Give me a break

[Colin_and_Shelagh]

'I resent the assumption that autism is simply a disability. In fact, I believe that it may be an incredibly important asset for humanity.'

 

The Times

[DaisyProudfoot]

Good Link. Just had a read and I think he's absolutely right about autism not being a disability - more of a gift I'd say. And I must admit, I'm not AS but a table is not a worktop and I would have puzzled over that one too!

 

Daisy

[oracle]

I agree and I disagree. It's a gift for those who feel that it is. But believe me there are many adult who do not feel that their AS is a gift and we muct not ofrget that.

 

I am probably one of the most pro ASD parents you will ever find. I do not sell ASD as a negative. I teach my kids that it is a positive, but my eldest now 18 does not agree with me on this one He does see his AS as a disability because it makes his life difficult and he does not enjoy that.

 

As with everything I think there needs to be a balance. There is more than one school of thought about this and from the people who really count - those with AS. As a mum I have my own views but I can not discount those of my son nor tell him that he is wrong to feel the way that he does.

 

Carole

[DaisyProudfoot]

Hi Carole,

 

My AS son is only nine so he hasn't had to deal with the teenage and adult world yet. He's kind of closeted in a small village primary school too so everyone accepts him as he is. But I think that's the problem - it's the society we live in and the way everyone has to fit a certain social context before they're considered "normal" which irritates me. That's why I like to read the views from some of the AS adults on the site it really helps me with my own son and he's happier because I understand him more.

 

Daisy

[Lucas]

No one ever doubted that Autistics face specific difficulties that they would not have if they were not Autistic.

 

But where is the evidence that these difficulties stem from being Autistic? Just because it keeps being repeated doesn't make it any more true without the evidence to support it, but there is frankly none.

[oracle]

I am sorry Lucas I admire you greatly and love to read all of your posts but I can not agree with you about this. I can clearly see that my eldests problems are caused by his autism. I say this because of the social and communication difficulties that are there as a direct result of his autism. His literal thinking and way of understanding the spoken word cause him no end of problems. Also his sensory issues, which I know are not part of the triad, but sensory issues do effect many people on the spectrum.

 

As I have said I am a positive person about ASD but I can't make my son see it like I do and so I can not tell him to view it as he does.

 

Carole

[BuntyB]

I do believe that you have to think positive and focus on the good things, not the negative. However, although I can see I have some compensation for the way that I feel, I cannot describe autism as a gift.

 

I have suffered years of bullying, self-harm and depression. I have been vulnerable in relationships and have been through two divorces. All of this has been extremely painful emotionally, not to mension the physical pain I feel from touch.

 

I think that discovering why I feel the way I do and understanding myself has been a blessing. I can now accept myself, and society largely accepts me, but only because I have learnt to act like everyone else.

 

It would be nice if those with ASD were accepted as being 'normal' just different. I tell my son this. He is left handed, most people are right handed. To cut things out effectively, he needs left handed scissors. This is okay. To learn effectively with ASD, they need to be understood and taught differently. They aslo need to know it is okay to be like this. However, I still would prefer not to have ASD and I wish my children didn't have to go through what I did.

[Lucas]

Ok, you keep asserting that Autism is the cause of such and such, but you haven't done anything to explain how.

 

I want someone to explain just how Autism is the cause.

 

I DO NOT WANT PEOPLE REPEATING THE SAME NONSENSE TO ME FOREVER!

[KarenT]

I've tried my best and can't accept that autism is a gift. Just one look at the misery and distress my son experiences every time he has a tantrum convinces me that this is not a positive thing. Sure, he'd be a different person without autism but I also think he'd be a happier one. It's a matter of personal opinion as to which would be preferable.

 

I have no doubt that his tantrums are part of his condition, he didn't have them as a baby or toddler and they have only appeared in the past few months when his condition has deteriorated generally. I'm happy to say that we're going through a very good patch right now, but I cannot for the life of me say that his condition is an asset.

