Autism Self Injury and Aggression Can Occur Quickly With No External Provocation

The pictures set out below this commentary were taken in May 2012 and posted on   Saturday, May 26, 2012 under the title Conor's Autism Reality: From Joy To Self Injurious Behavior In A Flash.  I was taking these pictures of Conor enjoying a swing on the playground of his old grade school, Nashwaaksis Memorial School.  It was early Saturday morning, no one else was around; there were no loud noises or disturbances. The weather was pleasantly cool and mild.  Conor was loving his time on the swing and then ... just like that ... he was engaged in self injurious behavior as set out in the last two pictures of this set ... with no external factor whatsoever.  Whatever prompted the head hitting and hair pulling of the last two pics was purely internal. His self injurious behavior in this instance was not an isolated occurrence.  It has happened before and since.  Nor is it always self injurious.  There are times when Conor has been aggressive with his mother and father.  I have  never believed for a second that he actually intends to hurt either of us. Some times he is reacting to external stimuli such as the sound of a phone ringing. It is my belief that when he is aggressive to himself or others he is most often  reacting as he did in these pictures to internal disruptions of some kind.  

I am not generalizing from Conor's reality to those of other persons with autism symptoms or disorders. I was, from the beginning of my understanding of Conor's condition, and during the early days of my autism advocacy, annoyed with people like Michelle Dawson and Dr. Laurent Mottron whose affidavit evidence as an autism expert supported her application for intervener status when she appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in the Auton case as an "autistic" to oppose government funded Applied Behavior Analysis treatment for other people's children.  I never accepted that  my son with severe autistic disorder and profound developmental delays could be represented even indirectly by this person capable of addressing Canada's highest court. 

Nor do I subscribe to the unsubstantiated belief that persons with autism are responsible for planned violence like the horror committed in the Newtown massacre by a person rumored to have autism/Aspergers.  I do acknowledge though that, at least in my son's case, unplanned, spontaneous, "reactive" aggression  to use CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta's term, can occur and can occur in a flash.  Depending on the setting, for example sitting in the back seat while Mom or Dad are driving, the consequences could be very, very serious.  Even in ideal circumstances such as the Saturday morning playground depicted below aggression, whether directed toward himself or those with him, can be serious and frightening. 

There may well be persons with autism disorders whose symptoms do not include self injurious behavior or injury to others. Great, I am happy for them.  But the public at large should not believe for a second that it is not present in some persons with autism in ways that are not always present in non autistic persons.  It is, for many persons with autism, a fact of the brain disorder(s) which manifests  in symptoms that we call autism.   Research is needed on the internal causes of self injury and aggression in persons diagnosed with autism. Treatments need to be developed.  Pretending such internally provoked or aggravated aggression is not part of autism won't make these realities disappear. 

Instead of spending years trying to streamline autism symptoms and disorders into one neat package it would be much more helpful if the aggressive component of the heterogeneity of autism symptoms were acknowledged and addressed through research and improved treatments. 

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Autism, Killarney Lake and The Conor Gift

Last night there were no pictures taken but Mom and Dad were walking the trail around Killarney Lake on either side of Conor when he put his arms through each of ours and walked along  looking back and forth at Mom and Dad with a huge smile, even a bit of a giggle at times. Loads of affection for his Mom and Dad.  It is the Conor gift.

Conor will not be featured in a highlight reel of autistic young people performing amazing feats.  He will not be going to work at Dr. Laurent Mottron's lab as one of his allegedly "typical" autistic persons.  He will not stand before national media organizations in Washington, serve on US national committees or pose for the New York Magazine and tell the world that autism is a personal identity not a disability.  

The pictures above have been posted on this blog site for some time.  The picture of Conor by himself is from one of his favorite spots ... Killarney Lake.  The other two show Conor's amazing smile which, by itself, is always a gift for Mom and Dad.    Despite Conor's type of autism, the actual disability/disorder type, he brings great joy to his Mom and Dad as he did last evening at Killarney Lake. His autism, unlike Ari Ne'eman's, is a disorder and his smile is not a gift brought courtesy of his autism disorder.  It is the Conor gift. 

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US Federal Judge: ABA Proven and Highly Effective Treatment of Children with Autism

It is hard to believe that in 2012 a government agency with responsibilities for the provision or administration of health care could take the position that ABA is an "unproven" treatment for autism.  That was the justification though of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration in refusing to provide Medicaid coverage for ABA treatment for three persons with autism.   As reported  by the Miami Herald US Federal Judge Joan Lenard disagreed and ordered the FAHCA to provide the Medicaid coverage for the applied behavior analysis treatment: "U.S. Judge Joan Lenard ruled Friday that applied behavioral analysis be covered by Medicaid....Lenard held that ABA was a proven and highly effective treatment of children with autism."

Apparently the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is not familiar with authorities from the US Surgeon General to the American Pediatric Association and  a number of state agencies that have reviewed the scientific literature and found ABA to be the most evidence based effective treatment for autism.  Or perhaps they   accidentally  subscribed to updates from anti-ABA activists Michelle Dawson and Laurent Mottron who have appeared (often) in the media and in Canadian legal and political proceedings in a prolonged and determined effort to prevent Canadian autistic children from receiving ABA treatment for their autism disorders.    Regardless, US Federal Judge Joan Lenard, in addition to issuing an order directing the agency to provide Medicaid coverage for ABA, has also educated the agency on the benefits of ABA treatment for children with autism disorders. 

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Michelle Dawson (2008): Autism Is A Disability, A Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Photo from Nature Magazine, November 2 2011,  Shows High Functioning Autistic, 
Researcher and Anti-ABA Activist* Michelle Dawson and High Functioning 
Autism Expert  and Anti-ABA Activist* Dr. Laurent Mottron

It may seem surprising to some to learn that Michelle Dawson, the central image of the "Autism is an Advantage" campaign of  high functioning autism researcher and anti-ABA activist Dr. Laurent Mottron has herself formally declared that autism is a disability and a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Dr. Mottron and Ms Dawson were featured recently in Nature magazine promoting the autism is an advantage beliefs of Dr. Mottron and Ms Dawson.  Yet,  in another very formal context,  Michelle Dawson has described autism as a disability.  In fact she used her autism disability as the basis for a human rights complaint against her former employer Canada Post**.

In Dawson v. Canada Post Corporation, 2008 CHRT 41 (CanLII) Ms Dawson brought a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act against her former employer Canada Post alleging that Canada Post had discriminated against her and harassed her on the basis of her autism disability contrary to the provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act.  The Human Rights Tribunal found that she had substantiated most of her claims and found that Canada Post had contravened sections 7 and 14 of the Act.

