PSYCHOLOGY UPDATE

3 ARTICLES RELATED TO AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

ARTICLE #1

New York Times Health Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorders

DESCRIPTION

This is an up-to-date authoritative source for news and information regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders. It provides links to latest articles as well as description of the disorder, symptom behaviors, and treatment. It is an excellent public resource for the disorder.

SOURCE

New York Times Health Guide

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/autism/overview.html?8qa

ARTICLE #2

A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health

DESCRIPTION

A number of parents fearing that infant vaccinations would lead to autism have created a crisis in that serious life threatening childhood diseases are making a resurgence. The issue reached a boiling point due to the measles outbreak in 2014-2015 in California and around the country.

The controversy over inoculations began with an article by Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Here is an except from the NY Times article: “Typically, the M.M.R. (measles, mumps, rubella) shot is given to infants at about 12 months and again at age 5 or 6. This doctor, Andrew Wakefield, wrote that his study of 12 children (1998) showed that the three vaccines taken together could alter immune systems, causing intestinal woes that then reach, and damage, the brain. In fairly short order, his findings were widely rejected as — not to put too fine a point on it — bunk. Dozens of epidemiological studies found no merit to his work, which was based on a tiny sample. The British Medical Journal went so far as to call his research “fraudulent.” The British journal Lancet, which originally published Dr. Wakefield’s paper, retracted it. The British medical authorities stripped him of his license.”

The article includes a 12 minute video discussion of the problem which can be viewed on the webpage of the article or below. There is further discussion of how the public uses illogical fallacies to draw subjective conclusions. The narrator asks the all important question that should be of focus in the Psychology class: “How did we get to this point where personal belief is more powerful than science?”

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SOURCE

New York Times, , February 2. 2015, By Clyde Haberman

LINK TO RESOURCE

(Tiny URL) http://tinyurl.com/m6og846

ARTICLE #3

Should All Babies Be Screened for Autism?

DESCRIPTION

There is a controversy and taking of sides in answering the question as to whether all babies should be screened for autism. The Time article states, 
“U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a group of experts tasked by the federal government to review medical studies and provide recommendations for the public, said Tuesday in a statement in JAMA that there is not enough evidence to recommend all infants be screened for the developmental disorder.” Yet one of the groups taking an opposing point of view is the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This latter group believes that the earlier an infant is observed by a checklist for parents and behavioral symptom diagnosis made of developmental delays noted, then a treatment regimen can be started that may offset the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Part of the debate is that the USPSTF has stated that there have not been longitudinal studies performed and a lack of data as to whether the screenings are effective. Despite the debate, the AAP states that physicians should and must continue to screen for developmental delays that may signal the disorder. Note: the article has links to many studies on the disorder that may be useful for students seeking scientific resources.

SOURCE

Time Magazine, February 16, 2016, by Alice Park

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://time.com/4220366/universal-screening-autism-babies/

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•What is autism?
•How does the DSM 5 define autism?
•What are the general characteristics of a person on the Autism Disorder Spectrum?
•What are believed, currently to be the causes of autism?
•What is the controversy regarding vaccines and autism? Is there a scientific basis for the belief?
•A critical thinking question: What is the difference between data/facts found through empirical studies vs subjective opinion?