What caused the rise in autism? Geeks gettin lucky.

[IBCoupe]

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/21 ... -of-autism

According to the leading proponent of assortative mating, Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge University's Autism Research Center (and cousin to the comedian Sasha Baron-Cohen), autism tends to run in families. While that’s not news — it's been estimated that a family with one autistic child has a 1 in 20 risk of having a second autistic child — Baron-Cohen has expanded upon that theory to posit entire communities of people with some tendency toward autism or Asperger’s syndrome, a related disorder.

...

Take Silicon Valley, for instance. It's populated with lots of men — and an increasing number of women — who are drawn to science and technology, but are deficient in areas like empathy and relating to others. When these people start raising families, Baron-Cohen argues, it's more likely that their kids will develop the same tendencies to even more pronounced degrees.

Match.com, what have you done?!

[hannibal]

I read something last week about increased odds of a second child having autism if a older sibling has it. That I can buy. But saying geeks are more likely to have children with autism seems a bit of a stretch.

Poor Simon. It must suck to have your cousin's name mentioned every time someone quotes you...

[Encryptshun]

I do not feel sorry for anyone who has a lack of empathy, and frankly I prefer to stay away from people like that; they do nothing more than interrupt my work.

[IBCoupe]

I read something last week about increased odds of a second child having autism if a older sibling has it. That I can buy. But saying geeks are more likely to have children with autism seems a bit of a stretch.

Poor Simon. It must suck to have your cousin's name mentioned every time someone quotes you...

Actually, there's believed to be a strong genetic component to Autism and Asperger's. Adults are often diagnosed with one or the other after their child has been, as it's easiest to diagnose in childhood.

[IBCoupe]

I do not feel sorry for anyone who has a lack of empathy, and frankly I prefer to stay away from people like that; they do nothing more than interrupt my work.

What you did there; I sees it.

[Dattebayo]

BS article

[DamonDread]

chya. BS indeed! My nephew is autistic. We believe it is an allergic reaction to wheat glutten.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Well, there's another reason for me not to breed.

[Jesda]

MEANWHILE IN BOSTON

[breadbox]

Nerds mating.


This is how Vulcans were concieved.

[IBCoupe]

chya. BS indeed! My nephew is autistic. We believe it is an allergic reaction to wheat glutten.

Feel free to seek treatment, but the last I heard was that there wasn't a connection. Here's an article: http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=10690766

I'm aspergish: no formal diagnosis, but interpersonal interaction is difficult and I have trouble understanding nuanced communication at times, so that leads to a suspicion strong enough to keep track of it. It sucks, and I don't know how severe your nephew's affliction is, so I'm not going to say you shouldn't try everything you can find. I'm just saying don't get your hopes up too high.

[IanS]

chya. BS indeed! My nephew is autistic. We believe it is an allergic reaction to wheat glutten.

Feel free to seek treatment, but the last I heard was that there wasn't a connection. Here's an article: http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=10690766

I'm aspergish: no formal diagnosis, but interpersonal interaction is difficult and I have trouble understanding nuanced communication at times, so that leads to a suspicion strong enough to keep track of it. It sucks, and I don't know how severe your nephew's affliction is, so I'm not going to say you shouldn't try everything you can find. I'm just saying don't get your hopes up too high.

Too true. People need to stop listening to Jenny Mccarthy.

There are so many people freaking out about the Autism "epidemic" that there are these stupid "causes" popping up everywhere.

Vaccines cause Autism = Debunked
Wheat Gluten causes Autism = Debunked
Mercury causes Autism = Debunked

I am also aspergish, and to those of you who have not experienced this, I assure you, 99% of people have almost no knowledge of the small mental differences that make us what we are. My wife doesn't even fully understand it. I have read many studies, and interacted with autistic children. A genetic link makes sense.

We joke about it, but as years pass, those of us who find difficulty dealing with social situations, and complex communication, are still finding ways to meet a partner. In days of old, we would have been relegated to permanent bachelordom. The true test will have to wait until I have children. I know the risks, and I can only hope for a good outcome. Even with a 1 in 20 chance, I still think that the juice is worth the squeeze.

[DamonDread]

The wheat gluttin thing was a joke. LOL
We are not sure what cuased his affliction, I honestly dont know anything about it. But I dont believe it has anything to do with level of IQ for the respective parents. I have a feeling it is something like crossed wires. Just an opinion ya know. It seems that what he lacks in social situations, speach, and behavior he makes up 10 fold when using computers. He is a savant or close to it. The brain is plastic and when underdevoloped in one area it tends to make up for in another, i.e. blind ppl hear much better and usually the part of the brain used for hearing will be much larger than a person with sight (thank you pbs for your very enlightening program on brain plasticity). Thats just my feelings on it.
HIs parents did try the wheat gluttin thing but it really didnt seem to make any kind of improvement. The real improvement came when he got into school. I think the structure of it is what helps him the most.

