Aspies For Freedom

I haven't found this information yet. If it has not yet been researched, perhaps you would add it to your list...? If it has been researched, would you please re-direct me to a more appropriate place on-line? (pm me, I guess)

- If the Autistic Spectrum is a broad range of neurological disorders, what area(-s) of the brain is affected? If it IS a range of neurological disorders, can it be detected by any of the currently available medical scanning techniques? If not, why not? Is the difference too fine, or too deep, to be detected by existing devices? (To have a scanning device sensitive enough for this would be enormously useful, because it would- theoretically- reduce the need for the hit-or-miss psychological diagnoses and intelligence testing we seem to be limitted to at this time...)
(Note: Correct me if I'm wrong, but genetic testing could only detect the presence of the GENE that transfers Autistic Spectrum disorders; it does not tell you whether you are, in fact, on the Spectrum [does it?], because you can have the genes for any given charactistic, but not present it either objectively or subjectively. In such a case, the gene is called RECESSIVE, right? A 'sleeper,' if you will...)

-Why do people on the Autistic Spectrum in particular tend to have the comorbid conditions which are commonly associated with them? What biological or neurological function determines the presence or absence of these comorbids in any individual on the Autistic Spectrum?

Another idea:

Do people on the Autistic Spectrum process 'safe' HERBAL sedatives & anti-depressants differently than NTs, as they often do with medications used in psychiatric treatment? If this is unknown, would this be a worthwhile research topic?

The only specific part of the brain that I have found mentioned is the Amygdala. This has been shown in some scanning techniques such as MRI.

More than one gene must be involved but the 'problem' is believed to be in the Y chromosome (four times more males than females).

We are more likely to be born to older fathers, and our mothers are more likely to have A- (Rhesus negative) blood.

We seem to be affected by gluten (thus the glutenfree diet), casein (dairyfree diet), sucrose (no cane or corn sugars) and aspartame (no diet soda).

We can develop metabolic disorders as a consequence of our diets.
We may have problems processing protein and eradicating heavy metals, related to an insufficiency in Metallothionein. This is related to a deficiency in Zinc (best taken in combination with Magnesium and calcium), although excess Zinc can cause problems too. We may have a deficiency in Folate, usually taken with Iron as FeFol. These deficiencies affect the taste of the food we eat, so some of us limit our food to those we trust; sometimes to white carbohydrates such as bread and potatoes. This causes further undernutrition and may even lead to malnurition such as Kwashiorkor. We usually have a deficiency in B6, and I have found that I am better with regular B1, B12 and B7 (sometimes called Vitamin H).

There is a relationship with the uptake of Seratonin (thus the potential for depression).

We may be subject to sensory overload from lights and noise and smells, thus the irritability. We may have disturbances in our peripheral vision (not sight). Our reluctance to be in the sun may lead to a Vitamin D deficiency.

We ignore what we can't deal with, and NTs (neurotypicals) seem offended by that. If we ignore the overload or stim, we are treated as 'problems' or as ***, thus the frustration.

I am not a doctor, so this is information gathered from the Internet and experimentation in a family that has been affected to a greater or lesser degree for several generations.

I am dramatically more capable than I was even twelve months ago.I But, in addition to being careful with my diet and taking supplements, I take two different antidepressants and an antipsychotic.

I work fulltime and am studying Management Information Technologies at postgraduate level on a part-time basis. I find that I can write semilegible notes while I lip-read the lecturer. This way I seem to be able to understand what he is saying and it is easier to make sense of my notes later. If I just take notes, I usually only last ten minutes before I give up and wander off into virtual reality. I did have to ask the guy to stop talking to the whiteboard and turn to face me when he was talking and he has been really supportive (when he remembers ).

Zed

Memory related abilities? Such as the ability to recall the day of the week associated with specific dates over a period of years.

Or interesting musical abilities?

Another question would be why do special abilities sometimes fade with age, and what outside influences can effect this?

Although again I have little idea how this could be turned from musings to practical research.

Another idea (feel free to delete if it is stupid.)

Special interests.

Does a person's physiology / brain activity change when thinking about obsessions as opposed to other interesting or even boring things? -- This could be especially in reference to issues of reward / punishment. ie, The nature of physical reward resulting from obsession interests or is there a more adverse effect from punishing special interest than there is from punishing other day to day behaviour?

Is there any proof that the "comorbid conditions" truly are "comorbid"?  Hypothesis:  The "comorbid" conditions are not comorbid. They are a natural response to a lifetime of abuse, exclusion, ill-treatment, and incompetent treatment on the part of caregivers and society in general.  Is depression considered a "comorbitidy" of abuse?  Is anxiety considered a "comorbitity" of abuse?  Is lashing out considered a "comorbidity" of abuse?

