by Sue Bennett, Autism Coach  - Updated January 2008

The following is an opinion piece on the current state of autism in the U.S. and will be periodically updated.  

Much has changed since the autism epidemic began in about 1990.  At  same time as the epidemic began, the number of immunizations our children receive before the age of two  jumped from four to over twenty.  In the 1970's the rate of autism was 1 in 10,000.   The number of children has increased almost a thousandfold, to  1 in 150  and then to 1 in 126 children born in in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  Autism rates have risen around the world as well.  

When my son, Will, was first diagnosed with PDD NOS in 1995, there were few resources available and autism was considered incurable..  Autism is still considered incurable by a significant number of professionals and other people in the autism community today in spite of the fact that more children than ever are "recovering" from autism, especially when diagnosed under the age of 3 and timely and effective interventions are immediately put into place.  These interventions  are often multi-pronged, often combine an elimination diet (such as gluten and casein free, specific carbohydrate, and/or low-oxalate), biomedical/supplementation (often such as autism enzymes and methylated B vitamins), physical therapy, and several hours a week of  a one-on-one therapy to build language, comprehension, and social skills such as Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).  

The autism political football has been kicked back and forth between the medical establishment/government and autism parent advocacy groups.  The government attempted to block the release of data from the CDC that some researchers believe shows a connection between immunizations and autism.  Special interest groups funded research to further disprove the immunization/autism connection.  According to Science News, 90% of the research funded by special interest groups supports findings in the best interests of that group.  

At the same time as major national news magazines continued to run cover stories on autism and repeatedly state that there was no connection between immunizations and autism, anecdotal reports were pouring into sites such as mine about children having seizures right in the doctor's office right after  receiving MMR or DPT shots or after being injected with several vaccines at once because the child had missed some vacinations in the vaccine schedule due to illness and the doctor's office was playing "catch-up" by injecting the child with several vaccines at once.  These children, who appeared to be developing normally, either quickly or slowly lost eye contact, language, and other developmental milestones and were eventually diagnosed within the autism spectrum.

Millions of dollars have been poured into research trying to prove that autism is caused by a genetic defect.  This research currently seems to be yielding instead a picture of a genetic predisposition towards vulnerability to environmental toxins and immune system dysfunction.  According to a recent article in Science News, there appears to be a high correlation between families with autistic children having a higher incidence of Celiac and Parkinsons - and scarily AIDs as well!  I interpret the unfortunate AIDs connection as indicating that people with autism don't fight off viruses as well as the general population - another aspect of immune system dysfunction.

There are a growing number of people who now make a living providing products and services to the autism community (my web site included).  Parents should carefully research their options and network with other parents to find safe, effective treatments and competent, compassionate professionals.   Unfortunately, the autism community is no more immune than any other segment of our society to unethical and unscrupulous behavior, such as grossly overcharging desperate parents for services and tests.  It's vitally important for parents to do their homework - to research information on the internet, and to find a supportive and inclusive parents group with parents who freely and generously share what approaches and products are working for them and what professionals are ethical and competent in their area.  

Let me also say that there are many fabulous, inspiring, heroic people in the autism community, including, first of all the children, teens and adults within the autism spectrum, their parents, and the many, many, ethical and talented therapists, educators, supplement manufacturers, and physicians who have devoted their lives to helping our kids.  It is to these individuals that I have dedicated my web site.

The Autism Coach web site attempts to provide an impartial overview of valid approaches with scientific merit so that parents would know what options are and are able to make more informed choices to best help their children.   My own theory has been for years that autism is a disease of neurological disconnect and that any approach that helped to build and strengthen neurological connections would be of benefit - including diet, supplements, and intensive language therapies.  This disconnection theory seems to have been borne out to a large extent in recent years by CAT scan and MRIs of the brains of people with autism spectrum disorders.

