Ready or not, here come genetic tests for autism

Late in June, an announcement appeared on the website of GeneDx, a genetic testing company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was highlighted in red with a single word: “new”. “As of June 20, 2008 GeneDx offers Tiered Testing Panels for Individuals with Autism [and] Autism Spectrum Disorders,” it proclaimed. An accompanying information sheet explained that, for fees ranging from $1600 to more than $6,000, the company is offering a battery of genetic tests designed to detect autism-associated genetic changes. The tests aim to catch the likeliest culprits early in the process, by tailoring the kind and order of tests to the child, whether it is a boy with large head size, a girl with a small head circumference, or a child with so-called ‘syndromic’ autism, meaning that it is associated with another disease such as Rett... [read full story]