Do I have Autism?

[alan1]

Autism Linked With Lack Of Concern For Personal Reputation, Study Finds | Fox News

anip,

People tend to change their behavior in social situations in order to boost how others see them — for instance, they may act more altruistically if they know their actions are being publicly scrutinized. However, such a concern for reputation may be lacking in those who have the developmental disorder autism, a new study finds.

And all this time I thought it was because I didn't give damn what others think about me.

 

[earlycuyler]

 

[waltky]

UK study on autism offers insight into autism...

Brain find sheds light on autism
27 November 2011 - The researchers hope to gain insights into autism

Cells taken from people with a rare syndrome linked to autism could help explain the origins of the condition, scientists suggest. The Stanford University team turned skin cells from people with "Timothy syndrome" into fully-fledged brain cells. The abnormal activity found in these cells could be partially corrected using an experimental drug, Nature Medicine reports. UK researchers warned the findings might not apply to everyone with autism.

Compared with the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide thought to show characteristics of autism, "Timothy syndrome" is vanishingly rare, affecting an estimated 20 people across the planet. People who have the syndrome frequently display autistic behaviour, such as problems with social development and communication. Because it is caused by a single gene defect rather than a combination of small genetic flaws, each making a tiny contribution, it presents a useful target for scientists looking to examine what goes wrong in the developing brain of a child with autism.

Ready for work

The US researchers used a technique developed recently to generate brain cells called neurons from only a sample of the patient's skin. This allowed them to examine their development in the laboratory, and even use them to test out possible treatments. They found obvious differences between neurons grown from Timothy syndrome patients, and those from healthy "control" subjects. The healthy neurons developed into different subtypes, ready for work in different regions of the brain. In contrast, the proportion of neurons developing into each subtype was different in the Timothy syndrome samples - more were equipped to work in the upper part of the cerebral cortex, and fewer in the lower part.

This meant there were fewer neurons equipped to work in a part of the brain called the corpus callosum, which has the role of helping the left and right "hemispheres" of the brain communicate. These differences echoed those already observed in mice specially bred with the Timothy syndrome genetic fault. In addition, the neurons were making too much of a particular body chemical linked to the manufacture of dopamine and norepinephrine, which play a significant role in sensory processing and social behaviour. Dr Ricardo Dolmetsch, who led the study, said that the abnormalities found tallied with other evidence that autism was due in part to poor communication between different parts of the brain.

The team managed to reduce significantly the number of these malfunctioning neurons by adding a drug as they developed. This, they said, meant it might be possible one day to treat this defect in a real patient, although the drug used was not currently suitable for children due to side-effects. The National Autistic Society gave a cautious welcome to findings, but warned that they did not necessarily offer insights into every form of autism. Researcher Georgina Gomez said: "Timothy syndrome is only one form of autism and so these findings only give a very limited picture of what might cause the condition. "More work would need to be done to substantiate this particular piece of research."

BBC News - Brain find sheds light on autism

 

[Vengeance]

Not to fret, most people are diagnosable with some mild form of a condition found in the DSMMD if examinined closely enough and as you've probably found, in addition to any drawbacks there's generally an attendant compensation conferred with it. Sociopathy for instance has a statistically high representation rate in successful traders- they tend not to be influenced by fear to the degree most people are. I've personally been told that I'm an idiot savant without the savant part.

 

[Jackson]

Not to fret, most people are diagnosable with some mild form of a condition found in the DSMMD if examinined closely enough and as you've probably found, in addition to any drawbacks there's generally an attendant compensation conferred with it. Sociopathy for instance has a statistically high representation rate in successful traders- they tend not to be influenced by fear to the degree most people are. I've personally been told that I'm an idiot savant without the savant part.

Cute!

 

[waltky]

Gonna nip autism over-diagnoses epidemic inna bud...

