ASD geneology, Nordic origin?

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I don't think culture can really tell us much about whether autism originated with a certain ancestral group, though. Autism is a 1% minority and it's not like we'd dictate the development of an entire culture.

There are certainly disorders that are more common in one ancestral group than another, like Tay-Sachs and Jewish people, for example; or sickle-cell anemia for people whose ancestors lived in areas where malaria is common. I just don't think autism is among them.

We should see more autism diagnosis in some cultures than others, due to various factors, most notably the perception of what disability is, what needs to be diagnosed and what doesn't, and how much access people have to medical care. In some societies, a middle-of-the-range autistic person might not be disabled at all. In others, even mild autism confers some real drawbacks. (Yes, Western society is one of the ones where even mild autism is a disadvantage, unfortunately.)

There are some autism-friendly aspects in many cultures, I think--for example, the formal social rules of Japan, which are spelled out to a greater degree than ours are; or the blunt nature of Germans, who are far more likely to answer questions literally than Americans are.

I still think autism started before we were humans at all--Ettina, do you happen to have a reference for the idea that chimps can have autism too? I'd be interested in reading that.

I'm definitely of Nordic, Irish, Scottish and Native American descent, and I have AS. I also like Norse Mythology, even if I can't pronounce half the names correctly.

I don't look Scandinavian/Nordic. I have blue-black hair, freckles, high cheekbones and gold eyes that turned brown when I was 7 (they are currently turning back to gold).

I think that there is some French and Spanish (as in, from Spain) in there as well, but I can't afford genealogy-DNA tests.

For that matter, almost all humans today might have some ancestry from Scandinavia a few thousand years ago.

I'm British and whilst I probably have a small amount of Nordic heritage on the Scottish side of my family (some of my dad's ancestors came from the east of Scotland), I think my heritage is mostly Celtic, especially on my mother's side. My mother's side come from Wales and the the South-West of England, so Celtic (there is also some Northern Italian ancestry rumoured, but I don't know). My Dad's side are probably a mixture of Celtic and a little bit of Nordic.

I know people with ASD from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds because I work in education. They range from West African to Chinese and some of them probably have no Nordic ancestry.

I'm sorry but there is just no evidence to support this assertion.

There are however several recent scientific articles I have read that note a fascinating key difference between our closest hominid relatives (Neanderthals, Denisovans) and ourselves - Modern humans include a change in gene expression known to affect the brain which means that the other hominids most likely did not develop Autism while we as a species of course do. Considering the fairly consistent rates of Autism found throughout a wide range of human ethnicities when different health systems and cultures are accounted for and the fact that humans are the only hominid species known to have had Autism suggests not only that the changes that allow our specific presentation of Autism to happen occur only in humans but also that the change likely occurred very early in human history - Certainly long before there was any such distinction as 'Nordic'.

Also, Germans are not Nordic. Some (particularly in the North) have some Nordic admixture but they are not themselves classed as Nordic. Scandinavia includes only Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The broader term Nordic includes the three Scandinavian nations plus also Finland, Iceland and some debate exists as to if Greenland is also included or not. Germany is a different group of people, though they are Neighbours of Denmark.

While Nordic, or more specifically Scandinavian, cultures can be quite appealing to some of us that does not provide any evidence that we are all descended from one specific ethnic group from one limited geographic area. The fact that Autism occurs in people of full African ancestry, who are not descended from people who migrated out of Africa at all, and therefore cannot have Nordic Ancestry, completely rules out your assertion.

There is nothing wrong with identifying with a particular culture and embracing it, it's really nice to find somewhere you feel at home, but that doesn't mean that all autistics have roots in that one ethnic group.

I seriously doubt that it is a Nordic affliction, although I myself am of Nordic origin. I would say that a certain percentage of any culture has AS individuals in them.

It isn't easy for many Americans to pinpoint specific ethnic origins. Americans have come from nearly every nation in the world. Some of us have Native American or African American descent. I doubt AS has a specific ethnic origin.

