what do u think CAUSES autism

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Damn i would have faked the non verbal just to be able to be far from people
Or i’d be a sufi saint they are able to be fairly verbose and still not bound to societal norms

exactly

OK OK i actually have a theory. i know this original post is old but whatever.

So, i was doing research on severely neglected children like genie wiley and i found that the behaviour in neglected children were very very similar to autistic children.

and then i was learning about hormone responses, specifically oxytocin, the love hormone, activated during breast feeding and cuddling to ensure bonds in children with their parents.

so when i thought about it, i had a conclusion

WHAT IF, AUTISM IS CAUSED BY A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE OF OXYTOCIN DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD?

think about it, when children are neglected (or denied love and affection) they dont naturally develop social skills. so what if theres a misfiring in the brain of autistic children that can start in early utero that does NOT allow autistic children to receive oxytocin during cuddling and affection or interactions.

theres proabably a ton of holes in this theory and i dont know what would cause this chemical imbalance but its just a little thought i had

A quarter-century ago, we had to make grim jokes about our "grey-on-silver" screens. The modern LCD is a triumph of technology, so I refuse to read it when the contrast is turned down to eye-strain levels.

Thanks elsapelsa, really interesting feedback. It seems to me we are saying more or less the same thing just from different viewpoints.

And yes, my focus would always be on mitigating drawbacks and accentuating benefits - which for many people can mean the difference between managing okay in life or not.

Totally agree and that's kind of my point in the article - as hyper sensory awareness (the only symptom I'd put down to 'autism' the way I like to define it) can be - and is! - an evolutionary advantage to humanity.

Thanks, that’s really kind of you!

The article doesn’t start out so much with assertions, as with analyzing the definition of the term ‘autism’ – important if we’re going to look at what it is. I’d be interested to hear what assertion you think I’m making here? Perhaps that we currently define autism by its symptoms – which I believe is all too true if you look in e.g. the DSM (or talk to any SN teacher, or psychologist).
Ref. the footnote about the New Scientist article on ‘blood biomarkers’. Let’s say, scientists are working on it. And coming up against huge challenges for the exact reasons I give in the article. That the way we currently define autism, it logically cannot be JUST about genetics.

I think you perhaps aren’t familiar with the Markrams’ neuroscience research on autism? Neural activity and connectivity are visibly different in autistic subjects as opposed to ‘NT’ ones (autistic subjects showing up to two thirds more connectivity within and between neural networks, so it seems autism can alternatively be seen as 'hyperconnectivity' in the brain/synapses - ref and link to the Markrams' 'Intense World Theory' are in the footnotes)

As for your point about the diagnostic process, that’s really my entire point. That we insist on saying ‘autism is genetic’… when the way we currently define it, it isn’t. It would be only we were able to define it by the genetic predisposition (currently impossible)... which is actually about hyper-sensitivity and in fact does NOT encompass those symptoms most commonly associated with autism.

So of course you are absolutely right in saying that’s not how it’s done. Goodness, basically you are agreeing under the guise of ‘not buying in’. That’s quite cool.

My conclusion is that the way we are currently defining autism is not logical if we simultaneously assert that it is genetic. That is why there is so much confusion.

And that nearly all of the so-called symptoms of ‘autism’ are in fact symptoms of post-trauma (explaining why they are so strikingly similar). That’s why my follow-up article will compare each and every symptom of autism against those of CPSTD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), with real-life examples.

Oh, so do I, so do I! That’s why I love writing such controversial articles and then discussing them with people afterwards

And that nearly all of the so-called symptoms of ‘autism’ are in fact symptoms of post-trauma (explaining why they are so strikingly similar). That’s why my follow-up article will compare each and every symptom of autism against those of CPSTD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), with real-life examples.

^^

I think you have to be careful about cause and effect and I don't quite get why your viewpoint is that controversial. Clearly the reason that so many people with autism present with symptoms of PTSD is that the prism through which the world is viewed and interacted with is often different from how a neurotypical person would view and interact with the world. More information is coming in. More things need to be processed. Things are analysed in more detail etc. etc. This is often extremely stressful which can then lead to trauma.

