Autism, Part II



Returning to Derek, above, the orb--that is, variance from exactly 0°, 90°, 180°, 270° of planets to each other--from C MC to the moon is large ( a little over 5°, but the MC also has an orb, one of 2°). We do not, however, have to depend on (a). We have (b):

(b)b moon9 Taurus 22
c1 pluto6 Leo 56
c1 saturn11 Leo 10
b1 mercury6 Aquarius 22

which shows another saturn/pluto influence to two Angles and one 3rd house. This set covers a wide range--too wide. However, the moon, in degrees, is between saturn and pluto, so it holds this whole set together.


2. HARVEY--1st House Chart
(a)C MC0 Scorpio 58
b moon2 Aquarius 51
c1 mars1 Leo 40ruler of C MC and c 3rd house
b1 pluto2 Leo 55

shows Angle/pluto influence to Angles and 3rd houses, and

(b)b1 pluto2 Leo 55
B MC6 Leo 18
b1 moon8 Leo 33

shows Angle/pluto. Pluto to moon is large, but moon has an orb of 5°, and MC has an orb or 2°.


(c)c south node7 Capricorn 18
C Asc8 Capricorn 25
b1 south node7 Aries 15
b1 saturn11 Cancer 00Rco-ruler of b 3rd house (30 of 37°)

shows Angle/saturn. Note below, with pb1 saturn, that it is approaching--during his critical formative years--closer to his Ascendant until he is a little over 10 years of age:

Birth Agepb1 saturn
310 Capricorn 20R
59 Capricorn 54R
108 Capricorn 50R
157 Capricorn 49R
206 Capricorn 53R

(a), (b), and (c) above show cumulative influence of pluto and saturn to Angles and 3rd houses. Cumulative is usually not as strong as when the whole condition exists in one set, particularly when the set influences more than one Angle. All of these, however, contain lights, making them decisive.


3. DEVON--1st House Chart
(a)B MC5 Aries 27
b sun7 Aries 11
b1 saturn8 Cancer 17
C Asc8 Libra 14
c1 pluto8 Libra 57
c1 jupiter7 Capricorn 35ruler of c 3rd house
c saturn9 Capricorn 46co-ruler of c 3rd house

This shows two Angles and a 3rd house influenced by saturn/pluto. Another set influences only the 3rd house and not Angles:

(b)c mercury21 Cancer 54
c jupiter22 Cancer 32
c1 sun21 Libra 33
b1 pluto22 Libra 26ruler of c 3rd house
c pluto22 Libra 59
b saturn22 Capricorn 46


4. CORKY--1st House Chart
(a)c1 venus9 Aquarius 22ruler of C MC and c 3rd house
b1 moon11 Aquarius 35
c south node11 Aquarius 48
c1 saturn13 Taurus 04
c pluto11 Leo 48
b1 mercury9 Scorpio 30co-ruler of b 3rd house (21 of 24°)

(b)b pluto15 Leo 43
b1 neptune18 Leo 57ruler of B Asc
c moon20 Leo 47

(a) above is sufficient to show predominance. (b) additional pluto influence.


5. NOAH--1st House Chart
Noah has a benevolent 1st house chart. It contains an Angle/sun/venus/jupiter--very positive. It also has no direct affliction (by mars, saturn, or pluto) to Angles. His saturn/pluto influence in this chart is weak:

(a)c1 sun16 Taurus 06
b pluto21 Leo 52
b uranus21 Leo 54ruler of b 3rd house
b1 moon15 Aquarius 53
c saturn18 Aquarius 21ruler of C Asc

Why weak? The two lights, b1 moon and c1 sun, are both more than 5° away from his pluto, and both below it. Combined, however, they extend orb of influence several degrees beyond 5° to make this set work.



The 3rd House Harmonic Chart of Mind

1. DEREK--3rd House Chart
(a)b3 south node0 Capricorn 31
C MC1 Capricorn 09
c3 south node0 Capricorn 32
b mercury2 Aries 04ruler of B MC in c 3rd house as well as B Asc
c pluto2 Libra 19
c saturn3 Libra 43

This is the same core condition as in his 1st house chart, but this time it is modified strongly by two harmonic lights (nodes) in a tight set, where all the planets are not much more than 3° apart. Meaning? This core condition has a particularly strong 3rd chart (mind) influence.

