Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

neuropsychologist — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:25:17 GMT

The ostensible "rise" in autism is the result of better reporting, not a real change in the actual numbers affected. The incidence is the same.

Genetic factors ARE responsible for the disorder but because many genes contribute to it, 2 Autistic children may have different abnormal genes. This is why the disorder is considered as an "Autistic spectrum". One person may have genes a,b,x,t,z another might have b,c,,x,y,z. Both might meet the criteria for autism. But their sibs may not because they didn't get the whole gamut required to express the disorder

The brains of autistc children differ from those of normals. Among recent findings (1) The absence in autistics of "mirror neurons" which enable normal people to experience empathy towards others and to guess their motives.

Additionally, whereas normal people use a special brain area called the fusiform gyrus to recognize faces (& the Inferior Temporal IT cortex to recognize furniture), autistic children use only the IT cortex. That is, they look at people as if they were furniture. These are brain diffierences (a few of many) which differentiate autistics from normals.

They are not the result of known environmental toxins. Those people who purport to know the cause of autism and charge money for bogus treatments are taking advantage of desperate parents. Children have died from chelation therapy and from failure to be vaccinated,. Responsible parents should read the literature from peer-reviewed journals before jumping on the next banwagon "cure."

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

Tapir — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:25:10 GMT

I have a different opinion; granted the outside world may have some effect especially vaccines but I believe in the Indian idea of the birth wish. How the mother casrries her child, what she was thinking, experiencing, imaging on the day of conception as well as her every day temperment and ability to be sensitive to her own soul has a lot of influence. I discovered this in my own astronomy in conjunction with my parents and I interviewed a woman with an autistix son who was very open about this. She readily admitted that because her husband was extremly talented yet somewhat uncommunicative she admiredd this quality so much that she wished it for her son not realizing it would amount to autism. She found professional help as well as finding that her next son was of great help to her in understanding her first son with autism.

I certainly cannot assume every mother with an autistic child has created the condition but if they were willing to look deeper they might find some interesting material. I often think that while Americans seem to have such freedom and materialistic choice there is underneath a creeping malaise along with a drunken addiction to spending to mindlessness entraped in computers and video and the stupidity of tv. Perhaps the unconsciouness wishes for a silence, a withdrawal to find one own inner space yet in this withdrawal like Alice they have climbed down a hole for they could not relate to the world and lost contact with their self. So an autistic child is then a gift to the mother....a demanding challenge to find her way back along with her child. It is so much easier to skip town, or to spend money shopping or do all the 'important' have-to's that run our lives and look good and which amount to pure escapism.

Jst asa ther are millions of germs in the world..eating a pile of dirt isnt going to kill me or most aqnyone...its not the dirt that matters...its the brain...its the mind, its the immune system which is also of mind

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

squeegee — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:42:50 GMT

don't blame 'Big Pharma,' blame the government for making vaccinations all but mandatory.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

Fringelement — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:58:16 GMT

All the comments here are most interesting... It's true that we can't trust BigPharma and most of the medical profession that are their allies. In some Pharma commercials recently they don't even say 'ask your doctor' anymore, it's 'your "prescriber". That's all most of them are anymore, for which they receive gifts and cash payments.....adding to the costs of prescription drugs in THIS country. In other countries, they have universal medical care for free, and drugs at a minimal administrative cost. Doctors are paid by their system, and receive bonuses when their patient group becomes more healthy (stops smoking, loses weight, etc.) which is AS IT SHOULD BE. The motivation in the US is the reverse--doctors make more $ when their patients are LESS healthy--IOW needing more medical services, which they and their parasitic insurance co. must pay. Everyone should see Sicko, if only to find out what the rest of the world gets for their taxes. We pay BOTH taxes and ins. premiums, and STILL end up paying hugely for medical services. Half your tax $ goes to the military! Americans like to insist that this is 'the best country in the world', and yet most don't really know what that means in comparison with other, more enlightened, less 'owned by corporations' countries like most of Europe.------We have been lucky to have a 5 year-old who is (apparently) free of many of the ills that fall to so many, from autism to just plain poor health. But then we have not trusted the meds from the beginning. Including, NO ultrasound during pregnancy. Another huge EMR, and think how routine they have become, including 'photos of your fetus'. Our son PREFERS water to juices and sweet drinks because that's what we drink and he was raised on. He eats vegetables and fruits takes nutritional supplements (NOT synthetic vitamins) like we do and he/we rarely get colds, flu, etc. We waited to accept certain vaccinations until he was lots older and more established than the Ped. wanted. Be mindful.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

KenL — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:56:43 GMT

I keep seeing lots of people pointing out the trees and no one seems to want to see the forest. I believe most of you, even with contradictory opinions, are correct.

