UK Government Farce over New Adult Autism 'Study'

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/09/uk-government-farce-over-new-adult-autism-study-.html#more



By John Stone

A widely publicized report purporting once again to disprove a link between the measles-mumps-rubella shot and autism has been shown to be irretrievably flawed within hours of publication. Launched two days ago in the British media amid headlines like ‘Autism just as common in adults, so MMR is off the hook’ (Guardian HERE) and ‘Autism rates back MMR jab safety’ (BBC HERE) the study was based on just 19 cases, who were never assessed according to accepted diagnostic criteria for autism, and included adults as young as 16 who would have received MMR vaccine anyway.

The study (HERE) – led by Professor Traolach (Terry) Brugha - was conducted by the University of Leicester and the prestigious Autism Research Centre of the University of Cambridge, director Professor Simon Baron-Cohen. Despite this, neither standardized psychometric testing for autism, or accepted epidemiological methods were employed in reaching its conclusions , and much of its methodology remains obscure. The Department of Health has long been under pressure to show that autism was just as prevalent as today before MMR vaccine was introduced in 1988. But rather than dispel such concerns the new report is more likely to support claims of a cover-up.