A Liddle simplistic
From Catherine Munro
Sir: I read Rod Liddle’s article (‘A question of breeding’, 12 March) with dismay. It appears that my son has autism because I found my husband’s company congenial and we married and had a child. As an explanation for a complex neurological disorder this seems slightly simplistic. In fact it seems only just better than the blame-the-mother argument that was popular in the 1950s. Those people who married and had children with disorders such as Hunter’s syndrome, cystic fibrosis or haemophilia undoubtedly found their partner’s company appealing as well, but all these disabilities have identified genetic causes. What is different about autism is that the genes responsible have not been fully pinned down, and that there may well be environmental factors in addition to genetic predisposition.
I have yet to meet the parent of a child with autism who is a computer programmer, engineer, mad scientist or keen ‘systemiser’. They tend to be perfectly average people doing their best to cope with little help with children who have very significant neurological disabilities.
Catherine Munro London SW14
Previous page
