#level 1.5 autism

[aunt-kats-chats]

I'm so tired of the idea that autism isn't a disability. I'm aware that some people aren't too affected by their autism but I am disabled by mine. I've been in and out of different therapies since I was nine years old and that was even before I was diagnosed at age twelve. I have frequent meltdowns and shutdowns over the littlest of things and combined with my ADHD and GAD it's quite frankly a miracle I get anything done. I've been exhausted since school has ended since I have to prep for University and I keep having mini meltdowns over all the uncertainty ahead. I barely know how to keep the friends I still have and everyone I'm close with is going to different schools so I have no friends as a safety net come Fall Semester.

It's tiring being Autistic because everything is so much more difficult. I can barely write legibly unless I think about it and even making friends is a game I barely know how to play. Yet when i tell people that I'm autistic they are shocked as if it wasn't obvious by my difficulties with peers.

I just hope that University is better but fuck I don't even know anymore.

But to my main point. Autism is a disability. Deal with it

[nocherryblood]

Autism regression things I'm slowly noticing, that are terrifying me:

-Speech changes. Sometimes speaking takes more effort or my speech is slower. Moreso when I'm tired, but even when I was tired a few years ago I was a lot more okay to talk. When I speak it's like speaking through thick, heavy tar. I stutter or take ages to speak. It's like I can do it but it's so slow, dull and monotone that it's almost comical. But it frustrates me because I feel like I could speak normally if I tried and I think I can but it's so much effort that I don't want to anymore

I'm trying to learn British Sign Language or Makaton or Sign Supported English to help but no one around me knows it for it to be useful when I most need it, but even then I am not sure I have enough in me to think and remember and put all the effort into remembering the signs. I've thought about using AAC but I know most people will just tell me to talk verbally and that I don't need it. I feel like I'm trying to be "special". I feel awful. But I also can't help but imagine how much easier it may be for me not to have to speak when it bothers me so. I can tap a button, tap a few buttons, and what I need to say will be gotten across

-Mask/repression failing. I'm finding that I act a lot more noticeably "stereotypically" autistic (in quotes because there is no one 'autism' and stereotypes can be harmful, I know, please don't lecture me) whereas before I didn't really have too many troubles repressing myself and my instincts. For example, I am often reprimanded for being "babyish" and "silly"- for example, verbally stimming out loud at random all the time (e.g. little groans or grunts or mutters or hums- they come as easy and as often as breathing), not being able to control when I cry and whine because I am upset, whining and 'getting in a tizzy/tantrum' and getting "overreactively" upset when someone is not understanding me and getting frustrated so easily (sometimes because people don't always understand that sometimes I'm not complaining because I'm just annoyed, but because if they don't help I am going to have a meltdown), and as I have just mentioned, having more meltdowns or getting close to one despite never really ever having them before. I have been under a lot of stress lately, so I know that could factor into all of this, but it feels like I can no longer get a grip on myself and it feels like I am losing control of my own self. It's frightening and I know it's annoying to deal with for other people, and that stresses me out even more. How do I tell someone without them thinking I'm just being babyish or it's an excuse for me to be lazy and/or stupid? When they tell me I was doing so well and now I'm not? And I try to force myself to "stop being silly" and it works for all of about two seconds?

-Loss of previously concrete abilities. I am losing so much energy. Depression and mental health factors into this, I know, but it feels like I am getting dumber. I can't retain information the way I used to. I can't concentrate or focus like I used to. I can't enjoy even my own hobbies like I used to. I need more help and more prompting and more explanation than I ever have asked for or needed before. And "used to" refers to how I was only about 2-3 years ago

-Having more sensory issues and taking longer to understand/process instructions and ideas. It takes so long for things to fully "click" into my head now, if they even do at all. Or I interpret it completely wrong and people think I'm doing it intentionally. I forget things so, so often. I write things down to try to help... but the I forget what to write down or that I've even written anything down at all. Taking medicines on time is almost impossible too, even with reminders and timers

