Asperger's Syndrome & Autism Spectrum Disorders

[Menolly]

From The Male Conditon -- NYTimes

August 8, 2005
The Male Condition
By SIMON BARON-COHEN
Cambridge, England

TWO big scientific debates have attracted a lot of attention over the past year. One concerns the causes of autism, while the other addresses differences in scientific aptitude between the sexes. At the risk of adding fuel to both fires, I submit that these two lines of inquiry have a great deal in common. By studying the differences between male and female brains, we can generate significant insights into the mystery of autism.

So was Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard, right when he remarked that women were innately less suited than men to be top-level scientists? Judging from current research, he was and he wasn't. It's true that scientists have documented psychological and physiological differences between male and female brains. But Mr. Summers was wrong to imply that these differences render any individual woman less capable than any individual man of becoming a top-level scientist.

In fact, the differences that show up in brain research reflect averages, meaning that they emerge only when you study groups of males and females and compare the two groups' averages on particular psychological tests or physiological measures. The evidence to date tells us nothing about individuals - which means that if you are a woman, there is no evidence to suggest that you could not become a Nobel laureate in your chosen area of scientific inquiry. A good scientist is a good scientist regardless of sex.

Nonetheless, with brain scanning, we can discern physiological differences between the average male and the average female brain. For example, the average man's cerebrum (the area in the front of the brain concerned with higher thinking) is 9 percent larger than the average woman's. Similar, though less distinct, overgrowth is found in all the lobes of the male brain. On average, men also have a larger amygdala (an almond shaped structure in the center of the brain involved in processing fear and emotion), and more nerve cells. Quite how these differences in size affect function, if at all, is not yet known.

In women, meanwhile, the connective tissue that allows communication between the two hemispheres of the brain tends to be thicker, perhaps facilitating interchange. This may explain why one study from Yale found that when performing language tasks, women are likely to activate both hemispheres, whereas males (on average) activate only the left hemisphere.

Psychological tests also reveal patterns of sex difference. On average, males finish faster and score higher than females on a test that requires the taker to visualize an object's appearance after it is rotated in three dimensions. The same is true for map-reading tests, and for embedded-figures tests, which ask subjects to find a component shape hidden within a larger design. Males are over-represented in the top percentiles on college-level math tests and tend to score higher on mechanics tests than females do. Females, on the other hand, average higher scores than males on tests of emotion recognition, social sensitivity and language ability.

Many of these sex differences are seen in adults, which might lead to the conclusion that all they reflect are differences in socialization and experience. But some differences are also seen extremely early in development, which may suggest that biology also plays a role. For example, girls tend to talk earlier than boys, and in the second year of life their vocabularies grow at a faster rate. One-year-old girls also make more eye contact than boys of their age.

In my work I have summarized these differences by saying that males on average have a stronger drive to systemize, and females to empathize. Systemizing involves identifying the laws that govern how a system works. Once you know the laws, you can control the system or predict its behavior. Empathizing, on the other hand, involves recognizing what another person may be feeling or thinking, and responding to those feelings with an appropriate emotion of one's own.

Our research team in Cambridge administered questionnaires on which men and women could report their level of interest in these two aspects of the world - one involving systems, the other involving other people's feelings. Three types of people were revealed through our study: one for whom empathy is stronger than systemizing (Type E brains); another for whom systemizing is stronger than empathy (Type S brains); and a third for whom empathy and systemizing are equally strong (Type B brains). As one might predict, more women (44 percent) have Type E brains than men (17 percent), while more men have Type S brains (54 percent) than women (17 percent).

What of Mr. Summers's other claim, that such sex differences are innate? We know that culture plays a role in the divergence of the sexes, but so does biology. For example, on the first day of life, male and female newborns pay attention to different things. On average, at 24 hours old, more male infants will look at a mechanical mobile suspended above them, whereas more female infants will look at a human face.

It has also been found that the amount of prenatal testosterone, which is produced by the fetus and measurable in the amniotic fluid in which the baby is bathed in the womb, predicts how sociable a child will be. The higher the level of prenatal testosterone, the less eye contact the child will make as a toddler, and the slower the child will develop language. That is connected to the role of fetal testosterone in influencing brain development.

