Everything Causes Autism (Or So it Seems)
“In psychology, I’m starting to get the weary feeling that everything gives you mental illness,” quips Williams Saletan in the May 7th Slate on Human Nature. Saletan references the recent study which found that parents who have psychiatric disorders are doubly at risk to have an autistic child (while also citing another study according to which “adoption can double a child’s risk of disruptive behavior disorder“). Have to say, I’m starting to feel that everything can give a person autism.
What hasn’t been cited as a cause of autism?
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55 opinions for Everything Causes Autism (Or So it Seems)
Bonnie Sayers
May 8, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Sex or specific positions during sex has yet to be named.
M
May 8, 2008 at 1:02 pm
The phrase “Not Otherwise Specified” is sometimes thrown in for the ambiguous ailments. But what if we create one, catch-all diagnosis for every conceivable category? Something like: We’ll Get Back To You On That.
A difficult acronym is never good marketing strategy. To be more concise, we could shorten it to: That.
Have you heard the alarming new numbers? 150 in 150 children now have That.
Shocking.
H6
May 8, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I’m not sure what causes autism, but it seems like autism is causing an increase in sarcasm.
M
May 8, 2008 at 1:46 pm
“autism is causing an increase in sarcasm.”
The lull between SARS outbreaks is a SARS-chasm.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 8, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Not that my son would pick up on that, necessarily!
larry
May 8, 2008 at 1:54 pm
It would be more accurate, I think, to say that everybody on Earth is necessarily somewhere on the autistic spectrum. In fact, maybe all beings who endure viviparous birth are on the spectrum.
ange
May 8, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Is there a ribbon for That? If so, I’m on board. ;)
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 8, 2008 at 2:45 pm
How about a blank one that everyone fills in with permanent markers?
M
May 8, 2008 at 3:28 pm
“a blank one that everyone fills in”
Oooh. I wish I had thought of this.
Or, instead of a little puzzle piece: what about an ink blot image, from the Rorschach test. That way people can see whatever they want.
wskrz
May 8, 2008 at 3:32 pm
“What hasn’t been cited as a cause of autism?”
Chocolate.
Not yet anyway. Better eat as much as we can, while we can. :-)
Tina
May 8, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I know… The latest one I saw (and someone quoted from a Dr. Sears book) is that pitocin to induce labor may be a cause too.
I think these assumptions without proof are getting so out of hand…and is distracting from finding the REAL causes of autism-spectrum development.
VAB
May 8, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I’d never heard the pitocin causes autism one before, so I Googled it. I found claims to that effect, but I also found claims to the effect that pitocin cures autism. This is great!
It’s like Homer Simpson says about alcohol: the cause of, and the answer to, all life’s problems.
H6
May 8, 2008 at 5:00 pm
In order to find the “real cause” of the upswing in autism, one will have to consider a lot of different possibilities. Some may seem ridiculous, but the answer could come in from left field. At a time when most innovative companies encourage their employees to think outside of the box, it’s odd that anyone would approach a problem like autism by encouraging everyone to think inside the box (or not think at all), lest they be mocked.
Until the cause of AIDS was supposedly discovered, every kind of cause was considered.
Even genetic!
Chuck
May 8, 2008 at 5:11 pm
wskrz’,
“What hasn’t been cited as a cause of autism?”
Chocolate.
Causes Type II diabetes, so good luck with that.
wskrz
May 8, 2008 at 6:25 pm
As long as it’s used in moderation, Chuck. Moderation is the key, as is the case with everything.
Plus, dark chocolate could help lower blood pressure and contains antioxidants (http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate). Tastier than pills!
Leanne
May 8, 2008 at 6:38 pm
But what if sarcasm causes autism??? Oh oh, that would be the first “theory” that I would have to say applied to us (other than the whole genetic thing, which oddly enough other family members have started to admit).
Mike
May 8, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I wonder why autism wasn’t an issue 30-40 years ago? Using deductive reasoning, we can all agree:
1) Autism is a form of damage to the brain.
