tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post6169273449927329177..comments2024-02-13T21:31:57.980-04:00Comments on Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Causation - Back to Bettelheim?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-20396366835014710772008-05-15T18:24:00.000-03:002008-05-15T18:24:00.000-03:00This maternal factor makes me think that, after al...This maternal factor makes me think that, after all, there may be something in the theory about maternal antibodies.<BR/>We'll wait and see.<BR/>I agree with you that this may exhume the refrigerator mother theory.<BR/>Ooph. Anyway, I know a number of people for whom this theory has never been dead.Maya Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10877457709995369246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-33711122633306718962008-05-12T00:04:00.000-03:002008-05-12T00:04:00.000-03:00You may find this interesting:http://onesickmother...You may find this interesting:<BR/><BR/>http://onesickmother.typepad.com/my_weblog/autism-and-schizophrenia-.html<BR/><BR/>-One Sick Mother.One Sick Motherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06744571221745247997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-64450351199883801842008-05-09T20:21:00.000-03:002008-05-09T20:21:00.000-03:00Hi, Good post. I think you are right that this st...Hi, <BR/><BR/>Good post. I think you are right that this study could potentially be very harmful to parents of children with Autism. I seems to me that the greater potential for harm lies in the press and the hype surrounding this study. I read a lot of the press first, and that had the term "refrigerator mother" resounding in my head much louder than the actual study did.<BR/><BR/>However I do think the study has several fundamental flaws which need to be explored. These are probably due to the flawed logic inherent in sending an epidemilologist to do a psychologist's job. <BR/><BR/>-One Sick MotherOne Sick Motherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06744571221745247997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-3886227887143988882008-05-08T12:28:00.000-03:002008-05-08T12:28:00.000-03:00That review should be posted all over, especially ...That review should be posted all over, especially Age of Autism. Yeah, one could say the press overstated a bit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-49917285681457914722008-05-07T11:21:00.000-03:002008-05-07T11:21:00.000-03:00Hi Harold, I just read the study. A couple of comm...Hi Harold, I just read the study. A couple of comments. The authors never stated that schizophrenia, depression, etc caused autism. Actually, the main hypothesis of the authors was that increased psychiatric diagnoses in the parents could reflect higher rates of services utilization, thus leading to higher rates of diagnoses in the children (not only autism). "We hypothesized that having a psychiatric condition<BR/>might influence parents to have their child evaluated for<BR/>psychiatric conditions and consequently result in increased<BR/>diagnosis of autism". They also consider that there is a possibility of a predisposition, genetic, or otherwise, in some families. But...<BR/><BR/>The second issue is that the data speak to a minuscule portion of autism cases. For example, maternal schizophrenia, which was one of the significant findings, was found in 0.6% of the parents with kids with autism and 0.2% on the mothers of typically developing kids. This means 99.4% of kids with autism did not have mothers with schizophrenia. Thus the possible familial/genetic predisposition, if real, would explain only less than 1% of autism cases. I think the press may be overstating these findings.<BR/><BR/>Finally, the authors mentioned depression and personality disorders in the mothers because those were the disorders that showed up as significant. They did not pick, or select these disorders specifically to make a point. They examined all recorded disorders and reported only those who provided statistically significant differences. <BR/><BR/>Cheers, N. <BR/><BR/>PS, These authors are mostly epidemiologists at departments of epidemiology. There were not traditional psychiatrists or psychologists ('shrinks').Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07658313480635905785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-35509399162059332132008-05-06T16:42:00.000-03:002008-05-06T16:42:00.000-03:00AriI am supportive of any well designed,properly c...Ari<BR/><BR/>I am supportive of any well designed,properly conducted, study which provides reliable information about any aspect of autism.<BR/><BR/>HaroldAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-47733424367450529522008-05-06T16:41:00.000-03:002008-05-06T16:41:00.000-03:00"Furthermore, I'd point out other studies that hav..."Furthermore, I'd point out other studies that have noted that autistics are very often born to parents who are in categorization-heavy fields."