Darwin

Posted December 21st, 2009 by izzy

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So here is the thing... I am chattin with a good friend of mine and she came up with this idea. She said "Autism" is just an evolution... "Evolution"I ask... She says "Yes, you know like Darwin." So I proceeded to ask "Like Darwin??" She said, "Yes" " Intellectually.....So I said " We were apes and now we are becoming Autistic?" and She said "Something like that." I didn't ask anymore questions but I pondered the idea for a while-Wondering what she meant......I'm still thinking.................

Know that I only write to vent and to have fun. My son is autistic and I love him wth all my heart. I think he is the greatest gift. But, as parents we all want answers-so much so that we ponder every suggestion or explanation given to us like the example above.... : )

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I'm very familiar with this

On December 22nd, 2009 seebert says:

I'm very familiar with this theory. Shows up all the time in neurodiversity circles.

The main point against it: Evolution's not supposed to work that fast. To which I reply- have you ever seen a model of the Santa Maria? Human beings are still evolving, and a little over 500 years ago, Europeans were *MUCH* smaller people, a 5' ceiling hight was a luxury liner and well within tolerances for Christopher Columbus's flagship. In addition to that, we have the "sudden emergence" theory of evolution now, where a change in environment in a little under 12 generations can mean a big survival change for certain pro-survival genetic mutations. Here in the Pacific Northwest, in a little under 60 years, for example, we now have dam-adapted salmon who can breed and survive in warmer waters that would not exist without Bonneville and The Dalles and the Grand Coulee Dams.

In the three generations of humanity (60 years) since computers emerged, and the 4 generations (80 years) since Television emerged, and the 5 generations since Radio and the 6 generations since the telephone, we've had a gradual shift away from the tribal/village/town/city model of human cooperation to virtual human cooperation. And while autism has been with us in roughly the same numbers theoretically for the last three centuries, in the last 100 years we've been moving away from the farm and towards the cubicle- to exactly the environment autistics thrive in. And the things autistics are good at- math, science, engineering, art- are finally paying family wages and beyond. Better yet, incubators like the Silicon Valley in California, the Silicon Forest in Oregon, and elsewhere are allowing borderline autistic men and women to meet "soulmates" who are interested in the same things. For the first time in history, autism is in fact a survival trait by evolutionary standards.

So there is some truth to the rumor. How much? I don't know. At best we've only had two generations, say, kids born after 1970, that have had both modern diagnosis for autism and an economic system where autistic abilities are compensated rather than just being a hobby. I'd say for the theory to be proven, we need at least 10-20 more generations. And you and I will be long dead by then.

Wow, that is very

On December 22nd, 2009 izzy says:

Wow, that is very interesting. I really had never heard of the theory.

Here's the only part that is

On December 23rd, 2009 seebert says:

Here's the only part that is really relevant to anybody's life right now:

With the negative social consequences of autism, comes a rather singular gift: the ability to work long hours at an obsession and be a perfectionist on nagging little details.

In previous generations, such a person would have been a monk in a monastery- painstakingly copying down Holy Scripture and spending a lot of time on illuminating single letters.

Since the enlightenment, however, we've been on a course as a society towards specialization, and specialized jobs that would be astoundingly boring to most neurotypical people, but at which autistics with their obsessions excel.

So whether the evolution is happening or not, is of little importance, in comparison to the moral of the fable behind the theory- find your kid's obsession. Turn it into a hobby. Get him into college studying that obsession. And that will become a career.

good lord iam totaly

On December 24th, 2009 drheave says:

good lord iam totaly screwed..between creating life forms of cartoons and technology use or bioforms and astrology and NASA. I am almost afraid what my son will come up with next. He is very intrigueing to listen to sometimes. Sometimes i have to tell him im not ready to listen to a certain subject thou mostly cartoons. he has already directed his own little movie we are moving on to his own cartoon, doing it the old fasion way of picture.

From that- here's what you

On December 28th, 2009 seebert says:

From that- here's what you need to do:
1. Find him an agent/manager. Somebody who will, for a percentage of his earnings, make sure he does things like eat and sleep, make sure he has what he needs.
2. It's vitally important that you have a both a traditional and living will for yourself- one that protects your son from himself.
3. Find a good publicist.

All of these need to be done out of any profits from his first success; if not, there may never be a second success.

i forgot to mention my son

On December 29th, 2009 drheave says:

i forgot to mention my son is only ten but hey we all dream big and so did disney...we are going to start a cartoon weather report for our area dedicated to kids, who knows maybe it will start a trend for the youth right? By the way he has started blue prints for a marble rollercoaster next we get to build it out of all those christmas boxes and see if he enginereed it right. guess i better find the tape...