I am unconvinced for several reasons.
1. Like many with AS, I was diagnosed as an adult, and grew up before the diagnosis was recognized in the U.S. But I was recognized as socially impaired in significant ways, and tested, evaluated, and seen my psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists. There was rejection involved, but that alone does not begin to describe the variety of experiences I had as a child or adult.
2. A core component of AS is a deficiency of nonverbal behaviors, which are not known to diminish as a result of rejection. Yet many if not most Aspies report an inability to read body language in others, or use body language appropriately. These differences are even observed in toddlers, who have yet to experience the social rejection you describe.
3. Although clinicians do disagree about who the threshold for diagnosis, a key criterion is "impairment" in interpersonal, social, or professional settings. Rejection may play a role in causing meltdowns or shutdowns, but your dynamic seems insufficient to account for how it would evolve or emerge.
Finally, the idea that modern society and its increasing dependence on technology is driving a genetic change and positive adaptations is unlikely since such changes would take thousands of years to occur in the human genome, and we've at most a couple hundred years into the industrial revolution, and less than a century (at most) into the information revolution.
I look forward to reading the other essays on your site, even if I may disagree with your views or conclusions.
22 Aug 2009, 7:29 pm
