Determining the true cause of autism is a complicated endeavor. A lot of people blame vaccines, food additives, and the like while others dispute this and may attribute it to genes or brain abnormalities, sometimes lacking further explanation. Part of the problem with these debates is the circular nature as people conclude that autism is caused by vaccines and others argue that it is not. Few people would probably disagree that the rates of autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have drastically risen (though this is affected somewhat by diagnostic advances), opponents of the vaccination explanation often fail to suggest what else is responsible for this increase. This is a gap that needs to be closed.
What about those most affected by the disorder, how many parents of these children believe that vaccines contribute? How many believe it is genetic or attributable to other factors without any contribution from vaccines? Aside from the commonly asserted influences, what do they otherwise believe to be responsible for the rising rate of ASD?
Many people are adamant that vaccines are not a factor, especially after Dr Wakefield was stripped of his medical license, but he still has followers and some professionals in the medical community that give credit to a few of his assertions. Both a pediatric gastroenterologist at Harvard Medical School and a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California are highly interested in the role gastrointestinal illness can play in autism. Even if Dr. Wakefield is completely incorrect about any relation between autism and MMR the vaccine, it seems that he has made an important observation that has launched further research into the potential causes of autism.
Before any focused research begins an observation is usually made of a correlation, positive or negative, between two factors. There has to be an impetus. Never mind that the first idea might not be correct, the motivation to solve the mystery is arguably the most important step. From here the debate can cease and people can collectively search for more concrete evidence and an altogether new viewpoint.
It is important to remember that correlation and causation are two drastically different things. This fundamental confusion can lead to an erroneous belief surrounding vaccines. An example of confusion between correlation and causation is the finding that children are more likely to have food sensitivities if their mother was on antibiotics during pregnancy. Does that mean taking antibiotics during pregnancy causes food allergies/sensitivities? No, but it can make a significant contribution to them. A food allergy can also develop spontaneously, or due to another cause not yet understood.
Here is another more related example, since boys are more likely to be colorblind, does being male cause colorblindness? No. It has to do with the redundancy of the x chromosome and that colorblindness is a recessive trait. Similarly, boys are much more likely to be diagnosed with ASD. It is feasible that the genetic link found in autism is also a recessive trait that is carried on the x chromosome. This means that if a girl is going to develop ASD due to genes alone she must get it from her mother and father. If she only gets one copy than she will carry it and has a 50% chance of giving it to her son. However, the problem is not that simple, as multiple genes have been shown to be involved in ASD.
The genes linked to autism could be undergoing independent mutations or might be altered by exposure to certain environmental elements. If genes were not clearly understood prior to any specific observation of dysfunction, such as ASD, then once the genes are understood it might be concluded that they caused the dysfunction. However, this is not necessarily accurate. The genes exist, environmental factors were present that may have altered the genes and it may have only been investigated after it became observable at the genetic level. Where did it begin, with the chicken or the egg?
The identification of genes linked to autism leaves room for discussion on the origin of this genetic link. It remains unclear whether the genes involved are of a natural variation or have undergone a mutation caused by a bacterium or virus. The latter seems a more plausible explanation for the drastic rise in rates of ASD which could theoretically explain a positive correlation that has been found between antibiotic use and autism.
The use of antibiotics influences intestinal flora and could be part of a cascade of events leading to or at least contributing to autism or some of its symptoms. Dr. Wakefield is even given credit from some of the research community on the importance of gut health on autism. Large numbers of parents have reported a reduction in autistic symptoms when their child’s diet and intestinal health was addressed
Regardless of where professionals stand on this debate there needs to be a more open-minded approach to solving this mystery. It is about the children. Even though they are unique and sometimes very gifted, it is unlikely that any parent, given the choice, would want this for their child. A scientific and medical focus needs to be on the kids and digging more and more to determine the true cause. While there appears to be a genetic link, that in and of itself is not a sufficient explanation. So what is?
For each person opposing the belief that autism is caused by GMOs, food additives, medications, vaccines, or any other environmental element researchers should say more than, “No it’s not.” Rather than simply refuting any perceived connection, it is crucial to provide another idea and contribute research that is aimed at a solution rather than a debate. Let that side maintain that autism is caused by vaccines while independent research continues in an effort to find an alternative explanation.