(b)B MC27 Gemini 16
b3 pluto29 Gemini 27 R
b3 north node0 Cancer 31
c3 north node0 Libra 32

Only 2° orb is allowed for planets to Angles, but this contains two lights. Moreover, both nodes and pluto are slowly moving toward B MC all the way up to age 15:

Birth Agepb3 SNpc3 SNpb3 pluto
30 Cancer 4628 Virgo 2229 Gemini 02R
50 Cancer 5727 Virgo 4728 Gemini 46R
100 Cancer 2727 Virgo 5528 Gemini 07R
150 Cancer 1925 Virgo 3527 Gemini 29R

2.Harvey--3rd House Chart
(a)c3 moon17 Leo 41
b3 mars16 Aquarius 11
c3 saturn17 Aquarius 55ruler of C Asc in b 3rd house
b venus18 Aquarius 37ruler of B Asc
c pluto15 Taurus 25

So, this is influencing two Angles and one 3rd house.

What makes a set preponderant? A condition is forefront and preponderant, at any time--birth, or thereafter--when a planet (which will rule or co-rule one or two houses or an Angle):
(a) is on an Angle, or
(b) is in a set with sun, moon, or nodes--the “lights,” and one of them rules an Angle. The latter is called, “the planet is lighted and rules an Angle.”
(c) one of the planets in the set rules one of the houses associated with that chart: 3rd houses for 3rd charts, 4th houses for 4th charts, 5th houses for 5th charts, etc.

There is more, however, Both what is and what is not there--as well as the content of the message--make a difference in preponderance. Using Harvey as an example: if, in this chart, Harvey has only two (of four) Angles and only one of his two 3rd houses influenced by light/saturn/pluto, then why wouldn’t his “free” Angles and his one “free” 3rd house help him be non-autistic? Maybe they do. If he had powerful benefic influences to the free Angles and 3rd, they might enable his mind to function non-autistically at least part of the time. Or, they might make him an autistic savant. If, however, his free Angles and 3rd are also afflicted--just differently than autistic--they cannot easily compensate for his autistic influences.

Noah’s 3rd house chart is a good example of this latter. One set is autistic and rules b 3rd house. The other set is more disturbed, choppy, even schizoid, and rules his c 3rd house. Both sets influences Angles. Both are, therefore, preponderant, and neither is benefic, so neither helps reduce the problems of the other.

It also makes some difference which planets are actually in 3rd houses. Retardation appears, for instance, less likely if jupiter is in the 3rd house even if light/mars/saturn influences 3rds and Angles in the 3rd chart. (See paper on retardation.) Continuing with Harvey:

(b)b sun4 Aries 11ruler of B MC
b pluto0 Libra 58
c3 mars2 Libra 47ruler of C MC and c 3rd house

(c)c mars0 Gemini 33ruler of C MC and c 3rd house
c mercury4 Gemini 14
b3 pluto4 Gemini 51
c3 venus5 Gemini 46
b neptune2 Sagittarius 27

(b) and (c) show Harvey has extra pluto influence (but not saturn) to Angles and 3rds. Mars/neptune to mercury isn’t good--it probably creates anxiety and fear. Still, mercury/venus/mars/pluto in Gemini suggests fascination with some kind of learning (Gemini) or multiple-task ability.


3. DEVON--3rd House Chart
(a)C MC15 Cancer 15
B Asc17 Cancer 21
b3 pluto17 Libra 23R
c3 saturn18 Libra 52Rco-ruler of c 3rd house (15 of 35°)

The fact that this 3rd chart shows harmonic saturn and harmonic pluto in such close aspect to two Angles already suggests autism even without influences to 3rd houses within the chart. Why? The whole chart is, itself, a magnification of the 3rd house.

A similar result occurs in schizophrenia. Such was the case with Nancy Spungen, murdered girl friend of punk rock star Sid Vicious. Nancy had harmonic mars conjunct harmonic neptune (sponsoring paranoid schizophrenia) conjunct her C Ascendant in her 3rd chart. She had neptune, but not mars, influence to 3rd houses. Any one who read her mother, Deborah Spungen’s, And I Don’t Want to Live This Life,, a biography of her daughter, would conclude Nancy was prone to paranoia.

Mars and neptune are necessary for paranoid schizophrenia. In the 3rd house chart, their harmonic presence on Angles contribute more toward paranoid schizophrenia than their presence in, or influence to, 3rd houses. The former influence for the mind is global; the latter, local.

The same is true in Devon’s chart. His harmonic saturn and harmonic pluto on Angles--before we look at anything else in this 3rd (or 1st) chart--imply his mind is well on the way to operating autistically.

In Devon’s case, he also has lighted saturn in one 3rd house, and lighted pluto in the other, so he also has saturn and pluto influence to 3rd houses, but not in the same set, nor in the same house.

