Possible major break though in Autism, Great News.

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http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr= ... es&f=false

According to the link above, a large percentage of those with ASD have family members with autoimmune disorders, but most don't.

The biggest problems with studying ASD is the heterogeneous nature of those who are diagnosed. This causes genetically and physically unrelated people to be lumped in the same category. I suspect though, that there is a huge difference between those with ASD whose parents had immunodysfunction, and those who are offspring of hyperlogical scientists and libertarianish programmers of Silicon Valley. I suspect that latter group has a more normal neurocognitive profile, lower percentage of immune abnormalities, less difficulty with abstraction, and more academic interests.

Last statistic I read was 1 in 54, though that might be for boys only.

The South Korea study was the one that pushed me to get tested. There might be some variation in race/culture, but that one gave what I thought was an accurate figure because it allowed non-voluntary testing of a completely random population (in SK, you can test whole swaths of schoolkids without parental consent). It put the numbers, for all forms of ASD combined, at 1 in 38.

Makes you wonder, at what percentage of the population are we going to be nominally at least considered "different, not less," as it is popular to consider blonde- or red-haired people, blue-eyed people, left-handed people (though my dad remembered, back in the '50s, being smacked by his paternal grandmother for "showing the mark of Satan," ie being left-handed), dark-skinned people, and folks with epicanthal folds??

20% of the autists also happen to be more severely autistic and 80% are more high functioning Aspies whose brains show increased activity in some parts of the left hemisphere when compared to both the autists and neurotypicals, so it could be biologically different and caused by different reasons.

Suggesting that any child should be aborted because they might be a bit different is horrendous. My son is autistic and I love him just the way he is, the thought of him being terminated before birth just hurts me so much. And I myself have had a good life despite being Aspergers, it may have been tough at times, but I always found a way to make it all worthwhile

_________________
Autistic dad to an autistic boy and loving it - its always fun in our house

I have Autism. My communication difficulties mean that I sometimes get words wrong, that what I mean is not what comes out.

This thread is old enough that the offense has been made and passed. While I completely disagree with the thought process of aborting babies who have an increased risk of being on the spectrum. This topic reminds me of the discussions of whether someone who has downs syndrome or is a "little person" should be aborted if determined by testing, prior to birth. On the one hand you have potential for suffering. On the other hand, you have the potential for a wonderful human being that could be a positive influence on someones life, be the person who discovers major cures or scientific breakthroughs, etc. (depending on the case). On one hand you have a financial burden that society will be expected to shoulder most likely, on the other hand you may have a person completely able to function without financial charity from society.

If you are going to have a child that could one day be an obligation for society to provide care, finances, etc. Then you have to accept the fact that there will be those who feel this should be avoided, if detectable, through abortive means, etc. This doesn't make the topic any easier to stomach, but please don't be the type of person who insults others, rejects others, degrades others (thereby reinforcing negative stereotypes), just because you are offended that someone sees the negative social impacts from and looks for means to avoid them. And dont be offended because someone has lived a miserable life and would prefer to have never been born. Offer support. Dont reinforce nor affirm their misery. Give them a reason to doubt their death wish.

Wow, this thread seems to have really hit a nerve! Why would you be so angered by the opinion of one person who has no power influence over you?

I believe in informed choice and as such support any scientific advancement in screening for autism - or anything else. I do not believe in the so-called "sanctity" of any life, autistic or otherwise. If someone does believe in the sanctity of life - that's fine, they're free to base their choices on that belief. They are not free to base my choices on it, however.

Also, as a little side-note on the practical aspect of this:

Percentage of Americans who consider themselves "pro-life": about 45% [1]
Percentage of fetuses with Down Syndrome that are aborted in USA: 87% to 98% [2]

Unless pro-lifers are somehow less likely than others to have pregnancies with Down Syndrome, I can only conclude that people's views change pretty drastically when they're really confronted with a situation that was previously only a hypothetical!

[1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/147734/ameri ... lines.aspx
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

Reminder: Keep the discussion civil folks.

I read the article everybody so you can congratulate me on that later

Seriously though the article is very interesting and I think that this kind of research is an important step forwards in terms of autism.

Shh, I tried to steer clear of the A-word. It evokes such high emotion.