-Guilt/imposter syndrome. A lot of these things lead to guilt. Guilt that I'm taking away help and support from people with higher support needs, from people with real struggles, guilt that I'm "probably faking it" even though I cannot stop it even when I try and I cannot improve myself for very long before it goes back to being bad again or sometimes even worse, guilt that I'm just lazy or guilt that I'm "pretending to be worse". And because I feel guilt, and because I know others perceive me as faking it or "putting it on"/"making it worse than it seems to be" I feel terrified of trying to accommodate myself. It feels like some parts of my spectrum are worsening or crossing into higher support needs, even if it's not every day. Maybe it's one day or two days or three days or four days or maybe even five days that it crosses into a higher support need category. But because I can still do some things for myself, the rest is brushed off...

I need to keep reminding myself that though I may have it better than a lot of people, I'm still struggling. And I am allowed to ask for help, I want to believe. But being classed as "High Functioning" or "Level 1" is not helping in the slightest. Why can't they give you a classification based off of what parts of Autism exactly you need help and support with?

Is there anyone else that is going through this as well?

[viewmonster-deactivated20230122]

that article so eloquently illustrates the problem with online neurodivergent communities and the way neurodivergencies are talked about on the internet. tiktok and twitter are diseases that need to be purged from cyberspace so that autistics and people with adhd can be sane again

[autismaccount]

I've reached 35 responses! They're very interesting, but the sample size is still small, and I don't think it's at all representative of the Tumblr autism community. If I can't reach at least 100 responses, I don't think I'll be able to analyze Tumblr community views on support needs in depth. I'll still post descriptive statistics for the overall sample, but I won't have the statistical power to do anything else.

I'd really appreciate if everyone could help by taking the survey and reblogging this post to their followers!

As a reminder, the survey is meant to understand how people use support needs labels. For example, what makes someone low support needs and not moderate support needs? The survey also helps show what the community is like in general in terms of demographics and experiences!

A summary of the current survey results are under the Read More. Again, especially if a community that you're in is under-represented, please help by spreading the survey link! I'd especially love to hear from more people AMAB, racial/ethnic minorities, people who are not yet diagnosed or were diagnosed as adults, and higher support needs individuals!

Age: Most participants are young; 60% are under age 25%, and 20% are under 18.

Gender: Over half of the sample is AFAB nonbinary, almost 1/3 is trans men, and almost all of the remainder (14%) is cis women. Only 2 people who are AMAB have taken the survey.

Race/Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic White people are very over-represented, making up 82% of the sample.

Diagnosis: 57% are professionally diagnosed, 20% are informally or soft-diagnosed, and 14% are seeking a diagnosis. Only 9% are neither diagnosed nor seeking a diagnosis.

The most common diagnoses are ASD with no level (33%), level 1 ASD (25%), and "mild autism" (13%).

16% were diagnosed before age 8, 24% between ages 9 and 15, 32% between ages 16 and 18, 12% between ages 19 and 25, and 16% over age 25.

Autism Support Needs: The most common self-identified support needs label is "low-moderate" (43%), followed by low (23%) and moderate (14%). Most would benefit from but do not need weekly support (31%), only need accommodations and mental health support (17%), or rarely need any support (6%).

Autism Symptoms: On a severity scale of 0 (not applicable) to 3 (severe), the average is 1.7 overall, 1.8 socially, and 1.7 for restricted-repetitive behaviors. The most severe symptom is sensory issues (2.1), and the least severe are nonverbal communication and stimming (both 1.5).

83% are fully verbal, and 97% have no intellectual disability.

38% can mask well enough to seem "off" but not necessarily autistic. 21% can't mask well or for long.

Most experience shutdowns (94%), difficulties with interoception (80%), meltdowns (71%), alexithymia (71%), echolalia (69%), and autistic mutism (66%). Very few experience psychosis (14%) or catatonia (11%).

Self-Diagnosis: 20% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism, 29% think it's almost always fine, 31% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 71% think it needs to be done carefully, and 11% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose.

15% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism DSM-5 levels (including if the person has been told they don't have autism), 15% think it's fine as long as autism hasn't been ruled out, 21% think it's almost always fine, 18% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 36% think it needs to be done carefully, and 36% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose.

26% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism support needs labels (including if the person has been told they don't have autism), 29% think it's fine as long as autism hasn't been ruled out, 37% think it's almost always fine, 29% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 43% think it needs to be done carefully, and 6% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose.

Disability: 71% feel disabled by autism, 17% feel disabled by another condition but not autism, and 11% are unsure.

Comorbidities: The most common mental health comorbidities are anxiety (68%), ADHD (62%), and depression (56%).

The least common mental health disorders are schizophrenia spectrum disorders (0%), bipolar disorders (3%), tic disorders (6%), substance use disorders (6%), personality disorder (9%), and OCD (9%).

The most common physical health comorbidities are gastrointestinal issues (29%), connective tissue disorders (29%), autoimmune disorders (24%), neurological disorders or injuries (24%), and hearing/vision loss (24%). All others are below 20%.

Overall Support Needs: When considering comorbidities, the most common self-identified support needs label is moderate (37%), followed by low-moderate (31%) and low (17%).

[meepmoopmaap]

I must ask about Pokemon math for I wish to here you ramble :3

OH MY GOSH OKAY POKEMON MATHS

Did you know that moves get multiplied if the pokemon using them matches the type of the move being used, I don't remember the exact numbers I just know shit gets better. Like a Charmander using ember or flamethrower. And then it gets either 1.5 or 2 times more powerful if it's a super effective, then even *more* powerful if you get a crit. I sadly haven't memorized the exact numbers, but my pokemon playing has gotten better bc I actually look at my guy's stats when I battle.

Also we're now gonna leave math territory, let's talk about special abilities. In my first scarlet playthrough I caught a skidoo, I didn't really want it but it was kinda cute so I'd tolerate it being weaker than my team, it could just mooch off exp from other battles until I deemed it ready.

Then i fought brassius. He's the grass gym. Wiped the floor with my team....until it was down to skidoo. Skidoo the grass type, versus the grass type team. Incase you didn't know, if you use a grass type move on a grass type it's not very effective, just type matching in general doesn't work out well.

But Skidoo's special ability happens to Sap Sipper, which means if it gets hits by a grass type move it won't take any damage, but instead it's attack will increase.

So instead of collecting my losses, acknowledging my team was 3ish levels too low to win, and grinding....I fucking brute forced my way through the type mashups and forced Brassius's stupid fucking pokemon into submissive with my skidoo's lack of fucks to give. Who needs type matchups when you're strong as fuck.

Skidoo then went on to become one of the most powerful fuckers on my team, right beside a literal hunk of salt rocks who's so autism to me and a dragon I caught while he was 10 levels too high for me to command but on the off chance he did listen to me he fucked wrecked shit up and left no survivors.

[identitty-dickruption]

also kinda weird being a guy who was diagnosed with level two autism but probably actually has level one autism. in that my autism symptoms are definitely more obvious + disabling than a lot of level ones I talk to. but I got the diagnosis in a stressful period in my life and my symptoms aren’t as disabling now as they were then. but also 80% of the time I can accommodate my symptoms myself as long as I’m given the autonomy to do so. level 1.5 motherfucker

[ichverdurstehier]

Is it possible for someone's autism levels to change due to trauma? Like could a 1.5 go to a 2.5 after being kidnapped and tortured? I'm writing a story

[thedisablednaturalist]

Just being around my family stresses me out. Which in turn causes my pain levels to rise. Everyone is so nasty to each other. I can't ask for help without being ridiculed so I just have to fight through the pain to make my dinner. And then I have to flee to my room or risk being chastised for the unhealthiness of whatever I manage to make before falling over. I just needed to eat a safe food that was quick, filling, and didn't trigger my nausea. But because box mac and cheese will make me fat my mom has to tear me apart over it. Also I only ate 1.5 meals today because my mom gets mad when I'm in the kitchen.

