SchaferAutismReport: U.S. Autism Rates Rise Sharply

[Guest guest]

SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT " Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

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Friday, March 11, 2005 Vol. 9 No. 39

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PUBLIC HEALTH

* U.S. Autism Rates Rise Sharply

RESEARCH

* Lack of Insulin Linked to Alzheimer's

* Research Finds Mercury to Inhibit Insulin

* Japanese Study Is More Evidence That MMR Does Not Cause Autism

COMMENTARIES

* If MMR Is Safe Then Why Are So Many Layers Of Whitewash Needed?

* MMR – Autism Epidemiological Studies: Just a Distraction

FEATURE

* The Age of Autism: Backward

PUBLIC HEALTH

U.S. Autism Rates Rise Sharply

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=558681

HealthDay News -- The apparent rise in the proportion of children in

the United States with autism appears to be real, a new analysis suggests.

Autism prevalence is increasing with successively younger children,

particularly those born between 1987 and 1992, epidemiologists report in the

March issue of Pediatrics.

It's a worrisome trend, experts said, magnifying questions on the

causes for the increasing rates while placing a tremendous strain on the

nation's special education resources.

" The financial burden that this will place on our society is going to

be just stunning, and that is really the wake-up call here, " said Andy Shih,

director of research and programs at the National Alliance for Autism

Research in Princeton, N.J.

What causes autism isn't known, but some research points to a genetic

origin. Scientists also are exploring neurological, infectious, metabolic,

immunologic and environmental factors.

To assess prevalence trends in autism, researchers from s Hopkins

Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Minnesota used data

reported to U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education

Programs. The study included children who were aged 6 to 17 between 1992 and

2001.

Prevalence refers to the proportion of people in a given population

affected by a disease at a point in time, yielding a snapshot of the impact

of the disease.

Researchers compared the results for autism with trends for other

disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, mental retardation and

speech/language impairment.

" The analysis shows that the number of children receiving a special ed

classification of autism has increased drastically over the past decade, "

said Craig J. Newschaffer, director of s Hopkins' Center for Autism and

Developmental Disabilities Epidemiology.

While the exact number of autism cases in the United States in not

known, estimates range from one in 500 to one in 1,000 diagnosed cases each

year, according to government statistics.

Difficulty in pinning down the actual number of causes stems from

changes in how autism is diagnosed, what is considered autism and how cases

are reported.

Some people have attributed the rising rate of autism to " diagnosis

shifting, " meaning children who in past years might have been classified as

having mental retardation or speech/language difficulties are now being

diagnosed as having autism.

This study refutes that theory.

" By looking at trends in other classifications, we see that this

increase is not seen across the board in all [special] ed classifications, "

Newschaffer said. " This is not a rising tide lifting all boats. "

Increases in autism prevalence were greatest for kids born from 1987

to 1992. And while prevalence continued to increase among kids born after

1992, the increases were not as great.

" This may represent a slowing of the rate of increase -- not a

decrease, " Newschaffer reasoned. It may also be the result of a 1997 change

in federal law allowing special ed agencies to classify kids over age 5 as

having a " developmental delay, " he added. It could mean more children will

be classified as being autistic at a later age.

All of this presents a major challenge to the nation's special

education system. And to parents of kids with autism, it means either

qualifying for financial assistance or paying for special therapists

themselves.

" It's not uncommon for me to hear parents spending $30,000 to 40,000 a

year, " Shih said.

He added, " If this trend continues, it could be possible that we would

no longer be able to care for everyone who deserved the care. "

Meantime, controversy continues to swirl over a hypothetical link

between the childhood vaccine given to prevent measles, mumps and rubella

(MMR) and autism.

That possible connection, first raised in a widely reported 1998 study

in The Lancet, led by British gastroenterologist Dr. Wakefield, has

been discredited in several prominent studies since then.

A May 2004 report from the Institute of Medicine concluded that

neither the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal nor the MMR are

associated with autism. And last week, Japanese and British researchers

again disproved the connection in a study of 30,000 Japanese kids that was

published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Yet, many parents and patient advocates remain suspicious. The

National Autism Association, for one, insists that vaccines have not been

cleared as a cause of autism.

" There is a great deal of evidence supporting a link between vaccines

and autism, " the association said in statement reacting to a report on NBC

Nightly News. " Even [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC

director Gerberding has not ruled out that possibility, as she

indicated in her statement on the Today show, 'Right now, the scientific

evidence doesn't provide any framework for concluding that thimerosal or

immunizations in any way affect autism, but we have to have an open mind

about that.' "

Journalist Kirby explored the issue in his new book Evidence of

Harm. " No one can say with certainty that thimerosal, the vaccine

preservative made with 49.6 percent mercury, helped fuel the explosion in

cases of autism, attention-deficit disorder, speech delay and other

disorders over the past decade, " he wrote. " But no one can say for certain

that it did not. "

More information The National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development can tell you more about autism

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications%5Cpubs/autismfacts.pdf.