 

Karen

x

[DaisyProudfoot]

Oh Dear, I'm sorry folks I think I used the wrong word didn't I, (I'm very good at using wrong words!) the word "gift" probably isn't correct but I love my son to bits and I don't want him to struggle through life. If he regards his AS as a gift it will make him feel better about himself I hope. He has already asked me if when he grows up will he be "normal", I tell him he is already "normal" he just sees the world differently and that is his gift.

 

But yes Karen, I'm with you on the misery of meltdowns, they are heartbreaking especially when you can't get through to them and the doors are coming off the hinges

but I don't want my son to consider himself to have a problem I want him to grow up with confidence, to love himself for who he is.

 

Yes, of course he will struggle at times. I have to struggle with pain every time I have to put my arthritic feet down on the floor every morning, when I climb the stairs, when try to turn on a normal tap or when I have to hold on to my violent son to stop him hurting himself or others during a meltdown. I considered a long time ago that my arthritis is not a disability (although it is a HUGE inconvenience) so why should my son's AS hold him back from leading a "normal" life.

 

Oops, that became a rant - I do understand that many AS adults have had awful childhoods and continue to meet challenges on a daily basis. I apologise if I seemed a bit flippant

 

Daisy

[Lucas]

Yes we all now know that personal opinions matter more than the facts and science when it comes to Autism, which is why we have the foaming at the mouth lobby coming out of America trying to steal my rights because they think it will do their own children good.

 

They call us 'persons with Autism' instead of Autistics for a reason. They want to stigmatise a bogeyman but they don't want to stigmatise their own children.

 

Will you people start calling us 'persons with Autism' too when you can't accept any other explaination other than to blame Autism?

[oracle]

Daisy I am very positive in my attitude towards both of my sons. However as David has got older he has formulated his own opinion of his AS, and no matter how I try the 'hard sell' of how wonderful it is at 18 for him it's not. He has told me on more that one ocassion that he was well have autism but he does have a mind of his own and is therefore quite able to make his own mind up about things.

 

As this is what I have strove for then not only do I have to accept his opinion then I also have to be pleased that he can do this. Hope that this makes sense.

 

When David was a child I found it difficult to imagine him as an adult and what that would mean. As an Adult he certainly does have a mind of his own and uses it.

That to me is goo news

 

Carole

[oracle]

I want someone to explain just how Autism is the cause.

 

Lucas - The only explination that I can give will probably not be acceptable to you. I do not have your ability to write things down so that others can understand Sorry.

 

Although I hate the word Triad, I can only say that it is the three things that make up that Triad that give David so many problems. He is often unable to communicate effectively. He is most certainly socially disabled and although I think that he has a great imagination, he does have rigid and fixed thoughts, which he admits to himself. All of these things impact on the quality of his life and make everyday things difficult for him. They cause him distress and anxiety and I can see already that similar things cause the same problems in Matthew. So how can it not be their autism that is casuing them both so much distress?

 

This is the only explination I can give.

 

Carole

[DaisyProudfoot]

Lucas,

 

If you are still reading this thread have a look at an interview on Tony Attwood's site which he had with Temple Grandin. It actually took place in 1999 and seems to be linked to the publication of her autobiography but it's quite interesting as she obviously speaks from an Autistic point of view.

 

It's in the publications and papers bit. I tried to do a link but there's too much other info there so you're probably quicker doing a search on his site.

 

Daisy

Edited September 13, 2005 by DaisyProudfoot

[Lucas]

I have read the interview before and read plenty of other of Grandin's work which has come under fire, yet somehow the bigwigs in Autism seem impervious to any notion that they may be wrong.

 

Her reference of Lovaas' research: if she had actually bothered to read it herself, she will find that Lovaas ignored all examples of Autistic learning on the pretense that it just didn't exist. Hers is the assumption that what comes naturally to Autistics is maladaptive.

 

Grandin's most vocal critics are those who can be described as far lower functioning than her. Grandin believe some Autistics have the right to be Autistic, but not others after all.