Mercury and heavy metals probably cause autism as does gluten as does fungal infections (candida) as does the toxins in our air as does cell phones and on and on and on.

The question is why?

I believe that it all starts with our immune systems (both parent and child). The breakdown is any place that these environmental factors enter our bodies. You have to believe that we evolved to be able to protect ourselves from most environmental factors. Otherwise there would not be 6 billion of us.

Here is what I think is the primary cause......leaky gut. This happens in your intestines. Both food intolerances and especially yeast overgrowth tear apart our mucosal barrier and allow the toxic elements we are all blaming for autism to enter our systems. Once inside I have no idea how they then cause autism or any of the other diseases we get but does that even matter.

I do know how they get inside though. Mostly, it's through our intestines and this is a direct result of our modern Western Diet. Sugar, grains and highly processed foods made from soy, wheat, corn and milk among others are the real problem for many of us. This change really happened suddenly in the 70's and 80's. Unicrops, farm subsidizes etc are the root cause for the dramatic changes to our diets. I don't blame big business as agriculture is also the reason man has been able to prosper but it's time to take a second look before those of us that did not evolve to eat these foods have our dna scrubbed from the human population.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

Sean Uisce — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 23:44:44 GMT

Might also be worthwhile people finding a HANDLE provider who can provide a deep understanding of a person's neurology and design a tailor-made programme that can be applied at home by the person themselves or a carer. www.handle.org

Came across the HANDLE approach a few years ago and was so impressed that I'm now training with them. Have not come across a more thorough way of figuring out where someone is at before engaging with them in a programme.

Receiving my own HANDLE Screening and Programme has left me far more sure of myself and more tolerant of (what I had perceived to be) my own failings relative to those of others in society. Realised that many of my relationship issues, employment issues, career choices had been subtley determined by what was going with my neurology. I now look back at some areas of my life with greater empathy for my (apparently) illogical and inconsistent choices... and the "a-ha!" moments just keep coming as my process of self-forgiveness continues.

Am now also more tolerant of others because I can better appreciate that each experiences their world through their neurology... which in turns affects their perceptions... which in turn affects their beliefs about the world... which in turn again affect their choices and behaviours... which society labels...

Those on the autistic spectrum have neurology that works differently to the majority in our society. Once those differences are understood, and addressed, Life can get a whole lot easier. Do check out the HANDLE approach if you or a loved one are being given labels because the way your brain & body interact with the world and want to do things is different to the way the majority.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

azrael01 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:14:00 GMT

You really need to do some serious research instead of jumping on the hype bandwagon on every issue that comes up.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

recovery4all — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:15:34 GMT

In terms of vaccinations and opting out, signing a waiver, there is NOTHING and i repeat NOTHING in law in the U.S. that states you even have to sign a waiver. The government/schools make you think you have to sign a waiver, but in fact, according to law, you do not.

ask even a first year law student to look it up. Its all smoke and mirrors folks.

then to back up this fallacy that they throw at us, the schools in cahoots with government target the odd child here and there who is out of school, on truancy, and then notice the child has not vaccinations and force the parents to vaccinate or else take the child away.

this has happened so MANY times and goes unnoticed by the public. Its a scar tactic which makes it look like the government can take your child for not vaccinating when in fact its all TOTALLY ILLEGAL.

autism brings up many issues of rights. the government is running scared that parentgs are going to get close to the truth about why their children have developed autism and its going to cost them even more money. Its all about the money, thats all it ever was about.

its about the 2 cents they saved per vaccine that they put mercury in the vaccines as a preservative as opposed to something else.

its about the money that they want your kid vaccinated. they figure if they can vaccinate kids even more, that there will never be enough kids to study who DONT have vaccinations, so no one can make comparisons. The average kid is getting 40 vaccinations. How will we ever know what an unvaccinated child looks like if this continues. ?

its sort of like making the whole barrel of apples rotten, so to speak, if all kids are sick, eventually, no parent will be able to prove that their child is different for any different reason.

dont fall for it folks. the forces behind this are working against your child and you. do what you gotta do and forget about convincing anyone else cause so many people are NOT listening.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

recovery4all — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 09:56:23 GMT

Autism is a physical disease contrary to those who think it is purely a genetic "condition". It is a metabolic disorder.

