©Revised, September 2008, The Center For Development
Autism is a serious behavioral disorder among young children
that now occurs at epidemic rates.
According to a recent article by Donald Miller, MD, autism is diagnosed
in about 1 of every 250 girls and 1 in every 100 boys or more.
According to California records, autism has increased 1000%
in the past 20 years! Autism used
to account for 3% of the caseload of the California Department of Economic
Security. It now (2004) accounts for at least 34% of the
caseload and costs taxpayers about $2 million per child.
Lifetime care costs for an autistic person are $5 to 10
million each. This article
discusses natural approaches to helping autistic children and more importantly,
the prevention of autism.
The natural approach to health and healing recognizes correctly
that autism is due to the accumulation of toxic substances, allergic reactions,
infections and other nutritional, structural, energetic and other insults to
the body.
In a typical autism case, around his second birthday, a
normally-developing boy stops communicating with others and withdraws. He avoids eye contact and becomes
strange and aloof.
He often develops various motor nerve disturbances such as
jerking movements or walking on his toes.
Physicians also describe behaviors such as head banging, crying spells,
speech problems, and gastrointestinal and immune system problems.
Other behaviors depend on the severity of the condition,
which may vary. Some autistic
children are able to attend school, while others must be institutionalized as
their behavior is so disruptive to their families.
There
is, as of this writing, no official cause for autism. Here is what we find to be true about it, however, which allows
us to correct the condition in most cases.
* A
Gestational Disorder. I will
discuss two ways this is true.
1. Inadequate or improper gene expression. Genetic or inherited DNA errors cannot begin to account for
the staggering increase in autism in the past 20 years. However, genetic expression is
different.
Genes are activated by nutrients. This simple fact is known by geneticists, but completely
overlooked, as far as I am concerned.
In fact, most so-called
genetic defects are related to the poorer nutritional status of todayÕs mothers
and their unborn children.
Fortunately, this can often be overcome by reversing the
causes. These include toxins in
the motherÕs diet, drinking water and air. They also include stress from poor eating habits and other stressful
situations.
Pregnant women should be at home, ideally, not staring a
computer screens all day or running corporations or any stressful job. This is not about sexism. It is just common sense once one
understands the devastating effects of stress on human beings today.
Indeed, I feel this is the major cause of many autistic
children, especially those born with the problem (and many others such as
cancer). It is especially the case
with the lucky few who are not insulted with antibiotics, bottle feeding,
vaccines and other horrors that are other causes to be discussed below.
2. Genes fine but body chemistry disturbed in utero and
after. In other cases, genetic expression
plays a minor role, though it may still be present. In these children, the toxic metals from the mother and
other toxins simply poison the brain and other organs, causing symptoms of
autism and other disorders.
Most poisons, especially metals, passing from the mother, in
particular, to the fetus during gestation. Hence the term Ôgestational disorderÕ is an excellent
description of autism, ADHD and other disorders of young children.
The process often begins soon after conception and continues to become worse until the childÕs birth. The cause is the body chemistry of the mother, in part. This prevents the baby from protecting himself or herself from the toxins in the motherÕs body and in her environment that get into her body.
These toxins today are everywhere and include those found in her food such as mercury in fish, lead and cadmium sprayed on produce and hormones added to meats and dairy products. They also include medications, both prescription drugs and OTC remedies used widely by women even more than men.
They also include cosmetics, skin care products and a large number of other drugs and products available without prescription that mothers are falsely reassured are ÒsafeÓ during pregnancy although they are not safe. In fact, no artificial substance is very safe. The less the mother exposes herself to all toxins, the better for the baby inside of her.
Contact toxins, of course, are another problem today. These include dental amalgams, other
metals in the mouth, work-related poisons in offices and factories and many
more. Even new plastic equipment
such as computers outgas toxins that are harmful for developing fetuses if the mother breathes them or
touches them.
People forget that all toxins are absorbed through the skin,
often even moreso than those that are ingested in the food or water. Often, conditions such as autism, ADHD
and others are merely the end result of the process.