All of these nuances of influence will eventually find their proper evaluation in an order which goes from greatest to least. That is not possible with just these few charts.

C3 saturn, above, is more than 2° degrees from C MC, so, strictly speaking, doesn’t aspect it. However, both harmonic saturn and harmonic pluto are progressing retrograde, so moving closer to C MC until Devon is about 13 years old:

Birth Agepb3 plutopb3 saturn
316 Libra 5917 Libra 30
516 Libra 4316 Libra 46
1016 Libra 0314 Libra 55
1515 Libra 2113 Libra 04

(b)b3 saturn23 Sagittarius 49
c north node24 Sagittarius 18
c3 jupiter22 Gemini 39ruler of c 3rd house
c3 pluto24 Virgo 55

Shows influence to a 3rd house, but not an Angle.


4. CORKY--3rd House Chart
(a)B Asc27 Pisces 40
b3 moon27 Pisces 57
c3 south node29 Pisces 02
c3 pluto29 Virgo 24


(b)c3 south node29 Pisces 02(58’ away from 0° Aries 00’)
b3 north node0 Cancer 11
c3 pluto29 Virgo 24
b3 mars0 Cancer 22
c3 pluto Libra 00’29 Virgo 24(36’ away from 0° Libra 00’)
b3 saturn2 Libra 36
c3 mars2 Capricorn 21co-ruler of c 3rd house (24 of 31°)
c venus3 Aries 07ruler of C MC and c 3rd house

Only by adding c venus--as ruler of both an Angle and a 3rd house--can we get this set to influence both an Angle and a 3rd house. Certainly, with two nodes--that is, two lights--each with an orb of influence of 5°, and a combined influence of 7-8° (we hesitate to say 10°), venus is a legitimate part of this set.

(a), with its two lights plus pluto--all harmonic--is sufficient to turn his mind inward, but it does lack the characteristic saturn/pluto stamp. So, it is “inward on what?” Here, the answer is inward on moon in Pisces. Its conjunction to south node on his Ascendant pulls him constantly in that direction. It makes him very lost, very spaced out, very without coordinates for “thinking.” He may have been considered an “imbecile.” Corky was institutionalized at age 8.


5. NOAH--3rd House Chart
(a)c3 moon20 Leo 38
b pluto21 Leo 52
b uranus21 Leo 54ruler of b 3rd house
b3 pluto19 Scorpio 21
b3 uranus19 Scorpio 28ruler of b 3rd house
c saturn18 Aquarius 21ruler of C Asc

The planets are all in close aspect and influencing a 3rd house and an Angle. This is Noah’s main, strongest and most influential autistic, that is, saturn/pluto condition.


He has another Angle/3rd house influence which is problematic, perhaps representing one of those taints referred to above, such that something not autistic inadvertently gets included in the definition of autism. Why is it not autistic? By itself, even multiplied, it would never produce the withdrawal and self-referencing of autism.

(b)b3 mercury25 Aries 17ruler of B MC
b3 moon26 Aries 28
b3 saturn26 Cancer 24
b neptune25 Libra 22
c mars27 Libra 48ruler of C MC and c 3rd house
c3 sun26 Capricorn 50

Mars/saturn/neptune creates siege conditions. Light/mars/neptune influencing Angles and 3rds in the 3rd chart is one of the indicators of paranoid schizophrenia (see Hinckley paper). Mercury’s participation contra-indicates it. Noah is probably less schizophrenic than anxious and fearful. Still, this set is more powerful than his autistic one--it influences two Angles and his other 3rd house.


Saturn/pluto emphases in the charts of these autistic youngsters never ends. Relevant saturn/pluto emphases in their 7th charts are shown below, with little comment. Their 8th charts (fruits of relationship) also show strong saturn/pluto emphasis

We started with charts for the 1st and 3rd houses because whatever creates autism clearly starts operating an a very early age and involves the instructions for creating identity. Without an identity, 7th or 8th houses have little chance to make much difference.

We look at the 3rd house within this 7th chart because they show how the individual communicates with others (7th chart). So, for instance, when Appendix C declares children with Asperger’s Syndrome have developed language but can only broadcast, not communicate, the 7th house is suggested as more autistic than the 3rd

To recapitulate, research so far has indicated 3rd houses in the following charts reveal information as follows:

in the 1st chartphysical aspects of brain; side dominance, what else?
in 3rd chartoperational aspects of mind
in the 7th chartattitude and ways of relating to others


The 7th House Harmonic Chart of Relationships with Others

1. DEREK--7th House Chart
(a)b7 mercury18 Leo 32ruler of B MC in c 3rd house
b7 north node18 Leo 55
c7 neptune22 Leo 02
b uranus18 Scorpio 12
c7 moon19 Scorpio 06
c7 pluto20 Aquarius 48co-ruler of b 3rd house (27 of 33°)

