My son has autism

[Separation]

A recent thread I was reading about the science of vaccine or not to vaccine has got me thinking. One thing that I got from that discussion is, people just don't get it.

When the anti-vax boom we were constantly wondering if the vaccine had anything to do with our son and his autism. The thing that stood out though is both of our children received their vaccinations from the same doctors, with the exception of two. My son received a MMR & DVAP at the Macdill Air Force Base medical clinic. Most kids when they receive an immunization get a needle shot. He got the air gun treatment. Ive never seen that done before so it really stuck out.

Now I will say this. When a parent is faced with any life altering situation that deals with their children, well, sometimes they don't think with clear minds. If you dont have a handicapped child you have no idea what they go through day in, day out, some (like me) will have to take care of our child for his entire life. My wife and I know this, have accepted this, are are fine with this. I have had actual family members stay with us for an extended time say, your son is acting ignorant, why is he behaving badly? They knew he had autism, he is 16 years old, this isn't a new thing.

They still don't understand it because he doesn't have a cast on his arm, his hair isn't falling out, or he is not bed ridden. He is 16 years old and has the mental capacity of a 5 year old. He has a baby blue owl pillow that he has had since he was born, he will not go anywhere without it. He is afraid of the dark, loud noises drive him crazy, he cannot stand having dirty hands or clothing. He is a child of habit, if the routine is broken, we can pretty much write off the entire day. He has only connected with me, he will not communicate with his older sister or even his own mother.

Parents who have handicapped children or even sick children will do anything to make sense or try to find a cure for their child. If you are not in this situation you will not understand this. You may say you do, even with good intentions, but you don't. Take the couple that was incarcerated recently in Spain, They took their terminally ill child out of the hospital in England for a possible cure in Europe. The hospital in England put out an immediate warrant for child endangerment. The child was not healthy enough to leave the hospital, but they took their terminal child and left the country in hopes of a possible cure.

Please keep this in mind when dealing with parents of children. I am %100 on board with everyone getting vaccinated, but I find myself sitting with my son wondering if maybe it was those shots he received. I know its irrational to think this way, I have scoured literature, the internet trying to find something to prove otherwise, but some other parents may have latched onto this thinking.

[bvf]

1. I don't share your situation and will never be able to

understand your plight, but I just wanted to say here that what you wrote is quite moving.

I wish your son and your whole family well and hope medicine catches up to this affliction in your lifetimes.

What pisses me off about the whole vax debate is that I've personally only seen mention of it in political contexts. I truly wish I could point you to respectable literature on the subject--the internet is probably not the ideal place to find peace of mind.

[LisaLynne]

2. Thank you for sharing your story and perspective.

Excellent post. Thank you.

[SheilaT]

3. I do understand that part about parents will do anything to make sense or try to find a cure.

My oldest son lost all of his hair to alopecia areata when he was just four years old. At first, it was devastating. I couldn't imagine how he could go through life bald. He had the most extreme version, called alopecia areata universalis, which means he lost all body hair, including his eyebrows and eyelashes. People assumed he had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.

Lucky us, we connected to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation less than a year after he lost his hair, and started going to their yearly conferences. There I learned what I consider the two most important pieces of information about this: one, they have no idea really what causes it, and two there is no cure. Once I learned that I became free from the search to find the cure.

But over the years as I attended the conferences I saw parents desperately trying to find the magic cure. They'd cling to all sorts of dubious explanations, and cures. It was sad, but I understood because of how difficult it can be to have a child who is different.

And alopecia, in many ways, isn't all that bad. The person with it has nothing else going wrong. They're not sick, they're not disabled, they just don't have hair.

Then the younger son lost all of his hair when he was ten, but it was a piece of cake to deal with because we knew exactly what was going on.

And then, when older son was eighteen years old and halfway through his senior year of high school, we finally figured out that he is mildly autistic, he has Asperger's Syndrome. Now clearly, the alopecia and the Asperger's have no connection to each other, but there it is, someone who has to mildly disruptive/disabling things in his life.

The one thing I do know is that vaccines have nothing to do with my son's autism. He was different from the day he was born, only it wasn't strong enough to figure out, and then the alopecia sort of got in the way. I kept on thinking that the reason he behaved oddly was because he was treated differently because he looked strange. Not that I ever let that be an excuse for anything, but there it was.

Sometimes there are things we just cannot control, and it's my opinion that we need to simply make the best of whatever happens.