2) Autism has been on the rise for the past 30-40 years.
3) People who are not vaccinated do not suffer from Autism as much as people who are vaccinated. According to CDC Datalink info, as much as 1100% more (11 times more).
4) People who live close to power plants that put mercury into the air are more likely to have children with Autism.
5) Eating a good diet (avoiding artificial flavors, colors, fluoride, refined flower, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, etc) and keeping as toxin free as possible promotes good health.
6) Ensuring healthy digestion and elimination organs promotes good health.
If you do all you can could you still have a child with Autism? I suppose so, if it’s in the cards it’s in the cards. However, prevention has always been better than having to treat illness.
Chuck
May 8, 2008 at 7:36 pm
wskrz,
“Better eat as much as we can, while we can.”
If this is moderation, then find a good endocrinologist.
M
May 8, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Mike: “Using deductive reasoning…”
We can deduce that you’re selling something.
tsquared
May 8, 2008 at 8:43 pm
@Mike: “deductive reasoning”
I do not think it means what you think it means. There’s probably some partial credit to give out toward inductive reasoning, but that would require some generosity.
Side note - saying “we can all agree” should merit two minutes in the penalty box in any debate.
It’s really this same shaky method of argument that has led people to conclude that, as Kristina says, everything causes autism. I don’t know what ’causes’ it, though I suspect there are many more types of autism than we currently understand brought about by a number of things.
But this boiled-spaghetti-throwing-at-walls method of arguing causation just chaps my butt. I’m a parent of an autistic toddler looking for real answers, and I’m tired of people wasting my time. All this does is confuse already confused people.
Sometimes the greatest sign of wisdom is saying “I don’t know.”
All we can really conclude is that struggle abhors a vacuum, and we’ll fill it with anything that gives us hope, even if it’s false hope. However, greed adores a vacuum in that it provides limitless opportunities.
Anyway, I leave you with this example of what much of this debate makes me feel like.
1. God is love.
2. Love is blind.
3. Stevie Wonder is blind.
Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Chocolate!
High fructose corn syrup—-
wskrz
May 8, 2008 at 10:22 pm
If sarcasm causes autism, then I’m definitely autistic.
Kristina’s right. Everything causes autism. Everything also causes happiness, sadness, life and death. This search for answers for everything annoys me. Sometimes, there just aren’t any answers and I’m okay with that. There are a lot of things that are beyond our comprehension and I’d rather just say “okay” then chase my tail over and over to find an answer.
tsquared - I like your god. :-) Thanks for the chuckle.
Mike
May 8, 2008 at 10:57 pm
“1. God is love.
2. Love is blind.
3. Stevie Wonder is blind.”
God is not only love, God can be 101 things to 101 people.
Love is blind is also false. Love can be 101 things to 101 people, not just “blind”.
In the Autism debate however, we have more black and white issues that can lead one to deduce a logical cause based on factors 1-10 for example. For instance, if we observe that people who smoke suffer from cancer more than people who do not smoke, can we deduce that smoking causes cancer? Of course we can. (unless you’re a tobacco company lawyer, doctor, or researcher, lol) And therein lies the problem. Lies lies and more lies from the toxic polluters and drug companies that poison your children with vaccines. (not my children however)
The truth hurts, I know. I see the pro-vaccine people as smokers puffing away to the bitter end, forever in denial, forever trying to justify their decision to smoke, forever ignorantly in bliss.
wskrz
May 8, 2008 at 11:30 pm
(ps - Chuck, I was being facetious with my first comment, btw. Holy cow)
**Disclaimer - above comment of “holy cow” is not meant to be offensive to vegetarians or people of faith**
stopautismquackery
May 8, 2008 at 11:42 pm
“… that poison your children with vaccines. (not my children however). The truth hurts, I know.”
Mike would score NPD on the MMPI.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 8, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I’m just amazed that Stevie Wonder has now been mentioned on this blog……… Maybe rock ‘n’ roll cause autism…….
