The great portal/blog Left Brain / Right Brain has a lengthy post on current research dealing with potential causes of autism. The post offers links to multiple peer-reviewed studies underway on the familiar suspects, ranging from mercury to the age of parents. Of course, no amount of research will influence…
Tag: etiology
I am quite open that I support genetic-based theories of autism etiology, while also open to the notion of triggers. Genetic predisposition is only that: predisposition. Many genetic conditions respond to triggers, so the two are not exclusionary. Today, there is a bit more on the genetics of autism. But…
ABC News offers the following: Autism Genes: Better Test May Help Screen Causes – ABC News I always find myself torn with stories like this. The part of me that embraces science would prefer scientific ways to diagnose individuals and count autism rates. Yet, I also wonder what becomes of…
Time magazine has two stories on autism diagnostic rates. One report is on a careful census of adults, trying to determine if there is a real difference between generations. The second report is on a telephone survey that shows a sudden spike in rates based on poorly worded questions. I…
I’ve written many times that the diagnostic rate for any condition is not the same as the actual prevalence. Examples of sudden “explosions” in diagnoses, abound, from various cancers to mental health conditions. In some cases, diagnoses were impossible. In others, conditions were clarified and reclassified by improved science. Anyway……
Is autism increasing or are the diagnoses increasing? I presume we’re getting better at diagnosing autism. Autism in California increases twelvefold By Sandy Kleffman Updated: 05/06/2009 08:12:02 PM PDT California saw a twelvefold increase during the past two decades in the number of autistic people who are receiving services through…
This is from an interview About.com conducted May 1, 2009, with researcher Hakon Hakonarson, the lead researcher on an autism genetic database analysis conducted by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Question: Could any of these genetic differences be identified in utero? Response: Yes, all of them could be tested in utero;…
Let the record show that on February 12, 2009, the “vaccine court” created to tackle an issue that scares congressional leaders, issued a finding that gives politicians some cover. Sure, there will be some anti-vaccine politicians who use this to play to particular audiences, but others can say the scientific…
Thursday I was fortunate enough to attend a Minnesota Public Radio forum on autism with Prof. Roy Richard Grinker, one of America’s leading anthropologists and the grandson of one of our greatest psychiatric minds. I won’t pitch Grinker’s book Unstrange Minds, beyond writing that anyone interested in autism and the…