Expert: Catherine Ridenour - 1/10/2010

Question
hello ms.ridenour, i am in the eighth grade and i am doing a project on autism i will like to ask if you could e-mail me back about the history of autism and what are the advantages of autism.

Answer
Hi Tiane,

I cannot recite the entire "history" of this condition in an e-mail. You can look up most of that online. I will say that I do not believe it is caused by vaccines. I think there is "more of it" because we are more able to diagnose it. Our school systems have become "one size fits all" and people with autism don't fit the mold.

There are no advantages to autism when it comes to living life in our modern society. It handicaps individuals in all areas of social function. While many with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome are very intelligent and have high level of musical, mathematical or artistic talent, they often struggle with learning disabilities, physical coordination problems, dietary issues, and have overly sensitive senses so things like normal background noise is so painful they can't bear it.

Imagine having no idea that someone is flirting with you, or worse, that you are behaving in a way that is flirtatious? Your social experiences would be confusing, even frightening. Others would come to think of you as strange and avoid you, maybe laugh and tease you. Having autism is a very lonely experience.

Many people with autism do, eventually, learn how to make friends and have relationships but not usually until they are much older. Many others do not.

It is hard to get and keep a job if your facial expressions don't match your words or if you are unable to control a tic (involuntary movement). Depending on their social function level, many very intelligent autistics end up without a job or doing work far below their capacity for these reasons.