Comments on: M.I.N.D. You, There Are More Cases of Autism

By: Tobler Law

Tobler Law — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:02:30 +0000

Thanks for the post! But I haven’t heard any studies specifically linking the environment and autism. If genetics are really the biggest cause, they should get the most funding. Makes sense, right?

By: Autism Acceptance: The “Cure” from One Family’s Perspective : Eco Child’s Play

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:48:57 +0000

[...] me understand a bit more about these families. She recently posted a note about acceptance and autism, and I thought it was important to share with [...]

By: UK Study Finds 12-Fold Increase in Autism : Eco Child’s Play

UK Study Finds 12-Fold Increase in Autism : Eco Child’s Play — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:21:34 +0000

[...] is disputed by a U.S. study at UC Davis, which said that California’s 7- to 8-fold increase was due only in small part by better [...]

By: PVC Floors Linked to Autism? : Eco Child’s Play

PVC Floors Linked to Autism? : Eco Child’s Play — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:00:30 +0000

[...] you may remember, back in January a study by UC Davis said that the 7- to 8-fold increase in the cases of ASD could not be attributed to better [...]

By: Muddling Our Way Through Developmental Disorders or What’s Going On With My Child? : Eco Child’s Play

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:00:44 +0000

[...] This beautiful little girl is the youngest of my five children. She is the one who makes me break out into a sweat any time we venture into a grocery store, doctors office, library (or any other new location). She is the angel who needs her blankets on in a specific order, her favorite stuffed toys (pandy and puppy) each on their side and six rounds of “huggy and kissy” before she will settle into bed. She is possibly one of the rising numbers of children on the Autism Spectrum. [...]

By: Original Link Between MMR and Autism Based on False Data : Eco Child’s Play

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:45:39 +0000

[...] fact remains that diagnoses of autism are on the rise. Recent findings suggest that autism may be linked to environmental factors, such as proximity to [...]

By: New Study Links Autism to Environment : EcoLocalizer

New Study Links Autism to Environment : EcoLocalizer — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:02:50 +0000

[...] Read more about this new study over at Eco Child’s Play. Tags: autism, household cleaning products, pesticides, toxins, vaccinations [...]

By: Cascia @ Healthy Moms

Cascia @ Healthy Moms — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:00:32 +0000

I blogged about this same study. I agree with Irva Hertz-Picciotto the head researcher behind this study. Just think about all the pesticides, and chemicals in our environment today compared to 1990. A lot has changed and I’m sure it has an affect on our children. I also agree that we need more research to pinpoint exactly what environmental factors are contributing to the rise in autism cases here in California.

By: Cate Nelson

Cate Nelson — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:36:44 +0000

I just love that you added your 2 cents here, Veej. You’ve definitely made this issue a bigger part in my life, and it is fantastic to hear from someone it hits home for.
Yes, I have always wondered about families where everything was done the same (and especially in your case, oh-so-healthfully) for more than one child, yet only one become a child with ASD. I certainly do think that it is a case of genetics. But I don’t think that ASD can be explained away by the gene pool. I think genetics, combined with what we as parents come in contact with over years before conception may play a part. And since ASD isn’t selective, it isn’t selective within families, either. Within the same family, genetics plays different roles: as you know, looking at how different your girls look!
Overall, it is such a huge issue that we *must* get more funding and figure this thing out! We may never find a “cure”, but finding out the whys will help families be more proactive according to exposures to the many environmental elements. Not to mention the genetic engineering future of the world: I won’t even try to touch that topic right now!

To the “Concerned Dad”: Joe, click on the link for “aluminum and other excipients” in this blog and it will bring you to a page that shows all the extra stuff in vaccines. Generally, aluminum is used as the preservative now. That’s what is worrying me currently and making me shy away from vaccinating my younger son. My older boy was minimally vaccinated, and mow the same pediatrician is so understanding about us holding off on my 10-month-old. We’re just on the page of “Not right now.”
The other issue with vaccines, of course, is that each one was tested by the manufacturer for safety ALONE. They were not tested as prescribed in the current vaccination schedule. Many “regular” (versus holistic) pediatricians give children multiple shots at once. Can the CDC tell me that 4-6 shots (all preserved with heavy metals) are perfectly safe? Until I feel completely safe in their answer, we’re holding off until my little guy is a bit older.

By: Vijay Owens

Vijay Owens — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:19:46 +0000

The only problem with this theory is that there are many families with 2, 3, 4 children all raised the same way in the same place, and only one is autistic. So while environmental factors may be part of the big picture, some families don’t vaccinate at all (like ours) and live a pretty healthy lifestyle and still have children firmly on the spectrum (as well as children not on the spectrum).

So I feel like genetics is still a pretty huge part of autism. In some cases autism or autism-like symptoms may be an indicator of a genetic sensitivity to foods and environmental toxins. Or that the “quirks” that run in certain families can combine to create autism when both sides merge. (I think this is what happened in our case.)

There’s also the confusion between “classic autism” what my daughter has, where you are autistic from birth and there is no regression, and regressive autism which in my opinion is sometimes not actually autism, but vaccine-induced brain damage and/or metabolic dysfunction that gets misdiagnosed as autism. There may be a rise in classical autism as well, particularly in places like CA because people who work with computers often have at least a toe on the spectrum, and put two Aspie’s together…

But those are just my personal theories based on my reading and talking to people on the spectrum and parents of children on the spectrum, I don’t have any specific studies to cite to back that up.