Autism in the Amish Community

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Many who know me personally and online will know that I am strongly in favor of parent choice when it comes to vaccinations. I also do not believe that vaccines cause autism. One of the main arguments that people who promote autism-vaccination links is the belief that there is no autism among the Amish. As the article link http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/Seizures/2954 shows, autism does occur in the Amish community.

There are many other things that most americans do that they don't do. They make their own food, instead of growing it in a factory. they don't use as much electricity, less car riding, and fewer video games. They also have an isolated gene pool.

And you have to consider that the Amish have a very "old world" method of child rearing.

If a child displays behaviours that are consistant with a HFA, AS, or high-functioning PDD-NOS diagnosis, they don't need a neuropsychologist, they need a cane to their behinds.

If a child is stimming during learning time, they don't need the teacher to be understanding, they need a ruler to the knuckles.

Chances are, the Amish community wouldn't DO anything about a kid unless they were very obviously autistic. And that's the relatively modern orders. The less modern ones might lock a LFA child in the attic or the cellar and never speak of them.

The Amish might have low self-reported cases of autism, just like they would also have low self-reported cases of any disorder. It could stem from not knowing enough about the disorders to realise that their members have them, or due to the stigma of mental illness that often occurs in isolated communities.

This article focuses on genetic isolation bringing out a recessive gene within a family group and it specifically focuses on seizures.

I was just pointing out that autism does exist in the Amish community. I did this to show the misinformation disseminated by the autism-vaccine link proponents.

ok, now i get it. yeah that makes more sense then.

These are the people who live without electricity and stuff, right? I assume there's "no autism" because they don't get anyone diagnosed.

Actually, these people (the Amish) don't eschew technology. They eschew dependence upon the system. In fact, there are many Amish who do have electricity. They have it on their own terms. Many have taken advantage of solar cells and L.E.D. lighting. They have done this to reduce their dependence on lamp oil, etc. If people in society would learn to take care of themselves and each other the way the Amish do, we would be much free-er and better off.

very interesting thread and i wonder if there is any research on it

i have amish communities surrounded by me

they have a higher incidence of all sorts of health problems from hearing loss early to blood disorders, and albinos

generations of close blood lines (cousins marrying cousins) have caused an array of health problems

Yep. But the Amish are also rather useful to medical researchers because their family trees are very well known, and it's useful for tracing genetic traits.