Possible New Autism Subtypes

[FayetheAspie]

4 Distinct Autism Subtypes Identified in Machine Learning Study.

 

[Crossbreed]

Does that study include ASD1s, or is it just 2s & 3s?

 

[vergil96]

It always seemed to me that autism spectrum is very likely not one condition, but many with a similar set of features, presentation. Especially "Asperger's syndrome", a syndrome doesn't have an identifiable, well understood cause, but is a set of symptoms instead.

 

[Misty Avich]

I think Asperger's should be considered a separate condition altogether and not be associated with autism. ADHD and Fragile-X also share a lot of symptoms with autism yet those two conditions aren't on the spectrum, and I feel that Asperger's is just as similar/different to autism as what ADHD and Fragile-X are.

Autism should be what its original nature is, which includes speech delays in childhood or throughout life. I don't know why us articulate and highly social Aspies need to be considered autistic too. The autism spectrum is becoming so broad now that almost everyone with any slight difference or mental health issues or PTSD are getting themselves diagnosed with autism. And for something that people are born with, it's more common to be diagnosed with autism in adulthood than childhood, and I'm not just talking about people who were born in the "before autism was a thing" era.

And please don't anybody take this the wrong way, but it seems painfully common for people diagnosed with autism to come from a family of bullies and narcissists and abusers. Is this a coincidence, or is there some sort of connection? Do some adults from these abusive families just have PTSD but got themselves assessed for autism because PTSD looks similar to autism, or are their families narcissists and abusive because the person has autism? If it's the former, no I'm not dismissing anybody's diagnosis who are in that situation, so please spare the jumping to conclusions that I'm out to offend you because I'm NOT, I'm just a little confused and sharing my thoughts. And if it's the latter, then wow, that's shocking. If NTs had so much empathy then why would they severely abuse a young family member who is a bit different? I mean, classmates or work colleagues or even partners being bullies is one thing (not that that's acceptable, I'm just saying), but your own family? It's disgusting and very shocking. Why is it so common among the autistic community to come from such shockingly abusive families? It makes me feel so sad.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

4 Distinct Autism Subtypes Identified in Machine Learning Study.

Unfortunately, the article does not define the four subtypes except in very general terms.

I think it’s clear to most of us that there are differing subsets of autism. This is an effort to pair actual physical characteristics in the brain with autistic symptoms.

I am imagining the kind of revolution in the science of autism that happened in the classification of fungi after the discovery and application of DNA studies showed fungi who looked similar were suddenly shown to be wildly different.

 

[FayetheAspie]

Does that study include ASD1s, or is it just 2s & 3s?

It doesn't seem to specify but it sounds like the first two might parallel largely with level 1 perhaps.

 

[FayetheAspie]

Unfortunately, the article does not define the four subtypes except in very general terms.

I think it’s clear to most of us that there are differing subsets of autism. This is an effort to pair actual physical characteristics in the brain with autistic symptoms.

I am imagining the kind of revolution in the science of autism that happened in the classification of fungi after the discovery and application of DNA studies showed fungi who looked similar were suddenly shown to be wildly different.

Yes, I don't think the studies have advanced very far yet but these separations could be in the future.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I tried to access the original article here: Molecular and network-level mechanisms explaining individual differences in autism spectrum disorder - Nature Neuroscience However, it's one of those that doesn't have public access unless you want to pay for the article $39.95. Oh well.

However, if anyone does want to take that deep dive, Google Scholar has over 17,000 articles on this very topic since 2021! So, happy hunting. Google Scholar

 

[FayetheAspie]

I think Asperger's should be considered a separate condition altogether and not be associated with autism. ADHD and Fragile-X also share a lot of symptoms with autism yet those two conditions aren't on the spectrum, and I feel that Asperger's is just as similar/different to autism as what ADHD and Fragile-X are.

Autism should be what its original nature is, which includes speech delays in childhood or throughout life. I don't know why us articulate and highly social Aspies need to be considered autistic too. The autism spectrum is becoming so broad now that almost everyone with any slight difference or mental health issues or PTSD are getting themselves diagnosed with autism. And for something that people are born with, it's more common to be diagnosed with autism in adulthood than childhood, and I'm not just talking about people who were born in the "before autism was a thing" era.

And please don't anybody take this the wrong way, but it seems painfully common for people diagnosed with autism to come from a family of bullies and narcissists and abusers. Is this a coincidence, or is there some sort of connection? Do some adults from these abusive families just have PTSD but got themselves assessed for autism because PTSD looks similar to autism, or are their families narcissists and abusive because the person has autism? If it's the former, no I'm not dismissing anybody's diagnosis who are in that situation, so please spare the jumping to conclusions that I'm out to offend you because I'm NOT, I'm just a little confused and sharing my thoughts. And if it's the latter, then wow, that's shocking. If NTs had so much empathy then why would they severely abuse a young family member who is a bit different? I mean, classmates or work colleagues or even partners being bullies is one thing (not that that's acceptable, I'm just saying), but your own family? It's disgusting and very shocking. Why is it so common among the autistic community to come from such shockingly abusive families? It makes me feel so sad.

The trauma question has caused me to question before myself. Especially since many of my symptoms formed over time ( some not present until I was in my mid to upper 20s ) as traumas accumulated. But I did walk on my toes when I was little and had some obsessive interests and was also really good at school ( especially loving science). I also had the dilated eyes symptom and certain foods that I had trouble eating. Another childhood symptom would have been separation anxiety (a common comorbidity). I was always hyperactive (not sitting still in my seat and such) but that sounds more like adhd ( which I also have). Repetitive stims formed gradually over time ( some only present in adulthood yet definitely hard to not do them now). The most notable of these would be rocking. I agree that aspergers should have stayed separate ( even if perhaps renamed). Eye contact issues formed later in childhood as well. First as a form of submission because of how my dad would rage. Later they became worse as he started getting paranoid that I might know who someone was that he did not (and especially paranoid that I would have a crush on someone that was real rather than just my fictional characters crushes). I would basically avoid making eye contact to avoid being in trouble. That particular issue has slacked off now some and as an adult I am trying to relearn eye contact but now seem to genuinely have difficulty understanding it's proper use. Speech delays are part of the criteria for classic autism yet verbal iq is often advanced in aspergers. Also I don't think the more severe stims like head banging are usually present in aspergers though I suppose I could be wrong about that part.

 

[FayetheAspie]

I think both situations happen. People with ASD are likely more likely to be picked on to the point of developing PTSD or other trauma related disorders. There are probably also false positives when ASD is assumed due to ignoring trauma history in the individuals diagnostic process. In my own situation, I think that I probably did have mild Asperger's but developed extra symptoms due to trauma as the years progressed.