Can animals have Asperger's - autism?

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pgd
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29 Jul 2010, 10:30 am

There are animal models for such neurological challenges as narcolepsy (sleep disorder). They found dogs where it's apparent there is a genetic aspect to narcolepsy.

Also, researchers have bred rats which they claim are ADHD and those rats are sold to the scientific community for ADHD experiments.

Please don't ask me why the dogs and rats who cannot read, write, or recite poetry are said to have narcolepsy and ADHD. I do not understand this animal to human linkage completely.

So, has anyone heard that an animal has been diagnosed with Asperger's - autism?

---

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_and_the_Brain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh5hjbQWQ78



Peko
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29 Jul 2010, 10:35 am

I don't think humans and animals can have the same types of neurological disorders... I know animals and humans can both have seizures. Maybe when they say an animal is autistic, they mean it is extremely aloof in comparison to the majority of its species :?.


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MotownDangerPants
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29 Jul 2010, 10:43 am

Not Asperger's. they don't posses enough capabilities to require a distinction between autism and Asperger's. I have heard of animals having autistic tendencies or having a degree of autism in the brain. It is possible asfaik.



Peko
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29 Jul 2010, 11:05 am

Ever hear of the books "All cats have Asperger's" and "All dogs have ADHD"?


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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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29 Jul 2010, 11:42 am

'Meow!'

I think it can be said that some animals are Aspie.



SamwiseGamgee
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29 Jul 2010, 12:23 pm

I think one of my cats might be autistic.


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29 Jul 2010, 12:46 pm

I read something recently that I thought was about engineered aspie mice, but I can't find it now... Maybe this is similar, but it's older:
Article in Science Daily



Assembly
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29 Jul 2010, 12:54 pm

My neighbours cat is a self diagnosed autistic. Here's why:

- poor eye contact (look at me FFS!!)
- Repetetive speech pattern (MEOW, MEOW!!)
- Does not interact with peers.
- Lack of empathy (poor birds)
- Failure to explain what he want's.
- Can't read social cues.
- Spinning around in circles
- Liking to be in well known places (our yard -_-)
- Failure to follow direction



Ferdinand
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29 Jul 2010, 1:04 pm

I really doubt it.



Willard
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29 Jul 2010, 2:16 pm

Cats don't have enough brains to have a neurological disorder. They're vegetables with legs and a tail. :roll:



frag
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29 Jul 2010, 3:40 pm

Maybe not but one of my cats definitely have a problem with communicating with other animals. He just doesn't know how to fluff himself up, hiss, growl, any of that stuff.



StuartN
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29 Jul 2010, 6:03 pm

Assembly wrote:
My neighbours cat is a self diagnosed autistic. Here's why:


He / she could start an amusing thread here on the value of Feline Self Diagnosis.



MotownDangerPants
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29 Jul 2010, 6:20 pm

SamwiseGamgee wrote:
I think one of my cats might be autistic.


LOL Chanandler Bong.

Funniest thing from that entire series.



Assembly
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29 Jul 2010, 7:14 pm

Quote:
He / she could start an amusing thread here on the value of Feline Self Diagnosis.


Feline awareness, how mice!



zen_mistress
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29 Jul 2010, 7:20 pm

it is well documented that many animal herds have an outsider. Animals may look simple to us, but like us they still use a lot of body language- even more than us actually as they dont have the speech capabilities we have- and their social structures are built on 2 things- the ability to groom other animals and/or get along with them, and asserting of dominance.

I cant see why it cannot be possible that animals are born with differing abilities to decode body language, or behave appropriately for their species.

I have read about wolves being shunned from their pack, and having to walk around by themselves. Also, I read that of dolphins that hang around human populations at beaches, many do so because they are different from their pod.


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