[MADem]

8. Sheila, I don't know if you've seen this study out of Yale but it might be worth looking into.

I don't know where they're at on the clinical trials, but if your child is interested they should be able to tell you if/where they're firing them up.

http://news.yale.edu/2014/06/19/hairless-man-arthritis-drug-spurs-hair-growth-lots-it

The patient had previously been diagnosed with both alopecia universalis, a disease that results in loss of all body hair, and plaque psoriasis, a condition characterized by scaly red areas of skin. The only hair on his body was within the psoriasis plaques on his head. He was referred to Yale Dermatology for treatment of the psoriasis. The alopecia universalis had never been treated.

King believed it might be possible to address both diseases simultaneously using an existing FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis called tofacitinib citrate. The drug had been used successfully for treatingpsoriasis in humans. It had also reversed alopecia areata, a less extreme form of alopecia, in mice.

“There are no good options for long-term treatment of alopecia universalis,” said King, a clinician interested in the treatment of rare but devastating skin diseases. “The best available science suggested this might work, and it has.”

After two months on tofacitinib at 10 mg daily, the patient’s psoriasis showed some improvement, and the man had grown scalp and facial hair — the first hair he’d grown there in seven years. After three more months of therapy at 15 mg daily, the patient had completely regrown scalp hair and also had clearly visible eyebrows, eyelashes, and facial hair, as well as armpit and other hair, the doctors said.

“By eight months there was full regrowth of hair,” ... King has submitted a proposal for a clinical trial involving a cream form of tofacitinib as a treatment for alopecia areata.

[deurbano]

17. I sent that to my mother-in-law (who has alopecia universalis) a few weeks ago.

Interesting and hopeful development.

[MADem]

20. It does look very hopeful--the question will be if the results are translatable over a wide swathe

of subjects.

And, if you've got arthritis on top of the alopecia, it's a two-fer!

This could be as big as the peanut allergy desensitization protocol--which I think everyone allergic to nuts should try. And of course, the "daily medicine" (a peanut M and M) is probably the most popular pill on the market!

[SheilaT]

24. While many people with alopecia

would be very happy for a cure, both of my sons have told me they are not even remotely interested.

Neither son has ever had to shave. Grown men look jealous when I tell them that. And over the years they've spent zero money on haircuts, or shampoo. I'll admit, I would not be very happy if all my hair were to fall out, and I'd be eager for a cure. But my sons? Meh.

I also like that I can spot them in a crowd. Younger son plays Ultimate Frisbee, and a few I went to see him play in a tournament. I had to walk through the fields (I think there were thirty of them) of teams playing Ultimate, all I had to do was look for the bald guy. And trust me, bald looks very different from a shaved head.

[MADem]

27. If they're happy the way they are, more power to them.

I have an acquaintance with this condition who has adjusted well but was thrilled to hear about this study--I think he's tired of standing out in the crowd, he'd prefer to just blend in. I haven't seen him in a while, I don't know if he followed up or got into the trials--that's how I became aware of this, through him.

[SheilaT]

28. Oh, yes. I think that for my sons the fact that they lost their hair

so young (one at age 4, the other at age 10) makes a huge difference. Also, I never treated it as a big deal. No hair? Just wear a hat if it's hot or cold. Losing hair in adolescence or adulthood is a totally different proposition.

It would be wonderful if there were a real cure. The fact that my sons probably wouldn't bother to take advantage of it is simply their choice. It would be fabulous for the very many who are unhappy about being bald to have a full head of hair again.

I'll also add, that when someone is in that in-between stage of losing hair but not being bald, and looks as if there's some sort of terrible scalp disease going on, then that's truly dreadful. Both of my sons passed briefly through that stage, and it's not pretty.

[Omaha Steve]

4. I was a mall Santa for years

My helpers were great. They knew me and kept an eye on the line. Handy capped kids got to go straight to the front of the line if they wanted. Most did. Free photos too.

From the DU.

[Voice for Peace]

5. Thank you, this is an excellent post.

I've been thinking of a woman in Iraq, whose child was killed by
an American soldier.

Now the Americans are saying to her, and to the rest of her
extended family: we are here to help you, please let us keep you
safe. And these are sincere soldiers. But you can understand why
the family will decline their help, even though they might lose
another child.

[1monster]

6. My stepson is autistic and my son has some autistic traits, so I undersand what you

are going through.

