The UK Times today has an interview with Professor Simon Baron-Cohen on autism. Baron-Cohen is cautious about the supposed increase in the incidence of autism, and believes it could be largely due to 'diagnostic practice'.

Judging by the absurdly vague and loose criteria listed at the bottom of the article, I'm surprised anyone (except the jolliest of extroverts) escapes being diagnosed (and stigmatised) with some variety of autism. Thank Dawkins there was none of this nonsense when I was a kid. The whole thing looks to me like a monstrous boondoggle for the benefit of doctors and therapists.

Labels: disease