National Institute of Mental Health Has No Interest in Prevention of Autism

Somehow I cannot believe that Harry and Laura Slatkin would not want future parents to know what the real risk factors are for having an autistic child. They know very well the true horror of autism. David is getting the finest help imaginable but money cannot buy a way to ameliorate his condition. I do believe that if it had been made very clear to them that fathering babies past 40 (33-35 and up) was a strong risk for autism and how the risk grows with increasing with paternal age, Harry and Laura Slatkin might have made different decisions regarding parenthood. If all men knew the truth about the male biological clock, and more precise information was added to what is already known, men might be convinced not to father babies past the age of 35. They might realize the extent of the problem of gene DNA mutations in sperm. Life studies of children of men 34 and over should be done and the true extent of genetic disorders exposed.



In 2003 Slatkin and his wife co-founded the New York Center for Autism (NYCA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing the availability and quality of intensive, science-based educational programs for children with autism living in New York City, consisting of a school, an outreach program and a research facility.


. Insel oversees the NIMH’s $1.3 billion research budget that provides support to investigators at universities throughout the country in the areas of basic science; clinical research, including large-scale trials of new treatments; and studies of the organization and delivery of mental health services. The Institute also administers an in-house research program at the NIH Bethesda. NIMH was authorized in 1946 as one of the first NIH institutes. The Institute’s mission is to reduce the burden of mental illness and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain, and behavior.


Comments
An Interview with Thomas Insel,
Director of the National Institute of Mental Health



He is so focused on biomedical research he doesn't go near behavioral biological genetic reasons for autism or schizophrenia. It is why he got the job.