Thanks to Bret over at 29 Marbles I’ve learned that there is an online debate at Opposing Views about the relationship between Autism and vaccinations. Opposing Views publishes statements by people (”interested experts, opinion leaders and advocates”) its editors have identified and invites others to make comments and vote for the pro or con position on the issue. In this instance (there are lots of debates), the question is framed in this way:
Are Autism and Vaccines Linked?
Over the last decade, autism has gone from a rare and misunderstood condition to a disorder that may affect as many as 1.5 million Americans. Without a clear explanation in sight, parents and doctors have worked tirelessly to pinpoint the cause of autism, but the answer remains elusive. Are vaccines the missing link?
The experts arguing the pro position are identified as the National Autism Association, SafeMinds, and Dr. Karima Hirani. The experts arguing the con side are identified as the Montreal Children’s Hospital at MUHC, Dr. Bryna Siegel, and Dr. Jennifer Shu. Readers who support the pro side have cast more votes than those who support the con position; as 6 August at 6:25 AM there were 153 votes, with 82% saying “yes” and 18% saying “no.”
Links to OpposingViews.com and to the debate entitled Are Autism and Vaccines Linked. Although 29 Marbles is included in the blogroll, here’s a link to Bret’s blog (at it’s new site) for good measure.
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Under the headline “In Switzerland, An Easier Path For The Disabled” on US National Public Radio, Julie Rovner presented a story about international differences in care for individuals with Autism. Ms. Rovner contrasts the experiences of Ellen Wallace, Nick Bates, and their 16-year-old daughter, Tara, with the experiences of Nancy Legendre, Walter Herlihy, and their two daughters, 19-year-old Julia and 17-year-old Lily. Tara, Julia, and Lily all have Autism.
Part of Ms. Rovner’s story is that the children live in different countries—Tara lives near Lausanne (CH), and Julia and Lily live in Gloucester (MA, US)—and, therefore, receive different health care. This feature of their situations affects their options for the girls’ futures.
The parents of Tara, Julia, and Lily are facing the the issues that the parents of many teens with disabilities face: How to provide care for their children during the children’s adulthood. Although it is difficult to generalize from the experiences of these two families except at the very abstract levels, Ms. Rovner’s treatment of the issue is nuanced and informative. Link to the Web-based version of the story.
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I guess one can read geneses as a typographical variant on genes or, as I intended, as the plural of genesis. Using it the latter way: Emerging evidence makes it appear even more unlikely than ever that researchers will be able to identify a relative few genes—let alone the or one gene—for schizophrenia. Writing under the headline “Gene-Hunters Find Hope and Hurdles in Schizophrenia Studies,” the noted science journalist Nicholas Wade published an article summarizing research that points to the conclusion that there may be many different genetic bases for schizophrenia.
Two groups of researchers hunting for schizophrenia genes on a larger scale than ever before have found new genetic variants that point toward a different understanding of the disease.
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The variants discovered by the two groups, one led by Dr. Kari Stefansson of Decode Genetics in Iceland and the other by Dr. Pamela Sklar of the Massachusetts General Hospital, are all rare. They substantially increase the risk of schizophrenia in those affected but account for a tiny fraction of the total number of cases.
This finding, coupled with the general lack of success so far in finding common variants for schizophrenia, raises the possibility that the genetic component of the disease is due to a very large number of variants, each of which is very rare, rather than to a handful of common variants.
This is an article well worth reading. Link to Mr. Wade’s arctile.
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Over on Facing Autism in New Brunswick, Harold Doherty has some news about Canadian policies regarding eligibility for receiving public support. In the post, he refers to newspaper articles by Pete McMartin that cover this issue. Here’s a snippet:
Pete McMartin is the Vancouver Sun columnist who produced, with Sun photographer Glenn Baglo, a series of articles called Faces Of Autism one of the most accurate and comprehensive presentations of autism in the main stream media. In It was wrong months ago — and it is still wrong today McMartin rips British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and Children’s Minister Tom Christensen for reversing their stated positions on the use of an IQ of 70 as a measure in assessing elgibility of developmentally disabled persons for receipt of government services.
Link to Mr. Doherty’s post to read his full comments and for further links to Mr. McMartin’s fine journalism.
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Over on Behavior Mod Info I posted an entry about workshops entitled “Functional Analysis & Treatment of Severe Behavior Disorders: Methods for Clinicians and Educators,” by Brian Iwata, Ph.D. People who are concerned about individuals with Autism (and other who might have severe behavior problems such as self-injury) would likely find these workshops useful. Here’s a link to the post where interested folks can learn more.
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The US Congress will hold a briefing on the transition to adulthood for youth with serious emotional illness. This is an excellent opportunity for people in the US who are concerned about children and youths with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and their families to reinforce public policies that are aimed at bringing some much-needed services to individuals with EBD who are making the transition for adolescence to adulthood.
Here’s an announcement from the Day Al-Mohamed, of the Public Interest Government Relations Office at the American Psychological Association:
Continue reading ‘Hearing on transition for youth’
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