why is it that guys r more likely 2 have a bigger AS?

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Callista
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02 Dec 2008, 12:03 pm

One of two things:

"Stronger AS traits"
or
"More likely to be diagnosed"

I think it may be that autism is weakly sex-linked or there is something about being female that compensates for it; but I also think that our culture and the way it perceives people makes it less likely that a female Aspie will be diagnosed with AS and not, say, with some more stereotypically female thing like depression, borderline PD, anxiety disorders, social anxiety or avoidant PD, etc.

While the real ratio may favor males, IMO it does not favor them nearly as much as is currently thought. I doubt it is more than 1.5:1.


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sbcmetroguy
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02 Dec 2008, 1:05 pm

protest_the_hero wrote:
You're 28? Really? LOL!


Only when I have to be... :lol:



lexis
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02 Dec 2008, 3:04 pm

Most of the people with ASDs I've met/know are female. 0_0

The ratio surprised me first time I heard it.



MR_BOGAN
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02 Dec 2008, 5:35 pm

My theory is that AS is caused by having a faulty part of the brain which is the Corpus callosum. This part connects the two hemispheres together.

I was reading about Testosterone and females have proportionally bigger Corpus callosum than males so their brains can handle AS better.

Quote:
There are some differences in a male and female brain (the result of different testosterone levels). A clear difference is the size: the male human brain is, on average, larger; however, in females (who generally do not have as high testosterone levels) the corpus callosum is proportionally larger. This means that the effect of testosterone is a greater overall brain volume, but a decreased connection between the hemispheres.[8]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone



protest_the_hero
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02 Dec 2008, 8:23 pm

MR_BOGAN wrote:
My theory is that AS is caused by having a faulty part of the brain which is the Corpus callosum. This part connects the two hemispheres together.

I was reading about Testosterone and females have proportionally bigger Corpus callosum than males so their brains can handle AS better.

Quote:
There are some differences in a male and female brain (the result of different testosterone levels). A clear difference is the size: the male human brain is, on average, larger; however, in females (who generally do not have as high testosterone levels) the corpus callosum is proportionally larger. This means that the effect of testosterone is a greater overall brain volume, but a decreased connection between the hemispheres.[8]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone
You think that causes AS? That causes obsessions, special talents (often math skills or photographic memories) and all the other things. Though it makes sense on some levels.



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02 Dec 2008, 10:29 pm

MR_BOGAN wrote:
My theory is that AS is caused by having a faulty part of the brain which is the Corpus callosum. This part connects the two hemispheres together.

I was reading about Testosterone and females have proportionally bigger Corpus callosum than males so their brains can handle AS better.

Quote:
There are some differences in a male and female brain (the result of different testosterone levels). A clear difference is the size: the male human brain is, on average, larger; however, in females (who generally do not have as high testosterone levels) the corpus callosum is proportionally larger. This means that the effect of testosterone is a greater overall brain volume, but a decreased connection between the hemispheres.[8]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone


But severing the corpus callosum doesn't cause AS. So this seems unlikely.



Danielismyname
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03 Dec 2008, 12:43 am

An 18 to 1 male to female ratio has been reported for Asperger's (this seems to be the upper-limit); 15 to 1 seems to be an acceptable figure for many professionals. It should follow the usual 4/5 to 1 as in Autistic Disorder, as that is rarely misdiagnosed, but with Asperger's, this seems to be the lower-limit.



Shadow50
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03 Dec 2008, 1:42 am

My totally unscientific concept is that AS brain wiring is closer to female than to male, therefore less noticeable and less often diagnosed in females. Of the Aspies I know personally, about half are of each gender.

I often feel that I have a lesbian brain in a male body.


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03 Dec 2008, 1:51 am

MR_BOGAN wrote:
My theory is that AS is caused by having a faulty part of the brain which is the Corpus callosum. This part connects the two hemispheres together.

I was reading about Testosterone and females have proportionally bigger Corpus callosum than males so their brains can handle AS better.

Quote:
There are some differences in a male and female brain (the result of different testosterone levels). A clear difference is the size: the male human brain is, on average, larger; however, in females (who generally do not have as high testosterone levels) the corpus callosum is proportionally larger. This means that the effect of testosterone is a greater overall brain volume, but a decreased connection between the hemispheres.[8]



All the corpus callosum does is let the two hemispheres of the brain communicate with one another. And before you say "ah HAH! Knew it!", the effect isn't that noticeable. You can severe a person's CC and they would function perfectly fine and normal until you stress test their contralateral processing abilities (for example, looking at something with one eye and using the hand on the opposite side of the body to trace it). Beyond that the thing does nothing. Before neuroscientists figured out what it did (which wasn't very long ago really since the effects of a lesioned CC are so subtle) a common psychology/neuroscience joke was to say that the only point for the corpus callosum's existence was to keep the brain from sagging.