[Lucas]

Carole,

 

The triad of impairments is a FAR from perfect model to define Autism. You're are not effectively describing Autism at all when you invoke it, but a bogeyman based on prejudices about disability which have been widely purged from the public conscious by real science, yet the science on Autism has been ignored.

 

The UK has far better equality for Autistics primarily because parents do not blame the Autistic bogeyman. If a child has bowel problems and the doctor says "This is common in Autism" the great British BS detector says "No it isn't!".

 

You've been presented a list of problems that have been called Autism, you haven't questioned this at all, so don't think you or your son will ever be able to solve them when you can't recognise what their root cause is.

[bid]

Hi Lucas

 

I appreciate that the Triad is probably a crude diagnositic criteria...

 

How would you 'define' or 'describe' Autism?

 

Bid

[call me jaded]

The UK has far better equality for Autistics primarily because parents do not blame the Autistic bogeyman. If a child has bowel problems and the doctor says "This is common in Autism" the great British BS detector says "No it isn't!".

 

From my own perspective, it was learning that bowel problems are common in autism that led me to finding out what to do about it. The doctors I consulted were as much use as a chocolate teapot, though.

[oracle]

Even Dr Stephen Ladyman (ex Chair of the APPGA) was fighting to have it recognised that some complaints - like bowel problems - go hand in glove with ASD. He was doing this so that parents could get the 'help' that they needed for their kids. And would not be fobbed off as OTT parents.

 

If you have ever listen to Paul Shattock, and I have now on several ocassions - then biochemically our children are different and react differently to so many things. Including antibiotics which I know from first hand experience. Also when David was hit by a car he was given massive doses of Morphine which did not touch his pain. Paul explained to me that that was because our children make their own natural morphine and so they already have it racing around their bodies. Giving David morphine for his injuries did diddly squat to east his pain.

 

Carole

[Lucas]

Yes, those pushing the idea that Autism and bowel problems go hand in hand love to ignore the evidence available saying it doesn't which dwarfs the evidence saying it does.

 

What the curbie lobby does is equate Autism with treatable conditions such as bowel problems and mercury poisoning and then declare the obvious improvement in their children as 'effective Autism treatment'.

 

I'd say Ladyman is as effective now as he was when chairing the APPGA. He could have been honest with the evidence which says that bowel problems have a more profound effect on the Autistic(as virtually everything does), which is why it can be seen by anyone not looking to hard can invent a connection, rather than the distortion that they are related.

[oracle]

He could have been honest with the evidence which says that bowel problems have a more profound effect on the Autistic(as virtually everything does), which is why it can be seen by anyone not looking to hard can invent a connection, rather than the distortion that they are related.

 

I do not think that it is a distortion and to be honest saying that virtually everything has a more profound effect on autistics only makes me believe that Paul Shattock is probably correct in his theory. There is probably a biochemical difference.

 

I believe that their are links between autism and other conditions. For example I believe that there is a link between parents who have thyroid problems, or at least have thyroid problems in their family, and autism. There is a huge amount of us with thyroid conditions and who have children with ASD. Now that is one link I found myself and when I checked it out it happens to be correct.

 

There is also a link between allergies and ASD. I am a walking allergy myself. Again looking into it and there is a link. There is a link between auto immune disease and Autism. Now I am not finding all of these links myself there are many parents and also adults with Autism who have worked it out for themselves.

 

I am not a parent seeking a cure. I do not do any diets and I do not detox my kids, but I do use a good amount of commons sense and try and look at what is staring me in the face realistically.

 

I am no Stephen Ladyman fan myself I believe he let us all down when he became Minister for Community Care. But I do think that he was correct to point out that autism co-exists with many complaints.

 

Now both of my ASD sons have bowel problems and as we know they have also been tied in with the MMR. But only one of mine had the MMR. My third son non ASD has no problems with his bowls at all, although at 26 he will probably be furious that I am talking about his bodily functions on-line

 

Carole

[smallworld]

Can we have a poll ? !!!!

allergies, thyroid probs, bowel probs, IBS, auto-immune disorders, flexi joints, and my particular favourite, pyloric stenosis....

and then compare with the incidence of the above in the general population ?

