SPECT

August 13, 2006

But you are presuming that having a dx as a child would have changed your

parents and how they raised you. IN fact, many people not dx'd with anything

have grown up with perfectly dysfunctional families. It happens all the time.

Roxanna

Re: ( ) SPECT

At ninety-one dollars it isn't expensive for me, but if it costs

ninety-one here and three-thousand over there, I wouldn't recommend a

passive acceptance of the ironically named " free market. "

I am definitely convinced that if I had been (along with my father)

properly diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder thirty or forty years ago,

and was raised appropriately, that it would have made a night and day

difference in my life. By the latter of course, I am also refering to

the circumstances of a dysfunctional family, with alcohol, drug abuse,

and narcissism.

When I was last in the States I spent some time with a family whose

youngest son has A.S. just like me. A thoroughly functional family,

full of stability and love, where people resolve their differences

like grown-ups rather than resorting to drama and recrimination. The

mother is fully involved in keeping up to date on all issues related

to A.S. and is always monitoring her son's progress, though the father

is equally involved in his children's well-being. It was both

inspiring and, for me, sad in terms of see what my childhood could

have been like but wasn't.

Rick

On 8/13/06, Bernadette Waguespack <bwaguespack@...> wrote:

>

> i often think about how lucky andrew is that was born when he was. if he had

> been born 20 or 30 years ago, he surely would not have been as successful

> as he has been. i'm sure he would have been written off as a behavior

> problem and his intelligence would have gone to waste.

>

> i wish you luck with your search for a definite diagnoses. i'm sorry it's so

> expensive but thats how our world works. greed wins.

>

> bernadette

>

.

August 13, 2006

A lot of us come from dysfunctional.

It makes me wonder how many functional families there are? *grin*

Well, we have the future, and that is what we are all working

towards:)

*smiles*

>

> At ninety-one dollars it isn't expensive for me, but if it costs

> ninety-one here and three-thousand over there, I wouldn't

recommend a

> passive acceptance of the ironically named " free market. "

>

> I am definitely convinced that if I had been (along with my father)

> properly diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder thirty or forty years

ago,

> and was raised appropriately, that it would have made a night and

day

> difference in my life. By the latter of course, I am also refering

to

> the circumstances of a dysfunctional family, with alcohol, drug

abuse,

> and narcissism.

>

> When I was last in the States I spent some time with a family whose

> youngest son has A.S. just like me. A thoroughly functional family,

> full of stability and love, where people resolve their differences

> like grown-ups rather than resorting to drama and recrimination.

The

> mother is fully involved in keeping up to date on all issues

father

> is equally involved in his children's well-being. It was both

> inspiring and, for me, sad in terms of see what my childhood could

> have been like but wasn't.

>

> Rick

>

> On

August 13, 2006

As for me and getting diagnosed, I have come to realize, if we don't

have any problems, no need for a diagnosis.

If we have a lot of problems, then a diagnosis is much better.

For example, Once I got my diagnosis of A.S. these labels just

dissapeared.....

lazy, stupid, big mouth, foolish, weird, rude, mental, empty headed,

nieve (OK spelled wrong, hated that word anyways) I mean the list goes

on but I gave myself this list, so once I got a different label, I

took it.

Sometimes we just need that extra reassurance that we are not all of

those labels.

For me, also, it was a way to tell my husband that yes, My life is

disorganized, I have all of these things I do that are annoying as

hell (hating certain noises, not being able to tolerate certain

touches, difficulty standing up for myself, etc) but most of that is

related to A.S. He needed it in writing FROM A PROFESSIONAL before he

even started to listen to me.

It probably wouldn't have helped me when I was little, they didn't

know about A.S. anyway, so I personally don't care, but I am looking

forward and I plan on making a big difference in my kids lives.

I guess it is one of those " every person needs something different "

things, and for Rick, I think he really needed this label, too.

I don't even know him, but I know he got some negative labels slapped

in his face. I imagine he might have given himself some just like I

had?!?!

perhaps????

>

> But you are presuming that having a dx as a child would have changed

your parents and how they raised you. IN fact, many people not dx'd

with anything have grown up with perfectly dysfunctional families. It

happens all the time.

>

August 13, 2006

I totally understand what he's saying. Its not the fact that he " thinks " she's a

nut, (he's probably not the only one that thinks that) because she is not really

the issue. We have all had to deal with inept therapists. The test results are

what " he " needs, not for someone else, but for himself. It would be a

confirmation of his own suspicions and an explanation for all those " things "

that he couldn't understand as a child. Will it change what happened to him as a

child. No it won't. But if the test proves what he already believes to be true

then he will have a name for it. I understand that. Mine was A.D.D., but it was

almost a relief when I had a professional confirm my own suspicions. It was

almost like a weight is lifted off your shoulders. It didn't change my life but

at least now I am not as hard on myself, and when I do the little things I do,

instead of berating myself I try to give myself the " I'll do better next time

speech " .

