False analogy. We didn't have massive food allergies in prior decades, either. I'm sure a large part of some disorders -- especially ADHD -- is people just pathologizing normal human behavior that doesn't fit into the planned order (like children being forced to sit still for hours on end instead of playing and learning with their hands), but the sheer upstick in mentally unhealthy people has been noticable to me in my own lifetime. My only experience with autism in the 1980s and 1990s was seeing a video about it, but now every week I see kids who are obviously afflicted with something. There's something behind it. I don't buy into the vaccine agreement, but something about contemporary modernity -- our diet, the role of technology, I don't know -- is causing disorder to increase.
If there is an actual increase - rather than a perceived increase (better/wider diagnosis etc..) - the causes are probably going to be complex. My knowledge of the subject is almost non-existent so I don't know if any increase (caveat) is evenly distributed throughout the world or not. If there have been distributed spikes its going to be *very* difficult to track down causes with so many factors in play. If the studies are done right - using actual science rather than the politicised version - they might produce some interesting data, but to actually specifying a cause (singular or otherwise) I'm not sure....
Are you aware that there's an increase that can be tied to 'modernity' and are there areas on the globe that are less 'modern' that don't show an increase or at least a less significant one? That in itself might be rather difficult to determine....
From what I know via extensive research, presenting on the topic at conferences and having a number of neurodivergent diagnoses, there is both a genetic and environmental component to all of these neurodivergences (ADHD, autism, CAPD, dyspraxia, dysphonia, dyslexia, giftedness, left-handedness, etc). What researchers are coming to realize is that likely 30% of the population have neurodivergent brains. Most live normal lives and never notice anything different about themselves. Many excel in life, while some are severely impacted by their differences. There are two main ways you become neurodivergent, you’re born that way, or you suffer a traumatic brain injury. Whether you exhibit signs of your neurodivergence or not depends first on how your brain developed en-utero. We now know the neurodivergent brain develops differently. There are differences in brain structure and cell organization. Some parts of the brain might be highly developed while other parts lag behind. This is seen often in intellectually brilliant people who struggle with social interactions to give you a general example you might be familiar with. Neurodivergence runs in families and there are quite a few genes and markers involved. So there is definitely a strong genetic component. Now all of that said, there are also environmental factors at play that can trigger the expression of genes en-utero such as the mother’s cortisol levels, hormone levels, stress, infections, maternal disease like diabetes, measles, STDs, , her immune reaction against the embryo, disruption in cell cycles, and neuron migration during development and many more things. The mother’s overall mental and physical health, age of both parents, and diet also affect the pregnancy. So all this is before a neurodivergent child is even born. It’s like the program is laid out before birth. Some children are born severely affected by these factors. Some are born mildly affected. Now that the child is born, more factors can trigger the expression of these genes that the child was born with, such as low birth weight, jaundice, post-natal infections, fevers, child abuse or neglect, actual traumatic brain injury from an accident, and stress from malnutrition. There have been many reliable, peer-reviewed studies done globally on vaccines showing that vaccines do not trigger expression of these neurodivergences. What they have seen that can be very important in reducing the expression of these genes are fatty acids such as linoleic acid, omega-3, and omega-6 given to the mother during the first two months of pregnancy. In addition to giving the mother folic acid to prevent spina bifida that we’ve known about for decades, we’ve now discovered folic acid also helps prevent the expression of these neurodivergent genes. There’s still a ton scientists don’t know about these neurodivergences but the perceived increase in occurrences can be attributed to many things, better diagnosis, earlier diagnosis, expansion of the criteria to be diagnosed, delayed reproduction (having kids at older ages), insufficient needed nutrients to suppress the expression of neurodivergent genes, and I’m sure in the coming decades more will be discovered.
Whenever I hear/see the word 'neurodivergent', I can't help but think "divergent" from what? Presumably a non-existent 'normal' or 'average'. AFAIK although brains have much in common with each other no two brains are identical - which makes sense. So 'types' (for want of a better word) of brains vary across a spectrum.... Ok, that's logical.... But I don't think it explains very much. What you're saying (or actually what I'm 'hearing') is that people are different from each other in a number of ways for a number of reasons.... Didn't we already know that? Or are people *finally* starting to understand that, as much as we might seem to be largely homogenous (which we are to an astonishing degree) we are, actually, unique individuals when enough focus is applied?
Yes, people are different. Our brains develop differently. That said, most brains (assumed 70%) develop in certain, predictable ways with fairly balanced development across all areas of the brain. The neurodivergent brains develop drastically differently. Some areas grow very quickly and get a disproportionate amount of the energy to grow while other areas get less energy to develop. Also, typical brains eliminate neurons and pathways once they’re no longer necessary. It’s a normal culling. Neurodivergent brains don’t successfully cull. Instead their brains have way more neurons and connections. Their brains are constantly lit up with activity. If you can find an image of Temple Grandin’s brain compared to a neurotypical brain, you’ll see the difference. I don’t know if you can access this in the UK, but near the bottom of the article there are images: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/01/autism-temple-grandin-brain/2122455/
Autism has always existed. It has only been called autism since the early 1900s. Autistic people have always existed - just like every other disorder or verification or label we have today. But today we have better methods of identifying those who are neurodivergent and need additional support - like MANY of my students. This is 100% not a false analogy.
