Comments by "Edward Cullen" (@edwardcullen1739) on "Autism massive increase" video.

  1. Hi John, I was recently diagnosed with Autism - literally last week! Knowing this and looking at my family, it's pretty obvious that BOTH of my parents are neuro-divergent. They were both born in the years immediately following WW2. I'm still at early stages in my understanding, but I want to point to a couple of things: 1. My first interactions with the NHS were when I was 13/14 and my dad even asked a chold psychiatrist, directly, if I was autistic and he was dismissed almost out-of-hand. I am now 44. Awareness is dramatically different, as well as the understanding of the genetic component. I'm 'clearly' the most 'different' in my family, but I'm sure all my siblings are on the spectrum. 2. Schooling and the way children are brought-up has changed radically and just from my own experience, I can see how these changes could be extremely detrimental to people at the boundaries - ND people who, otherwise may not have struggled, would struggle in the newer, less rigid, environment. I really struggle when the rules are unclear. When the rules are clear and rigid, it's easier for me in many ways - so, 1950s schooling or a few years in the army, might have made all the difference, in a good way! (Notwithstanding my proclivity to call-out rules I don't understand/think are stupid... and that this is entirely my own personal conjecture, though, not without knowing some people who are probably ND and ex-forces.) Please don't misunderstand this as a 'cry for the past', it's not; no more than a 'prospective avenue of investigation'. 3. Look at the people who change the world - Elon Musk is the most obvious example. He's the absolute poster pin-up of Successful Neuro-divergeance. I have a strong belief that ADHD/ASD are actually population-level, adaptive differences that have been instrumental to our success as a species. On this, if we look back at the 'eccentrics' of the past - the creatives with odd behaviours, who tended to drink to ease their anxiety and 'unlock their creativity' - I'm confident many, if not most, would be diagnosed as ND. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Trump himself were ND! 😂 (Listening to him talking about concrete on Joe Rogan really pricked-up my ears and got me thinking!) I suspect that ADHD/ASD has a steady-state occurrence in the population (similar to how evolutionary psychologists talk about psychopathy having ~2% prevalence and that if it drops too low or goes too high, the society suffers.) Too many autists and basic functions don't get done (ND people are 'notorious' for struggling with routine tasks...) too few autists and there isn't enough dynamism, creativity, problem solving to keep society moving in a positive direction. (Death by bureaucracy...) Ultimately, I think we're still in the "discovering how prevalent ND is phase" and once we have accurate population-level numbers, we'll discover that: A. ASD/ADHD are way, WAY more prevelant than anyone ever thought. B. The overwhelming majority of ND people are due to genetics, with only relatively few being environmental.
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  2. ​ @AnnaMack-m1l  Or utterly genetic?!? I'm recently diagnosed. Now I know what to look for, it's 'obvious' BOTH my parents have ADHD and/or ASD. I'm 44 and have been bouncing off the NHS for 30 years; autism was dismissed, almost out-of-hand, when I was 14. Sometimes, shit happens and 'people' have nothing to do with it.
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  3. Wow... Have you considered that Autism may be a Good Thing? The evolutionary psychologists talk about societies needing about 2% psychopathy in order to function... Maybe it's the same with autism?
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  4. @OceanFrontVilla3  For me, it was more an issue of a lack of awareness in healthcare professionals. When I started to investigate (only about 4 months ago) and asked the right questions, it was pretty obvious. Life is full of challenges. I do not understand the mentality of such parents - your child would remain autistic, whether they had 'the label' or not. Knowing the problem, is the first step to managing it.
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  5.  @notsomeoneofnormalcy-cv3yq  I thoroughly concur - especially around lockdowns and the lack of stigma. It's a running joke that "the majority of people in tech are autistic" and the primary motivator for me seeking diagnosis - people tend to be okay, once they know there's a reason for someone's odd behaviour, be it grief or something like autism. And now I know, I can manage it, properly, instead of trying strategies that JustDon'tWork for autists. To your last point... I saw a video about "sigma males" the other day: it just described a successful autist. 🤷‍♂️🤣
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  6.  @lynnehayward7309  'Worst' part for me is recognising it in my mum and then understanding why we struggled to communicate all these years ☹️. But now I know, it's easier... Bitter-sweet.
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  7. Or, maybe, 'weird creative' is a synonym for 'autistic'. It's not like California had nearly 100 years, uninterrupted, of attracting 'weird creatives'... Consider this, then add on the strong possibility that autism is primarily genetic. Why on earth, could California possibly have a higher prevalence of ASD? 🤔
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