Olmsted on Autism: More Yupidity from Yale

(That's Dan on the left under the bulldog, at his Yale reunion last Spring.)

By Dan Olmsted

As you may know from my first column in this series Yupidity From Yale (An Ongoing Series), I've taken on a mission to point out the stupidity emanating from my alma mater on the subject of autism. Yale -- by which I mean the Yale Child Study Center -- seems to be very much into the genes and behavioral therapy school of thought -- frozen in amber while thousands of parents point out the environmental basis of the disorder and the fact that it can be treated biomedically. They'd like to push autism back into the womb, so to speak -- originating as early as possible in the fetal development cycle, beyond the reach of all but the brainiacs who run gene scans and peer at infants through one-way mirrors while gobbling up NIH grants to do so (translation -- your and my money).

Of course, this kind of nonsense comes at us from all quarters, but I feel it a special alumni duty to call out this particular source of what I call Yupidity.

My first column went after a story headlined “Study: Autistic Children Miss Social Clues.”  The story enlightens thusly: “According to new Yale research, 2-year-olds with autism lack a key social mechanism that normally allows non-autistic children to recognize human movement.” Well, alert the media -- because “Instead, autistic children focus on the physical aspects of motion and fail to pick up on important social information, according to the study, which was published in the March 29 online edition of Nature.”

My point here was this wasn't much of an advance. Now, with the new school year, we have Old Blue's old reliables sticking to the tired old line about genes: On Sept. 1, under the title "Surviving Autism" (and what exactly does that mean?), Dr. Abha R. Gupta, Associate Research Scientist, Department of Pediatrics and Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, spoke in Greenwich about "The Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders."

According to the accompanying blurb: "Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have the strongest evidence for genetics among all complex neuropsychiatric disorders.  This talk will review the current state of research, how understanding the genetics of ASDs may help guide the development of treatments, and the guidelines for clinical genetic testing."

Since that is NOT TRUE -- this "strong evidence for genetics" are a handful of confusing twin studies -- it DOES NOT help "guide the development of treatments." Nor are any meaningful useful tests on the horizon. Other than that, I'm sure it was an instructive session. If you missed it, the next in the Surviving Autism series is Oct. 1 in Greenwich, on "Teaching Speech to Young Preverbal Children with ASD." What do you bet they serve oatmeal cookies and milk?

Then on Nov. 5 comes "Parenting the Anxious Child." "How can parents recognize anxieties that affect their child’s happiness and well being?  What can they do to help their child overcome them?" Well, for starters, they can skip anything put out by the Yale Child Study Center.
--
Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.

 

Comments

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

Anne B, You are, of course, right in many ways. Its just that everyone here is really sick and weary of the delays, denial, which is something you probably have not been observing Everyone here would, like you, love to know why our municipal water supplies contain mercury. It would also be nice to know why people have to inhale mercury from crematoriums and coal fired power plants. We would like to know why pregnant women are told that they can eat one can of tuna per week, and why the cans have no warnings about mercury poisoning. And we wonder if the High fructose corn syrup still contains mercury.And we are wondering if the CDC will even answer the question in our letters: Have you TESTED the vaccines for mercury levels?????? While millions of dollars go for genetic research, these questions dangle in the air forever- along with the mercury in the dust from the Gobi desert. Actually, we're wondering , after so many years, why we were so foolish as to imagine that some government institute might actually be willing and interested to do some of this research. Someone somewhere just had to be chuckling at our naievity.

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

Friends, The only disorder that beats autism for finding new genes that cause it (at least in my newspaper)- is Alzheimers. Hmmmm- I wonder why???? For autism , its about once every 6 months and for Alzheimers its once every 3-4 months. I guess that adds one more clue to our list:
If it has a wierd name....
If its billed a "mysterious disorder"
If its cause is unknown(Ideopathic ??)
Yet a new gene for it is discovered
several times a year......( And ALWAYS
gets media coverage)
You know there's mercury afoot

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

To Anne B- You would really be amazed at the variation in intake of mercury by different individual children. You cant just look at vaccines alone and the amount of mercury one child gets from vaccines is quite different from what another gets- and this isnt even getting into the many variables that affect once the mercury enters the child. But if you prefer, you could just come over here to India and see all the tidal wave autistic kids- nearly all born after year 2000 when private pediatricians of India added many more mercury doses to the vaccine schedule.If you have a scientific mind, you will be astounded. This is actually science- but it looks more like science fiction.

