Asperger's syndrome: Difference between revisions

[[File:Autism.png|thumb|right]]

The diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome is/was dependent on the subject meeting the criteria for a certain level of autistic symptoms such as social deficits and obsessive interests while having an [[IQ]] in the normal range or higher and not experiencing any developmental delay in language acquisition.  

On the other hand, they are often exceptionally good at recognizing patterns and investigating specific topics with intense focus (''hyperfocus''). People with Asperger's are also vulnerable targets of [[PUA|pick up artists]] who scam them into buying into their ineffective programs, with Aspies being particularly susceptible to the "[[attraction ambiguity problem]]".<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886918300941</ref>

==Origin of the term==

Such a morally pejorative concept is said to have not been intended by Koch; he had applied the term 'psychopathic' to mean originating from an organic defect in the brain, and the term inferiority to simply refer to dysfunction. However, it was probably his concept and terminology that provided the unfortunate conglomeration of aspects of inferiority, amorality and socially harmful behavior." https://peoplepill.com/people/julius-ludwig-august-koch/ </ref> Asperger is now a highly controversial figure due to revelations he contributed to the Nazi Aktion T4' euthanasia' program, with Asperger sending several of his child patients off to be killed. <ref>https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05112-1</ref> Given this controversial legacy, the recent discovery of his role in the T4 program may have also been a factor in the redefinition of the disorder by the APA.  

However, he did defend autistics (such as many of his patients) that exhibited intellectual talent, claiming it would be "best service" to the "Volksgemeinschaft" (organic racial community of the nation) if the state would integrate autists that into work and social life.<ref>Brita Schirmer: ''Autismus und NS-Rassengesetze in Österreich 1938: Hans Aspergers Verteidigung der »autistischen Psychopathen« gegen die NS-Eugenik'', in: Die neue Sonderschule 47 (2002) 6, p. 460–464.</ref>

==Autism and sexual success==

===69% of high functioning autistic adolescents want relationships, but almost none succeed===

The parents of 190 adolescents with high and low functioning autism were surveyed by researchers to evaluate the adolescents' perspectives regarding sexuality.<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262581068_Brief_Report_Parent-Child_Sexuality_Communication_and_Autism_Spectrum_Disorders</ref><ref> Graham Holmes, Laura & Himle, Michael. (2014). Brief Report: Parent-Child Sexuality Communication and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 44. 10.1007/s10803-014-2146-2</ref>

Findings were:  

*69.2% of adolescents with high functioning autism expressed the desire for a dating relationship.

*73.1% with high functioning autism expressed attraction to someone of the opposite sex, and 10.0% to the same sex.

*However, only 7.7% of this high functioning autistic cohort reported having had a relationship with someone of the opposite sex, and 1.5% with someone of the same sex.

*Only 1.5% of the group had sex.

Overall this group showed a healthy amount of desire for sexual relationships but a disproportionately low capacity to achieve them.

===44.6% of high functioning adult autistic men remain virgins, despite high sex/relationship drive===

A group of high functioning autistic men and women were evaluated and compared with healthy controls to assess their sexual and relationship desires and capability to achieve those desires.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5789215/</ref>

Autistic men were found to masturbate more and have a greater desire for a relationship than normal men. So their perpetual virginity couldn't be attributed to a lack of interest in sex. However, despite their strong desire for sexual relationships, only 16% of autistic men were in such a relationship, while 82% of NT men were in a relationship. Thus, NT men were 5x more likely to be in a relationship than their autistic counterparts.

''Quotes:''

*''Male ASD participants reported more frequent [[masturbation]] than male healthy controls (HCs) (P<0.01). ''

*''ASD men reported a greater sexual desire for sexual intercourse than their HC counterparts (P<0.05, Table III). "

*''Of the individuals with ASD, significantly more women (n=18; 46.2%) than men (n=9; 16.1%) were currently in a relationship ''

===Male autists reproduce half as often as female autists or less===

[[File:Fertility_Ratios.png|400px|thumb|right|The fertility ratio is the ratio of the number of offspring each group produced compared to healthy people. [[Scientific Blackpill#Mental_disorders_significantly_reduce_male_fertility.2C_substantially_more_than_they_do_for_women|More information]].]]

