Autism Abortion

Post Reply New Topic

Parental Responsibility (the legal status) could be extended to the pre-natal period. In most cases its merely allowing for the input of the father, as opposed to outright igmoring it just because he isn't actually carrying the child.

Do you eat meat? Have you ever killed a bug? Animals that are killed for meat and bugs are more aware than a fetus is.

Here's a novel idea: Stop caring what other people do with their bodies.

You seem an hero to me, because I can't feel happy of my son's condition, even if I'm proud of him. My fear is that his quality of life will be low, even if he seems to be intelligent enough to make it.
I live in Italy and here there's no contribute for autistic chidren education except 3 hours of speech therapy a week.
Fortunately I can afford it but I wonder what should I do if I had another son on the spectrum.

What kind of rights would they have in practice though? I mean only one of them can make the final decision if they disagree

Mostly I'd be happy with the right to state an argument for or against, instead of being arbitrarily ignored because it isn't MY vagina. I don't want to force my theoretical partner into anything, but I do like to think that if I made a sound enough position that she might change her mind. A "Right to be Heard" perhaps. If you can't change their mind with reasoned argument, I don't know as there should be a legal position to force "birth". Ideally it shouldn't get acrimonious, and frankly if it does, then perhaps those involved are not ready to be parents anyway. I would certainly expect a very compelling case from my partner FOR an abortion, but generally I try not to breed with people who can't think deeply about the life decisions they make.

Yeah that sounds reasonable

Asp-Z wrote:
Having a look through that PDF now...

That gives me the idea the depression of their 11 (that's right, only 11) test subjects was caused more by family problems than anything else.

I understood this the same way, but this study did not include people with Asperger's, maybe you missed the two studies in the article that are in reference to aspergers. I'll quote them at the end.




This is in reference specifically to the neuropsychological overlap between nonverbal learning disability and Aspergers syndrome. It doesn't mean there haven't been other studies specific to Aspergers and Depression.

There's a bit of a pattern throughout the whole thing, can you see it? It's all the speculation. They mention quite a bit that no studies have been done in the area, then they use thinly related studies to patch the hole. I mean, how is a study on a non-verbal learning disability really related to Asperger's? It isn't, they have completely different effects on the people that are diagnosed with them.

I agree with you, no studies done yet on non-verbal learning disabilities and depression in Aspergers. But again, it doesn't mean other studies haven't been done specific to Aspergers and Depression

They also say that autistic people who develop depression because of negative life events probably have genetic depression, which supports my point that autism alone doesn't cause depression. But they haven't cited any actual studies for that, either, though they do cite some for depression being genetic in a generic sense (not specifically in autistic people).

I absolutely agree with you they are not suggesting that Depression is a part of the phenotype Autism, instead that it is a co-morbid condition that is probably the most common psychiatric disorder seen in persons with autism.



What, the same studies with 11 participants?

No, there are separate studies referenced later in the article with Asperger Adults and Adolescents that suggest this. They did not present studies that showed a strong relationship for people lower on the Autism Spectrum. But they did indicate later in the article that diagnosis in the people lower on the Spectrum was difficult because of communication problems



Studies have not been produced that show evidence that depression forms part of the broader phenotype of autism, but studies have been done that suggest a comorbid relationship between autism that is higher than the normal population.

There we go, that's all that thing needed to say.

So, yeah, I've still seen no evidence, but I have seen a damn lot of speculation and a lack of actual related studies to back it up [/quote]

Here are the studies referenced in the article that suggest a higher percentage of the co-morbid condition of depression with Aspergers adults and adolescents:



I'm glad that it is understood that additional research is needed in this area. It is known that the factors of Stress and Social Isolation can lead to depression. It is obvious that these factors are more prevalent in people with Aspergers. I think the important thing is for people to understand that they may be more vulnerable to depression so they can focus on behaviors to prevent it and to seek treatment if needed. Additional research may lead to enhanced prevention and treatment.

Seems to me that people with Aspergers are just more likely to end up in depressing situations, or deal badly with them, than they are to just end up depressed because they are prone to it.

The study mentions bereavement. Show me the person who doesn't get depressed when someone close to them dies.

In the general population, I think a person who is more likely to end up in a depressing situation or deal badly with them is more likely to develop clinical depression than someone who is less likely to end up in a depressing situation and has the coping mechanisms to deal with life's difficulties.

I think the same thing applies to bereavement; a person in a less depressing situation who deals with situations in an effective way will be more likely to get over the normal depression that is part of bereavement than the individual who is already in a depressing situation and deals with adversity in a less effective way.

I developed coping mechanisms that I am 100 percent sure improved my ability to handle stress and social situations that helped me to avoid serious depression for over 20 years in my life. When I was young I didn't know I had a neurological condition that enhanced my need for routine and structure, made it harder for me to maintain social relationships, and all of the other challenges a person on the AS adapts to have a good life.

I fell into depression first and had to find coping mechanisms that would get me out. If someone had helped me to learn effective coping mechanisms first, I'm sure the depression, if any, would have been less severe. The problem is that once a person develops severe depression it is more likely to occur later in life; this applies to the general population.

It is kind of like a snow ball, a person is born with traits that makes life more adverse for them and they may find themselves in depressing situations without effective mechanisms to cope, sooner or later if they do not learn to cope they may fall into serious depression. Serious depression, if not treated, can lead to health problems, that may lead to more depression, etc. I think this is why recognition, prevention, and treatment for depression is so important for people on the AS.

Yes, I'm glad we agree that more research is needed, because those studies you've quoted there had a very small group of subjects. You simply can't reliably conclude that 37% of Asperger's adolescents in a general population will be depressed because 37% of a 35 subject test group were in 1998.

Again it comes down to how the Aspie in question deals with their situation. Some will deal with it well, some won't care about being isolated and may even enjoy it, as I do, and some may actually succeed in socialising reasonably well. But we don't have research to show exactly how many Aspies have done what.

Of course, Asperger's is a relatively new disorder, so it makes sense there aren't many reliable studies about different aspects of it yet.