Males obviously produce far more prenatal testosterone than females do, but levels vary considerably even across members of the same sex. In fact, it may not be your sex per se that determines what kind of brain you have, but your prenatal hormone levels. From there it's a short leap to the intriguing idea that a male can have a typically female brain (if his testosterone levels are low), while a female can have a typically male brain (if her testosterone levels are high). That notion fits with the evidence that girls born with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, who for genetic reasons produce too much testosterone, are more likely to exhibit "tomboy" behavior than girls with more ordinary hormone levels.

What does all this have to do with autism? According to what I have called the "extreme male brain" theory of autism, people with autism simply match an extreme of the male profile, with a particularly intense drive to systemize and an unusually low drive to empathize. When adults with Asperger's syndrome (a subgroup on the autistic spectrum) took the same questionnaires we gave to non-autistic adults, they exhibited extreme Type S brains. Psychological tests reveal a similar pattern.

And this analysis makes sense. It helps explain the social disability in autism, because empathy difficulties make it harder to make and maintain relationships with others. It also explains the "islets of ability" that people with autism display in subjects like math or music or drawing - all skills that benefit from systemizing.

People with autism often develop obsessions, which may be nothing other than very intense systemizing at work. The child might become obsessed with electrical switches (an electrical system), or train timetables (a temporal system), or spinning objects (a physical system), or the names of deep-sea fish (a natural, taxonomic system). The child with severe autism, who may have additional learning difficulties and little language ability, might express his obsessions by bouncing constantly on a trampoline or spinning around and around, because motion is highly lawful and predictable. Some children with severe autism line objects up for hours on end. What used to be dismissed by clinicians as "purposeless, repetitive behavior" may actually be a sign of a mind that is highly tuned to systemize.

One needs to be extremely careful in advancing a cause for autism, because this field is rife with theories that have collapsed under empirical scrutiny. Nonetheless, my hypothesis is that autism is the genetic result of "assortative mating" between parents who are both strong systemizers. Assortative mating is the term we use when like is attracted to like, and there are four significant reasons to believe it is happening here.

FIRST, both mothers and fathers of children with autism complete the embedded figures test faster than men and women in the general population.

Second, both mothers and fathers of children with autism are more likely to have fathers who are talented systemizers (engineers, for example).

Third, when we look at brain activity with magnetic resonance imaging, males and females on average show different patterns while performing empathizing or systemizing tasks. But both mothers and fathers of children with autism show strong male patterns of brain activity.

Fourth, both mothers and fathers of children with autism score above average on a questionnaire that measures how many autistic traits an individual has. These results suggest 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.

In order to fully test this theory, we still need to do a lot of work. The specific genes involved must be identified. It is a theory that may be controversial and perhaps unpopular among those who believe that the cause of autism is largely or totally environmental. But controversy is not a reason not to test it - systematically, as we might say.

Simon Baron-Cohen is the director of the autism research center at Cambridge University and the author of "The Essential Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain."

[Menolly]

Apparently Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. apeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to discuss thimerosal in vaccines and the supposed ASD link on July 27. I missed the show, but a link was posted to streaming video of the piece on an autism support board I frequent.

The Daily Show Celebrity Interview: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

[Menolly]

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I am encouraging people to consider supporting the relief effort being put forth by the Autism Society of America. It's hard enough for a normal family, I can't imagine going through this trauma with children and family members on the autism spectrum.

Autism Society of America's Katrina Relief Fund

[Menolly]

Katrina Relief: ITEMS Wanted

I've read post after post on various boards of people who want to donate to the relief effort, but don't have the cash to do so. These people have items to donate, and are frustrated that most agencies are turning the items down.

I just came across some information on a place that is looking for items. If you have things to donate, please consider getting in touch with these people.

Mississippi Emergency Shelter Available for Hurricane Victims with Autism, Developmental Disabilities

In addition to monetary donations, the camp is in need of twin-size bed linens, towels, washcloths, toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste, diapers, wipes, etc. Donations of these items can be shipped to:

ASD KATRINA RESCUE
C/O Peg Pickering
2901 Highway 9 South
Pontotoc, MS 38863

[Menolly]

2006 Summer Camp

I received the application for Beorn's summer camp next summer a couple of day's ago. Although it strikes me a really early, I'm going to fill out the application and send it off this weekend, since he never made it off of the wait list this year.