The cause of ASD needs to be understood. The dramatic rise in the number of children diagnosed with ASD needs to be resolved. It is not appropriate for anyone to be blindly asserting opinions and anecdotal evidence. The idea that vaccines contribute should not be accepted based on popularity, but rather on knowledge and understanding.
The fear surrounding vaccines may create a barrier to unbiased research. Vaccines have saved millions of lives and also prevented many lifelong disabilities. They are not a breakthrough that should be casually dismissed nor should it be dismissed that something so profoundly beneficial also has drawbacks. Over the course of history a large shift in understanding is the standard not the exception. Let the research continue in order to identify what the true cause of autism is.
People should have a healthy skepticism about the medical and pharmaceutical industries. At one point in time Thalidomide was believed to be safe, smoking cigarettes was as well. It is now accepted as fact that both should be avoided because of the damage they can inflict.
There is no dispute over whether or not mercury is a neurotoxin and that it can have a disastrous effect on brain development. A court qualified expert on vaccine induced disease, Dr Carley says that “Mercury is 1000 times more toxic than lead and is second only to uranium as the most toxic metal.” While mercury is present in multiple forms and comes from a vast number of sources it does not mean that autism or another pervasive developmental disorder cannot be exacerbated by the mercury in vaccines. The mercury emissions from massive coal burning operations in China can also contribute as this is now affecting the United States. This goes further to suggest what an enormously complicated issue autism is.
Mercury has no beneficial effect on the human body. Accordingly, warnings are issued regularly about what type and amount of fish is safe for women and children to eat. Fish can be contaminated with other substances, but these warnings are mainly focused on mercury contamination. If eating a fish containing mercury is damaging despite being in the digestive tract for a limited period of time it stands to reason that mercury injected directly into peripheral tissues would have some effect as well. The forms typically introduced into the digestive tract are different than that contained in vaccines, but still there is absolutely nothing positive that comes from any form of mercury put into the human body. There are safer alternatives available and they should be used.
Mercury in vaccines comes in the form of ethylmercury otherwise known as thimerosol. The CDC states that “Studies comparing ethylmercury and methylmercury suggest that they are processed differently in the human body.” Ethylmercury in some vaccines was being phased out starting in 2001. The CDC claims that if it could cause autism the rates of autism would be going down rather than increasing, but this might be a premature conclusion. If Thimerosol is somehow altering genes it could take decades for any decrease to be observed. It is even possible that any change in genes is irreversible and will be passed down through generations.
The CDC remains unclear as their statement is that research “suggests” that ethylmercury is much safer. However, they are removing it from vaccines, which suggests an acknowledgement that it is still unsafe. They admit that while there are flu vaccines that do not contain ethylmercury “the total amount of flu vaccine without thimerosal as a preservative at times has been limited, but availability will increase as vaccine manufacturing capabilities are expanded.”
It is concerning that pregnant women are being pushed to get the flu vaccine, the majority of which still contain mercury. Furthermore mercury has been shown to become concentrated in the umbilical cord causing an even more dangerous level of mercury. The National Resource Defense Council now considers 3.4 micrograms of mercury per liter of blood to be unsafe; the prior level was defined as 5.8 micrograms per liter. So the level that is considered dangerous is almost half of what was previously defined. While the CDC claims that mercury has been removed from “childhood vaccines” it is clear that other vaccines containing mercury are still introduced into the infant.
Each dose of the flu vaccine contains 25 micrograms of mercury, over five times what is considered safe. This affects the mother and the fetus and in just one single dose. This is more mercury than is safe for any person weighing less than 550 pounds. What about a fetus that is just developing? This discussion does not even factor in the aluminum, another neurotoxin or formaldehyde which both of which are still present in vaccines.
Just as mercury can damage the brain and possibly contribute to ASD, a deficiency of omega-3s has been linked to ASD, and brain abnormalities seen in other diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. A recent study published by the EPA found that the amount of mercury in the blood of pregnant women has decreased by 65% but that the amount of fish they consume has remained almost the same. However, the study did not specify if the fish being consumed are types containing high levels of omega-3s. The warnings are encouraging better choices among women who want to protect their unborn babies. Hopefully, women are not avoiding fish containing high levels of omega-3s. Given their importance in healthy brain development the use of a properly purified supplement becomes crucial.
