well, i moved to wa. from sunny so cal when my kids were 2, 3 and 5. all 3 went outdoors, camped, parks, little tv time, healthy diet.

the one who had the adverse reaction to the mmr vaccine at age 2 months (the youngest of the 3)is autistic with chronic psychosis.

sigh.

I think the theory that overwhelmed immune systems (thus, the vaccine controversy) are a contributing cause is viable. Could mold be overstimulating the immune system? Many molds produce potent neurotoxins; if it's in the carpets or baseboards, children would have a greater exposure than adults because of their proximity.

Interesting considering Hawaii gets the most rainfall each year. This is what people are employed to research? Give me a break...

Maybe that was what Kurt Cobaine's problem was. He came from Grays Harbor County (Aberdeen), one of the worst.

Dr. Bremner,

Never been to WA state so you might be right. It's been raining her in NJ for two solid days and I am very blue.

But I am sure being married to Courtney Love was no picnic either for Kurt Cobain.

Aberdeen is such a depressed and depressing town, it's more than the weather....

Yes, from the rock band Hole. I think alcoholism is a better diagnosis for her than autism. I think she was from Aberdeen too. We used to play sports against them in the Black Hills League (Olympia). He lived in Olympia for a while. There was a girl band from Olympia as well named after a road called Sleater Kinney, near where I grew up. Ah, trivia.

Wow! The diagnosing drama!
Alcoholism or autism?
LOL
I love the psychiatrist's comments here. They are always funny and we need some funny stuff because we deal with hard issues in a high degree of concern and we are all trying hard to make some sense.
Where is TherapyFirst?
I'm missing you!
Please come back.

About Kurt Cobain: I've seen a documentary that tried to raise evidences that she has killed him.
I'm sure you must have heard of it. An ex-boyfriend spoke angrily and even claimed that he could have killed himself just like Kurt. Courtney Love(?)'s father claimed that he thought it was possible.
I don't know what on earth his suicide is doing here but since this issue was raised...
Let's speculate.

Sorry Philip.
It's off-topic but suicide is also a big issue.
In the documentary the reporter have found evidences that the amount of heroin Cobain took made it impossible for him to shoot the gun.
Has anybody seen this?

We could also discuss Kurt Cobain's diagnosis:
Depression? Bipolarity?
Some people who suffers autism has a musical skill.
Perhaps he suffered from a type of this disease still unknown.
And what about Van Gogh?
The man died in 1890 and has already been diagnosed:
depression, bipolarity, schizophrenia, epilepsy (a special type that even makes patients experience color visualizations ,
Google and you'll find him in almost every list.

I don't think it would be relevant to question Michelangelo's or da Vinci's homosexuality because it's no longer considered a mental disease since 1972.

Errata:
APA does not consider homosexuality a mental disorder since 1973.

Me again!

Wow! The ancient Greeks were all a bunch of crazy people till 1973.
:o)

Sorry Philip! I hope he's a very good mood.
Oh my God! What if it's not sunny in Seattle?
I'm scared.
Jimmy Hendrix.... Seattle... clime.....
Help!

In Seattle it rains about 60 inches per year but on the coast where Kurt Cobaine grew up it rains twice that. They call it the Seattle Rain Festival, October-June. Daylight is 10 am-4 pm with constant drizzle and the major extracurricular activity is hanging out in bars, or "taverns" as they call them there. Or watching the moss grow. The plaid shirts and jeans without belt loops that Kurt wore were standard fare for the kids there (derived from standard logger dress) but they thought it was cute and made it a new fashion called "Grunge". When Kurt died his mother's comment was "I guess he's just like the others" (meaning Jimi Hendrix, from Seattle).

Well that's it for my digressionary history of SW Wa.

I was living in Seattle when all of these new 'Seattle sound' bands were coming up. I think the primary diagnosis for both Kurt and Courtney is substance abuse. Too bad the rock culture seems to promote that kind of behavior.

As for rainfall and autism, the rainy counties are the ones that are most rural and economically depressed (failed fishing and logging industries), so a little bit of a confound there. (just thought I'd bring my comment back to "science". :).

Talking about Grunge culture without mentioning "flannel" is not a very accurate sociological study.
And now we're going to discuss the economic and environmental impact on autism:

"The 1997 national survey of mental health and wellbeing examined the prevalence of anxiety disorders, affective disorders and substance use disorders in adults. The survey found no differences in the overall rates of these disorders between urban and rural areas, but did note some gender differences. For males, the rate of disorder was slightly higher for those living in a capital city, while for females the rate was higher for those living in rural or remote areas.

Additionally, although the 2001 national health survey did not evaluate differences in mental health and wellbeing between rural and urban areas, it did find that the prevalence of mental and behavioural problems was higher among people without any post-school qualifications. It also found that those without a post-school qualification were more likely to report a “very high” level of psychological distress. With people in rural and remote communities tending to have lower levels of education, this may contribute to increased levels of psychological distress and self-reported mental and behavioural problems."

http://www.responseability.org/site/index.cfm?display=25864

"Suicide in Rural and Remote Communities

Some research in Australia has suggested that suicide rates among young people in rural areas are higher than for those in metropolitan areas. However other studies have failed to show statistically significant differences. It appears that suicide rates across all ages may differ little between rural and urban locations, but that there may be a higher rate of suicide among young males, in at least some rural and remote areas."

It's like chinese water torture. Eventually it gets to you, you break and go crazy

Flannel, right. I had blocked that word out of my memory banks. Neither Kurt nor me liked high school very much. Funny I came up with 'plaid' which is Scottish.

As for the research, reminds me of a comment someone made, 'when half the studies show an increase, and half a decrease, it is time to move on.'

As for chinese water torture, some of the natives adapt by becoming mushrooms, or slugs.

'Doug the...'

i thought this post was about autism.

where was kurt cobain discussed in the article?

Stephany,

:)
Let it be.