Item — HN Reader

Very interesting read. Need to spend more time with it and think on it some more.

My son, though he's yet to have a conclusive diagnosis, is very likely on the autism spectrum, as he's a bright kid but is absolutely "unable to deal with systems that do not have a lawful structure".

What's interesting is that my wife and I did the complete opposite of assertive mating. We're from the same hometown, with completely different backgrounds. We had different friends, have different educational levels, different ethnicities, different heights, different looks, different interests, and different perspectives. Genuinely two people from "opposite sides of the tracks" who meet just from randomly being in the same building. But the attraction and chemistry were instant and enduring.

(We also, interestingly, both have extremely high adaptability, almost to a fault. It's been a learning experience to create the type of routine our son expects.)

I know: it's just one data point. But I've watched the rising rates of autism with great personal perspective, and it's certainly a complex and multi-deminsional issue.

The other things to iterate are that autism certainly is a spectrum full of individual variation (almost to the point of not being a useful label), and autism isn't necessarily a detriment—it's a perspective and mode of being. If we could systematically avoid autism through a deeper understanding of the cause, I'm wondering what the unintended consequences would be. I know one thing: I would never change my son.

1 comments

> austin

Spellchecker strikes again?

> (almost to the point of not being a useful label)

Likely didn't help that now Aspergers is lumped in with the label, though the reason it was not there for the longest time was that people lacked some of the classic markers (language development in particular).

As for rising rates, i have a pin on the world turning more "social". Where before you could always retreat to a back room job or such, now a days most of those jobs are automated away. What is left is those that involve some amount of social interaction, thats far from a functional environment when dealing with autism.

Thanks! Typo fixed. And very interesting thoughts on the world becoming more social. I wonder if that's bringing not only more attention to autism, but also creating a more challenging dynamic. Though I also know people with autism who are absolutely thriving in technical roles, which were not available just a few years ago. And, for example, does a move from conferences and calls to more online tools (Slack, IRC) help, or does it make the social cues harder?

As best i can tell someone with autism may find things like Slack and IRC more comfortable, while those without may not. This because the removal of non-verbal cues is no issue to the former (less noise to deal with) while hindering the latter.

That's an excellent point. Add to that a lack of historical diagnosis and you have difficulty in assessing historical trends. As Aspergers get older, they can more effectively mimic behaviour and are more likely to slip under the radar. My wife (an undiagnosed Aspergers candidate) is often described by my friends as a bit odd. When my child was assessed as an Aspergers, the penny dropped for everyone (ie. My wife's slight eccentricity had a label).

Female "aspies" are more likely to slip by as they do not "violate" gender expectations as much as male ones do.