Most women unaware. Most of
the time, mothers to be are totally unaware of the influence of their toxic
makeup, toxic shampoos and toxic skin creams they later on each day to stay so
beautiful. Nor are they aware of
the toxicity of their daily headache aspirins and so many other drugs they so
casually take for fatigue, anxiety, irritability before their menstrual periods
and so many more.
As if this is not enough toxicity, there are many more
problems of young women today.
These include horrendous diets filled with toxic chemicals whose
mixtures have not been researched and really cannot be known. In addition, most are fatigued,
reducing their ability to eliminate these toxins.
One cannot see identify these imbalances without doing a
hair mineral test, as they do not show up on routine blood tests. As a result, mothers innocently and unknowingly
pass their deficiencies and toxicity on to their children.
Indigenous cultures much more aware. In some indigenous cultures, as soon as a young woman
reaches puberty, the community celebrates by feeding her special foods to
prepare her for bearing children.
The adults may walk for miles, or go on special fishing trips to locate
just the right type of foods they have found will help produce superior
offspring.
Many health-minded
societies are described in the classic book, Nutrition and
Physical Degeneration by Weston Price, DDS. This
brilliant man went around the world in the early twentieth century and studied
tribes that were the healthiest to determine why this was so.
His work has never been duplicated and probably cannot be as
many of the tribes no longer exist, thanks to the intrusion of modern society
upon their tribal lands. The
people are far worse in their health today as a result, though civilization has
brought far greater benefits in other ways.
However, we can learn from the primitives how to support our
children in health and this book provides the key, more than any other I know.
A teenage disaster.
In contrast,
teenage girls and young women in America often eat the worst diets
imaginable. They are taught to
lather their bodies with toxic makeup, soaps, rinses, shampoos, hair spray and
so much more.
What is called prenatal care comes much too late and much
too little. For most women,
prenatal care does not even begin until the formation of the brain and nervous
system are well underway, a month or more into pregnancy.
The only nutritional support most pregnant women are offered
is usually a single multivitamin.
It rarely contains what the woman needs as no testing whatever is done
before prescribing it. This is
nothing short of insanity. So many
cases of autism could be prevented or reduced by the simple concept of
prevention.
Animal breeders smarter than doctors. Animal breeders understand well that to produce healthy
offspring they must feed the parents, especially the mothers-to-be, a very
high-quality diet. They usually
add special nutritional supplements as well.
They also know that this feeding should begin long before a
female animal becomes pregnant.
They also understand that all toxins affect living creatures, not just
the food and water. So chemicals
in the environment and those put on the skin or in the mouth create just as
many problems as those in the food and water.
The truth revealed on tissue mineral analyses (TMA). Tissue mineral analyses of autistic children and of their
parents almost always reveal mineral deficiencies, toxic levels of heavy metals,
intense stress patterns and so much more.
Of course, one must be able to interpret the test, which most doctors
who offer TMA do not understand today.
This is why this website contains so many articles on this subject.
In addition, the analysis must be performed correctly, which
is usually not the case. The
laboratory must not wash the hair at the lab for the most accurate results. These factors account for just a part
of the reason TMA is not accorded more importance today. This will change, I am guessing, as
time goes on and the truth becomes known.
Soon, anyone who does not do this test on every teenager or
at least every pregnant woman will be viewed as negligent, as it is the truth.
Now let us address some more specific causes of some but not all cases of autism.
* Mercury
Toxicity and Vaccines. Symptoms resemble mercury toxicity. The
symptoms of autism are very similar to the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Six-month old children today receive
over 100 times the safe dose of mercury for their age due to vaccines.
The first case of autism occurred in 1943 in America, twelve
years after a mercury-containing preservative, thimerosal, was added to the whooping cough (pertussis)
vaccine. In the 1950s, with only
four recommended vaccines, the incidence of autism was 1 in 10,000
children.
As more vaccines were recommended, the incidence of autism
increased dramatically. By 1981,
children received 135 micrograms of mercury in vaccines. The incidence of autism increased to 1
in 2600 children. Children in 1996
received 246 micrograms of mercury in vaccines and the incidence of autism was
about 1 in every 350 children.