The camp is offering a new camp next year that I would consider if Beorn hadn't gone to this camp for a month for three summers before he was ever diagnosed. Next year they are offering a week long summer camp for families with children with Autism.

A brochure is available online in pdf format, but my Adobe doesn't work all the time so I am unable to open it myself. You can see it at Camp Yofi. I do know it is at a Jewish camp, and may be only open to Jewish families, but I also know Beorn truly enjoys going there and highly recomend y'all check it out.

There is another camp available for just autistic kids that is a month long at Camp Ramah in Wisconson. It is called the Tikvah program, and has been very successful for several years.

[Nerdanel]

I popped in to say that I'm an adult with AS and I'm doing fine. I did have a depression earlier, but I got over it and I have never needed any sort of mental medications.

I'm a woman who is studying computer science, which fits with the male brain theory. I found my elective high school computer classes ludicrously easy. They thought I was weird in school and I had no friend of my own age but a psychologist didn't find anything wrong with me, since this was earlier than AS was popularized. I got good grades in theoretical subjects (especially math), languages, and art. My handwriting is actually pretty good probably because I liked to draw from a young age. I was bad at sports, home education, and that class, whatever it's called in English, where you need to knit. Drawing didn't train that. I also found it difficult to learn to drive a car and had to take many extra lessons, mostly because I tend to concentrate on the road a bit TOO well and tune out the distractions that aren't.

I could ramble on for much longer, but I think I'd better not. I just wanted to show a little non-child AS perspective.

[Menolly]

Welcome, Nerdanel! There are so many questions I would love to ask you, but I'll start off with two topics:

1) How old were you when you were finally diagnosed with AS, and has the formal diagnosis made a difference in the way you do or look at things?

2) How well do you interact socially? Does it come natural for you, or do you have 'scripts' in your head you rely on in different situations? This is how my dh handles social situations, although he has gotten good at 'improvising' from his scripts when the situation strays from where he expects it to go. Are you married? Do you have any children, and if so, do they show any signs of an ASD?

[Nerdanel]

1) I haven't actually been formally diagnosed. The diagnosis relied on measuring my verbal IQ and performance IQ and looking at the difference, but my both IQs were so high as to hit into ceiling effects with the test, so no significant difference could be measured. Other indications were very much AS, but since a diagnosis of depression meant money from the state and a diagnosis of AS absolutely nothing, there was no point in pursuing a diagnosis. Even the IQ test was primarily to see if I was really smart enough for my school. This was last year, when I turned 25.

2) You need to interact surprisingly little in the modern environment. I have a script for buying a train ticket and a movie ticket and picking up the phone. The rest I make up on demand if possible. I talk normally to my parents and occasionally to other relatives, but I don't know how normal I really am being when compared to the main population. I have been told I talk really fast so that other people cannot understand and my prosody is monotonous and I tend to talk too loudly especially when excited. However I think my gender gives me some inborn talent to balance the AS. Sometimes I prepare little speeches on subjects I'm currently obsessed in so that I can interject them smoothly and in an interesting way when an opening occurs. I don't want a repeat of the "Not a word of Alice Cooper" reaction of my teenaged years. I have learned to understand that people really are not interested, even if I find the subject fascinating. Last weekend my mother was hearing about The Runes of the Earth, but I couldn't really go into it since she wouldn't be able to follow detailed explanations without enough background and if she got the full treatment she would then dismiss the book as pure "science fiction" even though she liked the LotR movies. I am not very good at giving speeches on the fly. I can talk of things that I'm not obsessed about too.

I have had great fun playing D&D but the dungeon master just recently moved away.

I'm not married and don't have any children. In fact I have never had a date. I don't really mind. I find most people hard to understand since they are interested in things I don't find even remotely interesting. I have been able to really connect with only a handful of people, which includes my dead grandmother. I have started to consciously use Myers-Briggs typing to understand people. This has explained to me among other things why I have no common ground with my brother.

