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I once thought you were a respected News magazine but now after reading your latest article, "Girls, Boys and Autism" it appears that you are closer to a teen-zine. By taking quizzes in one of those magazines I can find out my "Prom Personality" or "Am I jerk magnet?" or "Which Sweet Home Alabama guy is my soul mate?" I find the article and quizzes in this Newsweek article about as scientific but not nearly as amusing. Take a look at the empathy quotient (It upsets me to see an animal in pain, Ahah, I must be a woman, I mean empathizer!), the systemizing quotient (If I had a collection it would be highly organized. Ahah, I must be a man, I mean systemizer) and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (New situations make me nervous. Ahah, I must be autistic). What a bunch of drivel! I find it laughable that you actually put this article under the heading of `Science'. I am a scientist and believe me, this article is anything but scientific; it is more along the lines of pseudo -science. As a woman with an Electrical Engineering degree, a mother of a wonderful boy with autism and a beautiful neurologically typical daughter, the president of an autism support group, I find your article demeaning and insulting both as a woman and a mother. We, parents of children with autism, have struggled long and hard to get the proper diagnosis, treatment and funding for our children. It is a complex and baffling disorder not the simplistic extreme personality you portray it to be. The research dollars dedicated to autism research are appallingly miniscule. But with articles like yours who would want to throw research money at a personality quirk.

Patti Gaultney