After being ingested, lead enters the bloodstream and is absorbed and stored in many tissues and organs in the body, including the liver, kidneys, brain, teeth and bones.
High levels of lead can cause serious health problems in your children. Lead poisoning can affect almost every organ system of the body, including:

brain and central nervous system, causing:
lower IQs
headaches
memory problems
reduced coordination
learning disabilities
irritability
hyperactivity
increased sleeping
decreased activity and fatigue
hearing loss
vomiting
slow reflexes
muscle weakness, affecting mainly the upper extremities
seizures, coma, hypertension in high levels
gastrointestinal system, causing:
constipation
diarrhea
abdominal pain
vomiting
poor appetite
weight loss
blood system, causing anemia or low blood counts
kidney problems
reproductive system, causing:
miscarriages
premature birth
low birth weight
If your child has any of these symptoms of lead poisoning and he is at risk for lead exposure then you should see your doctor immediately. Most children with lead poisoning do not have any symptoms, so if your child is at risk you should still have him tested even if he is not having any problems.

Some effects of lead poisoning, such as poor school performance because of a low IQ, do not show up until a child is much older, at which time they will probably have a normal lead level, and so may not be attributed to lead poisoning.

this was from

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/WELCOME/lead/leadsymptoms.html

“just because you are born dumb doesn’t mean you won’t get dumber if you eat a ton of lead paint. ” (sorry)

- pD

“One point: To posit lead as linked to autism (at least lead in toys) would be to suggest that autism is not necessarily present at birth; that autism is something one develops”

Not necessarily. Exposure to lead has been shown to reduce intelligence; just because you are born dumb doesn’t mean you’ll get dumber if you eat a ton of lead paint.

This is a big disconnect I’ve only recently put my finger on to articulate; being ‘born with autism’ doesn’t mean that the environment cannot make it worse. If the envioronment is unable to affect autism; why bother with speech therapy, OT, risperdol, or anything else? Why shouldn’t we assume that the environment can also act to excascerbate autism?

Another important factor that I think is often missed in this kind of discussion is that there is plenty of research to show that in some instances, metals, toxins, or additives (or many other things, likely), can act synergistically.

Studying the toxicity of lead, mercury, cadmium, or whatever is great; but we aren’t exposed to just lead, mercury, or cadmium, but rather, all of these any many others all at the same time.

Take care!

- pD

Here’s the CDC on lead, with links to toys and childhood lead exposure.

I think it is extremely ignorant and scandalous how the government let these companies get away with this toxic exposure in North America.

When the articles first broke a couple months ago, a Canadian doctor was quoted in the press as saying that you should remove the toys, but not to panic, since low exposure rates were perfectly safe. Only high accumulations were dangerous.

What a crock from a government source — and from a doctor no less! That statement goes contrary to all of the evidence gathered over decades!

And people wonder why I don’t just blindly trust anything the medical community says in an official capacity?