A complaint pursuant to the Canadian Human Rights Act is brought under one of the grounds listed in section 3 of the Act. The Tribunal decision listed the grounds as  race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and conviction for which a pardon has been granted. In Ms Dawson's case she alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation against her by Canada Post on the basis of disability ... autism ... as set out in several paragraphs of the CHRT decsions:

[2] In her complaint, dated August 9, 2002,  Ms. Dawson alleges that the Respondent discriminated against her on the basis of disability, in breach of section 7 of the Canadian Human Rights Act in that it failed to accommodate her disability (autism).

[86] Ms. Dawson testified that autism is a neurological disability and that people generally do not have a good understanding of this reality.

[90] Ms. Dawson testified that  autistic persons compared to non autistic people process information very differently, at a very basic profound level, really low level.

[95] In her testimony, Ms. Dawson also referred to people with Down Syndrome.  She testified that Down Syndrome is in the  same classification as autism.  They are both developmental disorders or neuro-developmental disabilities.



[220] The Tribunal thus finds that Ms. Dawson’s disability was an important factor in the way she was treated by the Respondent in relation to the above mentioned events and that the  Respondent’s conduct amounts to harassment and contravenes section 14 of the Act.

Contrary to those who assert that autism is an advantage Ms Dawson, as indicated in the CHRT decision,  testified that autistic persons compared to non autistic people process information very differently, at a very basic profound level, really low level.  Ms Dawson also testified about a serious deficit which afflicts many with autism disorders  SIB, or Self Injurious Behavior.  She gave evidence before the tribunal about her own Self Injurious Behavior. I commend Ms Dawson for having the courage to speak openly and honestly about her own very serious autism deficit, her self wounding:


[97]In her testimony, Ms. Dawson spoke about her self-inflicted injuries. Ms. Dawson testified that, at the very worst, there was probably a week or two weeks where two weeks in a row, she would have something, that she would injure herself. She added, however, that this would be rare. According to her, she would self-injure about once a month and never more. She testified that for cuts, it would not be more than one small area affected and not more than one or two cuts, but they would be in the same place. 

A Mysterious Dr. M testified about autism and self injury generally indicating that self-injury is linked to autism. He also talked about having diagnosed Michelle Dawson, having written letters on her behalf and having observed the results of her self injurious behavior:


[103] For Dr. M., the idea of curing autism is meaningless. Violence is absolutely not a problem that is attached to autism. According to Dr. M., what characterizes autism is that the specific part of the brain which is in charge of social activities is broken in an autistic brain. According to Dr. M., self-injury is linked to autism.


[110]Dr. M. testified that, while the ordinary person will become aggressive when anxious, autistic individuals will sometimes self-injure. This is especially the case, according to Dr. M., when an autistic person cannot understand a situation or cannot get an answer to a question. According to Dr. M., self-injury is the most extreme response to a psychological impasse that has no solution. It is a response to a disorganization of the world. It is the way for an autistic person to respond to negative situations whereas non autistic persons will show anger. Dr. M. stated in his testimony that he was aware of Ms. Dawson self-injury behavior. He had seen one of the wounds she had inflicted upon herself. For Dr. M., a self-inflicted injury is a sign of a deep psychological suffering.

[111] According to Dr. M., autistic people will also have a self-injurious behavior when experiencing internal pain of physical or psychological displeasure. So, if an autistic person finds himself or herself in a situation where he or she cannot escape, or experiences a feeling of disorder, he or she may self-injure, such as biting one's arm or hand. Dr. M. added that it is very difficult for a non autistic person to understand this type of behavior.

[130] Dr. M. testified that Ms. Dawson had told him that the injury that she self-inflicted helped her psychologically. For Dr. M., Ms. Dawson had the habit of self-injuring. Dr. M. interpreted these acts of self-injury as a sign of major psychological suffering, a way for autistic individuals to cope with anxiety. He stated in his testimony that he personally saw one of the wounds that Ms. Dawson had inflicted upon herself and stated that the wound was impressive, and would have been impressive for her coworkers.


Dr. Mottron's opinion piece in Nature magazine emphasized what he considers to be the advantages of autism and spent little time discussing the serious deficits that can accompany those with autism disorders.  Even Michelle Dawson described in the CHRT proceeding as intelligent and high functioning can suffer from serious Self Injurious Behavior. This father of a severely autistic young man with profound developmental delays who has engaged in serious self injurious behavior has no doubt that autism is a disability, a neurological disorder.  Especially for those like my son who do not share Ms Dawson's communication and high functioning abilities and intelligence self injurious behavior is a very serous reality, a deficit, not an advantage.


It is unfortunate that Dr. Laurent Mottron who has built a fine reputation for himself conducting studies and writing articles about high functioning autistics, persons with Aspergers and autistic savants, would downplay the serious deficits that accompany autism disorders.  He,  and his colleague Michelle Dawson, have opposed government financing in Canada of ABA treatment for autism, to this date the only solidly evidence based intervention for autism.


Almost annually a naive, autism ignorant mainstream media swallows the Mottron Mantra and paints a picture of autism as something other than what it is ... a disability ...  a serious neurodevelopmental disorder. In doing so Mottron and the MSM do a great disservice to those most severely affected by autism disorders.

*Ms Dawson made representations as an "autistic" to the Supreme Court of Canada in the landmark Auton Case in which the SCC overturned British Columbia Court decisions which had required the BC government to fund ABA treatment for autistic children. Her application to the Court for intervenor status was supported by an affidavit from Dr. Laurent Mottron. In her representations to the Supreme Court Ms Dawson opposed ABA therapy.  See Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2004 SCC 78, [2004] 3 SCR 657, paragraph 5, "Indeed one of the interveners in this appeal, herself an autistic person, argues against the therapy."

**Note: I was an in house labour lawyer with Canada Post in Ontario between 1993 and 1997 but had never heard of Ms Dawson until after my return to private practice in New Brunswick. My son was diagnosed with Autistic Disorder a year after I returned to private practice and I become active in autism advocacy in New Brunswick.  Ms Dawson contacted me by telephone to ask for access to a legal opinion concerning autism which she heard had been provided to the Autism Society New Brunswick of which I was president at the time. 

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Autism Expert Psychologist Dissects Mottron's "Misleading" "Mischief"

The mainstream media (MSM) has embraced with open arms activist/researcher Dr. Laurent Mottron's "autism advantage" piece in Nature.  In that article Mottron downplays the serious challenges faced by those like my son with severe autistic disorder and recasts autism disorders in the image of his mentor Michelle Dawson and several other high functioning persons with autism who work in his lab. Almost without exception the MSM has regurgitated Mottron's beliefs and opinions without serious examination of the scientific basis, if any, for those beliefs, and without offering differing views of credible autism experts. An autism expert who offers a critique of Mottron's opinion piece is Dr. Travis Thompson who describes the piece as "mischief" and "misleading". 

