Messages posted by: bertvan

Hi Sue,
What if Autism is a just a personality trait, and the retardation of the children labelled autistic has many causes? I?ve heard that Children afflicted with ?fragile X? and Rett?s syndrome are sometimes called autistic. The defining characteristic of autistic children is a lack of intuitive ?people skills?. Retarded children with good people skills are not called autistic. Most of us see personality traits as inherited, and I certainly acknowledge ?autistic? traits in other members of our family. I don?t believe science has any idea of possible mechanisms for such inheritance, though. Normal people may also be deficient in people skills, but they are sometimes able to substitute learning for intuitive ability, and manage to function in society. They may not become politicians or entertainers, but variety is characteristic of our species. Environmental toxins might well cause retardation, but the question should be whether all retardation is on the increase or is it just those labelled autistic? That would lead to an interesting question: are children changing? Are more children attempting to substitute learning for intuitive ability? Could that be the reason for the apparent increase in children diagnosed autistic?

My son was diagnosed in the days of Bettelheim and our family was subjected to psychotherapy to cure my ?maternal rejection?. That?s no longer a problem, and that part of my story is offered merely for entertainment.

Berthajane Vandegrift
http://30145.myauthorsite.com/
A Few Autistic Questions about Freud, Marx and Darwin

I am interested in Cambridge University psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen's suggestion that high functioning autistics, and mothers of autistic children share certain personality traits. He suggests they have hyper masculine, analytical brains. I would suggest we are also nonconformists, and perhaps play tournament bridge. Tony was diagnosed in the days when autism was believed caused by maternal rejection, and psychotherapy for mother was the treatment. In the cosmic scheme of things, being the mother of my autistic son probably wasn't an very important job, but only I could do it. It was an achievement that required epic effort and imagination. I fear terrible things might have happened to Tony if he had been placed in an institution under the care of people who didn't love him. All my children, including Tony, experienced happy childhoods, and today none of them are shamed by, or regret their basic natures. As a mother, that was my achievement. Tony's brother and sister acquired more compassion and understanding than many children their age because of Tony. I spent many years writing a book describing many of Baron-Cohen's views before he even wrote them.

http://30145.myauthorsite.com/
Bertvan@aol.com