medical condtion

[gladysmay]

I just wanted to get a sounding on this one, whether Aspergers Syndrome can be described as a medical condtion. I have my own opinion on this and have had it described as this to me?

[TheNeil]

My initial reaction to this was a big fat 'no' as I immediately had a knee-jerk reaction and instantly thought that it implies something along the lines of a disease or illness (i.e. something which can be treated)

 

Having thought about it though then it does say 'condition' (rather than 'disorder' or 'illness'). And I suppose it is 'medical' so I don't think I'd be offended if someone refered to AS like that

[Tally]

Personally, no, I don't think so.

 

It's medical as in biological (specifically, neurological). But it's not medical as in something which can be managed or cured.

 

Of course, there are often co-occurring medical conditions like depression, sensory sensitivities and digestive disorders which can (and should) be treated, but these are not part of Asperger's in themselves.

[DaisyProudfoot]

This is an interesting question.

 

When I'm filling in forms for school outings it asks whether your child has a medical condition - I actually answer no to that question but I do add that Martin does have AS. To me a medical condition is something like asthma or heart disease. To me AS is a mental health condition or a learning disability but it's not medical because it's part of his personality make-up IYSWIM.

 

Physically there's nothing wrong with Martin he's a happy, healthy little boy and his AS alone is not enough to be a medical condition.

Edited October 13, 2006 by DaisyProudfoot

[cmuir]

Hi

 

Yes, I think it is a medical condition. Medical/health is a big umbrella covering physical as well as mental health, be it illness, condition, disease, etc.

 

Caroline.

[oxgirl]

I don't think it's a medical condition, but when people design forms I suppose they can't have categories for everything so they just lump everything together into this one, I suppose. If I were filling in a form for J and it asked about medical conditions I would assume they're asking me about this, even though I don't think it's technically accurate.

 

~ Mel ~

[barefoot wend]

I agree with Mel on this one.

[loulou]

Hi,

 

Yes i agree with Mel too. I work in a hospital and medical refers to "medicine" (rather than surgical if that makes sense), so i would say that AS is NOT medical. You could put it in the "neurological" category (not that there ever is one on forms!).

 

Loulou x

[gladysmay]

I feel it is not a medical condition. I also feel it is not mental health or learning disability. I feel these these are seperate but may be part of AS, but not always.

 

My reason for asking is that my CSF have clearly stated/ responded to an enquiry I have made, that "it is a medical condition", in this they are saying it is a matter for health professionals in identifying and diagnosing. But although that may be so when it comes to diagnosis that still leaves us in the position that it in real terms it may not be a 'medical condition' and the belief in those that are working up educational systems to support AS students that it is medical? To my mind this has a certain leaning toward something that can be treated and I am against this viewpoint wholeheartedly, treatment and support are different things so obviously one might indirectly crossover with the other. I think there are no clear boundaries at this time so I am surprised that my LEA has this so clearly assigned as such.

Edited October 15, 2006 by gladysmay

[cmuir]

Hi Gladysmay

 

'Fraid I disagree with you on this one...

 

"I feel it is not a medical condition. I also feel it is not mental health or learning disability. I feel these these are seperate but may be part of AS, but not always."

 

My son has AS and it affects EVERY aspect of life ie health (mental) and education, hence the reason why I'm disagreeing. It affects how he thinks, how he learns, how he interacts, he's very unpredictable, injures himself, etc - everything basically! I realise that some people with AS are very capable (like my son) and have many positive traits ie amazing memories, focused, brilliant with numbers (subject), etc.

 

Technically it may not just be defined directly as mental health or learning disability. I guess it very much depends upon who is giving the definition. When I filled out DLA forms, I was stuck on questions asking if my son had a mental disability, etc. I had to seek guidance from Special Needs Information Point and one of their counsellors certainly put me right on a few things in terms of how the DWP define AS - so be very cautious!

 

Caroline.

[justamom]

I agree with you cmuir, medical condition is a huge umbrella!!!

[bramblebrae]

Hi I couldn't make up my mind on this point so went to goggle and searched for 'aspergers "medical condition"' I ended up on this page here.

 

Where aspergers is described as a behavioural problem under the heading of other medical conditions. Note there are several other categories such as neurological conditions they could have put it under.

