In The Politics of Autism, I write about the experiences of different economic, ethnic and racial groups.   Inequality is a big part of the story.   Wendy Chung at STAT: In two separate studies of Black families with autism, partially funded by SPARK, investigators from Vanderbilt University and the University of Arkansas found that cultural barriers, stigma, and a basic lack of understanding of autism often led to delays in seeking an initial diagnosis. What’s more, when Black families did seek an evaluation ..read more

 In The Politics of Autism, I write: The most basic questions trigger angry arguments. For instance, into what category do we put autism in the first place? In 2013, President Obama said that “we’re still unable to cure diseases like Alzheimer's or autism or fully reverse the effects of a stroke.” The language of “disease” and “cure” offends some in the autism community. “We don’t view autism as a disease to be cured and we don’t think we need fixing,” says Ari Ne’eman of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. “We do feel comfortable with the word disability because we un ..read more

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio. In Iowa, Nevada, Virginia, and Georgia, Trump has said:  "I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate." Washington Post editorial: This year is not yet one-third over, yet measles cases in the United States are o ..read more

The Politics of Autism discusses the problems of wandering and day-to-day safety. In Alaska and other states, "silver alerts" notify the public and first responders when people with developmental disabilities go missing.  (Silver alerts were originally for the elderly.) Florida has purple alerts, and Maryland soon will. Jospeh Olmo at WRC-TV Washington:  A bill passed in the Maryland General Assembly on Wednesday aims to help families when a loved one with disabilities goes missing. The Purple Alert bill is just a signature away from becomi ..read more

 In The Politics of Autism, I write about the everyday struggles facing autistic people and their families -- including safety on the streets. Madeleine Wright at CBS Philadelphia: A Philadelphia father has been working to protect people with autism by installing street signs with the goal of getting drivers to slow down. Residents might notice new signs throughout Philadelphia that read "autistic person area." Eric Williams is the man behind the very personal campaign. He's the founder of Project Elijah Empowering Autism, or PEEA, a nonprofit named after his s ..read more

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19. Unfortunately, Republican politicians and conservative media figures are increasingly joining up with the anti-vaxxers.   Even before COVID, they were fighting vaccine mandates and other public health measures.  The anti ..read more

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  If you listened to Sirius XM last year, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.  A judge nixed it. From the ruling: "the plaintiffs do not have admissible evidence to demonstrate that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen causes either ASD or ADHD in offspring." And now this: Ahlqvist VH, Sjöqvist H, Dalman C, et al. Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intel ..read more

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. Studies have ruled out vaccines as a cause of autism, but there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies.  This blog has identified at least 41 such items.  Cannabis is one of them. Tadesse AW, Dachew BA, Ayano G, Betts K, Alati R. Prenatal cannabis use and the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum ..read more

From the preface to The Politics of Autism. A major theme of this book is that just about everything concerning autism is subject to argument. There is not even any consensus on what one should call people who have autism and other disabilities. “In the autism community, many self-advocates and their allies prefer terms such as `Autistic,’ `Autistic person,’ or `Autistic individual’ because we understand autism as an inherent part of an individual’s identity,” writes blogger Lydia Brown.[i] Other writers prefer “people-first” language (e.g., “persons with autism”) since it ..read more

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19. Unfortunately, Republican politicians and conservative media figures are increasingly joining up with the anti-vaxxers.   Even before COVID, they were fighting vaccine mandates and other public health measures.  The anti ..read more