Apologies if one already exists,

wac

[Lucas]

Bid, the triad is an adequete diagnostic criteria: if you match the standard, then you are proberley Autistic.

 

But the triad is not an accurate definition. The definition of Autism has always been kept seperate from the diagnostic by those interested in maintaining objective accuracy.

 

The diagnostic criteria for Autism is like telling you what a blind person will look like, but not that they can't see. You will learn nothing about Autism from the triad or diagnostic, which is why I despair at the Autism awarness leaflets which invoke it.

 

Your question: how would I define Autism.

 

It's a bit like the question "What is the meaning of life". Look at how Douglas Adams explored it, the question could never give a satisfactory answer because for the question to do that you would have to know the meaning of life to ask the question which leads to it. A paradox.

 

But my simplest explaination of Autism.

 

Autism is entirely sensory, but not in the way you may think I mean. We have five senses plus one, but I'm not talking about the paranormal when I refer to this sixth sense.

 

I can see. I can smell. I can hear. I can feel. I can taste. But one sense is so intimite that it is overlooked, I can hear myself think.

 

When you think, you have to be able to hear your own thoughts to know what you are thinking, so do I. But if we thought the same thought, we would not hear it the same. If we could connect our brains together and hear each others thoughts, your thoughts would sound different to me then they would to you.

 

But does this mean that Autistic people have the same thoughts but just hear them differently? No.

 

Because we develop in this way, the thoughts we make change. They are prompted to change by our sensory input plus our own reflections on our own thoughts that we hear.

 

However, this doesn't quite explain Autism. This explains inherent differences. What I've described above can apply to males and females and their inherent differences. Dyslexics and ADHDers will also be different because of this.

 

What I think makes Autistics stand out is that where as for the others the sensory configuration is different and develops in a typical way, Autistics work like Rubiks Cubes. We are mirrors reflecting the absurd and extreme ways of the world which other people have filters to block out. We will appear to act without rhyme or reason because the world around us reflects that. We have programable switches which make our different facets change.

 

I've said before that Autistics have 3-dimensional minds but other people have 2. What I mean by this is that the world is constantly changing for us and we must constantly determine wether it is the world which is changing or our perception of it. This is best done in a static enviroment, which is why Autistics naturally crave sameness and denying it jeopodises their welfare.

[Lucas]

Carole, some Autistics have a profound sensitivity to pain, so it hurts more when someone punches them.

 

Does that mean there is a connection between Autism and punching?

[oracle]

Carole, some Autistics have a profound sensitivity to pain, so it hurts more when someone punches them.

 

Does that mean there is a connection between Autism and punching?

 

Point taken Lucas

 

As for your post before this one to me WOW brilliant food for thought indeed. I have a very good male friend with ASD who totally agrees with you and wants the criteria for autism re-written. I now understand what he has been trying to tell me for years now.

 

Thank you - I did say that you are so much more able at expressing yourself that I didn't I?

 

Carole

Edited September 13, 2005 by carole

[nightingales]

Lucas,

Thank you! I think quite a few of us may have been misunderstanding your earlier posts on what autism ISN'T (I certainly was).

 

Would you say, then that autism is binary -- you either are or are not -- rather than 'part of a continuous spectrum', as we so often hear?

Lins

[mossgrove]

Lucas

 

I have always enjoyed our disussions,but I am struggling to keep up with you in this one.

 

You do not have to be a 'Curbie' or biased to have an opinion that autism is not entirely positive. Like almost anyhting in life there are positives and negatives to being Autistic. I think you need to bear in mind that it is far from certain that your experience of autism means that you can speak for all people with autism.

 

I appreciate the emotive effect of the word 'caused', but whether through cause and effect of through statistical association without a clear explanation it is an inescapable fact that there is a greater incidence of difficulties with social interaction, bowel problems, motor issues etc. amongst Autistic people than there is amongst NT's . It is also true that many autistic people are not happy about the difficulties that they face on a day-to-day basis. To become preoccupied with whether or not these issues were 'caused' by autism or not is to become distracted from the main point which is that a number of difficulties are experienced on a daily basis by Autistic People and ways need to be found to deal with these challenges.

