Rise of Autism amongst Somali Population

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http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/he ... anchO7DiUr

Here is an article that discusses an alarming rise of Autism amongst the Somali population in Minneapolis. Please note that this is a new immigrant population from a war torn country and could simply show the differences in diagnosis techniques and cultural differences. There also could be an environmental reason.

6% of the school population but 17% of autism diagnoses (14 of 81 children), a more then two fold increase in autism in the Somali population.

Chris Gillberg found a highly increased rate of autism in immigrants in Sweden, he also found that fathers who had autistic trait's (asperger's) and had gone abroad to marry a women from a different culture, they were more accommodating of their husbands eccentricities then Swedish women.

Thus, there is a possiblity that Aspie Somali men are marrying non-Somali women who accommodate their eccentricities, they think its due to being from a different culture. Though, in Islamic Somali culture, people may not marry outside their cultural group (marriages are arranged? Another opportunity for Aspie men to have children) - I'd like to know if Aspie Somali men are marrying non-Somali women.

"Fifteen of these children (27%) were born to parents, at least one of whom had migrated to Sweden......In a few cases, autism or Asperger syndrome had been diagnosed in a native Swedish parent who went abroad in order to find a spouse." - Gillberg

Autism in immigrants: a population-based study from Swedish rural and urban areas
IC Gillberg, C Gillberg - Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 1996

It's possible that the old barriers in effect in Somalia have broken down somewhat in America, and different Somali clans are interbreeding in Minnesota. That tends to happen with new immigrant groups. If two groups hate each other in the old country, and a good number of both groups immigrate to America, within a couple generations of arrival they'll be interbreeding. It's also possible that Somalis are breeding with American Blacks, who tend to have West African and white lineage, and creating aspie kids. Some immigrant groups that have customs of arranged marriage send males back to the home country to find brides. Somali men don't have that option, so they're more likely to outbreed, I would think.