Today,
13 vaccines are recommended with varying numbers of booster shots. The number of shots ranges from 50 to
over 100 in some areas. The
incidence of autism now averages about 1 in every 150 children by some
estimates and shows little evidence of decline.
Children who receive vaccinations containing thimerosal have
six times the amount of autism as those who received a vaccine free of thimerasol. The majority of autism symptoms begin
after a vaccination.
Some physicians particularly blame the hepatitis B vaccine,
at times given on a childÕs first day of life. At that time, children do not have a well-developed immune
system, and their nervous system is extremely vulnerable. In one day, a child receiving the
hepatitis B vaccine may receive 36 times as much mercury as the safe limit.
This vaccine, in my view, is totally insane and guaranteed
to produce many more problems than it could possibly solve. The reason is simple. Newborns
receiving it are not exposed to hepatitis B, except perhaps in the hospital by
accident. Why doctors go along
with such inanity is beyond my comprehension.
Of course, vaccines containing mercury are also given to
mothers. In one study, 50% of
autistic childrenÕs mothers had received Rho Gam shots containing mercury as a
preservative. These shots are
given to mothers who have an Rh negative blood type and may be carrying an Rh
positive baby. Flu shots may also
contain the mercury-containing preservative, thimerasol.
This outrage, I am told, is slowly ending as mercury is
removed from vaccines. However,
vaccines may contain other deadly preservatives such as other mercury
compounds, aluminum compounds and others.
Vaccination remains a problem for all young children today. For more about vaccinationÕs effects,
read the article on this site entitled Vaccines,
TodayÕs Abomination.
Chronic Infections. Infections
often affect the brain. They may
not show up on many scans, blood tests or other tests, for that matter. They may be chronic, which means they
are low-grade. However, they can
cause significant behavioral problems, seizure disorders and so much more.
About 80% of autistic children have autoantibodies in their
blood that are present in only about 5% of normal children. These autoantibodies indicate an
exposure to a virus such as measles, mumps or others. Although the vaccine for measles and mumps (MMPR) does not
contain mercury, it intentionally introduces viruses into young childrenÕs
bodies. This indicates that all
vaccines may be harmful. All vaccines work by
exposing one to a low level of a harmful virus or bacteria.
One overlooked cause is incomplete or partial removal of
vaccine toxins. These can persist
for years, in fact. It is another
problem with vaccination that is overlooked completely, in most instances.
Vaccines can also cause low-grade infections for other
reasons. For example, mercury in
the vaccines impairs the childÕs immune response just enough to stop the child
from being able to overcome another infection. So vaccine toxins are part of the problem in most cases of
infection of newborns and children.
Other infections are also problematic for many autistic children. These include colds, flu, sore throats
and many more. Once again, their
impaired body chemistry makes it harder for them to eliminate the infection
completely, even if no sign of it is present. The bacteria continue to secrete toxins that affect the
brain.
Often the infection is in the intestines in many of the
children. This is covered
separately in the section on food reactions. However, the infection can be anywhere and its toxins affect
the liver, the brain and other vital organs as these travel through the blood.
Once again, tissue mineral analysis or TMA often, if not
always, shows evidence of chronic infection in autistic children.
* Autistic
Children Have Difficulty Eliminating Toxic Metals. Ninety-nine percent of autistic children in a recent study
have dysfunctional metallothionein metabolism. Metallothionein is a protein that binds to minerals such as
mercury, copper and others and allows the body to eliminate them. If this binding protein does not
function well, one is less able to transport and eliminate many toxic metals.
*
Autistic Children Often Have Food Reactions or Sensitivities. Many autistic children are highly allergic to milk protein,
soy protein, whey protein and other foods. This may be due to digestive disturbances, chronic
intestinal infections, toxic metals or other causes.
Regardless
of the cause, the issue must be addressed at once. Any food that is not digested properly will leave a residue
that is fermented or putrefies and gives rise to infectious organisms in the
intestines and beyond.
