Autism /Aspergers is Everywhere!
According to current medical statistics, Autism Spectrum Disorder is now at 1/32.That is in contrast to the 1/2500 we were taught when I studied psychiatry in the 80’s.. The sceptics say that this is just because we are looking for it more or alternatively because the diagnostic criteria have changed.
Rubbish! In fact according to my observations, the rate of Autism is much, much higher than that! In fact, I would argue that every single child exposed to the equivalent of the American Vaccine mandate schedule has some features of autism!
As an example of the underdiagnosis phenomenon during my practice as a psychiatrist I remember having referred at least two clear-cut cases of autism to specialty clinics to confirm the diagnosis. Both cases were told they didn’t have Autism. In one case the man was superbly rational and knew how to avoid the specific criteria thinking it would be detrimental to his career aspirations. In the other case, of a Muslim man, who oddly fasted Monday and Thursday but didn’t do his salat on any regular basis. Any practicing Muslim could have told them that this was odd indeed. So they also could have confirmed this oddity, amongst others, if they had asked his wife! But they never did.
All of this brings me back to the comments of my highly esteemed psychiatry teacher, Dr.Heinz Lehman, when the DSM catalogues of diagnosis were first being used on a systematic basis .”We are now going to enter a period of ‘cookbook medicine” he stated. And sure enough we can see that all over the medical field.
So , bottom line a whole generation of children, possibly now the beginning of a second generation, is being seriously harmed! When confronted with these oddities, especially amongst young boys , another explanation given is that its due to “the screens”. It’s all because of too much technology, they would say. Oddly enough ,there is some truth to this hypothesis. Actually the vaccine-injury syndrome (mostly as there are other toxins that contribute), and the universal presence of electronics, are synergistically interacting. The more autistic features, the more interested in screens. and the more screen-time the more the children begin to look autistic!
Funnily, the Imam at our mosque has noticed this as well! .Not usually very aware of psychological issues lol,he recently stated in one of his khutbahs: ”How come there are so many cases of autism in our mosque?!”. He noticed but the doctors and pediatricians barely notice. Bring on the bonuses for more vaccines?!
So why are the numbers so underestimated. Now RFKjr. gave a presser recently on the more severe forms of autism, which he claimed were 25% of the group(an overestimate in my view). Many autistic people were very offended because he was saying that this group had no prospects for the future. They would never have careers and families and be independent. These were, in fact, the types we saw hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals when I was studying psychiatry! Now many of them are in group homes or under the care of exhausted overstressed parents. RFKjr. was trying to indicate that Autism was a serious problem and needed to be attended to. And I congratulate him for that effort.
However, the vast majority of Autistic spectrum/Aspergers are much more subtle. And that is why they go unnoticed. In fact there is a tendency to normalize the problem. And we all pay the price for that normalization- by continuing to deny the real cause(causes).”O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive (or to deny in this case)”!
So, what are these subtle signs of Autism. Many of these do NOT figure in the DSM criteria or do so in a very non-specific way. In a more global view, the central defect of the Autistic person is that “they don’t get it”. This is often extremely frustrating to their partners. So if we look at the world of politics, for example and some hugely successful Autism/Aspergers people, we see that Bill Gates did not get what evil was lurking in Jeffrey Epstein. It ended up destroying his marriage. And yes, there were others like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump who didn’t get it either-but for other reasons. Then there is Elon Musk who didn’t get it about Trump until well into his mandate. And then he didn’t get the proper way to leave either. Or how he cannot manage relationships with women whom he was well able to inseminate lol but unable to maintain relationships with.
Soft Signs
Even before the specifics, someone with inner vision can see the autism in the facial expression of the person and in the way his body moves-the gait. Dr. Lehmann claimed he could diagnose schizophrenia just by the gait of the patient as he walked in the office, He didn’t need the DSM criteria! The same is true for Autism.
