Posted on 07/15/2005 5:16:24 AM PDT by bookworm100
The decade-long debate over what has caused this country's frightening spike of childhood autism once again is exploding…
Reigniting the debate is the much-publicized book "Evidence of Harm" by David Kirby, as well as the report titled "Deadly Immunity" by environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In brief, Kirby and Kennedy argue that federal health officials, with the help of vaccine-makers and some in Congress, have deliberately downplayed, even covered up, evidence that thimerosal - a preservative containing mercury - in childhood vaccines is the prime trigger behind the explosion of autism in U.S. children the last 15 years.
Although thimerosal was first added to baby vaccines as long ago as the 1930s, preschoolers typically received no more than three shots throughout the subsequent five decades.
But, by the early '90s, that exposure changed, with most children getting up to 23 shots against 12 diseases by age 2 all laced with mercury, a metal known to cause brain damage.
And so was launched the "Thimerosal Generation," according to the Kennedy report - children born between 1989 and 2003, when estimated cases of autism jumped an astounding 15-fold, from one in every 2,500 children to one in 166 today. ationwide, 500,000 children now are struggling with some form of autism - a syndrome of behavioral abnormalities marked by withdrawal from contact, loss of communication and developmental regression...
(Excerpt) Read more at rednova.com ...
Something not mentioned is other sources of mercury.
Until this article I assumed the connection was coincidental. Then I realized that the baseline could be rising, particularly among educated people who have increased their fish intake becase their doctors keep saying its good for you. Mercury does concentrate in fish. Not enough for adults to get hysterical about but perhaps enough to go beyond infants and youg children's tolerance when an additional load was added from the vaccines.
Bump.
Exactly. I don't think anyone argues that there is no such thing as autism (or hyperactivity, or depression). There may even be more cases than in the past ... because there are more people, for one thing.
However, when you look at the literature on diagnosing "disabilities," it's clear that absolutely anyone can be diagnosed with a "problem" that has tax-funded "treatment." Out of my four sons, I have two I could easily get an "autism-spectrum" diagnosis for, and one ADHD. And these are perfectly functional kids. One needs a lot of exercise, and two are kind of peculiar.
When you define "disability" in a child as "any quality or behavior that an adult finds strange, tiresome, or inconvenient," then yeah, every child is disabled!
Thank you. I am sorry your grandson as hurt by "sloppy science."
There is a scary track record of todays drug companies pushing "medicine" that has adverse side effects that were ignored.
Looking too late. The increase (beyond better diagnoses) is probably from prenatal considerations. That is when the developmental window(s) of increased vulnurability exists.
And we know that statistics on autism from countries that don't have electricity or running water are reliable, because ... ?
I know for a fact that thimerosol can affect some people--it bothered me greatly when I first used contact lenses over 30 years ago. The first day I used them, the whites of my eyes turned very red and painful. The doctor told me that it was the preservative (thimerosol) in the solution and that 1 in 5 people had problems with it. I changed to a non-preservative single use solution and was fine after a round of treatments with cortisone to get my eyes calmed down.
So, imagine injecting that stuff into some children who are very sensitive to it and in multiple doses. If a little would do that to my eyes in my early 20s, what might it do to infants' brains when they are small without well developed immune systems?
At the very least, this deserves more consideration and research. We do need vaccinations, but there must be a less potentially harmful preservative.
Excellent point.
Some researchers have not grasp the concept that people are genetically diverse and the argument that something "does not affect everyone" is bogus.
Thank you for your concern. It is astonishing how so many people can be so callous in their attitudes against handicapped people. I appreciate your sympathy.
Badger,
Dave Weldon & Dan Burton have been even more vocal about this over several years. This isn't a partisan issue. Frankly, I'm surprised that this isn't more of a conservative issue. Giving poison to our kids on purpose(not to mention the third world countries that are currently receiving ALL mercury laced vaccines from us) is no better than abortion in my humble opinion. Keep in mind that this mess started in the Clinton years.
"It is rare in the third world."
Unfortunately, it is becoming less rare. The number of cases in China reached something like 1.8 million. They have been purchasing our vaccines since the last 90's.
Right on the money - pun intended.
Don't you know that the government estimates that at least 50% of Americans have mental problems or will develop them ?
We're all nut jobs. ;)
No...but it may be reason to investigate further.
Do you guys know ANYTHING about autism? Ever see an autistic kid? If you have, you would never make such an uninformed comment. These kids stick out like a sore thumb. This is NOT better diagnosis. It doesn't take a genious to realize that a kid who can't speak, flaps his arms, spins toys, makes no eye contact, and wants nothing to do with other kids is different.
It is an example of the "Hill-Care" we will all get if we do not work very hard.
We are not talking about that. Have YOU looked at the criteria that are used to diagnose "autism" at an ever-increasing rate?
There are two very different issues under discussion. One is autism. It's possible that genuine autism cases are increasing, and it's possible that vaccines are a cause. Opinions on that are obviously mixed, and I, personally, don't have an opinion.
The other issue is the money-driven labelling of "autistic" for any child whose social interaction is different from what a day-care provider or schoolteacher considers "optimal." For example, there was a post from a FReeper a while back whose 3-year-old son was in preschool. The boy (only child, with very involved parents and grandparents) knew numbers, letters, and colors, but didn't always mix with other children easily. The parents were called in for a conference because the teacher was sure the boy was "autistic."
This sort of thing is a terrible disservice to families dealing with genuine autism.
I admit it - I have mental problems!
You have the making of a product liability bonanza/nightmare here, so there are forces at work distorting the science.
I have read that some children have less of an ability than others to eliminate mercury from their bodies. It tends to collect in a certain part of their brain. Do I recall correctly?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.