6 comments:
False analogy. We didn't have massive food allergies in prior decades, either. I'm sure a large part of some disorders -- especially ADHD -- is people just pathologizing normal human behavior that doesn't fit into the planned order (like children being forced to sit still for hours on end instead of playing and learning with their hands), but the sheer upstick in mentally unhealthy people has been noticable to me in my own lifetime. My only experience with autism in the 1980s and 1990s was seeing a video about it, but now every week I see kids who are obviously afflicted with something. There's something behind it. I don't buy into the vaccine agreement, but something about contemporary modernity -- our diet, the role of technology, I don't know -- is causing disorder to increase.
If there is an actual increase - rather than a perceived increase (better/wider diagnosis etc..) - the causes are probably going to be complex. My knowledge of the subject is almost non-existent so I don't know if any increase (caveat) is evenly distributed throughout the world or not. If there have been distributed spikes its going to be *very* difficult to track down causes with so many factors in play. If the studies are done right - using actual science rather than the politicised version - they might produce some interesting data, but to actually specifying a cause (singular or otherwise) I'm not sure....
Are you aware that there's an increase that can be tied to 'modernity' and are there areas on the globe that are less 'modern' that don't show an increase or at least a less significant one? That in itself might be rather difficult to determine....
From what I know via extensive research, presenting on the topic at conferences and having a number of neurodivergent diagnoses, there is both a genetic and environmental component to all of these neurodivergences (ADHD, autism, CAPD, dyspraxia, dysphonia, dyslexia, giftedness, left-handedness, etc). What researchers are coming to realize is that likely 30% of the population have neurodivergent brains. Most live normal lives and never notice anything different about themselves. Many excel in life, while some are severely impacted by their differences. There are two main ways you become neurodivergent, you’re born that way, or you suffer a traumatic brain injury. Whether you exhibit signs of your neurodivergence or not depends first on how your brain developed en-utero. We now know the neurodivergent brain develops differently. There are differences in brain structure and cell organization. Some parts of the brain might be highly developed while other parts lag behind. This is seen often in intellectually brilliant people who struggle with social interactions to give you a general example you might be familiar with. Neurodivergence runs in families and there are quite a few genes and markers involved. So there is definitely a strong genetic component. Now all of that said, there are also environmental factors at play that can trigger the expression of genes en-utero such as the mother’s cortisol levels, hormone levels, stress, infections, maternal disease like diabetes, measles, STDs, , her immune reaction against the embryo, disruption in cell cycles, and neuron migration during development and many more things. The mother’s overall mental and physical health, age of both parents, and diet also affect the pregnancy. So all this is before a neurodivergent child is even born. It’s like the program is laid out before birth. Some children are born severely affected by these factors. Some are born mildly affected. Now that the child is born, more factors can trigger the expression of these genes that the child was born with, such as low birth weight, jaundice, post-natal infections, fevers, child abuse or neglect, actual traumatic brain injury from an accident, and stress from malnutrition. There have been many reliable, peer-reviewed studies done globally on vaccines showing that vaccines do not trigger expression of these neurodivergences. What they have seen that can be very important in reducing the expression of these genes are fatty acids such as linoleic acid, omega-3, and omega-6 given to the mother during the first two months of pregnancy. In addition to giving the mother folic acid to prevent spina bifida that we’ve known about for decades, we’ve now discovered folic acid also helps prevent the expression of these neurodivergent genes. There’s still a ton scientists don’t know about these neurodivergences but the perceived increase in occurrences can be attributed to many things, better diagnosis, earlier diagnosis, expansion of the criteria to be diagnosed, delayed reproduction (having kids at older ages), insufficient needed nutrients to suppress the expression of neurodivergent genes, and I’m sure in the coming decades more will be discovered.
Whenever I hear/see the word 'neurodivergent', I can't help but think "divergent" from what? Presumably a non-existent 'normal' or 'average'. AFAIK although brains have much in common with each other no two brains are identical - which makes sense. So 'types' (for want of a better word) of brains vary across a spectrum.... Ok, that's logical.... But I don't think it explains very much. What you're saying (or actually what I'm 'hearing') is that people are different from each other in a number of ways for a number of reasons.... Didn't we already know that? Or are people *finally* starting to understand that, as much as we might seem to be largely homogenous (which we are to an astonishing degree) we are, actually, unique individuals when enough focus is applied?
Yes, people are different. Our brains develop differently. That said, most brains (assumed 70%) develop in certain, predictable ways with fairly balanced development across all areas of the brain. The neurodivergent brains develop drastically differently. Some areas grow very quickly and get a disproportionate amount of the energy to grow while other areas get less energy to develop. Also, typical brains eliminate neurons and pathways once they’re no longer necessary. It’s a normal culling. Neurodivergent brains don’t successfully cull. Instead their brains have way more neurons and connections. Their brains are constantly lit up with activity. If you can find an image of Temple Grandin’s brain compared to a neurotypical brain, you’ll see the difference. I don’t know if you can access this in the UK, but near the bottom of the article there are images: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/01/autism-temple-grandin-brain/2122455/
Autism has always existed. It has only been called autism since the early 1900s. Autistic people have always existed - just like every other disorder or verification or label we have today. But today we have better methods of identifying those who are neurodivergent and need additional support - like MANY of my students. This is 100% not a false analogy.
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