(b)C Asc16 Aries 43
b7 saturn17 Cancer 18co-ruler of b 3rd house (27 of 33°)


2. HARVEY--7th House Chart
(a)B MC6 Leo 18
b7 pluto8 Aquarius 44R
c7 mars5 Aquarius 01ruler of C MC and c 3rd house
b moon2 Aquarius 51

This--because of the distance between planets--is weak. However, it is precisely during childhood that Harvey experiences progressed pluto the strongest:

Birth Agepb7 pluto
37 Aquarius 58
57 Aquarius 28
106 Aquarius 14
155 Aquarius 01

(b)b7 sun7 Virgo 36
c7 sun7 Virgo 36(this is

the only chart in which harmonic suns coincide)

b mars9 Virgo 14
c saturn9 Virgo 35ruler of C Asc which is in c 3rd house

Mars’ presence here is not autistic. It is difficult, introducing turbulence. Since suns are involved, it influences his vitality.



3. DEVON--7th House Chart
(a)b7 pluto7 Libra 17
C Asc8 Libra 14
b7 north node9 Libra 54
c saturn9 Capricorn 46co-ruler of c 3rd house (15 of 35°)


4. CORKY--7th House Chart
(a)b venus20 Sagittarius 50ruler of b 3rd house
B MC21 Sagittarius 21
b7 pluto21 Sagittarius 27

In c 3rd house he has NN conjunct pluto. In b 3rd house he has NN conjunct saturn.

Corky has four moon pluto sets, only one of which contains one other planet. None rule Angles or 3rds. It is just that in his interactions with others, like Einstein, he doesn’t have much to work with.

Three of Corky’s suns are conjunct in Pisces, two of which rule C Asc in Leo. There is nothing particularly autistic about Pisces suns. (This system uses sidereal, not tropical, astrology. Most Western astrologers use tropical astrology. If some one has tropical sun in Pisces, sidereally it is usually in Aquarius, i.e., nearly a whole sign earlier.) Some one with a Leo Ascendant has great potential for a strong sense of self. Corky’s rulers of his Leo Ascendant, c sun and both c7 suns, however, are in Pisces. Of all the sun signs, Pisces is weakest in ego and identity. In an already heavily afflicted chart, three Pisces suns amount to more affliction.


5. NOAH--7th House Chart
(a)b7 uranus17 Aquarius 02ruler of b 3rd house
b7 pluto16 Aquarius 18
c saturn21 Sagittarius 27

This shows saturn/pluto influence to C Asc and b 3rd house. It is, however, without any light, so the influence is weak.

(b)b7 moon17 Virgo 33
B MC17 Virgo 48
b7 neptune18 Virgo 27
b7 saturn18 Sagittarius 09

This shows a strong Angle/saturn influence, with a weak 3rd house one, and no pluto.

Really, (b) shows strong neptunian influence. What else does?

(c)b7 south node3 Scorpio 18
b south node0 Scorpio 22
c mars27 Libra 48ruler of C MC and c 3rd house
b neptune25 Libra 23co-ruler of b 3rd house (18 of 45°)

Why list this? At most, we have two south nodes conjunct mars, but neptune is too far away to be considered part of it. However, since c mars has both Angle and 3rd influence, it has potential for becoming more forefront:

Birth Agepb7 SNpb SN
329 Libra 580 Scorpio 00
527 Libra 2829 Libra 43
1025 Libra 2129 Libra 29
1517 Libra 5728 Libra 40

Birth age 5 through 10 show combined orbs of both nodes such that both mars and neptune are part of one set.

This is more schizoid--disturbed, difficult--than autistic. Noah has lighted mars/neptune influence to Angles and 3rd house in both his mind and interpersonal charts. He is not schizophrenic, however, because he has a very powerful positive 1st house identity chart. So far schizophrenic must involve neptune, and for paranoid schizophrenic, mars and neptune, influences to 3rd charts, and a highly afflicted 1st chart.

Likewise, Noah’s saturn/pluto influence to Angles and 3rd houses are only strongly preponderant in his mind chart (3rd). They are weak in his identity chart (1st), and nearly non-existent in his relationships chart (7th).

Noah’s autism is quite a bit different from that of the other four children.



