Autism.

There is a continuum of this type of 'disorder' Aspergers, Autism, compulsive obsessive disorder and many shades between...they are just convenient names for some thing which is very much dependant on the individual.

There is no such thing as normal and many people exhibit very mild versions of some of these states...

We've all met the 'mad professor' whose social skills are not well developed. Many people who rate as 'genius' in a specific field will have deficiencies elsewhere.

The mechanistic labeling of personality traits has led to a population who have an unrealistic expectation of 'normality' and are too keen to reach for the pills.

I for one know that if I have a particularly exciting and fulfilling day, the next will always feel a slight anticlimax...no need for antidepressants..we all have blue and maybe if unlucky even black days.

Beware of labels and catch all cures!

Well said.

Sorry, Del. I have to disagree with you on this one... I think you're talking out your litter box.

Autism, social-phobia, OCD, depression... Are not on a spectrum. They are quite distinct and different disorders with different causes.

While progress has been made with the diagnosis of autism and related conditions, none of the other conditions are contained within the autism spectrum.

Social-phobia is more related to certain types of depression. OCD, seems to be caused by a brain abnormality unrelated to either autism or social-phobia.

"Clinical" depression is not just blue days. It's a serious and real condition that often leads to suicide... I've never heard of anyone committing suicide because of a run of blue days. Clinical depression is such an all pervasive feeling of doom, that some find it preferable to die rather than endure the psychic pain any longer.

Bi-polar disorder (manic depression) is yet another mental illness with completely different underlying causes. Also, schizophrenia has noting to do with any of these other conditions. On and on.

It's rather like you're saying that the flu and malaria and pink-eye and ebola are all related by the same underlying cause, just in different intensities.

No Prob' , maybe I got some of the labels wrong.....

The real point I'm tring to make is beware of labels.

I think that within any definition there is certainly a vast spectrum of severity and symptoms.

The 'naught boy of yesteryear' is now 'diagnosed' as have attention deficit dissorder and has Ritalin fed to him, whereas a decent diet in the first place may have obviated some of the worst behaviour.

I'm not gainsaying the labels....just suggesting behaviour is extremely complex and should only be labeled with great caution.

I would put it a little differently, "Labels should be used only by those that actually know what they mean." For example, there are probably more than 10 or 15 separate causes for what is generically known as senile dementia. Laypeople tend to lump them all under the label Alzheimer's disease. However, doctors have specific names for each cause, and if the patient is to receive the correct treatment (and some of these can be treated), the physician must have an exact label to distinguish this condition from another.

An interesting point on ADD and HAADD. Some very important discoveries have been made regarding these conditions in the past 10 years or so. Seems that a majority of feminists between the 70s and 80s adopted a rather standard model for class room activities and behavior. From that point on, ADD and HAADD skyrocketed! Primarily among boys. And tens of thousands of children were dosed with Ritalin, as you said.

Then, in the 90s, a new wave of sociologists and psychologists started taking a look at the ADD epidemic. What they found - the standard model for a class room was completely biased toward the behavior of little girls. Furthermore, it turned out that this model was the perfect environment for boys to go wild and fail in their classes. It was found in tests involving schools with some of the highest populations of ADD children, that boys absolutely need a more structured class room environment and a strong, adult leader presence. Result, boys settled down, started learning again, and went off their prescriptions.

Yes, there are children that are truly physically challenged by ADD and HAADD, and these children benefit greatly from proper medication. But it's interesting to note that much of the missed diagnoses came from a cabal of frustrated teachers and general practitioners that really didn't understand the problem in the first place.

So, yes, Label with great caution... In fact leave the labeling to the psychiatrists, neurologists, and specialists that understand the labels. And as a layman, you might just want to limit yourself to "That person has some sort of emotional/psychological disorder." and really nothing more - that is, of course, unless you want to get into name calling.

Autism has a spectrum. I don't know much about Sociophobic treatments, but depending upon the point someone is at along the Autistic Spectrum, social training can be very advantageous. I would say, however, that sociophobics would seem to be afraid of social interaction and this is not really the case for autistic people. Their social problems can range from an inability to read social situations which causes them to retreat from it, to an inability to process all the input found in these situations. Not really a phobia - more an intrinsic inability to navigate social situations defined by other issues.

Along the higher end (Aspergers Syndrome) one of the key areas of therapy is social training. That being said, its not an easy task. Autistics have a different way of gaining input and this must be considered heavily when deciding of the way to offer therapy or help.

One key theory (emphasis on theory) is that autistics lack the filters which most people have for input. In other words, the bus noise, birds, fan, someone else's conversation, the computer, all come through with the same volume and intensity as primary input. For more severe autistics, this can lead to the "shutting out" of all inputs by self stimulation (finger waving, rocking) and they can be non vocal. Normal social therapy can be difficult here and maybe doesn't address the problem.