"More Mischief: Autism Superiority?

Dr. Laurent Mottron, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal, at Hopital Riviere-des-Prairies, recently wrote in the journal Nature, that his research team has published articles indicating some people with autism have “superior capabilites in multiple cognitive operations such as perception and reasoning.” Exaggerating positive characteristics of some individuals with autism is not necessary to accord them the respect they deserve."

...

Mottron’s research team has published articles indicating that some people with autism have “superior capabilites in multiple cognitive operations such as perception and reasoning”. Dr. Mottron is referring to his numerous laboratory cognitive neuroscience studies or psychological test investigations he has published showing on average, some samples of some people with ASDs score higher on some measures or some subtests than some comparison neurotypical samples. I have found no studies by Dr. Mottron showing that the “superior capabilities” which he has measured in the laboratory in autism manifest themselves in advantages in daily life. As unlikely as it may seem, I have found no articles by Dr. Mottron indicating there are any measurable disadvantages of having autism, which seems odd in light of the fact that many thousands of articles indicating that such differences exist.

...

While I have respect for strong advocacy on behalf of individuals with autism, misrepresentation of an enormous body of scientific evidence is not helpful to individuals with autism or their families. [Nature. 2011 Nov 2;479(7371):33-5. doi: 10.1038/479033a]"

Dr. Thompson also authors a blog, Oughtism, where he commented further on Mottron's autism advantage article. In Autism: Visual Memory, Intelligence, and According Respect Dr. Thompson describes the skill used in the tests on which much of the Mottron opinions are based as being essentially that, a specific skill which can not be equated more generally with intelligence. He  makes the point that autistic persons are deserving of respect ... period ... without the need to demonstrate an alleged "superiority" in a specific area. Dr. Thompson also questions the appropriateness of using a term like "superior" in a scientific article.

"It is not my purpose at all to diminish the importance of unique cognitive abilities of many individuals with autism, but to suggest that the ability to perform complex visual configural search tasks with short latencies, as is involved in Mottron’s and his colleagues laboratory and clinical testing tasks, likely has a limited amount to do with what is usually meant by intelligence. Intelligence is distinguished by ability to use abstract symbols for functional communication in attaching meaning to one’s experiences and in solving problems. Most people with autism display such skills, some to extraordinary degrees. Visual memory for configurations is not central to intelligence, though it is indeed a unique skill, very beneficial in the visual arts, as shown here with Stephen Wiltshire, and mathematics and computer science."

...

Moreover, as I pointed out recently on my website, Autism Treatment, to suggest that any group of people must meet some measurable criterion on a test, like shorter latencies on a visual search task, in order to be accorded respect by the rest of society and our world community is inherently offensive. People with autism deserve equal treatment and rights as everyone else because they are members of the human family. They do not need to prove themselves. “When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you,” Lao Tzu."

I have never been a fan of Dr. Laurent Mottron's brand of autism activism and have said so on many occasions.  I am a lawyer who has represented a number of persons with autism and Asperger's without receiving any compensation, even from Legal Aid for doing so. I have also been an advocate for evidence based early intervention, autism specific training and accommodation for teachers and aides working with autistic children in our schools and for adult autism specific residential care and treatment facilities. As an autism advocate I have visited the psychiatric hospital facilities where some severely autistic adults live out their lives after parents grow old, feeble and eventually die.

Still, my opinions are not those of an autism health professional. My experience over almost 16 years as a parent of a severely autistic child are of no weight whatsoever in the minds of government, courts, the mainstream media or an activist/researcher like Dr. Mottron.  I am after all just another hysterical, ignorant, ill informed and biased parent.

Dr. Travis Thompson, however, is a psychologist with academic and clinical experience over many decades and his views are harder to dismiss.  Or they would be if the MSM bothered to research and read his opinions. Hopefully someday the MSM will grow up and  consult the opinions of experts like Dr. Thompson who, very professionally and politely, show that the Mottron brand of autism activism can be mischievous and misleading.

Dr. Travis Thompson's biography as published on the Autism Spectrum Disorders: Diagnosis Treatment website:

TRAVIS THOMPSON, Ph.D.

Dr. Travis Thompson is Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) where he is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics Autism Clinic and the Center for Neurobehavioral Development. He received his doctorate in Psychology at the University of Minnesota and did postdoctoral training at the University of Maryland and advanced behavioral science training at Cambridge University (UK). He spent several years as the Executive Program Director of a community-based behavior therapy program for young children with autism spectrum disorders in Minneapolis, MN where he directly supervised services to a large number of children with ASD. He has served as a consultant to public school autism programs in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN and Nashville TN. He is a licensed psychologist (Minnesota).

Travis Thompson has worked in the field of developmental disabilities as a researcher, teacher and clinician for over 35 years. He was previously Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University, and the Institute for Child Development (University of Kansas Medical Center). He was co-editor of one of the first books concerned with behavior therapy methods for individuals with developmental disabilities. He has published over 240 articles and chapters and 27 books, including Self-Injurious Behavior: Genes-Brain and Behavior (with Schroeder and Oster-Granite) published in 2001 and International Handbook of Applied Research in Intellectual Disability (with Emerson, Hatton and Parmenter, 2004). He has been an invited speaker in 13 countries and 40 states within the U.S. He has held numerous offices and received awards for his work in developmental disabilities including serving as President of the Division on Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities (33) of the American Psychological Association. He was recipient of the Don Hake Award of Division 25 of the American Psychological Association for "Exceptional Contributions to Basic Behavioral Research and its Applications”. Thompson was recipient of the American Association for Mental Retardation Research Award (1995), the Arc USA Distinguished Research Award (1996), and the Academy on Mental Retardation Career Research Award (1998). He has served on numerous national committees, including the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Committee of the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development as well as other federal agencies and the American Psychological Association. He has previously served as a member of professional advisory committees to autism parent advocacy organizations in Minnesota and Kansas.

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No Autism Advantage for My Son As He Slaps His Head and Bites His Wrists

The pictures above were taken of my son Conor during our early morning walk yesterday.  We have enjoyed many such walks and yesterday was a beautiful fresh fall morning that we both enjoyed.  Most of the rest of the day was also great.  Conor is a lot of fun, notwithstanding his Autistic Disorder. I enjoyed every moment with him ... except as the day drew to an end.  

At about 7:30 pm last evening Conor started to repeat the phrase school on Sunday, school on Sunday, school on Sunday .... endlessly.  He also began slapping his head and biting his hands, wrists and legs.  My attempts to communicate with him and modify his behavior, which apparently Dr. Laurent Mottron, and his mentor Michelle Dawson, would consider advantageous behavior, were only mildly successful.  I tried to get him into his bedtime routine in the downstairs washroom, to get him brushing his teeth, washing his face etc. The immediate result was a full scale meltdown which I overcame simply by loudly commanding him to begin brushing his teeth.  

