Miner

hohner said:

I come from a line of welsh miners, I believe autism is environmental genetically based condition.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/spike/columnists/mining-boom-has-tragic-side-effect-more-children-with-autism/story-e6frerh6-1225863666380

A good overview of mining and high autism levels.

Having given the article a cursory readthrough, I noticed this comment...

"...Apparently, mining boom equals lots of engineers equals more children with autism. I don't know about you, but I find this link astounding. It is a well-established fact, say researchers, that there are increased numbers of highly analytical people, such as scientists, physicists, mathematicians and engineers, among the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)..."

I think you have misread the article.  The article does not state that breathing in coal dust or working down mines causes Autism within families, but that a certain type of occupation attracts academic and engineering types who themselves may have autistic traits or inherit the autistic gene.  Therefore, if you have a community of scientific and analytical thinkers like engineers, scientists, geologists, etc, then chances are they may sire children who may have autism or some autistic traits.  And this MAY explain the higher rates of Autism within the community of Mackay .  

Many of us with diagnosed Autism / Asperger Syndrome do not come from mining communities and do not come from mining families.  

Therefore, as I said earlier, a more likely cause of Autism is congenital and genetic, related to a faulty gene passed down within blood-related family members, and not environmental or directly related to working in mines.  

hohner said:

I come from a line of welsh miners, I believe autism is environmental genetically based condition.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/spike/columnists/mining-boom-has-tragic-side-effect-more-children-with-autism/story-e6frerh6-1225863666380

A good overview of mining and high autism levels.

Having given the article a cursory readthrough, I noticed this comment...

"...Apparently, mining boom equals lots of engineers equals more children with autism. I don't know about you, but I find this link astounding. It is a well-established fact, say researchers, that there are increased numbers of highly analytical people, such as scientists, physicists, mathematicians and engineers, among the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)..."

I think you have misread the article.  The article does not state that breathing in coal dust or working down mines causes Autism within families, but that a certain type of occupation attracts academic and engineering types who themselves may have autistic traits or inherit the autistic gene.  Therefore, if you have a community of scientific and analytical thinkers like engineers, scientists, geologists, etc, then chances are they may sire children who may have autism or some autistic traits.  And this MAY explain the higher rates of Autism within the community of Mackay .  

Many of us with diagnosed Autism / Asperger Syndrome do not come from mining communities and do not come from mining families.  

Therefore, as I said earlier, a more likely cause of Autism is congenital and genetic, related to a faulty gene passed down within blood-related family members, and not environmental or directly related to working in mines.