Although observation strongly suggests that the autism in my family has a genetic origin, I also wonder if vaccines might have played some role in my son's autistic traits since things like not liking to be touched didn't show up until middle school... after he had his MMR booster.

Other traits, though, like OCD did show up loudly as early as third grade and may have been present more mildly at maybe two years old.

At this point, I am not convinced that immunizations have any effect on autism. I do believe that the additives in our foods may be, at least partly, responsible for the rising number of austic children in this country.

Some of the stuff is really dangerous -- and no one really knows what the long term effect is on the body before and after birth.

[ReRe]

7. Wow... you have your hands full.

and I CAN imagine what you're going through. One of my children had what we thought was ADD, later learning that it was actually Asbergers. I had to keep my eyes on him at all times. I often wondered about the vaccinations too.

At this point, I am very worried about YOU. You need some serious support or maybe counseling & meds to help you cope with all the pressure. Please take care of yourself, too, Separation.

[Separation]

12. Thank you,

we definitely are in the process of looking for a support group. Unfortunately, where I decided to plant family roots, well, its a pretty poor area of Tn. Which was one of the drawing points actually, super low cost of living for a fixed retired income, but it does have its drawbacks.

[Uncle Joe]

9. Were you stationed in Camp Lejuene, prior to 1987?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Lejeune_water_contamination

Camp Lejeune water contamination
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Camp Lejeune water contamination problem occurred at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987.[1] During that time, United States Marine Corps (USMC) service members and their families living at the base apparently bathed in and ingested tap water that was contaminated with harmful chemicals. An undetermined number of former base residents later developed cancer or other ailments, which many blame on the contaminated drinking water. Victims claim that USMC leaders concealed knowledge of the problem and did not act properly in trying to resolve it or notify former base residents that their health might be at risk.

In 2009 the U.S. federal government initiated investigations into the allegations of contaminated water and failures by U.S. Marine officials to act on the issue. At least one of the reports found a higher rate of cancers and other ailments among Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune during the contamination time period. In August 2012, President Obama signed the Janey Ensminger Act into law to begin providing medical care for people who may have been affected by the contamination.

From at least 1953 through 1985, Marines and their families at Lejeune's main family housing areas of Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point drank and bathed in water contaminated with toxins at concentrations up to 3400 times levels permitted by safety standards. As a result, at least 850 former residents filed claims for nearly $4 billion from the military. The contamination appears to have affected the water from two of the eight water treatment plants on the base.[2] The main chemicals involved were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent, and trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser; however, more than 70 chemicals have been identified as contaminants at Lejeune.[3] The base's wells were shut off in the mid-1980s, after which the water met federal standards, then they were placed back online in violation of the law.[3][4] The Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune is now preparing to supply water to Onslow County, NC. There is a long history of lost documents, poor management, and deceptive lab testings and results. The National Resource Council of the National Academies released a report based upon a literature review of PCE and TCE in July 2009. The report failed to assess other contaminants, such as benzene and vinyl chloride, and concluded that the water at the base was tainted between 1950 and 1985, but that the contamination could not be linked to any health problems.[5][6] However, an October 2010 letter from the Director of the government agency tasked to study health effects at Superfund sites, such as Camp Lejeune, illustrated the limitations of the 2009 literature review and advised that there "was undoubtedly a hazard associated with drinking the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune." [7]

Thanks for sharing, Separation.

[Separation]

10. We were there from 94-99

Pendleton from 99-01, Kodiak AK 01-08, then Florida from 08-13.

The water in base housing even during that time has peaked my interest as well. Thank you for your post.

[Uncle Joe]

13. I was in Camp Lejeune in 76 and again in 78-79

Last edited Sun Sep 14, 2014, 01:47 PM - Edit history (1)

They sent me the health survey mentioned in Wikipedia to fill out.

While the toxins are mostly known as being tied to cancers, I can't help but wonder what other diseases or maladies may be caused or aggravated by those poisons, especially with newborns?

I wish you and your family the best, Semper Fi, Separation.

[Separation]

11. Thank you everyone for your kind words.

It means a lot, it also makes the world go easier when you know you aren't alone.

[onecaliberal]

14. I completely understand

I have a 28 year old son with autism. He's about 7 or 8 mentally. I never wondered about vaccines, he was born before the issue came up. I do have to say, I trust science and to that end there is no evidence to support the anti vaccine crowd.
Autism isn't new, it didn't start when vaccinations started being given.
It is difficult to know my son will never have a life of his own but we make the best of each day. I accept that we will most likely never know exactly why.

