A macroepigenetic approach to identify factors responsible for the autism epidemic in the United Sta
Below from a link posted by someone I know here on LJ in a locked post. Article posted at
http://www.clinicalepigeneticsjournal.com/content/4/1/6
Below are some disclaimers I feel I want to make here:
I have not read the article linked to above, so I have no opinions about it as of yet.
I have no idea whether the implications in that article apply to us Aspies, or just to highly crippled/dysfunctional full-blown Autistic Folk.
I like being an Aspie. I am not seeking a cure, nor am I seeking to point fingers and blame anyone/group for my Aspieness.
I feel if it were not for my Aspieness, I would not be who I am today, and I LIKE who I am! I think I am a very cool old fart who routinely thinks outside the box and has NO need to stifle my individuality to fit into the herd.
Don't get me wrong here. My childhood was hellish in many ways. But that is because I never knew I was an Aspie. Neither did any of the adults around me (family, teachers, neighbors), so I had neither support nor counseling. So I felt like a freak and was miserable a lot.
Because I routinely think outside the box, I have developed in my own uniquely Alobaresque ways, and now earn my living assisting strangers to perceive their problems and their compulsivenesses in ways they were previously unable to do.
Many of my non-Aspie close friends still don't grok what makes me different from them. They keep attempting to apply how they perceive the world to my various Aspie perseverations, which used to annoy me, but now think is funny.
I guess it is kinda like the second-guessing most of us humans do when attempting to grok things outside our understanding - for example when someone who has never used psychedelics attempts to comprehend what insights arise from tripping heavily.
I feel I help make this world a better place. I have a lot of fun doing this. And I get paid for my services!
I could be wrong here, but I strongly feel if I were not as Aspie, my life would have taken many many different turns at various crossroads in life. No way I know of to scrutinize the road not taken, but I seriously doubt I would be as interesting, as well-adjusted, or as happy as I am today simply because I am an Aspie.
I am not saying I am better than anyone else who is "normal". I am just saying this planet is a vast ecosystem and each entity on this planet can should assist to make things better for all of us. And I do not feel I would ever have come to that insight if it were not for my Aspie perspective.