So what do I know about it anyway?

Oh Chimes sweetheart what an awful thing to say! That is like refusing to believe someone who says it is raining outside without looking to check for yourself. Has it really come to pass that people will believe nothing that is not backed up by an internet site? Surely these are not always correct anyway! I trained and qualified as a nursery nurse many years ago and I KNOW that all these thigs you have said are true! xxx

yeah i have ant used to have people tell me the same about bipolar which i do have. they tell me this and that. i did the samething i sent different sites to family and close friends

This looks really informative. I thank you for doing this I know I'll need to come back and dig a little deeper. Not only that I hope others take a little interest in knowing a little more about this subject, a little knowledge can be dangerous, knowing something is the cure and key to the path onto being wise and educated.

TL- This is a good start for parental resources. You may wish to also include ERIC which is one of many national clearinghouses for journal articles. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ The links that you have listed will also reference various journals as well, but this website will allow parents to pull them up based upon their own personal studies. There are many websites out there on ASD that are very misleading about the disorder, and provide inaccurate information. Much does stem from a desire to see the world a perfect place but when doing any sort of research one should always review the literature available. Empirical data is always the first one that should be looked at because it involves "pure research". Quantitative research is preferred, but most of the research in education will be Qualitative (case studies, etc). One should keep in mind to look at the qualifications of the researcher. One should also avoid popular magazines as their main resource for anything dealing with research. They may lead you to key terms but they will not help you know accurate information. No offense against parents as they are a valuable asset in the IEP process, but research written by a parent more then likely isn't going to be "pure research", it's going to be a well heartfelt account of their life as a special needs parent. Again, as I stated in one of your other threads on this matter, there was a commercial just recently here in Minnesota for a parent's website about ASD stating her son had been "cured". That is extremely misleading. This type of propaganda is just as bad as the actors/actresses going around advising parents not to give their child vaccines when it is well known in the research community that the Denmark study was found to be unethical for many reasons and was thus retracted from print. That should tell people a great deal, so it's why I recommend parents to actually sit down and read actual journals over a popular website, blog, or threads on social networking sites. Threads on social networking sites are great for networking and support, but not all will provide legitimate research information. Namaste-Anora