We couldn't afford Windows either. I used Appleworks.

I don't think the mainstream view on aspies manages to explain why the number of cases increased recently, instead of being at a constant level for hundreds of years. But my explanation has no problem with that. There was recent discussion on the TCS list on this topic.

Briefly, I consider aspies to be a way of life rather than a disease. The main symptom of aspies is not being obedient to parents/teachers/social-expectations in certain ways. Consequently, I say aspies can be beaten out of people, and otoh increased freedom for children gives them more scope to have a weird, anti-social, or aspies lifestyle.

Obviously you guys have never had to live with an autistic person. Corporal punishment means nothing to an autistic child.... because they keep doing what you want them to stop doing no matter what the consequence. They just don't get it. Their brains are not hardwired to understand consequences regarding other human beings.

And there are far more people who are not autistic who are assholes. What are we to do with them?

Also, the more you "impose" on Aspies, the more they retreat into themselves. Get some real life experience on a subject before you write about it.

I have seen evidence that aspies will conform better to basic social expectations when afraid. The more consensual mum gets criticised by others in the family, "Well he behaves when I tell him what to do!" You bet he does.

You may be right Elliot

Anonymous may also be right.
"the more you "impose" on Aspies, the more they retreat into themselves"

So this might mean they keep their heads down and give less trouble so don't get diagnoised.

are there any links to pictures of asperger's syndrome?

They also seriously underestimate how vicious and cruel mainstream parenting memes are today :(

And how powerful any memes ever or now were. They think TV ads are a strong meme, lol... Or pokemon or pogs.

The strongest meme they know is Christianity (which is always the example, not Islam, for some reason). And Christianity has weakened *way* more than parenting or romance memes.

I don't think they know how strong Christianity was before it reformed, either. Many people have a hard time believing how much Islam can control people today, and Islam today is weaker than unreformed Christianity (and weaker than past Islam too ofc). Whenever Muslims kill people for no good reason, they think there MUST be some good reason, since Muslims are *people*, and they make up reasons. They can't accept religion (or any other anti-rational meme) destroying the humanity in people. (One reason, perhaps, is they figure humanity in the moral sense is genetic or God-given, not due to ideas and our cultural traditions.)

Mental disorders have always existed, but with different names. Up until fifty years ago, you were either an "idiot savant", "retarded", or "crazy". Thanks to dedicated researchers and doctors, we know more about the brain and how to handle certain disorders.

And then there are people like you who can't even figure out how to score a free copy of Excel.

Looks like you're the one with the brain problem.

"I see that you have made some strong assertions, anonymous, but I don't see where you've provided convincing arguments that they are true."

Seriously? You have no citations to back up the data presented in your truly excellent graph. You link to no studies. You have no real statistics. You have a red line, a green line, and a thesis that boils down to "Kids act crazy because we don't spank them" with absolutely no evidence to back that up. Meanwhile, those arguing that such things as autism and spectrum disorders do exist and that capital punishment has absolutely nothing to do with their presence or absence have the studies, and the citations, and the actual hard research that a convincing argument requires. Yet, somehow, you're the one that we ought to believe?

Okay then.

"You are inferring from the fact that I disagree with you that I don't know what I'm talking about."

No. We're inferring from your complete and total lack of evidence (all graphs aside) that you don't know what you're talking about. The fact that you disagree with people who actually bother to back their claims up with hard evidence helps, too.

"That is an invalid argument. Please reconsider."

Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle. You'll find you have much in common.