After coming across yet another autism article in the Times (this time in the book reviews), we're genuinely wondering: which came first, the epidemic or its media?

In the past few months, this unexplained brain disorder — which skews language and social skills, and can unloose fierce obsessions — has hit a media trifecta. Television news segments, a magazine cover story and a host of newspaper articles have discussed its symptoms, treatments, effects on families and, most controversially, its apparently soaring incidence.

Why so much autism now? [...] Is the increase in autism real or the result of revised diagnostic criteria and improved awareness? If the syndrome has become epidemic, is some environmental factor partly to blame?

Muy interesante. But what sort of factor could have a hand in such a complex disorder? We have our suspicions, thanks to a simple internet query for the past year:

Source: The New York Times
Search: "autism"
Results: 143

Uh-huh. Which raises the question: Who at the Gray Lady has autism in the family? (MoDo and Asperger's don't count.)

'Evidence of Harm': What Caused The Autism Epidemic? [NYT]

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