If the test does not confirm his suspicions then he will just deal with it, just

like we all do when we take our children for different test and the results

aren't what we would have hoped for.

--- Original Message -----

From: Roxanna

Sent: Sunday, August 13, 2006 2:11 PM

Subject: Re: ( ) SPECT

I just don't get it. It gives you proof to show whom? You can't go back to

childhood and show anyone or change anything. It's done. You could probably go

back and show the therapist but why bother - she's a nut. So if you know you

have this, then why do you need proof? It would seem that you don't know you

have it. And then what if you have this test and it doesn't show anything

abnormal anywhere? What then?

Roxanna

Re: ( ) SPECT

On 8/12/06, Roxanna <madideas@...> wrote:

>

> Dr. Phil wouldn't be my top endorser for mental health products. That said,

why would you need a brain scan like this anyway?

>

> Roxanna

That is a good question, Roxanna. I guess I can say that I am

intrigued the possibility of having empirical proof of a definite

abnormality in my brain. All my life I have been prone to tics,

compulsions, and feelings which I simply could not understand. One

therapist in my background was a hyper-Freudian who attributed it all

to misplaced sexual energy, even when I made it perfectly clear there

was no erotic component to what I was going through. To which she

claimed it was therefore proof of her thesis, because I was denying

it. Repression, ya know?

Apart from that was a lifetime of constant shaming from my peers, my

parents, my teachers, other therapists, and employers. I pretty much

auto-diagnosed myself two years ago when I first heard about

Asperger's on a TV news program; it struck a chord with me and I

immediately started Googling (Google is one of my compulsions -- I am

an absolute wizard at gathering data) everything I could about

Asperger's. The online data blew me away, because for the first time I

was reading my life in print, all sorts of idiosyncrasies that I

thought no one else had, much less understood. The professional

diagnosis was virtually an afterthought, with the doctors in question

taken aback by how well-informed I was coming into the office. By

coincidence, I was an acquaintance of Dawn Prince-, a nationally

recognized woman with Asperger's, who had written a book about her

experiences. It was Dawn who recommended to me the same doctors who

had diagnosed her a few years earlier (we're the same age, BTW).

Still, Asperger's diagnoses are largely based on an assessment of

behavior (for children) or memories and admissions (for adults). I

know beyond a doubt that I definitely do have High Functioning Autism,

but the possibility of seeing something definite on a scan means

something to me nonetheless as validation, in terms of empirical proof

of there being something uniquely different about my brain.

Rick

August 14, 2006

rick,

would you mind giving me your opinion about what i should tell andrew

regarding his autism? i've never made it a point to sit down and explain

anything to him. i've been very on top of things, i feel. i sensed the very

day that he came home from the hospital that something was " off " . he's been

in some sort of therapy or special education since he was 17 months old. i

guess i assume that he knows that he is different and i've never felt the

need to make it a big deal. i don't want him to feel bad about it. if you

were me, would you have a sit down talk with your autistic child regarding

his/her differences? he's 9 years old btw. thank you for your help.

bernadette

On 8/13/06, Rick Segreda <rick.segreda@...> wrote:

>

> At ninety-one dollars it isn't expensive for me, but if it costs

> ninety-one here and three-thousand over there, I wouldn't recommend a

> passive acceptance of the ironically named " free market. "

>

> I am definitely convinced that if I had been (along with my father)

> properly diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder thirty or forty years ago,

> and was raised appropriately, that it would have made a night and day

> difference in my life. By the latter of course, I am also refering to

> the circumstances of a dysfunctional family, with alcohol, drug abuse,

> and narcissism.

>

> When I was last in the States I spent some time with a family whose

> youngest son has A.S. just like me. A thoroughly functional family,

> full of stability and love, where people resolve their differences

> like grown-ups rather than resorting to drama and recrimination. The

> mother is fully involved in keeping up to date on all issues related

> to A.S. and is always monitoring her son's progress, though the father

> is equally involved in his children's well-being. It was both

> inspiring and, for me, sad in terms of see what my childhood could

> have been like but wasn't.

>

> Rick

>

> On 8/13/06, Bernadette Waguespack

<bwaguespack@...<bwaguespack%40gmail.com>>

> wrote:

> >

> > i often think about how lucky andrew is that was born when he was. if he

> had

> > been born 20 or 30 years ago, he surely would not have been as

> successful

> > as he has been. i'm sure he would have been written off as a behavior

> > problem and his intelligence would have gone to waste.

