The Autism Research Bias

New research on autism is always welcome but some of the old findings may still apply.

“Today, boys in the U.S. are affected at four-and-a-half times the rate of girls: 1 in 42 versus 1 in 189, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Kristen Mitchell writes in GW, the George Washington University magazine. “As a result, for decades it’s been the boys with autism who overwhelmingly are the ones enrolled in studies, and it’s boys for whom treatments and interventions are designed.”

“Now researchers are realizing that the textbook definition of autism—the repetitive behaviors, impaired communication and social interactions—might pertain only to boys, too.” Actually, I’m the father of an autistic 13-year old daughter who demonstrates all three of those traits, although she functions quite well and is well-appreciated wherever she goes.