Article on environmental factors in autism

I came across this article recently in the Autism Advocate, a journal put out by the Autism Society of America.  It really sums up most of the current knowledge about the role of environment in autism:

http://www.autism-society.org/site/DocServer/eh_get_a_grip.pdf?docID=4821

It's written by Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Neurology at Harvard University and Pediatric Neurologist at Massechusetts General Hospital in Boston. She is also a personal hero of mine--an academic who is following where her data is leading her, and who considers health as a 'multi-systems' approach that incorporates external as well as internal influences.  She has greatly influenced my thinking on autism and related conditions.

Here is her personal web page for people who would like to see more of her research:

http://www.marthaherbert.com/index.html

~Dr. Marianne

Recent interview on sexual health for teens

Here's the link to an interview I did a couple of months back with Kim Switnicki of Lioness for Lovers, the renowned sex educator, coach and author, for her sexual truth series podcast:

http://lioness.audioacrobat.com/download/SexualTruth-YouthandSexuality.mp3

Although our focus was on the questions many teenagers want to know about STDs, pregnancy, birth control and the like, we did end up having a wide-ranging discussion about the merits of sex education in schools and the emotional fall-out of casual sexual relationships.  Note that there's also a guest appearance of my son Ricardo, age 19 (picture me as a Mom--putting my hands over my ears and saying 'lalalalalala!').  But I will also tell you honestly, as a parent as well as a physician, as hard as it may be for you to think about sometimes,  I  do think it's critical to have discussions about sexuality with your kids, and get them set on the right path early.  And to listen without judgement.  The thing is, from what I hear over and over in my clinic,  if they don't get the information from you, well, they'll certainly get if from the internet...

Cheers,

Dr. Marianne