[BrotherIvan]

15. Such an excellent post

Thank you for telling your story, as it may help others to understand and not be so quick to judge. I know exactly what you mean, when someone I loved was dying, I did everything, everything, searching high and low for some kind of answers until I made myself sick. I don't blame parents one bit for being willing to try anything. Just like the saying, there are no atheists in fox holes, it's so easy to judge when it does not effect you.

I have very good friends with autistic children. One family has two, with the oldest being severely autistic and often violent. It has been life changing and they don't know what the future holds. I will say they are the bravest, most loving people I have ever met. It sounds like you and your wife are excellent parents who love their children more than anything in the world. I wish you and your whole family the very best.

[liberal_at_heart]

16. I refuse to stand in judgement of parents that have children with severe autism.

My son has high functioning autism and is pretty well adjusted. If my son had severe autism I probably would have been wondering what caused it and looking for a cure too.

[SHRED]

18. Have you tried cannabis?

http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/autism-treatment-marijuana-madness-8763721

https://www.google.com/search?q=cannabis+oil+autism&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS590US593&oq=cannabis+oil+autism&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65l3&sourceid=chrome-mobile&espv=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en-US#newwindow=1&safe=off&hl=en-US&q=cannabis+treatment+autism&revid=1589245051

[Separation]

31. Just waiting for Tn. to legalize it and a brave enough doctor to prescribe it.

[SHRED]

34. I wouldn't wait

There is a Facebook (private group) called "Cannabis Oil Sucess Stories". They could help you. Good people there. They advocate only grain alcohol extraction and not naptha, ISO, etc..

ON EDIT: Your state is insanely harsh...be careful. http://norml.org/laws/item/tennessee-penalties-2

[Dr Hobbitstein]

19. I understand where you come from...

I also have a child with autism. This is why I argue passionately against the anti-vax crowd. While we may not know what causes autism, we do know it's not vaccines. To keep conflating the two takes away time and effort, and also can cause needless suffering for other children. We need more research into autism, it's causes, and effective behavioral/adaptive therapy, not study after study proving the safety of something that's been deemed safe since the 1930s or promotion of castration drugs or fad diets as a "cure".

[pnwmom]

26. Why do you conflate "anti-vax crowd" with people who advocate for vaccine SAFETY?

We know, based on the example of the old whole cell DPT vaccine, that is possible to have a vaccine that is dangerous to a segment of the population, and that a safer vaccine can be developed.

Why can't we join together and agree that vaccinations are a good thing -- I'm about to get my annual flu shot -- but it is also important to make vaccines as safe as possible. And that is what organizations like the National Vaccine Information Center are pushing for.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

32. Because vaccines are currently safe to MOST people...

And those screaming about "vaccine safety" are the same ones screaming about thimerosal and autism.

Right on their webpage, AUTISM is listed. That is woo, and an INSULT to parents of children with autism.
http://www.nvic.org/Vaccines-and-Diseases.aspx

THAT is why I conflate the two. They are ONE AND THE SAME.

[pnwmom]

35. "Most people." That doesn't help the people who are injured -- like my sister who was killed --

or the parents who are worried that their child could be one of the few -- especially when another one of their children has already had a serious reaction.

If you want all parents to be on board with vaccinations, they have to believe that all vaccinations are as safe as possible, not just safe for "most people." Most isn't good enough.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

36. There will never be ANYTHING that is safe for EVERYONE.

It's up to the doctor to assure that the patient is able to take what they prescribe.

Most people can eat peanuts. Most people can drink milk. Most is all you'll ever get.

[pnwmom]

37. No, the standard should be as safe as possible, not just "most." And that wasn't the case with the

old DPT vaccine, and yet the government dawdled for DECADES before finally funding the research needed to develop a safer vaccine. And that was only after a great deal of pressure from the injured parents you insult with the term "anti-vax" crowd.

However, for the sake of argument, why should any parent take a chance on a vaccine that is safe for "most," when the vaccine is for a disease that in my generation was considered a normal childhood illness, that for "most" had no serious consequences? Like chicken pox, for example?

[Dr Hobbitstein]

39. A normal childhood disease?

Like whooping cough?
Polio?
Small pox?

Those were all "normal childhood diseases" in prior generations.
And chicken pox isn't a disease without "serious consequences".

Vaccines ARE as safe as possible.

DTP covers pertussis, which was eradicated at one point. Now, it has resurfaced, and has caused fatalities.

