Actually, I find Ledgin's evidence wanting, aside from the natural point you raise about the time factor. He apparently utilized various biographies of Jefferson, which, besides being secondary sources, are not woeks necessarily written to draw the same conclusions from since all biographers paint their own portrait of the subject. Also, despite referring to various diagnostic scales and the like, Ledgin seems to implicitly lean heavily on a comparison with his own son, a young adult with Asperger Syndrome. He ties in reports of Jefferson greeting guests in his slippers as an expression of Jefferson's Asperger-like need wear comfortable clothing regardless of the appropriateness, as well as of his not appreciating implicit social rules. Also, a reported discomfort and awkwardness with public speaking. His very 'renaissance man' character, with the various, wide-ranging interests is chalked up to an Aspie-like tendency to focus on a particular subject to the exclusion of all else, before moving on to another. Even his indebtedness is marked as a sign of not comprehending the concept of money or the meaning of numbers, if I recall rightly. In summary, all could be explained otherwise, if even true. Ledgin does try to suggest a family tendency toward autism or autistic-like traits in the related Randolph family, pointing to such notable "eccentrics" as John Randolph of Roanoke. Actually, other than knowing that Jefferson's mother was a Randolph, and that a daughter or two married (back) into that family, I do not know how the two men were related exactly. I am aware that inbreeding was at least one thing blamed for the particualar traits credited to the Randolphs, although I understand not all of them were necessarily affected. How much is legend and hearsay and how much is fact beyond John Randolph of Roanoke (or even there)I am not sure. Mr. Ledgin's stated purpose of increasing awareness and understanding of autism spectrum disorders is admirable, but whether his approach is appropriate, even if the basic hypothesis were true,which cannot be confirmed one way or the other. Personally, I think it bad history, and an unfortunate form of advocacy. --- Anne Pemberton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I don't have the book or easy access to it, but am > somewhat familiar with > autism and Asperger's syndrome because it has > blossomed in the youngest > generation in my family. > > Perhaps my greatest concern is the notion of > diagnosing Jefferson long > after he is gone. Identification of autism and > Asperger's's has undergone > quite an "improvement" in the past decade or so. > Prior to that, intelligent > children with autistic and Asperger's's > characteristics were identified as > Learning Disabled, even tho they never did quite > fit. And that was with the > subject right there to study, not long dead! So, I > would be most reluctant > to agree to a diagnosis of someone who is not > available for the testing and > questioning that usually goes into making such a > diagnosis. > > What type of evidence does Ledgin present? Does he > show a clear trail of > autism in descendents? Can he trace the autism back > a generation or two? > How does he feel the traits were manifested? > > Anne > > > At 06:38 AM 1/7/03 -0800, Jackson Jarl wrote: > >To All: > >Please forgive me if this topic has been discussed > >already, but I was curious: If any of you have read > >Norm Ledgin's DIGANOSING JEFFERSON, what do you > think > >of the book? Are its arguments and supports > sufficient > >and valid, merely suggestive, or more or less > totally > >in error? Apart from the case Ledgin attempts to > make > >in the book, what do you think of the idea - the > >possibility - that Jefferson had Asperger Syndrome, > >was on the autism spectrum, or had autistic-like > >characteristics? > > > >My interest in this based on work as an independent > >scholar, studying Jefferson, and work with an > agency > >that serves clients with autism. I also have an > >additional reason that I do not want to reveal, for > >fear of affecting any responses. > > > >Thank you, > > > >Jarl K.Jackson > > > > > >__________________________________________________ > >Do you Yahoo!? > >Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up > now. > >http://mailplus.yahoo.com > > > >To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, > please see the instructions > >at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > > Anne Pemberton > [log in to unmask] > > http://www.erols.com/stevepem > http://www.educationalsynthesis.org > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please > see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html