As Conor completed his bedtime preparation he calmed down.  At 8:00 pm he went to sleep on the living room couch as he often likes to do.  I placed pillows under his head and covered him with lots of thick heavy blankets, then stayed nearby working at a computer in the adjacent kitchen.  Conor made some gentle singing and whistling sounds but engaged in no more self injurious or loud behaviors as he quietly went to sleep.

I  was thankful, for his sake and mine, that my son's autism advantage had disappeared for the night, that his slapping, biting and screaming had stopped and that he was able to get some sleep.

I look forward to another beautiful morning walk with Conor today but I hope that his autism advantage does not return. 

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New York State Now Requires Insurers to Cover Treatment for Autism Disorders

While this Canadian autism father is annoyed by media attention given to Canadian researcher  Laurent Mottron's perpetual crusade to recreate autism disorders in the image of his mentor Michelle Dawson, and trivialize the plight of the 70% of persons with Autistic Disorder and intellectual disabilities, there is good news south of the border to brighten the day.  In New York state BuffaloNews.com reports that our sensible American neighbors have passed legislation requiring insurers in that state to cover treatment for autism disorders:

A measure requiring health insurers to cover autism disorders was signed into law Tuesday, making New York the 29th state to enact such coverage mandates for the complex neurobiological disorder ... The legislation, signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, was approved unanimously by both legislative houses in June.


Dr. Mottron must surely be disappointed that US states are moving to provide insurance coverage for autism treatments that he and his mentor Michelle Dawson opposed at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Auton case where she intervened as an "autistic" in an effort to prevent the British Columbia government from being required to fund ABA treatment for autistic children.  (Dawson's request for intervenor status was backed by Dr. Motton's affidavit in support).


The American Academy of Pediatrics and experts are referenced in the BuffaloNews article supporting early treatment for autism:


"The American Academy of Pediatrics says that there is no cure for autism-related disorders but that children, with treatment, can progress and learn new skills. Experts say early diagnosis is key to helping improve conditions for children afflicted with autism. "

The AAP has previously given clear guidance on effective treatments for autism:

The effectiveness of ABA-based intervention in ASDs has been well documented through 5 decades of research by using single-subject methodology21,25,27,28 and in controlled studies of comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention programs in university and community settings.29–40 Children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behavior as well as some measures of social behavior, and their outcomes have been significantly better than those of children in control groups.31–4

American Academy of Pediatrics,Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The AAP 2007 report  Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders was reaffirmed  by the AAP in September 2010:

AAP Publications Retired and Reaffirmed

REAFFIRMED

Clinical Report: Dealing With the Parent Whose Judgment Is Impaired by

Alcohol or Drugs: Legal and Ethical Considerations. Pediatrics. 2004;

114(3):869 – 873. Reaffirmed September 2010

Clinical Report: Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism

Spectrum Disorders. Pediatrics. 2007;120(5):1183–1215. Reaffirmed

September 2010

Clinical Report: Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Pediatrics. 2007:120(5):1162–1182. Reaffirmed September 2010

Unfortunately in Canada the views of Dr. Laurent Mottron and his mentor Michelle Dawson concerning ABA treatment of autism disorders hold great sway with the government of Prime Minister Harper which invited them to the national autism symposiums from which Canadian ABA advocates were banned despite having fought for a national autism strategy which led to the symposiums. 

In Canada the fight for ABA coverage for autism disorders continues though and determined parents and professionals will not give up. Although the mainstream media loves the feel good picture of autism created by Neurodiversity ideologues like Mottron and Dawson a history of the struggle for treatment for our autistic children can be found online at Medicare's Orphans. 

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The Mottron Mantra: Autism Is An Advantage Not A Disorder

The DLM5:   Dr. Laurent Mottron's Diagnostic

 and Statistical Manual of Mental Advantages

If you authored or coauthored several journal articles a year over many years, involving high functioning, highly intelligent persons with autism and surrounded yourself with very intelligent, high functioning autistic researchers would they influence your perception of autism? In the case of psychiatrist, and anti-autism cure, anti-ABA activist, Dr. Laurent Mottron, who has published many journal articles involving high functioning autism participants, the answer is yes.   

Dr. Motton has acknowledged repeatedly that his perception of autism has been influenced by his professional relationship with the very intelligent, high functioning autistic Michelle Dawson. In his latest comment in the journal Nature Dr. Mottron states that the half dozen autistic persons who form part of his research team are "typical autistics".

As the father of a son who is not one of Mottron's "typical autistics", who is in fact one of the approximately 70% of persons with Autistic Disorder (not autism generally) who also have intellectual disabilities and is severely affected in his understanding of the world and his daily functioning skills I am left shaking my head once again at Dr. Mottron's characterizations of autism. Once again, prominent media headlines around the world are screaming the Mottron mantra that autism is an "advantage". 

Dr. Mottron acknowledges that many with autism are considered intellectually disabled although he expresses his doubts about the figures, saying he doesn't believe them. His vague caveats about the serious challenges faced by so many with autism are buried in the article and do not form part of the autism is an advantage headlines.  

Maybe Dr. Mottron should start hiring some of the many persons with Autistic Disorder and intellectual disabilities, including some of the adults living in institutions including psychiatric hospitals. Maybe he should get out of his lab and join one of the search and rescue teams that are regularly called out to find autistic children who wander away from home and school.  Perhaps he could join the tertiary care team at the Stan Cassidy Center here in Fredericton and help the autistic children and youth with severe behaviour challenges that they treat.  The caseload the Stan Cassidy handles is so overwhelming that the administration had planned  a few years ago to disband the autism team because the workload was so great it was threatening its ability to provide other services offered by the center to persons with neurological injuries.  The autism team was continued after public opposition led by parents of children with autism, parents who have to deal 24/7 with the daily realities of their children's autism disorders.

I am surprised Dr. Mottron is not fighting the American Psychiatric Association's proposal to combine the various autism disorders into one new Autism Spectrum Disorder in the DSM5, the proposed new version of the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  After all "typical" autism for Dr. Mottron is not a disorder, it is an advantage. 

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Canadian Government Funded Study Advice for Parents of Children with Autism: ABA Doesn't Work, Set Your Children Free and They Will Prosper!

A study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has found, surprise, surprise, that ABA is of limited effectiveness in treating autism.  The Pathways in Autism Spectrum Disorders study led by Dr. Peter Szatmari, Dr. Dr. Susan Bryson and Dr. Eric Fombonne was established with the belief at the outset that ABA is of limited effectiveness in helping low and high functioning autistic children. It was also established, not surprisingly given its government financing, and the predispositions of the lead researchers, with a view to avoiding the expense associated with providing ABA intervention.

