Huff Post: Article on Autism and the few who do outgrow the diagnosis

I was shocked to see a tv segment on it...it seems to breed false hope. I do have a daughter who at an early age showed signs of autism...we found out later that it was severe social anxiety. So, did she outgrow it or was it just a misdiagnosis?

Sorry but I believe if you ""outgrow"" it you didn't have it. misdiagnosis.

Then that would apply to other dx's as well. A child Dx'd as RAD at age 5, but heals and is normal by age 10. Then they were never RAD to begin with. I guess therapy and healing doesn't exist in the world of mental health. Sorry, but I'm not willing to write off the changes we've seen in our boys to misdiagnosis. Healing happens. Maybe not for all, but certainly for some.

I don't think you 'outgrow' it ever. Autism is a 'born with, die with' thing and if you have it, that is a part of you.I have met people with aspergers who CAN communicate very well including thir non-verbal communication, picking up cues etc. You could never tell they had autism based on a few meetings with them, and they wouldn't ever need to tell people. They could be great teachers, doctors, do many jobs requiring good communication skillsHOWEVER, I think that is because they a) taught themselves to be this good and it requires more effort from them than for a neurotypical person, and b) their coping mechanisms are very goodThey are very clear that they have it, and have some minor difficulties for instance sensory issues and they find social interaction draining, however good at it they are. They have this, they have a few issues, it's just one part of them, and they have developed excellent coping skills and made themselves become very good with social interactionsObviously, its a spectrum and many people with autism are much more severely affected.My friend (with aspegers) changed my thinking forever on this when she explained it the way she sees it. She is one person who has a few issues but communicates excellently, although at a young age she could not and required lots of help making friends and knowing what to say when etc. She views her autism as one facet of her, like having blue eyes. She loves herself for who she is, and as such she views her autism as a great thing, a wonderful part of her. Not a problem, although it might be for many people with more severe autism. She would view it as horrific and insulting if someone suggested it was some disease she could heal from, a really perjorative thing that suggested she was a bad person. She thinks her autism is not seperate from her, but just part of her and helped make her who she is, so to say it's ALWAYS a bad thing makes her partly a bad person, 'wrong' person. Which is very sad

Yes i agree improvements can be made. but you will never convince me true autism can be cured. If you had a severe child and you got that severe child to my child's high functioning level you would probably think the severe child was cured.