Could the rise in autism be related to the Flynn Effect?

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Autism doesn't necessarily equate to intelligence of any kind, measurable by IQ test or otherwise. You only have to hang around reading this forum for a while to realise the broad range of intelligences at work (and not).

But the same genes that cause large brain and intelligence may also cause autism, however in autistics, something goes wrong. This would explain why so many autistics have smart relatives.

Also it might a good idea to keep people like me (and i'm sure i'm not the only one) in mind. I couldn't even vote because my "overall" (FSIQ) IQ varies widely from test to test. I've taken seven professionally-administered IQ tests in my life and i've scored as high as 143 on one and as low as 94 on another. My FSIQ scores were high average or greater on five out of the seven tests i've taken. My most recent score from the test I took a few months ago was my second-lowest ever at 104. On the test prior to this one, (2006) my FSIQ score was 143....my highest score ever.


This variation is partially due to the latest version of WAIS (IV) itself. Both the processing speed and working memory scores are being double-weighed on this edition of WAIS when calculating the full scale IQ. My working memory index score on this one was 111, but my processing speed index score was only 86. This doesn't entirely explain the drop in scores between this latest test and the one I had in 2006 though. My perceptual-organizational index score on the latest test was only 79, which is in the borderline range. My PIQ on the test prior to this one was 111, high average. Therefore...my POI/PIQ dropped 32 points in four years. I would say this represents a significant drop as 32 points is over two standard deviations. Furthermore....my VCI/VIQ on this latest WAIS was 136, whereas it was 155 on the prior one....another drop of over one SD.

I have many theories which may explain my reduced performance on this most recent WAIS, but no conclusions. Now the autism research study i'm participating in later this month needs me to take YET ANOTHER IQ test right after I take the ADOS on the first day of the study. For whatever reason....they are unwilling to go on the results of my other tests unless they have the IQ protocol (the actual score sheet the examiner used) and they may/may not be able to receive that from the neuropsych who just tested me. So we shall see how I perform on this next IQ test (not that it really matters) at the autism study. I'm going to be placed in the Guiness book of world records as the person who has taken the most IQ tests in their life.

As I stated in my last post....i'm definitely one of those people.


Also....the gap between my VCI and POI scores was the widest it's ever been on the most recent WAIS I took two months ago ( 57 points in favor of verbal as always). The discrepancy between my VIQ and PIQ has never been less than 19 points.

As aggravating as it must be to take yet another IQ test after a lifetime accumulation of meandering scores, I can understand why they are doing this. They probably want IQ test standardization amongst all the participants. If they want to use IQ test scores as actual data (and it looks like they do), they have to make sure that all participants have answered the same test questions- something they can't do unless they either have a previous test sheet in front of them or give the test themself. Otherwise the IQ scores become meaningless. You are a case in point- your scores are all over the place and vary from year to year for reasons unknown. If this phenomenon is happening with their other participants too, they won't be able to have any IQ test score baseline unless everybody takes the same test or is seen to have answered the same questions in a previous test.

I did not partake in the poll. I don't think it applies to me. I am an autistic and an engineer.

As I see it, the only real purpose that IQ tests have is to identify discrepancies in intelligence. I don't think there is a way to correctly measure the overall intelligence of anyone. The IQ test involves categories of tests that are designed to assess "areas of intelligence". However, the brain is so complex that these "areas of intelligence" in the brain are actually much more complex than the simple definitions of "verbal", "performance", and everything these two subscales encompass. Plus, as you said, there are so many other things that are missed in a standard IQ test. The varying IQ scores mentioned in this thread seem to demonstrate that lumping certain types of questions into a group designed to evaluate one specific facet of intelligence just does not work, because the brain can use several processes at once in order to solve these problems. Neuroplasticity is also something important to consider.

Regarding Asperger's and giftedness, I've read the section about the distinction between the two in the book called Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, OCD, and the list goes on. There is a section about Asperger's, and a few important points were made. First of all, gifted children would be able to understand prosody, implied meanings, and display empathy when around a certain group of peers or when with adults. A child with Asperger's, however, would not be capable of exhibiting these behaviours in any social environment. Also, the nature of the interests of a child with Asperger's would be different from a gifted child. The book described the interests of the Asperger's child as being more rote than meaning, and very focused in a solitary, detached way. A gifted child, however, could have an interest in, say, Pokemon cards or Dungeons & Dragons, but they would engage in the interest by being active in reciprocal exchanges with other enthusiasts in the field.

I was going to comment on the original topic of this thread: the source for the rise in autism. In The Brain That Changes Itself, the book I'm reading right now, the possible cause for autism is said to be an excessive release of a growth factor called BDNF. This neurotrophic factor differentiates the neurons that contribute to focusing our attention on certain things and to ignore other things. BDNF initiates the learning stage, where certain neurons become enveloped BDNF and thus singled out over other neurons for processing input, and then turns off the learning centre of the brain after that period of effortless learning ends in the early childhood. In people who have the genes contributing to autism, a large amount of BDNF can be released so quickly that it envelops all of the neurons in the brain. Therefore, the brain takes in everything, and becomes very sensitive. As a result, differentiation does not occur in that brain, or occurs to a much lesser extent than in a brain of someone who does not have the autism genes. Additionally, an abnormally high release of BDNF over a short time period leads to a premature termination of the effortless learning stage, resulting in a shortage of things being learned at that stage compared to typically developing peers. Now, the rise in autism here is described as being accounted for by the noisy, busy urban environment that more and more people are living in today. At that learning stage during the childhood, someone with an excess of BDNF released into their brain can, upon hearing a loud noise, have much more neurons in their brain being activated in response to the noise as opposed to someone with normal release of BDNF.

This really makes sense, as regression happens at the beginning of that learning stage. What isn't accounted for, however, is the occurence of autism cases with no sensory sensitivities. Also, I can't draw an explicit connection to the "intense preoccupation with parts of objects" component of autism.

I'm happy to see that this poll is more realistic. On the state your IQ threads generally only people in the above average range ever posted.

Still unrealistically many 140+ IQs, though. I wonder why that is? Do autistic people who use the internet also tend to be good at IQ tests? Maybe using a computer and doing an IQ test use similar skills.

I want to see the results, but I don't know exactly what my overall IQ score is. Nor have I ever cared.