Yesterday I told a lady I'd only just me that I had Asperger's. This was apropos of a discussion we were having about the relative merits of Jungian psychotherapy over cognitive behavioural therapy. The conversation went on like this:
Lady: Oh, that's linked with allergies, isn't it?
Me: Do you mean to wheat and dairy? I don't know, I've yet to be convinced. I mean, are you saying that if I eliminate wheat and dairy products from my diet, then within a few weeks the scales will fall from my eyes, I'll be able to read body language just like that and social skills I've never had before will come flooding in? Even if I could change my brain chemistry with my diet, how could that make up for 30-odd years of ignorance?
L: Well, a lot of people are intolerant to wheat even if they don't realise it. It's all because of the way bread is so processed now. That's why diabetes is on the rise, didn't you know?
M: Hang on, you're changing the subject. We were talking about Asperger's, not diabetes. How can an allergy cause a lack of social skills?
How indeed? Can anyone enlighten me?
I don't think it can, but people are looking for pat explanations of conditions such as autism and quick cures.
A lot of people with Aspeger's, autism, dyslexia etc are prone to allergies. This is not neccesarily causation.
21 days, huh? Wow, I hope you're not thin...
I'm the exception when it comes to Aspies--I have no allergies at all, except possibly for house-dust (I get mild runny nose sometimes, when I have to live in a dirty place). I often say I'm allergic to cigarette smoke; but that's just because the smell is just plain horrible to me--I think it triggers overstimulation, because I feel cranky and like I want to scream or hide whenever somebody in the same room with me is smoking. It's just about the same effect as strong perfume or cold casseroles, two things which can also trigger meltdowns if I don't watch out.
My family has allergies strongly, though--my mother, father, and both my sisters. There could be some genetic link--maybe the section of DNA that causes Asperger's and allergies is close together?
Well, I have hayfever as my father does, but that's the only allergy I know of.
I don't see how allergies could cause autism either.
I've yet to see any real evidence linking any allergy to autism, furthermore simple logic dictates that an allergic reaction wouldn't cause something as complex as autism.
I have no allergies that I know of.
I do how ever have over-active mucus production and have a strange random occurence where my throat closes up when I eat and I produce masses of thick saliva, but there seems to be no link between what I eat and when it happens. Infact when my throat relaxes (anytime between a few seconds and a few hours) I can go back and finish what I was eating without any problem.
I am allergic to fish and cashew nuts. I am also intolerant to milk protein, but I never really react in any way if I drink milk. I drunk alot of milk before my parents found that I had the intolerance at the age of 13, they say that I have changed from when I drinked milk, but it is really just that I got aways from the bullying I expereinced at primary school.
When I was young I also was allergic to fish and milk.
When I was young I also was allergic to fish and milk.
CORRECTION!
Egg and milk, I am still allergic to fish.
I have no food allergies. The only thing I'm allergic to is bee stings. XD
I also have no food allergies. However, I am allergic to pollen, cats, penicillin, and sulfate drugs.
The only things I'm allergic to are penicillin and some pollens.
I think I'm allergic to some antibiotics including penicillin but not to such a degree that I would get anaphylactic shock from them.
Ah Zed, I think much of this heavy metal stuff has already been discredited as a "cause" of Asperger's. Also, most Asperger's people have average or above average intelligence, with some even being in the "gifted" or "genius" range.