The conceptual journey of 'autistic thinking' to autism spectrum disorder

“ Autistic thinking is contrasted with realistic thinking, which seeks to check up with real facts; it may be contrasted also with socialized thinking, which submits to the criticism of other people; and it may even be contrasted with self-criticized thinking, in which the individual scrutinizes what he has imagined, to see whether it is on the whole satisfactory to himself, or whether it simply gratified a single or momentary impulse that should be balanced off by other tendencies. ”

“ In time, some particular train of ideas fixes the attention; all other intellectual gratifications are rejected; the mind, in weariness or leisure, recurs constantly to the favorite conception, and feasts on the luscious falsehood whenever she is offended with the bitterness of truth. By degrees, the reign of fancy is confirmed; she grows first imperious, and in time, despotic. Then fictions begin to operate as realities, false opinions fasten upon the mind, and life passes in dreams of rapture or of anguish. ”

“ On World Autism Awareness Day, we celebrate the countless ways that people with autism contribute to our families, our communities, our Nation, and the world, and we shine a light on the systemic barriers people with autism face in their daily lives.
More than 2 percent of American adults and 1 in every 54 of our children have autism—a community of millions who deserve to live full lives of dignity and respect. ”

“ The same desperate, irrational, immoral imagination which inspires races with a strange madness, inspires individuals too with a strange madness.
Art and Literature are, after all, and there is little use denying it, the last refuge and sanctuary, in a world ruled by machinery and sentiment, of the free, wild, reckless, irresponsible, anarchical imagination of such as refuse to sacrifice their own dreams for the dreams—not less illusive—of the general herd. ”

“ I call upon all Americans to learn more about autism to improve early diagnosis, to learn more about the experiences of autistic people from autistic people, and to build more welcoming and inclusive communities to support people with autism. ”

“ To maximize the quality of life across the entire autism spectrum, we must ensure that ASD is accurately identified and diagnosed in both children and adults. We must also support access to effective care, critical resources, and support services. ”

“ Suppose it is a fiction necessary to keep up ones ego consciousness or self-appreciative feeling without which either he or his world would instantly become valueless. In these latter cases the fiction is not and cannot be, without outside help, modified by the reality of experience. The complex of ideas becomes a closed system, a world in and of itself. Conflicting facts of experience are discounted and denied by all the cunning of an insatiable, unconscious will. The fiction then gets itself substituted for the true facts of experience; the individual has "lost the function of the real." ”

“ In the mean time the whole community carried on and even aggravated the terrible delusion, which, while it was my torment to detect, it was my greater to be the victim of. When art assumes the omnipotence of reality, when we feel we suffer as much from an illusion as from truth, our sufferings lose all dignity and all consolation. We turn demons against ourselves, and laugh at what we are writhing under. ”

“ Humiliated by this critical reception of his ideas, the individual may resolve to keep them to himself for the future, and draw away, again, towards autistic thinking; or, more forcefully, he may exert himself to find some idea that will command the approval of other people. If he can take rebuffs goodnaturedly, he soon finds that social criticism can be a great help, that two heads are better than one in planning any invention that needs to work. He accumulates knowledge of what will pass muster when presented to other people, and thus again learns self-criticism. ”

“ In any case, the fact that many men of genius are of pathological nature does not authorize us to regard every person of genius or originality as insane, whether he attacks the routine and prejudices of his contemporaries, or whether he opens up new horizons and goes out of the beaten track. ”

“ The temptation to allow the intuition to absorb the whole field of consciousness is to certain natures almost irresistible. And yet, when intuition is divorced from the other aspects of the rhythm of life, its tendency towards what might be called "the passion of identity" very easily lapses into a sort of spiritual sensuality, destructive to the creative freedom of the soul. Woe to the artist who falls into the quagmire of unbalanced intuition! ”

“ He knew illusions so well, for they were his art to convey truth in fiction and reality in abstraction. He liked producing color on canvasses that would act as a mirror of indictment on this world, where the weak were depicted as abused and falling prey to illnesses like the dogs that were born in the streets, kicked, starved, mange-ridden, and dead early and hideously. ”

“ I have always, in common with other mentally balanced savants, despised writers of fiction. All scientists harbor a natural antipathy to romance in any form, and that antipathy becomes a deep horror if fiction dares to deal flippantly with the exact sciences, or if some degraded intellect assumes the warrantless liberty of using natural history as the vehicle for silly tales. ”

“ To an imaginative mind, loving in things rather the ideal than the reality, striving for ever after some poetical or heroic model of love and of life, trying to be at once a patriot out of Plutarch and a lover after the fashion of the Vita Nuova, there are few trials more exasperating than to have to see the real creature who for the moment embodies one's ideal, the creature whom one carefully garlands with flowers and hangs round with lamps, raised above all vulgar things in the niche in one's imagination, elbowed by brutish reality, bespattered with ignoble miseries. ”