The development of ASD may be completely unrelated to vaccines. Yet mercury is a poison in the brain and it can be present in everything from lotions to fumes from the burning of coal. Regardless of the cause one problem with understanding ASD is that it begins to exert an influence in a brain that is rapidly developing. With so many changes occurring in early childhood any abnormality can be difficult to track. Children with autism seem to exhibit an overgrowth of synapses in infancy and up to 3 years of age. However, this is not a direct cause. The cortical growth seems to occur at the same rate as in children without ASD but a larger number of synapses may be present prior to birth. It appears to be a dysfunction in synaptic pruning that can cause the elevated environmental sensitivity in children with ASD. In other words brain development relies on the formation of many synapses but also the clearing away of ineffective connections.
The brain in someone with ASD is not failing to send signals but possibly an overabundance of signals or misguided signals. This can be likened to a computer that has a limited capacity to process information, if it is being pushed to process too much information all at once the computer slows and sometimes freezes up completely. Again, even this flawed synaptic function has not been observed in the brains of all children diagnosed with autism.
For a long time there was a known “fact” that the world was flat. That has changed as science, research, and mobility around the globe were able to disprove that belief. Nature versus nurture was a long standing debate in psychology but it is now widely accepted that both are determinants, and even further that nurture can alter what is attributed to nature. With epigenetics, the nature (genes) and the nurture (environment) actually cause changes in one another. Genes can be altered by the environment in addition to any naturally occurring mutations. This seems like an important avenue for further autism research not just because of the apparent genetic involvement but because of the possibility it holds for treatments. The activity of genes can be changed with scientific advances, making a cure for autism a real possibility.
Affected families may be grasping at straws to determine the cause of this disorder and its increasing occurrence, but so many things have changed in the recent years that it is nearly impossible to isolate one offender. Americans eat more processed food, foods with artificial colors and flavors, even some that are known to be carcinogenic. Somehow these things are still allowed into foods despite common awareness that they are detrimental. Some may be innocuous but nobody seems to know for sure as it is impossible to eliminate all extraneous variables. The ingredients in vaccines are no different. They may be just as damaging, maybe more so, and have no place being injected into infants when other alternatives are available.
The increasing amounts of chemicals encountered in day to day life is staggering, people are living in a chemical cocktail and it is likely that there are multiple contributing factors to the development of ASD, just as there is for cancer, heart disease, obesity and other health problems that have rising rates. Why would autism be any different? Hopefully scientists will soon identify the true root cause of autism.
An Editorial by Lara Stielow
Sources:
National Resource Defense Council
Institute for Responsible Technology
Liberty Beacon
The Scientist
Journal of Medical Microbiology
Well-adjusted babies
26 thoughts on “What is the True Cause of Autism?”
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As an Autism parent of two and someone who suffers from auto immune disorders myself I can honestly say that there is a genetically loaded gun and all the factors you mentioned may attribute to pulling the trigger to any individuals health or mental problems. Precious time was lost because the professionals in our lives discounted the brain gut connection despite the fact people in their field have been using gluten free diets to treat schizophrenia since the 1930’s.
I have done years of research and met many Autism parents on the same track. Different things work for different people. Each of us have our own stories. None are the same. There is no single cause for Autism. Multiple contributing factors play into it.
While I don’t believe in a ‘cure’, there are ways to help these children that aren’t being made the proper protocols they should be. Why? Because of the trust that would be lost if parents all came to the realizations that:
–Antibiotics and many other medicines can cause gut dybiosis.
(Most of our immune system is in our gut.)
–Tylenol depletes glutathione, a key antioxidant.
–Vaccinations offer temporary immunity at best. They can and do cause injuries and death. –There is a special court that was made in the late 80’s because they are unavoidably unsafe according to our own government. With every shot you’re risking auto immune disease, brain damage, and death.
And while the criteria in the DSM may change from year to year. There’s no denying there is such thing as Autism. Tell a parent who had to participate in thousands of hours of therapy for their children to learn how to chew properly, climb up a ladder, converse, tie a shoe….that their child is only a little different. It’s just not so. Schools are inundated (I know first hand) with Autistic children who need one on one aides, these children were not simply there all along being swept under the rug or kept at home in an attic. The increase in numbers is undeniable.