For less severe cases (like Aspergers), social therapy (understanding social nuances) is very helpful. Many Aspergers people also have issues surrounding absolutes, rules, reading facial expressions (very difficult), limited food choices and single interests. Also, poor gross motor skills, which can lead to a lot of frustration since writing can be difficult and these people can be very bright and have a lot to say. Every person is different, but in my limited experience, it is important to focus on the daily living issues like social behavior in a positive way.

Also, autistic people are as likely to suffer from other issues such as OCD, depression etc., as the rest of the population. These have to be addressed as separate issues.

I have experienced that the medical community is very good at diagnosing these problems, but equally limited at effective therapy. You have to hunt for someone who both you and the autistic person feel comfortable with.

Interesting note: we have been told that the vast majority of autisitic kids have a parent who is either an engineer; software or other.

Bravo!

Excellent post.

My wife taught special needs for many years, sometimes teaching the children 'coping strategies' was extremely useful to them. I remember one extremely bright girl (who now has a degree) just couldn't relate to other people's feelings at all, but was clever enough to learn how to cope and react in an acceptable manner.

After all, that's what we all do to some extent....eg..how to feign interest and stay awake in those interminable meetings. How to nod and say 'yes Dear' when we are watching the football.

I tend to agree with your ideas on autism, however, keep in mind that while socialization therapy can help some of the less profound cases of autism (such as Asperger's syndrome), there is a real physical reason for autism which socialization just won't help.

Recently, a gene was discovered that creates an enzyme that seems to interfere with the development of neurons in the brain. It doesn't stop their forming, but it does make them malformed - rather longer and stringer than in normal brain tissue. While this is not the definitive cause of autism it is just one more shovel of dirt in the behavior-based concept of autism.

Furthermore, you have the experience of autistic inner-being wrong. It's not that autistic individuals can't filter out environmental input, it's more accurate to say they experience environmental input in a confused and chaotic manner. Rather like you or I taking a really high-dose, bad-trip on LSD.

Conversely, the people that currently seem to have not developed filters for outside stimulation are those that suffer from panic/anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia. Social phobia seems to be related to certain types of depression, and also shows strong indicators that this, too, is an organic brain disorder. As for OCD, it has been known for years that its cause is found deep in the brain.

Freud et-all - no, it's not because of your potty training.

I take your comment on experience well - I have noticed that when a few of the inputs which need to be background are taken out, the response to the important input is understood better.

It's good you point out that the cause is most certainly physical, it makes the understanding of the problem more clear for people who are unfamiliar with the problem. It is not at all in the same realm as a phobia.

In the US now, the rate of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders is now along the rate of 1 every 20 minutes.

The rate is alarming. Let's hope that there might be soon-to-be-discovered and treated physical (biochemical) impostors in there, if for no other reason than to hope this is not an epidemic of sorts.

It may be an epidemic, but one caused by what we now know. We can diagnose these conditions with more precission then in the past, and pigeon hole these conditions better. Because of it we see big scary numbers reported in the media.

It has been postulated that autism may be caused by environmental factors interplaying in a negative way with the brain structure and component development. It seems that current opinion is moving away from a bio chemical root cause and more towards a protein based or genetic malformation link. The idea seems to be that something in our environment is causing a malformation of a gene sequence or causing a protein related malformation.

Oddly, many kids with Aspergers have limited food group rules of what they will eat; dairy and wheat / gluten based products. The level to which these food cravings are taken is amazing. Its so prevalent that quite a few Asperger / Autism treatment providers have recommended an elimination diet to totally remove wheat and dairy. (These being two of the 3 food groups my own son will eat make this non starter since I think you are universally imprisoned for starving your kids) Why so many kids who have cravings for these two food groups? What does that say about the biology of the problem? I don't know but I keep thinking of that movie Lorenzo's Oil. An inability to process something wasn't it? Caused an amazing physical problem.

I saw an interesting TV programme last night - it was about so called 'gifted children' but may be relevant. Here's how their research/theory goes ;

The brain is formed with far more connections than it will ever need . During the first few years (and even possibly before birth) some process begins severing neural pathways to keep the most useful ones open. It sounds like an adaptability feature. In Musically gifted children , the brain keeps open a very high percentage of the connections that are important in musical ability. The inference was that other connections are severed sacraficially instead. Once these connection changes are made the effect is permanent. Some related and useful connections are made , but others may be lost. This 'pruning' as it was referred to ,happens once more around the time of puberty. The program mainly tracked the progress of the piano prodigy Michael Yu and was somewhat light on the science fact. It did seem to be indicating that the neural severing changes were known fact. If so , perhaps a similar process occurs in those found to be autistic - Autism is commonly diagnosed just pre-school, with many parents reporting apparent 'normality' up to that age. Given that some autistic people have high levels of skill in some areas , it may be possible that this re-adjustment of neural connections is a common event. All people are thought to go through this process, so maybe those described as 'prodigy' and 'autistic' are subject to out of the norm changes. It would appear to fit with the spectrum nature of autism and age of diagnosis .I shall see if I can find more information on this.

