what kind of autism research would you do?

I wonder whether I personally have inherited genes or learned my behaviour from my environment ie my family and psychiatric wards. Does anybody else have similar thoughts? I feel it is a mixture of both. It would be great to read a study on nature or nurture or is it both coming together in relation to Autism? Does anyone know of such research? 

But if your behaviour was learned, it would not be autism? You are autistic because you can't change it. Learned behaviour is deliberate, you can unlearn it and learn another behaviour, which autistic people can't.

I am autistic, apparently, but I grew up surrounded by such behaviours/attitudes, so it was ‘normal’ for us. I wonder whether such an environment/situation in the early years (pre school) can further shape an already autistic type personality? To me it is a broad type of personality, not a defect at all. However, the behaviour I inadvertently seem to have mirrored in psychiatric settings, perhaps to ‘fit in’ I defininitely learned there! Perhaps that’s for another thread one day. 

I am autistic, apparently, but I grew up surrounded by such behaviours/attitudes, so it was ‘normal’ for us. I wonder whether such an environment/situation in the early years (pre school) can further shape an already autistic type personality? To me it is a broad type of personality, not a defect at all. However, the behaviour I inadvertently seem to have mirrored in psychiatric settings, perhaps to ‘fit in’ I defininitely learned there! Perhaps that’s for another thread one day. 

Thank you Lone Warrior for responding to me as somebody should have responded privately to Blue when all the very disturbing stuff was pouring out of her. We are all equal, true, whether male or female. I have already decided to take time out. My distress at what was said is not your concern. nor needs to be. Peace. () if you accept it. Thanks. 

NAS clearly do not differentiate between anyone.

You now openly admit to saying your words honestly and mirror things back, I see no such words you used being used anywhere here, you have deliberately set out to cause hurt.

 That is something I cannot do, and I thing certain others are also incapable of doing.

 Yes I may offend some but I am only me, I am a product of my entire upbringing, 

just because tv was full of programs full of sexist and racist so called comedy back then doesn’t mean I am like thst, therefore I know it existed and still does, 

I could still not knowingly use words to offend anyone by “ mirroring”  as you put it.

 Nasty is nasty, it’s choosing to be that way deliberately to cause pain that shows your true self.

 The individual has on many many occasions said they do not understand, and could someone please explain, I don’t always understand things straight away, I ask politely and would hope for a polite but understanding reply.

 If I offend someone I would listen first, to what I said offended them, then in my head my thoughts ME would decide wether my ability to make a judgement based on my own knowledge was indeed intended to offend or was a wrongly chosen set of words I thought were correct to use,

 Again I would never deliberately think of a way to cause hurt just because I felt upset about words said by another.

 Please don’t follow the news, it often shows powerful people doing wrong, they are allowed to and it effects me to hear them so much. I don’t shout abuse st them just because I do not like what they say or do.

 I ignore it and move on with MY life, 

take care and thank you for replying. Shame you keep leaving or banning yourself?

peace and live x()x

And I deeply respect that. Thanks Lonewarrior. I give up trying to help BlueRay anyway. She’s not my problem. She is a problem for NAS and has some very good ideas and views. But if I like someone, I don’t want them destroying themselves. So take care of yourself BlueRay, whoever you were/are. Independence is walking away. I don’t need NAS. I will miss everyone. But then real life is for living, and sharing. Give and take. I’ve learned that here. Goodbye

And I said them honestly with full intention. I am just mirroring things back, woman to woman. If NAS harbours such people and protects them then I am out of here. I accept full responsibility and have no anger against anyone else. Frustration with one other, but everyone else is supportive of each other. It is my first controlled meltdown. But it’s good to be honest. If that doesn’t help her? nothing ever will. Sorry. NAS are fully aware. 

RIP Van Winkle said, 

“However, the behaviour I inadvertently seem to have mirrored in psychiatric settings, perhaps to ‘fit in’ I defininitely learned there! Perhaps that’s for another thread one day. ”

Perhaps indeed.?

 Interesting you say you not only mirrored but also “learned” there.

I too have learnt a great deal over my many years of existing in this planet.

 Most I see I do not wish to follow or indeed mirror to fit in. I cannot and never will betray myself by changing to suit others that seek only to cause pain and suffering to myself and others.

 I keep taking the hurt as I refuse to accept that all other beings are set out to cause harm.

There are loving caring and understanding people everywhere, I know some and they accept me for who I am and I accept them.

 I do not always fully understand any given exchange but accept each and every being in this earth is unique and has free thought.

 I believe certain things can be learnt that are not innate in me, but I can see that speaking words to cause suffering deliberately are not kind.

 I choose not to mirror that.

And of coarse you are so kind and caring and full of compassion.

Your honesty here clearly shows your ability to hate and give hurt to anyone who doesn’t fit your own personal thoughts or beliefs. 

The words you have used here are purely to cause hurt and distress to another being. Regardless of how you perceive that being it is never right to set out deliberately to hurt them or cause them pain.

 You have shown your true intentions by using words deliberately and intended to cause suffering.

 I only seek to point out how you are worse than a being who openly stated they do not understand your words or thoughts. Clearly stated they do not always understand things in a way others do. 

You clearly understand everything, your by definition perfect so long as everything fits in with your idealistic view point.

I find your reply offensive, destructive and given to cause a great deal of pain to a being who openly admits to not fully understanding this world.

I wish you well and Hope you look back at the things you have said which were deliberate and you fully understood the pain they would cause.

