Growing number of children diagnosed with autism disorders

[survivor999]

CONCORD, N.H. --A growing number of children in New Hampshire and nation-wide are being diagnosed with autism and related disorders.

The New Hampshire Department of Education reports that nearly two-thousand children with autism or a related disorder got special education services in 2004.

Children with autism, Asperger's syndrome and other autism-related disorders usually are unable to make eye contact, have poor social skills and may have trouble talking or communicating.

More: http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/07/16/growing_number_of_children_diagnosed_with_autism_disorders?mode=PF

[survivor999]

1. Good big pharma opportunity here

I wonder if the diagnostic criteria may have been affected a little by them so they can sell a few more pills.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. There is no pill for autism

Some kids are on anti-depressants and some have other disorders which are medicated. So there are a few drugs to treat some symptoms in some kids, but there is no autism pill.

[survivor999]

4. Of course...

But many kids with an autism diagnosis do get pills for whatever reason. It gives the parents some reassurance.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. I doubt a majority of them are on meds

I am a special ed teacher. 90% of the kids I know who have autism do not take any meds.

[survivor999]

16. Not sure who said a majority of them are...

But in any case, there is probably considerable regional variability regarding how many autistic kids get any meds and who the parents listen to before deciding.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. I guess the point I am trying to make

is that I don't see this as an opportunity for pharma, as the poster alleged. Yes, some are on meds. Yes, pharma is evil. But I don't see how an increase in autism is going to be a boon to pharma, since there really is no autism pill.

You are right about the regional differences. Access to health care is a big factor as well.

[survivor999]

26. Any increase in any disease

Is a potential money maker for big pharma... That's why there is "disease mongering" going on at full speed.

[pitohui]

34. i don't see it either

there is no pill that is suddenly going to make any high-functioning autistic/asperger's able to make eye contact

some who ALSO suffer from depression may get pills, but that is not for the autism, it's for the depression

i'm not sure if i know any high-functioning/asperger's person who takes meds at this time, i know many who definitely DON'T

don't know v. much abt other kinds of autism

but i don't see the "boon" here for anyone

[lumberjack_jeff]

66. The benefit of current drugs

for people with autism is subtle and peripheral. During the school year my son is on meds and it moderately improves his ability to cope, focus and helps reduce his self-stim behaviors.

In the summertime those behaviors are not quite so disabling, so he gets a break from the meds.

[davekriss]

33. Not my autistic daughter

She's pill free. And doing reasonably well, I might add, especially since she didn't utter a word until she was nearly six (she's 13 now).

[noonwitch]

71. The cure/effective treatment will come from people like her

I have observed autistic kids, and I personally find them fascinating-trying to figure out why and how they see and perceive things the way they do. Meds might treat some of the symptoms, but will never be able to cure the underlying condition. Each autistic person is different and like any other condition, it manifests itself differently in each autistic.

Anne Sullivan was blind. That's why she was able to help Helen Keller. Autistic adults who are capable academically and who are interested in psychology should look into getting degrees and jobs in areas working with autism.

[Red1]

40. Don Imus

has been talking about this subject for a year now. He started by questioning the pharmaceutical industry's using of preservatives in vaccines that might be causing the problem.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/mercury-autism-and-the-c_b_3184.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. I thought I had read that the number of cases being diagnosed is

going down.

[pitohui]

35. i doubt it, the # of cases is going way up

as the other poster said, asperger's is a relatively new diagnosis, many were simply not diagnosed and simply labeled as nerds back in the day or else dismissed as high-functioning autistics for whom nothing could be done except tolerate their eccentricities

the number of cases being diagnosed can only go up, when two decades ago, at least one diagnosis didn't even exist

[mzteris]

5. increased awareness

of behaviours belonging on the spectrum.

Many autistic kids used to be labeled "mentally retarded". Aspie kids just used to be labeled geeks, freaks, nerds.

[acmejack]

14. Autism is present to some degree more commonly than thought

According to a new British study recently released. As many as one in a hundred children may have some form of autism.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5174144.stm

[LostinVA]

56. That's what my pediatric nurse mom thinks, too

And, she's been in the biz since the 60's. She says the pediatrician she works for says that's the thought among most pediatricians.

