Interesting.... sad but coincidental

[The People]

There is an article about Susan Boyle, woman who came out of nowhere and has taken the world by storm. Came second on Britain's Got Talent. Might be MT but fits with discussion we had a while back about varying issues overlapping.

People mocked her because she forgot her teddy bear ad had a tantrum. She was 46 "and not been kissed" when she walked on the stage and blew people away. Audience laughed when she said she wanted to sing. Her hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in a while and her persona appeared to show... something. She got 2 notes out and you could hear a pin drop she was so amazing.

Yesterday Susan was taken to hospital from a busy airport (Heathrow perhaps). She has publicly acknowledged that she has Asperger's Syndrome and loses control sometimes. Yet when she is on stage she is able to maintain control.

I remember reading a book years ago. It was written by a woman who had Autism. It was most likely Asperger's as they hadn't been dxing it yet. I remember noticing similarities between her and myself. Even writing a letter to someone who worked with her, asking if they ever noticed similarities.

Makes me wonder if DID and the Autism spectrum affect the same part of the brain in some ways?

[Irenes]

Our personal observation has been that surprisingly many plural systems are autistic. We certainly are, ourselves.

We see two explanations that seem likely offhand, and perhaps both are true to some extent:

1) There's some neurological basis in common.

2) Autists are known for being introspective, and thus perhaps far more likely than most people to notice the various dissociative phenomena they experience. Autists who have found a community also tend to make our own social standards, and so perhaps many are more able than allists to accept plurality as an explanation without having hugely traumatic experiences that give them no choice.

Current medical theory is that autism is a whole-brain structural issue... yes, there are slightly more detailed theories than this, but the best are still very vague. We only mention that because if, like us, you have any interest in speculating about neuroscience without actually having studied any, it's probably less inaccurate to speculate about ways the brain is different as a whole rather than about parts of the brain. But, really, the social implications and the fact that it means there are communities in the intersection is way more important than whatever the medical explanation might someday turn out to be.

[nats]

interesting! so if we understand you correctly Irenes, it's possible that autists and/or others who are affected differently by environmental and social stimuli may develop multiplicity without necessarily having a severe abuse history, i.e. as with everything it's a combination of nature vs nurture that differs for everyone.

[Irenes]

Yes, that's very much our belief.

[The People]

One thing about Autism is that it is a spectrum. This because it affects different parts of the brain. A woman I know has a son who cannot speak but appears to function well in other ways. I am quite sure that DID affects more of the brain than the average monomind. It would be interesting to know if we have different areas that are impacted.