<
https://theconversation.com/from-refrigerator-mothers-to-paracetamol-why-harmful-autism-myths-are-so-common-266075>
"US president Donald Trump’s claim that pregnant women should avoid paracetamol
– a statement that is both harmful and not backed by the science – fits into a
long and damaging tradition of blaming parents, especially mothers, for autism.
Despite decades of research and a far richer understanding of autistic lives,
two myths persist: that parents’ behaviour can somehow cause autism, and that
autism is a temporary condition that can be “cured” or simply “outgrown.”
Large, long-term studies – and the experiences of autistic people – have
repeatedly debunked both claims, yet they continue to surface in public debate.
From the earliest theories of autism, researchers looked for someone or
something to blame. In the 1950s and 1960s, psychiatrists such as Leo Kanner –
an Austrian-American physician who first described autism as a distinct
condition in 1943 – and Bruno Bettelheim – a Viennese-born American
psychologist known for his controversial theories on child development –
promoted the now-discredited notion of the “refrigerator mother”.
This is the idea that autism was the result of emotionally cold parenting. This
theory led to guilt, shame and even the forced separation of children from
their families, causing immense harm.
That pattern of blaming mothers set the stage for later false claims. In the
1990s Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist, alleged that the measles,
mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism. His work was later exposed as
fraudulent; the paper was retracted and his medical licence revoked.
Extensive international research has since shown conclusively that there is no
link between MMR and autism. Yet the damage continues. Vaccination rates
dropped, outbreaks of preventable disease followed, and some children died or
suffered serious complications.
Since then, other supposed causes – ranging from gluten and cow’s milk to
caesarean sections and even ultrasound scans – have been proposed and later
disproved. All these theories share the same misplaced blame: they pin autism
on something a parent, most often the mother, is alleged to have done or failed
to do."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
