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Science & Technology
Joan Swirsky: Autism – still looking for answers in all the wrong places
2019-09-18
BLUF:
[RenewAmerica] "No common factor in the water, air, local pesticides, diet or even building materials and clothing can explain the emergence and relentless increase in this serious, life-long neurodevelopmental disorder," she stated.

"What all industrial countries do have in common," she added, "is...the use of routine prenatal ultrasound on pregnant women. In countries with nationalized healthcare, where virtually all pregnant women are exposed to ultrasound, the autism rates are even higher than in the U.S., where due to disparities in income and health insurance, some 30 percent of pregnant women do not yet undergo ultrasound scanning."

The cause of autism, Rodgers continues, "has been pinned on everything from 'emotionally remote' mothers...to vaccines, genetics, immunological disorders, environmental toxins and maternal infections, [but] a far simpler possibility...is the pervasive use of prenatal ultrasound, which can cause potentially dangerous thermal effects.
Posted by:Besoeker

#9  Having spent a fair bit of time around autistic folks of various stripes, I think there's not a single cause, but a variety of autisms. And at least one variety is obviously genetic.

Since the onset of autism isn't always immediate, some have suspected that stories about changelings describe autistic youngsters. https://adc.bmj.com/content/90/3/271.full
Posted by: james   2019-09-18 23:16  

#8  TW - so you're saying it's not actually a new physical phenom, it just appears that way because of this new label + more frequent diagnosis?

I believe she is, and I agree. In fact, I'll go a little further, and say that a society filled with people who are Autistic, have Down syndrome, or are otherwise "differently abled" is normal. Even desirable, as such people bring their families benefits that aren't immediately apparent. It's just that 100 years later we're still suffering from the aftershocks of the Eugenics movement, which was striving for a society made up on "perfect" people.
Posted by: Secret Master   2019-09-18 19:58  

#7  Or as 'Burger Seafarious said years ago, "What's wrong with a little lysdexia?"
Posted by: Bobby   2019-09-18 10:20  

#6  Dyslexia may not exist, warn academics

Dyslexia is like ADHD, a "disorder" invented to protect bad teachers
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-09-18 09:31  

#5  TW - so you're saying it's not actually a new physical phenom, it just appears that way because of this new label + more frequent diagnosis?
Posted by: Lex   2019-09-18 08:56  

#4  Something interesting I saw on Facebook the other day: dyslexia was not an issue until literacy became the norm, and autism similarly follows as the world has become louder and more distracting, with considerably more interactions with strangers who don’t understand one’s little eccentricities instad of living on a farm or small town in a tight knit community.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-09-18 08:53  

#3  Parent–childinteraction effects on autism symptoms and EEG relative power in young children with excessive screen-time

Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-09-18 05:56  

#2  What all industrial countries do have in common ... is older parents. Greater chance of defective sperm or eggs.
Posted by: Herb Slaling7012   2019-09-18 05:51  

#1  TSA security screening... the sign says you're "OK".
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-09-18 05:10  

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