<BR/><BR/>You mean scientists, researchers, doctors, lawyers. Your're correct on that for sure. Analytical capability is not autism mistaken for schizophrenia, or autism "lite" or anything like that though, unless you want to call every professor in the world autistic. Autism could be analytical ability gone haywire though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-78439703292737365292008-05-06T12:33:00.000-03:002008-05-06T12:33:00.000-03:00True - but it deserves further study, particularly...True - but it deserves further study, particularly as it is a reasonable possible implication from the data collected in this one. Furthermore, I'd point out other studies that have noted that autistics are very often born to parents who are in categorization-heavy fields. At the very least, I'd categorize that as a promising avenue of further research.Ari Ne'emanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11994339439474211203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-8518937350917204542008-05-06T11:01:00.000-03:002008-05-06T11:01:00.000-03:00Ari,Yeah, so the asian and african women in Sweede...Ari,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, so the asian and african women in Sweeden were autistic but no men were? Come on now. The study goes in so many directions that it is really not suitable to use for drawing any broad conclusions, other than immigrants in Sweeden with dark skin have it rough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-41918639554816199652008-05-06T07:14:00.000-03:002008-05-06T07:14:00.000-03:00ariIt is possible. But not well studied or proven....ari<BR/><BR/>It is possible. But not well studied or proven.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-84169798961437324152008-05-06T04:25:00.000-03:002008-05-06T04:25:00.000-03:00What's more likely to me is that the parents thems...What's more likely to me is that the parents themselves are autistic or on the broader autism phenotype. Autism has been mistaken for schizophrenia and frequently comes with a number of co-morbid conditions that are or are mistaken for mental illness. That could account for part or all of this study's conclusions. I'd be curious as to your thoughts on that perspective, Harold, despite our significant disagreements in other sectors.Ari Ne'emanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11994339439474211203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-15450680919791894332008-05-05T23:49:00.000-03:002008-05-05T23:49:00.000-03:00Nailed it there. The shrinks make their return wit...Nailed it there. The shrinks make their return with this ugly piece of "research". Lisa Jo, you better be ready for more shrinks coming out of the woordwork to pull their old theories out. They worked before and can work again, if the propaganda is forced down people's throats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-84976344911637437482008-05-05T18:59:00.000-03:002008-05-05T18:59:00.000-03:00lisa jo As a follow up to my last comment - the fo...lisa jo <BR/><BR/>As a follow up to my last comment - the following post is from a blog called PsychCentral.com and a post titled "A Link Between Parents’ Mental Health and Autism" by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Dr. Grohol states in respect of this study that:<BR/><BR/>"Knowing whether autism might be more prevalent in families with a history of psychiatric problems could better inform future prevention efforts. Whether the link is passed via the environment (e.g., THROUGH THE FAMILY CHILD-REARING ENVIRONMENT) or through genetics, or a combination of the two."<BR/><BR/>note: I converted the above all caps from lower case for emphasis -HLDAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-35637125276950986232008-05-05T17:01:00.000-03:002008-05-05T17:01:00.000-03:00Hello lisa joI respectfully disagree. While you su...Hello lisa jo<BR/><BR/>I respectfully disagree. <BR/><BR/>While you suggest a list of OTHER reasons which might be involved the authors expressly describe a correlation between a variety of mental illnesses of the parents and autism in their children. They differentiate between illnesses which impact both parents and those which impact the mother - For other disorders, such as depression and nonpsychotic personality disorders, the positive association between psychiatric disorders and childhood autism was found only for maternal disorders, not for paternal disorders."<BR/><BR/>The maternal disorders listed - depression and personality disorders - clearly and expressly imply that the personality of mothers is a factor associated with their childrenès autism.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-66589757835545806922008-05-05T13:43:00.000-03:002008-05-05T13:43:00.000-03:00Hey, Harold - was surprised by your response to th...Hey, Harold - was surprised by your response to this study. <BR/><BR/>So far as I can tell, the conclusions don't suggest that "when parents have a mental illness they act in ways that create autism in their children!" <BR/><BR/>In fact, ALL it seems to say is "mental illness in parents is associated with autism in children." <BR/><BR/>There could be many, many reasons for this, since parents and children share many things - including genetics, location, culture, stresses, etc. etc.<BR/><BR/>I'm not reading this as blame-related study at all... And what's more, since it's the first of its kind, it isn't even replicated. <BR/><BR/>Lisa (autism.about.com)Lisa Jo Rudyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07517170138121456391noreply@blogger.com