New Definition of Autism Will Exclude Many, Study Suggests
January 19, 2012 - Many would no longer meet criteria to get health, educational, social services

Proposed changes in the definition of autism would sharply reduce the skyrocketing rate at which the disorder is diagnosed and might make it harder for many people who would no longer meet the criteria to get health, educational and social services, a new analysis suggests. The definition is now being reassessed by an expert panel appointed by the American Psychiatric Association, which is completing work on the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the first major revision in 17 years. The D.S.M., as the manual is known, is the standard reference for mental disorders, driving research, treatment and insurance decisions. Most experts expect that the new manual will narrow the criteria for autism; the question is how sharply.

The results of the new analysis are preliminary, but they offer the most drastic estimate of how tightening the criteria for autism could affect the rate of diagnosis. For years, many experts have privately contended that the vagueness of the current criteria for autism and related disorders like Asperger syndrome was contributing to the increase in the rate of diagnoses — which has ballooned to one child in 100, according to some estimates. The psychiatrists’ association is wrestling with one of the most agonizing questions in mental health — where to draw the line between unusual and abnormal — and its decisions are sure to be wrenching for some families. At a time when school budgets for special education are stretched, the new diagnosis could herald more pitched battles. Tens of thousands of people receive state-backed services to help offset the disorders’ disabling effects, which include sometimes severe learning and social problems, and the diagnosis is in many ways central to their lives. Close networks of parents have bonded over common experiences with children; and the children, too, may grow to find a sense of their own identity in their struggle with the disorder.

The proposed changes would probably exclude people with a diagnosis who were higher functioning. “I’m very concerned about the change in diagnosis, because I wonder if my daughter would even qualify,” said Mary Meyer of Ramsey, N.J. A diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was crucial to helping her daughter, who is 37, gain access to services that have helped tremendously. “She’s on disability, which is partly based on the Asperger’s; and I’m hoping to get her into supportive housing, which also depends on her diagnosis.” The new analysis, presented Thursday at a meeting of the Icelandic Medical Association, opens a debate about just how many people the proposed diagnosis would affect. The changes would narrow the diagnosis so much that it could effectively end the autism surge, said Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine and an author of the new analysis of the proposal. “We would nip it in the bud.”

MORE

 

[waltky]

Genetic mutation link to autism...

Scientists Discover Genetic Mutations Linked to Autism
April 06, 2012 - Three new studies have uncovered extremely rare genetic mutations that shed new light on the potential environmental and biological roots of autism, a brain disorder that causes social and developmental delays in children, beginning at a young age. Scientists say the DNA glitches found in a small subset of autistic children were not inherited by them, but occurred spontaneously at their conception, increasing their risk for developing the disorder.

One study found that having the rare genetic mutations could increase by 5 to 20 times a child's risk of developing autism spectrum disorders. These disorders range from mild cognitive delays and developmental impairments such as Asperger's syndrome to profound social dysfunctions and repetitive behaviors. Autism is being diagnosed, on average, in one of every 88 children in the United States, according to a recent government estimate.

Another study turned up biological evidence to support previous observations that the mutations are four times more likely to originate in male DNA than in the female DNA, and are more likely to appear in children of middle-aged and older fathers than in those of fathers younger than 35. Researchers speculate that the frequent turnover in a male's sperm cells increases the chance for errors in the genetic copying process. When a parent transmits such a transcription error to his offspring, the result can be a genetic mutation in the child that can cause autism. But researchers stress the risk of getting one of these badly-copied genes is extremely small.

The mutations, also called "de novo" mutations, are spontaneous abnormalities that scientists say are distributed widely across the genome of affected children. They account for a very small percentage of diagnosed cases of autism, a diverse family of disorders with a variety of suspected genetic and environmental causes.

Mark Daly of the Center for Human Genetics at the Broad [BROH-de] Institute at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led one of the studies. Daly says the the findings give autism researchers a starting point to better understand the biology of the disorder. "So it doesn't explain all of autism and, in fact, more than half of the cases of autism don't have these types of mutations," said Daly. "But because they are very rare, they allow us to pinpoint when we see multiple kids with autism with mutations in the same gene."

MORE

 

[syrenn]

Autism Linked With Lack Of Concern For Personal Reputation, Study Finds | Fox News

anip,

People tend to change their behavior in social situations in order to boost how others see them — for instance, they may act more altruistically if they know their actions are being publicly scrutinized. However, such a concern for reputation may be lacking in those who have the developmental disorder autism, a new study finds.