For those adults with ASD on this board who might like parents to believe otherwise, i invite them to my home to see what the other side of ASD looks like. My 14 year old son is NOT using a computer, expressing his thoughts to you all and coming up with pithy responses to arguments posed here.

parents do not be dissuaded by adults with autism who tell you that autism is not a disease. Autism is, as we all know, incredibly complex and the best thing you can do as a parent is heal your child's physical problems first, before even thinking about anything else.

i like what was said about epigenetics and after having read a few books on this subject it was startling for me to find out that the gut has similar cells to the brain, that the gut has a kind of "brain".

anyway, i digress. I have listened many times to adults with autism who post on sites like this and who tell parents trying to help their children, that autism is genetic, when in fact i know from my own child, autism is definitely a disease and must be healed. Forget the politically correct mumbo jumbo, its not helping my son one iota.

Autism was caused by man, by greed, uncaring, etc etc. And by the way if anyone actually believes that autism rates in the U.S. are still 1 in 150, please think twice. In the UK autism rates are much much higher so much higher, they fail to keep track. It has been postulated, however that rates for boys in the UK stand at 1 in 58 (according to Dr Gillian Baird's research)

with the huge population of the US, and the amazing amount of crap emanating from smoke stacks, factories, being spewed into the water and air, i expect autism in the US is far far higher for "pockets" of the population who live in these areas. Brick Township in N.Jersey was supposed to have a 1 in 10 ratio for boys.

what is true, what is a lie????

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

Mary Brescia — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:09:39 GMT

As a Registered Nurse for over 28 yrs dealing with three tick diseases: Lyme, Babesia, & Bartonella, I have become quite aware from my research that the tick/mosquitto/flea/ anything that can bite you vector can be responsible for over 300+ illnesses (MS, Fibromyalgia,Lupus, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, etc ...) Now the latest January 2008 issue of Public Health Alert (publichealthalert.org) offers on the front page indications that the Autism Epidemic may also be the culprit of this pandemic. The article on the front page written by Dr. Robert Bransfield is entitled: Evidence Mounts Implicating Lyme Disease in the Autism Epidemic. PLEASE TELL US FELLOW CLINICIANS AND PATIENTS WHY THE IGNORANCE ABOUNDS REGARDING THIS WORLDWIDE EPIDEMIC!!!!

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

TerryHill_203 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:00:07 GMT

Sandysue15, to your question on vaccines and school... By the time we made the link to my son's symptoms and vaccines, he had all the vaccines his older brother had except one. As of 2003/2004 (or was it 2004/2005) both my boys had all the vaccines needed to enter school. Since then, "they" have added more vaccines in order to enter school - including the chicken pox vaccine. Since my older son started school before these extra vaccines were mandated, he was not required (yet strongly advised to have them). My younger son was required to have them 2 years later when entering school. My thought is: If it was good enough for my older son to enter public school, it is good enough for my other son. We are good/done. I will not give them anymore. What we have done for the schools is to go down to the public/county health department and file a waiver with the state (of Utah). A copy stays with them, we have a copy and a copy goes to the school. We hand the school copy in with our school application and/or at the begining of every school year if needed. The schools have the right to send your child home for any length of time as deemed needed if there is an outbreak at the school for something (ie chicken pox) if you have opted out of that vaccine. We've not had a problem with our school. When my youngest entered kindergarten, we gave a copy of his shot record with the waiver and the school accepted them with no comment or question. I know of another family who is very much against all vaccinations and just hands in the waiver. They have had no problems with their school either. Check with your state or county health department to see if they offer this waiver for the school system.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

