In recent years, researchers have determined that most cases of autism are not rooted in rare de novo mutations but in very old genes that are shared widely in the general population while being concentrated more in certain families than others. Whatever autism is, it is not a unique product of modern civilization. It is a strange gift from our deep past, passed down through millions of years of evolution.
~ Steve Silberman
(NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism & The Future of Neurodiversity)
Those wild and crazy genes of ours!! Every thing is a gift, it is all about how one response or reacts to or with that gift!
So true, Jeff! It’s nice to know that these genes are probably not mutations but have been around for a long time serving a useful purpose…
Sometimes it’s hard to know what is a gift.
Yes, and sometimes it takes 60 years to figure it out…