Found the following article this morning on Facebook. The proposition that there is a high representation of parents of children with an ASD diagnosis in the fields of Engineering and IT is not new. I have seen this idea suggested in many previous articles. And to some degree it fits with our family profile. Watching how Harri reacts to toys compared to his NT peers also lends some weight in my mind to this theory. For example, he does not take a cause and effect toy for granted by simply accepting that it does what it does. He has to turn it upside down, look underneath, find the button that turns it on and off, and in his own little way understand how it functions. There seems to be a strong instinctive drive to make sense of the mechanics rather than simply enjoy it for it's own sake. I have to admit to finding that particularly trait impressive and somewhat reassuring. For me it is indicative of a thinking mind, and offers some hope that this may lead to employment potential into the future.
More Autism Diagnoses in High-Tech Areas, Study Finds - US News and World Report
More Autism Diagnoses in High-Tech Areas, Study Finds - US News and World Report
That's a pretty decent news report; I've gotten used to reading news pieces on articles that misrepresent or only give it a cursory glance.
ReplyDeleteBaron-Cohen's study is in my pile of articles to write about; it will certainly be less controversial than his empathy work.
Baron-Cohen would say that's the systemizing aspect showing in Harri. :) It is reassuring, isn't it? We need people to figure out how things work and to fix them and design new ones!
This makes a lot of sense. We have for a while thought that we don't know any "dummies" who have an autistic child; observations like this one confirm my theory. Our son also has to know how things turn on and off. Especially lights.
ReplyDeleteYes SBC empathy work is controversial. I am always interested in hearing his opinions despite the fact he cops a lot of flak from those on the spectrum. I'm going to read more about this systemising. Thanks Kim
ReplyDeleteBrian, the lights thing I know, and the fans, and the oven and the clocks, and the toaster, and the blender and my husbands drills and....anything that goes on and off. Makes me think Einstein and Newton must have been on the spectrum.