Causes of autism

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We had similar thread. See here: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt130767.html

I thought autism was caused by breathing. But I was wrong. Breathing in is fine. But breathing out? Bad. Really bad ...

Actually, heritability doesn't really work that way. With a heritability of ~90%, like autism has, the correct statement is, "The cause of the average case of autism is 90% genetic."

Yesterday I've heard a theory that autism is caused by watching TV too soon. Well, people are stupid, but this guy is a psychologist! As people here say sorrov and payn

From what I've read, what studies suggest is that for most autistics, genes play a large role, but it's not genes alone. My impression is that for some, it's largely genetic (for a few maybe strictly genetic), for others, it's more a combination of factors.

True, but that science suggests it's NOT a genes only thing, but more complicated. As in, have certain autistic genes, and then other things affect how those genes are expressed. So, certain genetic patterns mean a high probability of autism.

The theory I've read on why there's so much autism there is because of the types of jobs there. Lots of jobs for nerd/geek types, who have more of the genes associated with autism, they get together and have kids, and a higher percentage of kids with autism than in the general population.

One side of my family is filled with autistic type individuals. I had a "Rain Man" cousin who was institutionalized when he was 16 years old. He did the date and weather recall thing. When I was born I had around 45 minutes of oxygen deprivation and had to be delivered by an emergency C-section.

My belief is that autism is genetic, but the genes can be turned "on" with some issue like the oxygen deprivation. If the genes aren't turned "on," then the person might have only some of the traits of autism. But since I believe my oxygen deprived birth turned my autism genes "on," I have autism that is easily diagnosed (Asperger's).

I watched TV too soon and it didn't help.

It probably exacerbated the issues.
When people watch TV or the radio, there are disembodied voices to contend with. There's background noise. I found it very difficult to interact with people when they were watching TV. I find it hard to talk over the noise of the radio.

TV has the advantage in that you can see people moving their eyebrows in strange ways and having facial expressions that your family would never make. You can also watch people on TV get into situations that you'd never been in before or situations that you'd never been invited to. TV can educate.

TV is no substitute for a deep culture or an understanding community. I think people turn to TV because there is no deep communal culture or value system for them to tap into.

While you watch TV, you can learn about other cultures while neglecting your own.
You can watch TV because no one else will talk to you or care.

With broadcast TV the presenter can grin at you, look you in the eye and yet not know who you are or how you're feeling. I've always found that aspect of TV disorientating and spooky.

When the radio presenter asks "How are you?" he isn't really talking to you at all: it's a giant illusion. He doesn't really care about you. If he really cared about you specifically, he'd visit you in person and help you. I find the phone spooky too.


Environmental factors that don't really help:

-Disembodied voices in the media
-Coersive education/crowded classrooms/forcing people to join in when they aren't comfortable
-Over sheduled extra curricular activities that happen too fast to keep up with
-Lack of opportunity for outdoors unstructured play
-Fear of child abduction lack of trust in the community
-Impersonalised shops, services, huge shops, call centres
-Cultural clashes
-Cultural confusion
-Lack of local culture
-Information overload
-Lack of contacts and a support network
-Overstimulating entertainment/shopping areas/public spaces
-Advertising
-Shallow societal values, style over substance
-Group collaborative projects valued over individual projects
-People moving around a lot, not staying in one place
-Lack of consistency
-Self esteem/soft skills valued over practical work performance
-Everyone expected to be the same
-Everyone educated in the same way
-Unreasonable expectations
-Confusion over the role of women in society
-Bizarre dress codes that serve no practical function (especially the damaging clothes that women are "expected" to wear)
-Complex social rituals required to obtain goods, services and education
-Women told that they should look like thin plastic painted dolls in order to be valued
-Ostracism and bullying
-A binge drinking, celebrity worshipping culture, excludes people/no depth interactions or discussions permitted

I think it has to do with human evolution, TBH.

my theory is:

Autism is what happens when a mad scientist has children

so ya I'd be on the genetic side

I think that people constantly yelling and screaming can make me feel very autistic.

I become non communicative when people around me get drunk and swear at each other constantly.

Every day it's scream, scream, scream from them.
This probably provokes more meltdowns from me than anything else.

I also think that my not being allowed out of the house unaccompanied didn't help.
The whole "Don't talk to strangers." thing probably made me behave in very autistic ways.
It also made me paranoid and agoraphobic.

I have been unable to socially connect with others or get steady work because of having to deal with and look after my disabled relatives. All of the screaming and the arguments make it very difficult for me to function.

I'm ashamed of my situation and I get blamed for being depressed and "lazy".


I become incredibly low functioning when people around me got so drunk that they collapsed. I can't hold sensible conversations with people who are being sick or collapsed. I also can't hold sensible conversations with "ladettes" who swear, tart themselves up and slap their boyfriends/members of authority.

I couldn't have sensible conversations with people because I was "snowed under" by constant academic testing. I couldn't be a proper teenager because they wouldn't let me.

It can't be just me who's at fault.
I think that other people can make people behave in autistic ways.

I used to be so enthusiastic until they piled all of these expectations on me and drank.

I hate living in this country. People don't want to have fun without getting drunk.
I'm not against people drinking if they enjoy it. But I don't understand how they can enjoy themselves by being sick. They have ruined my life and excluded me.

This is why I may have to go for therapy: because of other people.
They have made me into the paranoid, neurotic basketcase that I am today.

So I belive that the other ten percent of autism can be caused by other people.

I also think that bullying and lack of tolerance for eccentricity can socially wound people.

I suspect the difference between ASD and BAP can be environmental.

Probably the reason because the definition of Autism/Autism Spectrum is being regularly broadened is because society is becoming even more "social" in the last decades (kids have more extra-curricular activities, jobs are more in services and less in industry, etc.), then some behaviors that 50 years ago were simply "weird" today create "significant impairment".

[How I fit the proposed "des-broadnization" of the Autism Spectrum in DSM-V in my "theory of determination of the frontiers of Autism Spectrum by the socio-economical structures"? Simply - we were becoming more "social" in the last decades, but less "social" - or more social in virtual world but less social in the real world - - in the last years - thank to computers, net, etc. - then some traits that were weird and then become maladaptive are again only weird]

I definitely think it's genetic, although environmental factors may come into play. I always thought there was something "different" about my parents, especially my father, although they were never officially diagnosed back in the day. His only friends were the husbands of my mother's friends, and even they wre not close friends. He didn't know how to socialize, he was self-absorbed and behaved more like a toddler having tantrums than an adult. He was fired for poor job performance. My mother blurted things out without seeming to think about the consequences or how the other person might feel. She spent most of her time watching soap operas. I always knew I was different. I had a hard time fitting in and making friends, and it seemed like most people didn't like me, although I don't think I was mean, just odd. My parents also isolated me from the real world, which probably added to my being "different". I was only allowed to socialize with the children of their friends, and my cousins. My DH is NT, as is my DD. My boys are on the spectrum, although the older one is considerably more affected socially and academically than the younger one.

I'd love to research exactly this at university!! !!

Um, well, just born with it is my answer for now...

Well, Aspie-like traits are definitely common on my dad's side of the family. I was also born 6 weeks premature with undeveloped lungs, but I don't know what type of effect that might have had. It didn't help that my NT parent only had one good friend outside of the family, and didn't really go out and socialize ever, so I had no real example to follow. I would say that it is primarily genetic, but that environment can affect the severity of certain symptoms.