Laura Collins

Autism And Anorexia: What’s The Relationship?

Autism And Anorexia: What’s The Relationship?

Sep 6, 2009

Until recently, I admired the autism parent community from afar. Like the parents who awakened and changed the schizophrenia treatment world, parents of autistic children have moved both treatment and public opinion about the disorder almost 180 degrees from where it had been. They did it fairly quickly, too: bringing autism from an obscure and stigmatized issue to a topic discussed openly in less than a generation.I’ve watched with wonder as the autism world has developed and changed. While public knowledge, research funding, and public services aren’t adequate, they’ve come so far.

Laura Collins

Laura Collins

Author of Eating With Your Anorexic (McGraw-Hill) and moderator of "Around the Dinner Table" a forum for parents and caregivers of eating disorder patients.
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Why heritability matters in mental illness

Why heritability matters in mental illness

Dr. Cynthia Bulik, William R. and Jeanne H. Jordan Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders at the University of North Carolina, spoke forcefully at yesterday's US Congressional Briefing organized by the Eating Disorders Coalition. Bulik gave a 20-minute talk that could, if widely available, change the way society - and patients - look at eating disorders.The research she cites is well-established, but still controversial among clinicians treating the illness.

Suicide risk and anorexia

Suicide risk and anorexia

Among the many benefits accruing from the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa Collaborative Study funded by the NIH is the ability to study other issues related to AN. A recent paper on Suicide Attempts in Anorexia Nervosa published in Psychosomatic Medicine offers much-needed examination of an important topic.