Pseudoscience Alert: Lyme-Induced Autism

Emily Willingham biologyfiles.fieldofscience.com This post was originally written in September, however questions and assertions about “Lyme-Induced Autism” still occasionally percolate online. Please do feel free to counter such concerns with a link to this analysis by our TPGA Science Editor. -The Editors —- In the “this isn’t science or news” category, a local Fox station story out of Sacramento. Let’s take this bit by bit, shall we? Headline: “Doctors find link between Lyme disease, autism” Problem 1: The story isn’t about “doctors” finding “links.” It’s about one doctor claiming to have seen children in her practice (more on that later) who are “cured” of their autism after treatment for Lyme disease after testing positive for it. In reality, the story presents only one example to support the claim. Problem 2: The story doesn’t show any “link” in the scientific sense of the word, at all. In fact, it produces no…

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The Misguided Movement to “Cure” Autism

Kurt Gatejen www.pseudocognitive.blogspot.com For over two decades, my wife and I have ridden an emotional roller coaster of the sort quite familiar to most parents of special needs children. I’m not going to detail those experiences here for two reasons. First, that topic has been covered extensively all over the web, and second, I’m averse to expressing in a grand chronological and developmental scope events and feelings that may be completely misinterpreted as some kind of “woe is me” tale. I don’t begrudge anyone’s need to write about their emotional struggles; it can be very therapeutic for some people. While I may on occasion comment on particular difficulties in the lives of families with autism, I will not ever write an epic saga of that nature. The truth is, despite the many challenges we’ve encountered (and the seemingly intractable problems that loom in the future), neither my wife nor I…

DSM 5 Autism Criteria: Clarifying Impact, Taking Action

Interview with Dr. Gil Tippy Clinical Director of The Rebecca School, Manhattan, New York www.drgiltippy.com How are the DSM criteria for autism changing? From the official site: “A single spectrum disorder [i.e., folding in Asperger Disorder and PDD-NOS] is a better reflection of the state of knowledge about pathology and clinical presentation; previously, the criteria were equivalent to trying to “cleave meatloaf at the joints.” “Three domains become two: 1)     Social/communication deficits 2)     Fixated interests and repetitive behaviors “[because] Deficits in communication and social behaviors are inseparable and more accurately considered as a single set of symptoms with contextual and environmental specificities.” We spoke with Dr. Tippy about what the proposed revisions to the DSM 5 will mean for Autistics, autism families, and autism professionals. Dr. Tippy also outlined actions everyone in the autism communities can take to prevent these changes from cutting off critical autism services and support. Why…

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Touch: Autism and Special Needs on Fox TV

Fox TV’s new Kiefer Sutherland series Touch premieres in two days, on Wednesday January 25th. We’re intrigued, and watchful. The series revolves around a non-verbal child, Jake, who understands numerical patterns other people can’t perceive — and his father Martin’s attempts to understand not only what Jake is trying to communicate, but Jake himself. From the series description at Fox.com: Blending science, spirituality and emotion, the series will follow seemingly unrelated people all over the world whose lives affect each other in ways seen and unseen, known and unknown. At the story’s center is MARTIN BOHM (Kiefer Sutherland), a widower and single father, haunted by an inability to connect to his emotionally challenged 11-year-old son, JAKE (David Mazouz). Caring, intelligent and thoughtful, Martin has tried everything to reach his son. But Jake never speaks, shows little emotion, and never allows himself to be touched by anyone, including Martin. Jake is…

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A Culture of Abuse: Autism Care in France

David Heurtevent www.supportthewall.org France’s population is about 65 million. Assuming an autism prevalence of about 1 in 110,  approximately 590,000 autistics live in France. The French education system contains about 13 million students in a two-tiered educational system: most children attend schools overseen by the Ministry of National Education, but approximately 100,000 students found to have significant disabilities — very few of whom have autism — attend schools run by the Ministry of Health. Most autistics are not educated at all. Significantly, childhood psychiatry in France is dominated by psychoanalysts, who (broadly speaking) view childhood behavioral issues as evidence of disturbances in the relationship between the child and the parents, particularly the mother. Psychoanalytic treatment therefore is not behavioral or educational, but seeks to change the child’s emotions. According to Chantal Sicile-Kira, whose autistic son was born in France, autistic children “had no right to an education. Instead, they were…

