Vaccines Are Not the Only Controversial Autism Topic

Whether or not a vaccine or something in a vaccine might be linked to autism is only one controversial topic in discussions about autism causation and treatment. Other controversial treatments include electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) and facilitated communication (FC). A recent comment about ECT notes that the current issue of Psychiatric Times contains a discussion of ECT and autism (though I’ve not yet noted the article on the website; will keep checking).

James T. Todd, Ph.D., of the Eastern Michigan University Department of Psychology recently commented with details about a case involving a 14-year-old non-verbal autistic girl and FC. The girl, who is from West Bloomfield (Michigan), has accused her father of raping her repeatedly while her mother did not intervene; the girl communicated about the alleged abuse via a keyboard at school, with an aide supporting her hand. Bloomfield 48th District Court Judge Marc Barron has ruled that theshe “could demonstrate her use of a computer keyboard facilitator and possibly testify about allegations that her father sexually assaulted on several occasions,” the January 28th Detroit Times reported. Dr. Todd is one of the expert witnesses for the defense.