Emily
May 9, 2008 at 12:13 am
“The truth hurts, I know. I see the pro-vaccine people as smokers puffing away to the bitter end, forever in denial, forever trying to justify their decision to smoke, forever ignorantly in bliss.”
Why, because million and millions of children who wouldn’t have survived childhood pre-vaccine have survived thanks to vaccines? Yep, that’s blissful compared to the alternative that existed only a century ago. People who were vaccinated 50 or 60 years ago are still around to tell the tale. Pre-vaccine, half of them would have died before age 10. Bliss, indeed, for them and their families.
You are guilty of some pretty egregious logical fallacies on this comment thread, but the above analogy tops them all. For your information, most people in the US are “pro-vaccine.” Most parents vaccinate their children. All of this debate in this tiny world of autism blogs belies the fact that the vast majority of parents here vaccinate their children and do so with safety. People in general seem fairly capable of running that risk assessment and seeing the obvious weight of benefit going to vaccines.
I challenge you to leave your precious little fake “cure” flogging behind and go to a country where vaccination is not prevalent. Watch helplessly as hundreds of children die of completely preventable diseases, “harmless” ones like measles that kill one million people annually and hospitalize one in 20 infected. Then get back to me about the meaning of ignorant bliss.
Emily
May 9, 2008 at 12:16 am
But be sure to leave your unvaccinated children at home where herd immunity will continue to protect them thanks to the rest of us who have had vaccinations.
Mike
May 9, 2008 at 2:32 am
If 1M people died annually of measles (I think that number is a bit high) then my logical mind tells me that the vast majority were also suffering from malnutrition and dire living conditions. My vegas side of me put the odds of me being right on both regards (your 1M number being high and my point on malnutrition being the main cause of death when once contracts measles) at 1000-1 in my favor. No, make that 1M to 1, lol.
Kassiane
May 9, 2008 at 3:51 am
Gosh, I am sure glad I’m not YOUR kid. I’m one of those people who doesn’t get kind of sick, I get VERY sick. And got 2 vaccine preventable illnesses, in spite of being vaccinated from them, from selfish parents JUST LIKE YOU.
If MY kids caused someone else to have either of the diseases I had, I’d hope someone would call me on being a grade A class 1 elite level jackass. But I have ethics. I don’t laugh about measles deaths.
liquid zeolite
May 9, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Kassiane, I don’t laugh at measles deaths either, or any death or disease. I laugh at my 1M to 1 odds of bring right. (people love to quote me out of context for some reason, lol) Oh, I’m not laughing at you by the way, I’m just saying though.
Let me make myself clear, I’m here to save lives and prevent autism, not ridicule those who are pro-vaccine. It’s always better to get both sides of the story (pro-con) hence my desire to read this thread and contribute. I could post all day on anti-vaccine blogs but that wouldn’t be much fun.
Okay, you vaccine hungry folks, here’s a heads up in case you missed this, Tylenol + the MMR vaccine increases the odds of Autism http://aut.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/3/293?rss=1
What we might be seeing is something like Reyes syndrome; wherein getting acetaminophen over the course of getting over a viral infection can cause widespread failure in many organs; especially the brain and kidney. Disruption of the mitochondria, and thus cellular energy production is suspected to be involved. Also noteworthy, Acetaminophen depletes glutathione and glutathione deficiency is a problem with autistic children.
So what does this preliminary study suggest? That Tylenol causes Autism? No. All it shows is that when you’re dealing with a toxic and or chemical assault, the fact is we just don’t know exactly what combinations of what cause this, that, or the other thing. Bottom line, don’t mess with mother nature …and to err on the side of caution, give you kids Ibuprofen after their MMR shots instead of Tylenol. If you’re the drug company that produces Tylenol, how about a warning, would that be asking too much or might that scare some into not taking your product and cut into your profit margins? (We all know the answer there)
larry
May 9, 2008 at 2:45 pm
“So what does this preliminary study suggest? That Tylenol causes Autism? No. All it shows is that when you’re dealing with a toxic and or chemical assault, the fact is we just don’t know exactly what combinations of what cause this, that, or the other thing. ”
The study suggests that the evidence is mounting that trauma in childhood is the cause of all autism. Sometimes an allergic reaction to vaccine can be traumatic and thus lead to a predisposition to autism. Sometimes Reyes syndrome can be traumatic and thus lead to a predisposition to autism. That just adds to the list: premature birth, caesarean birth, surgery in infancy, allergies to milk, allergies to gluten, blindness in infancy, difficult delivery, being born a twin, severe neglect as in Romanian orphanges, etc.