Reducing expense is an obvious concern of a federal government which has been under pressure to provide ABA coverage for autism under our national medicare scheme. Dr. Szatmari, Dr. Fombonne and Dr. Bryson signed on to the federal government initiative to discourage medical coverage of ABA many years ago as evidenced in their 2006 Brief to the Canadian Senate. Their opinions, as articulated in 2006, are also reflected in their recent 2011 video.  Plus ca change, plus ca rest la meme. 

In  the  2006 brief to the Canadian Senate the Pathways in ASD lead researchers declared unequivocally that autism is an entirely  genetic disorder with Dr. Szatmari dedicating his career to finding the genes in question:

"For example, we do know what causes autism. It is caused by genetic factors [20]. It is an inherited disorder. The answers to what is inherited and how it is inherited are not known. But, along with my colleague, Dr. Steve Scherer at the Hospital for Sick Children, we at the Offord Centre for Child Studies are leading an international team of scientists dedicated to finding the genes that cause this disorder." [emphasis added HLD]

What is interesting is that Dr. Szatmari professes great faith in an evidence based approach to autism interventions yet  when discussing autism causation is prepared to declare autism to be an inherited, genetic disorder without knowing what genes cause the disorder, what is inherited and how it is inherited.  Evidence based?  Of further interest when news broke of the California Autism Twins Study, (CATS), interpreted by most observers as debunking the myth that autism is entirely genetic, that autism probably results from gene environment interaction,  Dr. Szatmari took a much different view pointing to the study as being of significance  because it confirmed the importance of genetic factors in causing autism, a very strange view given the dominance of genetic based autism research,  over the previous two decades:

“This is a very significant study because it confirms that genetic factors are involved in the cause of the disorder but it shifts the focus to the possibility that environmental factors could also be really important."[emphasis added HLD]

In its 2006 submission while professing support for evidence based autism interventions the Szatmari, Fombonne and Bryson trio acknowledged that early intervention was necessary but immeidately set to work discrediting both ABA effectiveness and the struggle by parents to require government funded medicare coverage for our autistic children:

"It is true that early intervention makes a difference but it is not true that all children need exactly the same type of treatment [2, 21]. Not all children need incredibly intensive intervention that takes between 20-40 hours a week. Some children do respond, but some children do not respond to even that level of intensity and need another form of treatment. Others do not require that level of intensity and can do just as well with less intensive forms of treatment that are carried out in more naturalistic settings [23]. We do not know the relative proportion of those types of children but there is now more and more scientific evidence showing us that different forms of intervention can be adapted to different types of Autism Spectrum Disorder. More work needs to be done but we are much farther ahead today than we were even five years ago."

The 3 doctors do not elaborate on what interventions, other than ABA, can be fairly described as evidence based.  Like all critics of ABA they provide no real alternative.  Nor did they acknowledge the research summarized by US agencies like the office of the US Surgeon General, the MADSEC Autism Task Force, state agencies in New York and California which have reviewed the research literature and found  ABA to be the only evidence based effective intervention for autism.

The Szatmari, Fombonne, Bryson support for the federal government autism agenda is considerable. They diminish ABA as ineffective, contrary to US authorities, and expensive.  At the same time they attack the parents who advocated for government funded ABA characterizing their litigation efforts as founded on "ill will":

"The problem is that so much animosity and ill will has built up over the last few years that it is extremely difficult to engage all the stakeholders in constructive conversations in this environment. Is there any other disorder of childhood that has gone to the Supreme Court of Canada? This ill will and this variation from province to province is essentially the direct result of a lack of information, a lack of knowing what the best treatment for each child with Autism Spectrum Disorder might be. This lack of knowledge leads to a dearth of well-qualified practitioners, long waiting lists, and non-evidence based treatments all across the country." [emphasis added HLD]


Of course the 3 doctors mention that parents are involved as part of their consultations on autism strategy. I have commented in the past on the CIHR national autism strategy consultations which included the Dr.'s Szatmari, Fombonne and Bryson.  When the national autism symposium was postponed without compelling reasons the Autism Society Canada twice expressed its concerns over the direction CIHR and the federal government were taking autism consultations. My name as a delegate was rejected by CIHR despite being put forward by the Autism Society New Brunswick as a representative and was approved by two further references, one a registered nurse and mother of an autistic child and the other a clinical psychologist with an active autism practice in New Brunswick.  When I contacted CIHR for an explanation I was told that the names of delegates were those put forward by the Autism Society Canada (Even though the federal government position was that autism was a provincial, health care, issue). (a)(b)(c) (d) (e)

The truth was that the federal government and CIHR did not want parents at the consultations who were advocating for government coverage of ABA treatment for autistic children.   Doctors Bryson, Fombonne and Szatmari all participated at the autism "consultations" when they were finally held in November 2007.  While parental ABA advocates were excluded opponents of curing autism  like Michelle Dawson and Dr. Laurent Mottron were included. In the 2011 video Dr. Szatmari tells us that the study originated with parents and with the community. In truth they excluded discussions with parents seeking ABA for their children.

Now the federal agenda friendly team of Bryson, Fombonne and Szatmari,  has put a video online in 2011 which, as they did in 2006, the 3 doctors diminish ABA as an intervention.   Meanwhile the American Academy of Pediatrics published a directive in 2007 which described the gains made by autistic children who received early ABA intervention.  That policy directive was confirmed by the AAP in December 2010.  The Szatmari/CIHR video confirms the 2006 opinions of the 3 doctors presented to the Canadian Senate but ignores the AAP conclusions and research subsequent to 2006.

In the CIHR video Dr. Szatmari paints the study as parent and community driven.  In fact it is only those parents and community members who were not ABA advocates that were involved in this government financed, tightly controlled, manipulated and driven symposium/ consultation process.

In Canada parents looking for help for their autistic children have Bryson, Fombonne, Szatmari and their colleagues in arms in the battle against ABA, Mottron and Dawson, to provide guidance.  Fortunately though, hysterical and ill willed parents seeking real help for our autistic children are able to use the (gasp) internet and  we are able to access American authorities, like the office of the US Surgeon General, the MADSEC Autism Task Force, the Association for Science in Autism Treatment and the American Academy of Pediatrics,  who are not tied to our Canadian federal government anti-ABA agenda.

God Bless America!

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Laurent Mottron's Dangerous Anti Autism Cure Beliefs Resurface

Dr. Laurent Mottron has spent his entire career studying persons with high functioning autism and Aspergers.   Even as the parents of autistic children and good hearted people everywhere feel sadness and grief over the loss of another autistic child presumed lost Dr. Mottron promotes and oversells a study he led which according, to the good Doctor, supports his belief that autism should not be cured.