TerryHill_203 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:30:12 GMT

Hello. My son followed all the symptoms of late onset autism. A week after his 1 year check up with shots, we lost him to all the symptoms of autism that have been stated in these posts. My belief for my son is that his system/body was just not ready for more and the last series of vaccinations tipped the cup. It took 5 months of working with our pediatrician to find out we were dealing with autism. Since mainstream had no answers for us, our family went on a wonderful journey of discovery and learning. The doors opened to alternative medicine and other therapies we'd never heard of before - works of Glenn Doman at iahp.org, signingtime.com, energy work (like EFT), NAET, herbs, homeopathics, Iridology, Chinese cupping, essential oils, and so much more. I worked with my son on educational and physical programs to bridge the gap with communication. NAET helped with his allergies and then we found Iridology with Paul Leatham. Paul, a student of Bernard Jensen, is one of these pioneers in the alternative world that has been heavily attacked by the medical community. Even so, he continues his work here in Utah (livingage.org). It was Paul's "True Foods Diet" and Iridology program (includes nutritional supplements, homeopathics, Chinese herbs, and sometimes nosodes/isodes) that brought my son out of the cloud of autism. Within three weeks on Paul's program, we had eye contact, smiles and communication with our son. Six months later, I felt I had my son back. He was retested by docs on his 3rd birthday and they could not place him anywhere on the autism spectrum. Today, my son is 6 1/2 and is very much like any other 6 year old. He attends a regular 1st grade classroom, has friends and enjoys many extracurricular activities. Although in 1st grade, he is at the 3rd grade level in reading and math and has an amazing memory. Our family is grateful for alternatives. Thank you to others like Dr. Mercola and the rest of you adding your experiences and help.

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

spbill02 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:59:36 GMT

Unfortunately for those who might think otherwise the mercury in the vaccines theory of autism has been thoroughly and scientifically disproved. Other environmental factors as well as genetic are still in the running as prime causes. Get up to date on accepted scientific evidence ( the only worthwhile source of truth outside the Bible)

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

LIMARIL — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:39:57 GMT

DEAR DR. MERCOLA, SINCE 1990 I WAS AWARE OF THE FACT THAT ULTRASOUND DURING PREGNANCY WAS USED ROUTINELY. I FOR ONE IN 1092 WAS TOLD THEY DIDN'T HERE THE HEART BEAT AND A SONOGRAM WAS ORDER, BUT I HAD ONLY ONE. IT WAS BEING DONE TO DETERMINE GESTATIONAND BECAME ABUSED I FEEL.

WITH AUTISM AFFECTING 1 OUT OF 150 CHILDREN ISN'T THIS AN AREA THAT SHOULD BE RESEARCHED. DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO BOUNCE AN ULTRA SONIC BEAM OFF THE FRAGILE DEVELOPING BRAIN OF A DEVELOPING FETUS (BABY).WOULDN'T YOU THINK THIS MIGHT HAVE AN ADVERSE AFFECT? SINCERELY CONCERNED, MARILYN LISA LIMARIL@AOL.COM

re: Don't Believe the Hype -- There's Much More to Autism Than Genetics

Barbara Charis — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:08:52 GMT

I nearly lost my first son from the vaccines he was given. After he was vaccinated...he screamed for 16 hours...and I walked him in my arms and prayed for his life as his temperature went to 106 degrees.

I was ignorant enough to put him through that more than once. I thought the shots would prevent serious disease. Those shots were responsible for the poor head start that he got in life. His doctor also told me how to feed him. I discovered much later...they were all the wrong foods. I didn't know that most doctors didn't study nutrition and was totally dependent upon my son's pediatrician for advice.

However, I wouldn't be here today, if my son had not gone through these experiences ...and became very hyperactive. A good friend handed me some books, when my son's doctor put him on tranquilizers at 5...and the first things I read in the book got me started in searching for the truth.

I went backwards for many years, as I followed the advice of many notable health gurus who are long since gone. However, I kept praying and with the Creator's help...finally found valid answers. It took 33 years, before I wrote my first book....and learning never stops.

I met Robert Mendelsohn, M.D. many years ago...and would recommend his book: How to Raise a Healthy Child: In spite of your doctor. He was a pediatrician who was far ahead of his time. He started out promoting vaccines...and then wound up totally anti-vaccines. I heard him speak many times at the National Health Federation Conventions.