Female-To-Male Transsexual People Have More Autistic Traits,

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This study would seem to indicate a possible link between autism and transgenderism. If higher than average levels of pre-natal testosterone can cause autism they might set off the transgenderism in some people as well. It's probably linked to how each individual person's system responds to the extra testosterone.

Baron-Cohen has done some good work which has been useful to the ASC community but he has a male bias in his approach and rationalises everything to fit his systemitising theory which is now pretty old hat and he doesn't seem to understand the complexity of neurodiversity or the subtlety of sensory issues

Who is doing 'better' research then? I think he's the only one to offer coherent theories. I do think in a far more systemising manner than the average woman and I have autism so the theory fits me. What has replaced the systemising theory?

Baron-Cohen's study is just the latest in a line that link ASCs with gender and sexuality issues but the others don't try to explain why and make assumptions about people's motivations - it started a few years back when gender treatment centers started noticing that they had a lot more AS people on their books than there should have been according to statistical distributions in the population and the consequent data studies all show a statistical link - there is definitely a higher number of people undergoing gender treatments with AS than would be expected if there was no link.

But just because there is a link, it doesn't mean it's part of the picture for everyone or that all people who ask for treatment are on the spectrum.

He hasn't said people with transgender issues are always on the spectrum though, it's being posited as possibly linked to the same thing that causes autism

It's not the autism and transgender issues that are linked in terms of one causing the other, it's that they might have the same cause/origin ie the pre-natal testosterone levels

I think it makes a lot of sense

People don't like simple explanations though - they want things to be overly complicated to make them feel more special

Everyone else can have their condition far too sophisticated and complex for anyone to understand; I'd be perfectly happy with a simple cause and effect explanation

Systemitising is only part of the picture and only for some people on the spectrum.

There has been an awful lot of research since Baron-Cohen published that theory - Wing, Gould, Grandin, Mesibov, Bogdashina, Beardon, Williams, Lawson, Attwood............. all have something to add to the systematising but nobody has come close to a unified theory yet. The closest for many people is the Intense World Hypothesis proposed by Markram but even that isn't well enough researched yet to say whether or not it's a consistent and robust theory.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010743/

Well I certainly don't rate Beardon as an expert on anything!

I've seen him speak at the Aspergers Conference in Manchester and I'd call him an absolute lightweight as far as scientific research is concerned! I don't like the man at all

He recently did an article for Aspergers United Magazine which was painful to read!

he comes across more like a patronising and clueless social worker or probation officer than scientific researcher!

You haven't read Beardon's hypothesis on Stability and ASCs then (not yet published, I think) - it makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. I agree his approach is unorthodox and he can be abrasive and dismissive but so can Baron-Cohen. Beardon's strength is in support and engagement anyway, not in research, I didn't say he was a good speaker or even a nice person but he does have something to offer.

In terms of simplicity, you may be fortunate enough to find your presentation uncomplicated but many people don't - mix in a few comorbids like prosopagnosia, pain amplification, hyperaccusis, etc, and then see how simple it looks. The root cause may even be different for different people, we just don't know yet.

Baron-Cohen, as i said, does some good work - I and my family have even participated in some of it - but that doesn't make everything he says true and I don't think he has moved on enough in the last few years to be considered the major player he was 20 years ago.

You've evidently read a lot more research than me. I just had a bad vibe from Luke Beardon so that I didn't trust him. I've seen Simon Baron-Cohen speak also and communicated via email with him and I thought he came across as a lot more genuine and intelligent than Luke Beardon, who seems like a classic case of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' to me ie a not very intelligent person thinking they're all that! Luke Beardon comes across as having all the intellect of a Radio One DJ! He wants to be a 'friend to all the poor little autistic people' - he gives me the creeps basically - there I've said it now! Tony Attwood gives me a bit of this vibe too but he seems more intelligent and his book made a lot of sense so I can tolerate it off him.

I read a lot of research, I work in the field, know a fair number of famous names and read papers on a daily basis, I also have access to unpublished work from time to time. A lot of what you see of Luke in public is his mask, there's a lot more to him than he lets you see and certainly he is a performer on stage where he seems to enjoy winding people up. Lots of people don't like him, you are certainly not alone there.

Tony Attwood was one of my lecturers, he is a bit creepy sometimes, isn't he? But one of the best to learn from, he has some stunning insights.

There's a lot more I could say but I wouldn't want to on a public forum. Suffice to say, I think there are people who exploit people with Aspergers in the fields of research and therapy.

I kind of think this would be amazing, actually. I agree.

totally

#1 Many AS, ND, and NT people are asexual, aromantic, or demisexual/greyA and it is no different than any other sexuality. 1 out of every 100 people you meet will be on this scale or fluidity of this scale.

#2 Transgender is not an issue like you're making it out to be some kind of medical flaw, it isn't. Heteronormative ideals are misconceptions spewed from a xenophobic ancestry, outside of western civilization you will not see any of the same values and a different take on gender entirely in many cultures with far more than "2 choices".

#3 Hormonal variations have to do with Intersex variants. Gender is what is between your ears, Sex is what is between your legs and in your glands.

I'm sorry for being so blunt, but you're furthering misinformation on a rather little known (out of fear) subject. I do kindly ask that you look into the multitude of gender and intersex studies to further understand the phenomena that you're oversimplifying to a fault. Yes, I am slightly offended right now.

Hormonal variations are often nothing to do with Intersex. Sometimes they are, but the majority of hormonal variations are caused by things like PCOS, which you can have and still be 100% female. I have 'excess' androgens and I'm still totally female. I might have a androgynous gender identity (between my ears) but that's a different matter.

I know this is a slight derail of the thread, sorry.

What is your definition of "female"? I was FAAB, but I naturally don't produce nearly any estrogen at all and without a pill I exhibit many male characteristics. My body and genitalia all point to female though, my body chemistry does not. I know a male who is MtF who produces estrogen naturally, but aside from that is fully male. Are you claiming that hormonally we are not intersexed? Most cases of intersex are chromosonal and hormonal, not physiological............

Its convenient and less offensive for doctors to brush it under the rug, it's considered humane...........

*edit: dyslexic corrections*