And the bathrooms? My brother spends 20 minutes taking a sink bath every half hour in the bathroom across from my room, so I have to use my parents bathroom if I don't get to it in time. I try to pee quickly but I have to pee frequently due to fibromyalgia bladder. My mom yells at me for using "her" bathroom. "Go downstairs!" she yells. Why can't my able-bodied brother go downstairs to take his sink baths then?? why do I have to painfully crawl down the stairs every time I want to take a piss?? Also he does this in the middle of the night too which wakes me up. Don't get me started on him filling the toilet with shit and not flushing so the smell wafts into my room 🤢

Oh and god forbid I have to take my weekly shower. Then EVERYONE is mad at me for "hogging the bathroom". I only shower once or twice a week due to pain and both my brothers literally showering twice a day (thus no hot water, it's impossible to take a cold shower with fibro). I have to fight to get a timeslot. And then my mom makes fun of me for looking "unkempt".

But according to everyone IM the bully, IM overreacting. My mom "almost died to birth me" so her behavior gets excused. My one brother has severe autism/OCD and my parents dont do anything to help or manage it so his needs are always above mine since I'm able to "push past it" (re: forced). Fun fact the "witch doctor" my parents took my brother to cut off my brothers meds cold turkey this week so its all been 200x worse due to withdrawal (who the fuck cuts someone off of WELLBUTRIN AND ZOLOFT cold turkey????).

I keep telling myself its only a few more weeks but I still haven't heard back about my housing application being approved and I'm getting worried.

How am I supposed to live, let alone work, in this environment?

[sophieinwonderland]

Even going by currently suggested DID statistics...

1% of the known worlds population is Autistic.

1.5% of the known worlds population has DID.

Autism is more rare than DID. People are aware autistic people exist and there's a good amount of them. I've met numerous other autistics irl multiple times (We are autistic too). So who's to say any one person hasn't met numerous DID systems.

Additionally DID is considered to be underdiagnosed and in many places in the world Autism is also underdiagnosed. In the USA, 1 in 36 children have autism. That is ~2.78% of people with that disorder. It would also reasonably follow that the amount of pwDID if it became as properly understood as autism is slowly starting to become and people have enough awareness to try and get assements and/or therapy/care/etc. for it- the numbers will start to go up as well.

Also you have to take into account the very nature of the disorder. DID is often incredibly covert- systems without the covertness might be diagnosed sooner than systems whoa re incredibly covert like us if they have no awareness of what DID is. We had to seek out someone to even consider us having it because we are covert- we had to self diagnosis first to then go and access care because we would have seemed fine otherwise because of amnesia for all the episodes and issues we do have. We had to learn of things and learn to write down issues/track them or we would fully forget. Learning about first plurality and eventually DID is what helped us manage to eventually begin the treatment we personally needed and wanted for what was bothering us.

Sources used for this...

Worldwide autism dx https://www.tpathways.org/faqs/how-many-people-have-autism/ Worldwide DID dx https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568768/#:~:text=Dissociative%20identity%20disorder%20(DID)%20is,injurious%20behavior%20and%20suicide%20attempts.

This is a great addition! The autism comparison really shows how common it actually is!

I do find it really strange how Autism has far more visibility than systemhood despite being less common, and yet fakeclaiming of ASD doesn't exist at nearly the same level as it does for DID and OSDD.

[disabledautisticgreen]

i don't know my support needs and it's hard to tell which of it is autism and which is from my other issues. i get scareed because i don't think i can live on my own without help. i don't think i can get a job but my family keeps pushing me to try. i tried to learn how to drive but it just doesn't click for me. the iadl stuff is all stuff i need help with. but a couple badls are issues for me too.

i don't remember who diagnosed me with autism so i don't know what level i am. i feel more autistic than my partner and he sometimes get upset when i do things that are more autistic than him. i don't know how to figure it out. everyone says i should be able to do this or that and when i say i need my hand held i get corrected and told i just need a little help and encouragement. but i know i'm not level 3. is level 1.5 a thing?