And as someone already pointed out if you sever a person's CC they don't develop autism, which pretty much disproves your hypothesis.

If I had to take a wild guess as to which part of the brain is at fault for AS, I'd put my money on the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the posterior pituitary gland, and the paraventricular nucleus. But I'm not a betting man.



Shiggily
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03 Dec 2008, 1:53 am

People have different expectations of women and women that present with Asperger-like traits are just considered introverted or tomboys



CockneyRebel
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03 Dec 2008, 7:57 am

I think that the OP should go out for tea with Jenny McCarthy. I think that the two of them would hit it off.


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Fo-Rum
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04 Dec 2008, 6:09 am

- Controversy alert!! ! -

Mercury is more toxic in males than it is in females. This is of course in relation to the whole mercury triggering autism, which CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding had admitted that vaccines (although wasn't with what vaccines) CAN trigger autism in a vulnerable subset of children. See the video of it yourself: Youtube - CDC Chief Admits that Vaccines Trigger Autism

Quoted from: Mercury on the Mind

Quote:
males are more vulnerable to a given dose of mercury because testosterone enhances its neurotoxicity.


Assuming mercury can be a trigger for autism, this would be a reasonable explanation as to why more males than females are diagnosed with a PDD.

Sure, mercury has been removed from a lot of shots, but it hasn't been removed from all, such as the flu shot. On top of that, the shots containing mercury were NEVER recalled to begin with. Let's not forget that some shots such as the flu shot contains more than just mercury, it also contains: aluminum, formaldehyde, Triton X-100 (a detergent), ethylene glycol (antifreeze). You can read more about nasty flu shots here: Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D Instead

Interesting stuff I say!



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04 Dec 2008, 7:21 am

What controversy? There aren't any studies that show any relation between thimerosol and ASD's. If there was, why are ASD's supposedly increasing when they've been removed in most vaccines? Oh, wait, the goalposts were moved--it's the aluminum. And I wouldn't be as concerned about formaldehyde-our bodies naturally make it--we already have it in our bodies.

If that were true, how come we have all of these older adults being diagnosed with ASD's? The ones who didn't have vaccines? Me for example. My dad and my uncles (all in their 70's).

And that youtube video was so deceptively edited and implied connections where there weren't any, it's not any indicator of anything except the editor's lack of education.



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04 Dec 2008, 7:58 am

Rjaye wrote:
What controversy? There aren't any studies that show any relation between thimerosol and ASD's. If there was, why are ASD's supposedly increasing when they've been removed in most vaccines? Oh, wait, the goalposts were moved--it's the aluminum. And I wouldn't be as concerned about formaldehyde-our bodies naturally make it--we already have it in our bodies.

If that were true, how come we have all of these older adults being diagnosed with ASD's? The ones who didn't have vaccines? Me for example. My dad and my uncles (all in their 70's).

And that youtube video was so deceptively edited and implied connections where there weren't any, it's not any indicator of anything except the editor's lack of education.


I can't find anything that says our bodies naturally make formaldehyde.

There has been plenty of research, but of course nothing important will come up on the news. A lot of money can be lost. You think the government cares about you? It is in their best interest to DISPROVE a link, not prove one. The more people who are willing to do whatever it the government/media suggests you do, the more money they're going to make. There are plenty of cases against them if a link was proven. On top of that, there would be a lot more to come afterwards, and of course then people would be less willing to buy into getting shots (more money lost). They claim these vaccines are so effective, yet the mortality rate on these diseases dropped more than 96% in the early 1900s, before the vaccines were introduced. Not saying they're bad, but some aren't needed (and mess with the immune system), and they shouldn't be pumped into children under two. Did you know the recommended schedule is THIRTY SHOTS before the age of two? And they've never thoroughly tested the safety of it even.

Before saying "fake", about that video, why don't you do your own research?

Now, I'm all for other causes, and not just mercury, however with the amount of substantial comparisons there are to support such a case, and considering the position the government is in, I'm not just going to discredit it either. You shouldn't let governments and the media pull blinds over your eyes: you need to do your own research, not listen to them. Not listen to society (most people are sheep, NTs are naive as well), and not even to me!

You get more truth from your own hard work than you do from any thing else. It is very likely that the less work you do, the less truth you possess. Experience alone isn't always enough either, but it sure helps a lot!

Okay, so I rambled off a bit, so to stick to my previous point: ASSUMING mercury is a trigger (note I don't state fact, because it's not "proven"), then the increased toxicity due to testosterone is a perfectly fine explanation as to why more males than females are diagnosed with a PDD.