I have been unable, in the several years that I have been aware of his anti autism cure ideology,  to find any indication that Dr. Mottron has spent any time working with, or studying, those severely affected by autism disorders, whether they be the 75-80% of persons with Autistic Disorder and Intellectual Disability, those who engage in debilitating and dangerous self injurious behavior or those who wander from home and caregivers to danger, and sometimes, death.  The loss last year of James DeLorey in a snow storm, the Australian child who wandered from home into automobile traffic, the still ongoing tragedy  but now presumed death, of Adam Benhamma near Montreal, will have no impact on the entrenched "autism is beautiful beliefs" of Dr. Laurent Mottron. 

I admit straight up that I personally do not subscribe to Laurent Mottron's anti autism cure ideology and do not trust any study by him  like the one now being touted, which he led, concerning "autistic" brains.  I would ask the professionals who actually work trying to help autistic children lead  fuller lives, including those who actually work with autistic children with severe autism disorders, to analyze carefully and critically Dr. Mottron's new study.  I will be very surprised if the "autistic" brain Dr. Mottron reports on is anything other than a snapshot of some of the very high functioning autistic subjects he has worked with for decades to the exclusion of  severely affected, intellectually challenged persons with autism disorders.

Dr. Laurent Mottron is not just a researcher who has devoted decades to studying high functioning autistic persons.  He has also removed himself from the realm of scientific detachment and objectivity and  involved himself in Canada's legal system in an effort to prevent medicare coverage of ABA treatment for autistic children in British Columbia in the Auton case Auton (Guardian  ad litem  of)  v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [2004] 3 S.C.R. 657, 2004 SCC 78  case.  In Auton  Mottron helped launch the career of high functioning autism researcher and anti ABA advocate Michelle Dawson  with his affidavit in support of her intervention, as an "autistic", before the Supreme Court of Canada.   In his supporting affidavit the good Doctor solemnly declared and affirmed the following statement of expert opinion:

5.	Ms. Dawson has a tremendous understanding of both the difficulties faced by autistic individuals in our society, as well as the tremendous inherent strengths of many of these individuals.

Personally I have never seen Michelle Dawson make any statement that reflects any understanding, let alone a "tremendous" understanding of the difficulties faced by autistic individuals in Canadian society.  I have never seen or heard statements by her acknowledging the existence of the many persons with Autistic Disorder and Intellectual Disability. I don't know how her life experience as a very intelligent, adult diagnosed "autistic" gives her tremendous, or any,  insight into the challenges faced by low functioning, intellectually disabled autistic children.  Nor have I seen her, or the good Doctor, make any statements describing or addressing in any intelligent fashion the many serious behavior challenges faced by those severely affected by autism disorders.  What is clear though is that Michelle Dawson and Dr. Laurent Mottron both believe that autism is a good thing that should not be cured.  They have long held these anti cure, including anti ABA treatment,  autism beliefs. 

Dr. Mottron also appeared as an unidentified expert witness "the mysterious Dr. M" in Ms Dawson's case before a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Dawson v. Canada Post Corporation, 2008 CHRT 41,  in which he described the idea of curing autism as nonsense:

[86] Ms. Dawson testified that autism is a neurological disability and that people generally do not have a good understanding of this reality. Ms. Dawson stated repeatedly that autism was not a mental illness. For her, a mental illness has an onset, various treatments, and there is a return to the previous state to a greater or lesser degree. Both Ms. Dawson and Dr. M., as will be seen, pointed out that the notion of curing autism was nonsensical. Still many people want to cure autism.

....

b) The testimony of Dr. M

[99] At the beginning of his testimony, Dr. M., who is a psychiatrist, was qualified by the Tribunal as an expert in autism. Dr. M. filed a report as well as three letters pertaining to Ms.Dawson’s condition.

[100] Dr. M. testified on the nature of autism, autistic individuals as well as on Ms. Dawson’scondition. The credibility of Dr. M. as well as the accuracy of his statements and opinions wasnot challenged by the Respondent. The Tribunal finds Dr. M.’s testimony highly credible even if the evidence shows that in recent years, Ms. Dawson has worked with him and has co-authored scientific articles with Dr. M.

And now, surprise, surprise, surprise,  Dr. Mottron has published a study which, according to the good Doctor, supports his long held belief that autism should not be cured.  I wonder how many low functioning, severely challenged, intellectually disabled autistic subjects were included in Dr. Mottron's study? I do not buy what the mysterious Dr. M is selling and I doubt that most parents with autistic children, and most professionals tasked with addressing some of the serious and dangerous challenges faced by autistic children and adults,  will buy it either.  

Dr. Mottron is not necessarily an objective, detached medical professional or scientific researcher.  He has long held a belief that autism should not be cured and his latest study conclusions are used to support  his own beliefs. Given his long held personal beliefs his study, and his public commentaries about what conclusions can be drawn from that study, should be given close, careful scrutiny.   In particular his conclusion that the study supports his belief that persons with autism should not be cured should be given very close examination.  As Dr. Mottron stated in the Vancouver Sun:

""While this study does not conclusively show a causal effect between brain activity and the enhanced abilities of those with autism, lead researcher Laurent Mottron of the University of Montreal said it is the most "robust" evidence yet suggesting a link. He said it adds another argument against attempts to "cure" autistics.

When we try to turn an autistic toddler into a non-autistic toddler, it's painful, it's expensive and it does not work," he said. "We should not try to assimilate or break the difference (between autistics and non-autistics), but just admit that it's a difference that has good and bad consequences."

High functioning autism researcher Dr. Laurent Mottron has been promoting his anti autism cure belief for many years.  Hopefully his latest efforts to thwart treatment and cure of autism disorders will enjoy no more success than his previous efforts.  The chance to improve the lives of autistic children and adults is too big a price to pay for the promotion of Dr. Mottron's personal belief system.

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Autism, Epilepsy and Self-Injurious Behavior: A Reality Based Autism Blog You Should Read

I have recently added a new blog to the "Autism Reality Favorites" section of my sidebar. Autism, Epilepsy and Self-Injurious Behavior is authored by Kim Oakley whose videos about her autistic son also provide an honest portrayal of the very serious challenges autism disorders present to severely autistic children and adults.  This is not the feel good "autism is just  a different way of thinking" of Dr. Laurent Mottron,  Estée Klar or Ari Ne'eman. I strongly encourage anyone with a serious interest in autism disorders, especially parents of newly diagnosed autistic children and public policy makers whose decisions affect the availability of public services for autism to check out Autism, Epilepsy and Self-Injurious Behavior.  While you are there follow some of the links to the videos Kim Oakley has posted with their honest portrayal of serious autism self injury issues.

