Have I found my root cause of Asperger's...?

Post Reply New Topic

I've recently come to think that I might have Asperger's, research has shown more and more traits which I can point at and go "Yup, that's me, ... and that ... that too". Enough to make me want to definitely seek medical advice on the matter.

What I'm wondering is, does Cerebral Irritation when you're all of about three days or so old have a link to Asperger's, as my parents have recently revealed that way back in 1984, when I was in Special Care as a Baby (which I knew about), the Nurses told me that I had Cerebral Irritation, otherwise informed about as a big ol' headache (That, I didn't know).

So, does Cerebral Irritation have a link to Asperger's?

The Floor is open!

Thanks in advance.

PS, Wrong Planet, really good name, and can really identify with it!

Never heard of any link.

Sorry.

Welcome to WP!

Tim

Welcome to WP

If you have Aspergers, you are born with it.
Sometimes things may happen when you are younger (or older) that may make you develop AS like symptoms/traits but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have AS.

I'm not sure about cerebral irritation though. I have heard that the cerebral part of the brain has something to do with Autism, so that may be what happened in your case for yourself do develop AS like symptoms.

If you do have AS, then welcome. If you don't have it, then welcome. You will be welcome here either way

From Wiki:
Asperger syndrome appears to result from developmental factors that affect many or all functional brain systems, as opposed to localized effects. Although the specific underpinnings of AS or factors that distinguish it from other ASDs are unknown, and no clear pathology common to individuals with AS has emerged, it is still possible that AS's mechanism is separate from other ASD. Neuroanatomical studies and the associations with teratogens strongly suggest that the mechanism includes alteration of brain development soon after conception. Abnormal migration of embryonic cells during fetal development may affect the final structure and connectivity of the brain, resulting in alterations in the neural circuits that control thought and behavior. Several theories of mechanism are available; none are likely to be complete explanations.

Personally, I used to quiz my parents about my early childhood, and nothing was ever mentioned about 'cerebral irritation'.

Hey!

think most of the shennanigans go on WHILST in the womb

but i'm sure other things can factor in as always

There are certain commonalities in a majority of AS and autistic kids that is stunningly hard to ignore:

* overly difficult pregnancies that include high stress
* difficult births that involve lack of oxygen at some point
* extended time spent in NICU
* difficult births resulting in a baby being born dehydrated
* children who are premature and later experience speech articulation disorders
* children who experience birth trauma
* children whose mothers experience difficulty bonding with them in early days (usually because of extended time in NICU)
* children who are sensory integration disorder with speech articulation disorders

These are things that are fairly common among the children that I have worked with who either already are diagnosed on the spectrum or end up diagnosed on the spectrum.

Yes, I believe that we come hardwired that way. However ,I think that the AS predisposition may be exacerbated by these factors as well. It's a little hard to ignore the commonality. Also remember that not all people on the spectrum actually experience sensory issues. I think that I have read studies that put the numbers as high as 25% of people on the spectrum do not experience sensory issues that impair them in daily life. Now, what that means is probably purely up to speculation.

I just think that it's interesting how similar birth experiences are for kids on the spectrum. These early irritations probably don't help us any. Also they have found that there is a percentage of AS people (relatively low, maybe around 25%) that actually have bigger heads than their peers. Did you know that it's fairly common for boys with AS to have Marfan's and later experience spontaneous pneumothoraxes? There is a stunning comorbidity between boys that have histories of respiratory distress to later find that there is Marfan's and be misdiagnosed as AS at some point. Only case that i can think of in which AS is actually the misdiagnosis. Did you know that 1 in 150 people are diagnosed with autism but it is actually 1 in 95 for males?

I just think these things are interesting and I often tell people these trivial bits when lecturing about ASD. So, my point being the evolution or intelligent design debate. I think we were hard wired this way and we have certain conditions occur because of that hard wiring. Thus the startling similarities.

Firstly, Thank you to all who read this Posting. It's nice to be noticed.

Secondly, Big Thanks to all who have responded, or will respond.

And on that note, a Please. Please keep responding, the more information I get, the more I can bounce off of my parents, the closer I can get to a decision, to formally diagnose, or not to formally diagnose, that is the question!

Interesting topic. I think AS is probably genetic, as I think my mother has it, although she's in denial. I am pretty sure I have it, and my 10-year old son was recently diagnosed.