[seabeyond]

6. something is different with our children today

we just havent touched on what it is yet.

[Divernan]

9. Much higher exposure to chemicals in food, water, air

Including during the highly sensitive time when they are in utero. Exploding populations result in greater amounts of chemicals manufactured & used, including those consumed as food additive/preservatives.
My generation of sibs and cousins had no asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine headaches, allergies other than mild "hay fever" in the summer. However the kids in the next generation have all of these problems.

[seabeyond]

13. yes

both my kids, though i focus on oldest cause it is so evident and effects him in learning and just wlaking thru life, have evidence of one or another syndrome. i see it all over the schools. and i can see the kid with feet on ground, the normal kid of yesterday easily, compared to the other kids. it has been a fascination for me for about a decade since son was 3, 4 and i was seeing him in groups of kids. there is a distinction with these kids. there are tools one can use with these kids that are not drugs.

[survivor999]

27. But many other factors

in society have changed as well... Difficult to know what's causing what... Pollution is probably one factor, insofar as the organism has to deal with new substances that were never encoutered during evolutionary history (and so protective mechanisms are not in place).

[survivor999]

17. Obviously, it could also be

That the parents are different...

[Guaranteed]

54. I think we're seeing a higher degree of variance in the gene pool.

In other words, I think we're actually evolving- faster, rather than not at all, contrary to popular opinion.

[seabeyond]

60. i think so too.... lol lll ll. and to all that posted above, i agree

with every statement.

a friend who doesnt have kids and know mine and have watched them grow stated the same.

the kids have taught me. they have given me gifts that allow me to go beyond, in order to help them along their way. and htey are both uniquely different.

i do think it has to do with difference in parent, if for no other reason than recognizing and embracing the uniqueness of the children. honoring htat uniqueness that allow them to flourish, not sink with the new gifts that they are receiving

like i say, both children come from a different place. one is obtuse, brilliant, and so beyond in thought and big picture. more of the christ conscience, in his walk in life. yet he would be labeled both add and autistic (though mild)

the other is an energy child. he relies and lives in the energy. if a parent doesnt recognize and honor and validate that in a child like this, he would be explosive. emotion is relegated to anger in appearance. when he is sad, one sees anger. we have to work with energy to bring him to stillnes, so he can even allow comfort. since a newborn i had to do things uniquely with him that are bizarre, but come to me. for example

in mist of misbehaving, he gets a ticklin. the only way to get that devil (i dont believe) energy out of him is a good ticklin. we have done for so long now, that when he feels the need he comes to me and says, i am the boss, and runs. i have to chase him, take him down and tickle, until he laughs the yukky energy out. odd. but he gives me what i need to help him along.

but yes, i agree

as i say

kids are different.

i see it with certain kids in boys classes. those are the kids that come to me. certain energies, with the hand is needed for these kids. sometimes on head, some on back of neck. i sit amazed

and those kids whose parents dont realize, one can see the result.

[Demeter]

8. As the Mother Of A Daughter Born In NH With Autism, May I Inform You?

1) We lived 1/2 mile from the only superfund site to get "fixed". Did this matter? Unknown

2) There are a lot of engineers on both sides of the family. This definitely matters. I don't think engineers should marry each other and have children.

3) Her father used marijuana (before I knew him, and I didn't find out til after the wedding, long after). There is an indication that this might make a difference.

4) Her autism is genetic, and can be detected by the brain structures, as revealed by CAT scan.

5) She is on SSRI medication which alleviates the tremendous anziety she feels from not being able to control and coordinate her brain and her body. It is a systemic disease, with many subtle symptoms as well as the more obvious.

6) She doesn't have the classic "head-banging and rocking" although she was borderline on that. Extensive physical therapy has made a difference in helping to rewire her nervous system. Half the children don't fit in the classical description, but they aren't considered normal, either.

7) Even the smallest amount of autismm is a tremendous handicap, for the child and the whole family. Everything must be changed to cope.

8) Her younger sister is annoyingly normal teenager, and totally unforgiving of her sister's condition.

