Autism is predominantly an invisible handicap. Autism & dementia are becoming more & prevalent across all cultures. What's with that? Humanity seems to be at the top of its game, with the endless intelligence, innovations, inventions, & technology. Then we get these humbling knocks on the ego in our various regions of the world with huge environmental wake up calls Hello, knock knock, earthquake, tsunami's tornadoes, toxic substance leaks... Thats life isn't it, micro or macro, crisis comes, we dig in & get through it. "Higher Power" has more influence than we can ever fathom, regardless of religion, something is at work. Living to be the best person we can be is the goal. Thats a tall order don't you think?
Autism seems to be the current flavour of the media. It doesn't hurt that April is Autism awareness month. There are so many varieties or sub categories of autism, yet very little is understood about it. Those geeks & nerds that people in the 80's liked to make fun of, well, Silicone Valley & big business has wisely welcomed them. In the 50's & 60's they were just different, odd, or eccentric. If it wasn't for the "different thinkers" of the world, there would be no innovations. I'm coming at this from a view of understanding & tolerance. Whether people are nice, smart, dumb, or socially numb, they're still people. This isn't a Polyanna-married-Barney-swallow-it-whole viewpoint. It's reasonable to think that there are as many varieties of autism as there are "normal" personalities.
This blog is an effort to make me think about what I have learned about Autism, and to share it. There are multiple theories as to why Autism happens. Is it genetics gone awry. Did the everyday environmental pollutants team up with immunizations to create deficits. Are these children lacking enzymes & nutrients in our everyday diet. Is there toxins competing for receptors for antioxidants. Is there food intolerances. Are we seeing the benefits of the quietly genetically engineered food trickling in through our entire food chain & reacting with genetics & environment. We may not see answers for another 50+ years at any rate. The most interesting new development is that Autism seems to have a definite genetic link. Schizophrenia & Autism have been mapped & found to be on opposite ends of the same genome. I don't have a link to point to where I gleaned that from, but its out there. Its been embedded in genetic codes longer than its been understood.
Maybe we are going to finally see more intelligence applied to understanding the brain. Hopefully the policy makers will apply more mental health funding & education options. Mental disorders, addictions, autism, dementia, these all affect the brain. We are hardwired to seek what we desire. Its cliche, mother's breast-milk is sweet, babies love sweet first, there's clear instant compatibility for survival. Well then, Mr. Marketing, business thrives on tapping into our subliminal desires, addictions even. I seriously dislike commercials on television and radio, the LOUD yammering insulting repetitiveness fractures my attention, drills into my head, and makes me irritated. Little normal children can't get enough of it, while other children freak out on sensory overload. Why is it normal to be bombarded in this way? What happens when abnormal outnumber the normal; complacence it seems.