A study in 2013 examining a total of 2.3 million individuals born in Sweden in 1950-1970,<ref>https://incels.wiki/w/Scientific_Blackpill#Mental_disorders_significantly_reduce_male_fertility.2C_substantially_more_than_they_do_for_women</ref> using government health care records, found evidence for substantially lower fertility among sufferers of various mental illnesses. The fertility of the mentally ill was computed by measuring the fertility ratio (e.g., a FR of .5 would mean that the diseased group had on average half of the children of the general non-affected population, a FR of 2 would mean double the offspring on average). This ratio reflected the mean number of children that individuals with various mental disorders had, as compared to control individuals of the same age and sex, also accounting for variables such as family size, affected status and parental status. The youngest individuals involved were 40 years old, and had thus likely largely completed their reproductive careers.

The researchers found evidence of substantially intense selection pressure against autism with a male FR of .25 vs a female FR of .48. Since there is evidence that female autism is underdiagnosed due to the condition being stereotyped as male,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/14/thousands-of-autistic-girls-and-women-going-undiagnosed-due-to-gender-bias</ref> it is even conceivable that many milder cases of autism in females go unnoticed, who presumably have higher reproductive success. This should imply that these figures only give us a lower bound on the sex difference in how male autists are comparatively disadvantaged. Even though the low FR should not surprise provided this sample contains low functioning individuals, the stark sex difference may serve as soft evidence that women have an [[tutorial mode|easier time finding a partner]] (albeit these data do not rule out the possibility that most female autists get [[pumped and dumped]], i.e. their much higher FR may not be indicative of a much higher quality sex life).

==Autism and suicide==

Numerous studies show the harms of autism are painful to those who bear them. Autistic individuals are subjected to at least 4-5x as much bullying as normal children. Autistic children report 28x more suicidal ideation or suicide attempts compared to normal children.<ref> Dickerson Mayes S, Gorman AA, Hillwig-Garcia J, Syed E. 2013. Suicide ideation and attempts in children with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 7(1): 109-119. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750946712000931</ref> Autistic adults report nearly 10 times as many suicidal thoughts.<ref> Collingwood J., 2018. Suicidal Thoughts 10 Times More Likely in Adults With Asperger's. PsychCentral. https://psychcentral.com/news/2014/10/13/suicidal-thoughts-10-times-more-likely-in-adults-with-aspergers/76016.html</ref> Overall, people with autism are 7.53 times more likely to die by suicide, those with high-functioning autism having a greater risk of committing suicide than the low functioning, being 9.36 times more likely to commit suicide.<ref>Hirvikowski T, Mittendorfer-Rutz E, Boman M, Larsson H. 2016. Premature mortality in autism spectrum disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 208(3): 232-238. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/premature-mortality-in-autism-spectrum-disorder/4C9260DB64DFC29AF945D32D1C15E8F2</ref>

A clinical cohort study of adults recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (N = 374, 256 men, 116 women) in 2014 found a much greater prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts/plans for suicide among adults with Asperger's as compared to the general population. Specifically, adults with Asperger's syndrome are much more likely to report lifetime experience of suicidal ideation than were individuals from a general UK population sample (odds ratio 9.6), and 35% of respondents reported having planned their suicide.<ref>Cassidy S, Bradley P, Robinson J, Allison C, McHugh M, Baron-Cohen S. 2014. Suicidal ideation and suicide plans or attempts in adults with Asperger's syndrome attending a specialist diagnostic clinic: a clinical cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry 1:142-147 https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanpsy/PIIS2215-0366(14)70248-2.pdf</ref>

==Neurodiversity vs. autism as a pathology==

Providing some evidentiary support for those that argue that autism is not necessarily a deficit in and of itself, there is research that suggests much of the dire social, employment and relationship outcomes autists often face may be substantially due to acts of discrimination and ostracism committed against them by [[NT]]s.