[AnaB]

My son has had extensive genetic testing, and though clearly moderately Autistic, he has none of the over 100 genes that have been identified as being involved in Autism.
I wonder if Yale can answer me that one?

[Terri Lewis]

It isn't a hypothesis that vaccines cause autism in some children.

It's a fact.

Vaccines cause autism in some children and it has been acknowledged by vaccine makers and by the CDC. Vaccines can--and do--cause brain damage and damage to the immune system.

With 1 in every 100 children now becoming brain damaged and/or suffering damage to the immune system, prevention is clearly the answer.

Part of that prevention--likely a large part--will involve a huge change in the way we vaccinate children, and will clearly involve not vaccinating children who are more likely to be harmed than helped.

Geez--and I didn't even need a degree from Yale to get that far.

Anne B.--do you have any questions, or do you begin to see?

[Benedetta Stilwell]

Gptagorra the autisic momkey was funny! BUT all so true!

[Teresa Conrick]

anne b posted:

"Even if you hypothesize that vaccines cause autism in some kids, autism does exist in unvaccinated kids, and the vast majority of vaccinated kids are not autistic."

Ann I simply think that you do not understand or are choosing to not understand the science here. Vaccines and environmental factors can cause damage and genes are one avenue. Whether an acute or chronic exposure, a child can be injured.

I know that I read a post of yours in the past where you dismissed vaccines in your case as you reported that your child was not vaccinated until later (6 months?) yet you also reported that he had symptoms prior to that. You are unfortunately denying any exposure encountered while you were pregnant and even before.

Whether a genetic vulnerability exists per child or the environment - tylenol exposure, live viruses (MMR) mercury, thimerosal, immune system dysfunctioning, low glutathione production, vit D deficiency etc,,,the children are having an insult to their bodies casuing this condition called "autism".

Studying the gene issue ignores all of the above and is used as an excuse, a denial, and perpetuates the myth that autism is a genetic condition with little treatment options and that is untrue.

[WILLIE]

Anne B Other than Prader-Willie syndrome and Fragile X autism does not exist in the unvaccinated population Anne B and there is not one study that shows even one unvaccinated child with autism other than the two chromosomal variants listed above. I will give you $1000.00 for every autistic child you find that has never been vaccinated and the child will undergo blood test and I will review hospital and pediatric records to determine if said child or children are truly unvaccinated. Vaccines are snake oil and it is clear to anyone with a brain, as vaccines are not tested and must be evaluated by a special court after injury occurs. The need for a special court is a confession of sorts that the people who make the vaccines are telling you that they have no clue about the affect that the vaccines will have on people These are drug dealers plain and simple and just like most drug dealers they are stupid. This problem of autism will be solved I guarantee it. The issue with regression in these children may have already been figured out and now only needs to be tested to determine if the hypothesis is correct and it will be, as the idea is in the Universe and will ripen in due time. I am sure we will never hear from you when this happens. The pharmaceutical companies and their kabala of stupid and crooked politicians and pseudo scientist like Paul Offit should start preparing their plausible deniability lies as they will need them

[Jim Thompson]

Anne B., you said “the vast majority of vaccinated kids are not autistic.”

This statement seems to ignore the fact that there are 4 million babies born each year in the US facing a one in one hundred chance of autism. 40,000 children each year! This is a disaster almost beyond comprehension – with the exception of the press and the CDC and the FDA.

Dan’s got it right. These studies, in the setting of this disaster, are like studying icebergs as they whiz by the deck of the Titanic. Considering the neurological damage from this disaster, it is at the very least a transgression of our moral duty to divert the majority of research dollars into these other areas.

For instance, how do we as a civilized nation, promote the injection of mercury into children and pregnant women? Mercury is regulated at a level 25 times lower than that for lead. See http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=40&PART=261&SECTION=24&TYPE=TEXT
And yet the flu shot still has 50 parts per million mercury in the majority of the shots. Certainly we should not advocate injecting children with lead and then pay for studies to mitigate the damage.

We need to throw everything at vaccine damage research. The possibility that vaccines are the thalidomide of the brain has to be researched. It should be priority one and yesterday is not soon enough.

