The Amish Don't get Autism?

[asnlifecoach]

I'm not convinced, I think many factors could play a role here...what are everyone's thoughts?

 

[Ste11aeres]

from what i understood, it's a myth. They do get autism. Myth: "Amish Don't Have Autism"

Anecdotal Amish-don?t-vaccinate claims disproved by fact-based study The Panic Virus

Autism and the Amish

Let me also add that this myth is part of the vaccines-are-evil movement. In most of history i believe about 50% of children have died before age five. In our society, almost all born children live to adulthood. We have three things to thank for that: good water, abundant food, and vaccines.

 

[Loomis]

I wonder if aspieness might make a person more likely to fit into an Amish society. Aspies tend to be non-aggressive and conform to rules readily. They prefer highly structured, predictable lifestyles and in my experience are hard working and diligent. So maybe aspies exist in Amish society but do not stick out. Also, I suspect if a person does everything they are told to do in Amish culture they would be accepted for who they are and any peculiarities they exhibit would be overlooked.

This study describes Amish requirements and look to me as if they create a nice hiding place for an aspie:

"The notion of being 'different' is continuously stressed to the young Amishman by a process of gradual indoctrination. Induced anxieties, along with other factors of the Amish socialization process, motivate almost all of the youth in the direction of the culture?s values and social goals. A youth learns early in life that there is both an ?Amish? and an ?outsider? method of obtaining need satisfaction. He learns that deviant behavior will result in a painful clash with his conscience and with his peers and adults...."

"...Among the Amish humility and conformity are considered virtues, and pride is a cardinal sin. Any Amishman who departs in any degree from the established mode of dress, arrangement of hair, style of buggy, or any other traditional custom or practice runs head-on into powerful censorship. Behavior is consistent in all aspects and must remain so."

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/stor...8D98E1D7B280E7.d01t02?v=1&t=hikxbrow&9dbc0dc0

 

[Cyanide Lollipop]

I so love irony. The name of that blog is a classic. Anti-vaxxers are mindless followers of quacks. In my experience sheep are smarter. They can identify a weak dog in only a few seconds and decide to ignore it.

 

[Sparticus]

Stand up Aspie comedian:

"I'd think just dressing up as Amish...you'd have to be Aspie! Ok, please...stop clapping...no more applause...that's enough now..."

I drove thru Lancaster Pa once. Discretly took a few photos, greeted a few Amish who were walking by...

 

[asnlifecoach]

It really isn't based on enough evidence.

 

[AidenEmsMom]

Your Aspie score: 140 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 80 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Do you mind if I ask where you got those scores? My son is showing serious signs of aspergers and is being evaluated and it has me thinking......I think I'm aspie too! He must have gotten it somewhere lol I'd like to take whichever quiz/test you did

 

[AutismNewsBeat]

That's an excellent point, Loomis. Autism, like most psychiatric diagnoses, is a cultural construct. A child perceived as peculiar in some cultures would be readily accepted in a patriarchal, ag-centered, spiritually oriented Amish or Mennonite communiy. That's one reason the Amish myth persists - fewer children are diagnosed with autism in Amish country, because fewer parents feel a need to seek services for their autistic children.

And many Amish communities vaccinate in numbers close to what is found in the general population. Contrary to urban myth, there is no anabaptist proscription against vaccines. That said, there are small Amish communities that shun vaccines, but they are the exception. Vaccination is common in the largest Amish and Mennonite population in the US, Lancaster County, PA.

 

[IContainMultitudes]

Hi, I just wanted to give everyone here a friendly reminder not to post links to anti-vaccine stuff, even if you're arguing against it. I explain the reasons for this policy in more detail here:

http://www.aspiescentral.com/asperg...ctrum-disorder-connection-controversy-ac.html

 

[Cyanide Lollipop]

Your Aspie score: 140 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 80 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Do you mind if I ask where you got those scores? My son is showing serious signs of aspergers and is being evaluated and it has me thinking......I think I'm aspie too! He must have gotten it somewhere lol I'd like to take whichever quiz/test you did

rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

 

[asnlifecoach]

Hi, I just wanted to give everyone here a friendly reminder not to post links to anti-vaccine stuff, even if you're arguing against it. I explain the reasons for this policy in more detail here:

http://www.aspiescentral.com/asperg...ctrum-disorder-connection-controversy-ac.html

Sorry, I didn't realize. I was more curious about the Amish lifestyle really. No electronics, chores and hard work required for survival instead of the down time we have in our society on our computers and other electronics.

 

[King_Oni]

I think Loomis adresses something significant here with it being a cultural construct. More and more I think that, while autism (in any variety) is a thing, society kinda gets what it asked for. Looking at myself, there's just some thing that work for me, but don't really work in terms of "fitting in" with others. And I think this goes for a lot of us here on the board. And the more time progresses, the more I feel I stumble upon stuff.

So... that leaves us with the Amish. Perhaps it's that their lifestyle caters more to their needs in that sense. Or at least the way they live, there's more of a community feel alongside religious indoctrination (it sounds way worse than it is, but let's face it, they do are, pretty religious) that makes it pretty tight community.

I also feel that they're, like Loomis said, more looking at the qualities someone has and putting that to use, rather than focussing on any "weird" individual traits.

Add in there's a, from what I've read, pretty strict structure of what Amish people do... it, as a lifestyle looks like a blueprint some people with autism might fit in perfectly.

But I'm back to watching Breaking Amish (talking about coincidence, lol)