« PA Passes Autism Bill | Main | Support? »
Some Parents Share Traits
By Richard | July 19, 2008
Parents of Autistic Children Are Often Aloof Themselves
HealthDay News | Washington Post
THURSDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) — New research shows that some parents of autistic children appear to be “socially aloof,” providing more evidence that some aspects of autism are hereditary.
“This manifests as a tendency not to prefer interactions with others, not to enjoy ’small talk’ for the sake of the social experience, and to have few close friendships involving sharing and mutual support. This characteristic is really a variation of the normal range of social behavior and not associated with any functional impairment,” Dr. Joe Piven, director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities and co-author of a paper published in the July 17 issue ofCurrent Biology, said in a university news release.
After observing 42 parents of children with autism, the researchers concluded that some of the parents evaluated facial expressions differently, more like their autistic children. MORE