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Posted by sylvia on Thursday, January 20, 2005 (20:03:13)
Better Humans 03/01/2005
By George Dvorsky
It was hard to believe that that the words were coming from a seven-year-old boy.
"Another characteristic of mammals is that they give placental births," he said, "Oh, except marsupials like kangaroos and koala bears." Changing gears slightly he continued, "And then there are animals with endoskeletons and exoskeletons. Humans, because they have bones on the inside of their bodies have endoskeletons, but insects have exoskeletons on the outside." With a vocabulary more closely resembling that of someone in grade nine, he chimed off the bits of scientific triviata as if he were directly linked to Wikipedia.
Clearly, this was no ordinary second grader, whom I chatted with recently at a Toronto specialist's office. Compared to other kids with Asperger's syndrome, however, his abilities are considered quite typical. His younger brother, who also has Asperger's, is already doing multiplication tables in his head while most of his kindergarten classmates are still trying to count to 10. The boy also has social interaction and behavioral problems typical of those with Asperger's.
He tends to construe all advances from his classmates as bothersome, for example, compulsively chews on his sleeves and frequently stands up to spin in class. This is pretty textbook stuff for "Aspies"—an affectionate moniker that's increasingly coming to be used to refer to those with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
Yet despite the problems, and considering his cognitive gifts, there's a good chance that this boy will integrate successfully into society and lead a fulfilling and meaningful life. That's what a growing segment of the autistic community wants the rest of society to acknowledge. Organizing around the idea that their condition is not so much a disability as a valid mode of psychological being, a growing number of autistics say that the problem is not with their condition but with the general unwillingness to accept and integrate them into society.
Moreover, because of their enhanced cognitive skills, many autistics consider themselves to be the way of the future. In a world where science, programming and math skills are increasingly desirable, where pending neurosciences promise diverse modes of consciousness and psychology, and where interpersonal shortcomings can be made up with communications technologies and social training, monotone neurotypicality may indeed be on the way out.
Good company
Historically, autism and Asperger's have always been with us. It's only now that we've got fancy names to describe them.
While never officially diagnosed as having autism, a number of historical figures are highly suspected of having it. Newton, Nietzsche, Einstein, Turing and Wittgenstein are seminal thinkers who all exhibited autistic-like traits. In the arts, Jane Austen, Beethoven, Mozart and van Gogh also likely had autism. And today, prominent figures such as Bob Dylan, Woody Allen, Keanu Reeves, Al Gore and, of course, the poster-boy for high-functioning autistics, Bill Gates, are all suspected of having autism.
Clearly, autism does not necessarily adhere to its reputation as debilitating affliction. The 1988 film Rain Man, in which Dustin Hoffman portrays a highly disturbed autistic man, has unfortunately colored much of the popular conception surrounding the disorder, offering most people the sense that autism is in all cases quite severe.
The engineer's disorder
Once thought to be a psychiatric disorder, autism is now known to be neurological despite its psychological characteristics. It is a neural condition that falls within the spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders, having considerable variability in terms of its effects on those who have it.
Occurring more frequently in boys, common traits include difficulties with emotional communication and social relationships. Autistics tend to have problems with hypersensitivity to incoming stimuli (such as sound and light), and tend to exhibit patterns of behavior and interests that are uncommon for "neurotypicals" (i.e. non-autistics).
With the high-functioning Asperger's—a kind of autism-lite—those who have it tend to have higher than usual intelligence often accompanied by cognitive gifts. Children are likely to develop sophisticated and precocious language skills at an early age. They have excellent spatial and geometric awareness, excellent rote memory skills and become intensely interested in one or two subjects.
But true to their autism, Aspies tend to have difficulties understanding nonverbal communication. They tend to comprehend everything literally and have social interaction problems. Additionally, they tend to engage in repetitive activities, have difficultly maintaining eye contact, and have poor motor coordination.
In other words, they're nerds.
There is considerable debate as to the causes of autism, but a strong case can be made for there being a genetic component. Ongoing research is focusing on finding the markers that determine autistic phenotypes, but such markers may never be found. Most autistic children, for example, tend to have neurotypical parents, throwing a wrench into the whole genetics angle.
On the rise
One fascinating possibility was expounded in a 2001 Wired article, "The Geek Syndrome," which noted the disproportionately high number of autistic children living in Silicon Valley. The author, Steve Silberman, suggested that its residents, many of whom work in the computer industry, tend to have above average intelligence and gravitate toward tech jobs. Consequently, there is a greater chance that nerdy parents will pair off and have children in Silicon Valley—a phenomenon that Silberman argues may be a facilitating factor in the rise of Asperger's.
As with the cause of autism, there is uncertainty and controversy about whether the incidence of autism is increasing, or if there's simply an increase in the number of reported cases. If the actual incidence is rising, then environmental factors may be playing a part. Or, it could be that parents who produce autistic children are pairing off more frequently, with, as Silberman suggests, some kind of strange selectional effect coming into play.
Still, critics argue that it's the increased tendency to diagnose autism that's on the rise, which explains the increase in reported cases. More teachers, clinicians, parents and doctors are aware of the condition, they argue, so diagnoses are more likely.
But in North America, studies are showing that the incidence may in fact be rising, growing from one in 5,000 to one in 150 to 400 in the last few years. Other investigations show an increase in autism of 173% in the past decade.
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