Related to this, Morrison et al. (2019) also found that, after three prearranged, unscripted 5-minute dyadic interactions between three dyads consisting of two autistics, two TDs (typically developing) or an autist and a TD dyad, only TD individuals desired to shun autists in subsequent interactions. This was despite both autistic and TD individuals both tending to evaluate autistic conversation partners as more awkward and less attractive.<ref>https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361319892701</ref>

Some research on college dorm-mates evaluated for their level of autistic traits has also found that those similar levels of aloofness (associated with the broader autism phenotype) tended to like each other more, with discordant warm and aloof combinations generally resulting in more interpersonal strife.<ref>https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1362361315585733</ref>

This suggests that autists may generally get on reasonably well with each other, but differences in presentation style, flatter affect, and difficulty expressing expected dominant or submissive social dominance hierarchy based behaviors may cause even very high-functioning autists to be commonly be perceived as 'creepy', 'weird' or, more charitably, eccentric, leading to social exclusion and thus the social deficits the condition is known for.

==Extreme male brain theory==

A major controversial theory of the etiology (cause) of ASD is known as the extreme male brain theory. The theory, first proposed by the world-famous autism researcher from the University of Cambridge, Simon Baron-Cohen, states that the primary cause of ASD is excessive exposure to androgens (male sex hormones) during prenatal development. '''Baron-Cohen does not claim that persons with ASD are more 'masculine' then neuro-typicals, a point often lost on laymen'''. Baron-Cohen merely asserts that this 'extreme' masculinity takes form in a deficit of empathy in ASD individuals, as well as an increase in their mental tendency to attempt to systematize information they receive from the external environment. He states this is a major cause of the obsessional interests and social deficits displayed by those with the disorder. Baron-Cohen found support for his theory via analysis of the amniotic fluid of children who were later diagnosed with ASD, which found evidence of elevated androgens (androstenedione and testosterone) in the placental fluid.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24888361?dopt=Abstract</ref> However, the relationship between these factors is likely complex, as later studies have also found evidence of elevated levels of estrogens in the prenatal environment of those later diagnosed with autism<ref>https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190729094538.htm/</ref>. This is likely partially due to the activity of the enzyme [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatase aromatase] in the placenta, converting some of the androgens to estrogens, as there is animal evidence that prenatal estrogens can have a "paradoxical" masculinizing effect in the right context.

The complementary imprinted brain theory puts psychotic spectrum disorders (such as schizophrenia) on the opposite end of a spectrum from ASD, purportedly resulting from a conflict in the genomic imprinting between paternal and maternal genes, with extreme genomic imprinting in favor of paternal genes being associated with ASD.<ref>https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201506/testing-the-extreme-female-brain-theory-psychosis</ref> This also corresponds with sex differences in empathizing vs systematizing<ref>https://www.pnas.org/content/115/48/12152?fbclid=IwAR0ngaYIo88A77EKpALefnsr54ZZpPWGbatCYNPBcC84HgcDGmsZ2c6VgB4</ref> which find females are generally higher in empathizing and males highest in systematizing. Autistic individuals of both sexes typically display a more masculinized behavioral phenotype in terms of systematizing/empathizing. These developmental theories are not necessarily mutually exclusive with the theories of ASD that attribute the etiology of the disorder to greater [[mutation|mutational load]].<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5895441/</ref>

==Advanced parental age and mutational load==

There is some evidence that increasing deleterious [[mutation|mutational load]] in the population, mediated by advanced paternal age and also possibly by reductions in natural selection due to industrialization and modern medicine, is contributing to the increase in global autism diagnoses.<ref>https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/autism-spectrum-disorders</ref> This secular increase in autism diagnoses is likely not be entirely explicable by the broadening of the diagnostic criteria of autism or increased awareness of the issue.  