my aunt is trying to help me get on disability but i need to call doctors to do that and while i can it's really really hard because i don't understand what people are saying on the phone and i can't ask them to repeat themselves because i get stressed and just say "okay" because that's the only response my brain can give sometimes

i don't know how to end this. i know low support and level 1 can and do have issues. but i don't know if i fall under that. it doesn't feel like i do, i feel like i can't relate to my friends' issues and like i get judged for being different from them, i don't know if i'm faking or pretending having it worse off than them or if my mom medically neglecting me included the autism. i don't want to take from people worse off than me

i also am starting to wonder if i'm semi verbal because i've seen people say things that seemsimilar to how i experience stuff. feeling like jaw is clamped shut. wrong words coming out. stuttering and tripping over my words. i make grunts and growls when upset and it scares people. i think in concepts and it's hard to put words to the concepts. i forget words a lot and pause mid sentence. and talking is hard, not thoughtless. i can use text. but i have to sit for a long while to make words and have them make sense. sometimes i'm okay at words and sometimes i'm not. like right now

but i don't want to take words that don't belong to me or labels that don't apply. so i'm confused and i don't really know what to do or ask besides please help (advice?) and i know people here probably aren't professionals. but i don't know where to start. this has been making me really anxious all the time. thinking about it makes me want to cry if i think about it for too long. please let me know if i'm being hurtful by asking for help. do i just stop worrying about it ebcause i'm probably just low support level 1 with speech loss episodes?or is it fair to suspect that i'm not... i don't know. does low-mid support exist does level 1.5 or 1.7 autism exist??

[aunt-kats-chats]

Question for other autistics. How soon is too soon to tell a possible friend that I'm autistic?

[1am-rice]

Things I want to/make someone else do research on:

- SSRI’s as a temporary intervention tool

SSRI’s from my experience are often talked about as something that “initially worked really well” and then “caused more problems than they solved” after long-term use (2+ years). I would be interested to see a clinical trial across 3-5 years of patients receiving SSRI’s for 1 - 1.5 yrs vs patients who remain on SSRI’s for the duration (all groups would also be given free bi-weekly therapy). My hypothesis is that patients who had temporary intervention SSRI’s would see greater long term improvement.

- therapy alongside sex-ed in schools

This study would ideally go alongside vastly improved sex-ed, and would define “therapy” as the usage and teaching of mental health skills in classes holistically, with an on-site therapist for dedicated talk therapy also. This is easy to do really badly, but comes from my experience of tutoring English. Teaching students really basic CBT, DBT and general awareness skills has helped every student I have ever tutored. E.g. in Australian HSC English in the common module students look at human experiences alongside anomalies, inconsistencies and paradoxes, giving students tools such as the wheel of emotions, and the occasional therapy technique to apply to build psychological understanding of characters helps the student in English coursework, and I have often seen the student’s mental health improve simultaneously. Additionally I believe that a baseline understanding of tools that can be used in any interpersonal situation can be very helpful even if the student themselves has no issues in interpersonal relationships, as it allows insight and careful handling. Theoretically this would see students coming out of school with better self-knowledge and coping tools.

- workplace accommodations for high-masking/low level autism

I would like more research to be done in tangible workplace support for “low level” autism. “Low level” individuals are often (if not always) not provided monetary or social support tools - and do not qualify for them. But these individuals (myself included) do need support. I believe further research and records of autistic people in the workplace - given the opportunity to ask for support and that support be given - would allow for genuinely effective and reasonable accommodations to be discovered and/or improved for “low level” ASD individuals to function. This comes from my struggle to find work while attending university- with employers being quite hostile to questions and irregular scheduling requirements. I’m sure those aren’t the only areas that could do with more examination.

[clownrecess]

Hey! I had a question about the autism levelling system. If a person is deemed to be level 2 with the first diagnostic criteria (social deficits) but level 1 with the second (sensory/routine/etc.), would they be deemed 1.5 or do they round it to either 1 or 2? And if so, how do they decide which number? Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, brain fog at the moment

I'm actually really not sure. I guess it would be based on which level the person has more traits similar to? If anybody knows please comment it.

