The Autistic Me

"Aren't people with Asperger's more likely to be geniuses? Isn't genius related to autism?" A university student asked this in a course I am teaching. The class discussion was covering neurological differences, free will, and the nature versus nurture debate. The textbook for the course includes sidebars on the brain and behavior throughout chapters on ethics and morality. This student was asking a question reflecting media portrayals of autism spectrum disorders, social skills difficulties, and genius. I did not address this question from a personal perspective in class, but I have when speaking to groups of parents, educators, and caregivers. Some of the reasons these questions arise, as mentioned above, are media portrayals and news coverage of autism. Examples include: Television shows with gifted characters either identified with or assumed to have autistic traits: Alphas, Big Bang Theory, Bones, Rizzoli and Isles, Touch, and others. Some would include...

Yes, the media are covering the news that autism rates are skyrocketing, often failing to distinguish the rates of diagnoses from the rates of incidence. Quite simply, we have no idea if "autism(s)" are increasing or not and we have a great deal of evidence that diagnostic practices are uneven, at best. You can read some of the stories at: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/health/autism/index.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/health/rate-of-autism-diagnoses-has-climbed-study-finds.html Notice this from the New York Times: C.D.C. researchers did not meet any of the children they judged to have an autism spectrum disorder. The team made the decisions based on evaluations of the children, drawn from 14 states. The estimated rates in those states varied widely, from one in 210 children in Alabama to one in 47 in Utah. Now, either Utah has something dangerous in their water and Alabama is the safest state in the nation, or there is something else at play. What else? It ...

I generally skip the Facebook app nonsense, but after a few friends took the "Autism Spectrum Quotient" inventory, I thought I'd complete it again. From the application: I've calculated my Autism Spectrum Quotient as 45, which is very high. Most women score about 15 and most men about 17. Most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 35. However, many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger's have no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives. I'd have to look up what my original score was. I think it was 42. So, I'm more withdrawn after four years in Minnesota. There's a shock -- cold winters and a miserable city leave me alone at home. Duh?

Autism Genes: Better Test May Help Screen Causes - ABC News I always find myself torn with stories like this. The part of me that embraces science would prefer scientific ways to diagnose individuals and count autism rates. Yet, I also wonder what becomes of such scientific abilities. The issues that immediately come to mind include: Would parents eventually use genetic screening to avoid raising children with autism disorders? Would insurance companies cover these tests, possibly including this with other genetic screening? Would the government, which must pay for accommodations, use this test for less than ideal purposes? These are things I ponder. I don't have answers, but we are getting closer and closer to having to address serious ethical and social issues associated with genetic screening. We have already witnessed what happens with Down Syndrome screening.