“ Estimating the prevalence of autism is difficult and controversial due to differences in the ways that cases are identified and defined, differences in study methods, and changes in diagnostic criteria. A recent study reported the prevalence of autism in 3-10 year-olds to be about 3.4 cases per 1000 children. [19] Autism and other ASDs develop in childhood and generally are diagnosed by age three. [20] Autism is about four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment. ”

“ By analyzing the spatial incidence patterns of autism and intellectual disability drawn from insurance claims for nearly one third of the total US population, we found strong statistical evidence that environmental factors drive the apparent spatial heterogeneity of both phenotypes while economic incentives and population structure appear to have relatively large albeit weaker effects. ”

“ Abstract Many factors affect the risks for neurodevelopmental maladies such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) . To compare environmental, phenotypic, socioeconomic and state-policy factors in a unified geospatial framework, we analyzed the spatial incidence patterns of ASD and ID using an insurance claims dataset covering nearly one third of the US population. ”

“ The strongest predictors for autism were associated with the environment: congenital malformations of the reproductive system in males (an increase in ASD incidence by 283% for every per cent of increase in the incidence of malformations) , non-reproductive congenital malformations (31.8% ASD rate increase) , and viral infections in males (19% ASD rate increase) . ”

“ We observed clear spatial clusters for both ASD and ID. The raw data analyzed prior to complex modeling (see Figure 1) indicated that putative environmental variables were strongly predictive of rates of ASD and ID across the US. This trend persisted after the analysis was corrected for confounding variables using mixed-effect Poisson regression, see Figures 2–5. We found that ASD in males (normalized by county population) has a county-level mean rate of 0.1% per male of any age. The distribution of rates across counties is skewed: the median is 0.023% while maximum observed value is 5.2%. ”

“ My Administration is committed to funding cutting-edge research to help us to better understand autism and related health conditions in order to improve quality of life for people with autism and their families in every community. ”

“ Our research agencies are working to reduce barriers in access to early diagnoses, interventions, and services for people with autism—including those from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and rural communities—and to incorporate the perspectives of individuals with autism in scientific research. For too long, disparities in access to health care, education, and services have placed an undue burden on individuals with disabilities and their loved ones, particularly those from underserved communities. ”

“ Recent Government initiatives have focused on detecting autism in the first year of life, funding new national research networks to improve our knowledge of autism, and advancing services and support to help Americans with autism live independently in their communities. A recent apprenticeship initiative from the Department of Labor seeks to open up career pathways for people with autism and other developmental disabilities in thriving fields like information technology and health care. ”

“ The fear of unfounded calumny also sometimes drives weak and dejected minds into the imaginary shelter of obscurity; and even strong and honest characters, prone to disclose their real sentiments, are disgusted at the world from a consciousness of its being unable to listen temperately to the voice of truth. The obstinacy with which mankind persist in habitual errors, and the violence with which they indulge inveterate passions, a deep regret for their follies, and the horror which their vices create, drives us frequently from their presence. ”

“ Today, we honor those with autism and recommit ourselves to providing them and their families with the investment, support, and care they need to live independently, fully participate in their communities, and live fulfilling lives of dignity and opportunity. ”

“ For generations, men and women living on the autism spectrum have made extraordinary contributions in the fields of science, technology, art, literature, business, politics, and many other professions. Yet the world still has a great deal to learn about ASDs. We must continue our research to improve early identification and intervention, strengthen our comprehension of the disorder, and open opportunities for every member of our society to live independently and live the American Dream. ”

“ We also recognize the importance of identifying ASDs early in a child's life and of understanding the obstacles faced by people living on the autism spectrum. Together, we celebrate the many ways individuals with ASDs enhance our daily lives and make priceless contributions to our schools, workplaces, and communities.
Autism spectrum disorders affect an estimated one out of every 68 children in America. Individuals and families living with autism come from diverse backgrounds. These families face enormous challenges in assisting their loved ones over the course of their lifetimes. ”

“ Cutting edge therapies and lifelong treatments can impose enormous burdens and expenses on the families of people with autism spectrum disorders. I applaud the efforts by Members of Congress to enact tax-free savings vehicles for families of people with disabilities and ASDs. I also encourage the ongoing public-private efforts to develop new technologies to prevent wandering and keep individuals with ASDs safe. ”

“ We also recognize that the COVID–19 pandemic has caused unique disruptions to, and placed new strains on, the lives of individuals with autism and their families. All Americans should be grateful for the creativity and dedication of educators, health care providers, and others who have rapidly adapted to the limitations of the pandemic by offering virtual learning, telehealth appointments, and other remote services. ”