Autism: why more boys than girls?/SAT Rant

A Genetic Clue to Why Autism Affects Boys More
By ALICE PARK Alice Park Wed May 20, 6:20 am ET

Among the many mysteries that befuddle autism researchers: why the disorder affects boys four times more often than girls. But in new findings reported online today by the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers say they have found a genetic clue that may help explain the disparity.

The rest of the article can be found here.

And now for something completely different: why I'm so darned mad with the SAT College Board in Princeton, NJ.

You can't get into college from high school without taking the SAT. Yes, I know there is the ACT but most--if not all--schools look for the SAT score. So as far as I'm concerned, they hold a monopoly...and there is NO accountability!

Here's what happened to my daughter last year: she somehow ended up with my last name on the registration. The kids all still carry their dad's last name while I have TB's. So...since the wrong name was on the ticket, she was turned away. The SAT Board wouldn't change the information without documentation.

No problem. I sent in the birth certificate, social security card and--since Kristin doesn't have a passport or a driver's license--a letter from her school counselor stating she is Kristin (her dad's last name). The SAT College Board never changed the information--nor did they tell me that the letter wasn't enough.

When we tried to register her again, I called and first they told me the birth certificate wasn't valid. I was upset about that because the state seal is definitely there! I got a supervisor on the phone that finally said they needed a valid *photo* ID. Why had no one bothered to tell me? We had to print a form from the website, attach a picture, have the counselor sign *that* and then affix the school seal.

I faxed all the information...AGAIN...on May 6. When I called to find out why it still wasn't changed, they claimed they never got the fax. They've made that claim before with the original faxing. I think I must have faxed stuff to them a half dozen times before they admitted getting it...and I don't have a fax machine. I went to a UPS store and paid for these things. I have receipts. Receipts aren't worth anything to the SAT.

Now they said I could email them the information so TB did. I called back about an hour later and first they said they never received it. Then when I demanded a supervisor again,oh, whoops, they did receive it but not from an *authorized* email account--the one appearing on the registration. Damn them! All they had to do was SAY it had to come from the email on the registration and that Kristin's name/case number appearing in the subject line would NOT be enough.

So we got Kristin to send the information from her account. Now they say yes, they did get it and that they would change the last name...but it won't appear online until Friday. Friday is the cut-off day for registration and I could just *SCREAM!* These people are worse than the NJ DMV and there is absolutely nothing we can do. They hold our kids hostage!