Aspies For Freedom

The aim of this project is to determine the truth (or lacke thereof) of claims made about possible environmental factors in the cause of autism. We will aim to evaluate exposure to claimed factors in the following groups of people:

Those diagnosed with LFA autism
Those diagnosed with aspergers
Those diagnosed with PDD-NOS
Those lacking autistic traits and immediate family on the spectrum

We will also aim to keep the groups balanced with regards to age, occupation, background and other factors other than the one being studied.

If anyone has suggested improvements to this proposal please feel free to post them on this thread but note that off-topic posts, ad-hominem attacks and generally uncivil things will be edited and/or deleted.

Sounds like a good idea, what do we need to do and how will I be able to help?

My main question is where do you get your categories?

My diagnosis is autism.  My diagnosis does not include a functioning level (the words "low functioning" are the only functioning level I can find attributed to me in my records, but that was written once, over a decade ago, other times there are absolutely no reference to being high or low functioning).  Nor do I want it to.  I have trouble even with your website's way of handling it in the user profiles (I chose the only one on I have on record, but it's not even fully accurate).  I want an option that just says "autism".

Why do you have to perpetuate functioning levels in your studies?

Why do you say "low functioning autism" and "Asperger's" but have nothing to say just "autism"?

Basically, the official diagnostic categories are in most countries:

Autism
Asperger's
PDD-NOS
Rett's (which there's a known cause for, but some girls with milder Rett's just get an autism diagnosis because they're not given genetic testing)
Childhood disintegrative disorder

Some countries also have a diagnosis of ASD.

When there is a division between AS and autism, it's AS and autism, it's not AS and LFA.

I have difficulty with the idea of separating Asperger's/Autism/PDD-NOS.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good idea to recognise that people with the traits described as 'Asperger's Syndrome' were recognised as being on the spectrum, and I understand there are historical reasons for using the name of the first person to describe a syndrome in the appropriate literature. I also realise that for many reasons a particular psychologist may have difficulty assigning a particular category to a particular person - I just think that it is unnecessarily divisive here to use them as if they are different.

I know I have more in common with someone described as Aspie OR LFA OR PDD-NOS than I do with any NTs, never mind air-heads* and I'm sure that my diagnosis would have varied across the spectrum depending on when I was tested.

Whether there are genetic, environmental or cultural causes they will have to apply across the planet and across the æons. Genetic causes are the only ones which can be applied logically to the spread of autism world-wide and throughout history.

*My definition: those on the NT spectrum who are so social that they are unable to have an original thought and live their lives according to the dictates of popular culture.

Gareth: There have been a spate of articles on the connection between manmade chemicals (toxic ones) and lower birth rates, low sperm count recently on this side of the pond.

Some of the chemicals implicated are the lining in plastic bottles, pesticides, etc. But as nearly all women are exposed to these things I don't think they cause autism, though there are researchers who claim about 20% of autism cases are due to pollutants that "turn on" certain genes.

I think my father's overeager use of both pesticides and lawn chemicals could have contributed to my mother's recent dx with Parkinson's (she is 88) as the only real link they can find in that disease is between farmers and their use of pesticides.

I lived 20 years in Atlanta's polluted air, always seemed to work downtown or near the interstate and I was ok til the last year or so when I noticed I had a little asthma because of it I think. Now that I live in a small town the asthma is gone. The skies are really a bright beautiful blue here still whereas you won't see that bright blue in Atlanta anymore except maybe once or twice in the winter during a holiday or something when people aren't driving so much. It's sad.

A lot of chemicals convert to estrogen somehow once in the body or mock estrogen so the body's hormonal balance gets upset. This is not good as estrogen promotes growth, which is good if it is your skin or hair or nails, but not so good if it is cancer cells. The ideal is a balanced hormonal system, which I actually have now, but I get my blood tested twice a year to see where I'm at. I also take supplemental progesterone and testosterone in small amounts so I won't get night sweats, but I digress.

Bottom line AS is genetic, and of Northern European (Neanderthal) origin. It's just more prevalent because WE are more prevalent. When I was born the world had 2.7 billion folks, now it has 6.6 billion!

1. I'm not sure variating to the more specific diagnosis really matters at outset.

2. Aside from the kids who developed normally, then had severe reaction to immunization, with onset of autistic symptoms following, I'm not sure how you plan to identify those exposed to environmental factors when we really don't even know what all the potential environmental factors are yet.  I'll give you an example.  Within our family I can see some suggestion of possible genetic disposition to spectrum.  At same time there is a huge incidence of Autism coming out of the TomsRiver NJ area where they truly believe it may be environmentally linked to toxins in the area. I grew up in Toms River waters. At same time I had issues in early pregnancy... so which do you attribute the cause to?  Maybe I'm just a poor subject for study. Better question for me is why does it matter? Forgive my ignorance here, but what is it you seek to show with the study?  How will that help your position?

For my part, I'm still not sure that AS and Autism are directly connected at all in first instance. Two people can share share the appearance of dark skin color.  One is black, the other a sun worshipper.

I'm not saying AS should disenfranchise themselves from the Autistic spectrum.  Human Rights wise, you share a lot of like goals. But in many ways the two are decidedly different. What I often see are AS getting hung up on labels/definitions as they are being applied to an entirely different area of the Spectrum. Might be easier to just establish yourselves as being alike but different. Am I making any sense here?

Maybe not the best place to post this. Feel free to remove if you think it better Gareth.
I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sure that is the study I'd look to be doing.  Who's doing it by the way?

PS all of this is becoming problematic because estrogen is stored in fat and everyone knows how fat we are becoming worldwide, especially Americans. Fat men are going to have more estrogen relative to testosterone and that can cause all kinds of reproductive problems.

Sorry,

Better first question:  Where do you go to access the proposal to read it?
Some of us (speaking of me here) are less computer savy.  

Mom

Me too, I'm self diagnosed so no use to the project except for assisting re my youngest son who is formally diagnosed.
Just let us know & we will do anything to help

The study I'd like to see is replication of Bauman's cross cut of brains done on AS (deceased of course) to see what similarities and differences there are to the actual brain structures of AS vs. other Autistics. I would not be surprised to find similarities in some areas with decided differences in others.

I'm also very interested in ongoing the MRI studies showing brain in use, for various players. Some really interesting stuff there.

Mom

Good idea, but maybe you should also cite some history on Hans Asperger. It could really help people understand what he was doing and why.