Re: Parents' marriage choice may lead to autism

January 30, 2006

In a message dated 1/30/2006 3:07:24 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, drumthis2001@... writes:

NT's let their passions rule and end up with pre-nuptial agreement situations and, Aspies are passionate about "narrow interests". That makes me think the psychologists hate us because they call us narrow minded and in other articles the same thing, "conservative". Narrow minded is not a compliment and the labelers think that they can ruin us, but they can't because we're above their passion for making us look stupid. Their passions rule them only to destroy them. With Aspies are passions make us & cannot break us.

A pre-nup isn't just an NT thing, its a good idea for everyone. I think too many people have a too romantic notion of marriage which is based on the emotions of the moment. When said marriage fails, those emotion can turn 180 degrees and cause a lot of trouble. This is when that pre-nup helps. Everything was decided when the couple was on better terms. I've seen a lot of couples tear into each other and even use their children as weapons against the each other, because they didn't have a pre-nup. It just makes sense to have one.

January 30, 2006

In a message dated 1/30/2006 3:07:24 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, drumthis2001@... writes:

NT's let their passions rule and end up with pre-nuptial agreement situations and, Aspies are passionate about "narrow interests". That makes me think the psychologists hate us because they call us narrow minded and in other articles the same thing, "conservative". Narrow minded is not a compliment and the labelers think that they can ruin us, but they can't because we're above their passion for making us look stupid. Their passions rule them only to destroy them. With Aspies are passions make us & cannot break us.

A pre-nup isn't just an NT thing, its a good idea for everyone. I think too many people have a too romantic notion of marriage which is based on the emotions of the moment. When said marriage fails, those emotion can turn 180 degrees and cause a lot of trouble. This is when that pre-nup helps. Everything was decided when the couple was on better terms. I've seen a lot of couples tear into each other and even use their children as weapons against the each other, because they didn't have a pre-nup. It just makes sense to have one.

January 30, 2006

Ah, I see. So if an engineer (me, for example) married an engineer, my child would be more likely to be autistic. Someone needs to get their facts straight-esp. with that last sentence. Asperger's Syndrome people hardly have average intelligence. Far above it. environmental1st2003 <no_reply > wrote: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/30/naut30.xml & sSheet=/news/2006/01/30/ixhome.htmlParents' marriage choice may lead to autismThe recent rise in autism may have been driven by the tendency of like-minded engineers, physicists, mathematicians and other "systemizers" to marry each other, according to a Cambridge University professor.Around one child in every 100 - mostly males - has autism and

the number of cases seems to be on the increase, though some argue that it is due to greater awareness and changes in diagnosis.In a new study, Prof Simon Baron-Cohen believes the impaired ability of people with autism to communicate, recognise emotions and socialise is linked with the same genes that enable a person to systemize - find the laws that govern how a system works.This is more often a male trait and present among scientists.He has uncovered clues that suggest that when systemizers marry they have a higher risk of having children with autism. And he believes that systemizers are also more attracted to each other than one would expect by chance, due to what he calls "assortative mating".Systemizers feel more comfortable in the company of each other rather than that of what he calls empathizers. "We have found clues in a range of studies we have conducted since 1997 that assortative mating is going

on."In the journal Archives of Diseases of Childhood this month, Prof Baron-Cohen reports various suggestive clues to link systemizing with autism.According to a survey of 1,000 members of the National Autistic Society, fathers and grandfathers of children with autistic spectrum conditions are twice as likely to work in a systemizing profession such as engineering.Students in the natural sciences have a higher number of relatives with autism than do students in the humanities, and mathematicians have a higher rate of autistic spectrum conditions compared with the general population.The theory that both parents of children with autism are strong systemizers is also evident from a study that shows both mothers and fathers score above average on a questionnaire that measures autistic traits.The parents are also faster at "visual search tasks" - in effect they have an unusually sharp eye for detail,

just as their child with autism does - compared with the parents of unaffected children.Brain scan studies of mothers and fathers of children with autism have shown that the mothers have a masculinised pattern of brain activity, again suggesting they are strong systemizers.When all the evidence is taken together it suggests a genetic cause of autism, with both parents contributing genes that ultimately relate to a similar kind of mind: one with an affinity for thinking systematically. Prof Baron-Cohen says the rise in autism could be driven because assortative mating is becoming easier: recent years have seen a rise in mobility, an increase in the employment prospects of systemizers -notably in the computer industry - and a rise in the numbers of women studying mathematics, engineering and other systemizing subjects at university, where they are more likely to come into contact with systemizing men.He

points out that the parents of children with autism may not have strong skills in such subjects, but that does not mean they are not strong systemizers. The parents may for example have a remarkable memory for the names of songs in their CD collection, or for dates or telephone numbers.He thinks the key characteristic is "exactness" in their style of thinking.In the spectrum of conditions that count as autism, the largest groups are classic autism and Asperger syndrome. Both share features: a difficulty in developing social relationships, a difficulty in communication, the presence of unusually strong, narrow interests, and a strong adherence to routines.They differ in that in classic autism, the person might have an IQ at any point on the scale, even in the learning disabled range, and the person invariably had a language delay as a toddler.In Asperger syndrome, the person is always at least average in

IQ, and may be well above average, and talked on time as a toddler.rhighfield@...If you love something, set it free! So it is with books. See what I mean atwww.bookcrossing.com/friend/nheckoblogcritics.orghttp://notesfromnancy.blogspot.com

Heckofreelance proofreadernancygailus@...

