So now it's the MOTHER'S fault...again.

[aliengirl]

Ah, yes, just when you thought people had finally put the Bruno Bettelheim "refrigerator mother" nonsense to bed once and for all, it seems that this is not the case.

After recently blaming the age of the father, now it looks like mothers are yet again firmly in the spotlight!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100208/th ... 31572.html

Now don't get me wrong - I think that research is important - but it has to be worthwhile research that actually helps people or gives valuable information.

Is there a link between age of conception and autism? I don't know. Does it matter? I don't think it does, but that's just my opinion.

But how does this help exactly? What's the message? No woman over 30 should have a baby, for example? Okay, that's a bit extreme, but I guess my question is what are we supposed to do with research like this?

I'm too tired to vent, otherwise I could ramble on like this for quite a bit longer. For goodness' sake, can't we just have a bit of "live and let live" is that too much to ask???

[Chosen]

I read this story with this added at the end

Dr. Edwin Cook, an autism researcher with University of Illinois at Chicago, offered a novel theory for why autism is more common among children with older parents: Autism is known to run in families and it may be that adults with mild or undiagnosed autism have children at later ages, Cook said.

The study doesn't include information on autism in adults.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_ ... er_s_age_5

[hyke]

I read this story with this added at the end

Dr. Edwin Cook, an autism researcher with University of Illinois at Chicago, offered a novel theory for why autism is more common among children with older parents: Autism is known to run in families and it may be that adults with mild or undiagnosed autism have children at later ages, Cook said.

The study doesn't include information on autism in adults.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_ ... er_s_age_5

I love it when data get different explanations. A conclusion that getting kids at a later age would cause autism makes no real sense to me. But that autistic people may show a tendency (as a bulk, not individually) to get children at later ages does make sense to me.
Lots of things take longer with me to really grasp, why wouldn't that have an effect on the age of getting children too.

Lots of people in my country get their children at an high age btw. And most don't get spectrummy kids. The people I know with kids on the spectrum are very quirky themselves, and were that when they were 18 too.

[aliengirl]

Chosen and Hyke, I too much prefer the interpretation that any link is to do with people on the spectrum possibly having children later rather than saying that anyone who conceives over x age has a greater risk of having autistic children.

I think different interpretations of research are important, as this shows, but I think I will still always struggle with some interpretations more than others!

(The research saying autism was linked to increased rainfall still amuses me)

[docmartin]

The research saying autism was linked to increased rainfall still amuses me

I believe they wanted to claim that autism increases rainfall, which is of course absolutely senseless.
I personally prefer to link autism to being autistic. Yes, I know, people will hate me for that, but some will also love me.
At least, 100% of the autistic children grow up to be autistic adults, and nobody can proof the opposite...

[aliengirl]

The research saying autism was linked to increased rainfall still amuses me

I believe they wanted to claim that autism increases rainfall, which is of course absolutely senseless.
I personally prefer to link autism to being autistic. Yes, I know, people will hate me for that, but some will also love me.
At least, 100% of the autistic children grow up to be autistic adults, and nobody can proof the opposite...

Irrefutable, Doctor!

Regarding the increased rainfall, it snowed here a little last night - does that count?

[Pikajedi3]

The research saying autism was linked to increased rainfall still amuses me

I believe they wanted to claim that autism increases rainfall, which is of course absolutely senseless.
I personally prefer to link autism to being autistic. Yes, I know, people will hate me for that, but some will also love me.
At least, 100% of the autistic children grow up to be autistic adults, and nobody can proof the opposite...

Irrefutable, Doctor!

Regarding the increased rainfall, it snowed here a little last night - does that count?

We've enough snow to come up over the bottom of my calves, and that's WITH my boots one - about 5-6 houses out of 40 in the village have aspies in.

SCIENCE!

[docmartin]

about 5-6 houses out of 40 in the village have aspies in.

Where do you live? I need this for my new project. I research if global warming causes autism, or if it could be linked to increased access to medical care, or to the spaghetti monster, or to invisible autistic radiation coming out of some electronic devices.

P.S.: Are you wearing high heels?