Is autism a 'disorder'? Is psychopathy a 'disease'?

[nomo]

Are people with autism disfunctional? Are psychopaths genetically adapted to survive by exploiting the rest of us?<br><br>CBC's Quirks and Quarks, my favorite science radio program, has run a couple of pieces recently about the idea that some of what we think of as "disorders" in human behavior can be more usefully treated as speciation -- a different kind of human.<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/sep30.html#4">Psychopaths</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->: Quirks talks to research psychologists about the biological basis for psychopathy -- and the fact that psychopaths are sexually profligate and have lots of kids. Psychopathic rapists target fertile women -- not children or old women.<br><br> <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Dr. Marnie Rice is a psychologist with the Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene, in Penetanguishene, Ontario. She studies criminal psychopaths who are incarcerated there. She views psychopathic behaviour as an evolved survival strategy. She says that there’s not a lot of evidence to suggest that psychopaths are mentally ill but there’s good reason to believe that their disturbing behaviour is an evolved trait. She says psychopaths have evolved to capitalize in a particular environmental niche -- namely preying on the rest of society. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/06-07/oct07.html#4">Autism</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->: A noted cognitive nueroscientist and one of his patients (who has autism) team up to advance the hypothesis that autism isn't a disorder, but simply a different kind of person. They say that arguing that autism makes you "good at numbers" but "bad at socializing" is like taking a dog and saying that it's a special kind of cat that's "bad at climbing" but "good at fetching slippers." Autism makes you a different kind of person, most usefully compared to other people with autism.<br><br> <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The two researchers make an unlikely team. One is Dr. Laurent Mottron, a psychiatrist and cognitive neuroscientist at the Riviere-des-Prairies Hospital. He has been studying autism for 25 years. The other is Michelle Dawson, who is autistic. Ms. Dawson has never been to university, but is working at the level of someone with a PhD. For the last couple of years, these two have been collaborating on research into autism. They argue that autism should be recognized as a different way of being human, rather than as a disease or series of defects to be eradicated. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>I realize that these are uneasy bedfellows. Autism isn't psychopathy. The question is, are there many "disorders" that are really "adaptations"? Homosexuality once appeared in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as a disorder -- now, it's considered just part of the spectrum of human behavior, considered best as "a thing that a person does and is," not "a way that a person is broken." What else lurks in the DSM, waiting to be redefined?<br><br><br>posted by Cory Doctorow at 11:31:51 AM<br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2006/10/11/is_autism_a_disorder.html">www.boingboing.net/2006/10/11/is_autism_a_disorder.html</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[Dreams End]

Someone with severe autism can't speak or interpret the world in a way that allows them to function in it. It's not an adaptation at all. But as you move down the spectrum toward Asperger Syndrome, people can function well, though it can still be a huge challenge. Not being able to interpret emotions and intentions of others can make life pretty tough. I'm not sure how that would be an adaptation, but many Asperger folks are quite smart and hyperfocus on their area of interest in ways that allow them to both succeed and even excell.<br><br>My work with kids who are Aspergers, ADD, OCD, etc has me convinced that whether you call them disorders or not, none of it fits into nice neat little boxes. They have their way of thinking and the trick is to help them utilize that way most effectively.<br><br>It's also sad that society insists that folks like that must fit a certain mold. There is an autism rights group that is fighting this tendency...for example saying that the decision about whether someone should go through intensive behavior mod and other procedures to better be able to adapt to the rest of the world should be the individual's. There is at least one school founded on this principle.<br><br>So I dont' know what to call it...disorder or no...but either way, our goal should not be to get the person to fit into some acceptable behavior pattern. They need help (sometimes) to be functional enough...but not to be like everyone else. <br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[blanc]

is there an inherited propensity to be a psychopath?<br>if psychos are an adaptation - effectively a parasitic one, then they are a disease - (as opposed to persons having a disease) - there is no benefit to the host community is there? and they disable and destroy their hosts don't they? and like species specific diseases, can only exist while the host community exists. another thought, why was such an adaptation necessary or a good idea? in what measure is a psychopath better off than a normal person? and if there is no genetic component, what is the evolutionary point?<br><br>autism aspergers a different question surely. in so far as it seems to be a condition in which some abilities may be enhanced (and others non existent) this calls to mind something I observed when a survivor was having a breakdown as a result of a flood of memories. this person, for a brief time, while losing all her usual abilities with art and language, suddenly exhibited numerical ability not previously present. has anyone any experience or info on this? <p></p><i></i>

[DireStrike]

Every difference between any two living beings is an adaptation. If it helps them somehow, and genetically inheritable, it's good for survival. Society and language work as kind of a false genetics, a new way to pass on survival traits.<br><br>Parasites have always thrived, as long as host communities are strong enough. <p></p><i></i>