My father definitely has something. Even I think he is bad socially. I think he sounds more like HFA than AS, if those things are different, since we two are not really that similar. Also, I have heard that I have some second cousins on my father's side that have AS.

I apologize this section turned out so unformed.

[Menolly]

NP! My dh and I also feel he is somewhere on the spectrum, but he also has never been formally diagnosed.

I personally feel there are differences between HFA and AS, but if your father has something that you feel is bad socially, not just awkward for him, look into the possibility of Oppositional Definace Disorder. Paul (my dh) and I originally felt AS described Paul's symptoms, but after learning more about ODD, we honestly feel that describes his adolescence to a 'T.'

[Nerdanel]

OCD does not describe him at all. I have heard my father never rebelled as a teenager at all. (I did.)

My father has a degree in math and I got my talent from him. However he is not good at languages and was good at sports when he was younger. He can also be amazingly illogical, although he plays the family accountant well and with great interest.. My mother is a fairly normal person and a lot better at practical living and thinking.

If I am unhappy and need someone to talk to (which is not common but does happen occasionally), he does not do since he cannot respond appropriately. From what I have noticed, it is only possible to really talk to him about practical planning things like money and the next week's menu and what concrete things our relatives are up to. He repeats himself a lot.

There is more. I'm not sure how much it is related to a different diagnosis and how much a different personality type (ISTJ as opposed to my INTP). He was also diagnosed with schitzophrenia when I was young, but he got better with medication, although I'm not sure if the drugs turned him into what's normal for him.

[Ryzel]

I will just jump in here with a literary reference, in case someone doesn't already know it. Elisabeth Moon has written a book in which the main (viewpoint) character has an autistic condition (maybe it was AS).

The book is called the "Speed of Dark" and won the Nebula Award in 2003 (I think). Additionally Mrs. Moon seems quite knowledgeable when it comes to autism, because her son is autistic and if you have the opportunity you could do worse than checking out her website and reading:

www.sff.net/people/Elizabeth.Moon/autism-general.htm

(I cannot vouch for anything there of course.)

[Menolly]

Thanks Ryzel!

There has been quite a few fictional books featuring characters with a high functioning form of autism lately. The one I have heard the most about, and actually read, is The Curous Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

[Nerdanel]

Gregory Benford's SF novella A Hunger for the Infinite which was published in the Far Horizons anthology has both the hero and the villain exhibit AS-traits although I think they wouldn't necessarily be technically AS (can a non-human be said to have AS?) and the story is interspersed with fascinating science. The story is also emotionally harrowing like Donaldson at his worst (or best) and has horror and action.

The six-novel Galactic Center series which the aforementioned novella is connected to also features several characters that probably have AS although this is only my observation. I think this is caused by the author's own AS coming through in his characterizations. I think the series is overall very good but uneven. My favorite is the third one, Great Sky River.

[Menolly]

What I am interested in finding out however, is if getting an official dx of AS is helpful to adults. As I stated earlier, Paul and I strongly suspect he is somewhere on the spectrum, but he refuses to get evaluated. Paul had what he describes to me as a horrifying adolescence, filled with self-medicating with street drugs and all sorts of violent escapades. I really want to know if getting this diagnoses and the various therapies I have Beorn involved in will truly benefit in the long run.

Beorn's main deficiency is in socializing, although being unable to retrieve appropriate responses to situations in real time (he can tell me what to do when we discuss situations no problem) is another big concern. But, his various therapies take up time that might be spent in social situations (although I doubt it). So, are they helping or hindering him?

[Nerdanel]

I've never been in AS therapy and don't know if this is addressed to me, but I'll say something anyway.

The basic social skills are definitely learnable but nuance is a different matter. When I was 13 the school nurse called my mother to tell that I didn't look at her in the routine check and my mother lectured to me about how people expect eyecontact. Henceforward I made a point of looking at people (or the wall behind their heads; they shouldn't be able to know the diffence) when talking with them. Last year my psychiatrist told me I actually stare the other person a little too much. I don't think I will ever be able to find out the right percentage I should use.

I was a target of some bullying at school. I was not the type to break down and weep. Instead I got angry and ended up in some fights with boys. My mother explained to me that the boys liked to bully me because they could get a reaction. With some practice I became able to ignore the bullies and after a while the bullying stopped.

