What a week—–I guess that is kind of an understatement. There was a new, and frustratingly improbable theory of autism causation: Rain. The Times Online reminds us that, as has often been said, a correlation does not mean you’ve got a cause and notes that there’s indeed doubt as to “whether the paper deserved to be published and reported.” The line of reasoning followed by the paper’s author, Michael Waldman of the Johnson School at Cornell University is that living in a wetter climate leads children to stay inside more, and to be exposed to less sunlight and so …read more

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is (per the November 5th Huffington Post) under consideration by President-Elect Barack Obama to head the EPA?
The Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who, in June of 2007, equated those people criticizing mothers of autistic children who believe that thimerasol in vaccines causes autism with those who “once blamed autism on ‘bad parenting,’ and ‘uninvolved’ moms”—with those who believe that”bad parenting” causes autism?
Being myself (as I wrote back in June of 2007) an “involved mother” of an autistic child, I appreciate this concern about public perceptions of mothers of autistic children. Once upon a theory of autism causation, …read more

I was interviewed by Claudia Kalb in a web exclusive for Newsweek:
Spotlight on Autism: The mother of an autistic son reacts to John McCain’s recent pledge to help families like hers. Was it just rhetoric?
More about McCain’s comments about autism in the debate last week here.

Palin has experience with special needs kids, says an October 16th Associated Press article which I discussed some in the previous post. Says the Associated Press:
Sarah Palin is frequently seen at campaign stops cradling her infant son Trig, who has Down syndrome. Her decision to give birth to Trig even after learning her fifth child would have the condition has burnished her anti-abortion views with conservatives.
So viewers of Wednesday night’s presidential debate might have been somewhat taken aback when John McCain said his running mate understands “what it’s like to have an autistic child.”
Palin, it’s noted “does have a 13-year-old …read more

At last night’s Presidential debate, Senator John McCain said this about Governor Sarah Palin:
And by the way, [Sarah Palin] also understands special-needs families. She understands that autism is on the rise, that we got to find out what’s causing it and we’ve got to reach out to these families and help them and give them the help they need as they raise these very special needs children.
She understands that better than almost any American that I know.
And also:
And I just said to you earlier, town hall meeting after town hall meeting, parents come with kids, children, precious children who have …read more

Did Senator John McCain conflate Down Syndrome and autism during the debate tonight?
As Andrew Sullivan just blogged:
I was curious about McCain’s apparent conflation of Down Syndrome and autism. They are very different ways of being human, but they do come under the same umbrella of “special needs” according to Wiki.
Here’s what McCain said about autism (go here for a transcript of the debate from the New York Times):
And by the way, [Sarah Palin] also understands special-needs families. She understands that autism is on the rise, that we got to find out what’s causing it and we’ve got to reach out …read more

CBS3 looks briefly at the presidential candidates’ stance on disabilities and highlights some of what Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have to say about autism:
McCain: “John McCain is a co-sponsor of the Combating Autism Act of 2006. John McCain believes this legislation will increase awareness and public screening of autism spectrum disorder, and will promote the use of evidence based interventions and also create centers for research.”
Obama: “Barack Obama supports the Combating Autism Act which was signed into law in December 2006. As a U.S. Senator, Obama has worked to fully fund the Combating Autism Act. And, as …read more

A study of autism among 378 Cambridge University students has found that autism is up to seven times more common among mathematicians than among students in other disciplines, and that it was also five times more common in the siblings of mathematicians, according to the October 5th Times. The genes that are thought to cause autism may also give mathematical, musical and other skills to those without autism. The study was led by Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre, who is quoted as saying:
“It seems clear that genes play a significant role in the causes of autism and …read more

A 14-year-old boy, Gerwyn Morgan, has been missing from his home in Merthyr Tydfil, today’s BBC News reports. Morgan has Asperger’s Syndrome and there have been several reports of sightings of him; officers are worried that he has run away and residents have been asked to check “such places as outbuildings, garages and sheds.”
Definitely hope he is found and home soon, and safe.

Late Friday afternoon Charlie and I take the PATH train from Journal Square into Manhattan to meet Jim.
A young man in a backwards baseball cap moves his stuff out of a seat so I can sit beside Charlie.
Charlie gently taps the woman sitting beside him. She’s busy texting and looks up, smiles, and says “I understand. I have read about it.” She gets off at 23rd street and we exchange good-byes.
At the 33rd subway station, only two of the MetroCard machines are working and of course my card has $0.00 on it. Charlie in his blue hoodie is not the …read more