Actually, there may be something in all this.

I've read some theories that Autism may be a result of homo sapiens breeding with Neanderthals, who all lived in Northern Europe, and were a "white" species, unlike us, the homo sapiens. We came in contact with them in our great exodus from Africa. They believe Neanderthals lacked the ability to communicate verbally, and communicated in grunts and sign language, and that they had brains that were intelligent, but not in the same way as homo sapiens (for example, complex thought processes were limited). They believe that it is possible that with the mixing of the two species, homo sapiens may have some genetic code from Neanderthals that actually can trigger autism (though it is most probably a nature & nurture thing, as stated before).

Also, being paler promotes Vitamin D absorption from the sun in colder/less sunnier climates (i.e places like Scandinavia), while darker skin blocks skin cancer better and is better suited to sunnier climates, where people will get plenty of Vitamin D anyway. There has been studies showing that humans turn paler quicker than they turn darker, as it is thought it is more important for us to suck up Vitamin D than fight off cancer - Vitamin D is seen as crucial in brain development etc. I've read some studies relating Vitamin D deficiency to Autism. There has been research done with Somalian refugees that now reside in Sweden, as they have actually been birthing significantly more Autistic children than say they're relatives or parents did in Somalia, and compared to the general population.

Of course, these are all just theories still, but still interesting and worth the thought.

It definitely seems like there are environmental and genetic triggers, and epigenetics could certainly play a huge role too.

Confusedalot:

Those are all outdated theories which have been proven to be highly unlikely. Current analysis of Neanderthals indicates that they did in fact have complex language, they would not have had Autism (which developed in modern humans after we branched off from them), they had very complex thought processes, and they likely had tight knit social structures to their groupings. I can provide links if you need them, but a quick google would enable you to find the information yourself.

The rise in autism diagnosis in new migrant families living in western countries is not thought biological but rather primarily the result of more thorough testing in many western countries. It is seen in many countries around the world, cherry picking Sweden from the bunch because it fits the thread topic is not scientific.

There are many theories behind the origin of Autism. Simon Baron-Cohen seems to think that the rise of autism may be due to mating preferences, having two "systemizer" parents mate with one another to produce "hyper-systemizer" children. Related to this, I've also heard that the explosion of Autism may be due to adaptations made to the more modern "systemizing" way of life. I've also heard that autism originated in Neanderthals, but there is much conflicting evidence there.

As for the Nordic theory, there is no real evidence for this, but I wouldn't be surprised if none was discovered. My autistic side comes from Scotland and Norway. My Norwegian born great grandmother was institutionalized in her 30s back in the early 1900s. No one knows why, but I suppose that it could have been for autistic-like traits.

I am French Canadian and Italian.

It may be just that certain cultures are more "aspie friendly" than others. I would think that more "formal" cultures (German, Japanese) might be easier to blend in to.

I don't think any culture has a higher prevalence of autism than another.

I'm Canadian but my heritage is 75% French and 25% Scottish.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/autism-r ... 1403543838

Yeah I don't think so, I knew a Swedish kid in college and he was NT to the core. The way ASD is treated in some cultures sucks, for example the US, China (they just call you insane in my culture) and France (with the packing thing). I have no clue how Scandinavian countries deal with it but I've heard there's not really integration of special ed people in some parts of Europe. Waiting for people from those countries to post in this thread for a final answer.

ASD correlates with affluism. Not because of over diagnosis in that sector that can afford to diagnose their kids, but when they randomly gave kids diagnostic tests the rich kids had more autism.

Interesting clue into the selective advantage autism may provide to heterozygotes or those with mild trait.

Well, South Korea has one of the higher reliably established rates, so unless you can show how the Koreans are actually of Viking descent I would have to say your theory is incorrect.

See prevalence tables on the CDC website. You know the CDC ? Blew itself up on the Walking Dead (Great Episode!) and just accidently exposed scores of people to Anthrax. Those folks, yes.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

Everyone wants to be Nordic. Not me. I don't like fish.