I think reading fiction can also be educational. Many books contain information that helps to educate in social interactions and other people's motivations and the information comes in a more understandable form than in actual life. Getting enough information to generalize correctly is important. When I was one or two my mother had told me of how a friend of hers was surprised to hear something. I was in shock and kept asking "Was she surprised? Did she wonder? Was she surprised? Did she wonder?" since I had previously assumed all adults were omniscient and only I wondered about the world. I had to do a paradigm change in my brain. A few years later whenever we went to a wedding or a similar thing I liked to climb to the lap of the most wrinkled old woman in evidence, since I had generalized from my grandmothers that old women were the nicest people in existence. They also tended to wear nice jewelry to play with.

So I think therapy could be a good thing for Beorn since people in real life tend to be far too polite to say what feels off and therefore prevent learning from the situation.

[Menolly]

I've never been in AS therapy and don't know if this is addressed to me, but I'll say something anyway.

The basic social skills are definitely learnable but nuance is a different matter. When I was 13 the school nurse called my mother to tell that I didn't look at her in the routine check and my mother lectured to me about how people expect eyecontact. Henceforward I made a point of looking at people (or the wall behind their heads; they shouldn't be able to know the diffence) when talking with them. Last year my psychiatrist told me I actually stare the other person a little too much. I don't think I will ever be able to find out the right percentage I should use.

We have been told via all the books we read and Beorn's therapists, that the lack of eye contact is beneficial for those with AS. If taught to look at a person or a spot behind the wall, the person with AS will concentrate so hard on looking at their eyes or the spot that they don't hear what they are being told. Whereas, if they are allowed to look away or at someting else, tbey can nearly quote verbatim what was said to them. So we taught Beorn to explain this to new people he meets.

[Nerdanel]

I don't find eyecontact hard, although I don't always bother with/remember to apply it, although I'm doing it mostly subconsciously nowadays with strangers, unlike polite smiling which I keep continuously forgetting. People so rarely say anything particularly complex. And you can aim your head in the right direction and leave it there. While driving I can handle pretty easily looking at the road and looking at the speedometer to prevent it from wandering. It's keeping watch of the roadsides that drives me nervous.

In school I do see looking at the teacher at all necessary. One should be looking at what they are writing or presenting, since that's where the information is. I'm a visual instead of an auditory person and don't retain information nearly as well from spoken word alone. I think all teachers should use a blackboard or a slide projector. I do not understand looking at a screensaver while listening. That would distract me far more than keeping track of the position of the teacher's head, since most screensavers have a higher effective information flow density.

I might not be the average case though with my AS and giftedness interfering with each other thing...

[Menolly]

In school I do see looking at the teacher at all necessary. One should be looking at what they are writing or presenting, since that's where the information is. I'm a visual instead of an auditory person and don't retain information nearly as well from spoken word alone. I think all teachers should use a blackboard or a slide projector. I do not understand looking at a screensaver while listening. That would distract me far more than keeping track of the position of the teacher's head, since most screensavers have a higher effective information flow density.

I might not be the average case though with my AS and giftedness interfering with each other thing...

:::nodding:::

The typical weaknesses in AS kids, who most tend to score gifted on the standard tests given to measure such things, have to do wth verbal learning and following multi-step instructions given all at once. As the child with AS matures, they can start to follow more than three step instructions, but they usually struggle if more than five steps are given at one time. Especially if given verbally.

If an aspie teen or adult is given written directions they can refer to back to, and broken into a group of steps so they don't get overwhelmed by the length of the instructions at first glance, they can generally follow through. An aspie adult has usually figured out how to compensate by breaking the instructions into groups for themselves.

Even though most aspie kids tend to be early readers, they still do better with graphic charts than with spelled out word instructions. For some aspies, the words tend to run together whereas a graphic organizer has each thing totally separated from the other.

This definitely applies to Beorn. Show him a list of written instructions a page long, and he rolls his eyes and doesn't even try as he is too overwhelmed by it. But, give him a list of three things to do, and tell him when he finishes that to check back and see what else needs to be done, usually gets him through the entire list of instructions. But it has to be broken down into smaller steps for him. He's unable to do it himself at this point.

