Talk:Refrigerator mother

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[edit] NPOV

"blame should be placed where it belongs: poor parenting." This can't possible be Neutral or did I just misread it somehow?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.174.123.80 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Removals

Besides eliminating some pov adjectives, rearranging the external links section and changing the article to American punctuation, I removed this section:

New explanations: filling a theoretical void. After the “refrigerator mother” theory gradually lost credibility within the medical community, autism research has focused primarily on establishing a genetic cause for autistic spectrum disorders. A twin study by Folstein and Rutter in 1977 found much higher concordance for autism in identical twins compared to fraternal twins. ^{[citation needed]} Medical authorities, while continuing to focus on possible genetic vulnerabilities to autism since abandoning the long-held notion of refrigerator mothers, generally attribute the increase of autism diagnoses to changes in diagnostic criteria and a growing awareness of the disorder. ^{[citation needed]} Bernard Rimland was among the first healthcare professionals to articulate the premise that vaccines with mercury-containing preservatives may have been the principle cause of autism, stirring controversy as a result. Critics of more recent environmental trigger theories have suggested widespread concerns about vaccines as the likely environmental triggers are simply hoaxes fostered by lawyers anxious to profit from litigation, and that such theories promote and prey upon feelings of guilt among parents, much as the refrigerator mother theory fostered guilt among mothers decades ago. [1]

and also this one:

Controversy over causes of autism continues. Not satisfied with explanations offered by medical authorities, a number of parent-led advocacy groups have sprung up seeking better explanations for the causes of autism. Some are loosely allied with the medical establishment, including the National Alliance for Autism Research and the M.I.N.D. Institute. Some advocacy groups, including Safe Minds, Generation Rescue and the Autism Research Institute (founded by Rimland), have stirred controversy by openly questioning the conclusions of medical authorities, calling for more extensive research examining possible environmental triggers, particularly vaccines and mercury exposure. In response to demands for research into possible environmental causes from parents and these controversial advocacy groups, it has been suggested vaccine theories simply promote and prey upon feelings of guilt among parents, much as the discredited refrigerator mother theory fostered guilt among mothers decades ago. [2]

Reason: there are many autism and autism-related articles in WP that already cover those theories ad infinitum and ad nauseam. This article is about a psychogenic theory of autism. Full explanation of somatogenic theories here runs against WP guidelines. ―Cesar Tort 21:03, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

With that in mind, the citation to Jay Joseph should be removed. Joseph's quotation criticizes the genetic theory of autism and has nothing to do with refrigerator mothers per se. I removed that quotation earlier today but you put it back in; would you care to explain why? Eubulides 19:01, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Because you didn’t explain your reasons. After hearing them, ok: you may remove it if you wish. But I’d prefer it stay since, when Joseph refutes the "if it runs in families it must be genetic" fallacy in biopsychiatry, he is talking about environmental stressors as the trauma counterhypothesis of the medical model. —Cesar Tort 19:16, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I think I'll remove it. Joseph's book is indeed talking about environmental stressors, but he doesn't advocate the refrigerator mother theory at all; he's talking about biological factors like prenatal and postnatal exposure to mercury. Joseph's book is pretty much irrelevant to this page. Eubulides 19:34, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

OK. I already relocated the removed quotation to the right article. I hope it's not removed there. —Cesar Tort 19:45, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ellipses

The current article contains markup that looks like this:

infants [...]. There

or like this (with an ellipsis, not with 3 adjacent periods):

referred to […]. In

or like this:

mothers. […] The

The standard wikipedia style for ellipses when omitting words in a quote is this:

end of old sentence.… Start of new sentence

How about if we change to the standard style?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Eubulides (talk • contribs)

Yes, sure: go ahead. —Cesar Tort 19:17, 29 July 2007 (UTC)