One of the hottest most inflammatory subjects when discussing ASD is the cause of this neurobiological quirk. The problem is that people seem to want one nice neat simple answer but that is not the case.
First you have to consider that ASD is a spectrum. There are in fact many different expressions of autistic behavior, therefore logically, there are different mechanisms for the creation of autism.
Secondly you have to consider that some of those conditions that are classified as 'autistic' are psychological and some bio-neurological.. Most, are a mixture of the two.
It is my belief that for a person to have an ASD you need both the genetic load. Whereby several different combinations of genetic variance indicating ASD, could eventually produce a child on the spectrum. And an environmental trigger, to activate those genetic codes.
With regards to vaccines. A vaccine can not alter the genetic code of a person, that is biomechanically illogical. However there is a very real possibility that the genetic predisposition in some children towards ASD is given it's expression due to the post vaccine fever some children develop. High fevers at certain neurodevelopmental points are known to affect the development of the brain.
This makes sense to me also as mothers to ASD children have immune disorders in higher frequency to the mothers who have NT children. The immune system is known to be off in families with ASD.
Another possible trigger is a high stress environment during pregnancy. ASD mothers report a higher proportion of domestic abuse and or traumatic/stressful experience during pregnancy. It is possible that heightened stress hormones during the development of the fetus' brain triggers the expression of a more anti-social offspring.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I feel asking what causes autism is like asking what causes the sun to go around the earth.. You can find out the causes but the answer is so complex there's not a lot you can do to change it.
There will never be a cure for autism because that would simply be genocide. We aspies do need to learn how to socialise, but then every child does. We just come from a different place so need a different way of being taught.
Friday, 9 August 2013
Monday, 5 August 2013
Open ramble to NT people
Asperger's syndrome is a huge part of my life. It is the window through which I watch the world and through which my daughter see's too. In this blog I'll be writing about both of our difficulties, talents and perceptions. I'm kind of hoping to let people know, we are not crazy people, we are not maladjusted genius', we are not freaks. We're just different. And just as I fight for my right to be accepted as a gay woman I will fight to be accepted as an Aspie woman. I will fight for a world that I feel safe letting my daughter go out into without having to worry that she will not cope.
There are so many Mom's, Dad's and Aspies I've come across who see it as something 'wrong'. Who want to cure or fix autism. I want to tell them now to forget it. What you end up with is an NT translator. That is what I became. I understand the neurotypical world and I can translate from Aspie to NT, I learned your language but I have never learned to be NT. I still get sensory overloads, I still perceive far more than the average person, I still prefer a routine and to know what is what with my environment. Just like teaching a left handed person to write right handed, you do not end up with someone becoming left brained. You simply strengthen the weaker connections and end up with someone ambidextrous. You can train the brain's weaker areas but you can not change it's neurology.
I'll be honest I always get kind of offended when someone says how do I fix my kid. They don't need fixing they are fine, they have some amazing talents that an NT child simply wouldn't have, do you know many average children that can construct and envision like ours do? I don't want to be fixed and I don't want my daughter fixed. What I do want is for us to be able to live our lives in a relative amount of psychological comfort.
For an Aspie the world in itself is the biggest issue. Why do I HAVE to go to school when I can learn out of school.. You want me to socialise with people i share no interests with and who tolerate me as I do them because we HAVE to be there... All because we were born within the same academic year? (Yep my face is a picture of befuddlement right now) Why do I HAVE to wear clothes that are uncomfortable because they are fashionable? Why do I HAVE to take into account your thoughts and feelings when mine are never met? Why do I get accused of being controlling when this thing called culture and society is constantly trying to control me when I am not harming me or others?
Now there are a great deal of behaviours in an Aspie child that are dysfunctional, that hurt them and others. But there are things like that in NT kids too. In fact I have seen the nastiest behaviours exhibited not in SN children, but NT. Bullies tend to be NT. My personal belief is that we wouldn't have so many 'special' needs if the world around us were just a little more accommodating to 'individual' needs. We still need help to learn how to manage and react to our emotions. But then, we could all probably use help with that, SN and NT alike. We still need help learning to cope with the sensory bombardment we get. We still need help with the processing differences we have and basically learning how to talk NT (If you sit two aspies together they actually have no issues reading each other's body language, just as our brains differ so does our communication, that's why we don't understand you) But with a little more appreciation and understanding that we can with our fantastic brains, help you too. I think we could get along a lot better than we have been doing.
It's that word you NT's love so much but seem not to understand yourselves.. Empathy.. Put yourself in my shoes, even for a minute.. Wear the tight pinchy annoying shoes that I live in.. And please understand. I am not crazy just different
There are so many Mom's, Dad's and Aspies I've come across who see it as something 'wrong'. Who want to cure or fix autism. I want to tell them now to forget it. What you end up with is an NT translator. That is what I became. I understand the neurotypical world and I can translate from Aspie to NT, I learned your language but I have never learned to be NT. I still get sensory overloads, I still perceive far more than the average person, I still prefer a routine and to know what is what with my environment. Just like teaching a left handed person to write right handed, you do not end up with someone becoming left brained. You simply strengthen the weaker connections and end up with someone ambidextrous. You can train the brain's weaker areas but you can not change it's neurology.
I'll be honest I always get kind of offended when someone says how do I fix my kid. They don't need fixing they are fine, they have some amazing talents that an NT child simply wouldn't have, do you know many average children that can construct and envision like ours do? I don't want to be fixed and I don't want my daughter fixed. What I do want is for us to be able to live our lives in a relative amount of psychological comfort.
For an Aspie the world in itself is the biggest issue. Why do I HAVE to go to school when I can learn out of school.. You want me to socialise with people i share no interests with and who tolerate me as I do them because we HAVE to be there... All because we were born within the same academic year? (Yep my face is a picture of befuddlement right now) Why do I HAVE to wear clothes that are uncomfortable because they are fashionable? Why do I HAVE to take into account your thoughts and feelings when mine are never met? Why do I get accused of being controlling when this thing called culture and society is constantly trying to control me when I am not harming me or others?
Now there are a great deal of behaviours in an Aspie child that are dysfunctional, that hurt them and others. But there are things like that in NT kids too. In fact I have seen the nastiest behaviours exhibited not in SN children, but NT. Bullies tend to be NT. My personal belief is that we wouldn't have so many 'special' needs if the world around us were just a little more accommodating to 'individual' needs. We still need help to learn how to manage and react to our emotions. But then, we could all probably use help with that, SN and NT alike. We still need help learning to cope with the sensory bombardment we get. We still need help with the processing differences we have and basically learning how to talk NT (If you sit two aspies together they actually have no issues reading each other's body language, just as our brains differ so does our communication, that's why we don't understand you) But with a little more appreciation and understanding that we can with our fantastic brains, help you too. I think we could get along a lot better than we have been doing.
It's that word you NT's love so much but seem not to understand yourselves.. Empathy.. Put yourself in my shoes, even for a minute.. Wear the tight pinchy annoying shoes that I live in.. And please understand. I am not crazy just different
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