Autism is a complex neurological disorder characterized by a range of learning and social impairments:

• abnormalities in social skills
• abnormalities in communication skills
• repetitive or obsessive traits.

Autism occurs in families from every class, culture and ethnic background. It is not a mental illness and it is not caused by trauma - it is neurobiological and its symptoms can be greatly reduced by early diagnosis and treatment.

“What are some of the signs of Autism?”

Does your 18-month-old child's language development seem slow? Has he lost words that he had once mastered? Is he unable to follow simple commands such as "Bring me your shoes?" When you speak to him does he look away rather than meet your gaze? Does he not answer to his name? Do you or others suspect hearing loss? Does he have an unusually long attention span? Does he often seem to be in his own world? Does he prefer not to be held or cuddled? Does he appear not to be aware when spoken to but respond to other sounds? Does he repeat actions over and over again?

At 18 months old, a child will typically do the following:

• Point to objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over)

• Interact with his siblings

• Bring you items to look at

• Look directly at you when you speak to him

• Follow your gaze to locate an object when you point across the room

• Engage in "pretend play" such as feeding a doll or making a toy dog bark

If you are concerned about your answers to some of the above questions, speak to your pediatrician about an autism screening.

Do vaccines cause autism?

Nobody knows what causes autism.

Most researchers in the field believe the prevalence of autism has increased over the past two decades, but a minority says the apparent increase could result primarily from an expanded definition of the disorder and more of an effort to identify cases.

We know that genetics plays a role in autism, based on twin studies and other family patterns. If one identical twin develops the disorder, the other has a 90% chance of having some aspects of it. And the sibling of a child with autism has at least five times the average risk of acquiring the disorder.

Many autism researchers believe that the disorder is triggered by the combination of an environmental trigger and a genetic predisposition. That means that there may be something in the environment that causes autism among genetically vulnerable children. There has been little progress in identifying pre- and post-natal environmental exposures that might trigger the severe impacts to brain development seen in autism.

There are certainly many environmental contaminants such as air pollutants from power plants and auto exhaust, pesticides, heavy metals and food additives. Other theories involve infectious agents; exposures to household chemicals; foods, dietary supplements, vitamins, and minerals; drugs, medications, and herbal remedies; and other medical interventions, such as ultrasound.

Mercury

Because childhood vaccine use and autism increased in the same era, thimerosal—which at one time was a basic vaccine ingredient—was often blamed for the condition. Thimerosal contains a form of mercury, which is a neurotoxin, and many vaccines contained levels that may have exceeded threshold levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when several vaccines were given. However, vaccine manufacturers have reduced or eliminated thimerosal in childhood vaccines which has reduced the infant thimerosal exposure by 98%, yet autism rates continue to climb. As well, although mercury is a well-known toxin that is highly dangerous to the nervous system, the symptoms of a person with mercury poisoning are utterly different from those of an autistic person.

"Mad as a Hatter"

Mercury poisoning, once known as “Mad Hatter’s Disease,” relates to a disease peculiar to the hat making industry in the 1800s. A mercury solution was commonly used during the process of turning fur into felt, which caused the hatters to breathe in the fumes of this highly toxic metal, particularly because the workshops were so poorly ventilated. This led in turn to an accumulation of mercury in the workers' bodies, resulting in symptoms such as trembling, loss of coordination, slurred speech, memory loss, irritability and anxiety. The condition is most familiar in the literary character of the madcap milliner in Lewis Carroll's classic children's book, Alice in Wonderland.

MMR

Thimerosal has not been the only area of concern in the vaccine-autism controversy. Many people believe that a correlation exists between the triple vaccine MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) and autism. However, the gastroenterologist whose research had triggered the autism-MMR vaccine scare with a study in 1998 of 12 such cases, has faced charges of gross misconduct before Great Britain’s medical licensing board, the General Medical Council.

Andrew Wakefield

Wakefield and two of his co-authors are charged with falsifying data related to the 1998 study which was published in the British medical journal Lancet. It is alleged that the children’s conditions were not accurately represented, either before or after receiving the vaccines, and that he lied about the timing of the onset of autism symptoms as related to the administration of the vaccine.

There are also allegations about ethical violations related to the recruitment of child subjects and the performing of tests without proper parental consent. He also allegedly took large amounts of money from anti-vaccine interests in order to fund the study. The entire “research” was based on only 12 children, a tiny amount of subjects to have led to the worldwide vaccine controversy that exploded after the publication of the Lancet article.

Dr. Wakefield has no training as a pediatrician and had never been involved in clinical research before the 1998 study. His theory about the relation between the vaccine and autism is somewhat circular. He has maintained that there are certain children who for some reason, either genetics or other, are susceptible to a particularly adverse reaction either to live measles or a measles containing vaccine, and that such reaction could lead to damage or infection to the intestine, leading secondarily to injury to the brain.

The section of the Lancet paper setting out its conclusions about a relationship between MMR vaccine and autism was subsequently retracted by ten of the paper's thirteen authors.

A coincidence of timing?

Many children present with autism—around 18 months to two years-- soon after many of them receive a series of vaccines, and that apparent link may just be a coincidence of timing, meaning that the two situations are related in time, but not in causation. For instance, symptoms involving delays in the development of many basic skills—the ability to socialize or form relationships with others and the ability to communicate and use imagination, especially in fantasy play – are often not apparent until after the age of 15 months, the age that the MMR vaccine is usually administered. Those who disagree with that point of view say that parents know their children very well and there are those who are very determined that their children changed dramatically in the days following vaccination.

Too high a vaccine burden?

The FDA claims that their exhaustive reviews found no evidence of harm in the use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines. However, vaccination carries more dangers and has more potentially harmful effects on the body than just the mercury they once carried. Parents are worried by the sheer assault of multiple vaccinations at one time and there are many scientists who persist with opinions about possible links between vaccination and autism, supported by various studies. It’s clear that vaccines are not responsible for all autism; not even most autism; but there are a few cases where the link has been assumed in the court systems and so it appears that vaccination may be one environmental trigger that can set off a cascade of genetically predisposed events that lead to autism. While there may be some connection, the numbers don’t suggest that vaccination is anywhere near the major environmental cause of autism.