This
just adds to the burden on the body, in particular the eliminative organs such
as the liver and kidneys. When these
organs or overwhelmed, the child becomes ill and autism can be one result. The overload also reduces the childÕs
ability to remove other toxins such as mercury from vaccines and many, many
others that are needed to maintain health and development.
Food
problems are so important they deserve a separate article as well. Several articles on this website
address the issue of what should children eat, such as ChildrenÕs Nutrition.
* Stress
from other sources may also play a role. TMA tests of
autistic children often reveal chronic stress patterns. In addition to the stress due to vaccines,
poor diets and medications, stress may be related to other causes in the
childÕs environment.
Stress is a vague concept except if
one has a TMA. Then one can easily
see patterns of stress expressed as mineral ratio imbalances, in
particular. The balance of the
minerals in the body are quite accurate to reflect stress in childÕs life that
may come from problems in the home, parental discord, food and diet-related
issues, chronic infection, toxins in the environment and more.
* So-called
spiritual differences in some of these children. Another cause that is far more nebulous but truthful also is
that some autistic children are very sensitive children. They simply cannot handle the usual
school, family or social situations as well as other children.
These
children suffer even more from toxic food, toxic vaccines and other insults to
the body as well. They are called Òindigo
childrenÓ in some circles. One can
read more about them in a separate article on this website entitled The Indigo Children.
These
causes are of the greatest importance because it is far easier to prevent
autism than to work to correct it.
Prevention starts with the nourishment and general health young women
before they become pregnant. The
nutritional condition of the father probably also plays a part. A healthful lifestyle with plenty of
rest and sleep, a quality diet, freedom from toxic chemicals and metals in the
food, air and water and healthful emotional states are all important.
Once
children are born, the question of vaccination must be considered carefully, as
autism often occurs soon after a vaccination. This is a difficult decision for parents. The references at the end of this
article mention just one of many books available about vaccine problems so that
one can evaluate different options.
Young children, of course, also need a quality diet, and the
avoidance of junk foods and medications wherever possible, including fluoride
applications to the teeth and mercury amalgam dental fillings.
Based on current research, these measures would
significantly reduce the chances of a child developing autism.
If
a child has been diagnosed with autism or a related disorder, there is still
much that can be done. Here are
basic measures:
Diet. One needs to begin with a diet of only natural foods,
preferably organically grown. This
means fresh vegetables, whole grains, natural meats and eggs, and healthful
beverages such as spring water or herbal teas. Young children all need healthful fats in their diet for the
development of their nervous system.
These include foods such as eggs, butter, meats, avocado, fresh nut butters, coconut oil or olive
oil.
Strict avoidance of all cowÕs milk products is beneficial
for many autistic children.
Avoiding wheat, sugar and perhaps other foods also helps many of
them. Many autistic children have
chronic intestinal yeast infections that make them very sensitive to
sugars. It can be very
important to avoid all concentrated sugars including soda pop, candies,
cookies, and even natural fruit juices and other sweetened foods. Excessive carbohydrates in the diet,
even good quality one, may also worsen an intestinal yeast condition.
Supplementary
Nutrients. In addition to avoiding allergic foods
and improving the general quality of the diet, a scientifically designed
nutrition program based on hair mineral analysis can be most helpful. The key to nutritional balancing
programs, and the way they differ from what may be called symptomatic
approaches, is to gently and delicately balance body chemistry.
Through an individualized hair mineral analysis, a
custom program can be set up to help to slowly detoxify and rebuild the
body. A childÕs first hair mineral
analysis reflects the top layer of metabolism and will not show all the
imbalances. We address what is
revealed on the test with diet, supplementary nutrients, lifestyle modification
and detoxification procedures.
After a number of months, a retest will reveal a
deeper layer of metabolism. Many
times it will look quite different from the previous layer if the healing
program was followed. Uncovering
and reversing layers of adaptations and compensations, a process called
retracing, requires time and some persistence, but is far more permanent and
health-producing than simply removing symptoms. The results are:
* Enhancement of absorption and digestion of all nutrients.