Discussion
What is the difference between autism--something interior to the individual, and the effects of severe rejection, which starts out exterior to the individual? Above I discussed the difference in emphasis of saturn and pluto between charts of non-autistic people and those of autistic children. Those 3rd houses--since we are ultimately mindstuff--within charts, especially in the 1st (identity) and 3rd (mind) charts, may operate as instructions for creating the individual. Other parts of the chart describe what happens to him after he is created. Some one who experiences saturn + pluto emphasis only later in life (not in the 1st and 3rd charts) has already been formed, so impedence occurs for him mainly in his interactions with others.


Are the subjects of this paper examples of Kanner’s or Asperger’s syndrome? I do not know. Their data simply labeled them “autistic.” Whichever they are, they share something in common--an excessive saturn/pluto condition in certain areas of certain charts. That rare and shared condition is probably the astrological foundation for their autism.

I cannot account, astrologically, for the apparent sex-linked nature of autism, which occurs at least twice as much in boys as in girls (see Appendices).

I do not have the birth data of Temple Grandin, a very well-known, high-functioning autistic woman. So, I am not sure what makes an autistic individual able to be high-functioning. Note, however, how well this understanding of autism fits her description of herself in her books. She states she does not understand, nor have, feelings. She is quite good at understanding structure and function, and uses this in her profession. She uses a machine to help stimulate her body. It is as if without enough emphasis of planets of personality and too much emphasis on saturn and pluto, her body has the hardware (structure and function) for being a body, but not the software (feelings and sensations) for experiencing it. So, in order be comfortable, she discovered she needed regular stimulation of her body. Without it, she becomes increasingly anxious.


I started fifteen years ago with two autistic charts--Corky’s and Noah’s. Devon, Derek, and Harvey’s data--given to me by a friend--came several years ago. It took returning again and again to their charts to identify their common properties. It also took my second experience of excessive saturn/pluto.

When I first started with Corky’s and Noah’s charts, I was working only with the 7th chart. In those charts, Corky is strongly plutonian; Noah, on the other hand, is strongly neptunian. Were there two types of autism, both sponsored by excess of outer planet influence?

The following is theoretical and subject to change:

A “neptunian" autism would not be characterized by the intense withdrawal and disinterest in socialization that characterize saturn/pluto. A strongly neptunian child would demonstrate a chaotic and impressionable mind. He would be open to being written on again...and again, hence the instability. The neptunian child opens outward to all. His incapacity to discriminate and select cause a chaos of impressions, therefore pain, but he cannot, except occasionally, withdraw. The plutonian child, as we have seen, demonstrates a far more selective mind. He also experiences much of the rest of the world as chaotic, but he can and does withdraw from it.

So, neptunian mental diseases tend toward schizophrenia, but communication. Saturnian ones toward depression, with varying degrees of communication. Uranian ones toward mania, and lots of communication. And, it seems, plutonian (+ saturn) ones toward autism, with no communication. Saturn plus pluto is a double negative in terms of communication.

Thus, excessive neptune in the mind chart--even with saturn--would not create autism, although it would create some one who has difficulty building up a permanent sense of identity. But that is not because of too little, but too much impressionability.

Actually, in theory, each of the outer planets--that is, the traditional outer planets of astrology: uranus, neptune, and pluto--excessively influencing mind ought to sponsor a major form of mental illness. Each combined with the lesser and greater malefics, mars and saturn, respectively, should further define that mental illness. Why? Here is what we have so far:

UranusNeptunePluto
with marsunknownparanoid schizophreniaunknown
with saturnmanic depressionunknownautism

If the “unknowns” above represent forms of mental illness, we may not know them because individual’s so defined demand our attention less. Mars with both uranus or pluto would sponsor discrete, well-defined mentation and behavior. In fact, mars combined with uranus (in the 1st and 7th charts, not the 3rd chart) predominant produces our explorers and very daring, sometimes foolhardy, individuals. No one could say their lives were completely normal, but few would say they were mentally ill, either.

Mentation sponsored by mars with neptune (like paranoid schizophrenia), however, is messy. So, that individual comes to our attention.

If we looked in Hand’s astrology book, we would find mars and pluto defined: striving, hard work. To contend against difficult odds, often successfully. Brutality and conflict. Ambition, ruthless drive, the desire to achieve one’s objectives at all costs. (p. 175, pb edition). In fact two individuals with mars conjunct pluto (both non-harmonic, and again, not for the 3rd chart of mind but just generally influencing the charts) come to mind: one male, who has his conjunct his Ascendant had a crazy mother. I do not know if he can be brutal or ruthless. He certainly appears mild-mannered and careful, that is, essentially defensive. The other individual has his conjunct his Midheaven. He runs his own business as a very specialized mechanic for foreign cars. He is neither brutal nor ruthless, except perhaps in having his will against broken auto parts. That does not disprove Hand's definition, it just means many of these individual's also never come to our attention.

