MetaFilter posts tagged with autism

We have all failed Sky

FunkyHelix — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:44:41 -0800

"To Whom it May Concern: If this letter has been opened and is being read, it is because I have been seriously injured or killed by my son, Sky Walker." [...snip...] "I do not want him to be punished for actions for which he is not responsible." Also, because this quoted part is important: "Doctors and teachers in Cleveland who deal with autism begin discussions of aggression with a caveat: Autism does not automatically lead to aggression. No one wants autistic people to suffer the sort of horror-movie stigma that has plagued the mentally ill for so long. But they do not deny the aggressive tendency exists." There are some great links to information in the article and in the comments.

Everyone's On LSD!

jonp72 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:51:56 -0800

Autistics on LSD Elephants on LSD British Troops on LSD Spiders on LSD Cats on LSD Argentinians on LSD Childhood Schizophrenics on LSD

Inflammatory

escabeche — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:42:25 -0800

"We were concerned that the study would raise a lot of controversy and be misused," Pardo said. "We were right." Some practitioners treat autistic children with the anti-inflammatory intravenous immunoglobulin, citing a study by Carlos Pardo, et al. showing inflammation in the brains of deceased autistic patients. Pardo: "modulators of immune reactions (e.g. intravenous immunoglobulins, IVIG) WOULD NOT HAVE a significant effect." Others, following the work of Simon Baron-Cohen on autism and the male brain, treat autistic children with testosterone inhibitors, a prospect which Baron-Cohen says "fills me with horror." Another anti-inflammatory treatment, hyperbaric therapy, is supported by one recent clinical trial, but looks bad in another. Side effects include horrible death by fire. (via the Chicago Tribune)

"Thomas Edison has said 'The doctor of the future will give no medicines.' "

inoculatedcities — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:50:12 -0800

Desiree Jennings is a 25-year old marketing manager (and Redskins "Ambassador cheerleader") who claims that in August she received a seasonal flu vaccine at a grocery store that caused a never-before-seen dystonia. While saturating media outlets and drawing the support of celebrity anti-vaccinationists, she shunned the doctors who treated her at Johns Hopkins University who (along with other neurologists who have seen footage of her) judged that she was suffering from a psychogenic disorder. The premier anti-vaccination/vaccine-autism link-alleging parental advocacy group, Generation Rescue, came to the rescue to deliver Jennings to Dr. Rashid Buttar (twitter), a physician whose license has been threatened by repeated investigations of misconduct including treating cancer patients with IV hydrogen peroxide. But have no fear! Buttar has amazingly "cured" Jennings' permanent brain damage through chelation therapy.

"An Epidemic of Fear." Wired takes on the anti-vax movement

zarq — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:48:51 -0800

Wired profiles pediatrician Paul Offit, co-creator of the RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine and a primary target of the anti-vacci nation movement. Dr. Offit published a book,“Autism’s False Prophets” in 2008 but didn't tour, because he had received too many death threats. The profile by Amy Wallace*, is part of a collection of articles on vaccinations, including "The Misinformants: Prominent Voices in the Anti-Vaccine Crusade", "How To Win An Argument About Vaccines", and "A Short History of Vaccine Panic". *Wallace is receiving hate mail for it. She's been twitting about that here. (Vaccines: Previously on MeFi)

"Why I Give My 9-year-old Pot"

PissOnYourParade — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:12:51 -0800

The titles grabbed me - Why I am going to give my 9-year-old Pot. and the four month follow up, Why am I giving my 9-year-old Pot. But, my mind was changed, and heart softened, by the articles. via

The Magic's Kingdom

geekyguy — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:01:09 -0800

She did it again. The Orlando Magic took no chances as they extended their undefeated record at home in the playoffs. The Magic remain undefeated when Gina Marie Incandela sings the national anthem(YT). Since first singing the national anthem for them in February, the team has won every game she sings at. Five years ago she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS autism and she now is a poster child for early intervention(YT). Not to get in a rut singing only the national anthem, Gina has released a CD single.

A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine–Autism Wars

cgc373 — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:20:10 -0800

Researchers long ago rejected the theory that vaccines cause autism, yet many parents don't believe them. Can scientists bridge the gap between evidence and doubt? A five-thousand-word article, via Danny Yee.

