria of the DSM V is invalid because the studies on people diagnosed with the stricter methods suggest a more severe condition. This is circular reasoning.

link
anoncake 2583 days ago
> 56% would have an IQ below 85

14% of the population have an IQ below 85. It's low, but not to the point of being a disability.

> 83% would have a other developmental, neurologic, chromosomal, and genetic conditions

What qualifies as a "condition" for the purpose of that statistic? What's the percentage for the general population? Frankly, if you actually include all genetic conditions, I'd be surprised if much less than 100% of the general population have one.

link