Tager-Flusberg

1. That it is caused by vaccines!
2. That people with autism don't love other people - most children with autism form strong attachments to their parents and siblings even if their behaviors may be different (e.g., not wanting to be hugged too often).
3. That people with autism aren't able to learn, work or enjoy living in the world.

Here's what I really wanted to respond to your original question: Well I still have my job but she doesn't!!

For many reasons....one is that there was no evidence that people with Asperger syndrome were any different from people diagnosed with autism who had no cognitive or linguistic impairments. A second reason is that while clinicians can agree about who does and who doesn't have ASD (autism spectrum disorder) they didn't agree on whether a person met criteria for Asperger or autism. We now use the umbrella ASD BUT recognize that it is important to evaluate a person's cognitive and language level - these are not part of the ASD diagnosis but they impact many aspects of how the ASD is expressed.

1. There is now very good evidence showing that there are differences in the brains of infants as early as 6 months which foreshadow a later diagnosis of autism.

2. Multiple well conducted epidemiological studies have found NO link between the onset of autism symptoms and receiving vaccines.

3. Millions of children around the world receive vaccines which keep them from getting ill or dying ---99% don't have autism.

We know from a recent study conducted in the UK that many people go undiagnosed until they are adults - and as you say, there are few if any resources available. Adult psychiatrists don't often think ASD so even if you went to someone they may not recognize the symptoms.

The vast majority of genes associated with increased risk for autism involve what are called 'common variants' - we all show these in some form or other so I don't think 23 and me is likely to be helpful. We aren't yet at a place where even the top geneticists can run a gene screen and provide you with any informative feedback.

Not sure what you mean by holy grails - ...can clarify your question?