If a parent refuses to vaccinate without a LEGITIMATE medical reason (and fear is NOT a legitimate reason), they are an irresponsible parent, putting not only their children's lives at stake, but everyone else's as well. Herd immunity only goes so far.

[pnwmom]

40. Chicken pox for the vast majority of children had no serious consequences, as you know.

In fact, the US waited to approve the vaccine for ten years after it was being used in Japan because the disease wasn't considered very dangerous. As a parent, I remember waiting impatiently for the vaccine to get approved because, while not usually dangerous, the disease was very uncomfortable for my child and we both lost a lot of sleep. I was glad when it finally got approved in time for my youngest child to get it.

But if the ten years of Japanese experience had shown serious consequences to a small number of children vaccinated, then that would have changed my calculation completely.

[shaayecanaan]

21. My son has ASD as well

Not a day goes by when I dont think if I did something wrong. I worry about vaccination. I cooked swordfish once for my wife when she was pregnant so I wonder if it was the mercury in that. We fell off our bike once when he was 18 months, he had a helmet on and wasnt really hurt, but I still wonder. He was also born in a public hospital and experienced foetal distress, so I feel guilty that I didnt book them in with a private hospital.

We have a neurotypical child as well. By comparison, parenting issues with him are an absolute piece of cake. People who have not experienced this have absolutely no idea.

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. Mine too.

Speaking for myself, his disability wasn't apparent to me... until the day it was. It's one of those things where once you see it, you can't see anything else but the autistic behaviors.

For a time, I thought of his disorder as happening on that day, but later realized that it wasn't a transformative day for him; it was a transformative day for me.

I know parents whose recognized the behaviors after a fever or illness at age 2 or so, and I think this is why they latch onto the ideas of poisoning or disease vectors.

The increasing prevalence is clearly partly due to an environmental factor, but the medical consensus is that it is probably not postnatal.

We're very fortunate that he is very high functioning. He's clearly and unmistakably ASD but also passing all his general ed classes, in band and drama and is generally a great person to be around.

Generally speaking, I have more respect for those looking for answers than I have for those demanding which stones investigators should not look under.

[Lilma]

23. My heart goes out to you.

I volunteered at a therapeutic riding center. Over the years we had many riders with autism. Their parents said it helped a lot. Ours was free to kids. Maybe you could see if there is one within driving distance to you.

The kids really made a connection to the horses and loved coming. We often had a parent side walk with the kids to help with communication.
Riding is also good for them because it mimics the natural walking process to the riders muscles and we saw definite improvement in their walking skills.

I am so fortunate that none of my kids has a disability like autism-I saw and heard what the parents went through and still are. My heart goes out to you.

[pnwmom]

25. My heart goes out to you and all the other parents.

It is unlikely this was the cause of your son's autism, but I know how frustrating it must be not to know what the cause was.

There are cases of children with mitonchondrial disorders for whom the vaccine court has made awards -- so it's not entirely impossible for particular children, with certain genetic vulnerabilities, to develop autistic syndrome as a result of vaccines. You were not crazy or stupid for exploring every avenue, trying to understand.

I hate it when I see smug, know-it-all people mocking the parents who have these concerns, and mocking parents involved in organizations that advocate for vaccine safety -- as if that's a bad thing. Over 50 years ago, my baby sister died the day after receiving her third DPT shot. A cousin of my mother's had also died after receiving that vaccine, and his brother suffered permanent paralysis. Those cousins' parents were told they were given a vaccine from a "bad batch." Then in my children's generation, a cousin had a fever over 105, and my son had a low fever with off-and-on seizures for a week. My doctor said it couldn't have been the vaccine, because "the vaccine doesn't do that." Well, it did to him. Based on a family history involving three generations, his new doctor, and the pediatricians of the other cousins, decided to withhold the pertussis part of the vaccine in future shots.

The National Vaccine Information Center wasn't around when my sister died, but as a result of their work, the government finally retired the old, whole cell vaccine and substituted a safer one. I'm glad it was available for my granddaughter. And I know who to thank -- all those concerned parents who put pressure on the government to develop a safer vaccine. If they hadn't, the NIH wouldn't have funded the research necessary to develop the split cell DPT vaccine. And if they hadn't worked on informing doctors and parents about the possible risks to the old DPT vaccine, one or more of the 9 cousins in my children's generation might, like my sister, have had one too many DPT shots.

