Brainiac Celiac?

[angst2amity]

From my casual experience based on looking at posts on different sites, and sizing up people in my area, people with celiac seem to be highly intellectual. Now I know celiac strikes those with Down's Syndrome and the Autism Spectrum - so there are lower and higher IQ's, and everything in between involved. But, on average what do you think?

I am not diagnosed yet, so I am not including myself in anyway.

[tarnalberry]

I think that if you're looking primarily at forums, you've got a highly skewed sample that is demonstratably not representative of the celiac population in a number of ways, and IQ is likely only one of them.

[Nantzie]

There are a lot of intellectual people here, now that you mention it. It would be an interesting thing to study.

I think that GFP, who used to post here, brought up the possible connection of celiac / swedish / shyness. It was a discussion asking how many people here are shy in real life, and there were quite a few. He mentioned that maybe it's due to the fact that in the pre-industrial pre-city-dwelling generations in Scandinavia there was a lot of solitude during long winters. Not much socializing other than with people in your own town, or even just with your own extended family.

I think that someday there should be a celiac foundation solely for the purpose of addressing these types of questions.

Nancy

[Guhlia]

There are a lot of intellectual people here, now that you mention it. It would be an interesting thing to study.

I think that GFP, who used to post here, brought up the possible connection of celiac / swedish / shyness. It was a discussion asking how many people here are shy in real life, and there were quite a few. He mentioned that maybe it's due to the fact that in the pre-industrial pre-city-dwelling generations in Scandinavia there was a lot of solitude during long winters. Not much socializing other than with people in your own town, or even just with your own extended family.

I think that someday there should be a celiac foundation solely for the purpose of addressing these types of questions.

Nancy

Hey Nancy, now we meet over here, huh?...

I agree... There are a fair amount of the intellectual type on this message board. A far greater number than many of the other message boards I have taken part in. Perhaps it has to do with Celiac having a correlation with IQ. I'd sooner think though that it has more to do with the effect of IQ on your position with healthcare. It seems likely to me that those with higher IQ's would find more resources, such as this message board, to take their health and care into their own hands. In addition, those with higher IQ may be more motivated to manage their health, which could lead to a higher rate in Celiac diagnoses. This would be purely due to educated care decisions rather than the actual intelligence/Celiac correlation (if one exists).

[chrissy]

well, a couple of years ago, the school sent me a letter telling me that molly is considered gifted and talented. tianna and kassie test VERY high on standardized testing, and tianna is a grade ahead in math. these are my 3 celiac girls----but the rest of my kids are also very smart. so, this could either just be luck or genetics----but then, celiac is genetics, too.

[Sinenox]

All the Celiacs I know personally are biology professors. Go figure.

[Lauren M]

I would also argue that more "intellectual" people might be more likely to pursue a Celiac diagnosis - both because they would most likely be financially able to, and because they would probably be more educated about health care (and access to resources).

Interesting observation, nevertheless.

- Lauren

[ravenwoodglass]

Just look at all the Aspies. We may be socially inept but we research stuff to death

I know all my family are high IQ testers. It will be nice to see how far my children go without the gluten cloud. They are doing great so far.

[tiredofdoctors]

My kids and I are ADHD or ADD . . . all have tested with high IQ's. Go figure . . . .

[Jestgar]

How 'bout: We have to work so hard to think through the brain fog, that when our heads are finally clear - thinking is a breeze!

[shayesmom]

How 'bout: We have to work so hard to think through the brain fog, that when our heads are finally clear - thinking is a breeze!

I COMPLETELY agree on that one!

[Guest cassidy]

Well, I'm one of the not so smart ones, so not everyone here is a genius. Just kidding.

I wonder if we are mistaking intelligence for education. I'm sure many people here are intelligent, just like many people in all walks of life are. I think most of us have been through some pretty tough medical situations where we became educated about what was happening and why. Celiac is a disease that you can't take casually. You can't say "that looks gluten free" or "one bite won't hurt me." Most of us have had to learn to read labels and become detectives and really learn how to live without getting ourselves sick. Doctors don't always understand celiac so many of us have wanted to learn ourselves.

Also, I agree that most people here give great advice. It definitely seems like people take an interest in trying to help you. If someone is asking a question about something I went through 6 months ago, then I can probably give pretty good advice, especially if I did research to try to help myself back then.

[darlindeb25]

I agree with Cassidy. There is a select group of people here on the boards, we are computer savvy enough to know how to use the forums--some people out there still do not even own a computer. Almost everything I know about celiacs, I learned online--some people just do not have that option. It would be a great survey though, just to find a ratio in some way.

By the way--I have always been shy

[angst2amity]

Thanks for the input, was just curious. I just look at the people in my community that may or may not have computers (but I would assume so) and they are eye doctors, administrators, teachers, upper governmental employees, etc. - of course some of these people have Asperger's with super high IQ (and those with Asp are in my extended family). One person with Autism in my family, they say "oh he had Celiac when he was a baby but not anymore", and now he has Schizophrenia on top. Hmmm....

By the way, I am so NOT shy, but VERY Swedish or mostly Swedish.

[eleep]

This reminds me of some of the issues with diabetes and the very large health disparities between diabetics with more education and resources and those with less. When it comes to managing an illness that requires constant monitoring of what you're consuming, it helps to be kind of an OCD egghead.