Bring words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with .

January 30, 2006

NT's let their passions rule and end up with pre-nuptial agreement situations and, Aspies are passionate about "narrow interests". That makes me think the psychologists hate us because they call us narrow minded and in other articles the same thing, "conservative". Narrow minded is not a compliment and the labelers think that they can ruin us, but they can't because we're above their passion for making us look stupid. Their passions rule them only to destroy them. With Aspies are passions make us & cannot break us. Hecko <nancygailus@...> wrote: Ah, I see. So if an engineer (me, for example) married an engineer, my child would be more likely to be autistic. Someone needs to get their facts straight-esp. with that last sentence. Asperger's Syndrome people

hardly have average intelligence. Far above it. environmental1st2003 <no_reply > wrote: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/30/naut30.xml & sSheet=/news/2006/01/30/ixhome.htmlParents' marriage choice may lead to autismThe recent rise in autism may have been driven by the tendency of like-minded engineers, physicists, mathematicians and other "systemizers" to marry each other, according to a Cambridge University professor.Around one child in every 100 - mostly males - has autism and the number of cases seems to be on the increase, though some argue that it is due to greater awareness and changes in diagnosis.In a new study, Prof Simon Baron-Cohen believes the impaired ability of people

with autism to communicate, recognise emotions and socialise is linked with the same genes that enable a person to systemize - find the laws that govern how a system works.This is more often a male trait and present among scientists.He has uncovered clues that suggest that when systemizers marry they have a higher risk of having children with autism. And he believes that systemizers are also more attracted to each other than one would expect by chance, due to what he calls "assortative mating".Systemizers feel more comfortable in the company of each other rather than that of what he calls empathizers. "We have found clues in a range of studies we have conducted since 1997 that assortative mating is going on."In the journal Archives of Diseases of Childhood this month, Prof Baron-Cohen reports various suggestive clues to link systemizing with autism.According to a survey of 1,000 members of the National

Autistic Society, fathers and grandfathers of children with autistic spectrum conditions are twice as likely to work in a systemizing profession such as engineering.Students in the natural sciences have a higher number of relatives with autism than do students in the humanities, and mathematicians have a higher rate of autistic spectrum conditions compared with the general population.The theory that both parents of children with autism are strong systemizers is also evident from a study that shows both mothers and fathers score above average on a questionnaire that measures autistic traits.The parents are also faster at "visual search tasks" - in effect they have an unusually sharp eye for detail, just as their child with autism does - compared with the parents of unaffected children.Brain scan studies of mothers and fathers of children with autism have shown that the mothers have a masculinised pattern

of brain activity, again suggesting they are strong systemizers.When all the evidence is taken together it suggests a genetic cause of autism, with both parents contributing genes that ultimately relate to a similar kind of mind: one with an affinity for thinking systematically. Prof Baron-Cohen says the rise in autism could be driven because assortative mating is becoming easier: recent years have seen a rise in mobility, an increase in the employment prospects of systemizers -notably in the computer industry - and a rise in the numbers of women studying mathematics, engineering and other systemizing subjects at university, where they are more likely to come into contact with systemizing men.He points out that the parents of children with autism may not have strong skills in such subjects, but that does not mean they are not strong systemizers. The parents may for example have a remarkable memory for

the names of songs in their CD collection, or for dates or telephone numbers.He thinks the key characteristic is "exactness" in their style of thinking.In the spectrum of conditions that count as autism, the largest groups are classic autism and Asperger syndrome. Both share features: a difficulty in developing social relationships, a difficulty in communication, the presence of unusually strong, narrow interests, and a strong adherence to routines.They differ in that in classic autism, the person might have an IQ at any point on the scale, even in the learning disabled range, and the person invariably had a language delay as a toddler.In Asperger syndrome, the person is always at least average in IQ, and may be well above average, and talked on time as a toddler.rhighfield@...If you love something, set it free! So it is with books. See

what I mean atwww.bookcrossing.com/friend/nheckoblogcritics.orghttp://notesfromnancy.blogspot.com Heckofreelance proofreadernancygailus@... Bring words and photos together (easily) withPhotoMail - it's free and works with .

Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, more on new and used cars.

January 30, 2006