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* * *

RESEARCH

Lack of Insulin Linked to Alzheimer's

Discovery might lead to new treatments, researchers say. (There may also be

a link to autism. –L.S.)

[by Reinberg for HealthDay. Thanks to Beth Clay.]]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=558685

HealthDayNews - Two potentially significant discoveries about insulin

may shed new light on how Alzheimer's disease ravages the brain, and might

one day lead to new treatments.

The first discovery is that insulin is produced in the brain; the

second is that Alzheimer's patients have impaired insulin production in

their brains.

" Insulin is made in the brain. Previously it was thought to be made

only in the pancreas, " said lead researcher Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, an

associate professor of pathology and medicine at Brown University. " In

Alzheimer's disease, the production of insulin in the brain is substantially

reduced. "

In experiments with rats, de la Monte's team found insulin is produced

in several areas of the brain. The researchers also discovered that reducing

the production of insulin in the animals' brains added to the deterioration

of brain cells, an early sign of Alzheimer's.

When de la Monte's team looked at brain tissue from deceased

Alzheimer's patients, they found that insulin production was severely

curtailed in areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer's.

" Moreover, in Alzheimer's disease, the insulin receptors -- the

molecules that are important for receiving the signals from insulin -- are

also reduced in the brain, " de la Monte said.

Insulin is very important for maintaining brain cell function, de la

Monte said. " If you don't have enough insulin or the ability to respond to

insulin is impaired, then neurons will not function well and they probably

will die, " she explained.

To separate this form of insulin deficiency from diabetes, she has

coined the term " type 3 diabetes. "

" This is not diabetes as we know it, " de la Monte added.

The findings appear in the March issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's

Disease.

De la Monte believes the problems of insulin production in the brain

start at the beginning of the disease process in Alzheimer's patients. " It

starts early, " she said. " Over time, it gets worse. "

According to de la Monte, these discoveries might lead to new

treatments for Alzheimer's. The therapies could involve either replacing

insulin in the brain with some compound, or reactivating damaged insulin

receptors. " If you are thinking about how to make the cells function better,

you would be thinking about replacing what's missing or making the cells

respond better than they do, " she said.

In addition, de la Monte thinks the lack of insulin production in the

brain may also play a role in other neurodegenerative diseases such as

Parkinson's.

+ Full article here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=558685

Editor's note: this finding has potential significance with regards to

autism. A key paragraph from the article on recent research below makes the

connection between mercury and insulin production: " Scientists found that

insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and the neurotransmitter dopamine both

stimulated folate-dependent methylation pathways in neuronal cells. At the

same time they noted that compounds like thimerosal, ethanol and metals

(like lead and mercury) effectively inhibited these same biochemical

pathways at concentrations that are typically found following vaccination or

other sources of exposure. "

If vaccines with mercury may be at the source of autism, it may be for

Alzheimer's as well.

* * *

Research Finds Mercury to Inhibit Insulin

" New Research Suggests Link Between Vaccine Ingredients and Autism, ADHD "

[source: Northeastern University.]

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/503041/NewsWise subscription.

Newswise - According to new research from Northeastern University

pharmacy professor Deth and colleagues from the University of

Nebraska, Tufts, and s Hopkins University, there is an apparent link

between exposure to certain neurodevelopmental toxins and an increased

possibility of developing neurological disorders including autism and

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The research - the first to offer

an explanation for possible causes of two increasingly common childhood

neurological disorders - is published today in the April 2004 issue of the

journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Though some speculation exists regarding this link, Deth and his

colleagues found that exposure to toxins, such as ethanol and heavy metals

(including lead, aluminum and the ethylmercury-containing preservative

thimerosal) potently interrupt growth factor signaling, causing adverse

effects on methylation reactions (i.e. the transfer of carbon atoms).

Methylation, in turn, plays a significant role in regulating normal

DNA function and gene expression, and is critical to proper neurological

development in infants and children. Scientists and practitioners have

identified an increase in diagnoses of autism and ADHD in particular, though

the reasons why are largely unknown.

In their work, the scientists found that insulin-like growth factor-1

(IGF-1) and the neurotransmitter dopamine both stimulated folate-dependent

methylation pathways in neuronal cells. At the same time they noted that

compounds like thimerosal, ethanol and metals (like lead and mercury)

effectively inhibited these same biochemical pathways at concentrations that

are typically found following vaccination or other sources of exposure.

