Any new theories for Asperger cause?

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And the few that have heard of it take a very extreme view of it one way or the other - to them it's either something that means you're a genius and can work out rediculous sums in your head, or it means you're completely stupid. If it wasn't for the nature of it, we'd probably find it easier to promote awareness. But as it is, the majority of us are plagued by other problems such as social anxiety. Which means most of the awareness if actually done by NT parents of kids with AS etc. And that isn't aclways accurate.

*SHRUGS*

I’ll continue to stare at my grain of sand. It’s really interesting.

Yeah, there's certainly too much misinformation and misunderstanding going around - as with all the minority groups. But I hear autism numbers are on the rise, so perhaps the people in charge will get off their @$$es and do something (instead of trying to find a cure that is).

So, it took until page 5 for someone to point out the obvious - you can't "cure" AS, or any ASD, because it's not a "disease". It's a matter of neurobiology - I have a smaller-than-average amygdala and hypothalamus, and a high-than-normal concentration of white cells in my brain, leading to the processing difficulties I experience. In my 43 years stuck on this planet, I've learned coping mechanisms, but the only way the whole syndrome could be "cured" would be to rewire my brain - and I fear that would change my basic personality. And I like my personality just fine, thanks. Not my problem if other people don't.

Also, the OP seems to be under the misimpression that all comorbid disorders, such as depression and OCD, would just disappear if we weren't AS any more. Sorry, kiddo, but my wife suffers from Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, and a touch of OCD - and she's NT as all get-out. No help there, I'm afraid...

See, I think that's a basic point of misunderstanding here - for many of us, AS isn't the cause of our misery. NTs who insists we could be "just like them if we just tried hard enough" are. (On my Yahoo 360 page, the blast at the top reads, "I don't suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. Everyone around me may suffer because I'm an Aspie, but I'm just fine!")

I pointed it out towards the end of the first page.

I was discussing hypothetically. I personally have no desire to cure my AS, though an alleviation from some of the less desirable symptoms would be nice at times.

Yes, I would definitely like to alleviate the sensory problems. That would make it a lot easier to concentrate in lectures etc.

On the question of a cure, what is the evidence? The preponderence of the evidence is that AS is a life-long condition. I was clearly different from everyone else around me in early childhood. Sensory issues. Interpersonal and communication difficulties. Solitary special interests. Family took that as rebelliousness, disrespect, selfish behavior, bad manners, how dare he act that way - and beat the annoying behaviors out of me, so I could act normal enough to fit in. Now in my fifties I still have all these characteristics, though I have learned to adapt reasonable well. It doesn't go away. So far as I know, there is no patholology to fix. This is how my brain is wired.

I spent a lot of years trying to be like most other people, take on their values, strive for the same things, act in the same ways. I didn't do it well and I didn't feel honest to myself because the values were not truly mine. The beauty of discovering AS is that now I don't try to 'fit in' with society. I follow my own truth.

With me it was the SAME way, and I FEEL the SAME way!

Ok, firstly I must say that there are many on this board who 'suffer' much more than I do - this is only about me personally....I have a high IQ, was gifted musically, can manage superficial social situations (for a short time), have a sense of humour (ok, few understand it but at least I get to laugh ) and generally do ok. These traits are as mush a part of me as are the long silences, the sometime singlemindedness and the odd meltdown.

What I am saying is, AS has given me more than it has taken. I certainly don't feel "subpar" thank you very much!

To me, Asperger's Syndrom isn't a disorder at all. Most of the problems caused by AS is the result of us being the minority. With enough effort one can write a paper (backed up with legitimate evidence) that makes Neuotypicals appear to be the ones with a "disorder". I have seen two articals that do just that.

To "cure" someone with AS would just radically change their personality, it wouldn't really cure them of anything.

Replace musically with something like analytically, and it fits me ALSO! And I feel the SAME. I haven't YET been laughed at by anyone without realizing that they were too stupid to realize the ways in which I was better than THEY were! And the laughter is far less common today, and nobody that knows me thinks I am in any way stupid.

Steve

Single cause? I think it is caused by multiple reasons, but before birth usually. Technically you could become a completely different person, with a physical change to the brain if it doesn't kill you. I think there is a genetic prevalence towards it. That doesn't mean a specific gene.

I actually believe some symptoms are not just symptoms but also clues to the origin. I don't have epilepsy but epilepsy could be a possible cause of PDDs for example. Or you could view the other way round.

It is funny to take our definitions and then try to find a cure for the brain. The brain doesn't understand the Asperger's criteria anymore than we know how to cure it. We talk of a spectrum for components that are not nailed down in relation to each other. More useful is to try and improve the undesirable components like cognitive dysfunction.

Correct, we are all different for a LOGICAL REASON. To many NTs see things as good and bad, I only see difference.

Is a smart-car sick because it cannot tow a trailer? no it isn't because it was not designed to tow a trailer. is a 4x4 sick because it consumes too much gas?

JCJC777,

Your theory is interesting, but it relies on some bleak assumptions. First, it is clear from your analogies that you equate Asperger's syndrome with diseases like cancer and impediments like stuttering; I disagree. It is better to conceptualize Asperger's syndrome in its totality—a set of neurological and psychological advantages and disadvantages that make the mind of an aspie better adapted in some contexts (e.g., scientific inquiry, mathematics, logic, engineering, and acquisition of knowledge) while being relatively impaired in other contexts (e.g., unstructured socializing, spontaneous behavior, and improvising strategies for novel situations). Second, you hypothesize that Asperger's syndrome is the end result of a pattern of thinking rather than a neurodevelopmental endowment. Your feeling on the matter ignores copious studies showing a strong heritable component to autism (Google for them). You believe that the brain of the aspie is essentially NeuroTypical but that some parts are not activated from mere disuse. Evidence points to definite differences in the brain structure of persons with autism (do a search for "mirror neurons" and autism, for example).

You assert that aspies should think less and act on impulse more. While I encourage my fellow aspies to be a little flexible and socialize, I believe it is short sighted to prescribe thinking and reacting more like the general population as the solution. Even if it is the case that following your instructions will make an aspie more "normal" than before, it is unclear that this is a good thing. I assert that the deficit in forethought and independent-mindedness is largely responsible for the so-called mob mentality (sociologists call it deindivualization or something similar); the tendency to act on unelaborated impulses leads to selfish and self-defeating (when aggregated into the whole population behaving likewise) behaviors. An excellent example is traffic during the morning and evening commutes in major cities. Not leaving a large enough gap (possibly coming from the notion that others will keep cutting ahead) means that whenever drivers have to merge onto the highway or merge off the highway, drivers will have to brake, causing a chain reaction. A compulsive drive to conform leads to uncritical acceptance of widely held beliefs and customs, a skewing of life goals towards social indicators of success (high-status job, material possessions, fashionable attire, the right house in the right neighborhood, etc.), and contempt towards or even a fear of those who deviate from the norm.

We already have enough of those! Let's encourage independence in thought, creativity, analysis, and complexity! What the world needs is more scientists, artists, philosophers and thinkers, comedians, social reformers, and basically anyone who makes instead of takes!

How can you be so sure that AS has (solely) granted you all these positive attributes and skills?