Mineral imbalances play an enormous role
in the production of digestive enzymes and for rebuilding the intestine. Also, mineral imbalances often
contribute to intestinal yeast infection and other disturbances of the normal
intestinal flora. Autistic children
may also require digestive enzymes, probiotics such as acidophilus,
anti-candida supplements and specific dietary changes to help rebuild the
digestive system.
* Nutritional balancing programs facilitate the removal
of mercury, copper, manganese, iron, lead, cadmium and other metals that are
commonly present in excess. This will occur
even if metallothionein metabolism is impaired. We do not recommend synthetic chelating agents. They are unnecessary with the
nutritional balancing program and may be harmful. Nutritional balancing programs help remove toxic metals by
six methods simultaneously:
1. Improve the overall energy level
2. Balance the autonomic nervous system. This is most important for autistic
children. The sympathetic nervous
system inhibits the eliminative organs and has a catabolic effect on the
body. Catabolic means that it
breaks down body tissue. The
sympathetic nervous system is overactive in many if not all autistic
children. Parasympathetic
supplements and even foods, along with balancing the chemistry, can calm the
sympathetic system, allowing for much better elimination of toxic metals and
chemicals.
3) Improve the organs of
elimination. For this we use
digestive enzymes, liver support, kidney glandular substance at times and sauna
therapy, especially in older children.
Enhancing the bodyÕs energy level also helps the eliminative organs.
5) Provide natural toxic metal
antagonists and chelating agents.
Antagonists
are minerals or other substances that get in the way of the absorption or
metabolism of toxic metals or toxic chemicals. For example, zinc is an antagonist for cadmium, copper and
lead. Selenium has an antagonistic
action on mercury and other toxic metals.
Natural chelators include vitamin C and sulfur-containing amino acids
such as L-taurine and L-cysteine.
Other Natural Therapies. Other natural therapies may be helpful for autistic
children. These may include
chiropractic, massage, craniosacral therapy and many others.
The
autism epidemic, and it is an epidemic, causes a staggering level of suffering
and wasted human potential. It is
also an enormous financial burden on families and helping agencies. Standard medical treatments
are not very effective. Natural
therapies, especially nutritional correction, are demonstrating positive
results. Prevention is definitely
best.
On the positive side, a few states have banned the use of
thimerosal in vaccines and seen a slight decline in autism. In addition, there may be other positive
outcomes from the autism epidemic.
It is definitely drawing attention to the problems of multiple
vaccines. Alert doctors and
parents are beginning to question the wisdom of injecting multiple viruses into
their newborn children, especially when the vaccines are preserved with toxic
metals such as mercury and aluminum.
Autism
is also contributing to a shift in society from a more male-oriented society to
one in which women are playing a greater role. This is occurring simply because between four or ten times
more male children are affected by autism, ADHD and related disorders. This in itself is shifting the balance
so that more girls are emerging as mentally superior, although the reason for
it is terribly painful to behold.
Most
important for the future, we hope autism will also cause more people to be
concerned with the way young women are prepared for motherhood and whether they
choose to vaccinate and medicate their children without regard to the dangers
inherent in these interventions.
This is a critical factor in the development of many
conditions including autism. If
the pain we all suffer from the autism epidemic helps us to wake up and pay
more attention to the nutrition of teenage girls and young mothers-to-be, this
would indeed be a positive step toward producing healthier generations of
children in the future.
For
a recent case history of a case of autism, click
here.
References
1. Miller,
D.J., MD, ÒMercury on the MindÓ, Health Freedom News, pp. 16-18, 27, December 2004. Also available at www.donaldmiller.com.
2. ÒMercury
in MedicineÓ, The Congressional Record, May 21, 2003, E1011-E1030.
4. OÕShea,
T., The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination Is Not Immunization, 2004.
4. Miller,
N. Z., Are Vaccines Really Safe and Effective, 2002.
5. Autism
Research Institute (www.autismresearchinstitute.com)
6. Geier,
M. and Geier, D, MD, ÒAmericaÕs Developmental Disorder NightmareÓ, Dental
Truth, A Publication of DAMS International, pp. 20-21, December 2003.
7. Defeat
Autism Now (www.danconference.com)
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