Lifting the Veils of Autism, One by One by One

NY Times ^ | February 24, 2004 | ERICA GOODE

[The Doctor]

Have you seen the results of research connecting autism with mercury in vaccines? It is convincing to me and would account for the lack of autism in non-developed countries.

[John H K]

Have you seen the results of research connecting autism with mercury in vaccines?Basically nonsense and the overwhelming body of research is on the other side of the issue.

But, there's a strong lobby that wants someONE to blame for something so horrible (and incidentally, somebody to sue.)

Developing countries don't have their children subjected to extensive psychological testing if they act weird or different. At best they may be diagnosed "retarded" like most autistic kids here have been. And plenty of vaccines are doled out and have been doled out in developing countries for years.

[DallasMike]

This is a sad, yet good article. God bless these people.

I'm waiting though for the first poster to claim that there's no such thing as autism or that it's caused by not reading the Bible enough.

[Travis McGee]

The life of a kid with Asperger's who is struggling to remain "mainstreamed" in grade school is no bed of roses. It's a struggle every day, to put it mildly.....

[cameronsmom]

Does anyone here, whose child, or relative has autism, suspect that it was triggered by a vaccine?

I am holding off on the MMR vaccine for my son, until I get more information.

Thanks in advance!

[neverdem]

I have recently read stories that the prevalence of autism is fairly equal around the globe. Regardless, they have decided to remove thimerisol, the preservative in question, from new vaccines.

[cameronsmom]

From the NEW vaccines...what about the ones that are still on the shelf? Am i able to ask them for the vial, to see what the ingredients are?

[neverdem]

"Am i able to ask them for the vial, to see what the ingredients are"?

You want to ask for the manufacturer's Product Information Slip. Have a magnifying lens with you.

[Norman Conquest]

Dittos. The evidence blaming vaccination is all anecdotal but widely circulated in the parent community. Actual scientific studies find zero correlation.

[albertabound]

My son and his wife had fraternal triplets. One boy seened different than the other two. He refused eye contact and fussed much more than the others. We suspected autism at around 12 months, had him examined and it was confirmed. Had he been an only child his affliction might not have been diagnosed at such an early age, however with the obvious advantage of sibling comparison, treament was implemented at a very early stage. He is a genius, at four years of age he logs on to his dads computer searches the net for his favourite websites and was entirely computer literate. His interpersonal skills are developing slowly and he loves school. He said hi grampa on the phone last week. I am greatly encouraged that early treatment and special education will allow many of these children to mainstream and lead independant lives. One thing is for sure, Colin is very intelligent and desperately wants to succeed in life. He is a special little guy and his mom and dad are in the trenches with him all the way. Next week his Dad is putting him on skates for the first time.

[texasflower]

My nephew is a delight as well. He's nine years old.

[gitmo]

autism bookmark

[luckystarmom]

Actually, a lot of parents with children with severe speech problems are supplementing with EFAs. I did this with my daughter, and she had an unmistakeable speech burst once we started the EFAs.

It was either coincidence or the EFAs. In the online speech group that I am in, most of the parents have seen similar results.

My daughter was older when I started the EFAs. She was 5 1/2, and had been through over 3 years of intense speech therapy. She finally started talking in sentences after we started the EFAs.

So far, nothing scientific has been proven, but when all else fails it's an easy thing to try.

[luckystarmom]

My daughter has cerebral palsy which has caused her to have severe speech problems.

In the online speech group that I belong to there are plenty of parents that think the vaccines triggered the autism.

If I already had a child with autism, I would not give the MMR vaccine to any future childen.

One theory is that it is genetic, but that the MMR vaccine somehow triggers the reaction.

I'm very pro-vaccine, but there is just not enough information about what causes autism. It's very sad and a difficult road to journey on.

The kids with autism are so much worse off than my daughter. She is so normal except for speech. I know in 10-20 years, no one will be able to tell outwardly that she has brain damage. Even if she doesn't go to college, she is already good at a lot of things. She'll be able to be a functioning member of society. Plus she's very cute, and I'm sorry but looks count when you're a girl