[ojiro-s-hellish-site]

You think of kid that said

'DSM-5 got rid of distinction between aspergers, autism, rett’s, child disintegration disorder, etc. and collapsed it all into autism spectrum disorder, and added levels to denote amount of support needed. level 1 is need support, level 2 is need substantial support,level 3 is need very substantial support. so it is a diagnostic tool that some autistics find helpful. so technically you can’t be explicitly diagnosed with decimal 1.5 2.5, but sometimes clinicians will say “level 2 in restricted repetitive behaviors, level 3 in social language communication.” levels (and honestly overall support needs labels) denote overall, typical functioning. common misconception is “well on good days i’m level 1 but on bad days i’m level 2 or even 3” but that is misunderstanding of levels. yes have bad days yes needs fluctuate, but levels is used to talk about overall typical day, used as summary. you can be level 1 when child but grow up to adult and become level 2 over time, but diagnostically you don’t fluctuate between levels per day.'?

No but I appreciate the information!

[lostcitysystem]

None of the autism levels fit us? Like we weren’t given one during diagnosis and as we’re looking at them now the closest to us is Level 2 but the other levels have parts that we strongly relate to. Also kind of disagree with it a bit being called ‘mild’ to ‘severe’ autism but yk.

With Level 2 it seems like we relate to everything but we have good language use and understanding and we can function relatively well under certain circumstances so more like Level 1. On the other hand we have frequent shut downs and can’t move on from activities that we haven’t timed to end. We stim all the time and have never been able to make friends properly or engage in communication effectively despite our language use. We also can’t cook on our own and can’t do much to look after ourselves day to day. We’re like both a 1.5 and a 2.5 on the scale.

Anyone know if this level system has more defined parameters or if it’s even used that much? Also does anyone know based on my descriptions what level I’d be?

[mandyjane-lifedesign]

Research shows modern humans’ brain size has shrunk by 20%. Are we dumbing down? What is to blame?

