Interesting, but correlation is not causation. Whoops! Washington Times should be ashamed.
Further, the American Autism Society (or somesuch) says that the precise cause of autism is not known, but that it is probably genetic.
"Further, the American Autism Society (or somesuch) says that the precise cause of autism is not known, but that it is probably genetic."
I don't think the thimerosol argument is linked to autism from biological sources. It's alleged mercury poisoning exhibits the same symptoms as forms of what we've called autism.
Their could be other environmental causes.
The relative surge in autism could be environmental, could be due to increased reporting and disgnosis, or could be due to trends of older women having children. I think the last has been discounted. The surge has an interesting correlation with thimerosol's increased use. The symptoms presented also correlate with mercury poisoning (of very young children). Is it the causation? Saying it can't be proved doesn't disprove a causation, such is merely an admission we don't know.
Should we use mercury in vaccines? If arsenic was found to be a good substitute, should we use arsenic-based perservative in vaccines?
Take a view of Wakefield's recent presentation. The link between vaccines and autism has solid scientific support.
http://www.chem.cmu.edu/wakefield/
If you are a manly and dominant man, and your wife is a woman with a strong personality, you have a much higher probability of having an autistic child.
This seems to imply it is genetic, and that some of the genes are partially expressed in the recessive/hybrid state. But then, when they are autosomonal recessive, autism presents.
Smart people with autism exist, but they have to formally do the touchy feely things that the rest of us do inherently.