Why does autism exist

Many people with autism have exceptional memory skills, heightened perception in realms of vision, taste and smell and in some contexts, an enhanced understanding of natural systems such as animal behaviour.

And the incorporation of some of these skills into a community would have played a vital role in the development of specialists. It is very likely these specialists would then have become vitally important for the survival of the group. One anthropological study of reindeer herders said:. The extraordinary old grandfather had a detailed knowledge of the parentage, medical history and moods of each one of the 2, animals in the herd. He was more comfortable in the company of reindeer than of humans, and always pitched his tent some way from everyone else and cooked for himself.

His son worked in the herd and had been joined for the summer by his own teenage sons, Zhenya and young Sergei. Further evidence can be found in traits shared between some cave art and talented autistic artists — such as those paintings found in the Chauvet Cave, in southern France.

This contains some of the best preserved figurative cave paintings in the world. The paintings show exceptional realism, remarkable memory skills, strong attention to detail, along with a focus on parts rather than wholes.

But unfortunately despite the potential evidence, archaeology and narratives about human origins have been slow to catch up. Diversity has never been a part of our reconstructions of human origins. Among other things, this involves determining how severely individual subjects are affected and whether they can be grouped into groups with similar characteristics.

For severe cases, that can also lead to more targeted therapies. Genetic causes are a prime candidate for this. But environmental factors that act very early, for example infections during pregnancy, for example, in utero, can also play a role in the development of autism.

Ehrenreich said that autistic traits are a part of the normal human behavioral repertoire, and only in extreme cases do they result in a disorder. Walking through the hallways of the Max Planck Institute, for example, she repeatedly encounters people who stare fixedly at the floor, completely absorbed in their own data world and in no way eager to communicate. As a scientist, it's great when they're not partying but working intensively on their research.

The physicist and maths genius was thought to have Asperger's Syndrome, a type of autism. People with Asperger's often focus obsessively on a complex topic and have trouble with social relationships. According to the BBC, Einstein was a loner as a child and repeated sentences obsessively. He was also very well versed in a highly complex topic - Einstein famously developed the theory of relativity. The wunderkind's gifts to learn instruments incredibly quickly, compose music by the age of five and hear melodies while writing them have some experts believe Mozart was autistic.

Supporters of this theory also point to Mozart's oversensitive hearing and his need to constantly move his hands and feet. Other researchers, however, say there isn't sufficient evidence for this theory. She only started speaking at age four, but went on to become a sought-after expert for humane livestock handling: Temple Grandin uses her detailed visual memory and her own hypersensitivity to noise to better understand cattle and other animals. This has allowed her to develop thoughtful and humane animal-handling equipment.

Grandin has also given many lectures about living with autism. The Canadian actor famous for his starring roles in movies like "The Blues Brothers" revealed in that he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in the s. Aykroyd credited his Asperger's with being responsible for "Ghostbusters," his biggest hit: "One of my symptoms included my obsession with ghosts and law enforcement," he told the Daily Mail.

You may never have heard the name Kim Peek, but you're likely to know the movie he inspired: "Rain Man. Peek, who died in , was a so-called savant. He could recall the contents of more than 12, books. A soup can repeated over and over again on a canvas - one of Warhol's most famous paintings could be a sign that the artist was autistic.

She pointed to his reluctance to speak too many words and his obsession with the uniformity of consumer goods as further clues. Jim Parsons plays physicist Dr. It's never stated that Sheldon is on the autism spectrum, but Parsons said he believed Sheldon has Asperger's, and many fans agree. Sheldon is a genius in his field, but doesn't understand sarcasm.

He has a strict weekly dining plan and can only sit in one specific spot on his couch. The brain is the most complex machine. It's misunderstood, does go wrong.

Marco Magrini has written a "user's manual. Hans Asperger, the Austrian doctor after whom Asperger syndrome is named, collaborated on a Nazi program that involved the killing of disabled children, new research has found.

On Autism Acceptance Day, many employers are becoming increasingly aware of the positives of autistic employees. Not all autistic people have extraordinary mathematical abilities, but other skills come in handy. Visit the new DW website Take a look at the beta version of dw. Go to the new dw. What causes autism?

Autism is strongly genetic Families with one child with autism have an increased risk of having another child with autism when compared with the general population. The risk of having another affected child is estimated to be around 1 in 5. Family members of a person with autism also tend to have higher rates of autistic traits.

With fraternal dizygotic twins, who have a different genetic makeup to each other, the risk is much less. Older parents may be a factor There is growing evidence that older fathers and mothers over 45 years are at increased risk of having a child with autism. Pregnancy and birth Pregnancy and, to a lesser extent, early infancy appear to be crucial periods when brain development may be affected. Conversely, taking prenatal vitamins seems to decrease the risk.

Environmental causes In the past decade there has been increased research into the aspects of our environment that may also contribute to autism. Bad parenting There was a bleak period in history from the s to s when autism was believed to be a psychological disorder, and blamed on cold, uncaring parents, usually the mothers.

Vaccines Scores of scientific studies have effectively ruled out vaccines as a cause of autism. Concerns originally arose around two issues of Mercury and the MMR Vaccine Measles, mumps Rubella In , a meta-analysis, combining the result of 10 studies and over 1. Helpful resources The Complete Autism Handbook.