I watched Child Genius on Channel 4 last night and last week’s first episode too. I always find Genius documentaries interesting because all geniuses are autistic savants. But the word ‘Autism’ was not mentioned once throughout the documentary, because to most people, Autism is something WRONG with the brain; not something RIGHT with it. So […]
Disregard for Authority – ASD Symptom
Appearing to having a disregard for people in authority is a major clue that someone is on the autistic spectrum. If you think that must include all individuals who regularly misbehave, then yes, those are the numbers we are talking about, that potentially have ASD. This symptom also inlcudes resenting being told what to do. […]
Autistic Kids Don’t Copy Pointless Actions
A new study of children with autism, finds that they miss out actions they deem to be pointless, when copying adults. Rachael Rettner, writes of the study at MyHealthNewsDaily. While children without an autism diagnosis copied every step of a task that an adult showed them, the autistic children only did the steps they thought […]
Jodie Marsh: Bullied – Channel 5
I watched Jodie Marsh’s new 2 part TV program Jodie Marsh: Bullied on Channel 5 in the UK last night. We saw the subject of bullying from the victim’s point of view – as you would expect. But towards the end of the first episode, Jodie also talks to a reformed bully and addresses why […]
Abused Women Have Autistic Kids
I blogged the other day about a scientific experiment where the findings resulted in researchers making some assumptions. Today I’ve found another example of such assumptions. This time it’s the scientists and doctors of the Harvard School of Public Health that are jumping to conclusions. They say that abused women have autistic kids. More specifically […]
Watching TV Being Blamed For Anti-Social Behavior
Over at ScienceWorldReport they report that 5 year olds who watch more than 3 hours of TV a day are more than likely to be involved in anti-social behavior. After reading the reporth though, it seems that the people in charge of the experiment did not get a number of various children to be split […]
Doctors Link 5 Psychiatric Disorders
A recent study written about in The New York Times has found that five different disorders share several “genetic glitches” that eventually cause mental illness. The study that was published in The Lancet this week, includes the following five disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, major depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They first discovered a […]
Aggressive Outbursts: ASD Symptom
Not everyone with high functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder has aggressive outbursts or anger issues, but many do. And it is to do with nervousness and the inability to cope well with stress. The characteristics such as anger, being argumentative and confrontational are inherent, but they lie dormant under normal circumstances. It is when the individual […]
The Growing Pains of a Teenage Genius
This week I was lucky to catch a TV documentary from last year on BBC iPlayer while it was still available; The Growing Pains of a Teenage Genius, about a 13-year-old autistic savant, Cameron Thompson, who was doing an Open University degree course in mathematics. He has a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and he doesn’t […]
Big Brother
I have a love/hate relationship with Big Brother, the TV show. Sometimes I hate the pettiness of some of the small-minded people, and an awful lot of the people attracted to applying for a show like this are very insecure, egotistical, selfish, argumentative, intolerant… …hang on a minute…? 😉 – which brings me to why […]
Obsessions: ASD Symptom
Many people with ASD have obsessive personality traits. Collectors are obsessive. You might know someone who collects elephants or pigs, for example. They will not be able to resist buying the things they collect, and they will talk about them a lot. This will prompt people to buy them these items as presents, and before […]
Dyslexia – ASD Symptom
Dyslexia, like ADHD, is caused by an under-developed cerebellum, and is an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Many people who have it will also have other AS disorders, and be related to people with ASD. Most people think of Dyslexia as being only a reading disorder, or reading disability. In fact the word Dyslexia is made up […]
Depression and Anxiety Do Not Just Happen
I now don’t believe that depression can just happen, out of the blue. I used to believe it. But then I used to believe that Freud’s theories on parent-related issues were a load of rubbish. I now don’t. The first psychiatrist I saw in 1997 told me that, when an adult suddenly appears to […]
Argumentative: ASD Symptom
This is another big sign that someone is on the autistic spectrum, even if only mildly. I think there are several reasons that people with ASD will regularly argue with others. Their lack of perception will prevent them from recognising when and where is not the right time and place to get into an argument. […]
Panic Attacks – ASD Symptom
Panic attacks are common with people on the Autistic Spectrum who have anxiety. They can affect people differently. People can have very obvious signs, such as palpitations, hyperventilating, or skin reactions. Others have increased heart rate and breathing. I tend to have rapid breathing, and there never seems to be enough oxygen in the air. […]