The same principle applies in reverse for combinations with saturn. Saturn with uranus (during the depressive phase of manic depression) and pluto (autism or extreme withdrawal) produces a kind of in-your-face type of passivity. The individual is so passive his dysfunction becomes a social problem.

The individual with autism comes to our attention because his dysfunction happens in childhood. It occurs before he even has a chance to develop autonomy. But saturn/pluto people are not so interested in shared reality as they are interested--if Elly and Temple Grandin are good examples--in being able to share their reality. With that we are back to one of the fundamental definitions of being human. Sharing one's reality, having it found worthy of sharing, gives people a sense of contributing, and therefore, of belonging.

Saturn with neptune (a type of schizophrenia? neurasthenia?) people, however, should produce an individual whose passivity eludes us for a longer time. With his saturn he will be attempting to find ultimate, shared, fixed reality. His neptune will slowly but constantly dissolve away his results.

The difference, then, between illnesses sponsored by the two is that:

Illnesses sponsored by pluto are caused by exclusive focus on the planet pluto contacts.
Illnesses sponsored by neptune are caused by neptune dissolving, and eventually eliminating, the planet it contacts.
Except for in combination with saturn, we do not label uranus’ influence to another planet as an illness. We do so in bipolar disorder because of the saturn pole of the disorder.

With more play, and more patient data, these speculations would probably yield better understanding of what constitutes, and suggests help for, various mental illnesses.



Conclusion
Further examples of the astrology of autism can be found at the following link:

More on Autism

Why do autistic children appear to be developing normally during their first year? (Appendix C states Kanner’s syndrome can be diagnosed in infancy; Asperger’s only in years two to three.) It may be that they are not developing normally, and we just have no clear way to see that.

It may also be that it takes about a year before the instructions in their identity and mind charts start functioning. Or rather, that the failure (to develop personality) in their instructions starts showing only then. When, after all, does Earth mind begin? With autistic children, once the instructions for building an identity and mind start operating, the ongoing message appears to be : focus on (know intimately) saturn. Since the overwhelming majority of what happens between us as individuals is correlated to our expression of planets of personality, the child focused intently on his saturn is doing the opposite of incarnating. Before he even gets to personality--with which he could share his reality--he is short-circuiting back up the Tree.


Further Work
If the conditions discussed above are true and exclusive indicators of autism, they can be used to diagnose it at birth. Present psychological diagnostic tools work, at earliest, at 18 months. And those were used on toddler siblings of known autistic children. In other words, knowing autism has more chance of occurring in the same family, psychologists were alerted to looking for further autism in that family. The majority of autistic children are still not diagnosed until between two and three years of age--closer to three. So, no one knows how much it would help if we knew at birth that a child was autistic. (Baron-Cohen, 1995)



Bibliography
The Child: Structure and Dynamics of the Nascent Personality, by Erich Neumann. London, Sydney, Aukland, Toronto: Hodder and Stoughton. Translated by Ralph Manheim. English translation, New York: The C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, 1973.

Autism: An Introduction to Psychological Theory, by Francesca Happé. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1994.

The Siege: The First Eight Years of an Autistic Child, by Clara Claiborne Park. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1967.

Theories of Autism, by Cheryl D. Seifert. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc., 1990.

Autistic Children: New Hope for a Cure, by Niko Tinbergen FRS and Elisabeth A. Tinbergen. Boston: George Allen & Unwin, 1983.

Mindblindness: An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind, by Simon Baron-Cohen. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1995.

The Ladder of Lights, by William G. Gray. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1968.



Appendix A
(pp. 19-23, Happé)

The diagnosis for autism comprises a set of three major impairments, known as Wing’s Triad. The impairments are those in socialization, communication, and imagination.

In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition, revised (Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1987), these became:

Note: Consider a criterion to be met only if the behavior is abnormal for the person’s developmental level.

A. Qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interaction as manifested by the following:

(The examples in parenthesis are arranged so that those first mentioned are more likely to apply to younger or more handicapped, and the later ones, to older or less handicapped, persons with this disorder.)

