Autism May Have Had Advantages in Humans' Hunter-Gatherer Past, Researcher Believes

ScienceDaily ^ | June 3, 2011 | University of Southern California

[SunkenCiv]

Though people with autism face many challenges because of their condition, they may have been capable hunter-gatherers in prehistoric times, according to a paper published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology in May.

The autism spectrum may represent not disease, but an ancient way of life for a minority of ancestral humans, said Jared Reser, a brain science researcher and doctoral candidate in the USC Psychology Department.

Some of the genes that contribute to autism may have been selected and maintained because they created beneficial behaviors in a solitary environment, amounting to an autism advantage, Reser said.

The "autism advantage," a relatively new perspective, contends that sometimes autism has compensating benefits, including increased abilities for spatial intelligence, concentration and memory. Although individuals with autism have trouble with social cognition, their other cognitive abilities are sometimes largely intact.

The paper looks at how autism's strengths may have played a role in evolution. Individuals on the autism spectrum would have had the mental tools to be self-sufficient foragers in environments marked by diminished social contact, Reser said.

The penchant for obsessive, repetitive activities would have been focused by hunger and thirst towards the learning and refinement of hunting and gathering skills.

Today autistic children are fed by their parents so hunger does not guide their interests and activities. Because they can obtain food free of effort, their interests are redirected toward nonsocial activities, such as stacking blocks, flipping light switches or collecting bottle tops, Reser said.

[gleeaikin]

That’s interesting about the missing teeth. I, on the other hand, have a son who had 6 wisdom teeth. When we went to get them pulled they wanted to know if he had any Eskimo blood. His father had a great grandmother who was Canadian Cree Indian. I suppose the Crees could have wandered far enough north to encounter some Eskimos.

[jerseyrocks]

My daughter is 19 years old and is presently in a school that specializes with children and young adults with Autism. She will be in that school until she is 21. Don’t know if I consider that mild, but maybe you do. In a world that is socially so messed up, is it a disadvantage to not be able to pick up on “social cues”? I have witnessed my daughter and her Autistic friends in an academic environment as well as social environment, some being in our home for parties. They are laughing and understanding each other, most of all they are comfortable and very happy young adults. Totally unaware of social cues that make most people of their age in present day society anxiety ridden. I find my daughter’s inability to be an asset.

My daughter was seen by a pioneer genetic physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He told me that these deletions or multiplications are there in the embryonic stage by the division of the 8th cell. That makes me think, what could all the mothers’ be exposed to that has cause this, or is simply evolution. If nature has decided that the world needs to be fixed and this is the way to do it, why is that so “horrible”? We need to change not them.

[muawiyah]

http://www.sharecare.com/question/are-wisdom-teeth-becoming-obsolete An explanation about the “why fors” of Wisdom Teeth.

[jerseyrocks]

God Bless You. Beautiful stories. God sent you a message and you understood. I believe many do not and that is really sad.

[MetaThought]

Doesn’t account for it. For instance Somali people have 1-in-28 autism rate in Minnesota, which certainly was not true in the previous generation.

[Cold Heart]

Sickel-cell anemia & malaria.

[MetaThought]

So she’s not seen the Real World yet. Sorry if this upsets you, but it is a disadvantage, to some extent.

I wonder if we’d see differences in someone’s genes before and after the autism presents itself. A lot of parents see normal development before the child becomes autistic.

[muawiyah]

Sounds like the rate of autism has declined among the Somalis.

[MetaThought]

Sorry, it’s definitely increased. Autism isn’t common at all in Somalia.

[jerseyrocks]

You and I differ here. I don’t think you really understand what I am saying. She does see the Real World but differently then you and I. That is a good thing.

How can the gene change if it is present almost at the time of conception? Don’t think you understand genetics. Like you said the biggest inability with Autistic children is social adjustment. Most children’s social behaviors are not evident until 2 to 3 years old, usually the time discovered for Autism. I believe it is there the parents just are not looking for it or see it. Just wondering what your background in Autism is?

