Increase in Autism Baffles Scientists

IMHO it probably has something to do with an increased number of older mothers.

I wonder if they looked at family size and spacing. Kids in big families are forced early on to form relationships and behave normally. I wonder if autistic kids are found in families where children sleep together or share a bedroom or where they use a family bed or if they are more often found where children are forced to spend hours alone as babies?

So how does one prevent this. What would a doctor do if you told him not to clamp the umbilical cord.

I once left a doctor due to his lack of consideration to newer medical developments. Thanked him for the consult, paid, and found another doctor.

I would print out the following article by one of the doctors from the article I referenced earlier and give it to your doctor. If he doesn't take the time to read it and deal with your concerns, find another doctor.

The article can be found here: To Clamp, or Not To Clamp, This Is the Answer.

Many teenagers are bad at picking up social clues & reading emotions, but kids with Asperger's have even more challenges. The introversion is a result, not a cause.

Never having heard the word "Asperger's," I went to my dictionary to find that the word asperity is defined as "harshness or sharpness of temper."

Knowing that, and knowing that smart kids are far more capable of interpreting perceptions -- thinking -- than dumb kids, I'd say that smart kids are quite good at picking up antisocial clues & reading emotions associated with antisocial behavior from peers, and that a probable cause for subsequent smart-kid introversion is the social rejection delivered them by ... the public school mentality mob.

So, yes, introversion is a result; but the evil in this scenario lies in the cause for smart-kid introversion -- the antisocial behavior inherent in those that hold emotions in greater regard than knowledge.

(Not to agree or disagree, but just because it's not widely-known enough and I take any opportunity to say it) Most high-functioning autistic/Asperger Syndrome students undergo terrible abuse at the hands of the other students in school,. It's far, far above and beyond what one thinks of when one thinks 'bullying.' Even those who are fortunate enough to not be able to expect a pummeling every day and/or constant verbal abuse and jeering are ostracized and rejected, so even one who wants a billion friends and adores people will still find himself or herself alone at the lunch table. Of course, there are more loners in the HFA/AS crowd than among typical people, so some will sit alone by choice. But it's an extremely rare HFA/AS-er who *gets* that choice. As always, not every situation's exactly the same and there are exceptions to every rule. But in all my study of personal stories of autistics, (which is a lot. I'm AS myself, and *extremely* obsessed with autism and spend hours a day every day on it.) I've run into exactly two positive school experiences. ALL the rest: some were almost driven to suicide, and others were merely rejected as opposed to actively abused.

One idea is that homeschooling is best, another idea is that the work world involves dealing with people and you've got to have had your first exposure to the social world before age twenty. Wish I knew which was best. Since many HFA/AS-ers have HFA/AS kids, it's something I have to think about. If someday down the line, I have a kid and s/he has HFA/AS, it won't do to start trying to figure out a solution when s/he's ten years old and coming home crying every day.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.