Subtitle: finally………well……….sort of 🙂
In a previous post on February 29, 2016 I wrote about a phenomena that I experienced while taking anti-inflammatory medications. I noticed that some of my autism traits/behaviors were taking a break during that Rx marathon.
Good news! They’re all back and functioning just as usual! 🙂
I’ve also mentioned that I use the Google Alert tool to keep me informed on all articles about autism on a daily basis. And often there is at least one article that is worth investigating.
That happened today but not what I expected.
There was an article on Aging and Autism which also referenced the broad autism phenotype (BAP). The latter was foreign to me so I was hooked on clicking on it.
In the abstract of that research paper it referenced neuroinflammation as a cause of autism.
BINGO!
So I then Google’d “neuroinflammation and autism” and I got a zillion hits!
I’ve already read a dozen of those papers and most are concluding the same thing, that neuroinflammation is the most likely cause of autism and it is now the number one research interest of neuroscientists studying autism.
I bet you’re thinking “So what? It doesn’t change my life!”
And if you are, I agree with you…almost. 🙂
The majority of autistics that I’ve come to know are quite content with being who they are, myself included.
I like my quirky self, I like my routines, I like sameness, I like my obsessions, aka “hobbies”, I like the fact that I’m very detailed oriented, and I especially like my savant skills. I have tons of fun with those! 🙂
However, like many autistics, I have no idea how to make friends nor maintain an intimate relationship should that ever occur again.
And as hard as I try, when I do have the opportunity to have conversations with someone, I still lose control and get off on tangents and onto my soapbox.
Did I mention my Obsessive Compulsive Behavior (OCD) issues? Or my over-the-top Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)? Or the fact that it took me the first thirteen (13) years of my life to learn how to enunciate words and put them together cohesively to communicate? That’s called Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia.
Being autistic is great, BUT there are a few little annoying characteristics that I wouldn’t mind being left out of the paradigm.
To wrap this vomiting of words up, the neuroinflammation that occurs while being gestated in the womb and during the first few years of life is not going to change who we are at this point in time.
But learning how to mitigate neuroinflammation during the fetal process just might help future autistics, and if so it also might help those of us after the fact if neuroinflammation is affecting our lives as adults.
My attitude: Keep the good autistic stuff and get rid of the crappy autistic stuff, assuming that could be done. 🙂
Therefore, get out that Ibuprofen or Advil and take your daily dose! According to my doctor, one can take 800 mg per day but you might end up with a tummy ache over time! 🙂
[To be continued…]
Paper: Relevance of Neuroinflammation and Encephalitis in Autism
ARC Paper: From molecules to neural morphology: understanding neuroinflammation in autism spectrum condition
The Mind of an Autistic Savant 