[IanS]

The wheat gluttin thing was a joke. LOL
We are not sure what cuased his affliction, I honestly dont know anything about it. But I dont believe it has anything to do with level of IQ for the respective parents. I have a feeling it is something like crossed wires. Just an opinion ya know. It seems that what he lacks in social situations, speach, and behavior he makes up 10 fold when using computers. He is a savant or close to it. The brain is plastic and when underdevoloped in one area it tends to make up for in another, i.e. blind ppl hear much better and usually the part of the brain used for hearing will be much larger than a person with sight (thank you pbs for your very enlightening program on brain plasticity). Thats just my feelings on it.
HIs parents did try the wheat gluttin thing but it really didnt seem to make any kind of improvement. The real improvement came when he got into school. I think the structure of it is what helps him the most.

Rofl, thats about the last reaction I expected. Good joke.

Crossed wires is a good analogy. Its what makes the genetics thing seem plausible. Anyone can carry the genes that cause it, but it likely shows up more in people with a certain disposition.. I dont think IQ has anything to do with it. Geeks aren't always smart, they are just geeky.

[hannibal]

I read something last week about increased odds of a second child having autism if a older sibling has it. That I can buy. But saying geeks are more likely to have children with autism seems a bit of a stretch.

Poor Simon. It must suck to have your cousin's name mentioned every time someone quotes you...

Actually, there's believed to be a strong genetic component to Autism and Asperger's. Adults are often diagnosed with one or the other after their child has been, as it's easiest to diagnose in childhood.

I totally get the genetic connection, which I was trying to suggest about the link between siblings with autism. Obviously, they inherit these traits from their parents. But I don't think the characteristics that make one a "geek" (tech savvy, poor social skills) are genetically based, and therefore wouldn't be passed on to children and certainly wouldn't cause a condition as severe as autism.

[IBCoupe]

Oh, I think tech-savviness isn't what makes you geeky. I think it's the reverse. I think the poor social-skills (of course, a staple of the autism spectrum) lead to tech-savviness. Maybe it's that, at no time, do geeks expect a computer to behave like a person, or maybe it's because machines are a much simpler thing to deal with than people, and they represent a much more fruitful devotion of energy.

[DamonDread]

Genetics could explain alot. I would like to see a study of where parents and siblings of autism patients are pyscho evaluated. There very well could be a link. But in my nephews case it was just out of the blue. Parents are very normal (well as normal as any one individual could be) and both of his sisters are perfectly fine. Wich can also come back to Mercury based perservatives in the 2 year old specific enoculations. That could be very scarey prospect.

[IBCoupe]

I can't tell. Mercury = another joke?

[IanS]

I can't tell. Mercury = another joke?

I hope so.

[DamonDread]

For a minute there i thought i misspelled that

[DamonDread]

[IBCoupe]

Oh wait i thought i mispelled that. Am i out of the loop has that theory been debunked aswell.

Yeah. There's only been one study that supports it. It had 11 subjects, and recently it's come out that some of the data was falsified so as to show a link. Despite this, Jenny McCarthy marches on in her campaign against vaccination.

[DamonDread]

My brother mentioned something to me about it and it seemed promising. Considering how varied the issue is. But i read a little more just a minute ago and it is just grasping at straws for sure.

[hannibal]

Oh, I think tech-savviness isn't what makes you geeky. I think it's the reverse. I think the poor social-skills (of course, a staple of the autism spectrum) lead to tech-savviness. Maybe it's that, at no time, do geeks expect a computer to behave like a person, or maybe it's because machines are a much simpler thing to deal with than people, and they represent a much more fruitful devotion of energy.

Good point.

[Speedy7_7]

The link between autism and vaccines comes from the fact that many of these kids are perfectly normal, happy, functioning children until right around the time they get a major vaccine boost. People confuse correlation with causation and think that vaccines may be a cause. The only thing that refusing vaccinations gets your kids; is sick. Measles, Mumps and rubella were nearly wiped off the face of the earth, 2 kids, just in MN alone, died of measles last year because their parents chose not to vaccinate them, they f*cking DIED! This is not the chicken pox, this stuff can kill you. And now I have to worry about my 7 month old being around kids in a daycare or at the park because some other kid might have Measles and my daughter won't be vaccinated until she is 2. I'm not having a stroke about it but it is on my mind from time to time. This Jenny McCarthy B*tch-tard needs to shut her mouth, I just can't grasp peoples lack of intelligence when it comes to stuff they know absolutely nothing about. Doctors go to school for 8 years for a reason, and that reason is to be smarter than your minivan drivin', shopping spreein', bored housewife, worthless, money grubbin', b*tch a**.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Oh, I think tech-savviness isn't what makes you geeky. I think it's the reverse. I think the poor social-skills (of course, a staple of the autism spectrum) lead to tech-savviness. Maybe it's that, at no time, do geeks expect a computer to behave like a person, or maybe it's because machines are a much simpler thing to deal with than people, and they represent a much more fruitful devotion of energy.

I don't really think it's as simple as either, and I certainly don't think it's as simple as one being a cause for the other...direct or indirect. I think the whole discussion here (and much of the discussion at large about autism) ignores the fact that autism happens to PEOPLE. There's more to each person than a single "disorder." You can't oversimplify this.

[IBCoupe]

Not meaning to oversimplify it, but I'm saying that the same mental state that leads one to be socially-inept can be interpreted to make one tech-savvy.

[Jesda]

You can be socially inept and fully retarded. I don't see a cause/effect connection anywhere.

[IBCoupe]

[IanS]

You can be socially inept and fully retarded. I don't see a cause/effect connection anywhere.

Have you seen my baseball?