Iossifov et al. (2015) found that 30% of cases of autism in simplex families (where only one immediate family member has the condition) arises from ''de novo" (novel) mutations, often transmitted from the mother.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26401017/</ref><ref>https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2015/07/27/autism-risk-genes-success-with-the-simplex-approach/</ref> Taylor et al. found that simplex cases of autism were typically more problematic as compared to multiplex cases (multiple family members affected).<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750946714002943</ref> Advanced parental age at birth also heightens the risk of ASD in offspring, with a possible mediating role of greater paternal age heightening the incidence of ''de novo" mutations leading to ASD in offspring.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890856719301261</ref>

Some researchers have claimed that the lessened prevalence of autism in women, rather than being explicable by the extreme male brain theory, may be due to greater levels of mutational load possibly being required for the disorder to be symptomatic in females.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24581740</ref> This theory also implies that females who have the condition may exhibit more severe symptoms due to carrying more deleterious mutations than males with the condition. However, it is also claimed that the lesser female prevalence of the disorder may be due to higher-functioning female autists being more effective at 'masking' the socially disruptive symptoms of the condition.<ref>https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/females-are-genetically-protected-from-autism/</ref>

==Evolutionary theories of autism==

It could be that autism is primarily a result of impaired brain regions that generally mediate social behavior. However, a number of theories have been proposed that aspects of autism could be adaptive, meaning that it or related behavior patterns may have increased [[reproductive success]] in the past.

ASD males, do have low empathy, so they are hyper-masculine in that regard, but they have a "high" arousal threshold as they easily get overstimulated and then withdraw from dominance competitions.<ref name="risktol"></ref> This may, in part, explain, the poor reproductive success of autists.<ref>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-019-00213-0</ref>

Other theorists have examined autism through a [[life history]] framework, claiming that autism represents an extreme slow [[life history]] strategy (later age of reproduction, slower growth, focus on acquiring resources instead of early reproduction, and so on), with autistic traits perhaps being associated with the acquisition of specialized skills that may have served to enhance the eventual reproductive success of individuals that bore these traits in human's ancestral past. Some research has indeed indicated that autistic traits are associated with other traits that reflect a slow life history strategy, while schizotypic traits were found to reflect a fast life history strategy.<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513814000580</ref>

For example, Jobe & White (2007) found that autists tend to have longer relationships than neurotypicals (although shorter friendships).<ref name="Crespi2014">http://www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/crespi/pdfs/171-Crespi2014-See%20Pages%20322-324.pdf</ref> There is, however, a general agreement that low-functioning autism is maladaptive.<ref name="Crespi2014"></ref>

==Relationship between ASD, physical masculinity, and looks==

In apparent contrast with the extreme male brain theory, there is some research indicating those (male and female) exhibit a greater amount of physical androgyny than NTs, possibly contributing to the higher incidence of [[inceldom]] among autists. A study in the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders demonstrated that males with higher levels of 'autistic traits' were generally more physically feminine then males with lower levels of autistic traits and vice versa for females. <ref>https://jneurodevdisorders.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s11689-015-9109-6</ref>

There is also evidence that those with ASD have less symmetrical faces than neurotypicals. A lack of bodily symmetry is weakly linked to a higher level of mutational load. For instance, a study in published in 2010 found evidence of "significant facial asymmetry" in boys with ASD, particularly in the supra and periorbital regions in front of the frontal pole of the right hemisphere of the brain.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18317467</ref> This could be caused by differences in brain growth or/and genetic factors since the mothers of those with ASD generally exhibited similar facial asymmetry. This could result in those with ASD being, on average, less attractive as compared to NTs, due to facial symmetry being generally found to be a component of facial [[beauty]].<ref>https://www.annualreviews.org/article/suppl/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190208/suppl_file/ps.57.rhodes.appendix2.pdf</ref>

Per the [[blackpill]] there is also some evidence that the social difficulties that those with ASD face do not only originate with the sufferer's social deficits but perhaps are substantially due to the negative perceptions of them by others.

An article in the scientific journal Nature<ref>https://www.nature.com/articles/srep40700</ref> presented a series of studies that demonstrated that when shown photos and clips of social interactions(filmed via a first-person perspective with a go pro camera) of a group of ASD versus neurotypical individuals. ASD individuals were as a group perceived as significantly less attractive, dominant, likable, and fun to 'hang-out' with. They were, however, perceived as roughly equally 'trustworthy', 'smart', and 'good to live near' compared to NT controls. Their findings also demonstrated that the "negative first impressions of adults with ASD occurred only when audio and/or visual information was present, and not when the transcript of their speech content was evaluated. This discrepancy suggests that social presentation style rather than the substantive content of social speech drove negative impression formation of individuals with ASD."