 

 

Simon

[Zemanski]

I have always felt there is a discrepancy between the reality of having autism and the idea of a spectrum (which I know you don't hold with, Lucas).

 

Thinking it through since reading this thread I think I have figured it out a bit better, for myself at least.

 

I think, like Lucas, that you either are autistic or you are not - there is no mild, severe, moderate in that.

 

However, the way that autism presents itself does seem to be so varied that it can be seen as a spectrum of features; some people have difficulties in one area, others have strengths, because the way their autism causes them to process the world varies from person to person.

 

In a perfect environment for one particular autistic individual that person can thrive but the world rarely presents an autistic person with that perfect environment and unfortunately the perfect environment is different for each autistic individual which makes it doubly difficult for us NTs who don't think like autistic people, but are generally in the positions of power on this issue, to provide.

 

I also think that many of the problems so many autistic people face are not the autism itself but the 'comorbids' and that these are separate from the autism but that the differences in chemistry in an autistic brain and body probably increase the chances of a person developing them - hence more autistics get these problems than NTs.

If we can help an autistic person, or an NT person, overcome some of these problems like the bowel problems (which make life thoroughly miserable for my NT daughter but not my AS son) then they can begin to face life with a fighting chance - how would you like to have stomach ache virtually every day for the whole of your life? how much would you learn if you couldn't bear the light in room where you spend your day? or the buzzing in your ears? or the chemical in the cleaner they use to wash the floors and you sneeze all the time to the point where you have a constant headache and can't concentrate on anything?

 

Com doesn't have bowel problems so I don't go much for diet with him as it causes more stress but if he did I would do it, just as I do for my NT daughter - if a child suffers you do what you can to stop that suffering whether they are autistic or not. Com is sensitive to chemicals and synthetics so I try to alleviate the effects of those things - it doesn't make his autism 'better' but it does mean he's facing the world as a healthy person instead of a suffering one which means he can manage the world more competently because he isn't so distracted by other problems.

 

For those few autistic people who do not have this sort of added problem then the autism may be more positive than negative but if you have to deal with this sort of thing before you even start then life is miserable and you may never spot that wonderful strength you have because you can't concentrate on it for long enough to enjoy it. Some cannot concentrate long enough even to meet those basic milestones in walking, talking and understanding, never mind learning to live an independent life, build loving relationships or hold down a job.

The pounding on the senses and the running to the loo may not be the autism itself but it is still part of the picture for most autistic people.

 

hmmm, not sure where I'm really heading with this - just ideas

 

Zemanski

[oracle]

Hi Zemanski,

 

I think that your thoughts and idea are relevant. As far as I know I do not have ASD but I do have many allergies. At the moment, even though it's well past the hay fever season I am going out of my mind with a nsal allergy, which has now infected my sinus and ears I have had this now for some weeks and feel downright miserable. It is impacting on my senses and making me feel very uncomfortable. There are always certain smells that trigger my allergies. Certain perfumes and cleaners can give me a migraine headache which can last for days. Last Boxing Day my step-daughters choice of perfume put me to bed for two days. So yes I can see where I think you are coming from?

 

Carole

[Zemanski]

I have irritable bowel syndrome. I've had it since I was in my early teens. It's a pretty painful and inconvenient condition which rears it's ugly head whenever I'm under stress. It has led to missed exams, the shakes due to severe pain in interviews, poor performance in jobs, holidays aborted, miscarriage (probably) ......

 

three years ago - when we were going through tribunal with Com and I had that really stressful teaching/IT job I've mentioned elsewhere and we were hugely in debt after buying a house we really couldn't afford to give Com the sort of environment we felt he needed - I was in hospital with it. The doctors thought I had bowel cancer. I had attacks that left me screaming on the floor unable to move with sweat running down my body for hours at a time and bleeding that lasted days after.