[Kathy Blanco]

Some genes like immune function are viable areas of research, or metabolic underpinnings...but let's get real, aren't those affected by vaccines, toxins, etc? Just saying...??? Aren't our parents the apple doesn't fall far from...look at the moms, low thyroid function, autoimmune illnesses, dads with histories of alcoholism, not kidding...all these things work up into the soup of autism, and genetics cannot explain this explosion, PERIOD.

[ben]

I second what anne said. Is it so wrong to attack this issue on multiple fronts?

[Gatogorra]

Thank you, Dan. Charity begins at home as they say.

Can anyone tell me where universities are getting all these autistic monkeys from? One university in the Southwest had to have a kind of giveaway of their "overstock". From what I've read in the notes of some Cold Spring Harbor autism researchers, in order to study the "genetic" effects of autism, researchers are routinely inducing autism in lab animals using *environmental* means.

[Anne B]

I'm far, far from an expert on genetics, but it seems to me that a lot of genetic research these days deals with epigenetics or the interaction between genes and environmental factors, and how that interaction influences gene expression. This seems to be the approach that's taken by the Yale Child Study Center in much of its genetic research. Dan and some of the commenters here have an either/or understanding of this research that I think is inaccurate. But it would be nice to know what Dr. Gupta had to say about it.

Even if you hypothesize that vaccines cause autism in some kids, autism does exist in unvaccinated kids, and the vast majority of vaccinated kids are not autistic. So I think it would be premature to demand that all autism research concentrate only on vaccines and leave out potential genetic and other environmental factors. The goal should be to advance our knowledge of autism, not to limit our knowledge to issues related to vaccines or to denigrate the development of skills that autistic kids need to learn.

[Monica McAloney]

WOW what a big surprise --- NOT!!!
How coincidental these reports continue to come from Yale, the Bush family Alma Mater. Not to remind everyone that George H. Bush sat as an honory board member at E. I. Lilly, mercury manufacturer. Just another inconvenient coincidence.

[Quiet in the south]

You know when fish started dying in the great lakes back in the 70's no one was looking for genetic defects in the fish. They of course attributed it to the environmental pollution. Why can't we make the same connection in the case of why our kids are such a mess. it is truly so obvious you just have to wonder how stupid these supposedly intelligent people are.

[Sunshine]

I have always thought the genetic smokescreen was piteous! Autism is affecting all of humanity... all socio-economic levels and all races which means its not a genetic trait, its humanity, all of us are suseptible to environmental attacks starting first and foremost with the over vaccination of the human race and even animals (talk to the vets and a conversation exists that vaccines are causing tumors, cancers, chronic health problems for animals...on and on...) I just get that the genetic research keeps the pharmaceutical companies in business longer as it detracts from the real issue at hand. If you take an egg and hit it against the side of a bowl, it will crack. We don't study the genetic make up of the egg shell to find out what can be corrected. Instead we give credit to whacking it against a bowl for cracking the egg. But, where there is money to be made, this type of research will continue. Honestly, what irks me the most is that it could lead to eugenics and obviously already sidetracks any research into causal issues. And it makes me even more upset that Autism Speaks puts so much money into this course of study as well. Its like Cancer research. Its so muddied that no one can find cures any more. They don't really want to find a cure... it makes too much money just the way it is. Look at all the doctors, meds, insurance companies, and device manufacturers that keep in good stead by society's poor health. And I wouldn't be afraid to say that cancer is probably contributed to by over vaccination, over medication, over toxified people! So let's keep the conversation alive so that people who educate themselves on the real causes of Autism can continue to find real answers to help them. I am so amazed with the arrogance and demonization of common sense. Thank you for the accountability you are creating at Yale!!!!!

[Kathy Blanco]

Yale seeks to develop a pharmaceutical solution to this, get a clue folks....most of them are funded by pharma. And, YALE is the ground zero for other denials, such as there is no such things as chronic lyme disease or maternal transmission of the pathogen, that infections are not causes of diseases, and let's not forget their lovely skull and bones societiies which are routed in eugenics....not genetics, get that, EUGENICS....

[jen]

Cherry, love the t-shirt slogan idea.

[jen]

what a pile of crap. I went to the University of Guelph (B.A.Sc. Child Studies degree). I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be so sure that its genetics where autism is concerned. At least when I went to school there they emphasized both nature (genetics) and nurture (environmental factors). My guess would be that they are getting alot of grants from pharma.

