The number of cases of Asperger’s has risen over the years, and this has led people to wonder if this increase is an epidemic or simply an overdiagnosis. What is Asperger’s? Well according to Merriam-Webster, Asperger’s is “an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by impaired social interaction, by repetitive patterns of behavior and restricted interests, by normal language and cognitive development but poor conversational skills and difficulty with nonverbal communication, and often by above average performance in a narrow field against a general background of impaired functioning”. With the rising number of cases of Asperger’s, people have taken two main sides: that Asperger’s is being overdiagnosed or the opposite and that Asperger’s
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This is supported by “Autism- What we Know (and Don’t Know Yet)”, when the article hints at the idea that the number of cases of Asperger’s is rising, the number of people who have Asperger’s is not increasing, but just the amount of people who are diagnosed with it. Furthermore, a study in 2011 found that there was great variation in how doctors diagnosed within the autism spectrum, so a child’s diagnosis may depend on where they were diagnosed. (document 8). One person who may have suffered from an incorrect diagnosis is Christoper Boone, a character from the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Although the author, Mark Haddon, never specifically said that Christopher has Asperger’s, his behavior lead us to believe otherwise (document 5). There are many symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder that can further provide us with evidence to show that Christopher was possibly misdiagnosed and is higher up on the spectrum. These symptoms include failure to respond to social interactions, difficulty understanding gestures, and fixated interests (Infographic 1). One example of these symptoms that can be seen in the novel is fixated interests, “I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057” (Haddon 1). This is one of the many symptoms he displays which may show that he was incorrectly diagnosed, and although this is a …show more content…
Some people may argue that the environment does not directly affect a person’s symptoms. “Insistence on sameness including extreme distress at small changes and difficulties with transitions” (document 7). However, this is false. According to infographic 2, the environment a person with Asperger’s may be in impacts how their symptoms are portrayed. An example of how the environment of someone with “Asperger’s” impacts the portrayal of their symptoms is Benjamin Nugent, “...I moved to New York City and became a weirder and met some people who shared my obsessions, and I ditched the Forsterian narrator thing, and then I wasn’t that awkward or isolated anymore... Asperger syndrome is a “continuous and lifelong disorder,” but my symptoms had vanished” (document 7). This shows how the environment impacted how someone behaved and therefore these “symptoms” led specialists to believe this person had Asperger’s (document 7). Another connection to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is how when Christopher is in an environment he is comfortable in, you can hardly notice his symptoms, however, when he endures change quickly or is upset his symptoms are quite noticeable. “I rolled back onto the lawn and pressed my forehead to the ground again and made the noise that Father calls groaning. I make this noise when there is too much information
This is supported by “Autism- What we Know (and Don’t Know Yet)”, when the article hints at the idea that the number of cases of Asperger’s is rising, the number of people who have Asperger’s is not increasing, but just the amount of people who are diagnosed with it. Furthermore, a study in 2011 found that there was great variation in how doctors diagnosed within the autism spectrum, so a child’s diagnosis may depend on where they were diagnosed. (document 8). One person who may have suffered from an incorrect diagnosis is Christoper Boone, a character from the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Although the author, Mark Haddon, never specifically said that Christopher has Asperger’s, his behavior lead us to believe otherwise (document 5). There are many symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder that can further provide us with evidence to show that Christopher was possibly misdiagnosed and is higher up on the spectrum. These symptoms include failure to respond to social interactions, difficulty understanding gestures, and fixated interests (Infographic 1). One example of these symptoms that can be seen in the novel is fixated interests, “I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057” (Haddon 1). This is one of the many symptoms he displays which may show that he was incorrectly diagnosed, and although this is a …show more content…
Some people may argue that the environment does not directly affect a person’s symptoms. “Insistence on sameness including extreme distress at small changes and difficulties with transitions” (document 7). However, this is false. According to infographic 2, the environment a person with Asperger’s may be in impacts how their symptoms are portrayed. An example of how the environment of someone with “Asperger’s” impacts the portrayal of their symptoms is Benjamin Nugent, “...I moved to New York City and became a weirder and met some people who shared my obsessions, and I ditched the Forsterian narrator thing, and then I wasn’t that awkward or isolated anymore... Asperger syndrome is a “continuous and lifelong disorder,” but my symptoms had vanished” (document 7). This shows how the environment impacted how someone behaved and therefore these “symptoms” led specialists to believe this person had Asperger’s (document 7). Another connection to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is how when Christopher is in an environment he is comfortable in, you can hardly notice his symptoms, however, when he endures change quickly or is upset his symptoms are quite noticeable. “I rolled back onto the lawn and pressed my forehead to the ground again and made the noise that Father calls groaning. I make this noise when there is too much information