Hello esteemed friends,
I know I've been kind of AWOL for a while, and for that I'm sorry. As you all know the last year has been... hectic... to say the least. But I am working hard on my literary representation series. I know I said that I would first delve into exploring responsible and respectful representation of autistic individuals, but I realized that before I even start that, I needed to talk about the DSM-5.
The DSM-5 is the mental health diagnostic handbook used in the United States (where I am.) A lot of people, when researching various diagnoses to write about them, will look up the clinical classifications of these things. And while that is by no means a bad thing- the more research the better!- the DSM does have flaws. So that is where I am truly going to start this, because if I am going to be talking about various issues concerning mental health, I need to first talk about the system that labels these things.
I've been brushing up on my old Psych lectures from undergrad, learning about the ICD-10 (the system the rest of the world uses for mental health and physical health classification) and analyzing the pros, cons, and applications of both of these systems. My physical copy of the DSM-5 is finally here, and I am working to assemble my most likely very long lecture on this topic. Hopefully I will be able to get it up soon, and I do intend to try to establish a regular pattern for keeping this site active.
So yeah, that's where we're at. I hope everyone is doing well in this crazy time.
Singing off
Danielle and Luna(tic)