And you my not dear NASty creation are cruel and criminal. You advocate violence and heroin. Yet you tell people you have been a social worker! You said you went to prison the first time at 17. Yet you claim to have diagnosed forensic psychiatric patients! For crying out loud! You probably are one. You could be holed up in Rampton. Or you could be a man. You are a NASty creation and as a single avatar have been allowed to go way beyond what is legally permitted. NAS deleted your words when I told them so, yet this poisonous avatar is still allowed to be here. How many people are inputting this rubbish over the years? 

Well, i am soon off to the gas chamber of real life. It’s full of refreshing oxygen, not your odious, poisonous cow pats. I’m cured!!! I recommend a time with your group to realign any autistic! Youre a miracle worker! - except anyone who knows what the bible actually teaches knows that miracles do not happen at present. Good night. Sweet nightmares! Oh I forgot, you are one.

Thank you Rip Van Wrinkle. I appreciate your honestly in sharing with me what you think about me, I’m sure that couldn’t have been easy and it shows a level of maturity that not everybody has. As for the rest of what you said, like your previous message, I have no idea what it means. But I think that this is as far as it goes now, for you and I, so I won’t ask you what it means or try to work it out, I will simply honour your wishes and cease any further communication with you. Namaste

Not much you say makes sense either. The life you pretend to have/have had is impossible for one person. You are impossible. You are an insult to the rest of us with autism. What’s more, you represent a composite of all the negative stereotypes. If you are one real person, look around you. Accept where you are. If you can’t do that, then you are not a real person to me either. Absolute truth is just that. Truth. Empathy includes consideration for others. Stay in your cell if you want to. You don’t have to. It’s your choice.  Don’t blame anyone else for your own decision. 

I’m not sure what you mean? I have accepted who I am and I’m not sure what you mean about autism being a special badge of honour or what you mean about what honesty is but you’re clearly taking to me because you said my name, so could you please explain, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about? I’m not sure when I’m going back to Bali, I’ve still got quite a lot to do over here although I would like to finish my recovery off over there, for several reasons, so I’m not sure yet, I usually just follow my intuition but I’m trying to be a bit more strategic this time. 

You are just BlueRay here. Get used to it. That is YOUR unique personality. Autism is nobody’s special badge of honour. Accept you are you. Forget the mumbo jumbo. And check out what the definition of absolute honesty is, PLEASE!!!! When are you jetting off to Bali? 

The diagnosis and what it’s called is less important to me, in fact, what they call it doesn’t mean much to me at all, they can call it what they want, it doesn’t change who I am.  I identify as autistic and I have very typical autistic/aspie traits, I tick all the box’s, no empathy (in the way it is mostly experienced/expressed by the majority of people in our society), I’m blunt, honest and don’t have any social filters although I have learned some over the years, I like my own company, like to do my own thing, I have no interest in relationships or friendships really, I don’t pick up on social cues etc etc, love to talk about my special interests etc etc etc.

And of course, everyone is affected by their up bringing etc but only to a point, once we get to be adults and start to make our own choices and get our own values etc we become our own people but even before that, in relatively healthy families anyway, children form their own personalities and characters even before they reach adulthood. Me and my siblings are all different and I’m the only one diagnosed with autism, which I got after I was 50 (don’t know how old I am but I know I’m more than 50). 

Indeed.  I think it's just that, since I've become aware that my personality type is listed in that great compendium of "What's wrong?", the DSM, I've paused to reflect.  

The inherent me-ness is right, so right, though, and it's not going to change.  :)   

Yes, i do believe it to be inherent and part of my wiring.  i have always been like this, and can see it in my earliest memories.  But then I've also seen estimates that personality is 50% heritable anyway so, even if autism is genetic, I still don't see this in itself as making it different from other personality types.   

There are certainly doubts around diagnosis too, not just for me personally, but more generally speaking (see the work of Sami Timimi for example).  If each iteration of the DSM involves significant changes then to my mind this reflects on the validity of the various categories.  Plus if the ASD diagnosis represents a hugely varying group (a massive spectrum no less), how can we assume that the same label is equally relevant to all? 

So...   For the first 5 decades of my life this "autism" wasn't picked up (in spite of contact with services), a few years ago it would have been "Asperger's" (this was still mentioned in a letter from the Access Service to my GP), but now that that's off the menu, it's ASD.  It does make me wonder what it'll be in a few years' time.  

You are JennyButterfly as far as I’m concerned! The labels and diagnoses are for professionals to use to categorise a myriad of personalities and even perhaps those they think of as ‘difficult’, ‘time wasters’ and ‘heart sink patients’. I’m me. It’s my personality. Ain’t nothing going to change that, except if I make an honest mistake and someone tells me so.

I see it all the time in mental health settings, where people lean more into their diagnosis and almost become it, which is why a diagnosis isn’t always the best way forward for everybody, so I can see where you’re coming from but I think the differences in our brains, that we’re born with, are different to what you’re talking about.

However, I totally understand where you’re coming from in doubting your diagnosis and wondering if you  picked up the traits etc, because I have had those same thoughts many times and so have others and I think it’s because we have spent a life time or at least a long time, for many of us (late diagnosis) doubting ourselves and being almost forced to see ourselves as wrong and others as right, so we haven’t yet built up the muscles of believing and trusting in ourselves to the point of no doubt, but many of us are getting there. 

Yes, this is similar to my experience.   i couldn't identify autism in my sons because many of their behaviours were our "normal" and fitted right in. 

I'm also wondering about personality type and I think that would definitely make another interesting thread.  For years I identified more as a highly sensitive person (HSP) so am now left pondering how this differs from our brand of autism.  To me this is very puzzling.  I can find myself as "autistic" in the DSM, "highly sensitive" in Elaine Aron's books or INFJ-T on the Myers Briggs test ("Other interesting personality tests are also available" :) ).  To which of these might I give most credence and why?