Autism and the Fourth Estate

About three or four times a year I see news reports that another team of researchers has found the gene that causes autism, or is closing in on it. They don’t seem to read about each other though, and neither do the reporters who cover them. The articles have a uniformly breathless quality about them with headlines trumpeting breakthrough discoveries without ever mentioning any of the other breakthrough discoveries. Nor do I see much follow up. Each team gets Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame. I have begun to see passing mention of the controversy however. And controversy there is. For sixty years now medical and scientific communities have been trying to blame autism on parents, ever since it was first described in the 1940s. The facts keep getting the way but that doesn’t even slow them down. First they said it was caused by “refrigerator mothers.” Nobody ever even tried to support that, they just laid out the theory. Nowadays they make the case for genes, though they really don’t support that very well either. There is little question that genes are a factor but that doesn’t explain an epidemic and there has been an explosion in the incidence of autism since the late eighties. Until very recently almost all research into possible causes has looked exclusively at genetics. It’s prompting what may be the most heated debate in modern medical science. It may also be the most important. With 1 in every 150 American children now reported to have autism almost everyone either has it in their family or knows someone who does. You might think the main stream news would be all over this, asking critical questions and doing serious investigating. They aren’t. They publish an occasional human interest story, report on press releases when a new study comes out, and let it go until something else happens. They might call a professor or two for comments, and maybe balance that with an opinion from an autism advocacy group, but rarely do I see incisive journalism on this subject from the traditional media. There are exceptions. Dan Olmsted from UPI wrote The Age of Autism for several years, 113 columns in all. I think I’ve read every one. He’s tracked down the original autism cases to find out where they lived, their fathers’ occupations, and what ultimately happened to them, being careful to respect privacy. The very first person ever diagnosed seemed to recover miraculously after taking gold salts of all things for the debilitating arthritis that was part and parcel of his illness. Olmsted also inquired into why the Amish and people who practice alternative medicine don’t seem to have much autism. He is one of only a few journalists who consistently make the point that autism is a whole body malady affecting the digestive, immunological, and neurological systems, not just a brain disorder. Unfortunately UPI is reorganizing and Mr. Olmsted is moving on. I guess he’s lost his job. He won’t be writing The Age of Autism any more but will stay in journalism and says he will keep his focus on autism. I hope he does. He’s already made important contributions to a discussion that is really just getting started. It does appear to be getting better. The March issue of Discover had a very well researched and presented article on the nature, causes, and potential remedies for autism. Discover is pretty main stream. The leader - Autism: It’s not just in the head. The article goes on to say that researchers have unexpectedly discovered abnormalities in the gut and immune systems of children with autism. It’s the “unexpected” bit that drives parents up the wall. They have been telling doctors that for years. Still, it is encouraging.