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The earlier part of this year saw the publication of a number of studies about the genetics of autism, with one scientist speculating about a unified theory of autism.
The July 2008 Nature Genetics has a review of psychiatric genetics that considers progress and controversy. Here is the abstract:
Several psychiatric disorders — such as bipolar disorder, […]
Kendall Bailey is 19 years old, 6 foot 6, and a champion swimmer headed for the Paralympics in Beijing this September—–but he was almost rendered ineligible by the United States itself. Bailey has cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, and Klinefelter’s syndrome, which prevents his body from producing testosterone. Today’s New York Times profiles his dream […]
22-year-old Nicky Reilly is being held over a nail bomb attack last week in a restaurant in Exeter, UK. Reilly is believed to have Asperger’s Syndrome, today’s Times notes:
Reilly, 22, is a Muslim convert who has spent time detained in a mental health hospital. He has been described as a shambling introvert with the mental […]
We all root for amputees—-until they win medals is the blurb on an article by William Saletan in the May 21st Slate. Saletan writes about Oscar Pistorius, the runner from South Africa who—he is a double amputee—runs on specially built prostheses called “cheetahs” ( j-shapes blades made of carbon fiber). Pistorius recently won a decision […]
Big Brother contestant Adam Jasinki—who achieved near-universal opprobrium in the autism community for calling autistic children “retards” on the show—-is one of the final two contestants to win the half a million dollar prize. Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer describes him as a “wide-eyed lug with Cherry Hill roots”—-that’s Cherry Hill in South Jersey—-who has “connived his […]
A Difficult Youth Is A Good Thing for a Fisher——um, a fish, according to a study about the Bluehead Wrasse reported about in Science Daily back in February:
[Scientists] discovered that fish larvae that survive a long, rough, offshore journey eventually arrive at a near shore reef in good condition, and that they thrive afterwards.In contrast, […]
Google and genius; the meaning of MR and the meaning of intelligence; a new name for autism from David Kirby; an online town meeting for the NYU Child Study Center; a little presidential candidate politicking…….
Parents Don’t Cause Autism
And neither do vaccines or something in vaccines.
Myth, Science, and Autism: A Message from the AAP
Well aware […]
Some interesting reviews from Toronto of Autism: The Musical which (EyeWeekly notes) offers a “real life alternative to Rain Man.” And, while I’m on the subject, two more musicals: In Brick Township, NJ, a “rock opera,” Day After Day, that is about “the daily struggles the families of autistic children face”; it’s being […]
My school, Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, has been on lockdown since 10.34am after a “suspicious note” was found. The campus website notes that “there has not been an actual incident”; my students and I, and everyone in our building, have been told to stay put until further notice (we haven’t been told much and […]
Do I even need to say that?—-after all, it’s no longer the days of the refrigerator mother theory of autism popularized by self-styled early child development expert Bruno Bettelhaim. But then one encounters this headline:
Autism Caused by Uninformed Parents
in the National Expositor, which is not directly blaming bad parents for causing autism. It’s blaming parents […]
Autism mother gets on her soapbox.
Written by Kristina Chew, PhD [email] for b5media.
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