[julie]

Anne R, if one considers autism a national emergency and a pandemic, it's hard not to get angry at the criminal waste of money and resources looking for "the genes" when ALL the objective evidence and common sense point to an environmental cause. Talk about fiddling while Rome (i.e. our kids) burns.

If they were trying to identify the genetic profile of people who should avoid vaccines for themselves and their children, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Because that would actually be helpful.

[nhokkanen]

Regarding "autism survival": To many parents like me, the Yale series seems rather like fussing with the ties on one's life jacket rather patching the boat's hull before setting sail. It's about priorities.

You must consider that a large number of children have difficulty digesting food and breathing. Just staying alive.

On another note: Cherry Sperlin Misra gets credit for the nifty quote.

[L. Stuiber]

On a similar note, I was listening to NPR last Friday and happen to catch “Talk of Nation, Science Friday” program. They had on the new Director of NIH, Dr. Francis Collins. His big claim to fame was his lab found a gene associated with Cystic fibrosis. (You can guess where this is going.) When the host asked him about Autism, this was his response.
“Dr. COLLINS: Well, obviously, there's great concern about this disease, and now a disease that afflicts about one in 150 kids - and clearly an indication that that is increasing. And the causes remain very frustrating to try to determine, and people have some strong opinions about this. Is this related to environment? Is it genetics?

One of the areas of strongest investment with these dollars that have arrived at NIH from the Recovery Act is autism. And we are going to learn a prodigious amount in the next couple of years about this, both by looking at potential environmental influences, looking at early interventions to try to see what works, and by looking at potential genetic causes. Because we are now at a point where instead of looking here and there in the genome, we can sequence the entire genomes of a large number of individuals with autism and try to see - is there something there that might explain this very puzzling disease.”

Great, a genetics guy in charge of NIH? You can read the full transcript or download the podcast here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=9-11-2009

[Andrea Bisognin]

twins studies are far less confusing and yupid than the nonsense stuff DAN! says about mercury and endogen opiods

[Teresa Conrick]

Anne B said:

"It surprises me that you are so contemptuous of Yale's attempt to address these important issues for autistic people."

I did not go to Yale and clearly have no allegiance there so I think it is very objective and honest for Dan Olmsted to expect more from his alma mater when it comes to MILLIONS of dollars worth of research/grant money.

"These important issues" that you said is a thinly veiled attempt to endorse the following statement...what does it actually mean? Social skills do not deal with gene research.

"This talk will review the current state of research, how understanding the genetics of ASDs may help guide the development of treatments, and the guidelines for clinical genetic testing."

This description appears to attempt to exlain and sustain the grant money>gene research>treatment rationale and to an innocent parent who wants help for their child, it sounds good.

Please explain Anne B, how gene research will lead to actual treatments to help childen now and how this same research will help figure out how to stop the autism epidemic?

[Anne B]

It appears to me that the "Surviving Autism" series is aptly named, since it includes talks about such things as giving autistic kids communication skills and dealing with their anxiety, which are both "survival" skills that many parents of autistic kids need to address. It surprises me that you are so contemptuous of Yale's attempt to address these important issues for autistic people.

As far as Dr. Gupta's review of genetic research goes, I would want to know more about what she said rather than relying on a title and a brief blurb in order to judge the "Yupidity" of her effort.

If you really want to criticize Yale for exploring the genetic basis of autism (and I think very few people would disagree that there is one, even if it not the 100% cause), and for dealing with the problems of communication and anxiety that many autistic kids and adults have, then I would like to see more substance in your criticism. The point of this piece seems to be that if it ain't biomed, then it's stupid. This is a very superficial point of view.

[diona]

Oops. Genes Cause Autism and the World is Flat. Strong habit of writing and telling, genes DON'T!

[diona]

I hope you don't mind, nhokkanen, but I am adapting your t-shirt quote of "Genes don't cause autism and the world is flat" as my Facebook status today! Well put.

[nhokkanen]

Informative column, Dan, and many interesting comments. Amen to what Teresa and Maurine said. Tracy, my cat must be a Hitchcock fan because she frequently attempts to trip me down the stairs.

As for Emily's overly general statement that "autism begins in the womb," that makes sense considering how many mothers have mouthsful of mercury amalgam tooth fillings that outgas and poison the fetus. Then get flu shots with mercury and aluminum. Then comes the Hepatitis B shot at birth. That's not including maternal offload of toxic sources such as water, food, air, consumer products, etc.