"The monster inside my son": Autism + Violence

cgs — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:56:06 -0800

"The monster inside my son" A moving testimonial of a mother's struggle w/ her son's autism and violence. [SALON]

Earth Not Flat After All

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:51:32 -0800

After ten years of legal battles, three federal judges rejected the theory that the MMR vaccine causes autism. "Petitioners' theories of causation were speculative and unpersuasive," wrote Special Master Denise Vowell in the case of Colten Snyder v. HHS. "To conclude that Colten's condition was the result of his MMR vaccine, an objective observer would have to emulate Lewis Carroll's White Queen and be able to believe six impossible (or at least highly improbable) things before breakfast." Last January, Alison Singer, the executive vice president of communications and awareness at Autism Speaks, quit her job over her frustration that too much attention was being placed on vaccine studies, saying in part, "The question has been asked and answered and it's time to move on," she told Newsweek last month. "We need to be able to say, 'Yes, we are now satisfied that the earth is round.' " A poll taken the previous fall showed among other results that "Nineteen percent of the respondents agreed with the statement 'Autism is caused by a preservative once found in childhood vaccines.'"

science and futurism overlap

nickyskye — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:43:40 -0800

One Pill Makes You Autistic -- And One Pill Changes You Back. It might also lead to recreational autism, where people who want to take a break from having messy emotions about other people decide to unplug and enter a state where human relationships are no more important than inanimate objects. Other future oriented science and tech stories about innovations with the potential to impact culture and politics by the same author,Annalee Newitz, mentioned previously. Radio-Controlled, Implantable Sperm Valve is New Vasectomy The First Child to Have Three Genetic Parents A "Morning Before" Pill to Prevent HIV Infection And thrown in for fun, Scariest Special Effect Ever Created (NSFW)

"It's good to know sports - at its core - still can bring out the best in us."

kyleg — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:02:23 -0800

An inspirational update to the story of Jason McElwain.

Don't you wish your drugs were hot like Oxytocin?

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:50:48 -0800

"Tests have shown that oxytocin reduces anxiety levels in users. It is a hormone that facilitates social contact between people."

Autistic Student Kicked Out of Class

The Gooch — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:44:18 -0800

5-Year-Old Autistic Student Voted Out of Kindergarten, Survivor-Style. (Link to interview with a representative of the school district).

Construction Paper Feelings

Orb — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:56:50 -0800

"What the autistic 12-year-old can't express verbally or in social interaction he can show through his carefully cut out geometric shapes assembled into characters in a paper collage."

Owner of Neurodiversity.com Subpoenaed in Autism Suit.

kristin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:37:15 -0800

Kathleen is the owner of neurodiversity.com, one of the most comprehensive resources online in the topic of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Neurodiversity is just one person with a domain name and a computer, not a corporation, or a money-making enterprise, but apparently having good research skills and a willingness to share what you know is becoming legally problematic. Last week, Kathleen has received a subpoena commanding her to appear for deposition and document production in Rev. Lisa Sykes and Seth Sykes’ $20,000,000 personal injury lawsuit, Sykes v. Bayer. That subpoena request, that she turn over every piece of autism-related correspondence and/or contact she has ever had with any company, government agency, religious group, or any other person with any interest in autism, which includes all contact and correspondence with other autism bloggers. They are also asking for all of her financial records. Neurodiversity.com has posted about the Sykes ongoing litigation previously, and Kathleen has been outspoken against Sykes use of her church as a platform for her lawsuit, but this subpoena smacks of intimidation, given that Kathleen is not an expert, a scientist, has never met Sykes, nor been employed by Bayer. In her motion to quash the subpoena, Kathleen writes, in part:

The subpoena was not issued in good faith because its manifest purpose is not to elicit information relevant to determining Bayer’s liability for Wesley Sykes’ medical and developmental problems, but to indulge his parents’ and their attorney’s curiosity about my motivations and associations; to aggressively communicate their suspicion that I am not merely a fellow citizen who openly, intelligently and conscientiously disagrees with their public statements and actions, but a covert agent of the government, the pharmaceutical industry, or some other hidden force; to disrupt my relationships with my associates and news sources; and to intimidate, harass and retaliate against me for exercising my constitutional right to report and express opinions about matters of widespread public interest in which plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ counsel are involved. These are not legitimate reasons to invoke the judicial subpoena power. Indeed, in so doing, Mr. Shoemaker has engaged in a sanctionable abuse of his authority as an officer of the court.

Attempting to drag Kathleen in as a third party witness seems a pretty clear form of intimidation, given that she possesses no special third-party knowledge. Is this the future of niche-market blogging?

Facial Expression Simulator Lets You Play with Emotions

shivohum — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:03:02 -0800

Facial Expression Simulator Apparently it's useful for helping autistics learn facial expressions, among other things. Related.