For example at 3 months old my daughter had extreme stranger anxiety towards her dad. That happened because she is autistic and something that normally can cause some degree of stress in infants caused exaggerated stress. It is not that the trauma of the stranger anxiety triggered "more" autism or more autistic symptoms in my daughter, but rather the fact that she is autistic in the first place that caused the reaction.

Yes exactly!! ! It's a cycle, beginning with being hypersensitive and hyper-empathetic in the first place and then having different reactions to others because of it (btw it's also about hyper-perception, ref. Markrams again).

The example is a good one.

Ok, so are you saying that there is a genetic predisposition for interpreting regularly non-traumatic events in a way that causes trauma. The trauma accentuates the genetic predisposition and so on....

Yeah that is a way of putting it, absolutely.

Trauma changes the brain. Also epigenetics and stuff. Totally fascinating.
Hang on let me grab that list of symptoms...

Symptoms experienced by people suffering from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):

• Limited imagination, and fixations (or 'obsessive behaviour')
• Lack of body coordination/fluidity (or being 'gravitationally
challenged')
• Lack of expression in communication (gestures, voice
intonation)
• Language skills affected, even to the point of being actually
unable to speak (Broca’s area of the brain)
• Strong emotional (right brain) reactions to seemingly
insignificant things, and looking for someone or something to
blame for them in the present
• Memory and attention impairments
• Disproportionate reaction to mildly stressful (for others)
situations
• Being touched makes you want to scream
• Bowel/elimination problems
• Difficulty controlling emotions and impulses (due to shift of
balance between the Amygdala and MPFC (Medial Prefrontal
Cortex, what Van Der Kolk refers to as the ‘watchtower’ of the
brain, while he calls the Amygdala the ‘smoke detector’)
• Depersonalisation (feeling like a detached observer of
oneself)
• Dissociation (detachment from physical and emotional
experiences)
• Alexithymia (inability to identify and describe emotions in
the self, or 'feeling nothing')
• Lack of nuanced response to frustration (either all or
nothing)
• Lack of, or difficulty with, eye contact
• Self harm and suicidal thoughts
• Sleep problems and nightmares

This stuff is a work-in-progress.
Currently it's mainly based on research on adults (a large part from the National Center for PTSD and Van Der Kolk's research), so what I'm currently working on is a far more detailed list taking from more sources, looking more at CPTSD in children too, and comparing the symptoms minutely to those seen in ASD and using real life examples.

I once read an article about a link between autism and complications during birth. There was one such complication when I was born - the umbilical cord had twisted around my neck, and thus I had a slight lack of oxygen. I'm convinced that was at least the main factor contributing to my AS, but I'm not entirely sure it's the only factor.

There is indeed a strong link.
http://www.birthinjuryguide.org/2014/05 ... se-autism/

I don't know why people just jump on 'it's genetic' (whatever the heck that means anyway - if you go into the definition of 'genetics' you realize what an empty argument that is), without looking into these things.

Or that-is-to-say, I think I do know why - in part. There are so many powerful lobbies at work who want autism seen as an 'illness' - to be cured, rooted out (you know, the 'modern epidemic' and all that rubbish) - and who benefit from this belief. Not to mention powerful interests in maintaining the status-quo and promoting conformism.

If we admitted that the development of most of the more worrying symptoms is in fact trauma-related... oooh what a can of worms!

We are hugely influenced by the media, and then pre-conditioned to parrot what we hear, and think in black-and-white.

But I think the status quo is actively NOT HELPFUL to autistic people. Or anyone... society at large. I think we have to try to understand the real issues better in order to help people - and ourselves.

I've never been able to understand how autism could be diagnosed by outward behaviors when it is created by internal brain wiring. This article makes it make a lot of sense to me. Being autistically wired to be hyper sensitive and hyper empathetic creates meltdowns and shutdowns that come out like ptsd symptoms.

I can see a LOT of aspects of it in both sides of my family, through three generations, so I have to lean toward genetic and hereditary. And there are some things (like a high iq) that really aren't explained by PTSD.