Aspies For Freedom

Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet. 2006 Jan 17;

Genetic counseling and ethical issues for autism.

McMahon WM, Baty BJ, Botkin J.

Exciting progress is being made in the journey toward discovery of genes conferring risk for autism and autism spectrum disorders. Currently, genetic counseling for idiopathic autism rests on clinical diagnosis and empiric risk estimates. While no genetic test for risk of autism currently exists, it is possible that such a test may emerge in the near future, and that commercial availability may precede adequate understanding of test characteristics. The complexity of multifactorial conditions like autism raises a host of ethical and counseling challenges. For families to benefit from new genetic knowledge about autism, it will be important for their practitioners to be knowledgeable about the issues, utilize appropriate educational interventions and emerging management options, and help families across the cultural spectrum cope with these challenges. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 16419100

I'm sure commercial availability will "precede adequate understanding of test characteristics".

I would be very interested to read the full text of this article.

I wonder if a representative of the AFF might want to write a "letter to the editor" about this article and the issues raised in it, to be published in this medical journal? I think such a letter would have a good chance of being published, and could educate counsellors and medical practitioners about the issues from our point of view.

I didn't know there is an International Society of Psychiatric Genetics
http://www .ispg.net/portal/desktopdefault.aspx
(broken link)
I could make a joke here about the in-laws, but good taste has gotten the better of me.