1. marked lack of awareness of the existence or feelings of others (e.g. treats a person as if he were only a piece of furniture; does not notice another person’s distress; apparently has no concept of the need of others for privacy)
2. no or abnormal seeking of comfort at times of distress (e.g., does not come for comfort even when ill, hurt, or tired; seeks comfort in stereotyped way, e.g. says “cheese, cheese, cheese” when hurt)
3. no or impaired imitation (e.g., does not wave bye-bye; does not copy mother’s domestic activities; mechanical imitation of other’s actions out of context)
4. no or abnormal social play (e.g. does not actively participate in simple games; prefers solitary play activities; involves other children in play only as “mechanical aids”)
5. gross impairment in ability to make peer friendships (e.g. no interest in making peer friendships; despite interest in making friends, demonstrates lack of understanding of conventions of social interaction, for example, reads phone book to uninterested peer)

B. Qualitative impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication, and in imaginative activity, as manifested by the following:

(The numbered items are arranged so that those listed first are more likely to apply to younger or more handicapped, and the later ones, to older or less handicapped, persons with this disorder.)

1. no mode of communication, such as communicative babbling, facial expression, gesture, mime, or spoken language
2. markedly abnormal nonverbal communication, as in the use of eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, or gestures to initiate or modulate social interaction (e.g. does not anticipate being held, stiffens when held, does not look at the person or smile when making a social approach, does not greet parents or visitors, has a fixed stare in social situations)
3. absence of imaginative activity, such as playacting of adult roles, fantasy characters, or animals; lack of interest in stories about imaginary events
4.marked abnormalities in the production of speech, including volume, pitch, stress, rate, rhythm, and intonation (e.g. monotonous tone, questionlike melody, or high pitch)
5. marked abnormalities in the form or content of speech, including stereotyped and repetitive use of speech (e.g. immediate echolalia or mechanical repetition of television commercial); use of “you” when “I” is meant (e.g. using “You want cookie?” to mean “I want cookie”); idiosyncratic use of words or phrases (e.g. “Go on green riding” to mean “I want to go on the swing”); or frequent irrelevant remarks (e.g. starts talking about train schedules during a conversation about sports)
6. marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others, despite adequate speech (e.g. indulging in lengthy monologues on one subject regardless of interjections from others)

C. Markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests, as manifested by the following:

1. stereotyped body movements, e.g. hand-flicking or -twisting, spinning, head-banging, complex whole-body movements)
2. persistent preoccupation with parts of objects (e.g. sniffing or smelling objects, repetitive feeling of texture of materials, spinning wheels of toy cars) or attachment to unusual objects (e.g. insists on carrying around a piece of string)
3. marked distress over changes in trivial aspects of environment, e.g. when a vase is moved from usual position
4. unreasonable insistence on following routines in precise detail, e.g., insisting that exactly that exactly the same route always be followed when shopping
5. markedly restricted range of interests and a preoccupation with one narrow interest, e.g. interested only in lining up objects, in amassing facts about meteorology, or in pretending to be a fantasy character)

D. Onset during infancy or childhood

Specify if childhood onset (after 36 months of age)

A rather different approach [from one where health visitors used a precisely designed questionnaire to identify autism, which suggested that nothing could be picked up at one year] has been taken by Johnson et al. (1992), who looked back at the infant health screening records of children who were subsequently diagnosed as suffering from autism, and compared them with the records of children who grew up to be “normal” or to have mild/moderate learning difficulties (but not autism). They found that the group with learning difficulties showed impairments in many of the areas tested (motor, vision, hearing and language) as assessed at the 12 month screening. By contrast, the autistic children had shown very few problems at this age. At their 18 month assessment, however, many of the infants who were later diagnosed autistic showed problems in social development. While a few of the learning difficulties children also showed social problems at 18 months, these were part of a more general delay across all areas of functioning. In the autistic children, by contrast, social deficits were noticed by the health visitors in the absence of other problems. This study suggests that it is not until some time in the second year that autistic children show social impairments - at 12 months the children in this study were judged to be normally social by health visitors (on items such as smiling and responsiveness to people). (pp. 21-24 Happé)

Baron-Cohen et all (1992) has devised a screening test, the Checklist for Autisms in Toddlers (CHAT) which at the time the Happé book was written appeared to identify the autistic child at 18 months. (p 24, Happé)

Incidence: 4-10 autistic children for every 10,000 live births (higher for Triad) (25)

Male to female: range from 2:1 to 3:1. Most girls with autism are at the lower end of the ability range, while at the more able end boys may outnumber girls 5:1

While once thought a disability that happens to children of upper socioeconomic parents, the evidence to date is there is not such prevalence. (25)



Appendix B
Asperger’s Syndrome
Criteria for Asperger’s syndrome in the ICD-10 (draft, World Health Organization,1990)

A. A lack of any clinically significant general delay in language or cognitive development. Diagnosis requires that single words should have developed by two years of age or earlier and that communicative phrases be used by three years of age or earlier. Self-help skills, adaptive behavior and curiosity about the environment during the first three years should be at a level consistent with normal intellectual development. However, motor milestones may be somewhat delayed and motor clumsiness is usual (although not a necessary diagnostic feature). Isolated special skills, often related to abnormal preoccupations, are common, but are not required for diagnosis.