I had a traumatic birth, according to my mother. My nose was supposedly broken during that birth, and it is still noticeably crooked.

My 10-year old son had a normal birth. He seemed so normal during the first year of his life. I thought that for the first time, I was going to have a normal, easy child.

My first 4 children had colic very bad, and they all were later diagnosed with ADD/HD. I have read that there might be a connection between colic and ADHD.

The older my 10-year old becomes, the more ADHD/AS he becomes. He has more issues/symptoms/whatever than any of my other children. It's very funny, considering that at one time I thought he was going to be the normal one.

This may get me flamed (or start a debate, I should say) but I do think it's quite plausible that there's a link between vaccinations and the autistic spectrum (as well as Autoimmune disorders, etc). I do think that it's probably primarily genetic, but in general injecting chemicals into myself or my child is definitely not high on my list. They've done good thing for us in the past, sure, but at the very least we should RESEARCH these things ourselves rather than blindly do what we're told. Especially when it comes to our bodies, our children's bodies, and all kinds of crazy things made in a laboratory.

I'll leave it at that. But it's certainly something to look into. I recognise that this is my opinion based on my research, and not everyone has to agree with me.

One of my favorite scientific statements.....correlation is not proof of causation.Birth "trauma" is not stated as being the "cause" of AS but there does seem to be larger heads in many people with autism(as infants,not adults)and the larger heads may cause the birth trauma,(I dont need to go into the anatomy of this ).

I have never heard of cerebral irritation but it sounds like a "symptom" of something.(Like a rash is the syptom of allergy).So do you know what caused the "irritation"?I do believe there is more then a coincidental relationship to auto-immune funtion(I think ours my over respond to our environment.)Some of this shows up in gastrointestinal disturbance,food allergies,asthma in children.I think more research needs to be done on adults with AS.From communicating with "aging aspies",there does seem to be a higher then normal incidence of auto-immune issues.

I just mention this because if the irritation was auto-immune related it might lean towards AS.On the other hand,there is a kind of chiken and egg thing that could also relate.My boyfirned has many AS traits and has MS(another autoimmune issue)so,I wonder if the AS made him more suseptable to whatever triggers MS or if the MS changed his brain enough to give him AS traits.

Are your AS traits causing you a lot of difficulties in social situations or school?

Funny thing is that even before we discussed the possibility of AS (before I even realized I might have it) we all realized that my 10-year old has a really big head! That thing is dangerous!

Of course, we tease him in a fun way about it, about the damage he can do, but seriously, it hurts when he uses it.

Good thing that as he gets older, he appears to be becoming more proportional.

I know this is abit off opic but while I ws goggling for cerebral irritation...I just happened apon the following article about vaccinations.

http://books.google.com/books?id=IjyuHR ... #PPA127,M1


I know a lot of people believe that the connection has already been disproven....after all,many of us believe there were aspies before there were vaccinations However,I do think it is possible that some people who are already wired for AS may have further trait problems when given the vaccination.In other words...just because it is not the "cause of AS" does not mean allergy response to the chemicals in the vaccine might not change "where" we land on the spectrum>After all,some of us do appear to have problems found in many with AS but not All with AS,(if that makes sense).

Perhaps it can account for some of us who have related(traits NOT part of the AS DX)such as dslexia,dyspraxia,auditory processing disorder,ADD.I dont know how brain wiring would make someone more suseptable to an allergic reaction to these chemicals but perhaps a geneticists might.

I've taken the first step.

Yesterday I went to see my Doctor and he said he was referring me to the Community Mental Health Specialists in order to further my diagnosis. I've already had the phone call to say that it was a done deal, and I'm just waiting to hear from the psychologist or psychiatrist to set up an appointment.

Stay tuned to these pages to find out what's going on!

Many thanks for all the replies to date, and respect to everyone who does have Aspergers.

Secondly, serious respect to some of you for what are brilliant signatures, here are a few of my favourites!

Fangfarrier: Asperger's is the reason for my behaviour,
Not an excuse.

Me, after much thought on the matter.

Tim_Tex:When you need something, that's a responsibility that only an adult...of my maturity...Bunnies!

~~Meatwad, from Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Krex: Just because one plane is flying out of formation, doesnt mean the formation is on course....R.D.Lang

Why do I like these ones, why have they been singled out for particular praise? Simple reason, because I look at them and see myself.