New research brings autism screening closer to reality

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There is something wrong with this page, so I am going to repost until am on next one.
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Last edited by ouinon on 13 Jan 2009, 7:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

There is something wrong with this page, so I am going to repost until am on next one.

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Last edited by ouinon on 13 Jan 2009, 7:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

There is something wrong with this page, so I am going to repost until am on next one.
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Last edited by ouinon on 13 Jan 2009, 7:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

There is something wrong with this page, so I am going to repost until am on next one.
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Last edited by ouinon on 13 Jan 2009, 7:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

Okay, I thought about it, and can see that the issue might have something to do with equal opportunities/rights.

ie: A woman who gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion is like an employer who posts ads for a vacancy and then realises s/he can't afford to pay anyone so cancels the recruitment/training/induction process. A woman who gets pregnant and then has an abortion because her baby might be AS is like an employer who having taken someone on then sacks them for some reason, and looks for someone else.

The question then becomes; is "life", ( perhaps only in times of over-population ), like a job for which you need to have the right qualifications? And in which case what abilities could society reasonably demand of potential human beings before allowing them the post of life, and what demands would constitute discrimination?

Or is "life" something which everyone, ( once conceived ), regardless of their capacities, should have a right to? If that is the case abortion on demand would need to be reconsidered; the two are interlinked; perhaps one reason why it has become such a hot issue again.

Could society ever reasonably/fairly require that humans meet certain criteria if they want to be born? The bottle-neck created by the rapid drops in fertility rates all over the world, the pressure on resources created by over-population, etc, might explain, ( if not necessarily justify ), increasing "interest" in just who gets born. Is someone going to be useful, ( and in what way ) ? Or are they going to be a burden?

And what exactly constitutes a "burden"? ( among wolves it is being lame, unable to keep up with the pack, slowing it down; wolves that are lame get left behind to die ).
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Last edited by ouinon on 13 Jan 2009, 8:32 am, edited 3 times in total.

Perhaps the only protection from such a "job application" approach to allocating "life" to people, ( screening/tests etc ), would be to declare all life "sacred" from conception, and to make abortion illegal except in rare cases of rape, incest, and actual physical risk to mother's life.



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Thanks for that ouinon. Dunno what the deal with the last page was.

Perhaps advocating pro-life is the only way to prevent the new eugenics. But doing so ignores some other realities. I would rather have a more focused approach.

You guys overloaded the system and broke page 12.

Is WP really that poorly funded that the server breaks as we approach 13. Or maybe Alex is scared of something :p:

I think page 12 is an inside joke

I didn't want to say that so you've got to take the heat for that one.

The study (only the abstract):

Fetal testosterone and autistic traits


And, in the same number of the review, another article criticizing (it seems) the conclusions of the study:


Are autistic traits autistic?

I used to read evey study that ever came out even the ones you have to pay for and after a few years I realized that most papers were contested almost with days of their publication by some other researcher so I finally gave up and realized that most research work is speculative at best and unfortunately largely driven by wanting grant money.

Actually, it is all part of our nefarious plan to break the interwebbie...one page at a time. Good thing we are 'perserverent' by nature, given how many pages we have to get through before task completion can be achieved.

Ok, so they found a positive correlation between the AQ-child test and fetal testosterone. No wonder. The AQ test is severely biased towards male traits. Unless it is a large correlation, this means nothing.

Hi All, I'm new to this and only joined up yesterday as I suspect my partner to be AS - and I suspect myself to be NT! Your discussion here is very interesting and I can see the main points from two angles.

Firstly as a mother. I miscarried a baby - all be it at the end of the first trimester - and that confirmed I would NEVER be able to ask for an abortion. This was tested a year or so later when pregnant again the doctors told me I had Rubella and there was a good possibility the baby would be born blind or deaf - or both. There was no doubt in my mind - that baby would be loved and nurtured regardless of any abnormalities - as someone has said, a disability is only a disability if you allow it to be one. - I now have a beautiful and typical (whatever that may be) 20 year old daughter.

Secondly, as a 46 year old, my partner is just seeking a diagnosis for AS. He has read the traits, how others feel, and I have read several blogs and threads on WP and he does seem VERY typically AS. But he has coped - all be it in his own way all his life. (he's ended up caring for both his teenage daughters when the marriage broke down). He, I think, is relieved that he has a reason for how HE has felt all his life, but nobody else except me can see all his difficulties. (I am very sympathetic as I am dyslexic and have language limitations where as ASers have social limitations!) My question here is just where on the spectrum would it be acceptable to allow or even promote abortion, and where would it be unacceptable? With Down's Syndrome there is an actual chromosome defect - if my memory serves me correctly - and even those with mosaic Down's (the less severe ones) I think it is just one of the chromosomes that is abnormal. There is a criteria to be fulfilled. With a spectrum this can't be so, can it? Would they ever think to test and abort Dyslexics? I see dyslexia and AS in a similar light - normal (well, we're ALL special) people with limitations - have I got this right? I wouldn't want to demean either side!