There is a need for a proper protocol for our special kids. Too often they are placed on adult drugs without even being tested for heavy metal toxicity, food intolerances, yeast, latent infections, MTFHR gene mutations.
They have the technology to easily screen every baby for susceptibility to vaccine injury before hand. (glutathione levels and MTFHR gene mutations) Why not? Vaccinated versus unvaccinated study. Why not?
Isn’t it clear?
Anyone can get a book published these days. There are dozens of doctors out there who have written books about helping our ASD kids. Their books are about real interventions that work and explain why our children’s bodies need healing. It’s not about proving a theory or concept anymore. It’s about helping our children before every single boy is walking around with the brain damage subjectively labeled as ‘Autism.’ Doctors I’ve found especially helpful are; Jepson, Kartzinel, Bock…just to name a few.
“The article would benefit by an informed explanation of the difference between incidence and prevalence.”
Indeed.
We’ve seen this before: for example, Harvard child psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Biederman, who helped popularize the previously-rare diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder, wrote that “bipolar disorder is a serious illness that is estimated to affect approximately 1 percent to 4 percent of children.” Does anyone believe that the actual percentage of children affected by the disorder increased from essentially zero to up to 4 percent in just a few years rather than that the apparent change reflected changes in diagnosis and awareness rather than a true increase in the number of new cases?
Of course, it’s not at all clear if there has been a true increase in the incidence of ASD, but clearly at least most of the apparent increase in prevalence is explained by just a handful of already-identified “environmental factors” (such as changing diagnostic criteria and increased awareness) which account for most of the perceived increase–in fact, one-fourth of the apparent increase in ASD is due to simply labeling as mentally impaired _and_ autistic children who years ago would have been diagnosed as only mentally impaired. Parents who are concerned that their child might not receive services if diagnosed under the new DSM-5 implicitly acknowledge that diagnostic criteria are a crucial factor in disease prevalence.
If there has been a real increase in the incidence of ASD, the evidence points towards prenatal influences as the explanation. Daniele Fallin, professor of mental health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently noted that, “As we learn more about autism, clearly there are genetic risk factors, but it seems like there’s also this role from environmental interplay . . . If there is environmental risk or interaction with genes, it’s likely to either [occur around the time of conception] or very early in development in utero.”
Both genetic and environmental data point to early to mid gestation as the critical period for the development of ASD. Both rare and common genetic variations contribute to ASD risk; and both inherited and spontaneous mutations play a role. Environmental factors identified as drivers of ASD risk include maternal infection, preterm birth, advanced parental age, short inter-pregnancy interval, folate intake before and after conception, and prenatal exposure to air pollution, phthalates and pesticides.
Dr. Durig, I respectfully disagree with your comment. While autism is a broad spectrum disorder, ranging from Aspergers(high functioning with mainly social issues) to the non-verbal who remain in diapers and need to be watched 24/7. Either you have autism or you don’t.. Being shy is not autism. Being a little odd or very odd is not autism. Being brilliant is not autism. I find that oftentimes people who deny there is a real increase in autism numbers will use your reasoning to further their beliefs.
Autism never belonged in any DSM. Autism is not a mental disorder. It is a neurodevelopmental and metabolic disorder affecting every organ in the body. How do I know this? Besides reading and studying the biology of autism for 14 years, I am raising my oldest grandson who has autism and I have recovered his younger brother from the same disorder. I have seen dozens of their tests, done with a Defeat Autism Now doctor–the change in their bowel disease with treatments, changes in food allergies etc. and following –changes in autistic behaviors.
Maurine Meleck, SC
I agree. A DAN or MAPS doctor has never been in our budget. But just implementing a clean GF/DF/dye/preservative free diet as well as simple changes like epsom salt baths and using less chemicals in the home, has made all the difference in my two boys. Reading the MDs books that have helped recover children has helped tremendously. Therapists have become believers in the brain-gut connection after working with my boys. It’s just a shame that these changes are being taken seriously in mainstream medicine and how many children should be helped by them?
excuse me: are not being taken seriously*
Thank you very much for your input and thoughtful contribution here. I am always appreciative of input from the front lines so to speak, the people most affected by autism. I think you and others like you might have some of the best ideas out there but may be too tired, stressed, or just plain busy to get them out there and be heard. I too have an auto immune disease that I attribute partially to vaccines.
for Laura S. No, it has never been done. Many in the autism community believe it will never be done(unless by a totally independent group) because gov’t health officials worry what the results will show. Last year at the congressional autism hearing, when pressed for an answer, Dr. Boyle of the CDC admitted that study has never been done. I am hearing about an independent group doing one, but have no details.
