Just shy or already autistic? The question is often asked, does someone behave in a solitary way. Psychiatrist Michele Noterdaeme says: It’s a big problem that so many people think they’re affected.
Interviewed by
Christina Berndt
Autism almost seems like a fashionable disease: Anyone who behaves in a socially unusual manner or does not seem cooperative enough will quickly be given the diagnosis “autistic” by acquaintances or colleagues. At the same time, people are flocking to outpatient clinics and practices who want to have discovered autistic traits in themselves. But what is autism really – and how well can the developmental disorder be diagnosed? In the run-up to an SZ health forum on the subject, the SZ spoke to the child and adolescent psychiatrist Michele Noterdaeme.