If You Can’t…

Chavisory www.chavisory.wordpress.com I got to open my presents early for Christmas this year, as my mother was going out of town to see family. I told her I hadn’t had a chance to wrap hers yet, so she could open it when she got back Christmas night. We didn’t get to finish opening presents that night. We had a yelling match about the true nature of the autism spectrum. I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome a year and a half ago (though I’d known the truth for several years previously), which I guess that most people in my life probably know by now because I decided that it was part of my life that I wasn’t going to make any particular effort to hide, because I had nothing to be ashamed of.  I really have no idea what people think of me as a result, because I stopped concerning myself…

Having Words with Autism

John J. Ordover www.sohodigart.com In this country we like to fight things, whether it’s the Fight Against Poverty or the Fight Against Drugs or even the Fight Against Gentrification, we sure do like to fight. We fight cancer, we fight child abuse, we give out soup to fight hunger, we fight, and fight, and, as on The Simpsons, we fight fight fight fight fight! So, is it wrong to say we are fighting autism when we stand up for those on the spectrum? My wife, who has an Asperger’s diagnosis, says it is. Others agree; others disagree, as a Google search for the term “fight autism” brings back over half-a-million listings. Here’s the word on why this phrasing issue is important to me and to others trying to raise money to help people on the spectrum: At 6pm on February 16th, 2012, at 6pm, at The SoHo Gallery for Digital…

Tired (of Autism Misrepresentation)

Lydia Brown autistichoya.blogspot.com From the editors: We hope that even veteran autism parenting advocates and self-advocates will consider this post part of their neurodiversity education, along with Todd Drezner’s recent HuffPo article Nickels, Dimes and ‘High-Functioning’ Autism — and that it leads to productive reflection and discussion. From the author: Trigger warning: This is mostly about ableism and a response to other, very triggering things, as well as including lots of direct quotes of ableist stuff. An accessible audio recording: Tired – Autistic Hoya by autistichoya I’m tired of being misrepresented. I’m tired of seeing the principles of self-advocacy misrepresented. And I’m tired of seeing the autism rights movement misrepresented. Let me be clear. I’m not talking about allies, or about people who were just thrust into Autismland and don’t yet know much, if anything, about the constant conflicts that erupt here. This isn’t about you. This is about people…

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How to Support the New Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism Book

The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism community is growing rapidly; it’s no surprise we keep getting requests about how to support our new book. Thank you, community! We appreciate every last effort to spread desperately needed positive, evidence-based autism information and advice via our book — whether you buy a book for a neighbor, an autism grandparent, the family of a child with a new diagnosis, an adult friend who may find it insightful — or buy a box of books to hand out at the next meeting you attend. There are many ways to help get the word out about the TPGA book, several of which do not require spending money. Some ideas: Post a review on Amazon.com. Tell the rest of the world why our book matters, and why it helps! Ask your library to purchase a copy of the book. The more requests a library gets, the…

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Reflecting on My Future Self

Jennifer Byde Myerswww.jennyalice.com Grocery shopping this morning,  a mom and her son passed by me in the floral department. She is probably in her 50’s because her son looked about 10 years older than mine… and yes, her boy plays for our team: Autism. Right down to the 6 foot 2 inches of young man flapping his hands next to the strawberries and “oooo–Wheeeeing” in the dairy section. I could tell before the stims though, it’s amazing how quickly I can spot a person with autism who’s in the same part of the spectrum as Jack. When I see another family with a special needs child, I always try to smile — at the child, or the parent, hopefully both, to show that, even though I don’t have a stamp on my forehead or my son in tow, I understand a little bit about their life. I always hope that…