And all this time I thought it was because I didn't give damn what others think about me.

Are we allowed to talk about the autistic or implied autistic?

 

[Sunshine]

Here is the diagnostic criteria:

The official DSM IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for Autistic Disorder

 

[whitehall]

If they can't do it any other way the left is sure to play the "for the children" card. Now the government alleges all sort of bad habits that adults enjoy to be a cause of autism without offering a shread of evidence. You can bet your ass-ets that Obama-care is on their minds. Look at the hard core anti-smoking campaign going on. If they can use a guilt trip to make people more health conscious it might reduce the sky rocketing costs of nationalized health care.

 

[waltky]

possum thinks frogs n' snakes is tasty if dey been dead a couple o' days...

Autistic man ate roots and frogs to survive desert
Sun, Jul 15, 2012 - An autistic man has been rescued from Utah’s remote Escalante Desert after surviving at least three weeks alone in temperatures that topped 37oC by eating roots and frogs.

William LaFever, 28, was found emaciated and unable to walk on Thursday, more than a month after he was last heard from. He was spotted by a police helicopter, sitting in the Escalante River and waving weakly. LaFever’s father told police that his son, who is autistic, had called him on June 6 or June 7 to say he had hitchhiked with his dog to Boulder, Utah, to go hiking, but had run out of money and some of his gear had been stolen. The father, John LaFever, promised to wire some money to Page, Arizona, about 112km away cross country, but William did not call back and appeared to have tried to make the journey largely on foot.

LaFever, who is from Colorado, told rescuers his dog had run away, he had run out of food, and all he had left were his clothes and shoes. He dug up roots and caught river frogs for food. He was thought to have hiked about 80km in searing heat through 90m deep canyons and across some of Utah’s most remote landscapes, Garfield County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Becki Bronson said. The area is commonly used by wilderness schools to teach survival skills and temperatures have risen higher than 37oC in recent days.

Authorities said they do not know exactly how long LaFever was stranded in the desert, but that it was at least three weeks. Family members reported him missing on Monday, about a month after he last spoke to his father. Rescuers said he was lucky to be alive. “People from all over the world come to hike this area because it’s a challenge,” Bronson said. “It’s jagged rocks, it’s sheer cliffs, it’s sliding sandstone, juniper and sagebrush. That’s the kind of terrain. It’s not easy and not something an inexperienced person should ever consider.”

LaFever stayed near the river, which gave him a chance at survival and police an opportunity to find him. “Considering the lack of foresight that went into his trip, he did some remarkable things to keep himself alive,” Utah Highway Patrol helicopter pilot Shane Oldfield said. “He was emaciated, and he couldn’t walk and he couldn’t crawl. He said he’s been in that spot three or four days.”

Police believe LaFever got a ride to a spot where the Escalante River crosses a state highway, a few kilometers south of Boulder. He then followed the river into the wilderness, apparently with the goal of reaching Lake Powell and trying to get a boat ride to Page. The sheriff’s department said Ray Gardner, a Garfield County deputy, proposed a flyover of the river on a hunch. He had recently completed search-and-rescue training and remembered learning that people with autism are often drawn to water. Scott Monroe, a spokesman for Garfield Memorial Hospital, said LaFever was taken there for treatment on Thursday, but that he had since been transferred to another center.

Autistic man ate roots and frogs to survive desert - Taipei Times

See also:

10-foot dead snake found in Seine in Paris
July 13 (UPI) -- Police in Paris said a 10-foot dead snake pulled from the River Seine was likely a pet abandoned by its owner when it became too large.

Investigators said Wednesday the snake was badly decomposed but was likely a python, Radio France Internationale reported Friday.

The discovery raised concerns about people throwing their dead pets into the Seine.

Police said they have noted a growing problem with exotic-pet owners abandoning the animals when they become too large.

"Mature reflection and proper knowledge of these animals are necessary before buying them," a police official said.

Read more: 10-foot dead snake found in Seine in Paris - UPI.com