" Is depression considered a "comorbitidy" of abuse?  Is anxiety considered a "comorbitity" of abuse?  Is lashing out considered a "comorbidity" of abuse? "

That's quiet an interesting question you ask. Because not everybody who is abused gets depression or anxiety. When they do, it's considered adjustment disorder, or reactive depression. Also, after a trauma, not everybody will develop post traumatic stress disorder. What makes some people get it, and anothers not? Some depression/anxiety are thought not to be linked to any stress at all. I personally think depression and anxiety disorders have different etiologies.

Though it's a good question to ask, is any of the depression/anxiety a result of abuse? This study could be done by comparing autistics who have depression/axniety to neurotypicals who have depression/anxiety. Perhaps compare autistics to neurotypicals who have been abused the same amount, perhaps they may have something that makes them the target of prejudice, and see if the number of depression/anxiety sufferers are about the same. Though it would be hard to systematically define and control 'amount of abuse'.

I don't know if this is the right place to post this suggestion for a research topic, or whether anyone is really interested in my crackpot idea, but here you go:

Is partial syndactyly (partially webbed toes, especially the second and third toes of each foot) more common in people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders than it is in the general population?

You can see the beginnings of this idea in the thread called 'Syndacyly (webbed toes)?' on the General forum.

Neurological research idea;

I read somewhere that people with ''diss'' (used to be called mps) have got amygdalas similar to amygdalas found in autism. Did this amygdala change, because of what happened to them? Or is ''diss'' developed more in (not diagnosed) autistic people as a reaction to severe abuse?

RE:Areas of interest for research (proposals)

Is there a link between autism and hemiplegia? My daughter was diagnosed with hemiplegia before the aspie/HFA diagnosis was made, so I also use Hemihelp forums....if you look at the topics discussed there, it seems a lot of the kids do stuff associated with autism eg happy-flapping, trancing, speech looping. Also similar sensory issues, sensitivity to certain noises etc. Communication and social issues.

I've searched the web, but can't find any details of any research done, on possible links between the two conditions....

'practical' research proposal.

It seems lots of people have a hard time finding a proper place to get diagnosed. Also diagnosing seems different in different countries. Would it be an idea to get information about how and where to get diagnosed per country. Or at least get adresses on the web where you can find decent information about diagnosis in different countries.

I know this is not research in a scientific way. But I think it needs to be done. And when all this information is available, different approaches in different countries can be compared as well. We might benefit from that.

I have to admit I don't understand how this folder/thread works. Please advise.

I am autistic and am very frustrated by some of the information that is/is not out there. I would like to gather information and possibly publish in academic journals. I have a personality study that I have done some work on already and have some subjects from a different forum (with a different demographic) and am wondering if autistic people other than myself would also be interested. Basically I want to see what the relationship is between autism and both established personality scales and also a personality system I am working on. Is it possible to recruit subjects from here and if so what would it take for people to trust me?

I have a BSc/MSc in Geology, a BSc in Psychology, and have written and submitted both a book and a journal article of original research (so far not yet accepted). I would love to have an interactive website so people could enter their own data themselves but don't have the funding for it, as I am on welfare. In the meantime what I have done in the past is ask people to use pseudonyms and submit the data by email.

There is no way I could just hang out and make friends before proposing this. I have spent too much time in online chat as it is and mostly find it frustrating now, but at the same time I don't want people to feel like I am some sort of user. Is it possible to discuss this here or somewhere else through AFF?

Thanks,

Anemone Cerridwen

Given that many, or all, aspies have been so since birth I think any research on newborns and infants would be interesting.  My son was born 4 weeks early (labour was induced because he had stopped growing), refused to breast feed and was extremely difficult to bottle feed.  Moving him onto solids was also a struggle and he continues to be the pickiest eater.  The emphasis on breast feeding rather than bottle feeding was unhelpful to say the least, and I wonder now if the sensory aspects of AS were at least a contributory factor in any or all of these early difficulties.  Also worth mentionning here is that at less than a month old and in an incubator he was extremely active and banged his head as soon as his neck was strong enough.

Research on this would be incredibly helpful for mothers like me who really struggled with feeding a child, which is so fundamental to a maternal relationship.

I don't know if there's any research on a possible link between low-birth weight babies and AS.  I think I read somewhere that underweight children are over-represented among aspies as opposed to NTs.

I suggest a research proposal to evaluate  Doctors / Psychaitrists and psychologists knowledge of behaviours relating to Higher functioning Autism spectrum disorders. Do they have enough knowledge to recognise and assess aspergers and hfa.