 

I tried everything, diet, acupuncture, homeopathy, anti-spasmodics, nothing worked.

 

so I changed my environment by leaving my job and after the tribunal things started to get better.

 

I now lead an almost normal life - I certainly couldn't before.

 

perhaps this is the crux of the matter, why we talk so much about diet, environment, clothing, etc.?

 

how can we support our children in their autistic lives when they can't get past these debilitating problems? For some people they really are disabling in themselves.

 

we are not talking about curing our children's autism as such (although I know there are people who believe they can do this) but about making their lives livable and enjoyable.

I want to see my children happy. I have experienced the devastation of bowel problems first hand and know what life has in store for Dot if I don't help her out and find a way to control them if not cure them, perhaps then she will avoid the pain I've had and enjoy every moment of her life that she can.

 

so we look at our autistic children and we don't see the autism alone but the combination of things that seem go with it too, their 'comorbids', and we see them as part of the autism because, rightly or wrongly, we cannot separate out the autism from the comorbids because we cannot see past them because they can hide a child's being so effectively and create such devastation in their lives.

 

perhaps we ought to be looking to reveal our children's true autism, perhaps pure autism, free of comorbids, is a good thing but I don't know a single parent or adult with an ASD, except maybe you Lucas, who has managed to really conquer the comorbids enough that they are free to see only the positives.

 

good luck to all those that are doing their best

 

Zemanski

[KarenM]

Zemanski, I just wanted to say how brillantly you express yourself. You sound like you could write books on autism.

[Zemanski]

Thanks for that Karen, I thought I'd waffled on far too long

 

not sure I could waffle a book's worth though

 

Zemanski

[oracle]

not sure I could waffle a book's worth though

 

You could try. It would be well worth a read I reckon.

 

Carole

[Mother in Need]

Interesting debate everyone! I cannot quite keep up, but I think having so many different opinins and everyone really appreciating and accepting everyone else's is making it such a good one!!!

 

There is a link between auto immune disease and Autism.

That's personally very interesting, any more info on that please??

 

My 12 year old AS son refuses to be seen as disabled or as having problems. To him, 'he has differences, and some of those differences can lead to problems'.

 

I do agree with some of you that his AS is making him thoroughly unhappy and he would be so much better without. Though that would also mean without his briliance of thought, without his pure imagination, without his pure childish joy, etc and hence he would not be himself...The one goes with the other, and they are so inseperable, indeed not a they but all part of the one....am I making sense here?

I don't really want to change him, but I do want him to be happy! And yes, I would also like him to be a bit more independent, able to be by himself, need a bit less attention every minute, a few less meltdowns and a few times less hurting others and not be such incredible hard work for me (his mum) and his brothers; somewhat selfish maybe but then there is us to consider too...

[oracle]

The link between autism and auto immnue diseases came from a very interesting discussion that was had on the Autism UK mailing list a couple of years ago. It was a link that we discovered ourselves. So it's not proven just a parent/ASD adult link.

 

I could send you the e-mail addy for the list if you like?

 

Carole

[Kathryn]

There are times when I would love to change my daughter. But then there are times when I'd dearly love to change my husband and son as well.

 

Talking of autism as a gift, I wouldn't go so far as to say this, but we had a chance the other day to celebrate one of the positive aspects.

 

A good friend looks after my daughter when I work, and they have become quite close. My friend's own daughter sadly died 8 years ago: she was born with a rare genetic condition and only lived for five days. The other day they got into conversation about it and my friend was astounded that L knew all about the condition. It just so happens that genetic disorders are a particular obsession of hers right now.

 

My friend found it really liberating to be able to talk to L who was very direct and displayed none of the usual embarrassment or evasiveness people normally have when talking about bereavement. She told L she appreciated this because said that people don't normally want to talk about it with her. L was baffled and couldn't understand this aspect of "normal" behaviour.

 

L helped my friend in her own way, just by being herself and I'm really proud of her. She of course has no idea what she did.

