 |
Photo by Thomas Robinson, '09
|
Williams shares autism expertise with concerned community
The annual Lindaman Lecture featured Professor of Education and Edward B. Lindaman Chair Betty Williams, who presented "Separating Science from Science Fiction: Research on the Cause of Autism" to an audience of more than 200 that included parents of children with autism as well as autism-care providers. Once considered a rare disorder, autism is now diagnosed in one in 150 children, according to Williams. In her evening lecture, she evaluated prominent theories and research in terms of their scientific merit. "Desperate parents will do anything if it might have a chance of curing their children's autism," Williams said, "but what they really want to know is the likelihood that a particular treatment will work and to what risks their children will be exposed." To download a recording of Williams' Lindaman Lecture, visit www.whitworth.edu/podcast.
Whitworth's appointed Edward B. Lindaman Chair is an endowed, rotating chair for senior Whitworth faculty who are engaged in significant regional and national academic initiatives and who contribute to public dialogue concerning important social issues. Williams' four-year appointment began in fall 2007.
|
