Questions of blame linger in autism, vaccine dispute

Posted on Tue, Jul. 04, 2006
By Meg McSherry Breslin
Chicago Tribune

Chicago - It has been nearly 50 years since mothers shouldered the blame for their children's autism. Yet for many parents, echoes of that painful era remain.

In the 1950s and '60s, the medical community accepted University of Chicago psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim's assessment that "refrigerator mothers" - those with a supposedly cold, unloving demeanor - brought on their children's disorder.

Although it is now known that autism is a neurological disorder and not the result of bad parenting, the exact cause remains a mystery.

Many parents, however, are convinced they've found the answer. And most experts are on the opposing side.

Indeed, few medical battles are more charged than that between parents who believe mercury in their children's vaccines brought on autism and the medical establishment that has found no evidence to support that claim.

For information, resources and practical strategies on autism visit:

www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com

www.AutismConcepts.com