3 ms·

There is a lot to be said for the neuro-diversity argument and movement, the support for which I think has been driven in part by the broadening of the phenotyp

There is a lot to be said for the neuro-diversity argument and movement, the support for which I think has been driven in part by the broadening of the phenotype to those that are less severely affected. For those that are severely affected, ASD can be devastating, including completely disabling anxiety and phobias, extreme sensory sensitivity, low verbal ability and/or IQ, elevated depression and suicide, increased rates of homelessness, and so on. Those are the people that really motivate me in my research.

kypro 8y ago
Yeah, aside from phobias I have all of those. I didn't know anxiety and depression was linked though? I have severe anxiety, much worse than anyone I've ever met. At times dealing with that has been equally as challenging for me. My depression can get pretty bad too although that seems to have eased up a bit over the last couple of years. Sensory sensitivity is something I experience. I feel unbelievably angry whenever I hear loud or tinny noises, but thankfully I can mostly control that. People think I'm strange for always carrying earplugs and wearing them in public, but I've found it really helps to relax me in busy / noisy situations. Could you comment on how is IQ linked, I'd be really interest if you have some more information? Is it normally negatively, because I've heard people on the spectrum often score higher on average? I've had IQ anxiety for a while now because on one hand I know in many way I've been very competent in life, but on the other hand consistently struggled when it comes to the most basic tasks. I took a Mensa IQ test a few months back and scored 132 which I think may actually be on the lower end because of how language heavy Mensa's tests are.
- SubiculumCode 8y ago
  I'd say that median IQ in ASD is very similar to non-ASD, but the mean is much lower in ASD. That is because a sub-population within the ASD spectrum have very low IQs (e.g., 40-60 being very common). One difficulty with all of this is saple bias. Most studies only deal with higher functioning ASD because low-functioning ASD can be challenging to study. Early on, ASD tended to be only diagnosed in more affluent families, so that could bend IQs upward too in samples. Its a spectrum, and sometimes there is intellectual disability, and sometimes the impact on quality of life minimal or just different. In others no sign of it at all. If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism. Its all very challenging,a nd why there is so much effort being applied to trying to define phenotypes.

kypro 8y ago

Yeah, aside from phobias I have all of those. I didn't know anxiety and depression was linked though? I have severe anxiety, much worse than anyone I've ever met. At times dealing with that has been equally as challenging for me. My depression can get pretty bad too although that seems to have eased up a bit over the last couple of years. Sensory sensitivity is something I experience. I feel unbelievably angry whenever I hear loud or tinny noises, but thankfully I can mostly control that. People think I'm strange for always carrying earplugs and wearing them in public, but I've found it really helps to relax me in busy / noisy situations. Could you comment on how is IQ linked, I'd be really interest if you have some more information? Is it normally negatively, because I've heard people on the spectrum often score higher on average? I've had IQ anxiety for a while now because on one hand I know in many way I've been very competent in life, but on the other hand consistently struggled when it comes to the most basic tasks. I took a Mensa IQ test a few months back and scored 132 which I think may actually be on the lower end because of how language heavy Mensa's tests are.

SubiculumCode 8y ago
I'd say that median IQ in ASD is very similar to non-ASD, but the mean is much lower in ASD. That is because a sub-population within the ASD spectrum have very low IQs (e.g., 40-60 being very common). One difficulty with all of this is saple bias. Most studies only deal with higher functioning ASD because low-functioning ASD can be challenging to study. Early on, ASD tended to be only diagnosed in more affluent families, so that could bend IQs upward too in samples. Its a spectrum, and sometimes there is intellectual disability, and sometimes the impact on quality of life minimal or just different. In others no sign of it at all. If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism. Its all very challenging,a nd why there is so much effort being applied to trying to define phenotypes.