[muawiyah]

You ever take a good look at Somalia? Those folks are incredibly dysfunctional.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I think I would give my life if it meant my 12 yo daughter could be free from Aspergers. She knows she doesn’t know what to say in social circumstances. She knows she is looked at as weird. She knows she doesn’t fit in. She is fully aware that she isn’t invited to parties and sleepovers.

As a mother, it’s so painful to watch. It’s painful not knowing how to help her.

[jerseyrocks]

You have been chosen to be given a very special gift why would you want to return it? It is not your daughter that has the problem it is people who do not understand her or any child who has Autism. My daughter did not socially fit in with girls of her age and I kinda of Thank God for that. When I see the way they act to each other or just in general. Does your daughter have Autistic friends? The more common Autism is, broadens the friendships they can make. My daughter has a great group of friends and although they feel different or they don’t fit in from the “norm” they are very comfortable among themselves. I had many occasions where my daughter would not be invited to go to a party or over a someone’s house, or to a movie. And sometimes the parents of the other children when the worst at letting that happen. But when you think about do you really want your daughter to be in a situation that she is not comfortable with? I have explained to my daughter, God gave you a special gift that other people do not have and you are extremely lucky. Of all the people He could have chose He chose you. That helped make her understand I am different, not weird but lucky. And as parents so are we.

[MetaThought]

Real World as in having a family and holding down a job.

No, I understand what you’re saying, it’s just a hunch. Maybe modern genetics has a couple of things it doesn’t understand yet.

I have just gradually stopped having faith in the medical establishment and their pronouncements. I am interested in areas where modern medicine seems to be failing, and autism is one of them.

[MetaThought]

1 in 28 is pretty high. You’d expect someone to notice, even in dysfunctional Somalia.

Same pattern in Sweden.

http://www.thelocal.se/32862/20110328/

[muawiyah]

First off, emigration from Somalia is not a representative sample of the full population. It's pretty much drawn from the top echelon people.

The broad masses there are pretty much impoverished peasants who never see a physician to be diagnosed.

Sweden has been busy deporting everyone who ever showed the slightest sympathy toward NOT GETTING ALONG WITH OTHERS for well over 4 centuries.

I presume the incidence of autism here among Swedish descendants is greater than the incidence of autism there!

BTW, you'll probably find an inverse relationship when it comes to empathy. Be an interesting test.

[gitmo]

He may have a point but I don’t see it.

If he has real world cases existing in modern hunter gatherer societies he may persued me.

3 posted on Friday, June 10, 2011 6:32:55 AM by Pontiac

This idiot clearly doesn't have an autistic child. My wife and I have adopted two. What color is the sky in this numbskull's world?

4 posted on Friday, June 10, 2011 6:35:57 AM by 60Gunner (Ma'am, that is not a seizure. That is a dance move.)

I, too, have adopted two autistic children. If you are interested, check out the movie on Temple Grandin or read some of her books. She is a severly autistic person who has become one of the top animal behavior scientists in the world. She is the primary consultant in the livestock world for managing herds. It is because she sees the world quite differently from what she calls "normals" and detects patterns in herds and sees the world as a cow or a horse would. I've found her books absolutely fascinating.

The movie explains how she went from a disfunctional girl to a woman who can succeed in her field. She still lacks social skills. I would encourage you to check out the movie on this woman.

One of my autistic sons watched this with me the other day. (The older boy can't watch anything that intense.) They had recorded it from HBO.

They have completely opposite autistic traits from each other, but he recognized himself and his brother in her behavior on the screen. The actress captured the character quite well.

[gitmo]

See my post #57.

[MetaThought]

Hmmm? Pretty sure most Somalis came to Minnesota and Sweden as refugees. Not top echelon by any means.

I’m pretty sure parents know when their children have developmental problems. A doctor would be necessary to diagnose it as autism, but I think parents would notice anyway.

[muawiyah]

We had a couple of houseloads of Somalis across the street. The old man was a General. He had several wives. The kids were put immediately into schools.

They were REFUGEES!

When it comes to the third-world the class of refugees who come to America or Europe is usually pretty high.