Autism is a disease

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I think I just get sensitive whenever someone states that stress is a cause of cancer. I'm still grieving for my mum and I miss her like anything. It's Mother's Day coming up next month and it will be my first without having a mum.

I read somewhere that stress doesn't cause cancer, but people with stress are more likely to miss any cancer symptoms due to putting it down to stress-related ailments. For example, my mum had IBS quite badly but didn't go to get it checked out because she knew that IBS is common especially among people with stress or anxiety and so assumed it was just that. But unfortunately it was part of the bowel cancer she unknowingly had all along and by the time they'd found it it was already in stage 4.

Joe90,
I am so sorry about your mum.

My mum died of pancreatic cancer (and of hospice “care”) 10 years ago and it still hurts. It has shaken my up quite a lot in many ways

Oh dear.

Have seen that holidays and days which are anniversaries of things are difficult days for those who have lost loved ones.

Her line of thought is understandable. Sad that things turned out the way they did.

Sometimes for mother's day I contact some of the mothers I know and wish them a happy mother's day - my sister, my Aunt, my wife, my kid's aunts. Sometimes I visit the grave site. Sometimes I just say a prayer - talk to my mother - and pray for her. I also think about my two grandmothers, and try to honor their memories.

In my faith tradition, I am Catholic, we also honor Christ's mother - consistent with the 10 commandments "honor your father and mother", and the spiritual connection with Jesus all Christians have.

Sometimes I just have to be honest about my "sad" and try to respect it - with balance. It is complicated.

I have a lot of confusion about my Mom and her loss and what it means to me - but it is real - it is a reality I have to deal with as it is.

Autism as a disease ….? On absolute best days , I try to see it as a double edged sword … but it does definitely appear to be in the very least a genetic disease. Have enjoyed being in my own world at times , almost elated .
Most times can often pretend it’s not there and can attribute , bad things as just a matter of poor luck . Other times I am able to assemble information in my mind that have aided me greatly in my endeavors.
Regardless of its direct connection to my autism. It makes my mind work easier . Already have rumination issues .
And being fairly simple in my understanding of life events around me considering the fact that Autism . Maybe at the heart of these things . Am not focusing on it. These circumstances have come very close to killing me repeated times over my life. And much mental turmoil and extreme exhaustion,including physical disability’s,Am almost afraid if I came to the realization that my life was being fore shortened by my autism ,
Not sure how well I could come to grips with that reality . So perhaps a level of blissful ignorance has helped me?
Ignorant as it seems, loved the title of a previous thread here of “ Autism as a SuperPower” maybe for a moment the inside of my head felt relief.

I certainly haven't seen any evidence that autism or being on the spectrum shortens our lives, except through self harm being a factor, doing something silly or dangerous, or becoming a homicide victim. Physical illness doesn't affect us more than the general population except when its combined with other conditions (I so hate the word "comorbidities...)

This is what I've always been told about autism. When I was first diagnosed my parents were reassured that autism isn't going to kill me like a disease. It's only until I came here that suddenly autism is a death sentence. I suppose they go on about autism and "gut disease". Which gut? Liver? Intestine? Kidney? My body digests my food fine.



Neurotypicals have the superpower. I mean they can more or less know your name just by your body language.

Well, we have quite a sizeable contingent of old timers here on WP who show that they're still having their best happy and healthy life and no sign of any "gut diseases". They may feel like dinosaurs but have no intention of going extinct anytime soon. There's no link I've been able to find between Autism and such physical ailments.

Let me add I've done quite extensive research due to my planned book which although my personal story, also includes a long chapter about the challenges faced by people on the spectrum in general.

Be assured that most of us are not significantly less healthy than a comparable bunch of NTs.

My NT boyfriend is more unhealthy than I am. He smokes, drinks and is overweight. A lot of NTs are like this, in fact obesity is becoming very common and it's more or less 'normal' to be fat these days. I don't think this affects the autism community any more than it affects non-autistics.

Am in a quandary here …. As we here only Wrong planet , do not represent the entire spectrum. And we’ll all here are computer literate . But am sure there is a quantity of less advanced and much less advanced Aspies , nonverbals and the like.whom may not able to express health issues properly to Anyone much less the doctors they see.
Often the degree of cruelty put upon them by our profit oriented medical system . Do little to help them if not outright create more issues for them . And any conditions they face , become a great issue complicated by Autism.
So if it is not the autism that directly kills them , it certainly becomes a causative factor..
So, consider not everyone dies from Covid but it complicated any underlying conditions . And can kill a person !
Similarly Autism may not kill a person either but the consequences certainly can kill. .
Pardon my directness but I have a non verbal sister . Whom does not have the thought processes or verbal skills that would be required to describe symptoms of any of her health issues . But oddly enough has demonstrated repeatedly intuitive abilities to find snacks . And do jigsaw puzzles.

Fitness is weird.

I had to get a check-up related to medication I was recently started on. My blood pressure was really close to average and my resting heart rate was about 55, with quite a bit of caffeine in my system.

I'm tempted to see start testing my heart rate under stress (like jogging, extended running but also just mental exertion like racing) just to understand how that works. I know when I was younger I experienced the decline in motor skills associated with very high heart rates if I was in a fight so I'd like to put a number on where that ceiling kicks in and see how it compares to average.

I'm starting to think my heart is back to normal and that my old normal wasn't subpar but I want numbers to back it so I feel confident before pushing things.

My good friend’s brother has severe, nonverbal autism. He never had significant health problems. He is about my age now.

My heart rate is in the 140s when I run a 12-minute mile.

Uhm.. kraftie , if there were never health problems and he is non verbal , how would you know? Unless he is keyboard literate ???
I had seen the side effects on my sister of medications that the doctor had put her on which were absolutely occasional violent outbursts .gawd only knows what she was feeling physically, But my mom did not make the connection . And obviously the doctor was clueless. Just so happened my friend was studying to be a pharmacy tech.
And loved sharing stuff he learned with me. And I loved listening and learning .So I was able to make the connection . Even though my mom did not want to take the word of her daughter, Was able to point out cause and effect to her.
And she confronted sisters doctor and needless to say , that med was stopped , And my mom became one of the founders of AARC or ARC. I forget which ,in LosAngeles . association of Autistic and ret*d children back in the 1980s, Yet even after all that people did not consider people to be on the spectrum, it seemed . So diagnosis came late for me.

I still keep in touch with his sister. Her brother was born with anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain at birth)

I wasn't disagreeing with your premise, Jakki.