I know one thing so far I really do not believe it is a mental health condition or disorder though I do believe the likely hood of having an MH later in life is much greater. I'm defenitely not happy with 'behavioural problem' either...going back to look again....

ah ended up reading about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) it lists aspergers/autism and other ASD's so I think technically it is a mental disorder under this.

I found an interesting article here about how they categorise disorders under mental medical or wellness and about how sometimes the line is very thin between mental and medical.

 

Wow there is just to much reading there. Basically I remember when first going through assessments for DS some professional saying that autism is a physical disability rather than a mental one because there are physical changes in the brain. I believe that and neurology is a branch of medicine and neurology deals with disorders of the nervous system ie the brain therefore I think it is a medical condition all be it one where the damage is already done - a life-long neurological 'medical' condition.

 

Some of the symptoms can be treated with medicines such as melatonin for sleep and perhaps the less proved GL/FC diets and fish oil sumplements.

 

ah I'll probably change my mind tomorrow.

I'm not really bothered what the terms they use, it is what it is, maybe there should just be a new Spectrum Condition section on all these forms.

What does bug me is my sons last report from school which didn't have the SEN box ticked it just had ASD under Other: and the fact they say he dosen't have a learning disability, 'things' happen at school which wouldn't if he didn't have an ASD and don't happen to other children, this disrupts his learning therefore it is a learning disability in my mind.

 

just my wondering thoughts

Lorraine

[bramblebrae]

" ...terms of how the DWP define AS..."

 

Oh interesting can't believe you left us hanging there like that what did they say I'm really curious?

 

Lorraine

[gladysmay]

can anyone think of any others - dyslexia, ADHD, are these medical, are they condtions, can they be 'cured' or rather can we organise around these things to improve quality of life? I tend to think of medical meaning we can use medicine, but the the definition of medicine is wide indeed.

 

I see this is an area that is open to wide interpretaton. normal but differently able suits us in our family which is more about an ethos I guess, but the forms are set out for a specific purpose, information gathering for decisions on support, allowances etc and I recognise this paradox.

[LizK]

I think of Aspergers or autism as a neurodevelopmental condition and that broadly falls under the category of a medical condition. I don't think it's a primary behavioural or mental health condition though some people with AS may have behavioural or mental health problems secondary to their AS. There are a lot of conditions that cannot be cured or treated with lotions or potions that I think would be classed as medical conditions by my definition!

 

Lx

[gladysmay]

Hi I couldn't make up my mind on this point so went to goggle and searched for 'aspergers "medical condition"' I ended up on this page here.

 

Where aspergers is described as a behavioural problem under the heading of other medical conditions. Note there are several other categories such as neurological conditions they could have put it under.

I know one thing so far I really do not believe it is a mental health condition or disorder though I do believe the likely hood of having an MH later in life is much greater. I'm defenitely not happy with 'behavioural problem' either...going back to look again....

ah ended up reading about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) it lists aspergers/autism and other ASD's so I think technically it is a mental disorder under this.

I found an interesting article here about how they categorise disorders under mental medical or wellness and about how sometimes the line is very thin between mental and medical.

 

Wow there is just to much reading there. Basically I remember when first going through assessments for DS some professional saying that autism is a physical disability rather than a mental one because there are physical changes in the brain. I believe that and neurology is a branch of medicine and neurology deals with disorders of the nervous system ie the brain therefore I think it is a medical condition all be it one where the damage is already done - a life-long neurological 'medical' condition.

 

Some of the symptoms can be treated with medicines such as melatonin for sleep and perhaps the less proved GL/FC diets and fish oil sumplements.

 

ah I'll probably change my mind tomorrow.

I'm not really bothered what the terms they use, it is what it is, maybe there should just be a new Spectrum Condition section on all these forms.

What does bug me is my sons last report from school which didn't have the SEN box ticked it just had ASD under Other: and the fact they say he dosen't have a learning disability, 'things' happen at school which wouldn't if he didn't have an ASD and don't happen to other children, this disrupts his learning therefore it is a learning disability in my mind.

 

just my wondering thoughts

Lorraine

 

thats what i ended up doing, looked at the WHO classifications, wikipedia etc and found that it was classified differently depending on where you looked, it could be mental health and could be a learning disability and then there is how your LEA classifies it in relation to sen statements and services. whether one could expect an ed psych to refer for an assessment for asd - seems not if education expect this to come from gps only. intersting posts, thank you.