Autism is a fascinating subject, steeped in rumour, mystery, misconceptions and myths. Tannice firstly aims to take you through different definitions of autism, cultural representations and the results of her survey, asking over 700 people about their perceptions of what causes and treats autism (spoiler: we don't know and, currently, nothing).

The second part of the talk focuses on "the bad" and "the ugly". The part most skeptics will probably be most interested in. Tannice will briefly cover the MMR scandal, but this is not the main focus of her 'bad' or 'ugly' section: the subject that Tannice reserves the most ire for is the toxic and sometimes downright dangerous treatments many children must endure. Asking the question "what's the harm?" has never been more important.

The third part of the talk is for "the good" - it focuses on ABA or Applied Behavioural Analysis, the gold standard in Autism treatment. Through a whirlwind journey (to fit in the format of a SitP talk) Tannice will explain what ABA is, how it's used and the evidence behind it.

From Kim Peek (the inspiration for rain man) to Jenny McCarthy (an anti-vaccination campaigner), this talk will give you a broad overview of Autism, Autism treatments and why cultural representations of Autism are usually wrong. You’ll also find out why a horse died when he was being treated in a chamber normally reserved for divers suffering from the Benz.

Tannice co-runs Guildford Skeptics in the Pub. She is a former ABA tutor, loves writing, and keeps a close eye on developments in all things autism-related.

No booking required! £2.50 per head.

When Rhys Morgan was 15 years old and diagnosed with the painful condition Crohn's Disease, he logged on to a support forum - where he discovered that a "miracle" cure was being peddled, that turned out to be very dangerous. 

After doing some research, he discovered that forum members were being actively encouraged to drink "miracle mineral solution" which is in fact a solution of bleach, and to continue with this treatment even when they suffered resulting symptoms such as burning. Upon challenging its promoters, Rhys was banned from the forum.

You can read how that went here at "Bleachgate", and take a look at this list of links to see the results of Rhys's determination to get more knowledge out there. It went as far as to be banned in Kenya, and Rhys got on the BBC (twice), Wales Online, and won the James Randi 2010 award for "Grassroots Activism".

Since then, he has also written about the Burzynski Clinic in the US, which claims to treat cancer with "antineoplaston therapy". This resulted in a representative issuing libel threats and, upon learning that Rhys was a teenager, threatening to inform his school and sending him an image of his house. Similar threats were made to other UK bloggers (highlighting the need for libel reform in the UK), but none have yet been followed through. Rhys asks here in the Guardian why the Burzynski Clinic is unwilling to simply publish its methodology and results, rather than threatening its critics.

Rhys, now 17, plans to continue his campaigns against unproven and dangerous "miracle cures", and will be talking to us about both these episodes and probably more. You can also catch up with him on his blog and follow him on Twitter at @rhysmogan.

No booking required - just come along! £2.50 per head.