Autism-The children of Donor H898

[sneakypete]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/the-children-of-donor-h898/2019/09/14/dcc191d8-86da-11e9-a491-25df61c78dc4_story.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 BARTLETT, Ill. — Danielle Rizzo’s son is screaming. He is planted in the middle of the lobby of his elementary school, clinging to rainbow-colored blocks as she gently explains that she is here — off schedule, in the middle of the day — to take him to a doctor’s appointment. But the first-grader is not listening.

“Happy Meal,” he repeats over and over again. “Happy Meal!”

His little brother, who is also going to the appointment, is nearby, not moving. Rizzo is relieved that the two of them are not melting down at the same time, which happens all too often, and firmly guides them out the door.

Rizzo’s children, ages 7 and 6, were at the center of one of the most ethically complex legal cases in the modern-day fertility industry. Three years ago, while researching treatment options for her sons, Rizzo says she made an extraordinary discovery: The boys are part of an autism cluster involving at least a dozen children scattered across the United States, Canada and Europe, all conceived with sperm from the same donor. Many of the children have secondary diagnoses of ADHD, dyslexia, mood disorders, epilepsy and other developmental and learning disabilities.

The phenomenon is believed to be unprecedented and has attracted the attention of some of the world’s foremost experts in the genetics of autism, who have been gathering blood and spit samples from the families.

Autism, which affects an estimated 1 of 59 children in the United States, is a “spectrum disorder” characterized by difficulties navigating social situations and restricted or repetitive behavior. Some people who have it never speak and need daily care, while others, like actress Daryl Hannah and Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, are highly successful in their fields. In recent years a growing movement has been challenging the notion that autism is a disorder at all. Rather, advocates argue, it’s a difference that should be celebrated as adding diversity to human communities.

Rizzo hopes her children will cope better as they grow older, but for now, she knows they are suffering.

More at link.......

[sneakypete]

I was born Autistic. I am embarrassed to say this because MY problems with autism are so minor compared to these children and many,many others. I was "lucky" enough to be born as what is called a "high-functioning autistic". I had taught myself to read and write before I even began public school,and by the time I was in the 5th grade my teachers wanted to put me in advanced high school courses. My parents didn't tell me about this until I was in my 20's,and I was pissed when told. The reason I quit school when I was 16 was because I was bored out of my mind. The reason they gave me was because they said they were afraid the older kids would pick on me. Which goes to show you how little they really knew about me. I NEVER tried to bully or pick on any of the other kids,but nobody ever tried to bully me that didn't end up bleeding. If it took a baseball bat to convince you to leave me alone,a baseball bat was in your future.

BTW,"don't play well with others" is one symptom of Autism.

The problem with these children is NOT that they are retarded,or even stupid. The problem is much worse. Many are genuine geniuses,but are so focused on one specific thing/field that they have absolutely no idea how to communicate with anyone else. Worse,they are so focused on their "inner minds" that they can't hear what anyone else is saying to them. All they hear is noise,and the distraction pisses them off. I went to high school with one of these boys. The law then required children to stay in school until they were 16 years old,so he went to school and mostly slept. The science teacher would sometimes wake Freddy up if he didn't know the answer to a question someone asked,but that was about it.

Freddy was so disconnected from daily life that his little sister would walk him to school and hold his hand to keep him from stepping out into traffic. He was VERY obedient if whoever was walking him told him to stop and stand still because a shoelace was untied so they could tie it,but he just couldn't be bothered to waste his time doing stuff like that.  When school was over,his sister or someone else would take him by the hand and walk him to the public library where his mother worked,and he was sit there the rest of the afternoon reading books she ordered for him.

Freddy build a remote control robot for the science fair when he was 14.This was around 1962,when there was no such thing as a remote control anything.

He went to college when he was 16 and I was told he challenged the courses and basically just started a doctorate program. By the time he was 20 he was working for NASA,according to what I was told later.

I was in the army on my 17th birthday,working towards a unassigned job in the Airborne Infantry. Obviously Freddy and I have vast differences in reasoning ability.

Still,I feel sorry for him and wouldn't trade places for the world. Freddy will never know or understand the love of music,literature,a joke,a sunset,or even a woman. He is and will always be obsessed with the demon that drives him to work,and will never experience and enjoy the things that make the rest of us human. He is barely even remotely aware of the world around him.

Freddy is at the top extreme of the spectrum,and even he will need a babysitter for the rest of his life to keep him from leaving home naked,walking out in front of traffic,etc,etc,etc.

There is no way sperm or egg donors with symptoms of this affliction should EVER be allowed to donate their sperm or eggs for any reason not connected to genetic research.

Granted,there must be a percentage of people who are autistic who are somewhere "in the middle" of the spectrum,and who can mostly function well in the mainstream that would PROBABLY be safe donors,but there needs to be some standards established before this can happen.

In the mean time,the labs that refuse to cooperate and screen need to be shut down,and the lab owners who knew this and ignored the dangers while still selling the donations for a profit need to be put in prison.

[The_Reader_David]

I'm wondering what donor characteristics the folks who selected Donor H898 were looking for.  Ivy League math PhD maybe?

(And yes, I have the right to make jokes about Ivy League math PhDs for the same reason Dave Chappell has a right to make jokes about black folks or Woody Allen gets to mock Jews.)

[sneakypete]

I'm wondering what donor characteristics the folks who selected Donor H898 were looking for.  Ivy League math PhD maybe?

 

@The_Reader_David

No doubt. They also wanted a child with blonde hair,blue eyes,look a lot like Robert Redford,and destined to win Gold at the Olympics.

And you can't blame them. Who DOESN'T want a child to be born having the best chance to succeed in life while suffering the least amount of grief?

[Sanguine]

It could be that the donor is not autistic.  I don't think we know enough about the mechanism of heritability of autism/Asperger, but it is probably a trait that requires some susceptibility from both mother and father.

[Applewood]

@sneakypete

You mention the term "doesn't play well with others."  I had a classmate in elementary school named Frank.  Seemed to excel in a number of subjects, particularly math, but his report cards had that "doesn't play well with others" designation.  I don't think that issue was ever addressed though.  He graduated, went to college, but flunked out.  He could not hold a job, at different times he was homeless or living with family or friends till he wore out his welcome. Then not long ago, Frank passed away.  It wasn't until after he died that I learned Frank had finally been diagnosed as a high functioning autistic about ten or so years ago.  No one knew what autism was back in the '50s and 60s when we were growing up.  Perhaps if they did, Frank might have received some kind of job training and  perhaps he would have led a productive life.

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete

You mention the term "doesn't play well with others."  I had a classmate in elementary school named Frank.  Seemed to excel in a number of subjects, particularly math, but his report cards had that "doesn't play well with others" designation.  I don't think that issue was ever addressed though.  He graduated, went to college, but flunked out.  He could not hold a job, at different times he was homeless or living with family or friends till he wore out his welcome. Then not long ago, Frank passed away.  It wasn't until after he died that I learned Frank had finally been diagnosed as a high functioning autistic about ten or so years ago.  No one knew what autism was back in the '50s and 60s when we were growing up.  Perhaps if they did, Frank might have received some kind of job training and  perhaps he would have led a productive life.

@Applewood

Of that I have no doubt.  All they would have had to do was discover where his personal intellectual "kink" called home,and then let him loose in that field. The thing about this is NOBODY knows where their strengths lie,intellectual or otherwise,until they have been exposed to them.

The one thing you can pretty much count on with someone with Autism being is obsessive when they do develop an interest in something,so it's not like it would be hard to determine when you discovered where their interests lie.