The Rise in Autism

Lumen

Lumen

Pondering Stuff
Registered Senior Member
People keep talking about the rise in autism ( also what was Aspergers) and I just want to share my recent conclusions which in a way may tie to a recent discovery ( autists sharing dna with Neanderthals ) in the hope that this brain type is more understood.

Humans are NOT changing ... the world is changing.

And what that means is people who are innately more adapted to the world of the past ( I'll explain how so) are now struggling and also standing out as being 'different'.

A hundred years ago the world was quieter, less populated, no flashing lights, no noise pollution , natural food was the norm , we had space between conversations , distance between people, more sleep , more routine , less choices and so autism would have ( for the higher functioning) been seen only eccentricity or genius or both.

The sensory issues many have today were not obvious or even in existence due to the absence of triggers as already noted.

The world is evolving at a rapid rate and hence new struggles are coming to the fore. NOT more autists but more issues based on the way the world is changing.

It's the world that changed ... not humans.

Now let's look at where autists would be at home thriving and probably leaders of the community. Skilled hunters, healers, teachers.

Let's go back in time to tribal times.

Hearing a twig snap in a forest, being able to track virtually invisible signs of an animal being hunted for food. Recognising weather patterns, movement of the stars, sensing danger before danger strikes. Eye contact with strangers doesn't happen because no one is a stranger in the tribe. If a stranger should arrive eye contact would likely lead to a battle and a death. Eye contact towards strangers is NOT the norm.

These are super powers to men living in built up civilisation but normal for tribal people. Totally normal! As is short sightedness because a tribal person never gets to see further than the edge of their small camp due to trees. So their eyes are not developed to see more than a few metres.

We autists are built for a different world. A world where survival is a daily struggle and dependant upon those skills I mentioned. It's also a world of routine , every day is the same. Same meal every day. Same work , same people , there are no changes.

It is a quieter world where pattern recognition is essential for survival.

Where paranoia is essential to avoid being eaten by a wild animal.

Where repeating tasks and following the same routine is the absolute norm.

Nothing changes ... the lives of isolated peoples is unchanging , non evolving.

At heart we are tribal.

And we all long for that life yet are also now dependant on this one. But we all long for 'another world'.

So no we aren't on the increase. The world just isn't made for us anymore.

My dream was always to live on a deserted island but with the people I love and like. A simple unchanging life filled with nature and animals and quiet.

I am not autistic I am deemed autistic because this world is not my world.

And now I know this I am at peace as I am not abnormal ( I was diagnosed ASD) I am merely tribal by design.

I welcome your thoughts.
 
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ToR original said:
A hundred years ago the world was quieter, less populated, no flashing lights, no noise pollution , natural food was the norm , we had space between conversations , distance between people, more sleep , more routine , less choices and so autism would have ( for the higher functioning) been seen only eccentricity or genius or both.
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That's part of it I think. Another part is that autism wasn't diagnosed 100 years ago; autistic people were referred to as "retarded" "simple" "daft" or "spastic."
 
Interesting your absence of awareness of how higher functioning autists present.
 
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No one I know as a higher functioning autist would have been labelled thus. Especially given their higher intelligence and greater skill set. Arm flapping or odd silences, lack of eye contact, disinterest in small talk would attract a label of eccentric or odd at most. Not to suggest all higher functioning are more intelligent. Just the ones I know and of course historically ones I didn't know ... Tesla, Einstein, and more recently Musk.
 
ToR original said:
Interesting your absence of awareness of how higher functioning autists present.
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Are you referring to Billvon?

I think you missed his point. Autism didn't exist as a diagnosis until relatively recently. It would have been labeled as one of the items he listed.
 
ToR original said:
Interesting your absence of awareness of how higher functioning autists present.
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No Billvon will be well aware. The use of those words was the medical terminology used at that time. Low IQ ranges were given similar terms, "idiot," "imbecile," and "moron" being examples.
 
Lumen, some of your comments seem quite speculative. I sometimes see functioning ASD as more a different cognitive style, but that is mainly people on the edge of the spectrum. I can agree that ASD did probably fit in better in a quiet hunter gatherer band, where the routines and being valued for acute pattern recog skills and task persistence would help secure a niche in the group. However, the more neurodivergent forms have likely always meant some struggles with group dynamics and learning, even in a small tribal setting. It's important to bear in mind that ASD is a spectrum, which covers a variety of neurodivergent conditions.
 
Lumen said:
No one I know as a higher functioning autist would have been labelled thus. Especially given their higher intelligence and greater skill set. Arm flapping or odd silences, lack of eye contact, disinterest in small talk would attract a label of eccentric or odd at most. Not to suggest all higher functioning are more intelligent. Just the ones I know and of course historically ones I didn't know ... Tesla, Einstein, and more recently Musk.
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What’s the evidence Einstein was on the spectrum? I’d certainly have thought Dirac must have been a candidate, but I had not read that about Einstein.
 
Pinball1970 said:
No Billvon will be well aware. The use of those words was the medical terminology used at that time. Low IQ ranges were given similar terms, "idiot," "imbecile," and "moron" being examples.
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I’d question spastic though. That was applied to cerebral palsy, I think.
 
billvon said:
There was VERY little rigor applied to the use of those terms back then. Thus someone who moved oddly (for any reason) would often be called spastic.
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Heck, we'd call anyone that did or said anything remotely mockable "spastic". And then "Joey", after Joey Deacon, a man with cerebal palsy who was on TV in the early 80s (ironically to try to inspire empathy and understanding of those with the condition. Needless to say, it didn't work quite out as well as they had hoped).

Less enlightened times, I'm afraid.
 
Sarkus said:
Heck, we'd call anyone that did or said anything remotely mockable "spastic". And then "Joey", after Joey Deacon, a man with cerebal palsy who was on TV in the early 80s (ironically to try to inspire empathy and understanding of those with the condition. Needless to say, it didn't work quite out as well as they had hoped).

Less enlightened times, I'm afraid.
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That always happens though. As soon as new, kinder word or euphemism is coined, it gets hijacked by the kids and applied beyond its intended context, generally pejoratively. I gather a few years back the playground taunt was “special needs”. God knows what it is now.
 
exchemist said:
That always happens though. As soon as new, kinder word or euphemism is coined, it gets hijacked by the kids and applied beyond its intended context, generally pejoratively. I gather a few years back the playground taunt was “special needs”. God knows what it is now.
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Maybe one of the following:
"You're sooo Trump!"
"You're being Presidential"
"Donald!!"

(sorry - I may be cross-polluting threads! ;) )
 
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