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autism

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by markosss, Aug 4, 2013.

  1. markosss

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    do you guys think that there is any connection between homosexuality and autism??i know it sound stupid but i have a kind of autism and im gay too!:rolle:
     
  2. LD579

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    I don't think so. They can coincide, I'm sure, but that's just... coincidence.
     
  3. Steele

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    No, the two have nothing to do with each other. I have several autistic friends who are straight.
     
  4. InactiveUser1

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    I do have ADHD combined also OCD and im Bisexual does that prove ur theory right ? xD
     
  5. markosss

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    ok maybe my theory is wrong:slight_smile: whatever thanks for helping guys!
     
  6. rusteejay

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    I have aspergers syndrome and am gay... I think its merely a coincidence. I think there's a link between disorders on the autistic spectrum and being left-handed however.
     
  7. drwinchester

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    I've never been officially diagnosed with asperger's (but wouldn't be surprised if I was..) but I've got a family history of it.

    Think of it this way. If an austic/aspergers indivual was cisgendered and hetereosexual, we'd think nothing of their sexuality or gender. But if someone's not only on the autistic spectrum but is queer and/or transgender, we immediately blame the "queer" on being autistic.

    It's as if being autistic invalidates one's gender/sexuality. Shouldn't have to be that way. There are neurotypical individuals who are queer, can't aneurotypical people have a right to their gender identity/sexuality?

    I blamed my thoughts of wanting to be male on possible aspergers. So I know how it is. When we differ from the norm, we look for something to blame, a scapegoat. And for some of us, that scapegoat happens to be autism...
     
  8. FreeFlow9917

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    No there isn't i have the same thing as you. If you need an aspie kid to talk to, talk to me, i was diagnosed 2 years ago. I actually looked this up, there actually is more chance to be straight than homo if you are autistic due to estrogen, but you may have had different amount of estrogen in the womb, and it's the right hand they use for digit theory, learned it the hard way. It all comes to nature vs. nurture, besides that your gayer than clay aiken. So friend me if you want some advice or help
     
  9. rusteejay

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    I've been diagnosed over 10 years. Winner. Lol. Don't worry about it mate. Its irrelevant either way! By the way, mental dude, dont call yourself an "aspie" its really degrading and clinical. Aspergers is not an disorder. It is a personality.
     
  10. Dublin Boy

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    I am Dyslexic, I have Dyscalculia & Irlens Syndrome, but I doubt there is any connection to me being Gay or you with having Autism :slight_smile:
     
  11. FreeFlow9917

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    Hah, clinical, i'm cynically crazy, i'm different and irrelevent and mentally fucked up
     
  12. Wells

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    No. My aunt is autistic, she is straight. And so are most people in her disabled club. There is one lesbian but she doesnt have autism, she has something else.
     
  13. Yannick

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    I have aspergers. It runs in a family. I have to say that majority of us with aspergers traits (in my family) are kind of androgynous. Especially females tend to have wide shoulders and masculine jaw while those without this are very feminine. Could be coinsidence but I have read (this really might be no fact) that especially females with aspergers have more testosterone than average (or they have been affected by it in womb. I don't remember).

    Anyway. If there is more LGBT-people in those who have aspergers it doesn't tell anything about idividuals.

    Editing. Really. Don't take me seriously. I have no real facts.
     
    #13 Yannick, Aug 9, 2013
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2013
  14. drwinchester

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    I remember reading online about a number of transmen who had been diagonosed with aspergers. The theory was, since aspergers is associated with a higher level of testosterone and a more masculinized brain, many female bodied individuals with possible aspergers would later conclude they were transmen.

    I hated the idea, made me think I was just delusional, but I can see how maybe hormonal influences can kick in...
     
  15. Yannick

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    Now I remembered that the local autism and aspergers support group has a subgroup for trans people. There was also some stories of transmen with aspergers in their website. There really might be a connection.

    I am too hating the idea that some hormones have maybe made me what I am. I actually have a female body but I identify as "definitely not a female". I have read a lot about differences between male and female brain and I know I have really masculine brain. I actually remind my father so much it's ridiculous.
     
  16. KaraBulut

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    There have been some people who have commented that there seems to be more people online who are gay and have autism.

    However, there's no research that directly links the two.

    It's very deceptive because there is an over-representation of ASD and gay people online, so you are more likely to encounter people who are both while online.

    Both have something in common: we don't know what causes either homosexuality or austism nor can we say that there's one single cause.

    Something to think about- we tend to think of both as black and white- you're either gay or you are straight, you're either autistic or you're not. Both sexuality and autism aren't as absolute as we make them out to be. There has been an effort to redefine autism as "autism spectrum disorder (ASD)". This recognizes that there may be degrees of autism which means that a lot of people can have features of autism that go undiagnosed. If that's the case, then we would expect a lot of gay people to have features of ASD just like straight people.
     
    #16 KaraBulut, Aug 9, 2013
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2013
  17. rday13

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    There's no research directly linking homosexuality and autism. Kara's post is excellent and I just wanted to add a little more to it.
    In recent years there has been some interesting research in the field of autism, potentially debunking the whole 'males are more likely to be autistic than females'. Some recent searches will reveal studies on how autism has differential effects on males and females, which suggests that there might be a large number of undiagnosed autistic females (note that autism is a spectrum, not everyone might have the same symptoms).
    There has been some support for the whole mirror neuron theory and autism. It's intriguing and I remember one of my professors being super excited about it. We've got many ideas about what causes it, but no smoking gun solution.
     
  18. AngelAceRainbow

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    Autism Spectrum Disorders and being gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans.

    Yeah, I too have Aspergers. I am 32 years old and wasn't diagnosed until well into my 20's. I struggled, unaided, through the obstacles usually faced by teenagers and college-age people on top of facing lgbt and coming out issues. Navigating my way through Aspergers on top of it all was a nightmare. Let me just say, I did not have any social life whatsoever, in high school and for at least a decade after high school. When you're in college, just figuring life out, this can be devastating. Mentally I feel like I am just now beginning to be ready to handle post-highschool adulthood.

    The diagnosis of Aspergers has really helped me to understand a lot about myself and has helped me to grow little by little. Though life is still pretty tough and it is hard to make friends, I at least know now why it is hard to relate to others and mostly for them to relate to me.
    Had there been more information on how autism affects girls when I was very young, I probably would have been better off. I have a lot of bad memories when I was in high school and through college; of temper tantrums, not fitting in, etc.... But here I am now. Still breathing.
    At any rate, in relation to the actual subject matter of this post, I don't think there is any real connection between being autistic and being gay. Autism doesn't determine your sexuality. Anybody can be autistic, anybody can be neurotypical, and anybody could be heterosexual.
     
  19. happydavid

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    Not really I have a friend with he autism and he can't keep his hands off the ladies
     
  20. Theron

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    More white males end up with some form of Autism over other races and over females. It has no connection whatsoever to sexuality, though.