Talk about obvious! It’s embarrassing. Sometimes I think the experts (so-called) are autistic themselves. They can’t maintain eye contact with external reality!
H6
May 9, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Glutathione deficiency may be another clue that many or most cases of autism are connected to the epidemic of activated HHV-6.
Glutathione deficiency is common in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which shares the potential link to activated HHV-6 with autism, AIDS, and MS.
Kassiane
May 9, 2008 at 2:49 pm
“LOL” means Laughing Out Loud, sir, in case you are of an age where you don’t actually know what you are typing on the internet. If you don’t want people thinking you are laughing at measles deaths, don’t “lol” in a comment about them? Duh? (to use another colloquialism of my generation)
Reye’s syndrome isn’t a thing like autism. Neither is metal poisoning. And I about peed myself laughing at your hypocrisy talking about profit margins, oh he who spams comment fields to sell zeolite.
Prevent alt med peddlers, not autism. PLEASE. Their manners are atrocious.
Regan
May 9, 2008 at 2:50 pm
People, and esp. children, who die of measles, either via encephalitis from the virus itself, or via the common complication of pneumonia, tend to be those who have significant immunosuppression, have medical reasons for being on prednisone or cancer treatments, are transplant recipients or have preexisting genetic conditions. These folks are really quite dependent on the general public not taking incubating cases of contagious diseases around in the community.
Dying is the outside odds possibility (although not that outside, since the report from the WHO was I think over 250,000 annual global deaths on a report of immunization campaigns, which is a lot, but significantly better than the close to 900,000 of a few years before), but the odds of the pneumonia are larger–1/20 cases or encephalitis, 1/1000. I noted in the report that Kristina posted that if there were 14 hospitalizations in 73 cases, that would put the odds in these reported outbreaks at 14/73=about 1/5. If that 73 number is high, increase the odds.
Regan
May 9, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Reye’s syndrome is associated with aspirin, not acetaminophen; this is one reason the use of acetaminophen and ibuprofen expanded (although ibuprofen has the advantage on anti-inflammatory properties), why children under 16 are not given aspirin, and why we don’t see those little baby orange aspirins around anymore.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm
@larry,
And who else beside the experts are having trouble with “external reality eye contact”……
Gonzo
May 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Okay, I call BS on this.
“I’m here to save lives and prevent autism, not ridicule those who are pro-vaccine.”
And from earlier up in the thread….
“I see the pro-vaccine people as smokers puffing away to the bitter end, forever in denial, forever trying to justify their decision to smoke, forever ignorantly in bliss.”
I dunno, that’s sounds like ridicule to me.
“I could post all day on anti-vaccine blogs but that wouldn’t be much fun.”
That’s why most of your commentary that you’ve posted here on this site would put you in the category of a typical Internet Troll.
Emily
May 9, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Could we just call a ban on the use of LOL in general? Bleh.
Kelly
May 9, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Vaccines are causing Autism that is a fact!!!
tsquared
May 9, 2008 at 7:35 pm
‘fact’ vs. ‘opinion’ vocabulary usage cleanup on aisle five…
we can do ‘hypothesis’ vs. ‘theory’ vs. ‘law’ while we’re at it
larry
May 10, 2008 at 12:40 am
@larry,
And who else beside the experts are having trouble with “external reality eye contact”……
———-
Everybody except the psychoanalysts–including Stanley Greenspan.
I know you read a lot about autism, so please provide evidence that autism is not a psychological disorder. Why is it listed in the DSM for mental disorders? Do you know of any neurological tests for autism? Do you know of any genetic tests for it? Do you know of any chemistry peculiar to autism?
