Comments on: What if there is no autism epidemic?: Roy Richard Grinker in Time magazine

By: Where’s Molly and the Rest of That Generation? KIDS CHILDREN BABY

Where’s Molly and the Rest of That Generation? KIDS CHILDREN BABY — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:25:12 +0000

[...] example of Roy Grinker’s argument in Unstrange Minds that there is no epidemic of autism. Kristina Chew presents a good overview of Grinker’s findings. Both Chew and Grinker wrote an essay that is well worth reading: If There’s No Autism Epidemic, [...]

By: Advertising Autism « What Sorts of People

Advertising Autism « What Sorts of People — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:45:56 +0000

[...] link between autism and vaccines. Chews posts on this go back 18 months to one called “What if there is no autism epidemic?“, which offered a commentary on a Huffington Post article by journalist David Kirby. Chew is [...]

By: So Goeth the Autism Epidemic

So Goeth the Autism Epidemic — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:42:33 +0000

[...] And so goeth the claims of an epidemic of autism—the June 6th Times (UK) has an article entitled “The autism epidemic commeth, which heralds the publication of a book entitled Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism by anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker, who is also the father of a teenage girl with autism, Isabel. The book was published in January 2007 here in the US and started off something of a storm of discussion about whether or not there is an autism epidemic. Prof. Grinker says no, as noted in this January 2007 interview in Time magazine. [...]

By: The So-Called Autism Pandemic

The So-Called Autism Pandemic — Mon, 12 May 2008 05:51:20 +0000

[...] been plenty of debate about whether or not there is an epidemic of autism; about whether or not the increase in the prevalence rate of autism (now 1 in 150) is due to our [...]

By: Cliff

Cliff — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:15:27 +0000

I probably would have passed off as mentally retarded, leaving out an autism diagnosis, and as such probably institutionalized.
I also think that, if you were to specifically identify some traits of person, that you would likely have a sudden increase number of those people as the distinction was recognized, and if there was an aspect of that condition that was negative, it would be segregated as a disease. Not only that, people would think there were more of these people because they saw more of these people, but generally because they recognized it in the distinction. I would even go far enough that any condition might be recognized as a distinction. A lower key example might be addiction, where the tendency is different and sometimes extremely dangerous, though because of the similarities in sociality and other things it might more easily fly under the radar. In fact, autism might be considered ideal to be recognized because the sociality aspect is so distinct to people as disconcerting, though even then in lower degrees it would fly under the radar in general until a more complete investigation was going through, where the aspect was more widely recognized.
Further, I think many individuals who were in any way excessively disabled (in an extremely broad usage on purpose) were generally pushed out and away from the visage of society. People were abandoned, figuratively and literally, for the challenges as individuals they possessed, were considered innate problems or given some other distinction (possessed soulless mass was the term Martin Luther gave to a child who was probably severely autistic-before strangling him), or perhaps an inaccurate distinction like ADHD. When the medical context came into being, they were brought in as victims, and recognized as autistic rather than something else.
Now, I am not making the claim that autism isn’t increasing. In fact, I’d assert that in selecting for intelligence to some degree we may have been selecting autism accidentally, as the two coincide. But I do think that an application of the term epidemic is misleading.
If I may, Jez, I could give a suggestion (though I’m under qualified, never having lived as as an autistic adult; I’m seventeen). In a single note, I’d say that it’s extremely important to play to your child’s strengths. It gives the individual a feeling of self-worth and inclusion using that strength. Emphasizing that over the negatives, which is bound to isolate, is something really important, something I only got later in life and something which really changed my life for the better (in fact, I had developed clinical depression largely coming out of rejection based on my weaknesses). Educationally, I’d note the same thing.

Cliff

By: Cat M

Cat M — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:09:21 +0000

I find Wallis’ statement that some will question the “paucity of autism” among adults and Hendren’s assumption that we’d see them in institutions ridiculous.

It is well known that many adults with Asperger’s were diagnosed with ADHD prior to 1994 because the DSM did not recognize Asperger’s and other milder variants of autism.

The fact that so many new diagnoses are these milder variants counters Hendren’s absurd contention. It is unlikely that you would see many adults with Asperger’s or PDDNOS in an institution.

Two of my children have been diagnosed with Asperger’s, which my ex-husband also clearly has, yet he is an MIT graduate and a well-respected IT professional in the financial industry. He was never diagnosed despite several classic indications.

