Autism and it's causes...

@Script (592)
Australia
January 14, 2007 3:13pm CST
Whist there is no definate proven case as to what causes autism, it is generally thought that genetic factors play a key role. Despite the fact that autism is now agreed in scientific cirlces as being a neurobiological disorder, there has been no consistant features that can point to a diagnosis of autism. That being said I'd like to discuss the belief that the MRR vacination, the vacination for measels, mumps and reubella. Many parent of autistic children believe that this vacination has caused autism in their children. I find this very hard to believe. Not because I think that a vacination can sometimes have harmful effects but because of the percentages of children diagnosed with autism. It is fact that four times as many males have autism than females. My point is this... if the vacinations were actually causing autism, why are 80% of all autism cases found in males. Are girls not having the vacination for MMR? Just something I've been thinking about, what do you think?
1 person likes this
4 responses
@kittykatzz (1132)
• United States
15 Jan 07
i personally believe (and have done vast amounts of research to support my opinions) that vaccinations (such as but not limited to mmr, however there have been reports that some "batches" of mmr vaccines contained up to 3x the amount of preservatives ((thimerisol)) due to the combinations) dont CAUSE autism and like disorders but moreso actlike the TRIGGER for these problems.. i think that people are born with a genetic predisposition to make them "excretors" or "nonexcretors" therefore making them unable to rid their bodies of most metals both toxic and nontoxic.. (there are many metals that are very useful to a persons diet but too much can be poisonous to the system).. what i mean is that if you are an "excretor", and you recieve vaccinations with toxic metals used as preservatives, you'll likely pass them through your system in a matter of days via sweat glands and such.. if your not, then they build up in your body..the problem is that i dont think that vaccines are the ONLY thing that are the problem,. just the beginning, becuase i believe that so many other things build up in the body due to foods, water, environmental exposures, etc.. the mercury from the shots i think just ususally cuases the first noticable signs of the disorder since your not so much talking about a buildup of time but rather a concetrated dose all at once.. it will just worsen as the years go by..it has been said that the amount of mercury administered to 1-2 year old child in one of these "combination shots", would be equal to an adult of average weight and height recieving 40 shots all at once.. mercury buildup in the body will harm brain functions as well as it can cause severe stomach problems that can be worsened over the years by different types of food (see "leaky gut syndrome") this all being said .. i think that boys just have a higher risk of being born with genetics causing them to be "nonexcretors" therefore making them at a higher risk for autism and other PDD disorders because they are unable to pass these toxins through their body.. and buildup is inevitable.. the facts state that there are high percentages (we cant know the exact #s because there has been no "formal" tests to monitor levels between autisic and "normal" individuals) of autistic people who have tested to have extremely high percentages of mercury and other metals in their system.. as well as its also fact that a large percentage of people with like disorders develop sever stomach problems as well.. chelation is a way of stripping poisonous metals from the system.. however its a process that can take years and there are very few doctors that administer the treatment, as well as its not covered my any insurance that im aware of.. YET.. although im still looking.. our 9 year old son is autistic..
• United States
16 Jan 07
I do agree that boys (even from what I have read before I had kids) are more vulnerable then girls are, to a number of problems, from the womb and in their early years of development.
@Script (592)
• Australia
16 Jan 07
Thanks so much for your response to our discussion. You raise a good point about boys being born with the genetics to cause them to be nonexcretors and therfore being more suseptable to autism. From what you have said I would really like to see some correlation of autistic people and 'others' level of mercury and the other metals in their system. I'm still not convinced about the vacinations being the cause, or even trigger but you raise some valid points. And the bottom line is that a lot more research needs to be done.
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Jan 07
I have not read anything about the concept or link between MRR vaccination. I will have to look into it. I do have a 20 year old Son that has finally been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome a type of Autism. I knew early on that my child did not see things the way other children do. We had him tested for everything you can imagine. AHDD ADD learning disabilities you name it we had it tested.. From the time he was born he was difficult but not to the point that he could not function and in fact is married and expecting his first child. But that is a common trait with his type of autism, and it was a relief to have gotten one finally. His dad and I had a rough way to go raising him. Okay back to on topic. Although he was vaccinated, I tend to think this has to be genetic, as I have a schizophrenic sister, that is high functioning as well. I agree with your statistics,Script as I have read and seen them all, in the course of research. But it will be interesting now to investigate the MRR links. Thank you for that information.