[survivor999]

18. Thanks.

As you point out, the variability is huge.

[Maine-ah]

21. re: marijuana

if you could please site some study or link that indicates that marijuana use contributes to autism. I know tons of people with kids that smoked pot, and not one of their kids has any form of autism.

I googled, and most of what I found was people using marijuana as a possible treatment for autism, for things like anxiety that you child is on meds for. Here is my google search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22marijuana%22+%22autism%22

Other things that I have read, is that nothing (that has been found so far) that parents do contribute to autism.

Please don't think that I'm flaming you, or playing down the fact that you have a child with autism. I know it's very difficult to raise a child with autism, and it's something that I'm quite afraid of having to deal with, as I am due with my first child in November, and have my own learning disabilities that may be passed down.

I tried other searches containing "marijuana causes autism" and other variations, and I found nothing, all that I got was "did not match any documents"

[sendero]

46. This is a new one..

.. for me too. I've done a fair amount of reading the subject (have an autism-spectrum stepchild), and have never heard that one.

[Maine-ah]

49. I'm wondering at this point if we are going to see a response

to the questions posed. I still have found nothing that shows marijuana would have the impact that the poster is suggesting. And for all we know about marijuana, I highly doubt that years after smoking it, it would cause something like autisim, or anything else for that matter.

[wicket]

61. Gotta say I agree with you there

n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

69. Sounds like a self-defense mechanism

... must be dad's fault.

[seabeyond]

70. but to even kinda, maybe, possibly give that to the father is sooooo

sad

[liontamer]

81. while I'm too lazy to find you a link

recent research has suggested that father's drug history has an effect on sperm quality and thus congenital defects in later children. Marijuana and tobacco have both been shown to lead to poorer sperm quality. try your search that way

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Thanks for the great info

I am going to argue one point, however. I was a pot smoking hippie as were all of my friends in college (and beyond for awhile). I am also a special ed teacher. I have never heard of a connection between marijuana usage and genetic disorders in kids. I haven't seen evidence of it either. And trust me, if marijuana caused birth defects, I would have seen that, since at one point in my life, I didn't know anyone my age who did NOT smoke pot.

[MissB]

39. Fascinating, thought I strongly disagree with #2 and #3.

Dh and I both have at least one engineering degree between us. I do believe that he smoked rather frequently once upon a time. :)

We have two boys - neither has autism.

I've never heard of a study of a connection between parents who are engineers and children with autism. Nor have I heard of a study that shows a connection between marijuana smoking in the past of one of the parents and children with autism.

You'd think the various societies of professional engineers would be publishing warnings left and right. That, and the Office of Drug Policy or whatever they are currently called would likely have used a disturbing "fact" such as marijuana use in a media campaign.

I imagine you have had a few challenges in raising your daughter- she sounds like a lucky girl.

[KittyWampus]

44. There was a study about a year ago suggesting that genetically-

two parents both excelling at Left Brain activities result in kids with autism. Autism being an extreme preponderance of Left Brain activity.

I noted this because I've often thought that so many DU'ers who obsess over "debunking" and trying to prove that Science is necessarily Materialistic exhibit a form of autism in their inability to comprehend or willingness to value Right Brain activities.

[trotsky]

72. So how much credence have you given the corollary of your theory,

that there are people too absorbed in right brain activities to apply just a hint of logic to their thoughts? Naw, probably not. It's just those mean old skeptics that must have brain problems, I'm sure. :eyes:

[seabeyond]

75. very interesting. i am very left, and son is too. son i see the signs

i hadnt heard that, but makes sense in his big picture brilliance, and obtuseness of the world

[KittyWampus]

45. Assortative Mating Theory by Simon Baron-Cohen

Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology and Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University.