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Autism and the Media: Anti-ABA Activist Michelle Dawson Is Back In The CBC Spotlight Denouncing ABA

To my knowledge no one has ever accused anti-ABA activist Michelle Dawson of shying away from the spotlight  and  Michelle Dawson is back where she has been so often ... in the CBC spotlight. Once again she is peddling, in the name of science, ethics and "autistic people",  her anti-ABA rhetoric.  Ms Dawson repeats previous sermons in which she preaches  that provision of ABA interventions for autistic children lacks scientific support and is unethical. She offers nothing to back up her opinions. The CBC offers little help in that regard beyond pointing out that Ms Dawson is autistic, is a researcher and is, allegedly, an autism"expert". 

Borrowing a page from the heated rhetoric of the vaccine autism wars Ms Dawson asserts that ignorant, ill informed  parents are being duped by lobbyists and ...  in an interesting twist ... governments ... into thinking their autistic children must have ABA.  The CBC article Expert raps Quebec autism treatment makes no direct reference to the numerous reviews, from the US Surgeon General to the American Academy of Pediatrics,  that have examined hundreds of studies over decades of research and concluded that ABA is the most evidence backed effective intervention for helping autistic children overcome many of the deficits associated with autistic disorders:

"Autism expert Michelle Dawson says the Quebec government is wasting its money by funding "Applied Behavioural Analysis", known as ABA — a program she calls ineffective.

ABA is designed to reinforce behaviour through repetition. Dawson, who has autism, says she has evidence that the approach doesn't deliver what it promises.

The program doesn't optimize the overall wellbeing of people with autism, said Dawson, who researches the neurodevelopment disorder at the University of Montreal.

"In ABA you have the problem that these parents have been told by everybody, including by governments, if your child doesn't get this intervention, they're to some degree down the drain," she said.

ABA is one of the few treatments the Quebec government will finance.

"It doesn't have anything to do with science or ethics, or when you look at the well being of autistic people. It's just really effective lobbying by some people, including people who have pretty extensive conflicts of interest, or even they just are true believers, they have very strong beliefs in certain approaches, or very strong beliefs about autistic people that aren't necessarily grounded in science or ethics," Dawson said."

The CBC should  do more homework on the subject before, yet again, giving Michelle Dawson a platform to promote the same tired  anti-ABA beliefs that launched her into national fame in Canada. If it's journalists are too busy to read some of the many reviews, from the US Surgeon General to the MADSEC Autism review  to the American Academy of Pediatrics which have endorsed ABA as the most effective evidence backed intervention for autistic children  they could at least check with some of the actual autism experts and health authorities that she demeans before again giving her the CBC pulpit to promote her beliefs.  

The CBC  might also want to read  Dr. Edward K. Morris's published article about  Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher, an occasional co-author with Ms. Dawson and her mentor Dr. Laurent Mottron,  and a  comrade in arms in their struggle to prevent autistic children from receiving the benefits of ABA treatment: A Case Study in the Misrepresentation of Applied Behavior Analysis in Autism: The Gernsbacher Lectures:   

"This article presents a case study in the misrepresentation of applied behavior analysis for autism based on Morton Ann Gernsbacher’s presentation of a lecture titled ‘‘The Science of Autism: Beyond the Myths and Misconceptions.’’ Her misrepresentations involve the characterization of applied behavior analysis, descriptions of practice guidelines, reviews of the treatment literature, presentations of the clinical trials research, and conclusions about those trials (e.g., children’s improvements are due to development, not applied behavior analysis). The article also reviews applied behavior analysis’ professional endorsements and research support, and addresses issues in professional conduct. It ends by noting the deleterious effects that misrepresenting any research on autism (e.g., biological, developmental, behavioral) have on our understanding and treating it in a transdisciplinary context.

Professor Morris pulled no punches in his critique of Dr. Gernsbacher's public misrepresentations of ABA and the effect of those misrepresentations:

Sentiment against applied behavior analysis is not, of course, necessarily anti science. No matter what Gernsbacher’s sentiments may be, her achievements are anything but anti science.What stunned me, then, was how she reached her conclusions: She inaccurately represented research reviews, wrongly characterized applied behavior-analytic interventions, misleadingly appealed to history, inaccurately conveyed research designs, selectively omitted research results, and incorrectly interpreted intervention outcomes. Although misrepresentations often only a minor nuisance in science, they can have harmful consequences, which I believe hers did (and do), both locally and more broadly.

The local consequences included misinforming KU’s community members about ABA-EIBI; hundreds of KU students about a science of behavior and its application; current and prospective ABS majors about course of study at KU (and careers); and KU staff, faculty, and administrators about scholarship in a department renowned for its research in applied behavior analysis. The broader consequences include Gernsbacher’s probable influence on behavioral, social, and cognitive scientists who teach, conduct research, and provide services in autism; funding agencies and foundations who set priorities and allocate resources for autism research and applications; and state and federal agencies that set standards for autism services and funding. She has standing and stature in most, if not all, of these venues: in APS, of course, but also in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where she is a psychology section member at large, and in the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she is on the Advisory Committee for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Although Gernsbacher surely gained these highly respected positions by conducting first-rate science, the hallmarks of her science were largely absent in this section of her lecture.

In the article conclusion Dr. Morris, after a detailed review of the evidence in support of the effectiveness of ABA as an autism intervention, and after a detailed review of Dr. Gernsbacher's representations of ABA, explains why he wrote the article:

"Mainly, though, I wrote it for the families of children with autism and, ultimately, for those children who need and deserve evidence-based treatments, of which ABA-EIBI so far has the best support. Unfortunately, many parents are dissuaded from using it by misinformed, misguided, or misleading advocates of other approaches. As a result, they often use these approaches until they see their children’s poor progress. When they begin using ABA-EIBI to good effect, they speak of their great regret and guilt for not having used it earlier, when their children had the most to gain and the most time to make those gains. The opportunity cost of not using ABA-EIBI, or any equally effective intervention, is that their children will be delayed in achieving their full potential or never achieve it at all. As a result, their children will need more supportive services and institutionalization later into their lives and perhaps for the rest of their lives at significant personal and social costs to them, and financial costs to us all. This is a crime."

I have been unable to find a public reply by Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher to the Morris article, published in early 2009.  Dr. Morris had sent a copy of the article to Dr. Gernsbacher in 2008 shortly before she again presented lectures in which Dr. Morris states she continued to misrepresent ABA.  If Dr. Gernsbacher,  Michelle Dawson, or any of their followers, know of any public replies by Dr. Gernsbacher to the Morris criticisms I ask you to forward them to me.  In the meantime, hopefully, someone will bring the article to the attention of the CBC before it, once again, gives Michelle Dawson a platform to spread her anti-ABA ideology.  Until then the CBC may wish to avoid Michelle Dawson's anti-ABA rhetoric and read at least the following excerpt from the American Academy of Pediatrics 2007 publication, Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders:

"The effectiveness of ABA-based intervention in ASDs has been well documented through 5 decades of research by using single-subject methodology21,25,27,28 and in controlled studies of comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention programs in university and community settings.29–40 Children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behavior as well as some measures of social behavior, and their outcomes have been significantly better than those of children in control groups.31–4"

    

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For Michelle Dawson Autism Is Whatever She Says It Is

(Left photo is of the Campbellton Regional Hospital home to some persons with low functioning autism.)