My name is Dr. Alex Durig. I have a Ph.D. in social psychology, have authored 5 books on autism and perception, and I happen to be the VP of Business Development here at the Guardian Liberty Voice. In my first book, Autism and the Crisis of Meaning (1996), I argued that psychiatry had it wrong, that there is no such thing as either being autistic or not, and that humans have a continuum of perception that allows us all to be experiencing varying degrees of autistic perception. For that I was lambasted and treated like a crazy person. However, the new DSM-V has since discarded the old definition of autism in favor of now addressing the spectrum of autistic perception.Thus,it is a matter of record that my first book was at least 15 years ahead of its time. In my opinion Lara Stielow has written a thoughtful article objectively considering many points of view on this firestorm topic. Being mean-spirited is uncalled for: go ahead and call me a kook if you must, I have dealt with it for 20+ years, but I am proud to be on the same team as Lara Stielow who obviously put her head on the chopping block to report on one of the most difficult and controversial issues facing humanity. Keep up the good work, Lara.
Thank you and I agree. I wrote an article about autism versus introversion because some people believe that being introverted is a flaw, more or less.
Unfortunately the corollary of articles such as this, which concentrate on finding a cause of autism (especially one which has long been disproved) is the underlying implication that autism needs to be prevented (or cured). The continual and widescale promulgation of this notion is not helpful to autistic people (and their families). Indeed it may even be significantly harmful in discouraging acceptance.
Please be consistent in your action and remove any and all links included in Ms Dachel’s several comments. Or allow links in all comments without threatening to remove them.
“Dr. Gupta didn’t call Dr. Poling a fraud for claiming that his daughter regressed into autism following her vaccinations, neither did the media experts at HHS who conceded her case. No one took his medical license away. Dr. Gupta didn’t retract what he said on CNN.”
Since this is a thinly veiled reference to actions taken with regard to Mr. Wakefield, let’s set the record straight, shall we? No one has said that Wakefield is a fraud for claiming that vaccines cause autism. He’s been exposed as a fraud for doing a fraudulent study, for taking money to reach those results, for lying about how the children were selected for that study, and for falsifying the results of that study. His medical license was taken away for unethical actions in regard to the study, and for mistreating and abusing children in the conduct of that study.
In simple terms he’s been called a fraud because is one, and in addition, the results of that single, very small, study have never been replicated, which, scientifically, is enough to consign it to the dustbin of history. The fact that, given an opportunity to confirm his results with a much larger study, funded by the Royal Free Hospital, he refused to do so, is damning.
Good grief, there are so many misunderstandings in this article, I scarcely know where to begin.
“A court qualified expert on vaccine induced disease, Dr Carley says that “Mercury is 1000 times more toxic than lead and is second only to uranium as the most toxic metal.”
Do you mean Rebecca Carley…who definitely is NOT a “court qualified expert on vaccine induced disease”. Her license to practice medicine was suspended, then revoked, because she refused to get professional help for her psychiatric disorder. You can view the suspension and revocation order where the NYS Medical Licensing Board revoked her license at The New York State OPMC (Office of Professional Medical Conduct) website. Carley is “practicing” as a naturopath in another State and from what I have read on her website, she has not sought professional help for her psychiatric disorder.
Would you mind sharing which books? Being sourced from a book does not make something a fact. Far from it as many people use books to avoid peer review. This is common in the autism/vaccine discussion.
The fact that many papers are behind paywalls does not prevent anyone from giving the title or abstract. And many of us do have access to the scientific literature.
With all due respect, your article above is a simple rehash of many arguments that have been made already. They are not good arguments. And, as already noted, relying upon Andrew Wakefield even in small part does not help your case. Mr. Wakefield was struck off for being dishonest and unethical in his research and treatment of disabled children. Much more, he was wrong. And in creating such a fear, he delayed work on environmental risk factors for autism. The fact that the autism/vaccine community won’t distance themselves from this man says a great deal about them.