1-Pickiness in eating. Yes, many children have some of this when they are very young. Much of this diminishes as we grow older. I remember myself as a child, I would only eat meat and potatoes lol.I hated fish and seafood was anathema. As I grew older, most of these preferences diminished and died away. But often I had to work at it. I still remember when pizza first came to Montreal. It was made with strong parmesan cheese as the Italians do. The first two or three times I ate it, I vomited it up. But because everyone around me was enjoying it, I persisted. The same with fish. But the Aspergers personality often maintains these preferences throughout life!
2-Incapable of genuine emotional expression -either love or sadness or anger or enthusiasm.( This feature can be worked on however as we will mention in the later part of the article)
3-Oddities of behaviour. (The DSM does mention that one but the oddities can be subtle) Think of Mark Zuckerberg’s hairdos lol .It’s a giveaway. Or Musk coming on stage with a chain saw! Or people who insist on wearing the same clothes all the time. I once had a brilliant psychoanalytic teacher who only wore a dark-blue blazer and grey pants. When asked about it, he said he wanted to keep the environment stable so he could correctly observe “the transference” lol Is psychoanalysis an Autistic cult then?! Some would argue such!
4-Unwittingly saying the wrong things in public-often things that are offensive to others! We had one of those in our medical school class. When I mentioned the possibility to another of our colleages at our 50th year graduation celebration, he would hear nothing of it. He wanted to continue hating on the man.
5-Having difficulty finding partners-especially for the males. The females do not have the same difficulty as men tend to be lacking in the same social awareness as ladies: ”If she’s sufficiently hot, he’s into it-regardless lol .The women, however, pick up on the oddities and have a negative reaction. They prefer a full-blooded macho braggard to a gentle, subtle soul-despite all their protestations!
I’m sure there is a lot more to this part of the story but let’s leave it there for now!
The Positive Side:
When I looked back at my friendships over my life history, I realized that most of my long-term friends were in all likelihood Aspergers people?! Why is that?!
Let’s look at the alternatives lol. There are the Personality Disorders- Narcissistic and Psychopathic like Trump. No thanks. Then there are the Obsessional Rationnalist Organizer types .They are the ones I find most annoying lolAnd then there are the “hale and hearty” athletes and party-goers. How boring and tiresome.! So Aspies may in fact be one of the better options. They can be….
1_ Intelligent -a la Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
2- They are often enough spiritually open-unlike the Rationnalists -my favourite group to hate on- especially since they have so much credibility in this messed up society!
3- Not aggressive as opposed to the Narcissists and psychopaths. They rarely bear grudges and can easily move on after argumentation despite their inherent stubbornness.
Treatment
Autism and Aspergers are notoriously hard to treat! I think that this is because our current paradigms are inappropriate. In children the ABB treatment is more like dog-training then pediatric therapy. And in adults neither psychoanalysis nor CBT has much to offer. So what can we do?!
I would propose a regimen of humanisation which would include the following
1-Staying away from “screens” and IT as much as possible. Unfortunately many of the most talented people in this area including A.I. have autistic features. For those who earn their living in this way, the therapy will have to take place outside of work hours lol .Alternatively if it is possible for these people to earn their living in more concrete ways like the trades or the heath professions or in services it would probably be more healthy for them to do so!
2-Engage in Relationships. This, of course , will be difficult-especially for the partners lol.
3-Spend time in nature or with animals. Anything that is ”organic” is likely to be helpful. Anything unreal and synthetic like videogames and board games and card games is likely to be harmful,
4-Identify emotions. Anyone spending time with an Aspergers person will begin to see glimmers of emotion-which the autistic person is likely to be unaware of. ”I saw some irritation in your face” you may say. Or “you seemed to really like that idea”(after seeing a hint of a smile).The Aspie will deny it, of course. But don’t be discouraged. Ultimately you will have some impact! Nothing like persistence! Especially if it doesn’t cross the line into harassment. You can also model for the “normal “emotions-like enthusiasm and sadness and even anger if it is not directed at them personally.
All of this is a beginning. As say the French: ”Ce n’est qu’un debut. Continuons le combat” (This is but a beginning. Continue the battle)
Salaaams, Sufi Ibrahim