Two types of autism?

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I was reading about the heritability of autism today on wikipedia, and it seems some cases are caused by spontaneous mutations. But autistic traits also seem to run in families. Given that other things can present in similar ways and yet have different causes, it's not impossible that there are two types of autism, one caused by single spontaneous mutations and others by multi-gene interactions.

Thoughts?

Wouldn't these basically be the same thing? Whether the DNA is directly inherited from parents or caused by a mutation, it's still genetically caused, and presumably the same thing coming from that DNA.

No, because the genes involved would be different. Same symptoms, different causes. Some people could have autistic traits because they've inherited a particular combination of genes, whilst others have them because of a single mutation throwing normal development off track. Sort of how people with a very low IQ can have one because they have a developmental disability, but also because they simply fall on the far left side of the normal bell curve.

Or to put it another way, you can lack a leg because you were born without it, and you can lack it because it had to be amputated. Same situation, but the causes are completely different.

Or, perhaps the best analogy I have, pale skin in humans. Both East Asians and Europeans have pale skin, but it's the result of two different mutations in the founding populations.

A quick search turned up this - [url]https://www.livescience.com/15973-autism-types-cancer.html/url] and [url]https://spectrumnews.org/news/postmortem-study-hints-at-two-types-of-autism/[/url]

East Asians don't have pale skin.

There is a theory floating around which states there are "many" autisms.

There are certainly many causes of autism.

That would certainly increase the "incidence" of autism. We would have an epidemic on our hands

I think there are many presentations of autism. At least five I can identify. What you will read below will sound somewhat like DSM-IV. Reason being that DSM-IV, in my mind, helped at least a little bit to describe the different presentations. I believe all five of these types are autism, that's not my debate. It's what presentation you have that will guide your treatment that matters.

1. Kanner/classic autism. Often aloof ,but not always, people with classic autism have severe impairments in social interaction, communication, language, and adaptive skills. They also engage in stereotyped behaviors, repetitive routines, and may be language impaired or completely nonverbal. Not all people with classic autism have speech or language delays, which is a common misconception. There must be impairment in social interaction, social communication or imaginitative play begore three years for this form of autism to be diagnosed. Can be high functioning (i.e. IQ over 70 is the usual cutoff, sometimes it's 75).

2. Asperger Syndrome: a form of high functioning, non-classic autism (must have IQ above 70 but may still have learning disabilities)(cannot have impaired adaptive skills other than in social interaction)(no lack of interest in the environment).

3. PDD-NOS/atypical or subthreshold for Kanner/Asperger autism, also used as a high functioning diagnosis, especially if the clinician feels there is not enough adaptive dysfunction.

4. Regressive autism/the individual was previously typically developing. Then around 1-2 years old start losing skills such as eye contact, babbling, vocabulary, interest in people, starts engaging in repetitive behaviors and routines. Some people are able to make improvements and others remain severely disabled for the rest of their life with no real improvement in their skills.

5. Complex autism/any form of autism can have complex autism. Complex autism frequently involves and combination of epilepsy, severe SIB [self-injurious behavior], co-occurring mental health issues, severe, frequent meltdowns, gastrointestinal disorders, being nonverbal, noncompliance, failure to understand or respond to direction, and so much more

This list is not exhaustive but it's based on clinical presentation rather than specific symptoms. Autism is a qualitative diagnosis based on clinical presentation

I think there are many presentations of autism. At least five I can identify. What you will read below will sound somewhat like DSM-IV. Reason being that DSM-IV, in my mind, helped at least a little bit to describe the different presentations. I believe all five of these types are autism, that's not my debate. It's what presentation you have that will guide your treatment that matters.

Also to be clear: Low functioning and high functioning are just about IQ scores. For example, you could have high functioning severe autism or you could have low functioning mild autism. These days people go off adaptive behavior more than IQ scores.

1. Kanner/classic autism. Often aloof ,but not always, people with classic autism have severe impairments in social interaction, communication, language, and adaptive skills. They also engage in stereotyped behaviors, repetitive routines, and may be language impaired or completely nonverbal. Not all people with classic autism have speech or language delays, which is a common misconception. There must be impairment in social interaction, social communication or imaginitative play begore three years for this form of autism to be diagnosed. Can be high functioning (i.e. IQ over 70 is the usual cutoff, sometimes it's 75). Sensory problems are common. Motor skills impairment is common.

2. Asperger Syndrome: a form of high functioning, non-classic autism (must have IQ above 70 but may still have learning disabilities). Impairments in social communication and usually has one specific obsessive interest. (cannot have impaired adaptive skills other than in social interaction) may have impaired motor skills (cannot have no lack of interest in the environment)(No clinically significant language or speech delay.) Sensory problems are common.

3. PDD-NOS/atypical or subthreshold for Kanner/Asperger autism, also used as a high functioning diagnosis, especially if the clinician feels there is not enough adaptive dysfunction.

4. Regressive autism/the individual was previously typically developing. Then around 1-2 years old start losing skills such as eye contact, babbling, vocabulary, interest in people, starts engaging in repetitive behaviors and routines. Some people are able to make improvements and others remain severely disabled for the rest of their life with no real improvement in their skills.

5. Complex autism/any form of autism can have complex autism. Complex autism frequently involves and combination of epilepsy, severe SIB [self-injurious behavior], co-occurring mental health issues, severe, frequent meltdowns, gastrointestinal disorders, being nonverbal, noncompliance, failure to understand or respond to direction, and so much more. Severe complex autism with epilepsy and/or SIB is associated with poor outcomes. But never give up on them.

This list is not exhaustive but it's based on clinical presentation rather than specific symptoms. Autism is a qualitative diagnosis based on clinical presentation

As far as the direct cause of Autism I'm sure it's got something to do with gene mutation but as far as what causes THAT it's quite unclear. Some would say exposure to radiation or cancer causing agents which don't form cancer but instead simply cause healthy cells to mal-form or mutate. Genetics is something I know very little about.

But in my day there were only 3 types of Autism: Classic/Non-Verbal, Asperger's Syndrome and Savants. Now all that DSM crap has muddied the Autistic waters they've done nothing except confuse everyone. Now there's even LESS acceptance and understanding of our kind than there ever was because the lines of definiton keep changing.

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*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.