Does behavior therapy help autistic kids?

There are some people who say it does. I am not an expert on the field and so cant comment much on it. My observations about most therapies for autism are that they all SUCK. These children are extremely withdrawn and it is difficult to get them involved in any type of therapy. Children are too young to comprehend or sit through a session of psychotherapeutic counseling. 

You can try and see if it works but I would not enroll for a whole series. Just try out a few sessions first and see if your child responds. Psychotherapy sessions are exorbitantly expensive and do not work all children with autism. Like obesity, autism is one medical disorder, where there are many charlatans who offer false promises- and only bring you great disappointment.

Can you tell me where I can find more information on autism and vaccines?

For the parent who is interested in knowing more about autism and vaccines. The two best sites for updated unbiased information are medscape (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/722174) and the Canadian health webpage (http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/q_a_thimerosal-eng.php). Both these sites are very easy to navigate; the material is comprehensive and easy to understand. A summary is provided at the end. The other great thing is that both these sites are non-profit and the information provided is completely unbiased. Medscape also offers comprehensive advice on all medical topics, most of which are more suitable for doctors. However, the nursing section offers easy to read factual articles for consumers. Medscape information is updated on a weekly basis and all the clinical trials are updated the moment they are completed. Unfortunately, it is difficult to compare data from different WebPages primarily because most of cyberspace is unregulated and the majority of literature is written by non-health care professionals (many who do not know the mouth from the a..e). In fact, many businesses who sell health products continue to speculate on the causes in order to market their nutrients. Therefore, for the consumer, it is important to seek advice on health sites that are non-profit and written by professionals who have no vested interest in pharmaceuticals.

Is mercury the cause of autism? Part 2

What needs to be understood is that mercury was once used as a preservative in some vaccines in the past but this is not true today. Yet autism numbers continue to increase. A large federal study revealed that there was no correlation between vaccines and autism. A recent study looked at dietary habits of families, use of dental, amalgam, personal care products, consumption of seafood and levels of mercury at different times during the life of a child. After adjusting for variables, the study revealed that there was no difference in mercury levels in autistic versus normal children. However, the study needs to be looked at with a few considerations. Mercury only remains in the body for several months and is rapidly excreted. There is always the possibility that the metal could have damaged the brain and no longer be present in the body. If this is true than measuring levels of mercury is meaningless. Secondly, the fetus may have been exposed to mercury during pregnancy, perhaps from the mother’s diet. Therefore, for the moment the cause of autism remains an enigma. The only thing that can be said from all the present studies is that mercury levels in individuals with autism are not elevated.

Is mercury the cause of autism? Part 1

Autism rates have increased dramatically in the last decade and it is estimated that one out of every 100 children has the disorder. Males appear to be five times more likely to develop autism. Many parents strongly believe that the mercury in vaccines is the culprit. Over the years, many anecdotal reports and retrospective studies have been published on mercury and autism. 

Some studies have examined mercury levels in the blood and others have looked at mercury levels in hair and in urine. All these studies have only looked at levels of mercury at static points in the life of a child and most studies are short term. More over the studies are fraught with poor control, lack of inclusion and exclusion criteria, observer variation, lack of control and small number of patients

Is autism more a problem of not knowing what is wrong or having no good treatment?

Both. For the parent, autism is a devastating diagnosis as there is a lot of misinformation. The sad thing is that erroneous data is offered not only by some physicians but also by alternative health care practitioners, natural health healers, herbalists, dieticians, therapists and everyone else who owns a webpage. Many non health care workers now market products for treatment on autism without any scientific backing. We really do not know much about the disorder and we really do not have any good treatments.

I still believe that autism may be related to vaccination. Any thoughts?

Two decades ago, all the talk was about attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Today, all we hear about is autism. Why have people become so consumed with autism? Firstly, despite intense research, we still do not understand the cause and know even less about treatment. There are no standard treatments for autism. If one was to go to 10 different doctors, one will most likely end up with 100 different opinions. There is no right or wrong about treatments available for autism, just the philosophical approach is different. Almost everything under the sun has been blamed for autism and the latest subject of blame is vaccines.