Naps and extra sleep help a little, but after too much social interaction and too much stress, I need some time to compose myself and prepare for yet more socializing. I’m not alone: most introverts experience this same need to recharge alone, in a quiet space. For me, the quiet…
Category: Health
From diagnoses to “treatments” and everything in between, posts about health and autistic life.
Until the last year or so, I fought insomnia on a weekly, even nightly, basis. Stumbling into a regular sleep schedule for the last year has been nice. And now it seems to have ended. I’m back to a shifted, annoying, non-sleep schedule. I’ve tried wine, coffee (yes, it puts…
I thought this new study was interesting because it reveals that the instruments (“tests”) used to evaluate individuals for autism differ in quality. Some work reasonably well, while others should either be revised or abandoned. The instruments tested were those administered by caregivers, not researchers or clinicians. That means these…
Anosognosia is the state of denying a serious disability. In the most serious cases, it is a mental health disorder, causing the deaf to insist they can hear or the blind to insist they can see. Obviously, not a good thing and potentially dangerous. I have received e-mails critical of…
[2026 Note: I was proved wrong when the supporters of Donald Trump embraced anti-vax nonsense.] The following mixes and matches several quite different groups, confounding people that represent various political views — not a monolithic anti-government movement, but general skepticism: The Very Angry Tea Party By J.M. BERNSTEIN http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/the-very-angry-tea-party/ …
After so many stories about autism and genetics in the news media, a parent asked me “that question” yet again: Would I want to be cured? What if my “autistic traits” could have been prevented? I have answered this multiple times, on this site and elsewhere. First, my life is…
Scientists are seeking what makes people different, at least genetically. What is done with this information is the realm of ethics and morality, not genetics. I’m autistic or a person with autism or whatever. I don’t care what the label is. I was what I am before the label even…
The great portal/blog Left Brain / Right Brain has a lengthy post on current research dealing with potential causes of autism. The post offers links to multiple peer-reviewed studies underway on the familiar suspects, ranging from mercury to the age of parents. Of course, no amount of research will influence…
I am quite open that I support genetic-based theories of autism etiology, while also open to the notion of triggers. Genetic predisposition is only that: predisposition. Many genetic conditions respond to triggers, so the two are not exclusionary. Today, there is a bit more on the genetics of autism. But…
People excuse parents and caregivers for abusing and even murdering autistics. Colorado mental-health counselor charged with murdering infant son – The Denver Post Police: Autism was motive in Colo. child’s killing BOULDER, Colo. — Police say a woman accused of killing her infant son did it because she believed the…