I would really appreciate an argument from you rather than getting scolded for political incorrectness. I swear, if you give me evidence I will change my mind and be an advocate for neurological or biochemical research in regard to autism.
In the meantime, I will be happy to provide evidence in support of my own position and assume you are just as ready as I am to change your mind in light of evidence.
I have a ton of evidence. My group is not very popular lately, but the links page and the files are full of evidence. Check it out. I, like you, love to collect studies and research articles.
larry
May 10, 2008 at 3:50 am
Here is a merry example of the blind leading the blind. Three blind autism researchers!
https://profreg.medscape.com/px/getlogin.do?urlCache=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5tZWRzY2FwZS5jb20vdmlld2FydGljbGUvNTc0MTg2P3NyYz1tcG5ld3Mmc3Bvbj0xMiZ1YWM9NzU1NzhGVA==
“Medscape Medical News 2008. (c) 2008 Medscape May 8, 2008 (Washington, DC) — Changes in behavior and brain circumference appear around 12 months of age in infants later diagnosed with autism, converging research suggests. Findings from different lines of study suggest that autistic behavior may have its onset in the latter part of the first year of life, at the time that brain overgrowth (enlarged brain volume) seems to occur in autism, said Joseph Piven, MD, from the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, at a press conference about psychiatric risk and the developing brain given at the American Psychiatric Association 61st Annual Meeting…”
———
Apparently none of them bothered to read to Dr. Chew’s blog, or they would have met Kassiane who presumably would have reamed each of them a spare.
Be that as it may, there really is a statistical correlation between large heads and autism. There is also a disturbing discovery that anxiety causes the release of brain-damaging toxins in infancy. For those who don’t know it; the result of brain damage in early infancy is ALWAYS overgrowth of neurons.
Am I the only one who gets aggravated by deliberate blindness?
Paula
May 10, 2008 at 10:28 am
A-NOS: “Adopted-Not Otherwise Specified”
I have a high-energy adopted son. Now I suppose every time he knocks something over in his enthusiasm or skips happily and wildly across a room when all the other children are being more “mild,” it’s going to be part of a “disruptive behavior disorder.” I’m not buying it.
“Despite the popularity of adoption, there is a persistent concern that adopted children may be at heightened risk for mental health or adjustment problems.”
The wording “Despite the popularity” strikes me as odd. It’s almost like the writer is saying that people are taking a huge risk by adopting, more of a risk than people take in having biological children. Choosing to have and raise children by whatever means, IS a risk. All the research in the world is not going to prevent that element of risk. And, who has the “persistent concern”? Researchers? Educators? Teachers? Social workers? Not me. I am accepting my child for who he is and doing my best to make sure he has what he needs emotionally as well as in every other area. I don’t spend a lot of time reading material that studies my child looking for differences between him and the non-adopted population.
“This excess of clinically meaningful behavioral problems in adopted adolescents has significance for researchers who examine the effect adoption has on individual functioning, for adoption agencies and their workers who counsel and advise members of the adoption triad and for physicians who are dealing with an overrepresentation of adoptees in their clinical practices.”
It doesn’t mention the significance for adoptees or their parents who are going to be under even more pressure to make sure their adopted kid doesn’t turn into a “behavior problem.” (And of course, it doesn’t mention a thing about the birth parents, who, at least for me, while not part of a study like this, should be taken into consideration any time any part of the adoption triad is studied.)
donald savitz
May 10, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I think that H6 said that we should think out side of the box.After reading the comments everyone seams to stays inside the box.Some one said that this was not a big thing. He should read http://www.just-think-it.com.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 11, 2008 at 2:12 am
@Paula,
You wrote ” Choosing to have and raise children by whatever means, IS a risk.”
