Google Search "Mensa" and "Autism"

[walkitout]

I have a post of links from this search. I was specifically looking for people who were both members of Mensa and autistic -- I found several, along with a wide variety of other things. Then I found this:

jmg.highwire.org/content/18/6/410.full.pdf

Journal of Medical Genetics, 1981, 18, 410-413

Genes for super-intelligence?

JEFFREY A SOFAER* AND ALAN E H EMERY**

From *the Department of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology, University of Edinburgh,
Old Surgeons Hall, High School Yards, Edinburgh EHJ INR; and
**the University Department of Human Genetics, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU

SUMMARY The results of a postal questionnaire distributed to British members of Mensa failed to confirm an association of superior intelligence with torsion dystonia, retinoblastoma, or phenylketonuria, but were consistent with real associations between high IQ and infantile autism, gout, and myopia. Further confirmation of these findings in other populations might well indicate that genes producing these disorders have more or less direct effects on cerebral development and function.

The whole article is seems to be there (5 pages). I felt like at that point I'd found _precisely_ what I went in search of, only _way_ older than I expected it to be. The question screened and then they did a round of letters to confirm the diagnoses.

"For infantile autism there were ten positive
responses, three for Mensa members themselves and
seven for their relatives. In only four of these cases,
all either sibs or children of respondents, was the
diagnosis confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist.
Assuming that it is unlikely for a case of infantile
autism to become either a parent16 or a member of
Mensa, the incidence of the disorder should be
calculated only with respect to sibs and children of
respondents. Table I shows that this was 3.2 to
6.3 times greater than reported for the general
population."

There are all kinds of limitations on this study (and the authors are aware of some of them, altho I would argue that the paragraph above indicates they are not aware of all of them), but it is nevertheless a really interesting artifact.

Comments

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it make some sense that people who are both highly intelligent and have social difficulties are more likely to join a high-intelligence society than people who are highly intelligent but have few such difficulties? I would expect higher Mensa membership also among people who lead somewhat restricted lives (little access to other social groups where people of high intelligence tend to congregate). I've definitely heard that about Mensa groups that draw from many small towns.

I believe Mensa groups are dwindling now that people tend to find their kind on the internet.

intelligence and social ability and Mensa

[walkitout]

A good fraction of people on WrongPlanet that might be eligible to join Mensa don't, and cite one or both of two reasons for not doing so: (1) cost of applying/dues and (2) suspected or actual issues with the membership of Mensa. Some of the people complain because they used to be a member and didn't care for it. Many, many, many more complain because they have issues with anyone who thinks anything special about having a IQ. A smaller fraction object because they feel the group isn't exclusive enough (and some of those mention Triple Nine Society?).

I would not be surprised to discover that Mensa gets a slice between the truly socially disabled (whether due to anxiety, lack of social competence, or whatever, people who avoid even an amount of socializing that would be rewarding because it is too traumatizing) and the doing-just-fine-socially crowd (which is not to say neurotypical, but satisfied with their own social life). A number of people on WrongPlanet specifically listed organizations they either belonged to or might join by preference to Mensa, if they felt a need for more socializing (Chess Clubs, seriously, got mentioned a lot). On the whole, however, a lot of people on WrongPlanet didn't _want_ as much socializing as a Mensa group would provide, and some of them said they would only join if there was an Aspie/Autism SIG (gotta love a worldview that considers Mensa too neurotypical, right?).

Mensa is not a large organization (on the order of 100K worldwide). It is not a very old organization (post WW2). I am unable to find data indicating membership numbers over time; I'm interested though. The organization must know because it is a dues-paying operation.