AUTISM

Living on the "Murtceps Citsitua" (think about it !)

Thursday 10th April 2003 (The Answers Questioned) diagnosis given 6/6

We were One in a Thousand....Now an Epidemic....Are we the future....? Is it ALL Academic....?

My Dad says...

At first as the news of my son having a "disability" and the daunting fact I didn't quite know what Autism really was

saw me pacing the room fearing as any parent would for his future quality of life, a life I had helped provide for him.

Having a hunger for knowledge surpassed only by my wifes magnificent Sunday roast (mmmmm) and a good handle

on surfing this immense sea of knowledge (internet) has shown me Autism to be a gift rather than a disability !

Amazed by the numerous local and international support, reasearch and personal websites

inspired me to create a site that like many others helps new parents of an autistic child to realise what a great gift it is.

I am still amazed at how little is known of something so engrained in our history,

perhaps our future and the internet will change that...on your marks ...get set...GO !

All the best from a truly lucky Dad.

...................................................................

Currently running programs for Louis...

Massive Love and Affection program from Mum & Dad (as of 16th July 2001)

Gluten and Dairy free diet (as of March 2003)

Attending Speech Therapy Class (as of August 2003)

Einstein and Newton showed signs of autism

19:00 30 April 03

They were certainly geniuses, but did Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton also have autism? According to autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen, they might both have shown many signs of Asperger syndrome, a form of the condition that does not cause learning difficulties.

Although he admits that it is impossible to make a definite diagnosis for someone who is no longer living, Baron-Cohen says he hopes this kind of analysis can shed light on why some people with autism excel in life, while others struggle.

Autism is heritable, and there are clues that the genes for autism are linked to those that confer a talent for grasping complex systems - anything from computer programs to musical techniques. Mathematicians, engineers and physicists, for instance, tend to have a relatively high rate of autism among their relatives.

Baron-Cohen, who is based at Cambridge University, and mathematician Ioan James of Oxford University assessed the personality traits of Newton and Einstein to see if they exhibited three key symptoms of Asperger syndrome: obsessive interests, difficulty in social relationships, and problems communicating.

Newton seems like a classic case. He hardly spoke, was so engrossed in his work that he often forgot to eat, and was lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had. If no one turned up to his lectures, he gave them anyway, talking to an empty room. He had a nervous breakdown at 50, brought on by depression and paranoia.

Repeated sentences

As a child, Einstein was also a loner, and repeated sentences obsessively until he was seven years old. He became a notoriously confusing lecturer. And despite the fact that he made intimate friends, had numerous affairs and was outspoken on political issues, Baron-Cohen suspects that he too showed signs of Asperger syndrome.

Louis' ancestry traces back to Newton perhaps another notch for the hereditary theory.