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.  Here is yet another: Weiyao Yin et al., "Association between parental psychiatric disorders and risk of offspring autism spectrum disorder: a Swedish and Finnish populatio ..read more

The Politics of Autism includes an extensive discussion of insurance and  Medicaid services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) are particularly important. From HHS: “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” (“Access Rule”) creates historic national standards that will allow people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to better access care when they need it and also strengthens home and community-based services (HCBS), which millions of older ..read more

In The Politics of Autism, I write: [M]any police departments have trained officers and other first responders how to spot signs of autism and respond accordingly.  Some organizations have also published identification cards that ASD adults can carry in order to defuse potential conflicts. Virginia provides for an autism designation on driver licenses and other state-issued identification cards. Once again, however, the dilemma of difference comes into play. One autistic Virginian worries: “Great, so if I get into an accident, who’s the cop going ..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. Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling ..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 write: But what is equal treatment? This question raises the “dilemma of difference,” as legal scholar Martha Minow explains. “When does treating people differently emphasize their differences and stigmatize or hinder them on that basis? And when does treating people the same become insensitive to their difference and likely to stigmatize or hinder them on that basis?”[i] [i] Martha Minow, Making All the Difference (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990), 20. Jamie Mihoiko Doyle at Newsweek ..read more

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between first responders and autistic people.  Some jurisdictions allow autistic drivers to ask for a blue envelope to disclose the driver's diagnosis in case of an accident or traffic stop . From Arizona DOT: Arizona is launching a program through which drivers on the autism spectrum can place their credentials in special blue envelopes to enhance communication with law enforcement officers during traffic stops. This voluntary program, which includes education for law enforcement o ..read more

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