Aspergers/ASD support thread

kylieM_2

I am starting to think if mind disorders are in your genetic make-up.

My brother is Autistic
My sister is agoraphobic
I suffer from trust issues (where I even think people are plotting to kill me, or deceive me) and health anxiety (have been to casualty with the smallest things)

does make me wonder

MyUserNamesTaken

kylieM wrote: »

I am starting to think if mind disorders are in your genetic make-up.

My brother is Autistic
My sister is agoraphobic
I suffer from trust issues (where I even think people are plotting to kill me, or deceive me) and health anxiety (have been to casualty with the smallest things)

does make me wonder

Autism is considered to be hereditary. If you have an autistic child, chances are one of the parents will display some autistic traits. This is what leads many parents to start thinking that they are also on the spectrum. Most of the time, they aren't on the spectrum (in that they don't hit home in all three of the triad of impairments), but they definitely do have traits.

kylieM_2

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

Autism is considered to be hereditary.

Is it really. Do you know any links on that, would be interested to read

MyUserNamesTaken

kylieM wrote: »

Is it really. Do you know any links on that, would be interested to read

A good place to start is:

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=115&a=3578

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html


I'll post some more links as I find them.


How could I forget Tony Attwood??!!


http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/genetics.html


Something else interesting to look at is personality type. On the Myers-Briggs personality test, I'm an INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging). Less than 1% of the population fit into the INTJ subset (but many Aspies are INTJs). Keirsey called it "the Mastermind" personality.

http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=mastermind

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

http://www.typelogic.com/intj.html


Me as an INTJ: You are:

• distinctively expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• very expressed thinking personality
• moderately expressed judging personality

PasturesNew

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

Bit of advice; never rely on wikipedia as a reference source.


http://www.mugsy.org/wing2.htm

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1049&a=3337

Hans Asperger first wrote a paper on "Autistic Psychopathy" (later to become known as Asperger's syndrome) way back in 1944.

Yes, Asperger wrote about it in 1944, but I am talking of when it was known about in schools to the extent where it was diagnosed/addressed and something that would be acted upon.

It seems most of these papers were within the scientific community and not part of people's lives until the late 80s. And half that material back then was in German, was circulated in Europe or translated from Russian. In England things were slower to be applied.

I left school in 1977.

From your link, for England, it would seem things started to happen for real people later.

"Most notably Judith Gould and Lorna Wing in their ground-breaking study in Camberwell in the late 1970s came to the conclusion that autism existed on a continuum. In 1981, Lorna Wing used the phrase Asperger syndrome in a research paper to describe a distinct sub-group of patients that she had been seeing. "

PasturesNew

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

I don't have a semantic pragmatic disorder (which is what you are talking about - not all Aspies have that issue).

Gawd... another new set of words. I've never heard of that.

Phew... just checked. While I have about 2 items on the list... I've not got a wholesale lot of that. So that doesn't count.

MyUserNamesTaken

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yes, Asperger wrote about it in 1944, but I am talking of when it was known about in schools to the extent where it was diagnosed/addressed and something that would be acted upon.

PasturesNew wrote:

Maybe our situations are different. I was at school in the 70s. This stuff wasn't known about at all. It just didn't exist.

You said it didn't exist and wasn't known about....


Ok, ok...I'm being pedantic. I'll stop.


PN, I'd be very interested to see what you get on the Myers-Briggs personality test. Have a go and let me know what it says, please?

MyUserNamesTaken

PasturesNew wrote: »

Gawd... another new set of words. I've never heard of that.

Phew... just checked. While I have about 2 items on the list... I've not got a wholesale lot of that. So that doesn't count.

SPD is what my son was initially diagnosed as having before he was finally diagnosed as being an Aspie. He was an early talker who later regressed, rather than a baby who was late in language development. He had a speech problem, and showed problems with understanding what was being said to him. They also tested to see if his hearing was impaired. He'd say things like "Gaggy" instead of "Daddy". When the speech therapist asked him to complete the sentence, his answer was logical, but not what you'd expect of a child his age. His speech problem was actually caused by an tooth problem (he couldn't close his mouth because his canine teeth were too large) and enlarged tonsils (they took his tonsils out when he was 5). He still has a very slight lisp, but he's understandable. He'd get very frustrated because you couldn't understand what he was saying to you.