Poisons ingested and injected, all bioaccumulating in our unborn children. What a way to start one's life.

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

I'm imagining a t shirt I would like to wear. It would say "Genes cause autism and the World is Flat"

Im also wondering if one day we shall simply google on "mysterious disease" - write down all the diseases that pop up- Try Kawasaki, Brugada, Behcets, etc.No doubt there are plenty more and geez, with strange names like that, they just HAVE to be mysterious. Lo and behold, youve got all the disorders caused by mercury - without spending even one million dollars on gene research. Remember the song?- "Its so simple, so very simple, Only a child can do it!"
I second Sarah's suggestion for the award- Its time to stop these people from debasing so many areas of medicine and science that were once respected, and getting away with it.

[autism mom]

"According to the accompanying blurb: "Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have the strongest evidence for genetics among all complex neuropsychiatric disorders. This talk will review the current state of research, how understanding the genetics of ASDs may help guide the development of treatments, and the guidelines for clinical genetic testing.""

I thought the genetics had been looked at and exhausted as bearing no results worth the name. That the disorder pointed to environment playing a significant role alongwith infections.

I guess we are all limited by the scope of our individual expertise.

I further think autism is bigger than the sum of all of these "expert" individuals out there. To me, the only logical answer for stopping the epidemic is to put a halt on the overloaded vaccine schedule. Its about time that "vaxed vs. unvaxed" study was done.

PS: Is it EVER going to be done or are they just going to only keep talking about it?

[Tracy McDermott]

This reminds me of the study the CDC announced in March about having an animal in the house means you are at higher risk of tripping over it... the science is here -

Dr. Judy Stevens, the C.D.C. epidemiologist who wrote the report...

“We wanted people to realize that while pets have many benefits, health-wise and emotionally, they can also be a fall hazard,” said Dr. Stevens.
Dr. Stevens analyzed data for the years 2001 to 2006 from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program.
Dr. Stevens, whose research focuses on preventing falls in senior citizens, said she became interested in the subject because she frequently heard people comment that they had tripped over their dogs or that their cats were “always underfoot.”

“I realized no one had looked at this. It was all anecdotal,” she said.

Well guess what, I just realized that no one has looked into vaccinated and unvaccinated children where autism rates are concerned.... And I don't think it will take 5 years collecting data to do the study. Talk about anecdotal!

[Jack R.]

I suppose if my twins boys both scratch themselves on a jagged piece of wood sticking out of their swingset I should embark on a multi-million dollar decades long quest to find the genes regulating coagulation.

After all, just because they were playing near the swingset when they starting bleeding isn't any reason to investigate the swingset for jagged pieces of wood. Being four years is a time when lots of boys bleed anyway, and since they both bled, it must be genetic. And even though we know jagged sticks can cut people there is no reason to suspect a jagged piece of pressure treated lumber could. It's a totally different thing. And to be honest, I'm not even sure that thirty years ago people would have even noticed they were bleeding. Nowadays it has just become almost trendy to notice your kid is bleeding.

You could even put a headline like this on it: Twin Studies Reveal Bleeding is Genetic: Rickety Swingsets and Throwing of Bricks are Safe.

[Sarah]

Lisa,

It never ceases to amaze me how people like this Dr. Volkmar think it's perfectly okay to publically bash autism parents...can you imagine making a whipping post out of parents of children with cancer who were worried about environmental toxins? Also the fact that he reacted so defensively (and rudely) to you is very telling. He takes the vaccine issue personally like he's takes vaccine issue as an accusation of poisoning children.

IMO the problem with Yale and well many respected institutions is that they've sold out rather than face the truth about autism. They refuse to look at autism as anything other than genetic/ behavioral. They even get defensive about it.

I see this pattern over and over. I live in the Boston area and you'd think between Harvard, MGH and Boston Childrens Hospital I could get some real medical help for my son but nooooo. Instead of Shangri La - it's more like the Bermuda triangle. Corporate research endowments from Merck and the like are just too seductive and allows the doctors to live in denial.

I guess in Autism world everyone has their price even Yale.

[Emily]

I happen to believe that autism begins in the womb. Mine had unusual tactile defensiveness from the time he was born--couldn't take being covered with a blanket. There were other early signs. By the time he was a tween it became really apparant there was something wrong and development basically stopped. He's now almost 5 and still like an 18 month old. Perhaps it is a virus which attacks the brain in infancy.

