RFK - we will know what causes autism by September
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 15:34 last edited by
I've always been partial to the explanation that it was not often diagnosed in years past, even if it existed.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 15:43 last edited by
I think that's true of a lot of things, not the least ADHD.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 15:44 last edited by
By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic
Impressive. I can't even commit to having the bedroom painted by then.
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I've always been partial to the explanation that it was not often diagnosed in years past, even if it existed.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 15:50 last edited by Doctor Phibes 4 Nov 2025, 15:50
@Mik said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
I think that's true of a lot of things, not the least ADHD.
As I said in another thread, Mrs. Phibes has some fairly convincing theories about me in that regard. Obviously, I was never tested, and I'm never going to be.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 15:57 last edited by
Part of the problem is that the definition of autism has expanded widely in the last 30 years or so.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 16:30 last edited by
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom. Today they’d be given a diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism.
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Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom. Today they’d be given a diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 16:44 last edited by Renauda 4 Nov 2025, 16:49Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
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Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom. Today they’d be given a diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:09 last edited by@jon-nyc said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom. Today they’d be given a diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism.
And drugs.
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Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:13 last edited by Mik 4 Nov 2025, 17:14@Renauda said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
My SIL and husband, both PHDs, were looking for reasons their son was failing in college. She was volunteering for an ADHD/Autism organization of some sort and so got him tested. Lo and behold they think he has mild Aspergers. They labeled him as such and told him. Despite being quite bright, he has been very low achieving ever since, believing that he is limited by that label. I find it sad.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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@Renauda said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
My SIL and husband, both PHDs, were looking for reasons their son was failing in college. She was volunteering for an ADHD/Autism organization of some sort and so got him tested. Lo and behold they think he has mild Aspergers. They labeled him as such and told him. Despite being quite bright, he has been very low achieving ever since, believing that he is limited by that label. I find it sad.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:20 last edited by Doctor Phibes 4 Nov 2025, 17:20@Mik said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
@Renauda said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
My SIL and husband, both PHDs, were looking for reasons their son was failing in college. She was volunteering for an ADHD/Autism organization of some sort and so got him tested. Lo and behold they think he has mild Aspergers. They labeled him as such and told him. Despite being quite bright, he has been very low achieving ever since, believing that he is limited by that label. I find it sad.
It is very sad, and presumably happens a lot.
We've also seen the opposite happen. A relative really struggled with getting exhausted in elementary school despite clearly being bright, but since being diagnosed as ADHD and given a very low dose of medication has done very well throughout middle and high school.
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@Mik said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
@Renauda said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
My SIL and husband, both PHDs, were looking for reasons their son was failing in college. She was volunteering for an ADHD/Autism organization of some sort and so got him tested. Lo and behold they think he has mild Aspergers. They labeled him as such and told him. Despite being quite bright, he has been very low achieving ever since, believing that he is limited by that label. I find it sad.
It is very sad, and presumably happens a lot.
We've also seen the opposite happen. A relative really struggled with getting exhausted in elementary school despite clearly being bright, but since being diagnosed as ADHD and given a very low dose of medication has done very well throughout middle and high school.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:22 last edited by Renauda 4 Nov 2025, 17:26Do you know what medication it was? Guanfacine?
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:22 last edited by
The parochial school two of my grandkids go to, has a lower rate of ADHD than the public schools around them.
It might be they start out with a higher quality student. Or it might be the kids have three recesses per day, and physical activities are highly encouraged.
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Do you know what medication it was? Guanfacine?
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:29 last edited by@Renauda said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Do you know what medication it was? Guanafacine?
I think initially it was methylphenidate. Subsequently they tried a couple of other similar treatments. Some clearly worked better than others.
I was initially highly skeptical about both the diagnosis and the medication, but when he first got the medication the improvement was almost immediate and overwhelmingly positive. There were none of the adverse affects I'd heard about.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:30 last edited by
For some people a label can be a crutch, for others knowing/having a label (and help) for why they feel /act different than a lot of their peers can be immensely helpful.
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For some people a label can be a crutch, for others knowing/having a label (and help) for why they feel /act different than a lot of their peers can be immensely helpful.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:37 last edited by@jodi said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
For some people a label can be a crutch, for others knowing/having a label (and help) for why they feel /act different than a lot of their peers can be immensely helpful.
Somewhat related - when they diagnosed my mother with dementia I kind of wish they hadn't told her. We'd all seen it developing and she knew something wasn't right, but once it was official she thought about nothing else.
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wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 17:52 last edited by
I think it's a combo of expansion of the spectrum, much higher rates of testing, and obesity.
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@Renauda said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
Yep. When we were little there were ‘hyperactive’ boys in every classroom.
Right, and almost all were labelled troublemakers or “rotters” in elementary and treated as such throughout their school years regardless of their behaviour as they grew older.
My SIL and husband, both PHDs, were looking for reasons their son was failing in college. She was volunteering for an ADHD/Autism organization of some sort and so got him tested. Lo and behold they think he has mild Aspergers. They labeled him as such and told him. Despite being quite bright, he has been very low achieving ever since, believing that he is limited by that label. I find it sad.
wrote on 11 Apr 2025, 19:54 last edited by Axtremus 4 Nov 2025, 19:55@Mik said in RFK - we will know what causes autism by September:
My SIL and husband, both PHDs, were looking for reasons their son was failing in college. She was volunteering for an ADHD/Autism organization of some sort and so got him tested. Lo and behold they think he has mild Aspergers. They labeled him as such and told him. Despite being quite bright, he has been very low achieving ever since, believing that he is limited by that label. I find it sad.
Has the young man been failing college before being labeled? It's seems a bit inconsistent to say that he's been "failing college" and also "being quite bright," unless you're saying he's just "not book smart."
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wrote on 23 Apr 2025, 17:47 last edited by