MyUserNamesTaken

Just for those parents of Aspies who are feeling down about their kids:

Top 10 Terrific Traits of Autistic People

From Lisa Jo Rudy,

If you're sick of hearing about all the "deficits" challenging people on the autism spectrum, join the club! But for every down side to autism, there seems to be a positive -- an unusual trait that rarely appears among the "typical" community, but shines out among autistic folk. These plusses are well worth celebrating.

1. Autistic People Rarely Lie

We all claim to value the truth, but almost all of us tell little white lies. All, that is, except people on the autism spectrum. To them, truth is truth -- and a good word from a person on the spectrum is the real deal.

2. People on the Autism Spectrum Live in the Moment

How often do typical people fail to notice what's in front of their eyes because they're distracted by social cues or random chitchat? People on the autism spectrum truely attend to the sensory input that surrounds them. Many have achieved the ideal of mindfulness.

3. People with Autism Rarely Judge Others

Who's fatter? Richer? Smarter? For people on the autism spectrum, these distinctions hold much less importance than for typical folks. In fact, people on the spectrum often see through such surface appearances to discover the real person.

4. Autistic People are Passionate

Of course, not all autistic people are alike. But many are truly passionate about the things, ideas and people in their lives. How many "typical" people can say the same?

5. People with Autism Are Not Tied to Social Expectations

If you've ever bought a car, played a game or joined a club to fit in, you know how hard it is to be true to yourself. But for people with autism, social expectations can be honestly irrelevant. What matters is true liking, interest and passion -- not keeping up with the Joneses.

6. People with Autism Have Terrific Memories

How often do typical people forget directions, or fail to take note of colors, names, and other details? People on the autism spectrum are often much more tuned in to details. They may have a much better memory than their typical peers for all kind of critical details.

7. Autistic People Are Less Materialistic

Of course, this is not universally true -- but in general, people with autism are far less concerned with outward appearance than their typical peers. As a result, they worry less about brand names, hairstyles and other expensive but unimportant externals than most people do.

8. Autistic People Play Fewer Head Games

Who was that woman, and why were you looking at her? I know I TOLD you I didn't mind if you went out, but why did you believe me? Most autistic people don't play games like these -- and they assume that you won't either. It's a refreshing and wonderful change from the Peyton Place emotional roller coaster that mars too many typical relationships!

9. Autistic People Have Fewer Hidden Agendas

Most of the time, if a person on the autism spectrum tells you what he wants -- he is telling you what he wants. No need to beat around the bush, second guess, and hope you're reading between the lines!

10. People with Autism Open New Doors for Neurotypicals

For some of us neurotypicals, having an autistic person in our lives has had a profound positive impact on our perceptions, beliefs and expectations. For me, at least, being the mom of a son on the autism spectrum has released me from a lifetime of "should" -- and offered me a new world of "is."

http://autism.about.com/od/inspirationideas/tp/besttraits.htm


Try to see it as a positive thing, folks. I know it's hard, but there are many positives associated with Asperger's. If you focus on the positive, your child is more likely to be positive (yes, we aren't meant to be able to pick up on these things, but it does work as they become more aware of how they differ to NT kids...and they do become aware of this as they get older).

PasturesNew

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

PN, I'd be very interested to see what you get on the Myers-Briggs personality test. Have a go and let me know what it says, please?

I followed one of those links, but there was shedloads of reading to be done. And understanding. And I couldn't be bothered to read any of it, so simply did the test.

It said ESTJ, then got to the part where there were all the boxes etc and I lost the will to live and closed the browser.

31% E
33% S
23% T
37% J

It all looked like something I'd need to take an hour out to read all the pages surrounding it etc. And I have other stuff here going on so didn't have a spare hour. I need to schedule that in, maybe in February.