A Mt. Sinai research study (conducted by students) using the Gilliam rating scale, designed for individuals ages 3 to 22, failed to identify Asperger’s in this 44-year-old man, despite the fact that the researcher noted he demonstrated several autistic phenotypes. He also scored 32 on the AQ test and describes several behaviors from childhood and exhibits several now that scream Asperger’s.

We are not seeing more adults diagnosed because (1) many of them don’t want to be; (2) many of them are not even familiar with Asperger’s if they have no children diagnosed with it; (3) many have accepted a previous diagnosis as explanation for their behaviors; (4) the costs of obtaining a diagnosis may be prohibitive and seem to offer little benefit; (5) most tests are not designed for older adults and may fail to pick up a diagnosis; and (6) as Tony Atwood writes, many adults with Aspergers acquire a certain level of social competence by their 40s that may make Asperger’s appear so mild as to be undetectable.

I do not believe there is an autism epidemic, but I think the author made some pretty silly statements in the attempt to offer up a counterargument and give the article the appearance of some sort of controversy.

By: The Extraordinary Claim of the Autism Epidemic

The Extraordinary Claim of the Autism Epidemic — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:49:47 +0000

[...] the World of Autism by anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker, in which he presented an argument for why there is no autism epidemic. Unstrange Minds looks closely at the history of autism by and, too, the history of child [...]

By: Vaccines, God’s Middle Name, Black Chickens, and other autism stories

Vaccines, God’s Middle Name, Black Chickens, and other autism stories — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:49:24 +0000

[...] this disorder,” we should be very wary in speaking (if at all) about there being an “epidemic of autism.” ASD, Aspergers, autism, black chicken, children, China, drama, Education, family, food [...]

By: P Buddery

P Buddery — Tue, 29 May 2007 08:01:24 +0000

Consider this reasonable successful person. The man is a middle-aged mechanical engineer who plays 3 musical instruments to a professional standard and 2 others to a moderate level. He has written english for a living. He has had no training in writing, and has only had 2 years instruction in one of the musical instruments. He designs things for fun as well as a living. He reads history for fun. He collects machinery which he doesn’t have time to restore. He can do various other things unusually well. He is a perfectionist and is efficient. He is married with children.

Consider this quite disabled person. He is an autistic, and also appears to have ADD, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. He doesn’t have or want an official diagnosis. He can’t maintain eye contact for longer than 2 seconds with his wife or kids because it is physically painful. He can’t maintain eye contact with friends or relatives, nor can he touch them.
He can’t eat a lot of foods because they make him sick or make him feel crazy. He twitches and sometimes dribbles. He is large and perpetually shabby and unkempt. He suspects that his strange expressions cause people not to trust him. Often his skin tingles intensely for hours at a time. His legs twitch uncontrollably. He has offended the wives of many of his friends. He smokes cigarettes and marihuana to settle him, and help him both concentrate and sleep. If he ever has to stop smoking marihuana he will probably be unable to function as a normal person. The nightmares and the lies and the stupidity of the average human will overwhelm him.

He doesn’t understand a lot of human interaction, but he has learnt – through much pain – not to care.
He can’t compromise. He can’t do a second-rate job. He can’t drive slowly. He can’t watch TV without eventually becoming enraged. He can’t tolerate mediocrity or conformity or any form of unthinking behaviour. Fashion excites his withering contempt, as do so many other stupidities.

For those few who haven’t guessed, it is the same person. And the person exists beyond any doubt, living in a messy house full of books on the side of a hill in suburbia.

His take on autism is that any autism epidemic is a good thing. Autistics are the cure for the two great human crises looming – environmental stupidity leading to self-destruction and the devestating ability of normal human beings to believe the most outrageous lies. Often he feels ashamed to be human, but now, diagnosed informally as the result of a few tests on the internet, he can take refuge in the fact that he is not human at all, but an autistic.

He is a member of a brotherhood of the intelligent.

Can you guess his name?

P Buddery

By: Autism Vox » Autism and Controversy: Bring it on

Autism Vox » Autism and Controversy: Bring it on — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:10:19 +0000

[...] in the mass media portrayal of autism, on the causes of autism and on whether or not there is an epidemic of autism, I guess I have indeed blogged my way into a few autism controversies, and therefore appreciate the [...]