Posted on 04/20/2005 8:26:42 AM PDT by agsloss
Lancaster, PA, Apr. 18 (UPI) -- Part 1 of 2. Where are the autistic Amish? Here in Lancaster County, heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, there should be well over 100 with some form of the disorder. I have come here to find them, but so far my mission has failed, and the very few I have identified raise some very interesting questions about some widely held views on autism. The mainstream scientific consensus says autism is a complex genetic disorder, one that has been around for millennia at roughly the same prevalence. That prevalence is now considered to be 1 in every 166 children born in the United States. Applying that model to Lancaster County, there ought to be 130 Amish men, women and children here with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Well over 100, in rough terms. Typically, half would harbor milder variants such as Asperger's Disorder or the catch-all Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified -- PDD-NOS for short. So let's drop those from our calculation, even though "mild" is a relative term when it comes to autism. That means upwards of 50 Amish people of all ages should be living in Lancaster County with full-syndrome autism, the "classic autism"...
-snip-
I have identified three Amish residents of Lancaster County who apparently have full-syndrome autism, all of them children. A local woman told me there is one classroom with about 30 "special-needs" Amish children. In that classroom, there is one autistic Amish child. Another autistic Amish child does not go to school. The third is that woman's pre-school-age daughter. If there were more, she said, she would know it. What I learned about those children is the subject of the next column.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
I apologize for opening an old thread, but something might have been found. It turns out that minute bacteria, called variously nano-bacteria or cell wall deficient bacteria, are small enough that they aren't filtered out of vaccines. They have been implicated in the autoimmune diseases such as lupus or sarcoid, and some dementias.
It's not proven that they are the cause of autism, but it is a possibility. Getting a shot of a vaccine that includes mercury to hammer your immune system, along with a dose of a live infectious agent is probably not a good thing.
Like I said, nothing is proven, but we should never consider a vaccine as totally safe. We just don't know enough yet.
Thanks for this! I'll look into exploring that as well.
Very nice verses. Time to re-read the book of my namesake!
It also could be that the Amish don't get it because of their genetics. They are a pretty closed society, wereas the rest of the country is pretty mixed up genetically.
I don't believe that. Most kids with autism are symptomatic at 18 months. I don't think TV would have that much impact. Plus I am sure there are plenty of kids who watch lots of TV that wouldn't be autistic.
Yep lots of whooping cough in California. Illegals bring it it, and now there are people not vaccinated their children.
If my daughters catch it, they will probably die from it. They almost died from RSV (respiratory synctial virus) when they were babies, and RSV is much less severe than whooping cough.
I totally disagree that it is anything like that because people with autism usually have some brain defects. Something damaged the brain, and it takes quite an insult to injur the brain.
I know plenty of kids that have autism who have stay at home moms. In fact, I don't know anyone with autism who has both parents working.
The interesting thing is that autism does run in areas where there is lots of education. So in the Bay Area of California, we have high instances of autism. Why???
Maybe when two highly technical people mate, there is something that can cause autism in the offspring. Once again, this is a genetic link, and could explain why the Amish don't have high rates of autism.
If your kids are vaccinated against whopping cough, why would they worry about getting it?
I think there is a genetic predisposition also, but something is triggering it and we don't know what.
Vaccines don't work 100% of the time. It only works in that if everyone is vaccinated, then it pretty much eliminates the threat.
It depends on the vaccine but I think most are about 90% effective.
For instance, my son was vaccinated for chicken pox and still got the sickness. It was much milder than it would have been, but he still got it. His sisters did not get it.
Some people should not be vaccinated because they are at high risk for complications. For instance, someone with a seizure disorder should not automatically get the DPT vaccine.
However many people are not informed on this subject and just don't vaccinate because of people with invalid information trying to scare them off.
If I had a child with autism, I don't know if I would vaccinate any other children I might have. I'd really have to weigh the benefits vs risks.
However every non-vaccinated person is a risk to my children (and to me). If there is any major outbreaks of whooping cough (or other diseases) I think people that are not vaccinated need to be quarantined so that they don't spread the disease.
The brain uses only 10% of it's capacity. A theory that too much input can mess up synapse is not unreasonable. It's a therory and while I appreciate that you don't believe it, until it's studied from that point of view, we will never know.
Please don't think I'm an anti-tv person. Grew up with our tv on a timer that came on at 7am and off at 2am. I'm a limit person and not an anti. But it seems that the onset of cable tv, where kid shows with bright lights and colors that change every 45 seconds (the average segment on Sesame Street) and the upsweep of Autism diagnosis are in line. Like I said, until it is studied, we will not know.
However, many kids don't much watch TV when they are under 2, so that is what I am questioning.
How many kids do you know that do not spend the day with the tv blaring in the backround all day?
I know tons of SAHMs that do it and I worked Daycares with videos running full time.
A kid doesn't have to watch to be exposed. Actually, if you watch a child under two with a tv on, what do they stop for, the quick and flashy commercials. My point exactly.
Cable and Videos means constant input.
What I am saying is that the kids that I know with autism haven't had the TV blaring all day. They were with stay-at-home moms that didn't allow that sort of thing.
If it was a problem with TVs blaring all day long, then my family would have definitely had problems. I grew up where the TV was on alllllll day long.
We watched tons of TV when I was little, and nothing happened to my brothers and I.
Also, autism does hit pocket areas like in New Jersey, so I do wonder if there is an environmental link to it. It occurs in families, so there is definitely some genetic component to it.
Apparently, the Amish are the last ones on the bandwagon and they're not even running fast enough to catch it.
Anyone have a link to part 2 of this? Or is it already in the thread and I missed it?
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