Published on 12, July, 2020
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.
[quote user="NAS13026"]An example of DNA based research specifically targeting those with Aspergers, rather than classic autism...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/.../quote]
That looks like an interesting article as it focuses on high-functioning AS rather than traditional Kanner autism.
"While most neuroimaging and behavioral studies of ASC focus on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum (high-functioning autism and/or Asperger syndrome (AS)), the large-scale genetic studies have primarily investigated the lower-functioning end, focusing on classic autism. In this study, we address this important gap in literature, by reporting two genetic association studies."
I have informed my local AS support group about it. They are quite open minded to the causes of AS. There are still many questions to answer if AS is genetic. Is it hereditary? Is it caused by a recessive gene that only occasionally surfaces? Is it a mutation?
Also, the NAS is adamant and insistent that ASD, including high-functioning AS, affects people equally of all races although I and some other people from the high-functioning AS community have reservations about this.
community.autism.org.uk/.../asd-people-foreign-backgrounds
If high-functioning AS is genetic then it could end up that certain races may not have any of the genes that result in the condition so are therefore immune to it.
[quote]There are currently, and have previously been, other similar studies. You mentiooend the NAS. The NAS links to this specific page concerning genetic research into ASD...
geneticliteracyproject.org/.../quote]
The article is a bit too simplistic. I dislike the reference to prodigies as it is a term that lacks a precise definition. Many so called child prodigies in music and mathematics are 'hot housed' by their parents.