With all due respect, anyone who writes “what is the true cause of autism” has not spent much time on the subject.
Autism has many causes. This has been known for decades. Congenital Rubella Syndrome, for example. It has been recently estimated that over 1000 cases of autism have been *prevented* by the widespread use of the MMR vaccine in the past decade in the U.S.. The paper is “Congenital rubella syndrome and autism spectrum disorder prevented by rubella vaccination–United States, 2001-2010”
I appreciate everybody’s input but please refrain from posting links in your comments as they will have to be removed. Thank you.
The article credits him with looking into gastrointestinal problems, it actually takes a skeptical view of his MMR position.
“The truth is, no one knows how many children have the same predisposition that Hannah Poling did”
Her physician stated in a talk that this is a “rare” condition.
“We still have a one-size-fits-all vaccine schedule.”
No, we have a recommended schedule that fits the vast majority of children. Consider children with metabolic disorders such as Miss Poling. Their doctors often modify the schedule. If they feel that the child is at major risk, they may forgo vaccines altogether–for that child. They then work hard to cocoon the child in a vaccinated community. Other family members and people in contact with the child are brought up to date on the vaccines.
Why? Because vaccine preventable diseases (all infectious diseases) present a huge risk to these children.
Those who frighten people away from vaccines are putting children like Hannah Poling at risk of injury and death.
Really the cause of autism doesn’t matter unless you find autism problematic in some way. As the parent of an autistic person, I find the attitudes of society to this, and other ‘differences’ far more concerning.
Yes I have read about stories where families have been paid due to autism “caused by vaccines.” This is an admission on the part of vaccine manufacturers.
I also learned that vaccinations may be linked to the rise in peanut allergies as peanut oil has been used as an emulsifier in vaccines.
The late Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the National Institutes of Health, was on CBS News in 2008 announcing that the vaccine-autism question is still open. She said we need to look at the children who got sick, the ones who were thriving and happy children but who suddenly and inexplicably regressed into autism following routine vaccination. Six years later, that study still hasn’t been done.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
This article begs the question–why hasn’t a study of vaccinated vs unvaccinated children ever bee done? There are thousands of infants and young children who have never been vaccinated.
I wondered the same thing. If it has been done it is extremely difficult to track down. If children who are not vaccinated develop autism or another ASD at the same rate as vaccinated children, well that would be the easiest way to put an end to most of the vaccination debate. If you find anything please share it.
Thank you for discussing the use of the mercury-based vaccine preservative, thimerosal.
Mercury is the second deadliest element on earth and a known neurotoxin. For years, health officials called thimerosal, “safe mercury,” at the same time they conceded that “mercury in all its forms is toxic.”
The drug company Eli Lilly invented thimerosal back in 1930. They tested it on 22 patients who were already dying of meningitis. All the subjects were dead by the end of the “study,” but Eli Lilly said it was safe, anyway. After the creation of the FDA, its use was simply continued. Thimerosal has never been tested for toxicity or approved by the FDA. In recent years, officials have run some easily flawed and manipulated population studies showing vaccines don’t cause autism. It should be pointed out that each study has been shown to have ties to the vaccine makers. This toxin is at horrific levels, as you mentioned, in the flu vaccine which is recommended for six month old babies and pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
“They tested it on 22 patients who were already dying of meningitis. All the subjects were dead by the end of the “study,” but Eli Lilly said it was safe, anyway.”
Um, you seem to think it is surprising that all of the patients who were expected to die did in fact die. Why is that?
Could you please explain why in California (where children under the age of three and pregnant women) are by law protected from exposure to thimerosal containing vaccines the prevalence of ASD has continued to climb, given that the basis of your objection to thimerosal was that increasing exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines seemed to track with an increasing prevalence of ASD?
(Oh, and also please explain why you don’t agree with Mark Blaxill, the founder of your anti-vaccine web site, who clearly understands that the thimerosal-containing-vaccines-caused-an-epidemic-of-autism meme is well and truly dead: Blaxill noted (long before the current data was available from California) that the hypothesis had failed–and he reached that conclusion without even considering that dramatically reduced exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines was followed, as in California, by continuing increases in the prevalence of ASD in Denmark, Sweden, Quebec, and Iceland. Thanks.)
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