Is AS caused by teaching children to read at too young an age?

A parent who's eldest son has AS has serious doubts that it is genetic in origin as nobody else in the family has it. She thinks that it is caused by teaching children reading, maths, and academic subjects at too young an age. Her theory is that the human brain of a baby is very 'plastic' but hardens with age. If academics are taught at a very young age then the brain is shaped and wired towards this often at the detriment of people skills. If academics are not taught then the brain will shape and wire itself towards people skills. In other words, teach academics and the child will be able to read a book but struggle to read people. Do not teach academics and the child will be able to read people but will not be able to read a book until later in life.

Her eldest son was pushed with academics at a young age and he could read and do simple sums whilst at nursery – something not taught until reception class – but he rarely interacted with the other children and chose to play with toys alone. His three younger siblings were not pushed academically at a young age but were academically average and have grown up neurotypical.

There is some anecdotal evidence that AS (in Britain at least) is more common in middle class areas where parents value academic education, want their children to do well academically, and have plenty of books in the house, than in lower class areas where parents just prefer their children to muddle along and do not value academic education or have many books at home.

Parents
  • Arran said:

    Has it actually been proven that AS is genetic? Take into account that a genetic test for AS will work for people of all ages and is capable of rendering psychological tests, which are what is used at the moment, obsolete. 

    Genetics, in its current form involving DNA sequencing, is a new field of study. Autism is not a simple single condition, it has wide variations and the consensus of opinion is that it is caused by a combination of several different genes. At the current rate of progress into genetics I'm pretty sure that at some point in the not too distant future there will be a genetic test, or tests, for autistic conditions and then the current psychology based assessements, with their potential for subjective misinterpretation of results will be consigned to history.

Reply
  • Arran said:

    Has it actually been proven that AS is genetic? Take into account that a genetic test for AS will work for people of all ages and is capable of rendering psychological tests, which are what is used at the moment, obsolete. 

    Genetics, in its current form involving DNA sequencing, is a new field of study. Autism is not a simple single condition, it has wide variations and the consensus of opinion is that it is caused by a combination of several different genes. At the current rate of progress into genetics I'm pretty sure that at some point in the not too distant future there will be a genetic test, or tests, for autistic conditions and then the current psychology based assessements, with their potential for subjective misinterpretation of results will be consigned to history.

Children
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