We also carry products that have scientific data supporting their use and are made with high-quality ingredients that are all-natural and free of allergens, contaminants and additives problematic to children within the autism spectrum.  As far as I am concerned, the proof of their effectiveness is in the thousands of dedicated parents who have told me over the years how far their children have come using  products, approaches, and information they discovered on the Autism Coach web site.    

Although it is an extremely popular belief in the autism community that the mercury in vaccines triggered much of today's autism, new research seems to be indicating that an auto-immune response to the viruses children are being vaccinated against may also be a trigger in and of themselves.  Also, some vaccines that are supposedly mercury free may not be as free as they claim - as mercury is part of the manufacturing process of many vaccines they may contain trace amounts and still bear the "mercury free" designation.  My own thought is that there are multiple factors involved in the autism epidemic, including environmental pollution of air, water, and food. There was a study from Texas indicating a there is a significantly higher rate of autism in families living within 50 miles downwind of a coal burning power plant (these plants spew tons of mercury into the air each year as a by-product of burning coal).

We have more genetically modified foods being introduced into our food supply without our consent through the successful lobbying efforts of big-agribusiness.  The latest major genetically modified food crop to be foisted upon us is sugar beets, which comprise 40% of our sugar supply and are used extensively by major brand such as McDonalds, Pepsi, and Coke.  The genetically modified beets are Round-Up ready - which means they will not be as easily killed by  Round-Up (glyphosphate) which is used extensively in agriculture as a chemical weeder.  Glyphosphate has been implicated as part of the reason for the die-off of amphibians around the world  in combination with other man-made chemicals that have made their way into the ground water.  I for one, would advocate a boycott of major food brands until they put a stop to the introduction a major genetically modified crop that has not been tested as safe for human consumption.  Many countries in Europe ban genetically modified foods and I think we should join them.  I encourage all parents to contact their representatives to object to this move which was sneakily announced just before Christmas and was barely reported in the newspapers.  

Another major genetically modified crop, Bt corn, was introduced several years ago and resulted in so many health problems that it was banned from being used in human food.  Many people who raise livestock saw major health problems in their animals when they were fed Bt corn as well.  No one wanted the Bt corn in the food supply so the agri-business then wrangled a government  kick back for every gallon of ethanol produced from Bt corn.  Even the ethanol fumes from Bt corn are proving to be an airborne hazard.  The monarch butterflies that travel through the fields of Bt corn are being decimated by toxic pollen and I speculate on whether this corn is having an impact on the honey bee die-off of this year as well  Honey bees are essential for pollinating all our major fruit and vegetable crops and their disappearance would be a threat to our food supply.  As of this year, so much Bt corn is being raised that the price of wheat increased 600% this year because not as much wheat is being grown - and there is talk of using the beets to produce ethanol as well.  Unfortunately beets are also a raw material used in many supplements to treat autism, such as betaine, TMG, and DMG - so I once again strongly urge you to advocate loudly to your representatives to put a stop to the introduction of Round-Up Ready beets.

The Round-Up beet crop is being planted for human consumption this spring for the first time.  The irony is that weeds and insects will quickly become resistant to Bt and Round-Up and the net result in a few years time is likely to be a poisoned food crop, super-weeds, and super-bugs.  

Switching topics, as many of our children in the spectrum are now approaching adulthood, parents and caregivers are suddenly facing the the prospect of seeing an end to public school programs and having to plan for the rest of their children's adult lives.  Depending on how high functioning the child is scenarios include developing skills to live independently, finding employment, day-care,  obtaining government assistance, finding assisted living and/or caregivers.  There are those who may be looking to put support systems in place for children who are attending college.  In the upcoming year, we will try to put together articles which address the needs of this population.  If there is an aspect of helping older children you would like us to research and explore in an article, please let us know.

Research into causes and treatments continue and as our understanding of autism grow, so does hope helping our children diagnosed with autism and for preventing autism.  Autism Coach will continue, as we have over the years, to post articles of significance that help to better explain the causes of autism and to  provide insight into how to help our kids.  As a final note, I believe that if each of us tries to be our best self and we work together for the common good, we can improve the future for all our children.