I don’t know. I don’t think, I think this desperate search for one particular cause is a bit concerning at times. I don’t think people really understand, have a good understanding of the fact that I don’t necessarily think that this idea that Asperger syndrome and autism and you know, whatever, autism spectrum disorder. It is sometimes people with different types of personalities and different ways and things like that. I am not convinced there is one single cause, and I think everyone is so desperate, everyone is, you know, so comfortable and really likes the idea that it is one singular cause, it is definitely this, and it is definitely that, everyone is so desperate to find it out. I don’t know if there is one singular cause for it for it happening.

 

Especially since it so almost merges into, you know the way it happens and the whole idea of a spectrum, the way it merges into people, you know I don’t know. ...I think, it depends like, it depends what, from psychology and looking at it from what I know and the brain and things, what I read and things, I don’t know. I just think there are a number of causes, a number of factors and people and psychologists and experimental psychologists hate that, that idea that there can be only one, you know…. I read a question it was like what is a singular cause, you now what is the cause of Asperger's and autism; is it the theory of mind deficit, the executive function deficit, you know in our psychology exam we had to write there was only one answer as if there was only one cause and that really, really irritated me, because I was like well there is not only one cause.

 

You know maybe there is, maybe I am wrong but you know I don’t think you should be going round suggesting it could be this, this, this or this. I… ultimately no one knows and I don’t think anyone is particularly close to knowing, I think there’s an awful lot of bluffing about diets and MMR, something else and parents really desperate to find out a reason, people want a scapegoat as well, I think, people would really like there to be a scapegoat for it. I just don’t, I just don’t think that anyone really knows yet and I think the problem is that people would really love to cure it, you know if they cure it, you know cure autism and Asperger syndrome but I just don’t know how you would do that without … I don’t know, I don’t really know how you can do that. Where do you stop? Do you stop... You know. So I don’t know, I don’t know what the cause is but I know there is a few ideas but one thing I will say is I don’t know that there is a singular cause and it is something that people constantly talk about when they work in autism is this idea that it is just so multiple, so many different types of … you know behaviours and groups and sub types, its almost a category of convenience and I am not overly convinced it…

 

...I don’t know, and it is so difficult, because do you make the diagnosis more specific and put it into sub group types I don’t know if you can do that because I just don’t know if there is enough people who can diagnosis it actually as it is, without putting people into sub types and what does that achieve? I don’t know, I think what it would achieve is that it would allow for the signposting to be better so you know you have got two people, like if there were two people at base absolutely opposite in every way so people automatically say, you know a teacher or a doctor you know or someone knows what someone with Asperger syndrome or autism once and there is this constant presumption that if they have met one person then they know what to do for the next person and that is not, that is probably, everything that a doctor or you know different professionals who work in the field or work with people with Asperger syndrome there is a constant mistake that is made, its the assumption that now I’ve met one person, I know how to deal with the next and they all constantly have to be aware of the fact that is not the case, they have understand it. You know, there are different people, they have different needs and I don’t know. I don’t know what the cause is.

 

 

I don’t know. I suppose I think its an interesting ethical question because … yes, there is this idea, first of all people, you know for me there is a level of autism where you look at lower down the spectrum where the person with autism is obviously finding it very, very difficult to deal with life day to day. They are suffering from quite severe intellectual deficits and things. I think that at that stage I can see why there is maybe a reason to cure it, you know they can cure it, because that must be really, really difficult day to day. But then I look at people in the base, capable day to day and would quite enjoy it. So your question is where do you stop and do you really want to cure these people? And further to that, not just looking at life is a life, you know looking at life as day to day life, how are they going to enjoy life?

 

You have to ask yourself a question ,if you cure these sort of Asperger's type personality types, You get to that stage and you cure Asperger personality types that are Aspergerish, I think you going to get a problem, that you are never going to cure anything again because the fact of the matter is that the the people who are going to find a how to cure Asperger syndrome because they are the people that you know spend a lot of time in labs and not a lot of interest in socialising a lot of the time. And I find that quite ironic that some with Asperger's syndrome will end up eliminating his type, so I don’t really understand, I don’t know... I think if they do get to the stage where they are curing people you know with high functioning autism and Asperger's I think the world has gone a little mad to be honest with you, because as much as people with Asperger syndromes are a nuisance at times and quite difficult to live with at times, people in society do need them [laughs], whether they like it or not, they do need them. So I think that if it gets to that sort of stage people are going to cure people with Asperger's and high functioning autism, I think they are going to look back on it and feel quite stupid to be honest. That is my own perspective.