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/baron-cohen05/baron-cohen05_index.html
THE ASSORTATIVE MATING THEORY

(SIMON BARON-COHEN) I've been working on the question of autism, trying to understand what characterizes autism from a psychological perspective and ultimately aiming to understand what's going on in the brain and the causes of the condition. My new theory is that it's not just a genetic condition, but it might be the result of two particular types of parents, who are both contributing genes. This might be controversially received. This is because there are a number of different theories out there — one of which is an environmental theory, such as autism being caused by vaccine damage — the MMR vaccine (the measles, mumps, and rubella combination vaccine). Another environmental theory is that autism is due to toxic levels of mercury building up in the child's brain. But the genetic theory has a lot of evidence, and what we are now testing is that if two "systemizers" have a child, this will increase the risk of the child having autism. That's it in a nutshell.

A systemizer is somebody whose style of thinking is predominantly in terms of understanding things according to rules or laws. You can think of lots of different kinds of systems: mathematical systems (algebra, computer programs), or mechanical systems (computers or cars); natural systems (weather, or rocks, geology); and social systems (businesses, or the military).

In each case, when you systemize what you do, you try to understand the system in terms of the laws that govern the system. Economics would be an example of a system, where people are trying to predict a crash, or predict what's going to happen in terms of stock markets. They are trying to understand things according to laws or rules. The theory we are testing is that if you have a mother and a father who are both systemizers, the risk of the child having autism increases.

Systemizing is expressed in behavior, so, for example, if your hobby is playing with computers, that's the behavior that you see. But obviously such activity reflects your interests, which is what's going on in your mind, not just in your behavior. The mind of a systemizer is drawn to understand systems. Steven Pinker has a nice phrase about spiders, that spiders are just programmed to spin webs. He uses that as an analogy for the way in which a typically developing child is programmed to learn language. These programs are not a hundred percent deterministic; you can intervene, you can change. There's obviously plasticity in the system. In the same way, systemizing isn't going to turn out to be a hundred percent genetic. There are few if any behavioral characteristics in humans that are one hundred percent genetic .

There are five steps for testing this theory. First, we need to establish whether or not systemizing runs in families. Secondly, we need to find out if there are there any genes associated with systemizing. Thirdly, are the parents of children with autism systemizers, defined according to their cognition? Fourthly, do they both carry the genes for systemizing? Finally, when these gene combine, does this raise the risk of their child having autism?

This theory will be controversial, and it might raise anxieties. But just because it's potentially controversial doesn't mean that we shouldn't investigate it. And there are ways that you can investigate it empirically.

How would you investigate it? Well first thing is to look at families where there's already an autistic child, and look at the parent directly. We've already conducted some of those studies, and found that whereas in the general population systemizing is more common among males, in the case of parents of a child with autism, the mother of such a child is also very likely to be a systemizer, with male-typical interests.

snip

[lumberjack_jeff]

67. Much of what passes for proof of a genetic cause...

... is nothing more than stereotyping.

"Whew, I'm glad that my marketing degree and my car-salesman spouse indicate that I'm not at risk of having a child with autism!"

Or, as a poster above suggested, engineers should not reproduce. :mad:

[givemebackmycountry]

10. 1 child in 166 will be born with Autism...

There is a commercial out by Autism Speaks...I believe its autismspeaks.org
A really cute little girl is singing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" as the text is showing the odds of her appearing in a Broadway show and a child being born with autism.

1-166

That's pretty high.

Imagine if 1-166 people who flew on a airplane developed some type of disease.
There would be emergency sessions of congress and people would be screaming for a solution.
Autism?
Not so much.

I'm thinking the increased rates of autism is environmental.
That's why we hear nothing about it.
It's going to cost some corporation some money to eliminate the increasing rates of this disorder and we all know THAT can't be allowed to happen.

[acmejack]

15. The study cited in my post indicates 1-100!

Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, publishing in the Lancet.

[wicket]

62. VERY very scary

n/t

[trotsky]

77. It's not quite as scary mainly because...

not every 1 of each 166 is impacted in such a way as to adversely affect their functioning as a "normal" adult. Your scare-mongering makes it sound like 1 of every 166 kids will never be able to lead a "normal" life, and that's just not the case.

