foot issue connection to autism

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Has anyone head of issues with feet, such as flat feet etc in connection with autism? I've read that differences in gait and posture can cause this in people on the spectrum. I incidentally have one flat foot

People can have flat feet with OR without also having an autism spectrum disorder.

I have flat feet, but I don't think it's related to autism, at least not in my case. However flat feet can be a symptom of Fragile X Syndrome which also causes autism. So technically there could be a connection between flat feet and autism in a small minority of cases.

Evidence, please?

I appreciate when you say "Evidence, please?" because I think that's important .... but I admit, the way you say it kind of triggers an "F U" response in me. It's the same emotion I have when I go out of my way to do a favor for my daughter and she then challenges everything I've done or said. It takes a lot of spoons to help her in the first place, but being required to deliver a rationale just pisses me off. I'm now getting the same feeling from things I do for my husband who has dementia. Do you trust me or don't you? Hey, how about you do it yourself?

Just FYI.

Should I instead post something like the following example?

"While I strongly suspect that you sincerely believe what you just said is both correct and true, it would go a long way toward convincing me of more than just your sincerity if you would cite the source of your belief so that I may examine it and determine its validity and/or veracity for myself."

Or should I simply ignore the abundance of claims that seem to originate in dark and sunless nether regions from which esoteric claims arise like so much effluvium?

There are almost countless sources on this. It is a well established fact that Fragile X Syndrome is the most common known genetic cause for autism. Here's just one reference to it. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25192504/ I could spend all day linking more but I'm not really sure what exactly you are looking for as evidence.

It is estimated that about 30% of people with Fragile-X Syndrome exhibit autistic symptoms.

Some Fragile-X folks are hyper social.

Fragile-X certainly doesn’t inevitably cause autism.

So it is only A cause, but not THE cause of autism.

Which is good, because I would be heart-broken to find out that the intellectual disabilities associated with Fragile-X syndrome would somehow render my intellectual and educational accomplishments meaningless.

Last edited by Fnord on 24 Mar 2021, 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yeah, you probably should ignore them. Like, if a message contributes to the world, make it; if it doesn't, maybe it's best to STFU. I don't think your "Evidence, please?" contributes any more than the Fragile X claim, and probably it contributes less. If you REALLY want to challenge it, take 30 seconds to search the claim on Google. Then counter it by saying "That claim was disputed by researchers at Johns Hopkins" etc.

In other words, I see your "evidence please" and raise you a Google search.

Last edited by BeaArthur on 24 Mar 2021, 11:15 am, edited 3 times in total.

Stand down, Bea.  When I post "Evidence, Please", I am asking for evidence of claim, not issuing a challenge to a duel.

And I'm letting you know how others may respond to that, Fnord. You can take this information or leave it.

I wasn't going to address this, but since it's come up. What was hard for me about your asking for evidence was that a quick google search will turn up countless results from scholarly articles and other reputable sources. The connection between autism and FXS is not some obscure fact or just something that is talked about only outside of well researched articles. I don't think you meant it as such, but I felt a little attacked being asked to prove something that would be so easy for you to have verified for yourself. What I tend to do when there is something is a person's post that I haven't heard of before is to look for trustworthy sources on it myself, and then ask if I can't find good sources or if I still have questions that the sources didn't answer. In this situation I might say something like, "That's really interesting. I hadn't heard of that before and I'm having trouble finding sources on it. Would you mind giving a link to a source about it so I can learn more about it?" A response like this shows that I am interested in what the person is saying, that I have respected their statement by taking the time to look into it myself, given them the benefit of the doubt for the truth of what they are saying until I know more myself, and then asking for more information in a way that implies understanding that they are helping me. I understand wanting to make sure what one is reading on the internet is true, especially living in an age when lies are so easily spread and believed, but I still it's important to ask in ways that don't put a person on the defensive because that hardly ever leads to willingness to learn or be open to discussing differing opinions.

Yes it is only a cause of some cases of autism, not the only cause of autism. I'm sorry I should have been clearer in my original post.

I'm sorry that my statement about Fragile X has caused such an issue and wasn't helpful to this thread. The OP asked if anyone had heard of flat feet being connected to autism. All I meant to do was point out a possible rare exception to autism and flat feet being unrelated. I just meant that in some rare cases there is an underlying issue that can mean that autism and flat feet have the same cause. Again, I'm sorry that my statement has derailed this thread.

It was not your statement that derailed this thread.  It was the reaction to my request for evidence.