Posted on 06/10/2011 3:13:11 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The other thing about Grandin is that she might not have survived alone in a hypothetical primitive setting. She turned out well because her parents and teachers worked very hard to encourage her, even though psychological "experts" recommended throwing her in an institution and walking away.
You are so right. Autism-Aspergers is the flavor of the decade for incurable romanticizers. In the previous decade the flavor was bipolar, before that, ADD. The sort of reasoning went, if some bipolars are very artistic then bipolar disorder made then so. I used to say I could make a fortune betting that those who romanticize bipolar disorder have never had to see it in a loved one. You put it a lot more succinctly.
Having a daughter who has chromosome deletions commonly found in Autistic children, makes me wonder if there may be some truth to what is being said. My theory has always been this is an evolution process. Since we now have the capability of chromosome testing, multiplications and deletions that have shown up in Autistic cases does make the point that Autism may begin at conception. With the number of cases, I believe in S. Korea there are 1 in 56 children diagnosed with Autism, it raises the question is Autism going to be the new norm eventually. What scares me is how prepared is the World for these children? On my experience it seems not very. These children are a gift from above with extremely intelligence and probably carry the key to cure many of the worlds problems. Maybe they are the healers of todays messed up World.
I’m not saying humans didn’t engage in hunting. That would be absurd to say otherwise. But to suggest that autism somehow gives advantages as it (theoretically) did during an era of human history where humans where just a hunter-gather species is likewise absurd. The implication is that autism is a remnant of the evolutionary process....and I don’t buy it.
look at post 17
There are still a few pockets of hunter-gatherers so they still exist. The inhabitants of the Garden of Eden were hunter-gathers. Because they didn't know any better their idea of paradise was eating fresh worms from a stick. The Garden of Eden was not our modern idea of paradise.
Wait...I thought the mercury in all of the vaccines caused autism. Then they supposedly removed all of the mercury and the prevalence of autism went up, so it was the aluminum or squalene in vaccines. So they supposedly removed them, but the CIA/NSA/Bilderbergers/CFR really kept it in and just isn’t admitting it.
Let’s look at it a little differently. Would you say that present day society, with gangs, criminals, just plain evil, is stronger today then any time really in our history? I believe so. Autistic children are total opposite of todays world. Is it possible that the evolutionary process is correcting the evil bad link and replacing it with good?
A study just came out that 90% of children diagnosed with autism actually have LYME disease. Many doctors have no idea that lyme disease is the number 1 infectious disease in the world. Tests are not very accurate for lyme disease, so you must see a lyme literate doctor, and there are not very many of them. Google lyme disease and autism to get many articles on the subject.
I did not suggest that it was.
I merely suggest that his hypothesis is testable. There are hunter gatherer societies in the modern world.
I do not see any individuals with but the mildest case of autism being able to survive in a hunter gatherer society. An individual with Asperger syndrome may be able to function in a hunter gatherer society but I very much doubt that a child with Rett’s disorder would survive in to adulthood.
Such a theory while interesting is not persuasive with out real world examples.
That’s a horrible explanation. Autism is a major disadvantage for the person who has it.
It’s more likely that our bodies are going crazy in response to some unusual insult. Things like bad diet.
agreed!!! This is downright nuts! Our granddaughter is autistic, my nephew, and our 32 year old son!
BEYOND STUPID I say!!!! Beyond stupid!
I want to tell you something my daughter has many markers of Autism and she is by no means disadvantaged. She sees people for their good, does not judge, easily forgives, is always happy and content, is that disadvantaged? I wish I had a quarter of what she possesses. Her qualities are what every one she have. The world would be much more peaceful and happy.
Please explain how genetic deletions and multiplications do not create Autism but a bad diet does? I am waiting for your expertise.
Your daughter must have a mild form then. It is indeed a disadvantage to be unable to see things like social cues.
Sure, genetic deletions do exist in autism, but are they the cause, the symptom or both ? Something has changed in the last 20 years that has resulted in an increase in autism. No one really knows for sure what that is.
Give me a high function obsessive-compulsive Aspergers person the next time I go to pick blueberries and blackberries. I have gradually come to the conclusion that my father was high function Aspergers. Once set on a task he worked non stop. At age 80 he was complaining that he could no longer work with me an 8 hour day on renovating projects.
I took care of my late husband as he was failing with Alzheimers. I have a hypothesis that there was a biological advantage to the Alzheimers gene in primative, especially northern, societies. Before it got really bad he passed through a phase where when he got hungry he would leave the house and I would have to run after him to bring him back as by that time he could no longer find his way home. I had to bring him into the kitchen as I quickly fixed food and feed him nibbles so he wouldn’t get up and try to leave. I had read stories about how elderly Indians during starving times would wander off into the woods and die so there was more food for the tribe. I now wonder if they were in the middle stages of Alzheimers, and just woke up at night hungry and went off looking for food and couldn’t find their way home again. This would have a survival advantage for their children and grandchildren.
At that stage I found that my husband could still do useful things if they were a continuous action like sweeping the sidewalk. I imagine that things like knapping flint arrows, or weaving baskets, or molding pottery would be similar. He could also do things if he was asked, like carry grocery bags. He loved to work and we built a small cabin in the country. We had no power there. I would start a saw cut in a timber and he would finish it for me. He would hold wood in position while I hammered. The only time I had a problem was when I was repairing the roof, and since he could not see me he kept trying to walk off with the ladder;-). Caring for someone with Autism or Alzheimer’s is a trial, but there are positive things that can be done if we look carefully.
What a great story, thanks!
Another example is extreme dental dysplasia ~ particularly when it's associated with missing teeth (that just never came in).
Turning your premolars sideways gives you an extra cutting edge for eating lots of raw meat ~ losing those teeth lets them turn easily, and also frees up some space so all your others can turn their best edge the most advantageous way.
The Sa'ami, who've been living all the way up to the Arctic for the last 14,000 years have an 18% incidence of the situation where teeth just don't come in.
Better diagnosis ~
Better diagnosis ~
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