Autism
From RationalWiki
Autism is a complex spectrum of cognitive disorders, affecting especially communication and interpersonal interactions. This can be manifested in a lack of empathy with others which makes maintaining friendships difficult.
Autism as a specific disorder is part of the autism spectrum of disorders which includes Asperger's syndrome. There is no clear point where someone is clearly autistic, and there is no hard and fast test to diagnose it, instead it must be diagnosed by qualitative observation. It is occasionally coupled with the precociousness that is called "savant",[1] where a person has difficulty with personal communication and utilizing broader knowledge, but excels beyond all comprehension at a single subject, such as memory or mathematics. Although this is a rare occurrence, the impressive abilities of the individuals are often widely reported.
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[edit] Causes and controversy
There may be a marked increase in the number of cases of autism in recent years, but the true incidence and possible cause has been hotly debated.[2]. Much of the vaccine hysteria has been over a reported link between childhood vaccinations and autism, which has been largely discredited. There is some evidence that more severe cases of autism may be genetic in nature while less severe cases are merely the result of an individual's aptitudes being skewed.
[edit] Pseudoscientific treatment
For some reason, many pseudoscience and alternative medicine promoters have been attracted to autism, offering up such "cures" as chelation therapy and lupron therapy. As with most alternative therapy, the results and effectiveness are debatable.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ In uglier days, they were called "idiot savants"
- ↑ Some complete amateurs think the rise in reported cases may be simply due to more awareness of the syndrome; coupled perhaps with defining it more broadly to include the whole Asperger's range.