[fasttense]

11. Several studies have come out linking Autism and pollution.

Seems newborns' risk of developing autism increases if exposed to pollution. Here are two links:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0317-05.htm

http://www.newstarget.com/019470.html

[elehhhhna]

25. Is it more prevalent in China then, for example?

[pitohui]

37. well there are no shortage of nerds in china

nerds are quite often asperger's -- that is why they have the odd mannerisms, etc.

what there may be a shortage of in china is people who are competent to diagnose people w. asperger's, keep in mind, many high-functioning autistics/asperger's can function in society just fine, we are just the oddballs but oddball doesn't have to be dysfunctional

[Divernan]

12. Another thread discussing man who killed himself & his autistic son.

The number on the DU thread is 1643591. I don't know how to create a direct link from this post to that thread.

[survivor999]

19. Well, there is a tremendous pressure

on a family with an autistic kid...

[Divernan]

42. Absolutely - and it's often for the entire lifetime of the parents.

Now that autistic people have just about the same life expectancy as the general population, parents are faced with the fact that their children may outlive them by a generation - and older parents I worked with (in their 60's)were quite frantic about who would protect and oversee care of their adult autistic kids when the parents died or were too incapacitated themselves to continue.

When some autistic kids hit puberty, especially the boys, the increased hormone level can trigger violent aggressive behavior to parents, siblings, classmates,neighbors, etc . I worked with a lot of families with autistic kids, and it was at that stage that parents who had been able to keep the kids at home and in local schools reluctantly made decisions to put the autistic teenager in residential programs. Either the parents didn't have the physical stength to control the teenager, and/or the household became too hectic and stressful for other children in the family. I know that not all autistic teens display that level of behavior, but I saw it often, and talked with people who were leaders in parents groups who explained it to me.

Another problem for parents trying to keep young adult autistic kids at home was finding physicians and dentists with the skill to "handle" autistic patients. Some doctors and dentists refused to accept autistic people as patients, because their behavior alarmed other people in waiting rooms.

We once had some pretty good state residential centers for mentally retarded & autistic people in Pennsylvania. If you saw them, you would think you were on some bucolic private college campus. The medical personnel and all the attendants were long term - very low turnover rate - in part because they were unionized and well-paid. They were also highly trained in dealing with the psychological aspects of interacting with retarded and autistic. And the state centers provided respite programs to give the family caregivers a much needed week or two vacation every year from the 24/7 caregiving. (Yes, I know autism is not the same as retardation, and the autistic people living at the state centers were at the more extreme end of the spectrum).

What happened, was along came the Republicans pushing to privatize the state centers and disbursing all the residents to "group homes" in every nook and cranny -often quite remote- of the state. Accidental death (drowning in bath tubs, choking while being force fed, pneumonia from being left out in fenced yards with no coat in the winter, etc., and injury/rape/pregnancy rates for the population shot up - just as it had done in California when that state privatized such care. "Group homes" sound like cozy Mom and Pop operations, but they are actually large, nationwide chains which pay minimum wage and therefore hire people who couldn't get hired by McDonalds. That's because trying to control and care for mentally retarded/autistic people with no training and low staff ratios is about as difficult a job as one can have. Turnover rate for group home employees was more than 100% a year. Residents were often and apparently for no good reason, assigned to live in "group homes" far away from any family members, making it very hard for family to monitor care. It remains a nightmare.

[infogirl]

23. Vaccines?

I don't trust one for bird flu...and I wonder what they are giving our children besides mercury in the water...air..etc.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. So far, there are no credible scientific studies to support that

Lots and lots of anecdotal evidence though. Many parents who have autistic kids are convinced it was caused by a vaccine.

[earth mom]

29. There is NO credible evidence that mercury isn't the cause.

BTW it's not the vaccines themselves, but the preservative thimerosal which contains mercury that parents, doctors, scientists and professionals believe to be the cause.

The pharma giants have a huge financial and vested interest in making sure that mercury poisoning is NOT proven. Which is disgusting-not to mention criminal. :puke:

[Demeter]

30. Sorry But You Cannot Prove a Negative

so your statement has no meaning

[earth mom]

47. Yeah and your post was quite profound. Not.

:crazy:

The bottom line is that the pharma bastards need to PROVE IT. One way or another. But they can NOT prove it in their favor because the evidence does NOT support what they want it to. Is that enough "meaning" for ya? :eyes:

[Anarcho-Socialist]

63. Why should they?

If I was to claim e.g. that pink elephants live on Pluto, the onus of proof should be on me, and not on others to "prove it's not the case."

