http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/bhm117v1

Th original article makes the genetic claim based on two sisters from the same family that were found to have the neurologin anomaly….. Out of 3,000 persons whose DNA is in the AGRE data base. The anomaly was not found in other large samples of multiple incidence familiesb but has been found in mentally retarded and schizophrenic people.

The congenital anti-convulsant syndrome associated with autism has been accepted as conclusive by both genetic researchers and environmental researchers.

hattp://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/bhm117v1

Th original article makes the genetic claim based on two sisters from the same family that were found to have the neurologin anomaly….. Out of 3,000 persons whose DNA is in the AGRE data base. The anomaly was not found in other large samples of multiple incidence familiesb but has been found in mentally retarded and schizophrenic people.

The congenital anti-convulsant syndrome associated with autism has been accepted as conclusive by both genetic researchers and environmental researchers.

/start sarcasm
I think it is also sensationalising themselves in their own mind to say that this is the first ever model. We have been reading about autistic mice for years, just because they weren’t nlgn3 knockouts didn’t mean they were inferior/lacking of the love and support all the other AutMice have gotten.

I think we need genetically engineered mice testing for curebiesm and politicians and lawyers too, let’s not diskriminate too much.

/end sarcasm

The latest spin on these findings is that autism can be “induced” in mice.

I agree that autism is very heterogenous. While for many kids the anxiety and sensory problems are the main struggles, I see my autistic child as a very easy-going person whose main challenge is following instructions that do not agree with his own agenda; and of course learning language and social rules has been really difficult for him. But I can take him anywhere that’s loud, crowded, with blinking lights, he won’t care… He doesn’t mind the feel of different clothes, or grass, sand, mud, bark or water; he doesn’t need a schedule or previous warnings of where we’re going, he pretty much goes with the flow.

I also think that the mice study should not be dismissed, most research cannot encompass the total range of causes and symptoms of autism. Current knowldedge says it involves multiple genes, and those scientists are manipulating only one of the genes that might be associated with the disorder. The fact that the social skills and space/visual skills are affected by that same gene is a very insteresting discovery.

The researchers involved in the study did not suggest that a study involving mice is final and conclusive , far from it. But your superficial rejection of serious research is interesting. Mottron, Gernsbacher and Dawson are engaged in research to substantiate their ideological views about autism which you share. They offer little research outside that limited focus.

Ask the auties? OK, I will ask my son, who has Autism Disorder, who speaks at a very rudimentary, concrete level and who has a limited understanding of the world. What will my son the “autie” say? Of course he has Autism Disorder, actual Autism Disorder, perhaps your were referring to someone on the spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders diagnosed with Aspergers or some other similar but distinct condition?

By the way, since you and Ms Chew are very word sensitive, highly educated Ph D’s with literary backgrounds I have to say, as the father of an autistic 12 year old boy with Autism Disorder, that I find the term “Autie” offensive, denigrating and stereotypical.