Key Lessons Learned

Since 2000, we’ve learned several key lessons about autism:

• The epidemic of autism is real, and it not a merely a product of better diagnosis.

• • A study by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute on California autism rates found that less than 1/10th of the increased number of reported autism cases could be attributed to the inclusion of milder cases of autism (so called “diagnostic expansion”), and less than 1/25th could be attributed to earlier age of diagnosis. (see “Hertz-Picciotto Jan2009 – The Rise in Autism and the Role of Age at Diagnosis”)

• Latest indications are that perhaps 6-7% of autism cases are purely genetic, meaning that the child has autism solely because of the genes inherited from the parents (if they have these genes, then they have autism).

  • SafeMinds analysis of the Autism Genome Project Consortium findings concludes that the largest autism-genetic study to date found no association other than one slightly-associative one that would have been expected to be found by statistical chance.

  • OSOTEN "Original Source of the Estimated Number describes how the widely-reported 10-15% number of autism cases from genetic causes can be traced back to an estimate by a single group of researchers that did not have valid supporting data for their assertion. It asserts that the real number is probably around 6-7%.

• There is a greater risk of autism for children born to families with certain family medical histories (Brimacombe M, Ming X, Parikh A. Familial risk factors in autism. JChild Neurol. 2007; 22:000-000), indicating that certain sub-groups are particularly susceptible to autism (e.g., 1 in 7 children born to families with thyroid disorders develop autism)

• Many studies indicate that children with autism are less able to excrete toxins. For example, children with autism are less able to excrete mercury via hair and thus have lower levels of mercury in their hair versus a control group. (Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE. Int J Toxicol. 2003 Jul-Aug; 22(4):277-85)

• Autism is a whole-body condition, not merely one affecting the brain. Children with autism have multiple organs with adverse health issues, typically including the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system. Clinical research indicates that children with autism share serious underlying metabolic imbalances

  • Auto-antibodies and impaired immune system function

  • Methylation disorders (chemical process that supports toxin excretion)

  • Low glutathione levels (glutathione is necessary for toxin excretion)

  • High metal toxicity (including mercury, aluminum, lead)

  • Mitochondrial dysfunction

  • Thyroid dysfunction

  • Demylenation

  • MBP “Myelin Basic Protein” antibodies

  • Gastrointestinal disease

  • Seizure disorders

  • Chronic neuroinflammation

  • Chronic bacterial, viral, and fungal infections

  • Disordered serum chemistries

  • Altered metabolic profiles

  • Impaired brain connectivity

  • Gastrointestinal abnormalities including impaired digestion