TDK

I had not heard that children on the autism spectrum crave these foods. The Aspergers children I know do not. In fact, one young man cannot bear watching anyone eat bread.

On the other hand, I have heard that a particular medical movement believes that these foods are somehow improperly metabolized in the gut, releasing a neurotoxic soup that attacks the brain. Another group believes it's directly related to childhood vaccines. Each group has incredible statistics to back up their claims (the slight-of-hand of science). However, the truth of the matter is medical science still has no good idea about what causes autism.

There is new work that points to a gene (at least in mice) that when not working properly, produces a enzyme that causes neurons to be malformed. These researchers have found that by inhibiting this enzyme, they can stop the process, and actually get some of the brain's capability back. Of course, we're talking of mice. There's still so much to learn.

Very interesting! Do you know who did the neuron study?

I have also read about the vaccine idea - I read everything I could get my hands on about it, but it has some real flaws. Could it be a contributor? Maybe. But as a direct cause, I doubt it. Perhaps a trigger in some. The culprit they point to is Thimerisol - one problem; it has been being removed from vaccines for quite a while. Most vaccines are Thimerisol free now. Some also argue its the number of vaccines administered in a short time. Again, maybe a trigger, but it doesn't appear to be an auto immune disorder, which one would think it would be were it the number of vaccines alone. Autism is on the rise even as Thimerisol is waning and parents are declining vaccines (truly risky!)

I tend to think the food / diet falls into a similar category. Maybe symptomatic rather than causal. Once someone can show direct cause and effect, then I will believe it.

I would be very interested in the enzyme study if you hear any information about it. That has a ring of logic and promise.

As you may have guessed, we have a young son who has Aspergers. Apparently we are the typical parents of an Aspi - we work in engineering software and adhesives. The upside, we cant stop looking for ways to understand this thing.

I can only imagine how frustrated and helpless you must feel. If I was in your place, I'd try everything and anything to help my child. However, no matter what, I'm sure you still love him/her very much as they are.

By the way, the supposed culprit vaccine is the MMR triple vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella).

There still is a lot of sorting out to be done. Perhaps, wheat gluttons do affect a particular portion of the young population, but is it the end-all-be-all cause of autism or is it the cause of something else? No one knows... Furthermore, the jury is still out whether wheat gluttons have ever hurt anyone.

I will try to find that article on the gene and post it here. In the meantime, consider this - highly educated parents typically want their children to excel in all possible ways. I wonder if that has lead to a increase (at least in part) to the number of diagnoses. Individuals that expect a lot from their children may recognize signs of problems early. While, parents that have no particular expectations, don't recognize the signs or simply assume there child is slow. This, of course, is not the case with profound autism. I think every parent would notice that.

Here are some references to Fragile X Syndrome. They are somewhat varied, and I warn you ahead of time, some may seem hard to take and may make you angry. But at least check out the first one...

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=82216

http://rarediseases.about.com/b/a/257682.htm

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2007/07/03/metfragilex0703a.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13

http://news.yahoo.com/s/wcvb/20070705/lo_wcvb/13626331

http://rarediseases.about.com/od/rarediseasesf/a/fragilex05.htm

ElCee,

As with the wider world, CR4 has a lot of varying opinions on the subject of autism.

The links below will take you to some of the CR4 discussion on this. The threads also contain links which you may find of interest to follow up on.

Do not be dis-heartened by the nature of some of these links, I'd just like you to be aware of CR4 content on autism. Look for my own entry near the end of the first link.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/271#newcomments

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/268#comment79556

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/117#comment150

I'm not endorsing any of the comments you'll find in the links, but it can be useful to know various peoples opinions. As you'll see, I have a direct interest in the subject. Autism is a topic with a wide variety of opinion and suggested treatment therapies. My best advice to you would be that if suggested treatment sounds 'off-the-wall' then it quite probably is. The best actions you can take are often the things you do by way of your personal interaction as a parent. Many professionals, whilst well intentioned can have a somewhat 'petri-dish' approach to things. Studying autism can be big money ( 15 years of accumulated knowledge leave me a little cynical at times). Parental intuition can be a highly effective approach, as the parent has far more knowledge of their own child. It can be frustrating locating good support people (educational and medical) since the availability varies with locality a great deal. The UKs National Autistic Society is one of the best general resources.

Best of luck as things progress with your child, and feel free to contact me via the private message system if I can be of help. I'm no expert on either CR4 or autism, just somebody who is parent to an autistic child.

Kris