Guest Work • Apr 03, 2018 •
Phoebe Roth, The Conversation This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Children with autism and their younger siblings are less likely to be fully vaccinated than neurotypical children and their siblings, new research from the US has found. Of children aged seven years and older, 94% of neurotypical children had … Read More
Alison Campbell • Mar 07, 2018 •
Back in mid-February, UNICEF NZ posted a piece on the importance of vaccines. Shortly thereafter, the comments thread had been overrun by anti-vaccination pro-disease activists. (I have to say, I’m really impressed with the person who does UNICEF’s social media. Talk about grace and dignity under fire!) This seems to happen every time a story about vaccine-preventable disease hits the … Read More
Jean Balchin • Feb 27, 2018 •
On Friday, October 13, at about 11.30pm, a blood clot travelled up from my father’s heart to the left side of his brain. Here, it lodged itself in an artery, and promptly caused a stroke. I don’t know how Dad felt about this, or whether he knew what was happening, because he hasn’t been able to speak since then. It’s … Read More
Alison Campbell • Feb 20, 2018 •
I’ve written about MMS – the “Miracle Mineral Supplement” – several times beforeA (here and here, for example). I guess it’s a useful thing to hold up to show how something can clearly be woo – eg claims that it kills/cures practically everythingB under the sun – and yet people still buy the stuff. Buy it, and potentially … Read More
Helen Petousis Harris • Nov 02, 2017 •
Quackenboss is a vaccine denier with a history of internet bullying and going loopy when someone says something positive about vaccines. She hides nameless and faceless behind a blog, or captured in a state of self-glorification during an interview with HealthNut News. I know not her name, qualifications, or profession because they do not appear to be provided but she has plenty … Read More
Grant Jacobs • Oct 24, 2017 •
Ever since Rain Man, autism has been a condition du-jour for those touting (fake) ’wellness’ remedies, opposing vaccines, and general head-nodding concern. Some claim autism is caused by any number of things, offering just many remedies offered to “treat” it. Recent research reminds us that autism is mostly genetic. People with autism, or autism spectrum disorder, have difficulty in social … Read More
Robert Hickson • Aug 31, 2017 •
We are getting used to seeing sleek, industrial robots. (I’m looking at you Air NZ). And previously I’ve noted some animal-inspired machines. From these and other technological developments we can tend to expect the future to be shiny, hard-edged and efficient. A different approach is being explored with “Blossom” (and others), a DIY soft robot … Read More
Guest Work • Jul 21, 2017 •
Fabienne Cazalis, École des Hautes Études en sciences sociales (EHESS) This article was co-written by Adeline Lacroix, who works with Fabienne Cazalis and was recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. A second year master’s student in psychology, she is working on a scientific literature review about the characteristics of high-functioning autistic women. Let’s call her Sophie. The description we’ll … Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • Jul 02, 2017 •
As a parent, I know what it’s like to worry about whether you are doing the right thing for your child. When my daughter was born, I couldn’t quite believe that after just a few days in hospital we’d be going home in sole charge of a small infant. Didn’t they realise we were unqualified?! Aside from giving her a … Read More
Guest Work • Feb 19, 2016 •
Andrew Whitehouse, University of Western Australia One of the great and enduring mysteries of autism is what causes the brain to develop so differently. The behavioural differences of many individuals with autism are so apparent that it seems intuitive that the causes would also be obvious. But research over the past 70 years has indicated this isn’t so. Read More