What AS really is?

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I think AS is first a rather common behavior shown by humans. I think the cause is a brain damage of any kind or some kind of brain development issue.

It could also be the behavior shown by "smart" people. For example, smart people is likley to avoid eye contact more than the perhaps somewhat less "smart" guy.

So there it is, a "brain damage" leading to "weird" behavior.....or a symptom of intelligence.

Last, most if not all people show some signs of AS right now in this day and age, so its a common human behavior.

Thats the 2 things I can come up with, to sum it up, AS or autism is really not much.....just human behavior.

Well yeah it's been stated before in other threads. There's a spectrum and everyone is on it and we all share the traits, just at varying degrees. This would mean that everyone has AS, just some at higher degrees than others, but not as high as some of the other ASDs.

I don't hold with the brain damaged view at all. If anything, I find it somewhat offensive. It suggests that there's something wrong with us - when I firmly believe that there isn't.

I see aspergers as a normal genetic difference (a mutation if you like) in the same way as different toes, skin pigmentation and other genetic differences exist.

Mutation is nature's way of trying to find the most "fit" minds and bodies for each species. I don't mean healthy - I mean the Darwinian "fit" -ie: most suitable for purpose.

I attribute the rises in numbers of aspergian children to a few factors;

1. Better identification.
2. Better care facilities (aspies weren't generally great the healthiest of children)
3. Greater suitability in today's electronic world

Are you aware that Humans are like the only animal that doesn't consider looking in the eyes a THREAT!?!?!? It would be MORE reasonable to believe that AS people got the instinct that other humans didn't.

Absolutely great point 2ukenkerl, just what I was thinking. The only problem with that is that it suggests that aspies are older than NTs.... I'm more inclined to think that it's either new traits with some throwbacks or an old mutation which is resurfacing because environmental changes - eg: our modern societies are becoming more accepting/needy of aspergers type traits for success.

To some degree, I think those feelings are with humans as well. It's a common way to gain dominance (and, at times, intimidate, depending on other factors) in a conversation by maintaining constant eye contact, and it's symptomatic of the submissive to divert their gaze and look away.

well, you are wrong here. Humans do consider it a threat when other people are looking them in the eyes. Just like any other animal. But you can also look someone in the eyes in a friendly way.

autism is not just behavior,classic autism can include many different non behavior caused difficulties- communicative ,language,problems with understanding need for toilet [sensory related],sensory scrambling,sensory extremes,visual perception,extreme pain threshold differences,severe information overload,multiple learning difficulties and/or MR being more common....

'smart people' are not more likely to avoid eye contact than the 'less smart',lack of eye contact is just as common in the most profound MR with autism,read what Temple Grandin has written about with eye contact in autistics.

And autism or AS are not brain damage,doctors used to think that some years ago when they were still learning about it but things have moved on since then.

most people showing some signs of an ASD doesnt really mean anything,the word autism could be swapped with any disability,condition,illness or disease as most would show some of the signs,most will show signs of a brain tumour in their life-they will get headaches,migraines,blurred vision etc. that does not mean they have a brain tumour.

Yeah, it's not brain damage. It's there from the beginning.

Brain damage would be something that happens after the beginning, not something that's in the DNA to start with.

there is a thread below somewhere about NT need to have their existence constantly acknowledged by others. I think this is what eye-contact is for, almong other reasons of course. that's probably why they get angry if you keep ignoring them and not looking them in the eye, it makes them feel like they're not really there because you don't acknowledge their existence visually (I got all this from a conversation with NT friends, it sounds just as ridiculous to me as it does to you).

actually that's nonsense, the least intelligent people tend to have to maintain eye contact a lot more. I notice a lot of foreign people that come to the UK, who may not have a very good grasp of the english language tend to have really sticky eyes too. There's a reason for it, dunno what it is though.

There is NO correlation between eyecontact and ANYTHING! Not INTELLIGENCE, HONESTY, APPRECIATION, LOVE, etc.... Many will say otherwise, but they are just WRONG! I have known people on BOTH extremes! As for appreciation/love, I have done BOTH! If I look, it can mean....I LOVE YOU, I HATE YOU, I RECOGNIZE YOU, I'M SUSPICIOUS, I ADMIRE YOUR BEHAVIOR, I HAVE TO LOOK SOMEWHERE! etc.... So if you catch me looking at you, it is best not to believe it means anything. BTW I have LITTLE respect for the intelligence of nearly anyone that looked me in the eyes "purposefully".