Settlement in case of child who developed autistic symptoms after being vaccinated

arnicae — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:59:30 -0800

Hannah Poling is a nine year old girl with mild to moderate symptoms of autism, which developed three months after she received vaccinations. The Department of Health and Human Services announced that her family will receive a settlement from the vaccine compensation fund. Autism activists are encouraged, but the DHHS officials insist they are not admitting a link between autism and vaccines and maintain that for most, vaccines are safe. Rather, they say, the series of vaccines Hannah received exacerbated an underlying mitochondrial condition, causing the symptoms of autism. Hannah had a mutation in a gene which controlled mitochondrial function. When she received the immunizations, the DHHS concluded, this mutation was aggravated, predisposed her to deficits in energy metabolism, and ultimately caused brain damage with "features of autism spectrum disorder". For the nearly 5,000 autistic individuals and their families seeking compensation from the special fund, it is unclear whether Hannah's case represents an opportunity or not. The cases are reviewed by a special court None of the 950 claims the special fund has paid out since it was created by Congress in 1988 have been for autism. Officials insist that this case is no different from other claims paid out by the fund in the past. The cases are before a special "vaccine court" that doles out cash from a fund Congress set up to pay people injured by vaccines and to protect makers from damages as a way to help ensure an adequate vaccine supply. The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence. Since the fund started in 1988, it has paid roughly 950 claims — none for autism. The document released by the DHHS focuses on the rare mitochondrial disorder. It does not raise the issue of the organomercury preservative Thimerosal used in many vaccines, which many autism activists believe has a link to autism. Instead, the document states that the "five vaccines the girl received on one day in 2000 aggravated her mitochondrial condition, predisposing her to metabolic problems that manifested as worsening brain function with features of autism spectrum disorder". DHHS officials claim that Hannah's is a unique case, and that the underlying condition she had is very rare. Neurologist Jon Poling (MD/PhD), Hannah's father, who co-authored a paper in the Journal of Child Neurology on his daughter's case does not agree, saying: "I don't think Hannah's case is as unique as many experts believe." Some believe that autism could in fact be a mitochondrial disease. A study of 69 Portuguese children conducted in 2005 and published in the journal of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology found that five had mitochondrial abnormalities. Interestingly, Dr. Poling says that he still supports giving vaccines to children. "Each treatment has a risk and a benefit," Dr. Poling says.

Gregory Blackstock

Armitage Shanks — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:07:55 -0800

Autistic retired pot-washer Gregory Blackstock creates striking artworks of everyday items. Short YouTube interview here. If you're in Seattle, you can see him tonight at the opening of his exhibition at the Garde Rail Gallery.

Honesty, deception, and autism

Prospero — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:50:07 -0800

An interesting article by Simon Baron-Cohen on honesty, deception, and autism.

MIT reverses autism in mice

christopherious — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:03:22 -0800

MIT researchers can reverse some symptoms of autism and mental retardation in mice by suppressing a specific enzyme. The research, conducted at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, is due to be posted on PNAS Online some time this week. Here is the MIT article. The specific symptoms reversed included hyperactivity, purposeless/repetitive movements, attention deficits and learning/memory challenges. The research was funded by the FRAXA Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the National Institutes of Health. According to the CDC, the genetic causes treated by this particular technique (called FXS) affects one in 4,000 males and one in 6,000 females of all races and ethnic groups. I would be interested in hearing about reactions that might be taking place in the various autism-related communities.

"I’m in the Hole for studying Chinese."

homunculus — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:29:18 -0800

Convicted as an ecoterrorist, a brilliant young scholar nose-dives in prison. An article on Billy Cottrell, a physics genius with Asperger's Syndrome who was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for his role in destroying $5 million worth of SUVs. His case was previously discussed here. [Via BB.]

a modernist allegory that goes "boing boing"

progosk — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:40:27 -0800

Robert "Bobe" Cannon's 1951 Oscar-winning animated short "Gerald McBoing Boing" (u2b), is an early example of a modernist animation style (previously) experimented by UPA studios in an attempt to counteract the mounting realism of Disney cartoons. (The 2005 series it inspired is currently re-running on Boomerang.)

On another note entirely, Theodor "Seuss" Geisel's character Gerald is considered one of a number of celebrities with autism.

AutismTown

oberleit — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:49:48 -0800

AutismTown? Autism is a puzzling and disastrous disorder which has recently spread to affect 1 in 150, according to new government data; now there is a new non-profit "pixel-based" site to organize the community and fund research and services. A bit of a "who's who" in the field...

In My Language

maudlin — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:13:08 -0800

An autistic woman "speaks" her language, then ours. (YouTube) "My language is not about designing words or even visual symbols for people to interpret. It is about being in a constant conversation with every aspect of my environment, reacting physically to all parts of my surroundings." [more inside]