[Menolly]

:::bumping a really old thread of mine:::

I got this list from the AOL board. The bold symptoms are what apply to each of my guys.

Some Symptoms & Characteristics of Aspergers for Beorn

Difficulty in accepting criticism and/or being corrected.
Strongly like, or strongly dislike certain things, for example, certain foods.
Acting in a somewhat immature manner.
Excessive talking.
Difficulty in correcting someone else for mistakes without appearing to be insensitive or harsh.
Sometimes appearing shy and withdrawn, but willing to speak when spoken to.
Clumsiness and balancing difficulties.
Difficulty sleeping.
Sarcastic, negative, emotionally numb, very criticizing.
Low or no participation in conferences, group meetings, etc.
Great concern about personal working area.
Problems addressing others due to issues with trust.
Intense concern for privacy
Difficultly in distinguishing intimate relationships from friendships.
Difficulty working as a "team."
Low to no sense of humor.
Writing lists to stay on schedule when things get hectic.
Very weird sense of humor, sometimes not found very humorous by others.
Lacking in ability to greet others in a warm and friendly manner.
Uneasiness with completing a project for fear of failure.
Perfectionist.
Lacking in ability to show compassion, sympathy and sincere happiness.
Shows little or no reaction when being criticized or patronized.
Difficulty accepting compliments.
Difficulty maintaining eye contact.
Difficulty starting projects.
Interrupting in the middle of a conversation.
Extreme reaction to a schedule change or routine.
Repetitive behaviors, and if the step-by-step scheduled routine is interrupted it causes confusion and sometimes anger
Certain preferences of personal items, such as always picking the same clothes in stores when making a new purchase, using the same blanket, not wanting to throw away a particular pair of shoes.
Easily manipulated.
Lacking initiation when in groups.
Not being able to determine public and personal hygiene, for instance, someone may pick their nose, clean their ears in front of others without realizing most people do not do those things in public areas.
Very verbal, blunt.
Raising of voice during stressful and frustrating situations.
Difficulty hiding true emotions such as anger and sadness.
Lacking in the ability to relax from activities.
Verbalizing strongly on likes and dislikes.
No interest in tasks that doesn't draw personal interest.
Almost always totally serious.
Difficulty in determining how someone else would feel given the same situation.
Quick tempered.
Having a different way of playing games with others, and is sometimes taken the wrong way.
Fixating on really bad or really good experiences.
Difficulty with constant anxiety, worried about performance and being accepted, despite commendation and special recogntion.
Clumsiness.
Limits one's self with pursued interests without thinking of other things that can be explored.
Confusion during stress.
Repetitive simple routines.
Nail biting, fidgeting, nervousness and anxiety.
Strong sensitivity to sound, light, some tastes, odors and colors.
Difficulty expressing emotion.
A need for finishing one task before starting another.
Difficulty in determining time limits.
Constantly asking of questions.
Difficulty with negotiation.
Does things without thinking them out well first, or considering consequences.
Impulsive.
Mental shutdown, or total burst of anger when "pinned in the corner" so to speak.
Often viewed as vulnerable by not responding when being harassed by classmates or co-workers.
Difficulty concentrating to write essays, reports etc.
Difficulty talking to classmates or co-workers as "pals."
Very low assertiveness in topics not interested in.
Very easily distracted.
Self injuring behaviors.
Difficulty in starting or changing conversations.
Thinking on a "one track mind" type basis.

Now, for Paul (dh, his suggestion we do this, with his input):

