Comments on: Remembering “Refrigerator Mothers” on Mother’s Day

By: A “Crusade Against Autism”—-To What End?

A “Crusade Against Autism”—-To What End? — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:50:38 +0000

[...] blame for causing their children to become autistic due to being emotionally withdrawn, “refrigerator parents. Of endless efforts to pin this or that “environmental agent” as The Cause of [...]

By: bombaygirl

bombaygirl — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:49:44 +0000

My mil pretty much called me one without actually saying it out loud…told me I had to spend more time with my son, work with him on projects daily, constantly talk to him, etc. Coz you know, I wasn’t doing any of that.

By: A Little Autism Education for Michael Savage

A Little Autism Education for Michael Savage — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:59:17 +0000

[...] or discouraging, or infuriating to find the “bad parents cause autism”—-the refrigerator mother theory of autism, or “Freudian analysis” according to the Executive Director of Autism [...]

By: Nature-Nurture Gene?

Nature-Nurture Gene? — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:54:20 +0000

[...] did not provide enough “nurture” can lead a parent to think of the discredited “refrigerator mother” theory of autism. Neuroscientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory [...]

By: The Fortune Cookies Might Be Right

The Fortune Cookies Might Be Right — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:37:03 +0000

[...] which remind me that, for all that we say that “no one believes in the refrigerator mother theory of autism,” parents (mothers in particular) are still blaming themselves. Not because of [...]

By: Bonnie Sayers

Bonnie Sayers — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:28:22 +0000

I taped that Refrigerator Mothers show that aired on PBS a few years back. The term used for the disabled back in the 60s and 70s when I was growing up was “handicapped” and I still refer to the term in reference to my sister. It seems hard to change after all these years. I lived around disabilities and never heard the word autism back then.

By: Mother Guilt Returns

Mother Guilt Returns — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:20:23 +0000

[...] the refrigerator mother theory of autism—that mothers who were “cold” and “withdrawn” actually [...]

By: What I Found in the Bookstore

What I Found in the Bookstore — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:36:46 +0000

[...] back slowly to the front of the store and thought about how it is widely assumed that the “refrigerator mother” theory of autism has been debunked and is discredited and disbelieved. But if an unassuming [...]

By: Toxic Mom

Toxic Mom — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:20:19 +0000

[...] “refrigerator mothers” were blamed for causing a child to become autistic—-now are “toxic [...]

By: New Study on Preventing Autism in Siblings

New Study on Preventing Autism in Siblings — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:33:09 +0000

[...] complex uniquenesses – is really just a lack of connection with mom” and senses echoes of the refrigerator mother theory of autism [...]