> >

> > i wish you luck with your search for a definite diagnoses. i'm sorry

> it's so

> > expensive but thats how our world works. greed wins.

> >

> > bernadette

> >

>

August 14, 2006

Exactly! It is much easier to just see your parents for who they are and accept

that they did the best they knew how. Not everyone can do that, I'm sure. And

some parents are so horrible and don't derserve that perspective. But I think

many people are just living - trying to do what they can. Some just are not cut

out to be nuturing loving parents. They do the best they can even if they suck

at it.

And nobody is really living a perfect life either. I often think they are, lol,

but things happen if you pay attention and you will see that they are not all so

wonderful as they make it look to the outside world. I don't think growing up

in the dyfunctional family makes one have a disorder like Asperger's. I think

rather that having Asperger's would change one's perspective. The people I know

with AS often see things differently and blame things on irrelevant objects or

people. Like a friend's son was telling me all about this movie that I had seen

and he said, " And the leaf stopped the wheel. " Well, the leaf did not cause the

wheel to stop at all, the wheel got stuck in a rut and stopped. But he saw a

leaf also and that is what he focused on and reasoned that it had caused the

bike to stop. That, to me, is a totally different perspective and not even

using common sense. And I would gather that his recollection of growing up

would be distorted to a similar degree and he will remember things differently,

if he does remember them. People with autism have memory deficits and I have

been reading about how they can not remember personal events as well as events

that do not affect them personally. I wonder how that equates when one is

remembering childhood? I don't know.

Roxanna

Re: ( ) SPECT

A lot of us come from dysfunctional.

It makes me wonder how many functional families there are? *grin*

Well, we have the future, and that is what we are all working

towards:)

*smiles*

>

> At ninety-one dollars it isn't expensive for me, but if it costs

> ninety-one here and three-thousand over there, I wouldn't

recommend a

> passive acceptance of the ironically named " free market. "

>

> I am definitely convinced that if I had been (along with my father)

> properly diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder thirty or forty years

ago,

> and was raised appropriately, that it would have made a night and

day

> difference in my life. By the latter of course, I am also refering

to

> the circumstances of a dysfunctional family, with alcohol, drug

abuse,

> and narcissism.

>

> When I was last in the States I spent some time with a family whose

> youngest son has A.S. just like me. A thoroughly functional family,

> full of stability and love, where people resolve their differences

> like grown-ups rather than resorting to drama and recrimination.

The

> mother is fully involved in keeping up to date on all issues

father

> is equally involved in his children's well-being. It was both

> inspiring and, for me, sad in terms of see what my childhood could

> have been like but wasn't.

>

> Rick

>

> On

.

August 14, 2006

You could say that about anyone though. We all grew up with ideas about

ourselves. But the point is, this is a test that is not proven to dx anything.

It only tells you what parts of the brain are working at various times. It does

not say, " You have AS " or anything else. It could be done and be totally

ambiguous with the findings. It could be done and show that you have a

perfectly " normal " functioning brain. And then what?

PS: If my dh didn't " believe " me and needed proof from a real doctor, he would

probably not be my dh much longer. I think that's awful - thinking you are a

liar?

Roxanna

Re: ( ) SPECT

As for me and getting diagnosed, I have come to realize, if we don't

have any problems, no need for a diagnosis.

If we have a lot of problems, then a diagnosis is much better.

For example, Once I got my diagnosis of A.S. these labels just

dissapeared.....

lazy, stupid, big mouth, foolish, weird, rude, mental, empty headed,

nieve (OK spelled wrong, hated that word anyways) I mean the list goes

on but I gave myself this list, so once I got a different label, I

took it.

Sometimes we just need that extra reassurance that we are not all of

those labels.

For me, also, it was a way to tell my husband that yes, My life is

disorganized, I have all of these things I do that are annoying as

hell (hating certain noises, not being able to tolerate certain

touches, difficulty standing up for myself, etc) but most of that is

related to A.S. He needed it in writing FROM A PROFESSIONAL before he

even started to listen to me.

It probably wouldn't have helped me when I was little, they didn't

know about A.S. anyway, so I personally don't care, but I am looking

forward and I plan on making a big difference in my kids lives.

I guess it is one of those " every person needs something different "

things, and for Rick, I think he really needed this label, too.

I don't even know him, but I know he got some negative labels slapped

in his face. I imagine he might have given himself some just like I

had?!?!

perhaps????

>

> But you are presuming that having a dx as a child would have changed

your parents and how they raised you. IN fact, many people not dx'd

with anything have grown up with perfectly dysfunctional families. It

happens all the time.

>

.

August 14, 2006

I did not say he need that. I was asking if that is what he needed. I already

got that he was doing it for " him " but wanted to know why, since it doesn't

change anything and is not a reliable " test " for AS either.