Psycho-social Causes of Spectrumite Behaviours

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I've been asked to co-author a book on the psycho-social causes of

conditions that many psychiatrists in the UK and US consider to be on

the autistic spectrum. The primary focus is on people whose

socio-developmental problems became apparent in school age and not on

the group, meeting the conventional pre-1990 criteria for autism, who

had conspicuously abnormal communication and/or learning difficulties in

the first 2-3 years of life with a relative absence of probable social

causes.

Two years ago I would have agreed with many on this list about the

notion of the autistic spectrum, but experience since then has

empirically disproven earlier assumptions. I think we have two separate

phenomena. One a rare bio-genetic disorder causing a fundamental

neurological difference and the other a set of behavioural traits that

may be induced by socio-environmental factors, but which are merely more

likely to emerge in individuals with other personal vulnerabilities such

as dyspraxia, facial disfigurements, social alienation, cultural

mismatch etc. Most of the symptoms associated with AS represent a

complex of personality traits which develop gradually as a result of

other factors.

So far we have three authors. A child psychiatrist, who has previously

published a critique of ADHD, and another aspie, as in AS-diagnosed

person who like me no longer buys the rigidly bio-genetic explanations

for the huge rise in people diagnosed with a variety of labels now

considered on the spectrum.

The book will also explore in its early chapters the history and

changing definitions of autism and emergence of AS as a diagnostic

category and the autistic rights movements. I would be glad to hear from

anyone interested in participating in this book. Oddly enough the

autistic rights movement and anti-psychiatry movement may be addressing

the same issue from different angles, except that those advocating more

rights for " autistics " accept the bio-genetic explanation and scientific

validity of the new-fangled autistic spectrum, while those of us in the

critical psychiatry or anti-psychiatry movement, would champion people

rights, but remove labels and " de-psychiatrise " analysis of people's

problems.

All the best

Neil

Other e-mail address: neilgardner63@...