I wonder how much of my people (I'm Teutonic and Celtic) have autism. My dad and his father show signs of classic autism but aren't autistic. My dad is half Scottish and half English while his father is almost fully English. My Y chromosome is of Anglo Saxon origin and I wonder if this had an influence on my autism. I never met my great grandpa as he died 34 or so years before I came into existence, so I don't know if he had a bit of autistic traits. I also read something of my great-great-great blah blah grandpa who lived in the 1600's which said...~ Capt. Johnson in his "Wonder-working Providence" speaks of General Humphrey Atherton as a "lively courageous man," and says:— "Altho he be slow of speech, yet he is down right for the business, one of cheerful spirit, and entire for the country."  ~ Humphrey shows classic signs of Autism and plus Atherton is my last name and has been traced to the time of King John. Wonder if something just snapped?

I remember Marcia saying a large percentage of Scottish people were on the spectrum. Marcia???? You on??? *looks for Marcia*

its about 6:05 in the morning her time so she is probably slowly waking up.

Lol!  I was sound asleep at 5 past 6 this morning!

I think it was actually skyblue1 who suggested that there was a higher rate in Scotland, and maybe Ireland.  I've had a quick google about, and can't find anything that suggests a higher rate in Scotland.  In fact, about 10 years ago it seems that the rate was higher in England and Wales, but that was attributed to higher detection rates, and it was deemed necessary for action to be taken in Scotland to improve early detection and diagnosis.

As far as I can see, the official rate in Scotland is 1:110.  

Here are the main findings of one report from 2004 I found.


Children and Young People

• Overall, over 3,400 children and young people are identified as having autistic
spectrum disorder, including Asperger syndrome.
• Overall, 35 children per 10,000 population are diagnosed with autistic spectrum
disorder. This varies for different age groups and areas.
• For the 5-10 age group, 49 children per 10,000 population are diagnosed with autistic
spectrum disorder. This figure is thought to be more accurate than the overall figure
for all age groups.
• Two-fifths of children with autistic spectrum disorder are also reported as having
learning disabilities.
• Nearly two-thirds of primary school children with autistic spectrum disorder attend
mainstream schools.
• Around one-third of children with autistic spectrum disorder were specifically
diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

Adults

• 645 adults were identified as having autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger
syndrome.
• Around 1 in 7 of these adults was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

I have read that Ireland has higher percentages...  (must go look at map now to see where scotland is..?) only half joking...

recently a reason for this was cited... something about "exam driven" school system... maybe that forces diagnosis...?

This post was last modified: 05-15-2010 04:38 PM by windy.

... found us yet?

Oh, I guess you all would not know this, but my husband is 100% Irish.

... found us yet?

Oh, yes, - I just forgot how much water was between-- or if there were any land bridges (no).

Could not find Wales though...

Wales is the reddish coloured bit on the following map

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W...Europe.PNG

I'm mostly Celtic, with a bit of Dutch on my mum's side. Unshockingly, I'm autistic.

So, maybe.

Then again, I'm in America. :/

Robby, I hate to tell you this.... but America is a melting pot so theres so many possibilities.

My family on both mum and dad's side were Scottish, although both families emigrated here to Australia generations ago.  There's evidence of autism in both sides, I believe, and at the very least both sides of the family would be considered "eccentric" by most standards.  

My husband's family, who are Indian Ocean Islander, have one diagnosed case of Aspergers (an older brother.)  

Alison

I am predominantly celtic....Irish, Scottish and mainly Welsh. But I am mixed with German and Italian too.

My ex is half-Irish (he is Irish American) and he seems to have some ASD tendencies, I observed. I obviously couldn't tell if he does have an ASD though.

The side of the family where I am supposed to have got my ASD from is mixed Italian/English with some Celt apparently.

Well, yes, it is. I cannot disagree.

But I am predominantly Celtic, the Dutch blood is almost non-existent. (My name is Celtic, even! Irish-Scottish.)

Well it appears that my dads bloodline had a case of it.