Posted by Eleni Prokopeas on Apr.28, 2010

ⓒ iStockPhoto - ktaylorg

April is Autism Awareness Month. Whether you’re a parent of an autistic child or know someone with an autistic child, the increase in autism is apparent across society.  Prior to 1990, only 1 child in 2500 was diagnosed autistic. According to a new government study from October 2009, the prevalence of autism diagnosis is now 1 in every 91 children.

Autism is a neurological condition. Looking at the last 20 years, what has changed to give a 27-fold increase in autism spectrum disorders?

In my opinion, autism is a multi-level problem with complicated origins. Here are six of the most commonly cited potential causes of autism’s rise:

1. Tap water
2. Dietary Sources
3. Environmental hazards from living in cities
4. Genetics
5. Better Diagnosis
6. Vaccinations

Drinking Tap Water

Tap water is filtered, but it still contains a level of chemicals that are potentially harmful to children depending on locations and exposure. There is not enough data to indicate this is the main factor in autism, though it can’t be discounted for other problems, and documented clusters of high autism rates are not correlated with water source or ambient chemical exposure.

Western Diet

With both parents working these days, children consume more and more ready-made food, which contains artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.  We also live in an age of financial crisis and are forced to make food choices based on price.  Sometimes that includes GMO and hormone-treated products. While this might not be sufficient to explain the sharp increase in autism, which predate the economic crash and reach back into the economic boom times, it may be a contributing factor to increased food allergies. The causal mechanism is far more obvious for this being a factor in dairy, gluten and nut sensitivities.

Living within City Limits

Living within a close range to a city provides modern conveniences but along with it comes a level of environmental exposure to toxins from cleaning products, pollution, household products and radiation. Were this the cause of the sharp increase in autism prevalence, one would expect autism to impact siblings more equally than it does. Studies of siblings have shown that the rate of autism spectrum disorders among children with an autistic non-twin sibling is about 3 times higher than the general population (3%, compared to about 1% of children overall). This points to a distinct possibility of external causes, since the prevalence is higher among children who live in a shared environment, but not as high as is expected for genetic causes among non-twin siblings (more on genetic causes in a minute).

Recent studies have found clusters of markedly higher autism rates in 10 areas of California. However, when the researchers looked at potential explanation, the most striking commonality was not any environmental hazard, but rather the education level and income of the parents in those areas. Turns out, the researchers discovered what parents of an autistic child already know: diagnosis and treatment of autism is expensive. Parents in a certain income bracket are more likely to seek professional help for their autistic children, because they have the resources to do so, and the more affluent school districts have more resources to help their children once they receive a diagnosis.

Better Diagnosis

Several studies have looked at whether the explosion of autism diagnoses now can be attributed to more cases being missed or diagnosed as something else in the past. Some persuasive studies have found that when modern diagnostic criteria are applied to historical cases that weren’t diagnosed as autism at the time, and when the autism rates of older age groups are looked at with the current diagnostic criteria, it’s possible that the actual prevalence hasn’t gone up quite as much as the raw numbers suggest. If the historical rates were closer to the modern 1 in 91 than the old 1 in 2500, the fact that we’ve failed generations of autistic children before now doesn’t absolve us from the duty to help our children today by finding and eliminating what caused autism then and now.

The criteria for autism diagnosis have certainly changed over the years, and are set to change once again when the DSM-V is published with altered standards for clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. Parents are also more likely to seek out a diagnosis of autism when the educational and social support structures for helping an autistic child in school are in place. Without such resources, even parents who can pin down a diagnosis on the autism spectrum may not see any benefit in doing so.

We are getting better at finding and helping children on the autism spectrum, but it strains credulity to think we’re getting 27 times better at it. Even if more awareness is leading to more children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders than in the past, one of the more rigorous studies into the possibility that autism awareness is driving higher prevalences still only attributes 16% of the increased diagnoses to parents being more vigilant about looking for milder causes of autism in their children, particularly when one of the child’s classmates or playmates has a diagnosis.

Genetics

Research is now looking into possible genetic causes and components of autism.  Although this research may shed some light on some cases of autism spectrum disorders, genetics alone can’t explain all cases of autism, or the recent sharp increase in diagnosis. Studies of identical twins, who share their genetic code show that siblings with an autistic identical twin have an autism rate of 60-90%. That is certainly high, but not the 100% correlation that would be expected from a purely genetic disorder. No research has yet been able to untangle potential genetic causes from potential causes from a shared environment of twin siblings from conception onward. My own experience as a mother of an autistic child, with no family history of autism spectrum disorders in my family or my husband’s, certainly indicates that genetics can’t explain every case of autism.

Immunization Vaccine Schedule

The increase in reported autism cases parallels the increase in the number and frequency of vaccines given to infants. Up until around 1989, preschool children received only 3 vaccines (polio, DPT, MMR). But during George H.W. Bush’s presidency, the number of immunizations given to young children skyrocketed.  Today, the CDC recommends more than 30 vaccines to be given before children reach the first grade.

Even taking the CDC and vaccine manufactureres at their word for what the vaccines contain, and that none of the doses are contaminated with unintended or undisclosed ingredients, four of the approved vaccines for use in children less than 6 years old use a preservative by the name of thimerosal which is 50% mercury by weight. Mercury poisoning has the same symptoms autism does in children.

Common neurological symptoms that occur in children are: decreased eye contact, flat affect, repeating certain actions over and over again, not responding to their name, not looking at an object that is being pointed at by another, poor concentration or attention, sensitivity to sensory stimulation. Common language or speech symptoms of mercury poisoning: loss of speech, delayed speech decreased understanding and articulating words, remembering certain words. Also common are social problems such as withdrawal, being irritated, aggressive behavior, night terrors and other sleep problems, mood swings. In addition other symptoms include auto-immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, asthma, chronic ear infections, and decreased immunity.

Of course, mercury is not the cause for all the disorders. Mercury can be an original trigger and can set off all of these disorders. Therefore, if these symptoms are present, then it is logical to check for the presence of mercury poisoning.

A Mother’s Conclusions

In my own opinion, the most obvious culprit in the explosion of autism diagnoses is the immunization vaccine schedule during their most precious developmental years, birth to age 6, right when autism is diagnosed and brought to the parents’ attention.

I urge you to look into mercury poisoning as the contributing factor to autism. The effects are startling. Many people’s lives are being ruined unnecessarily and many others that are tragically ended because of mercury poisoning. If, has been suggested, the actual prevalence of autism is fairly steady, we know that environmental mercury exposure from everything from coal-fired power plants to old-style mercury thermometers is going down; might the ambient mercury exposure be replaced by directly administering it to our children?

For the sake of your children, it’s important to practice preventative measures and live a green, natural life free of toxins, chemicals, pesticides, hormones and genetically modified foods, which can have health benefits far beyond a child’s neurological development. Do your best to live a more organic, natural life and most importantly, research each vaccine your child is to receive before making the decision on whether the benefits outweigh the risks of each vaccination. The recommended schedule is just that: a recommendation. Work with your own research and pediatrician to determine what vaccine schedule, if any, is best for your child.

Janet Harriett contributed to this editorial

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Posted under Autism, News & Politics, Vaccines.