Michelle Dawson gained fame in Canada by intervening as  an "autistic" in the Supreme Court of Canada case in Auton where she opposed parents seeking government funded ABA treatment for their own autistic children.    Notwithstanding that ABA is, and was at that time, the most evidence based effective intervention known to assist autistic children in overcoming the deficits posed by their autism disorders Ms Dawson opposed ABA, apparently, as far as I can tell, because she did not feel that ABA research met her own  self described high standards of "science". 

When I say that ABA was the most evidence based effective intervention for autism I am not relying on my opinion which, admittedly, is of little or no weight.  I am relying upon the several public health and research authorities,  including the Office of the US Surgeon General, who, by the time of the Auton case, had already reached that conclusion. But of course Michelle Dawson, adult diagnosed and undefined "autistic", disagreed. She was able to appear as an intervenor at the Supreme Court of Canada because of the supporting affidavit of Dr. Laurent Mottron who shares some of her other ideological views including the "notion" that curing autism is "nonsense". (As summarized by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in Dawson v Canada Post where the mysterious "Dr. M" and Ms Dawson gave their gut feeling, unscientific opinions about curing autism).

Now Michelle Dawson is at it again, in  Are you high or low functioning? Examples from autism research  with yet another one of her silly attacks on the idea that one can distinguished between levels of severity or functioning with respect to autism disorders. I don't pretend to understand the logic in her position or in the position of anyone who asserts that it is not possible to distinguish between severity levels of autism.  Michelle Dawson, who claims to be autistic, was by the account in the CHRT case against Canada Post a very good postal worker.  As a former Canada Post labour lawyer I can assure you that the challenges faced by the inside Postal Workers and Letter Carriers are complex and demanding.  I have great admiration for each postal worker. The fact that Ms Dawson was, on the evidence, excellent at her work with CPC is a very real indicator that she is indeed a high functioning person, autistic or not. My severely autistic son does not understand anything about letters or postal systems and so on.  He is barely literate and has minimal functional ability in language period.   Michelle Dawson is a very high functioning "autistic". My son Conor, diagnosed with Autistic Disorder is very low functioning. Those are obvious, common sense realities.

In her life Michelle Dawson has moved from being an excellent letter carrier to being an autism researcher. IMHO she has not distinguished herself as a researcher but her ability to earn a living in research places her far, far above the functioning levels of people, like my son, who are severely affected by autism disorders. Her research career places her far, far above the adults with autism that I have actually visited with and met in psychiatric care hospitals in Saint John and Campbellton, New Brunswick. But those are common sense observations and distinctions.  Common sense is noticeably lacking in the writings and anti-ABA crusades of Michelle Dawson.

Michelle Dawson's latest critique of functioning levels and severity levels in autism disorders (you won't find autism referred to as a disorder in her commentary) carries with it an odor  of hypocrisy.   She mentions how discussion of autism functioning and cognitive levels has become politicized without mentioning her own role in contributing to such politicization. Ms Dawson critiques the notion of severity and functioning levels and provides examples without mentioning the name of her mentor Dr. Laurent Mottron who's supportive expert testimony enabled her appearance before the Supreme Court of Canada and was of assistance to her case against Canada Post before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.   Dr. Mottron's career has been distinguished by volumes of research involving .... HIGH FUNCTIONING ... "autistics".

Dr. Mottron was careful to reference his subjects' functioning level in his study reports .... and his subjects were almost subjects with high functioning autism and Aspergers:


Locally oriented perception with intact global processing among adolescents with high-functioning autism: Evidence from multiple paradigms


traininautism.com [PDF]L Mottron, JA Burack, G Iarocci, S … - Journal of Child …, 2003 - interscience.wiley.com


Local and global processing of music in high-functioning persons with autism: beyond central coherence?


brainmusic.org [PDF]L Mottron, I Peretz, E Menard - The Journal of Child …, 2000 - Cambridge Univ Press... In terms of local processing, we found that persons with high-functioning autism performed better than the com- parison group when AP could ... we also found that persons with autism used a more local graphic strategy than typically developing participants (Mottron, Belleville, et ...Cited by 125 - Related articles - BL Direct - All 12 versions


Matching strategies in cognitive research with individuals with high-functioning autism: Current practices, instrument biases, and recommendations


aspires-relationships.com [PDF]L Mottron - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2004 - Springer A meta-analysis was performed on the 133 cognitive and behavioral papers in autism using
com- parison groups in the 1999–2002 period. High-functioning (average IQ: 84.7), adolescents
(average, 14.4 years) are largely dominant. IQ is the most frequent matching variable in ...
Cited by 54 - Related articles - Get at CISTI - All 8 versions


Atypical visual orienting to gaze-and arrow-cues in adults with high functioning autism


… , JEA Stauder, IAM van Son, L Mottron - Journal of autism and …, 2005 - Springer
The present study investigates visual orienting to directional cues (arrow or eyes) in adults with
high functioning autism (n = 19) and age matched controls (n = 19). A choice reaction time paradigm
is used in which eye- or arrow direction correctly (congruent) or incorrectly (incongruent) ...
Cited by 24 - Related articles - Get at CISTI - All 7 versions


A Study of Memory Functioning in Individuals with Autism

Laurent Mottron a1 c1, Karine Morasse a2 and Sylvie Belleville a3


Abstract Memory tasks were administered to 14 high-functioning individuals with autism  and 14 typically developing individuals matched on chronological age and verbal intelligence

EEG spectral analysis of wakefulness and REM sleep in high functioning autistic spectrum disorders


Anne-Marie Daousta, Élyse Limogesa, Christianne Bolduca, Laurent Mottron, Roger Godboutab
Accepted 15 January 2004.


Abstract Objective


The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of temporo-occipital regions in the pathophysiology of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) by using REM sleep and waking EEG.

In Michelle Dawson's Autism world distinctions between low and high functioning autism are arbitrary. I can't wait to see the sequel to her commentary when, hopefully, she will analyze and comment on the many, many studies published by her colleague, High Functioning Autism expert, Dr. Laurent Mottron.  It will also be interesting to see Ms Dawson's own research involving non verbal "autistics" living in psychiatric hospitals and other secure institutions because they are too low functioning to live in most group home settings.

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