[LeftishBrit]

29. Thank you for sharing

I wish your son all the best.

Although no one in my family has autism, several family members have had serious illnesses undiagnosed for a long time, and I myself have had Crohns disease since early childhood: another condition that Wakefield and others have suggested might be caused by the MMR vaccine (which didn't even exist when I was a small child). I fully understand, and have in some situations experienced, the desperation of patients, parents and other family members looking desperately for treatments. One reason that I am so against the 'vaccines cause autism/Crohns/etc.' propagandists is precisely that they play on desperate family members' hopes and fears, and also that they divert resources from research into the possible real causes and treatments for these conditions.

I think that the authorities over-reacted in the case of the parents of the child with the brain tumour, who were undoubtedly acting out of desperation rather than malice, and who were not preventing him from getting medical treatment. There was a big petition against their incarceration, which I signed. The parents have been released, and the boy is now receiving the proton beam therapy which they wished him to have. I hope he does well.

[Live and Learn]

30. This article might be of interest to you:

https://news.yahoo.com/study-suggests-treatment-possibility-autism-073625965.html


New study suggests treatment possibility for autism
AFP
August 23, 2014 3:36 AM

Washington (AFP) - People with autism have too many synapses -- the connectors by which brain cells send and receive signals -- according to a new study that may point to a treatment for the complex disorder.

The extra synapses in autistic brains are the result not of overproduction, but of a failure in the normal process of discarding old and degraded cells.

Researchers at New York's University of Columbia were able to re-establish the brain's "pruning mechanism" in mice genetically modified to simulate autism.

snip>

The researchers saw a reduction in typical autistic behaviors, such as avoiding contact with others, in the treated mice, according to findings published this week in the US journal Neuron."

[Omaha Steve]

33. Click here once a day free to help children with autism

http://thebreastcancersite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/aut/home?link=ctg_aut_home_from_vet_thank-you_sitenav

[pnwmom]

41. Welcome to DU, john kale!

[Not a Fan]

43. Autism

I can't even imagine the despair associated with having a child with Autism. I do have a child with brain trauma though and it is tough. I understand that anyone in your position would want answers.

This was a study from March on Autism - I suspect you follow the science - but I'll post this anyway:

http://www.lef.org/newsletter/2014/0304_Mechanism-proposed-that-links-decreased-levels-vitamin-D-and-serotonin-found-in-autism-patients.htm

Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council has worked closely with autistic children. He himself is on the spectrum and this was always of special interest to him.

He has long suspected that Vitamin D3 deficiency was behind the Autism epidemic. This was for two reasons:

First, because the onset of the epidemic exactly coincides with the sun-scare campaigns that were instituted in the 1980's when everyone began to use sunscreen - which blocks Vitamin D3. (Other chronic conditions spiked at the same time - diabetes, heart disease and cancers for instance. Research shows they are all VD3 sensitive chronic conditions.)

Second, because one of the groups at highest risk are the children of those at the higher end of the socio-economic scale. That is contrary to all other known diseases. They were able to determine however, that this group of financially comfortable, highly educated parents were the most likely to be very faithful about slathering themselves and their children with sunscreen.

Autism most often occurs prenatal in a Vitamin D3 deficient mother.

This is not the only research that connects the two - there is actually a great deal of research on this now. And Harvard is currently running a study on this as well. (Different from the one from Harvard on Autism at the Council's website.)

Dr. Cannell's work with autistic children had specific results. Notable observations were that once an Autistic child's blood serum levels VD3 had been brought up to "life guard" range (90-100 ng/ml) - two things happened. They would begin talking in complete sentences, and they would begin socializing.

This is a reflection of the fact that Autistic children notably do better in the summer anyway.

Dr. Cannell used to treat Autistic children for free - and he may still. A call to the Vitamin D Council would be the way to find out. They are on the web:
www.vitamindcouncil.org

Also - here is a search at the Council's website on Autism, that shows a collection of studies they shared with their readers.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/?s=Autism&submit=Submit#

And you can also search the Vitamin D Council's website for the "Autism Letters" - letters from parents of autistic children to Dr. Cannell. They are amazing letters.

[phylny]

44. I don't know if this will give you any solace,

but the mother (an M.D., psychiatrist) of a former client of mine did not vaccinate her first daughter because there were so many children in the family diagnosed with autism. The little girl was eventually diagnosed with autism even though she hadn't been vaccinated. Her younger sister was neurotypical.