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As with every comment I write on this topic, there are surely different disorders called "autism" that are being lumped together. So their causes may actually b

As with every comment I write on this topic, there are surely different disorders called "autism" that are being lumped together. So their causes may actually be different. If you leave a child alone with no human contact, it becomes autistic very quickly. So there's definitely types of autism that come from parenting. But I would be shocked if autism at birth it is not being caused by environmental pollution and low nutrition diets. Which adds a tremendous body count on top of the already monumental body count directly attributed to the FDA and EPA, and the many political bodies that govern them.

jjallen 4y ago
Aren’t wealthier families more likely to have autistic kids? Wouldn’t this contradict your statement of environmental pollution and low nutrition diets?
- jklinger410 4y ago
  I haven't seen the data around wealthier families. But wealthier families have more access to healthcare and can get earlier (and more thorough) diagnosis than poor ones. So unless there was some kind of control for access to healthcare, I would question that correlation.
  - alistairSH 4y ago
    This. We're relatively wealthy (typical middle management salaries) and it took a string of doctor appointments over many months to get a diagnosis for our son. Several of these were multi-hour sessions. In addition to the time off work to attend appointments, there was time on the phone, time on the internet, time talking to school counselors/teachers, scheduling IEP meetings at school, and probably other stuff I've long since forgotten. There wasn't a lot of out-of-pocket cash cost (because decent insurance, not guaranteed in the US), but the time and mental energy expended was significant on its own. And, 100% anecdotal, but my wife's brothers both have similar personality traits as our son. Neither was diagnosed (and as far as I know, neither tested - this would have been in the 70s and 80s). Both ended up as typical middle-class, working-class Americans (own modest homes, but no appreciable wealth beyond that).
- brippalcharrid 4y ago
  It would at least appear that children from wealthier families are being diagnosed with autism at a higher rate. Perhaps pollution/nutrition is actually a dead end, or maybe autism is less likely to be missed in the children of wealthy parents, or perhaps diagnosis is more subjective, enabling doctor-shopping, and there are perceived benefits associated with a diagnosis. It would be interesting to compare the rates of autism diagnosis amongst the children of teachers and psychologists compared to lower/middle/upper classes at large.
  - ljw1001 4y ago
    It could also be that milder forms are an asset in an information based economy
spywaregorilla 4y ago
> If you leave a child alone with no human contact, it becomes autistic very quickly. Citation needed. This is not accurate without some aggressive hedging on what we're calling autistic. Lack of socialization does tend to manifest in less social behaviors later on. And less social behaviors are common among autistic people. But that's not the same as saying lack of socialization causes autism.
- huetius 4y ago
  I think this poster has an axe to grind, but there is definitely significant overlap between symptoms of child abuse/neglect and early signs of ASD and other mental disabilities. I am on mobile, and cannot right now give a compact source, but the lists on Mayo etc. have a lot of overlap.
  - spywaregorilla 4y ago
    There's also overlap between a stab wound and a heart attack. You may say there's a cardiac related problem, but you don't have a stab wound just because you have some of the overlapping symptoms. Neglect can cause a host of behavioral and neurological issues but they're not autism. Medical literature consensus is pretty clear on this. It was a popular theory many decades ago. It's not held up to scrutiny.
    - nfhshy68 4y ago
      > but you don't have a stab wound just because you have some of the overlapping symptoms Nobody said this was true for autism. Only that resulting misdiagnoses may be contributing to the uptick.
      - spywaregorilla 4y ago
        Nobody qualified did. But the parent that started this thread did. > If you leave a child alone with no human contact, it becomes autistic very quickly. So there's definitely types of autism that come from parenting.
callalex 4y ago
- jklinger410 4y ago
  Do try

jjallen 4y ago

Aren’t wealthier families more likely to have autistic kids? Wouldn’t this contradict your statement of environmental pollution and low nutrition diets?

jklinger410 4y ago
I haven't seen the data around wealthier families. But wealthier families have more access to healthcare and can get earlier (and more thorough) diagnosis than poor ones. So unless there was some kind of control for access to healthcare, I would question that correlation.
- alistairSH 4y ago
  This. We're relatively wealthy (typical middle management salaries) and it took a string of doctor appointments over many months to get a diagnosis for our son. Several of these were multi-hour sessions. In addition to the time off work to attend appointments, there was time on the phone, time on the internet, time talking to school counselors/teachers, scheduling IEP meetings at school, and probably other stuff I've long since forgotten. There wasn't a lot of out-of-pocket cash cost (because decent insurance, not guaranteed in the US), but the time and mental energy expended was significant on its own. And, 100% anecdotal, but my wife's brothers both have similar personality traits as our son. Neither was diagnosed (and as far as I know, neither tested - this would have been in the 70s and 80s). Both ended up as typical middle-class, working-class Americans (own modest homes, but no appreciable wealth beyond that).
brippalcharrid 4y ago
It would at least appear that children from wealthier families are being diagnosed with autism at a higher rate. Perhaps pollution/nutrition is actually a dead end, or maybe autism is less likely to be missed in the children of wealthy parents, or perhaps diagnosis is more subjective, enabling doctor-shopping, and there are perceived benefits associated with a diagnosis. It would be interesting to compare the rates of autism diagnosis amongst the children of teachers and psychologists compared to lower/middle/upper classes at large.
- ljw1001 4y ago
  It could also be that milder forms are an asset in an information based economy

spywaregorilla 4y ago

> If you leave a child alone with no human contact, it becomes autistic very quickly. Citation needed. This is not accurate without some aggressive hedging on what we're calling autistic. Lack of socialization does tend to manifest in less social behaviors later on. And less social behaviors are common among autistic people. But that's not the same as saying lack of socialization causes autism.

huetius 4y ago
I think this poster has an axe to grind, but there is definitely significant overlap between symptoms of child abuse/neglect and early signs of ASD and other mental disabilities. I am on mobile, and cannot right now give a compact source, but the lists on Mayo etc. have a lot of overlap.
- spywaregorilla 4y ago
  There's also overlap between a stab wound and a heart attack. You may say there's a cardiac related problem, but you don't have a stab wound just because you have some of the overlapping symptoms. Neglect can cause a host of behavioral and neurological issues but they're not autism. Medical literature consensus is pretty clear on this. It was a popular theory many decades ago. It's not held up to scrutiny.
  - nfhshy68 4y ago
    > but you don't have a stab wound just because you have some of the overlapping symptoms Nobody said this was true for autism. Only that resulting misdiagnoses may be contributing to the uptick.
    - spywaregorilla 4y ago
      Nobody qualified did. But the parent that started this thread did. > If you leave a child alone with no human contact, it becomes autistic very quickly. So there's definitely types of autism that come from parenting.

callalex 4y ago

jklinger410 4y ago
Do try