Yes and one we’ve gladly taken up—-
donald savitz
May 12, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Everybody keeps talking about biomarkers when some though should be givened to the envionment around the persons with autism to see if it could change the biomarkers when a differnt amount of some thing in the diet of the mother.
donald savitz
Jul 11, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I know that I wii tick off a lot of pepole because they are not going to hear. Here goes! This will be for you Ms Chew as you said that your grandfather was china so I that a staple for you diet is rice. When you fix rice you put the fluoriated water in the pan and when you get done there is no water so were did that the water with FLUORIDE [lead and arsenat] go. It went into the rice whitch now you are going to eat. You know what they said in the 80″s about the little girl that was eating the paint chips from the window frame,and what that did to her brain. The same thing happens when you make instant mash potatos. So you might wounder where the toxin comes from that my effect child before and after is born. Iam sure you seem where the CDC said that a new born should not be given fluoridated water for appt. for the first year,whitch tells me that they know some thing and what it does to the infant be cause of the FLUORIDE[lead and arsenate]in the water. We all drink the water to.Back when they started the in the 40 “s the doseage was .9 ppn to 1.2 ppm but to day that can be up to 4 ppm. Back then and for the next 50 years ther were only abou 50 pws that added this to the water but in 93 the U.S.P.A. said that if you needed to put in the water and I guess that the CDC it was ok to do so. This is same people said it was ok to bundle 3 or 4 vaccines together as one shot. To see if this is a problem and has any thing to do with Autism. Would that be to much to ask for but I don”t see it happeing.
larry
Jul 11, 2008 at 11:18 pm
[QUOTE]I’m just amazed that Stevie Wonder has now been mentioned on this blog……… Maybe rock ‘n’ roll cause autism…….[/QUOTE]
According to the Scottish Sensory Centre, 31 percent of all their blind children are autistic. There is something about blindness that makes a child predisposed to autism. The big question is this: Is the subsequent autism neurological or psychological.
I suppose it’s neurological; but that isn’t saying much. After all, everything that happens in the brain is ultimately neurological.
donald savitz
Jul 13, 2008 at 11:45 am
If you go to the water co, ask them at ppm the add FLUORIDE[LEAD and ASRSENIC] and then ask how many pounds that would be in dry weight and what % would be LEAD and what %will be ARSENIC so when you make instant when you will be eating the LEAD and ARSENIC because all the water is now in a solid form.
larry
Jul 13, 2008 at 12:36 pm
To Donald:
Flouride occurs naturally in water. In some areas, that flouride is excessive. That was how scientists were able to determine in the first place that there was a correlation between flouride and protection against tooth decay.
http://www.health.qld.gov.au/fluoride/fluoride_qld_aus.asp
Children who live in those areas where there is *excessive* naturally-occurring flouride in the water are doing fine, except that they have brown discoloration on their teeth. Don’t you think someone would have noticed if all autistic children had brown spots on their teeth???
What’s more; artificial flouridation of public water supplies is never concentrated enough to even cause brown spots. It sure wouldn’t cause autism.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 13, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Just to clarify: I’m not much of a rice eater these days.
donald savitz
Jul 14, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Kristina I was not thinking about these days I was thinking more about 12 or 13 years ago when I belive most of the damage is done in the first 21 months. First the Lead and arsenic then the thimerosal before it was taken out and last you have the shots [3 or 4 in one package]. How do they know for sure that two may not cancel one of the others out. Because a lot of people say that they got vaccinate but they got one of the things that the vaccine was for. So would it to much to ask to split them up.
donald savitz
Jul 14, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Larry; That site was intesting did you read all of sub titles. I liked the one titled unsure about fluoride. On this site they say there are three kinds of fluorides. lookfor diierence between natural fluoride and artifical fluoride. Try http://www.fannz.org.nz/faq.php. You will see there is sodium and calcium then the kind that they put in are water. May that the CDC say not give a new born fluoridated in any form tell they get there first because the treeth will come in with brown spots.
donald savitz
Jul 15, 2008 at 10:50 am
I just seen a blog that talked about a chelation treament to remove the heavy metals from the bodies of childern with autism, then the question is where did the heavy metals come from and what metals are they talking about. How much heavy metal could you get from appox. 12 shots. So if any one has a idea it would be nice to hear about it.
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