Fads and Fallacies in Autism

By: Jim Laidler, MD.

An in-depth look at a few of the "hot topics" in autism from a scientific viewpoint. Among the topics explored will be the "autism epidemic", the MMR vaccine as a cause of autism and the autism-mercury connection.

Jim Laidler is a physician and the parent of two boys who have been diagnosed with "autism spectrum disorder". He has spent the past eight years researching and investigating various proposed causes and treatments for autism. One of his recent research projects on autism will be published in the July 2005 issue of the journal "Pediatrics". A few years ago, he left the practice of medicine and began working toward a doctoral degree in Biology in order to further his research.

Education:
BSc in Biochemistry - Pacific Lutheran University 1981

MD - University of Southern California 1985 Internship in Pediatrics - University of California at San Francisco 1986-1987

Residency in Anesthesiology - University of Illinois at Chicago 1990-1993

Fellowship in Pain Medicine - University of Illinois at Chicago 1993-1994

PhD in Biology (in progress) - Portland State Unversity

Publications:
Laidler JR, US Department of Education Data on Autism are not Reliable for Tracking Autism Prevalence, Pediatrics (accepted for pub. 19 Jan 2005, scheduled for pub. July 2005)

Sympathetic Nerve Blocks, Ch. 16 in The Surgical Management of Pain, Thieme Medical Pub; 2002

Local Anesthetics, Ch. 5 in Basic Sciences for the Anesthesiologist, G. Weinberg, ed, McGraw/Hill Pub.; 1995