Real Science and Autism (for a change)
There was an autism seminar at the AAAS Annual meeting yesterday. This is from the AAAS web site. Are there any published reports of what was said or online copies of the presentations. Were any of you there?
ORGANIZERS: Morton Gernsbacher, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Judith Grether (Speaker), California Department of Health Services
Is There an Epidemic of Autism?
Irving Gottesman (Speaker), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Do Childhood Vaccines Cause Autism?
Laurent Mottron (Speaker), Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montreal
What is the Nature of Autistic Intelligence?
Morton Gernsbacher (Speaker), University of Wisconsin, Madison
Do Autistics Lack a Theory of Mind?
AVAILABLE ABSTRACTS:
No available abstracts.
SYNOPSIS:
Scientific and societal interest in autism has burgeoned in the past decade, as documented by nearly 6 million Web sites, almost 10,000 entries in PubMed, and a weekly focus on autism by the national media. But, with this surge of scientists and society turning their attention toward autism, it becomes exceedingly important to distinguish uninformed stereotype from scientific reality, to move beyond myths and misconceptions. In this symposium, presented by epidemiologists, psychiatrists, physicians, and psychologists, four broadly held but possibly incorrect assumptions will be critically evaluated: Is there an epidemic of autism? Do childhood vaccines cause autism? Do autistic individuals really “lack a theory of mind”? Are most autistic individuals cognitively impaired? For each of these fundamental questions, state-of-the-art science will be presented in a format that will be accessible to scientists, laypersons, and the media.
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My Background
This blog has moved to
http://actionforautism.co.uk/
See you there!
I am Mike Stanton. I live and work in the UK where I teach children with severe learning difficulties, many of whom are autistic. My adult son is diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. I am a member of the National Autistic Society. I speak and write on autism.
My book, “Learning to Live with High Functioning Autism” is available in a Spanish translation, Convivir con el Autismo. I have also c
ontributed a chapter to Asperger Syndrome in Adolescence edited by Liane Holliday Willey.
ACTION FOR AUTISM is a reaction against names like Action Against Autism and Defeat Autism Now! Names like these suggest to autistic people that we are against them as people. You may not mean that. But if you care about autism you ought to care about the feelings of autistic people and not use language that makes them angry or upset. If you disregard the feelings of autistic people do not be surprised if you are disregarded.
Wow!
Thanks for posting this. I’ll be looking foward to reading up on it.
There is a bit more here. It looks promising. Real science debunking the myth of the autism epidemic and the vaccine link. Next question is when will the authorities act against the perpetrators of malpractise on autistic children.
See Globe and Mail article today on my post “happy day for autism”
Estee