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Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
because I do believe there is a link between autism (and its varying degrees) and some type of chemical used in childhood inoculations/vaccines (Some have pointed to the use of mercury). Especially given the fact that the majority of children diagnosised with this disease are usually between the ages of like 1-3 , with a period of "normalcy" before the autistic behavior begans.
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this has actually been disproven over and over again. there was a more recent study out of sweden i think, that had more than 500 participants which again discredited this theory. additionally the person who initially developed the theory that vaccines caused autism had very few participants in his study. no one else has been able to replicate his results.
additionally, the majority of people diagnosed with autism do not experience a period of normalcy. most exhibit symptoms right from birth (not looking at their parents, sensitive to touch) which is why 20 years ago, autism was labeled "cold mother syndrome." for those that do exhibited some period of normalcy, before diagnosis, they tend to have higher functioning forms of autism. if you consider childhood development, all children with disabilities are "closer" to their peers when they are infants and toddlers....as they age, the gap widens because they do not aquire skills (whether academic or social) at the same rate as their typical peers.
autism has been genetically linked with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ocd. currently, there are theories that women who recieved medication during pregnancy (for example, to stop labor early on) have a higher rate of having a child with autism. there is lots of great research going on right now, but unfortanutely, nothing absolute.
as far as this article is concerned, i do not have all of the facts, so i can't comment. some of the people quoted are very knowledgeable in the field. i even saw stephen shore speak at a conference last year. the one point that andy shih did make that i will agree wholeheartedly with is that the earlier the intervention, the better off the child is in the long run!!!
i will do more checking on this article and get back with a response. oh, and i work with children with autism. i have an extensive knoweldge of applied behavior analysis and will hopefully start classes in the spring so that i will be eligible to sit for the board certification exam for behavior analysts.
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