[Diane Farr]

"Looking for autism in all the wrong places". Wasn't that an 80's song?

[Lin]

If anyone tries to tell you autism is purely genetic, all you have to do is ask them why the rate of autism is only 70 - 90% in the second twin when one identical twin has autism. If it were purely genetic, the rate would have to be 100% because identical twins have the EXACT SAME GENETIC MAKEUP. Therefore, it is IMPOSSIBLE for autism to be purely genetic.

[Lisa Barli]

I had the unfortunate experience about 4 years ago of attending a conference on Autism where Fred R. Volkmar, M.D. (Director of the Yale Child Study Center) as the presenter. The conference was meant for teachers and therapists of children with Autism. I attended as a professional who is also a parent of an affected child. Dr Volkmar made several statements about how crazy and inappropriate parents of kids with ASD are, as well as how vaccines and toxins have absolutely nothing to do with Autism and medical treatment pertaining to such is inappropriate. I spoke to him at a break to point out the studies done that show there may be a correlation (as well as my own experience). Dr Volkmar responded to me, "I'm a doctor and I don't even understand those studies (when I read them), I don't know how YOU think you can understand them!" I restrained myself but really felt like slapping him ;)

[Sarah]

These studies are bullshit.

Yale is just perpetuating the myth that autism is 100% genetic and the sad part is people, like my sister-in-law who loves to clip out and hand me news stories on autism-genetic studies, believe this even when this whole crisis points to an environmental trigger.

My monies on the research from places like Johns Hopkins, the Cleveland Clinic and UC Davis and any institution that is looking at the relationship between environmental triggers, mitochondrial toxicity, immune dysfunction and autism.

If they say genes are to blame, then Yale docs have to explain why children, like my son, who have a completely NORMAL genetic profile, who met all developmental milestones and were on track suddenly stopped making eye contact, withdrew and regressed around the age of 2. Also why do some of these supposedly incurable autistic children improve with proper treatment.

Gene theory is interesting to me as it relates to mitchondrial DNA or history of familial autoimmune disease.

Maybe we should start an annual Bullshit in Scientic Research on Autism award. I'm thinking a gold trophy of the same embossed with the recipients name.

[Maurine Meleck]

Another sad part is that so many ASD families are buying into these studies and waiting for the elusive gene or genes to be recognized. I think it is keeping them(at least in SC) from seeking alternative bio-med therapies. And sadly too, so many other institutions of higher learning are sucked into this "dead end" autism approach.
Maurine

[Angela]

It's hard to pick up social cues when you feel terrible and your senses are either dulled or heightened.

[Deb O.]

When the time comes that Autism, ADHD, Bi-polar, OCD, and Anxiety/Depression are seen as by-products of biological/neurological reactions to vaccines and other environmental triggers, then the Yale folks and their counterparts, will be out of business.

[Lauren]

Don't even get me started. As you mentioned, Yale is just one place carrying on with this nonsense. My alma mater UNC still has every piece of autism research and treatment in the department of psychiatry. Their latest award from the NIH = 8.6 million to study the underlying causes of psychiatric disorders like autism, depression and anxiety.

"To seek answers, the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Institute of Mental Health has named the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a Center of Excellence in Genomic Science and awarded UNC $8.6 million over five years to fund a new Center for Integrated Systems Genetics, or CISGen.

In funding the grant to UNC for the first two years, NIMH will contribute about $6 million through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

Awesome. Meanwhile, I live in Chapel Hill and unless you are completely loaded (e.g. Geri Dawson, who lives here also) then there are no treatments for your autistic kid. Not even behavioral.

[Teresa Conrick]

Who needs caffeine when we have the Yale series of bullshit studies to wake us up.

I'd laugh if it wasn't so damn sad. We have kids in pain, parents who are frantic for answers, and numbers increasing daily yet these pencil-pushing grant winners take us all on a u-turn to nowhere.

Does having "Yale" in the title win the big money no matter what or does one just have to ignore the forest fire and instead discuss having a picnic miles away?

Autism will always be an elusive gene search at Yale as it is a huge and never-ending flow of cash. It also keeps it away from the vaccine issue, the government issue, the normal child being brain/gut damaged issue, and the epidemic issue as genes can't cause one.

Maybe they need to replace their giant, grandiose bulldog mascot with a giant bullshit mascot- a flushing toilet for all of these crap studies.