Will AS disappear in the future?

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Interesting.
Assuming that the percentage of people with autism was unchanged over time prior to our recent cultural revolutions/changes it would make sense that the percentage would decrease after these revolutions, which make it less likely for autistic people to reproduce. In order to maintain the same level it was required that at least people with HFA/Aspergers reproduce. If you now take that away you are removing a significant portion of the autistic genes from the genetic pool at every generation and the same level can no longer be maintained. It is exponential decay.

The case is not analogous for Tay-Sachs because they never reproduced in the first place. If you instead lower the reproduction rate of people with the recessive allele then we should expect for the numbers to dwindle.

No I do not think it will die out, well unless humans die out...which is a possibility. Also the reason I have no desire to reproduce is I don't see how I would take care of a child...not because I want to perfect the gene pool.

As long as someone with AS is reproducing, it'll always be around.

But we know our suffering only too well. We can choose to end it here, with ourselves. Why not put a stop to it?

My suffering is due to prejudice, not autism.

How so?

I need to go sleep now, it's late

We're the future. I think once people accept our way of communicating (which they are already starting to do [and even embrace - e.g. The Big Bang Theory,]) they will realize that's it's better. For example, if infrastructure conformed to autistic sensibilities the world would be a much more pleasant place.
Don't despair. I think the world will become better for us.

Well, let's see... I've been kicked out of school, fired from a job, evicted from an apartment, bullied, abused, and generally mistreated because I am different.

My autism did not force people to do those things to me. There is absolutely nothing about my awkward, eccentric appearance, or my deficits in both communication and self-care, that mind-controls NTs into being absolutely bigoted jerks. They make those choices themselves.

Autism is my everyday normal. I'm used to sensory overload, difficulty with socializing, and even shutdowns. I have those problems, and for me they are average everyday problems, like getting stuck in traffic or having a computer crash and erase your nearly-finished term paper. They are annoying, but they are not tragic. Disability is my normal. If I lived in a world where I am considered an equal, that would be all that's left. These everyday annoyances, the loud noises and the social cues flying over my head, the difficulty with living on my own, all of that, would no longer be seen as tragic. In a world where disabled people were accepted as equals, people wouldn't pity us, nor deny us work or education, nor expect us to stay hidden and not show our faces in public, nor think it's "understandable" when we're abused or killed by the people who we should be able to trust.

Ask somebody stuck in traffic whether they're suffering, and they'll probably say no. But it's still a pretty unpleasant experience, isn't it? They're late to their appointment, they're bored, they're annoyed at that guy who just edged into the empty spot they wanted; maybe they have to use the toilet and there's none in sight. It's about as unpleasant as your average sensory overload. So why are autistics "suffering", and people who are stuck in traffic aren't? The only difference is that the annoying, painful, or frustrating parts of living with a disability are things that most people don't experience. But instead of seeing them as annoying, painful, or frustrating parts of everyday life, people see those things as completely different, in a world apart, as though we're not quite human and our lives must be so much worse than theirs could ever be, because they don't know that for us, it's everyday normal. That's where the fear, pity, and even hate come from. They see us and they think our lives are horrible, and they pity us, and they fear becoming disabled, and if they give in to that, they start thinking of us as not quite human, dangerous, inferior, alien beings who are burdening the world by our mere existence.

Hyena, there are too many variables to say for sure - but why is this an issue in the first place? There are numerous parents and grandparents on this forum to say that yes people with Aspergers can find someone and have children with their partners.
Agreed Callista.
And what matters is how you choose to live your life, whether you have Aspergers or not you decide who you want to be. I know of a great many people and types of people without Aspergers whom the world could do without. The biggest trouble with Aspergers is the label itself being stigmatised by other people, instead of being a means to find ways to cope with certain deficiencies it is seen as 'some parts missing' and thus 'broken' and inadequate/useless - which is most certainly not the case. We are not a disability, we are people.

Last edited by RustDogofAus on 15 Feb 2014, 7:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

He says that, but I bet that HE can't even get pregnant.

Don't remind me.

All I've ever wanted was a baby Dill, but the harshest darkness of life took my wants without even an apology.

You know I'm fighting to make both cloning and the implantation of a womb in males legal just for you. Don't give up! I'm fighting for your baby!

It probably won't be totally eliminated. After that it is about will science be able to alter the genetics and environmental factors to find a cure, will it be forced on people, and even if it is not forced will it be like downs syndrome currently disliked enough that people will choose to abort their autistic fetuses. Even in the worst case scenario through environment, mutation, and the fact that there will always some people that will be different and want to fight the status quo that some will "slip through"

down syndrome isnt as dislisked as its believed,the high number of abortions of downs fetuses is because the mothers to be arent informed enough of the condition-they dont have any understanding of downs other than the stereotypes and hearing its a disability [in the negative sense],they see it in pityful terms and think they wont grow up having all the things they want them to have-a job,a boyfriend/girlfriend,a place of their own, independance etc.

like autism down syndrome isnt anything to be pitied, the only awful things about it that really need curing to give them a better quality of life are the life lowering conditions that often come along with it;type one diabetes, heart problems and early onset dementia.

having grown up being educated with people with downs and living with people with downs for the past decade;am part of a big group that sees the difference rather than straight out negative interpretation of disability-of downs,and it tries to educate people on how they deserve a life like anyone else to.
have personaly lived with people who have profound level of downs right down to being friends online with one lady with mild downs who is doing a media degree in university so am fully informed in how it affects people and wish these abortive parents woud involve themselves in the DS community to inform themselves better before making their decision.

am personaly against the abortion of any being,two cousins of mine were discovered to have very rare profound physical and mental disabilities in the womb and the mum was firstly told to abort,she refused as two of her adult kids are autistic and the other intelectualy disabled and both have a good quality of life,next they told her they woud die when they were born-they lived for over a year and were given profound love and care from the family.

Hi KindgomofRats! I'm really interested in Down's Syndrome and the reality v. the stereotype. Do you know of any places I can go to research it?

I do kinda think the more people learn about AS the less dismissive they'll be of people who have it.