==Relationship between ASD and behavioral androgyny==

Regarding the behavior profiles typical of those with ASD, a study published in 2014 using a modified version of the Bem Sex Role Inventory found those with ASD generally exhibited a more androgynous gender personality profile,<ref>https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0087961</ref>. This was mainly due to individuals with ASD reporting less competitive drive, poorer leadership abilities, and lower assertiveness. However, women with ASD reported a greater masculinized gender identity, and two-thirds stated they were tomboys in childhood vs one-third of control women.

Some have also suggested that this much greater prevalence of gender dysphoria among autistics may be simply due to the higher rate of sexual paraphilias among autistics. One of the primary causes of gender dysphoria is autogynephilia, or being sexually aroused by the thought of oneself being a woman.<ref>https://www.bitchute.com/video/GHSVtLYcS48/</ref><ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3180619/</ref>

==Women on aspies==

Here are a few quotes from said disgruntled [[wife|wives]] (also good evidence of [[female solipsism]]):

{{quote|After 23 years of marriage to an AS husband who is a [[betabux|good provider]] and [[nice guy|basically decent person]], all I can say is "DON'T DO IT. Run, run, run as fast as you can. You may love this person, but unless you also despise yourself, you need to leave the relationship as far behind you as possible."}}

{{quote|What do we do about aspie men? Do we just name and shame them on a website so other women can avoid? And what about the issue of being a man enough to confess you are an aspie, on the first or second date? Shouldn't that be mandatory? This is a psych condition that badly hurts women like me, after all. I think we have a right to know."}}

{{quote|Aspergers men are a nightmare. I accidentally married someone with AS. And I stress ACCIDENTALLY, as I have seen the devastation that is "being" with one of these people. They should come with a warning and anyone displaying these behaviors should be tested in school so that us normal people don't get trapped in something that ruins our lives. Yeah they're all different yeah yeah, I know, some are worse than others. No one can be happy with these people. NO ONE. WHATSOEVER. Seriously. My life is devastated from one of these un-empathetic, desolate wasteland-of-emotions people. Learn to think like them? F*** that. That's impossible and would require losing most of the characteristics that make us human, that allow us to connect to others.}}

===Fake nice guy syndrome===

When women, as well as people in general, talk about "fake [[nice guy]]s," they may be referring to autistic (or ugly) males. Autists may naturally overestimate the optimal amount of pro-social communication/behavior most people generally prefer. Overly formal or polite behavior, which is often found among autists, is counter to establishing dominance. Sexually, women do tend to prefer "assholes". Perhaps this is hard to understand for autistics, as they are claimed to be prone to black and white thinking.<ref>https://www.psychedconsult.com/blog/no-room-for-gray-here</ref>

==Dating advice==

There has been little research on what determines dating success among the few autistics who have it.

One study developed three key tips for autistic online daters:<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563219301566</ref>

*Be consistent in your online profile (attributes and interests).

*Be explicit about your autism.

*Frame your personality attributes and interests using positive wording

*Be real and true to yourself.

There is some evidence that autistic males may be more compatible with autistic females than with [[NT]] females (at least in the near-term that is):<ref>https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6kw0v3mf</ref>

* "Further, similar to speed-dating studies with typical adults, participants matched from speed-dating events led to electronic communication between couples, and dates for approximately one-third of matches."

* "the content of participants' conversations felt formal to an outside observer."

==Free Lesson for Aspies==

<big><b><center>A guide to female cues for our wonderful, irreplaceable brethren with Aspergers...</center></b></big><br>

[[File:Cuteagain.gif|full|center]]

<center>Interested in you.</center><br>

[[File:Not.gif|full|center]]

<center>Not interested in you.</center>

==References==

<references />

==See also==

*[[Neurotypical]]

{{A}}