I am sorry, Alterette, are you autistic? I have not followed all your posts, so please forgive my curiousity. You can send me a few words, or a link to a post in which you revealed a bit more. Only tell me please with what you are comfortable to share, but now I am insanely curious. I don't know many autistic people with your level of functioning.

Yes, Wux, I'm autistic. There are many people with autism who are high functioning; Temple Grandin is a wonderful example. She's a doctor of animal science, a college professor, author and inventor. Daryl Hannah, the actress, has been diagnosed with autism, as well as Dawn Prince-Hughes (primate anthropologist), Vernon L. Smith (Nobel Laureate in Economics) and a host of others.

My youngest daughter was diagnosed at the age of four, although I recognized the symptoms two years earlier. As she grew and I learned more about the condition, I began to see a lot of myself in her. So I underwent testing and was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at the age of 50.

I've had a very full life with many rich experiences; I'm very active as an advocate for those with autism and try to be a positive example for others under the spectrum.

People forget that in this day and age, new genetic problems may pop up with each new generation. It doesn't have to be that "people always just dealt with it before." It may not have existed during the time of our great grandparents.

The reason I say this is that toxins build up in our bodies, and some toxins are even stored in fatty tissue. Science has proven that such toxins can be passed on to children during pregnancy. What that means is that each new generation is capable of two things: 1) possessing greater concentrations of accumulated toxins, and 2) possessing greater immunity to those toxins. We are talking potential here, because not every person or every generation is exposed to the same toxins. However, it is not far-fetched to believe that three successive generations within one family may have absorbed high amounts (in non-lethal quantity) of some of the same toxins.

Having such a carryover effect is bound to effect the genetics of a fetus. That is just common sense. Mutation, adaptation, evolution. Call it what you want, but this is one of the ways it works.

For instance, the increase in allergies worldwide is a result of increased sanitary conditions, especially in urban areas. As societies become less rural, children are exposed to fewer beneficial microbes that are found in soil. Studies have shown that of all documented cases of people possessing allergies worldwide, not a single person grew up on a farm. Imagine that. Because of our war on germs, our bodies are beginning to lose the ability to adapt to microbes. Meanwhile, bacteria are becoming more resistant to anti-biotics. Think about the implication there.

In my own experience....I am immune to penicillin and its derivatives. I've had so much of it pumped into my body that my body no longer responds to it. I have also found that I build tolerances to many cold medications and antihistamines very rapidly. Because of what was available when I was in college, I often had to rotate three different cold meds (a new one each day) to gain lasting benefit. Taking the same medicine two days in a row had no effect. It's odd, but I have met other people who are like this. I even talked to a physician who confirmed it for one of them.

So, our bodies are capable of adapting much quicker to our environment than we once thought. Evolution doesn't have to take thousands or millions of years. It's happening every day as part of an ongoing cycle. It is something that we need to open our eyes to as people. Life on Earth was NOT always as we know. People are NOT the same as they were 100 years ago. The only constant is change.

To sum up my point, we, as humans, need to stop having such a cavalier attitude when it comes diseases and disorders. We need to stop thrusting our ignorance upon others. We need to educate ourselves. We need to open our eyes to what we are doing to not only our bodies, but the bodies of our children and grandchildren. There's more to it than most of us realize.

Just thought I'd throw that out there since we've discussed ADD and Autism.

SO WHAT???????????????????????????????????????

I live in a town 100 miles in any direction from any other town, with a population of 1100...

and the most amazing man, a mirror to me, literally walked through my front door...pulled up in his bus, got out, walked up to my door, and walked in, with a mutual friend of ours.

it was instant for both of us...not a word spoken, not lust, not physical...I simply knew him...even though I had not ever met him in this lifetime.

Two and a half months on, we are both waiting for the honeymoon stage to appear...it is so easy, so natural, so comfortable....and one of the major reasons is, we have both done the internal work on ourselves, are confident in who we are, and have healthy self esteem.

YES IT TAKES TIME , AND ONE DAY IT WILL JUST HAPPEN...........

This was a nice way to voice something I truly believe in. We all have work to do on ourselves.

Many people cannot be bothered to put that work in. Others struggle to do it, but often don't know how to go about it. They try, doing what they can on their own, and can tell you something of a person's strength and character. And then there are the people who don't want to be bothered with another person's problems. Rather than show compassion, they are rude or apathetic. Has such a person wrestled with their demons and won? Or do they ignore their demons? Or are they struggling just like the ones they ignore?

If you continually work to make yourself better on the inside, then you can also build a special relationship. If you have put all your demons to bed, then you are light years ahead.

I am assuming these people have been hurt just one too many times. They may not know now how to change their life. Once your esteem or confidence is knocked down; it takes a while to get it back. JMO

I agree.

Oh, that may be my problem. I've been going to bed with my demons.

It would explain your anxiety! Question is, are you sleeping with succubi or incubi?

Which is the hot one?

Yeah, assumptions are often wrong. At least you don't think I'm like that now.

Thanks, Alterette. I am autistic too, because I am a textbook case of a person with Asperger's syndrome. I just wasn't aware that the two diagnoses were interchangeable and one could not be one without being the other as well at the same time.

My understanding, Wux, is that Asperger's Syndrome is one form of Autism. So, they aren't interchangeable. But, if you have Asperger's, then you are Autistic. Hence, vice versa, if you are Autistic, you don't necessarily have Asperger's.

That was my understanding also. There a many degrees of autism; Asperger's is only one type.

Well good for you but people have different backgrounds and maybe there isn´t a switch to make It all change. I guess you are one of the shiny happy people who are content with things but some people have had their lives tested...no fatherfigure, stepfather raping you, mother looking the other way, bad grades, sleepless nights, no beauty, fat kid, short kid, odd kid...kicked out, no home, just a shotgun to a head, more abuse...

So yes, tomorrow is a new day and I can´t wait...really??

Never once did I say I was one of those "shiny happy people" who is always happy. But hey, if that attitude is working for you, great.

i dont have a woa is me attitude, my low self confidence comes from years of being bullied and humiliated in school. people who assume that dont know anything about me and dont care to know. they just want to judge.