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Yes and haven't they taken thimerosol out of vaccines?

So we may never know. :grr:

[earth mom]

48. That's exactly their plan.

:mad:

[Anarcho-Socialist]

64. "...doctors, scientists and professionals believe to be the cause"

Aren't they strawmen? I've only seen one study which peddles the autism-vax connexion and it was widely discredited. Do you have any other studies to direct me to that is not based upon anecdotal evidence?

[SidDithers]

68. No link between autism and vaccinations: study...

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/07/05/autism-vaccine.html

Sid

[trotsky]

74. There is NO credible evidence that Cheerios aren't the cause, either.

Seriously, there isn't. So your logic would indicate we need to ban Cheerios, too.

[MissB]

50. There is a group that is trying to fund a study

Huge one, costing millions of dollars, from what I've heard. Name of the group is generation rescue - they have a .org website. From what I understand, the reason they want to pay for the study is that there are essentially no autistic Amish children, which to them translates into the mercury in the vaccines.

Edited to add: their study, from what I've heard, is to survey the incidence of autism in as many unvaccinated US children as they can make contact with.

[proud2BlibKansan]

51. Amish kids don't get vaccines?

I didn't know that. Sounds like an interesting study.

[LostinVA]

57. People have posted on here before that the Amish thing isn't true

I'll leave the link/arguing for those that know way more about this than me. But, that "fact" has been cited on DU several times, and it has been shown to be wrong. I will say that since Amish don't tend to go to English doctors....

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. Kinda blows the idea of that study

right outta the water.

[kittenpants]

58. Amish people also get some really rare genetic diseases

since they have such a limited gene pool--could the lack of autism have something to do with this? (By "this" I mean that autism hasn't entered their gene pool & if they marry outside of their society, they are no longer part of the Amish community...) Is there even a genetic link for autism, I don't know?

Also someone mentioned pollution being correllated to autism, so that might be another factor in favor of Amish populations. I'm not discounting the vaccines either, just wondering about other influences as well.

[woo me with science]

80. You are right.

There is no good evidence. The typical age of onset of autism happens to coincide with the time most children in this country receive vaccinations. However, most children who receive vaccinations never develop autism, and the best research we have has failed to show any link between the two. Of course, there is a lot of junk science purporting to prove a link. Those who scream about it do not know how to evaluate research.

It never ceases to amaze me, the hostility of those who don't know the difference between good science and bad, and who don't care to learn if doing so will conflict with their pet causes.

Pseudoscience is gaining a scary hold in this country. We now have homeopathic centers opening up alongside traditional medical centers and demanding the same respect and access to insurance structures. We now have "special" Lyme Disease labs that will dole out diagnoses in contradiction to what the CDC has established as actual proof. And for those who want to attribute autism to vaccines, there is always some "special" research that will do it for you, honest methodology be damned.

Thank you for your post. We need people willing to stand up and state the difference between good science and anecdotal junk, no matter how hysterical and hostile the response. Giving in to the hysteria, even if it is understandable on the part of parents who desperately want a cure, is how we end up with creationism in the classroom, homeopathy in the medicine cabinet, and repressed memories in the psychologist's office.

Science education in this country needs a serious boost.

[WhiteTara]

24. Bobby Kennedy Jr has a lawsuit

stating autism is caused by the mercury big pharma used as a carrier for the childhood vaccines.

[Demeter]

31. And I Think It Will Backfire

I think Kennedy has latched onto an issue that will generate a lot of heat and noise, but ultimately prove to be a fool's errand. He may be doing it in the sincere belief that he is doing good, or he may be using it as a step into the larger political pools. But I think it is a mistake.

My daughter's condition was detectable at birth--the doctors simply didn't think to question it, and my concerns were pooh-poohed.

[AlienGirl]

36. ...Humans expected to start making sense in a few generations.

[Maine-ah]

38. that soon huh?

you're way more optimistic than I am, lol!

