Aspergers and Ethnicity

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For some reason, *I* equated AS with white also, but a girl here said things that made it sound like she was pretty much like I was and SHE is BLACK! Who can say though. I originally pictured her as blond. I have NO idea why. I have NOTHING against blonds, etc... and I am not blond myself. As for JEWs, they DO have a syndrome that can seem SIMILAR to AS, but if both parents have it, the child could die, etc... It is not the same as AS. AS doesn't seem to be related to blood type, RH(although there ARE a LOT of negatives), race, country, heritage, food, etc....

I DOUBT many hobos or homeless are aspies.

Love your cynicism.

Yet, the idiocy of an elitism towards Aspergers or HFA is ludicrous. Of course there are not particular groups that are more susceptible. If you traveled the world, observed those kids afflicted as some social anthropologists have done, then you would think differently. (Read Unstrange Minds).

Diagnosis of ASD's is highly subjective and not based on a particular medical test. Therefore, the sad truth is that many times the official medical diagnosis is based on a socio-economic one. Many parents of lower socio-economic status, with less education, are not first in line at the autism centers which don't take insurance btw. Professionals, too, are not quick to identify a child with Aspergers or HFA, so this child, from a lower socio-economic status, who also happens to be a minority, is labeled something else (emotionally disturbed, LD or ADHD). These are fixable with a cocktail of prescribed meds. Schools go for easy. IOW, it is a cultural trend. Interesting to note, even back in Kanner's day 1940's, the parents of autistic kids were all educated, doctors, lawyers (even the woman which was not common). Therefore, the "refrigerator mother" and cold, detached parenting was considered by Bettleheim to be the cause of autism.

Do we have extensive medical data on people from Asia or Africa? In the absence of such data the question cannot be answered.

ruveyn

Am know of a 'severe' aspie male and three profound auties that are black [all are in learning disability residential services].

I'm of European ancestry but ASDs are definitely not limited to any ancestry group.

Great post. I think this is part of what's happening, too. There's a lot of socio-economic and cultural noise in the data. There are some great posts about the California special ed data that I should go find. I recall that while a similar number of black, white and Latino kids received special ed services, whites were two times more likely than blacks and three times more likely than Latino/as to be in the autism category. And Asians were most likely to be in the autism category than any other group. Both referral bias and the relatively high cost of diagnosing autism are undoubtedly factors there.

2unkenrel: Are you talking about Tay-Sachs? How is that at all similar to autism?

if there are as % of ASD in Those continents i would suspect that ASD is something genetic which lays dormant in most families and so only surface with the right triggers..

as in my family it is pretty clear to be related to Genetics...but how old these genetic mutations are i cannot say so it might very well be 10000's of years old and so be present all over the place...or they may be a genetic mutation that is the result of modern habits or lifestyle to a certain degree..to bad we dont know enough about it...we do however know there are several factors which do come together here to create ASD in a individual...

but i do not think that ASD is a socio-economic based disability... but i do agree that these things will matter in with who gets diagnosed in most Non western societies..

Ethnicity wise? Well, my mother is 100% Chinese and my father is 100% Chinese. Guess what I am?

Of the few Chinese people I have actually met, two are an aspie and an autie. I'm sure I've seen an autistic Chinese baby too.

Can't cite peer-reviewed sources sorry..

Great feedback people.

Some good points, I also am pretty certain that there is a correlation between the economic status of different races and the likelihood of getting a diagnosis.
someone also pointed out that black kids (boys in particular) who may actually have asperger's are more likely to just be labelled as rebellious and naughty rather than being considered as having a personality disorder, due to the fact that black boys (in the UK) are more likely than anyone else to be excluded or expelled anyway.

I strongly feel that the difference between a 'normal functioning' child whos a bit naughty and an AS child NEEDS to be acknowledge, if there is to be any progress or hope in the future of AS people. It's just coming up with a master plan to make it work though. As we're all aware, AS isn't EASY to diagnose and it would take an awful lot of one-on-one communication with each individual for a professional to come to a conclusion. PARENTS also 'need' to be aware of all the symptons and signs to look out for, for AS (as well as other rare disabilities/disorders).
It is my belief that lack of knowledge and awareness of AS has been the result of myself and i'm sure MANY others living many years of our lives in misery believing that we're just mental or 'cursed'.
A diagnosis offers if not all, but many, a sense of relief and assurance that we are not 'Mad', but just different.

Let me guess. You are Chinese too? Confucius says: Two Wongs don't make a White.

ruveyn

Yeah...the problem with using the Amish as an example is that you could just as easily say "Well, the tribes of Papau New Guinea report no autism, therefore vaccines are the cause." Anytime you are dealing with isolated communities and third-world countries, you can't just "take their word for it".

Are Amish families lining up to get their children assessed by a neuropsychologist for autism? Do they even know what neuropsychology means?

In third world countries, they have much bigger worries than AS. Even if they did know what neuropsychology was, would they be lining up and paying thousands of dollars for assessments when they have a hard enough time feeding their families?

In societies that don't know what ASDs are, the milder ones are often labeled as "odd", "naughty", or "annoying". The more severe ones are labeled as "very naughty", "hopeless", or sometimes even "demon-possessed". Children in the second category are often killed, put in attics, or sent to whatever nearby asylums exist.

The same thing can be observed in first-world countries, but to a lesser degree. An obviously autistic child will be noticed, regardless of the family's ethnicity. Milder forms being diagnosed all depend on the time and money resources of the family.

A family that can't afford to get their children assessed and into treatment will just make do with what they can. A family such as this is "money poor", but not necessarily "time poor".

A family that can afford to (money wise), but just has bigger issues to worry about ("time poor") will often not even realize that something is "wrong". My family was in that exact same position.

perhaps we should start a Organisation that sets out to help ASD sufferers in the third world?

ROFL

I suspect that AS is unheard of in many 'third world' countries. AS only became known about in Britain after Hans Asperger's articles on the subject were translated into English in 1991. There appears to be little evidence of pieces of the AS puzzle, such as publicity of unexplained AS traits, in Britain during the 1970s and 80s, so a co-discovery of AS would have been unlikely. The situation could be similar in many 'third world' countries today. I'm also interested in the situation in Islamic countries. They appear to be terra incognita on the AS map.

from all my research, autism is an equal opportunity disorder...........it knows no socioeconomic bounds....it is not racist..it does not tolerate religious intolerance, lol


autism is the random sperm/egg combo of everyone

thankfully it is very recessive.