B. Qualitative impairments in reciprocal social interaction (criteria as for autism). Diagnosis requires demonstrable abnormalities in at least three out the following five areas:

1. failure adequately to sue eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture and gesture to regulate social interaction;
2. failure to develop (in a manner appropriate to mental age, and despite ample opportunities) peer relationships that involve a mutual sharing of interests, activities and emotions;
3. rarely seeking and using other people for comfort and affection at times of stress or distress and/or offering comfort and affection to others when they are showing distress or unhappiness;
4. lack of shared enjoyment in terms of vicarious pleasure in other people’s happiness and/or a spontaneous seeking to share their own enjoyment through joint involvement with others;
5. a lack of socio-emotional reciprocity as shown by an impaired or deviant response to other people’s emotions; and/or lack of modulation of behavior according to social context, and/or a weak integration of social, emotional and communicative behaviors.

C. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities (criteria as for autism; however, it would be less usual for these to include either motor mannerisms or preoccupations with part-objects or non-functional elements of play materials). Diagnosis requires demonstrable abnormalities in at least two out of the following six areas:

1. an encompassing preoccupation with stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest;
2. specific attachments to unusual objects;
3. apparently compulsive adherence to specific, non-functional, routines or rituals;
4. stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms that involve either hand/finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole body movements;
5. preoccupations with part-objects or non-f8nctional elements of play materials (such as their odor, the feel of their surface, or the noise/vibration that they generate);
6. distress over changes in small, non-functional, details of the environment.

D. The disorder is not attributable to the other varieties of pervasive developmental disorders: schizoptypal disorder; simple schizophrenia; reactive and disinhibited attachment disorder of childhood; obsessional personality disorder; obsessive-compulsive disorder (pp. 90-91 Happé)

(92) The crucial difference, in Van Krevelen’s view (1971), is the child’s attitude to others; autistic children act as if others did not exist, while children with Asperger’s syndrome evade other people, of whom they are aware.



Appendix C
Van Krevelen’s Distinguishing Features for Aspergers’ vs. Autism Syndrome (p. 93, Happé)

Early Infantile AutismAustistic Psychopathy (Asperger’s)
1. Manifestation age: 1st month of lifeManifestation age: 3rd year or later
2. Child walks earlier than he speaks; speech is retarded or absentChild walks late; speaks earlier
3. Language does not attain the function of communicationLanguage aims at communication but remains “one-way” traffic
4. Eye contact: other people do not existEye contact: other people are evaded
5. The child lives in a world of his ownThe child lives in our world in his own way
6. Social prognosis is poorSocial prognosis is rather good
7. A psychotic processA personality trait



Data Sources
Derek
Birth: 5/2/1984, 6:20 p.m. CDT, 35N28, 97W31. From Joe Stevens, from the mother.
Conception: 7/26/1983, 1:07:06 a.m. CDT, 35N28, 97W31

Ian
Birth: 6/9/1989, 3:30 p.m. EDT, 41N16, 74W22. From J. Haupt, from the mother.
Conception: 8/31/1988, 11:27:31 p.m. EDT, 41N16, 74W22.

Harvey
Birth: 4/18/1982, 8:20 p.m. EST, 40N46, 73W59. From Joe Stevens, from the mother.
Conception: 7/10/1981, 8:13:53 p.m. EST, 40N46, 73W59.

Devon
Birth: 4/21/92, 11:45 a.m. EST, 42N27, 73W15. From Joe Stevens, from the mother.
Conception: 7/14/1991, 2:13:51 p.m. EDT, 42N27, 73W15.

Corky
Birth: 1/9/1962, 12:23 p.m. AHST, Honolulu, Hawaii In The American Book of Charts by Lois Rodden, 11736 3rd Street, Yucaipa, CA 92399. Data to her from the mother, 1976,
Conception: 3/29/1961, 5:10:40 p.m. AHST, Honolulu, Hawaii


Noah-Jiro Greenfield
Birth: 7/01/1965, 7:02 p.m. EDT, New York, NY. In The American Book of Charts by Lois Rodden, 11736 3rd Street, Yucaipa, CA 92399. From an article in Life Magazine in an article written by his father. Time given as “a few minutes after 7:00 this evening.”
Conception: 9/22/1965, 4:52:53 p.m. EDT, New York, NY



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