[Zemanski]

What your daughter did was lovely, the more so because she did it of herself, not because she was trying to behave like everyone else.

 

she may not have understood what she did from our perspective or why the difference in her approach mattered so much but she obviously has her own ways to communicate that she now knows someone really appreciates - it is always good to be valued for being yourself and I think that must be quite rare for some of our children to feel that pleasure from people outside the immediate family.

 

Yesterday Com's main LSA told me she was really enjoying being with him now.

Last term, when she started working with him, he was in crisis and was soul destroying to work with because things in school were so wrong for him. This term school have actually acted and made his life in school much better for him (I had strong doubts that they would come up with the goods this term after lengthy and often bitter negotiations but they do seem to be changing their approach and he has all sorts of provision he didn't have before).

To hear that the people working with him are appreciating him now is probably the thing I most wanted to hear - Com loves to be appreciated, it makes him really happy when someone notices a kind word or shares his humour or values something he has enjoyed doing.

 

Isn't life better for all of us when we are valued for who we are?

 

Zemanski

[call me jaded]

There is some research into autism and autoimmune connections. Here's one from Pub Med:

 

 

Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2004 May; 11(3): 515?524.

doi: 10.1128/CDLI.11.3.515-524.2004.

Copyright � 2004, American Society for Microbiology

 

 

Heat Shock Protein and Gliadin Peptide Promote Development of Peptidase Antibodies in Children with Autism and Patients with Autoimmune Disease

Aristo Vojdani,1,2* Mohsen Bazargan,3 Elroy Vojdani,4 John Samadi,2 Alen A. Nourian,1 Navid Eghbalieh,1 and Edwin L. Cooper1

 

Laboratory of Comparative Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095,1 Section of Neuroimmunology, Immunosciences Lab., Inc., Beverly Hills, California 90211,2 Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California 90059,3 Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 947024

 

 

 

Abstract

Searching for a mechanism underlying autoimmunity in autism, we postulated that gliadin peptides, heat shock protein 60 (HSP-60), and streptokinase (SK) bind to different peptidases resulting in autoantibody production against these components. We assessed this hypothesis in patients with autism and in those with mixed connective tissue diseases. Associated with antigliadin and anti-HSP antibodies, children with autism and patients with autoimmune disease developed anti-dipeptidylpeptidase I (DPP I), anti-dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP IV [or CD26]) and anti-aminopeptidase N (CD13) autoantibodies. A significant percentage of autoimmune and autistic sera were associated with elevated immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, or IgA antibodies against three peptidases, gliadin, and HSP-60. These antibodies are specific, since immune absorption demonstrated that only specific antigens (e.g., DPP IV absorption of anti-DPP IV), significantly reduced IgG, IgM, and IgA antibody levels. For direct demonstration of SK, HSP-60, and gliadin peptide binding to DPP IV, microtiter wells coated with DPP IV were reacted with SK, HSP-60, and gliadin. They were then reacted with anti-DPP IV or anti-SK, anti-HSP, and antigliadin antibodies. Adding SK, HSP-60, and gliadin peptides to DPP IV resulted in 27 to 43% inhibition of the DPP IV-anti-DPP IV reaction, but DPP IV-positive peptides caused 18 to 20% enhancement of antigen-antibody reactions. We propose that (i) superantigens (e.g., SK and HSP-60) and dietary proteins (e.g., gliadin peptides) in individuals with predisposing HLA molecules bind to aminopeptidases and (ii) they induce autoantibodies to peptides and tissue antigens. Dysfunctional membrane peptidases and autoantibody production may result in neuroimmune dysregulation and autoimmunity.

 

 

http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender...ct&artid=404567

[oracle]

I knew that Jaded would be able to deliver the goods

 

Thanks

 

Carole

[DaisyProudfoot]

Auto-immune disorders and autism - I have Lupus (it's a form of arthritis and a connective tissue disease), one of my sons has AS, the other dyspraxia my other kids are NT (but are both left-handed!).

 

I don't really understand what it all means Jaded but it's nice to know someone's looking into it.

 

Daisy