[KT2000]

41. Not that it matters

to the powers that be. A very few medical professionals have been ringing the bell for the damage being done to the brains of children from toxic chemicals. That has not worked. Lately though, some have been trying to enumerate the monetary costs of the damage done to the young.
Dr. Philip Landrigan led a study that puts the tab at $ 9.2 BILLION for neurobehavioral disorders.

See: http:www.childenvironment.org/press/2002-05-31.htm

[diamidue]

43. In Chinese Medicine, it is said

"To treat the child, treat the mother". I don't know exactly how this applies to autism, but rather than assume that a child has been exposed to some environmental elements or whatever, maybe it was the mother (or father) who was at one point exposed - and their immune system compromised. One poster said her child was "born" with autism, so this is a possibility.

[elf]

52. Why so many in USA and not in Europe?????

Why is this condition so enormous in the States and so seldom in Europe (or other countries- I just don't know about Asia, Scandinavia, Middle East or somewhere else)

The United Stated have a mandatory vaccination program about everything. A Baby gets a lot of shots in it's first year...........my concern (ex-baby nurse) it's far too much.

My three children went through some children-illness like measles, chicken pocks and mumps. We where taken care of by the best physicians and everything went well.

The vaccination would be more problematic in these early baby years than to go through the illness in later (stronger) years.

Americans are per se very much scared about "germs".

It's always a lack of education to judge, what's best for your child. Unfortunately, you and now me too, we don't have the choice to choose when our kids get vaccinated for what, when and how!!!!

[Maine-ah]

53. I agree with what your saying here.

There are way too many vaccinations going on in the first year of a childs life, and they should be spread out more.

Have *all* of these vaccinations actually made any difference? ( I know a lot of them have, obviously) Or is it all BS coming from the big pharm companies? I've been told that even the flu shot has been added to all of this now, which is something I have refused to get for myself.

[trotsky]

73. Curious...

There are way too many vaccinations going on in the first year of a childs life, and they should be spread out more.

Are you an immunologist? On what do you base this claim? Because the overwhelming consensus among experts is the opposite.

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/gen/multiplevac.htm

[Anarcho-Socialist]

65. The UK figure is estimated at '1 in 100' also

http://news.excite.co.uk/uk/10035

I don't know about other European figures

EDIT: a California/Japan comparison

[dorkulon]

55. Good article on thimerosal-autism connection here.

A pretty good summary, obviously supporting the theory, but I find it convincing too.

Mercury Rising: Big Media Buys the Pharm

Just one stunning fact:

In April of this year, UPI’s Dan Olmstead, in search of a ‘control group’ of children who had not been exposed to thimerosal, looked for autism in the Amish community of Lancaster County, PA (the Amish don’t vaccinate their kids). According to statistical levels, he figured there should be 130 autistic children there, but could only find four—one who had been exposed to mercury from a power plant, and three had, indeed, been vaccinated.

[mzteris]

76. They're also a

fairly genetically closed unit of people.

[trotsky]

78. Sorry, but Olmsted's work was proven to be full of errors.

http://oracknows.blogspot.com/2005/12/more-antivaccination-nonsensebut-not.html

So what are we left with from Olmsted's article, if there are no scientific observations reported? Not much. Just some "impressions" of doctors who practice a lot of "alternative" medicine and who apparently either don't keep statistics regarding which of their patients were vaccinated and which were not that might provide data that could be used to correlate cases of autism with vaccinations, if such a correlation exists, or haven't bothered to look at their cases systematically.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

79. My beautiful grandson at age three developed an illness called

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura disease. It manifested as purple welts all over his body and his scrotum swelled like an over ripe plum. The first thing I noticed was that he developed a stutter. All of the other symptoms eventually disappeared, but he still has the stutter which has not gone away and if anything has gotten worse over the past two years. BTW, one week before these symptoms occured, he got his routine innoculations. I was concerned that he was getting a great deal of these at one time (five different "shots" at one time) but didn't make a big deal because I felt the physician was fully aware of what he was doing. Now I am wondering if this was the wisest way to go.

Anybody out there with a similar story?