Both brain size and IQ are falling in modern humans, coinciding with a big increase in mental illness. What we eat is to blame, says Professor Michael Crawford, author of a new book ‘The Shrinking Brain’. Sir David Attenborough is convinced he is right. IQ scores have also been steadily falling for the past few decades. Norwegian researchers, headed by Ole Rogeberg, a senior research fellow at the Ragnar Frisch Center for Economic Research in Norway, analysed the IQ scores of Norwegian men born between 1962 and 1991 and found that scores steadily decreased among those born after 1975. “Similar studies in Denmark, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Finland and Estonia have demonstrated a similar downward trend in IQ scores” says Rogeberg. “The decline is due to environmental factors,” This coincides with a change in western diet away from fat, towards carbohydrate and sugar, based on the mistaken belief that it was fat, not sugar, that was causing heart disease and that we should all eat a low-fat diet. Since then, our IQ scores have been dropping by about 7 per cent per generation. “We are heading for an idiocracy” says Professor Crawford who is Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition. Currently one in five of the world’s children and adolescents have a mental health condition.’  If this trend continues, by 2080 he predicts that more than a third of the world’s population will be borderline mentally retarded. The World Health Organisation report says ‘there has been a 13% rise in mental health conditions. One in eight now suffer from mental illness. Incidence of depression is through the roof. Last year in the UK there were over 100 million prescriptions for antidepressants. Crawford is convinced it is the modern-day diet that is causing us to dumb down. “Our genome is adapted to eating the wild foods we ate during our species’ evolution. Today’s diet bears no resemblance to this.” In his book, The Shrinking Brain, he says “Our ancestors evolved a unique 1,600cc brain evolving from our ancestral 350cc brain of the chimpanzee, despite our genome only differing by 1.5%. This could only have happened with the provision of brain-specific building nutrients from land and sea. There is incontrovertible evidence of early Homo sapiens exploiting the marine food web in coastal Africa.” In other words, we were the waterside ape who became smart, with bigger brains, by eating mussels, oysters, crabs and fish. Professor Crawford discovered, in 1971, that the brains of all mammals are rich in omega-3 DHA. The size of their brain varied according to their dietary supply of DHA found in seafood. A dolphin, for example, has a 1,700cc brain, slightly larger than ours, while a lion has a 320cc brain about that of a chimpanzee. “The mix of wild land and aquatic foods powered by the encephalization of the brain from the 340cc of the chimp to the 1,500-1,700 of cro-magnon. DHA is not only involved in signalling but it stimulates gene expression in the brain so the rich aquatic food sources constantly, every day, would have powered the increase in brain size and function.” says Crawford. “Today’s diet contains less than a tenth of the omega-3 fats that our ancestors ate and this is having dire consequences on mental health. Increased rates of depression, autism, ADHD and dementia are all strongly linked to lack of seafood. Increased intake from eating fish or supplementing omega-3 fish oils reduces dementia risk by 20 per cent. While a plant-based diet has many benefits, those who eat no fish, are especially vulnerable, and must supplement omega-3 DHA, derived from algae. The only way to be sure you have enough is t o get a blood test to specifically test your levels.” Says Patrick Holford, CEO of the FoodfortheBrain.org charity. The charity has just launched a simple ‘do it at home’ pin-prick test that can give you a clear indication of your Omega-3 levels, alongside a Cognitive Function Test, that can help identify what’s driving future risk and show you how to dementia-proof your diet and lifestyle. Canadian neuroscientist and brain expert Professor Stephen Cunnane at the University of Sherbrook in Canada agrees “A shore-based diet, i.e., fish, molluscs, crustaceans, frogs, bird's eggs and aquatic plants, provides the richest known dietary sources of brain selective nutrients.” says Cunnane. “Change in diet away from marine foods is the likely explanation for this decrease in brain size.” Sir David Attenborough, a supporter of the waterside ape theory, agrees “Gathering molluscs is far easier than chasing elephants and wildebeests across the savannah.” Today, under 5 per cent of children achieve the basis requirement for omega-3 from seafood. Professor Michael Crawford, who is visiting professor at Imperial College’s Chelsea & Westminster campus and science advisor to the charity foodforthebrain.org, was part of the team that has recently established that, if a pregnant woman lacks omega-3 DHA she produces a substitute fat, oleic acid, to fill the baby’s brain. But it doesn’t work. Levels of oleic acid in a pregnant woman’s blood predicted preterm birth which carries the highest risk of developmental brain problems and mental deficits in their offspring, as well as a risk of learning and cognitive disabilities. Low omega-3 and B vitamins in mothers increases risk for lower IQ, learning and emotional problems in children . Anyone concerned about their levels of Omega-3 can now test their levels with a hometest kit provided by the charity foodforthebrain.org, which is offered alongside a free Cognitive Function Test, that assesses how well your diet is supporting your brain heath. A new study shows that the higher the omega-3 index and DHA, which is what Food for the Brain measures, the greater both the brain size and the cognition of older people. Brain size predicts cognitive abilities. Brain size is worked out from skull capacity. Homo sapiens skulls dating back to 29,000 years ago had a brain capacity of 1,660cc. By 10,000 years ago it was around 1,500cc or 1.5 kilograms. Average brain size today is a fifth smaller, at 1,336cc. Brain size may have started to shrink from 10,000 years ago, coinciding with mankind developing more land-based agriculture and eating less marine food along rivers and coasts.  “We are inviting people to join our ‘citizen science’ study to track the impact of diet and Omega-3 on cognitive function over time.” says the charity’s CEO, Patrick Holford, a brain health expert. “I’m convinced we are digging our own graves with a knife and fork and our brains and mental health are suffering as a result. Alzheimer’s, which is preventable, is also a direct consequence of this.”   THE FOOD FOR THE BRAIN FOUNDATION The Food for the Brain Foundation (foodforthebrain.org) is an educational and research charity, focussing on dementia prevention. It’s free online validated Cognitive Function Test, followed by the Dementia Risk Index questionnaire assessing eight drivers of dementia, including ‘brain fats’ and ‘low carbs & GL’ thus identifying those eating too many carbs and not enough brain fats, then advising them what to do. Supporting Research IQ FALLING Bratsberg B, Rogeberg O. Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jun 26;115(26):6674-6678. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718793115. Epub 2018 Jun 11. PMID: 29891660; PMCID: PMC6042097. DECREASE IN BRAIN SIZE Cunnane SC, Crawford MA. Energetic and nutritional constraints on infant brain development: implications for brain expansion during human evolution. J Hum Evol. 2014 Dec;77:88-98. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.05.001. Epub 2014 Jun 11. PMID: 24928072. MENTAL HEALTH RISING https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338 OMEGA-3 PREDICTS COGNITIVE PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN Montgomery P, Burton JR, Sewell RP, Spreckelsen TF, Richardson AJ. Low blood long chain omega-3 fatty acids in UK children are associated with poor cognitive performance and behavior: a cross-sectional analysis from the DOLAB study. PLoS One. 2013 Jun 24;8(6):e66697. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066697. OMEGA-3 PREDICTS RISK FOR DEMENTIA AND COGNITIVE DECLINE Wei BZ, Li L, Dong CW, Tan CC; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Xu W. The Relationship of Omega-3 Fatty Acids with Dementia and Cognitive Decline: Evidence from Prospective Cohort Studies of Supplementation, Dietary Intake, and Blood Markers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023 Jun;117(6):1096-1109. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 Apr 5. PMID: 37028557; PMCID: PMC10447496. OMEGA-3 LEVELS PREDICT BRAIN SIZE IN OLDER PEOPLE Loong, S.; Barnes, S.; Gatto, N.M.; Chowdhury, S.; Lee, G.J. Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Cognition, and Brain Volume in Older Adults. Brain Sci.2023,13,1278. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/brainsci13091278 Quoted references:  Bratsberg B, Rogeberg O. Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jun 26;115(26):6674-6678. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718793115. Epub 2018 Jun 11. PMID: 29891660; PMCID: PMC6042097.  https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338  Cunnane SC, Crawford MA. Energetic and nutritional constraints on infant brain development: implications for brain expansion during human evolution. J Hum Evol. 2014 Dec;77:88-98. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.05.001. Epub 2014 Jun 11. PMID: 24928072.  Wei BZ, Li L, Dong CW, Tan CC; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Xu W. The Relationship of Omega-3 Fatty Acids with Dementia and Cognitive Decline: Evidence from Prospective Cohort Studies of Supplementation, Dietary Intake, and Blood Markers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023 Jun;117(6):1096-1109. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 Apr 5. PMID: 37028557; PMCID: PMC10447496.  Kranz, S.; Jones, N.R.V.; Monsivais, P. Intake Levels of Fish in the UK Paediatric Population. Nutrients 2017, 9, 392. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9040392  Montgomery P, Burton JR, Sewell RP, Spreckelsen TF, Richardson AJ. Low blood long chain omega-3 fatty acids in UK children are associated with poor cognitive performance and behavior: a cross-sectional analysis from the DOLAB study. PLoS One. 2013 Jun 24;8(6):e66697. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066697. Erratum in: PLoS One. 2013;8(9); see also Veena SR, Krishnaveni GV, Srinivasan K, Wills AK, Muthayya S, Kurpad AV, Yajnik CS, Fall CH. Higher maternal plasma folate but not vitamin B-12 concentrations during pregnancy are associated with better cognitive function scores in 9- to 10- year-old children in South India. J Nutr. 2010 May;140(5):1014-22. doi: 10.3945/jn.109.118075. Epub 2010 Mar 24. PMID: 20335637; PMCID: PMC3672847; see also McNulty H, Rollins M, Cassidy T, Caffrey A, Marshall B, Dornan J, McLaughlin M, McNulty BA, Ward M, Strain JJ, Molloy AM, Lees-Murdock DJ, Walsh CP, Pentieva K. Effect of continued folic acid supplementation beyond the first trimester of pregnancy on cognitive performance in the child: a follow-up study from a randomized controlled trial (FASSTT Offspring Trial). BMC Med. 2019 Oct 31;17(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s12916-019-1432-4. PMID: 31672132; PMCID: PMC6823954.  Loong, S.; Barnes, S.; Gatto, N.M.; Chowdhury, S.; Lee, G.J. Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Cognition, and Brain Volume in Older Adults. Brain Sci.2023,13,1278. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/brainsci13091278 Read the full article