Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders

A critical review of fact, fiction, and speculation in the field of autism

by James Coplan, MD

023. Behaviorism, Part 3: O. Ivar Lovaas and ABA

Behaviorists set up the environment to include an antecedent condition and a consequence, that are likely to increase or decrease the likelihood of occurrence of the specified behavior. Read More

022. Marc Gold: Unsung hero

We spend much of our time doing what any five year old could be trained to do. Read More

021. Behaviorism, part 2. BF Skinner

There is no escape from a Skinner Box Read More

020. Thorndike & Watson: Founding fathers of behaviorism

Psychology... is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods. JB Watson Read More

019. Shifting Gears

Time to shift gears Read More

018. ASD: Still searching for a home in the brain

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Read More

017 Losing the ASD diagnosis does not equal "Cure"

Losing the diagnosis of ASD does not equal "Cure" Read More

016 Known causes of ASD

It's all about subsets Read More

015 Whom to trust

The Usual Childhood Diseases, and why they aren't so usual any more. Read More

014 Close encounters of the first and second kind

Close encounters of the first and second kind. Read More

Identifying yourself (More housekeeping)

There are way too many people going by "Anonymous." Please use a screen name, so I (and other readers) can keep track of who is who. Call yourself whatever you want - you can be creative! - but please pick a name for yourself and stick with it.

I reserve the right to take down any more posts signed "Anonymous."

Thanks.JC Read More

Housekeeping & Additions

I have numbered all earlier blog posts, for ease of reference.I have added two figures to post 007 - No epidemic, Part 1. I have added two tables to post 009 - No epidemic, Part 3. Read More

013 Coke or Pepsi? Tricks with numbers, Part 2

ASD and Type 2 Errors Read More

012 Tricks with numbers, Part 1

Almost every time people start carrying folded umbrellas tucked under their arm, it rains. From this observation, a preschool child old might reasonably conclude that umbrellas cause rain. As grownups, we know better....or do we? Read More

011 Ground Rules

Sincerity is always subject to proof. Read More

010 No Autism Epidemic - Part 3 (more data)

Where there's a will, there's a way. Read More

009 No autism epidemic - Part 3

Back to the Future! Read More

008 No autism epidemic - Part 2

In 1990 the Federal Government placed a bounty on children with ASD. Read More

007 No autism epidemic - Part 1

You can't get a speeding ticket for having a full tank of gas. Read More

006 Not Quite Autism: At the borderland of ASD

Not Quite Autism, but still atypical Read More

005 ASD in 3D: Adding Time to the Picture

The warmer the water, the faster the ice melts. Read More

004 Atypicality, IQ, and Diagnostic Categories

In order to understand a child's developmental diagnosis, one needs to look at both IQ and atypicality. Read More

003 ASD and IQ

Why some children with ASD do better than others Read More

002 ASD 101 ("Mommy, what's a syndrome?")

ASD is a clinical diagnosis; there are no lab tests to establish or rule out ASD (although there are tests to identify various underlying causes of ASD). Read More