Some Symptoms & Characteristics of Aspergers for Paul

Difficulty in accepting criticism and/or being corrected.
Strongly like, or strongly dislike certain things, for example, certain foods.
Acting in a somewhat immature manner.
Excessive talking.
Difficulty in correcting someone else for mistakes without appearing to be insensitive or harsh.
Sometimes appearing shy and withdrawn, but willing to speak when spoken to.
Clumsiness and balancing difficulties.
Difficulty sleeping.
Sarcastic, negative, emotionally numb, very criticizing.
Low or no participation in conferences, group meetings, etc.
Great concern about personal working area.
Problems addressing others due to issues with trust.
Intense concern for privacy
Difficultly in distinguishing intimate relationships from friendships.
Difficulty working as a "team."
Low to no sense of humor.
Writing lists to stay on schedule when things get hectic.
Very weird sense of humor, sometimes not found very humorous by others.
Lacking in ability to greet others in a warm and friendly manner.
Uneasiness with completing a project for fear of failure.
Perfectionist.
Lacking in ability to show compassion, sympathy and sincere happiness.
Shows little or no reaction when being criticized or patronized.
Difficulty accepting compliments.
Difficulty maintaining eye contact.
Difficulty starting projects.
Interrupting in the middle of a conversation
Extreme reaction to a schedule change or routine.
Repetitive behaviors, and if the step-by-step scheduled routine is interrupted it causes confusion and sometimes anger.
Certain preferences of personal items, such as always picking the same clothes in stores when making a new purchase, using the same blanket, not wanting to throw away a particular pair of shoes.
Easily manipulated.
Lacking initiation when in groups.
Not being able to determine public and personal hygiene, for instance, someone may pick their nose, clean their ears in front of others without realizing most people do not do those things in public areas.
Very verbal, blunt.
Raising of voice during stressful and frustrating situations.
Difficulty hiding true emotions such as anger and sadness.
Lacking in the ability to relax from activities.
Verbalizing strongly on likes and dislikes.
No interest in tasks that doesn't draw personal interest.
Almost always totally serious.
Difficulty in determining how someone else would feel given the same situation.
Quick tempered
Having a different way of playing games with others, and is sometimes taken the wrong way.
Fixating on really bad or really good experiences.
Difficulty with constant anxiety, worried about performance and being accepted, despite commendation and special recogntion.
Clumsiness.
Limits one's self with pursued interests without thinking of other things that can be explored.
Confusion during stress.
Repetitive simple routines.
Nail biting, fidgeting nervousness and anxiety.
Strong sensitivity to sound, light, some tastes, odors and colors.
Difficulty expressing emotion.
A need for finishing one task before starting another.
Difficulty in determining time limits. (says he just doesn't follow them)
Constantly asking of questions.
Difficulty with negotiation.
Does things without thinking them out well first, or considering consequences.
Impulsive.
Mental shutdown, or total burst of anger when "pinned in the corner" so to speak.
Often viewed as vulnerable by not responding when being harassed by classmates or co-workers.
Difficulty concentrating to write essays, reports etc.
Difficulty talking to classmates or co-workers as "pals."
Very low assertiveness in topics not interested in.
Very easily distracted.
Self injuring behaviors.
Difficulty in starting or changing conversations.
Thinking on a "one track mind" type basis.

[[Syl]]

It's good that you bumped it, since I needed a place to post this link:

Reversal of symptoms in an autism spectrum disorder

Cincinnati, OH (February 8, 2007) -The Rett Syndrome Research Foundation (RSRF) announces results of a landmark study reversing the symptoms of Rett Syndrome (RTT) in a genetic mouse model. The findings, by Adrian Bird, Ph.D., of the University of Edinburgh and Chairman of the RSRF Scientific Advisory Board, appear online in Science Express on February 8, 2007. Rett Syndrome is a severe childhood neurological disease that is the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders. The experiments were funded by the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation (RSRF), the Wellcome Trust and the Rett Syndrome U.K./Jeans for Genes.

Caused by mutations in the gene MECP2, RTT affects primarily girls, striking at random in early childhood and destroying speech, normal movement and functional hand use. Many children become wheelchair bound; those who walk display an abnormal, stiff-legged gait. Disordered breathing patterns and Parkinson-like tremors are common.

Restoration of fully functional MECP2 over a four week period eradicated tremors and normalized breathing, mobility and gait in mice that had previously been fully symptomatic and, in some cases, only days away from death.

"Like many other people, we expected that giving MECP2 to mice that were already sick would not work," said Bird. "The idea that you could put back an essential component after the damage to the brain is done and recover an apparently normal mouse seemed farfetched, as nerve cells that developed in the absence of a key component were assumed to be irrevocably damaged. The results are gratifyingly clear, though, and must give hope to those who are affected by this distressing disorder."