3 Things One Might Prefer Not To Hear About
September 13, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Autism caused by nasal spray? (One assumes it is not this type of nasal spray.)
A Kentucky man spanks an autistic child who goes into his yard?
A correlation between teenage pregnancy and autism?
I’d rather hear about fewer speculative causes of autism—-as for the spanking by the neighbor, enough said.
Well, heck, if we’re speculating, there’s some things that I’d like to offer for consideration.
Thimersol is of course a popular one. (It’s still in flu shots as well as some kiddo vaccines.)
I’m not willing to give vaccines a “clean bill of health” either. I know, I know “medical science has stated repeatedly that there’s no connection between vaccines and autism.” But, of course medical science has (reluctantly) admitted it doesn’t know what causes autism. (But, they’re absolutely certain it’s NOT vaccines.) Yeah, okay.
My personal favorite is food additives. It’s a long shot, but have you looked at the chemistry set listed on just about any prepared food? Even if that stuff doesn’t cause autism, it’s causing something. Let’s face it, kids, God didn’t design our intestines to be glass tubing.
(Sidebar: At Walmart a few weeks ago, I found Walmarts House Brand of “Amish Potato Salad” with propylene glycol as an ingredient. I didn’t know the Amish cooked with antifreeze. Last I heard, not even the FDA would condone that. Opps! I guess they DID condone that!)
Airborne/waterborne contaminants: the doctor’s office isn’t the only way to get heavy metal poisoning. That well out back, or the air you breathe can do you dirty to.
Toxic Waste: so, do YOU know how close you live to a Superfund site? How about an abondoned gas station? What’s leaking? What’s the long-term impact of that? Anyone? Anyone? Beuler? Beuler?
In short, these are all speculations, too. But, am I smoking my lunch?
Here’s my consolidated theory on the rise of autism diagnoses:
1. Better testing = higher number of detections
2. Developmental Psyc.s know that a 299.0 dx gets better services than other dx’s
3. I think autism has a genetic component.
3a. Carriers of that genetic component, in years past, may not have been allowed (by society) to contribute to the gene pool (was that euphamistic enough?)
3b. In the past, carriers of that genetic componenet may not have lived long enough to continue the strain. (Blame the laws of physics.)
4. Our society has systematically been poisoning our rivers, lakes, streams, oceans and atmosphere for years; there will be price (TBD) to pay.
5. Our food supply is being increasingly loaded with chemicals and additives, that may not be safe alone or in combination.
I’m not very scientific, but I’d like to try to “prove” my theory. Here’s how:
1. eliminate thimersol completely. no exceptions
2. delay vaccinations until kids are older (2+)
3. clean up our industries
4. clean up our environment
5. clean up our food supply
6. clean up the diagnostic process(es)
If I’m right, autism rates will drop like rocks; if I’m wrong, at least the next generation of auties will have a cleaner world.
[the above editorial is a mix of tongue-and-cheek and seriousness; let the reader beware; void where prohibited by law; must be 18 or older to play; contents may settle in shipping; etc]
~ Dan (tree-huggin’, rock-lickin’ eco-weenie…
when I’m not out 4-wheelin’ in my SUV)
I covet a Prius!—– but in the meantime we’re getting the most out of an increasingly battered Subaru stationwagon, onto whose interior every bodily fluid known to humankind has been cast. (And the car is not home tonight but in the shop, as it failed its inspection—brakes.) Said car though is very good for driving on truck routes, by which I get to my job in Jersey City, and during which drive I go past some environmentally challenged sites (google “Jersey City chromium”)——Charlie, now, was born in St. Louis, and from the looks of grandparents and three aunts, something genetic has been going on.
His lunch box is a paragon to Good Kid eating—vegetables, fruits, no junk food, containers of home-cooked chicken and rice. We’ve gotten him candy when out and for a while he gets really into it and then stops asking for it.
But I’m not convinced that, had he been born in previous generations, he would have received an autism diagnosis. I used to think it was “obvious” that Charlie was autistic, but with his language challenges, I think he would have been diagnosed as MR and with emotional/behavior disorder.
It’s sad to see some of the “some external force has to be responsible”
Can’t they just realize that if they think of it as genetic then it’s NOT their fault.
I firmly believe that it’s genetic. All I have to do is look at my family tree to see that.
They wanted to label me as MR when I was little. Seems that a kid who does no homework, aces every test, is at the top of the class on standardized tests and is reading Tolkien in the 2nd and 3rd grades is broken if they also can’t talk much and have troubles making friends.
Why would a “tree-huggin’, rock-lickin’ eco-weenie…”
Want to pollute the place “out 4-wheelin’ in my SUV”?
Patrick…
Sorry ’bout that…I was being facetious about the SUV. (I don’t actually have one.)
That’s the problem with the internet…I’m grinnin’ and smirkin’ when I’m typing, but there’s no way for you to see that! (sigh)
As much as I think emoticons are silly, they do help convey the attitude of the moment.
And, Joe…I agree with you, at least part way! I think genetics are a key, but I think there’s an environmental ‘trigger’ as well: for instance my son Chris has a twin sister; he’s on the spectrum; she’s not. On the one hand, they’ve been exposed to absolutely identical ‘environments’ from conception to age two or three (when they started ‘doing the own things’). Obviously, it’s not (’just’) environment, or Tori would be on the spectrum, too. However, for Chris, and his little brother to both be on the spectrum indicates a good reason to look at genetics. So, what’s the final answer? As I said, I think it’s both. And, if we wait a hundred or so years, I’ll be we’ll have a definitive answer! (At least you and I will; we may be in no place to convey that info to the world at large.) It’s my belief that unlike this world, the next will provide us more answers.
BTW, I was in my 30s before I made it cover-to-cover with Tolkien. I’m hoping that my boys will follow your lead! I love the stories….
Regards,
Dan