@Script (592)
• Australia
15 Jan 07
Hey Angel, Wow what a relief for you to finally get some kind of diagnosis for your son. I would imagine as a mother it would be incredibly difficult to know something isn't quite right, but being told by the experts that all was fine. And congrats to your son on expecting his first child!! I've had a different experience of autism and aspergers as I worked for 8 years in a school for autistic kids. It was an incredible time in my life and I have taken away many great experiences from that time, but I got so burnt out. That probably had to do with the fact that I was working two jobs at the time! I'm still in close contact with the staff and students at my old school and love going back to visit and attending the odd conference. A friend of mine, who is actually a mum of one of the kids I used to teach had been diagnosed with aspergers when she was in her early 30's and it was such a huge relief to her as why she didn't get a lot of things in regards to emotions and feelings. She is married and has two kids, a boy with autism and an older girl. The vacination theory is an interesting one, but I have a hard time believing it as I stated in my post. And I agree with you about the genetic link. And as much as the doctors and scientists try they cannot find the common thread between people that have autism. They know that certain chromosones (excuse my creative spelling) are affected, but they don't know how or why. Having worked in the field this is a topic that is close to my heart and I still do a lot of reading about the subject. And it's amazing still how many people don't know what autism or aspergers is. But I suppose it's like anything in life, unless you or someone you know has to deal with any kind issue then you don't necessarily educate yourself about it. I hope that in the future there is a finding as to what causes autism and aspergers so that some kind of 'cure' (I hate using that word by the way) can be found.
• United States
15 Jan 07
We have more in common than I thought .. I am an LPN and worked 8 years as a Residential Coordinator for an Agency that provided services for mentally challenged adults in our community. ( I am no longer working as I quite to stay home with my grand babies 2 years ago) One of the criteria for our services is that the individual must be able to live semi independently and be Able to preform ADL's (activity's of daily living on their own). We had some autistic individuals, but mostly it was downs syndrome and cerebral palsy. You are right it was excruciating as parents to not be able to understand your own child. It is the emotional, and social abilities that Aspergers individuals are so different in. My son was in and out of several youth correctional programs between the age of 13 and 17. His case workers were at time horrendous to work with, because they were constantly trying to find fault with our parenting skills. Often I felt that I was being railroaded and dealing with stone in these people. Finally when he was 19 his Psychiatrist sent us to Knoxville to a specialized testing facility and we got the answers that for so many years eluded us. Now my Son has the understanding and validation he needed for so long. He is changed just by knowing he okay. His poor wife still get a rough way to go sometimes, but she is an angel and understands. He is not abusive don't get the wrong impression but he does not always show the love he should or respond to her the way normal men would. Or just has certain views that people tend to think cold. It's so important to get VALID information out to parents that are struggling as Aspergers goes undiagnosed so often. The professionals do not understand it yet themselves as its fairly new findings. I commend you for bringing this topic out intelligently . With good information that folks can use. I have seen a few topics on Autism that I have not repsonded to because of the misinformation and people just throwing anything out there to get the post. Thanks again.
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@clownfish (3272)
• United States
15 Jan 07
Hi! I understand what you're saying. There is no proof one way or the other that these vaccinations cause autism. It was the mercury in the vaccinations that was the concern, and according to sources, the mercury has been removed. The current rate is 1 in 166 children will fall on the Austism Spectrum. There is also nothing to prove one way or the other if austism is far more widely spread in current years or if diagnosing austism is becoming better. Basically, on one knows.
• United States
14 Jan 07
Most Doctors will tell you that it seems the vacinatons appear to be the cause because most children with autism start showing symptoms of the disease at the age of vacination. This is just what I've read on the subject.
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@Script (592)
• Australia
14 Jan 07
I appreciate what you are saying, but that doesn't explain why 80% of boys are effected rather than girls.. girls and boys are both getting this vacination, so why is it 4 times as more boys are diagnosed with autism?
1 person likes this