By better understanding what happens when infants and children are

exposed to these materials, the work of Deth and his colleagues helps to

explain how environmental contact with metals and administration of certain

vaccines may lead to serious disorders that manifest themselves during

childhood, including autism and ADHD.

" Scientists certainly acknowledge that exposure to neurotoxins like

ethanol and heavy metals can cause developmental disorders, but until now,

the precise mechanisms underlying their toxicity have not been known, "

said Deth. " The recent increase in the incidence of autism led us to

speculate that environmental exposures, including vaccine additives might

contribute to the triggering of this disorder. "

Thimerosal, which was largely phased out in the U.S. and in Europe

starting in 2000,was often used for its preservative abilities in multi-dose

units of vaccines for diseases like hepatitis, whooping cough, tetanus and

diptheria.

Today, most vaccines carry only trace amounts of it, according to the

CDC.

But in larger, multi-dose vials of these vaccines, often shipped to

and used in third world countries, thimerosal is still very common.

Multi-dose flu vaccines still contain thimerosal.

Additionally, the scientists recently obtained more insight into the

mechanism by which thimerosal interferes with folate-dependent methylation.

It acts by inhibiting the biosynthesis of the active form of vitamin

B12 (methylcobalamin), which is of particular interest because doctors

treating autistic kids are having good success with the administration of

methycobalamin.

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~200 editions, times 12 pages each, times ~20,000 circulation

comes to 48 million electronic pages per year.

* * *

RESEARCH

Japanese Study Is More Evidence That Mmr Does Not Cause Autism

[by Cole.]

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7491/558-a

BMJ 2005;330:558 (12 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7491.558-a

A Japanese research study has provided the strongest proof yet that

the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination does not cause autism, by

showing that rates of autism in Japan continued to rise even after the

triple vaccine was withdrawn.

However, concern remains that the low uptake of the MMR vaccination in

the United Kingdom could precipitate a measles epidemic. The Health

Protection Agency warns that 90 000 primary schoolchildren could be at risk

in London.

The controversy over the vaccine was triggered by a 1998 research

paper by gastroenterologist Wakefield suggesting that the MMR vaccine

may be responsible for a particular form of autism (Lancet 1998;351:637-41).

A series of studies since then have rejected this conclusion, yet uptake in

the United Kingdom of the triple vaccine continues to decline, falling from

a peak of 92% in 1995-6 to just under 80% last year.

The latest study, of 31 426 children in the Japanese city of Yokahama,

examined the incidence of autism between 1988 and 1996, a period when uptake

of the MMR vaccination steadily declined before being withdrawn in 1993 and

replaced by single vaccines (published online in the Journal of Child

Psychology and Psychiatry).

Yet the incidence of autism continued to rise, from 48 cases per 10

000 children born in 1988 to 117.2 per 10 000 born in 1996. The same pattern

was observed for the particular form of autism that Dr Wakefield linked to

the MMR vaccine.

“The significance of these findings is that MMR is most unlikely to be

the main cause of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and that its withdrawal

can’t be expected to lead to a reduction in ASD,” concluded the authors,

from the Yokahama Rehabilitation Centre and the UK Institute of Psychiatry.

Meanwhile the Health Protection Agency is warning of the danger of a

measles outbreak in London, where MMR uptake is only 70% and in some areas

as little as 58%.

“We do fear that if measles was introduced now it could lead to an

epidemic with a high number of hospital admissions,” said a spokeswoman. The

“capital catch-up” campaign was launched recently to improve uptake.

Liberal Democrat MP Evan , who sits on the House of Commons

science and technology select committee, does not think that the new

findings will dispel anxiety about the MMR vaccine. “The problem is you

can’t prove a negative. The people making a link are not using rational

arguments, so the usual scientific approach will never convince them, and

they will continue to lobby in the media.

“Scare stories start quickly and uptake can fall quickly as a result,

but persuading people to return takes much longer.”

* * *

COMMENTARIES

If MMR Is Safe Then Why Are So Many Layers Of Whitewash Needed?

By Stone.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/330/7491/558-a

I only pose once again the question why we are not looking clinically

at the affected children, and instead at yet another magnificent

epidemiological survey. Since when do we go to the databanks to find out

what is wrong with individual children? Why is this the correct response

rather than that adopted by Wakefield in his 1998 study, and

subsequently?

Every new study is launched amidst immense publicity, well before

anyone with expert independent knowledge has had a chance to examine it and

comment. By that time the media circus has moved on. So the criticisms are

made but the public seldom get to hear about them directly, however

suspicious they are. To date not a single one has withstood scrutiny, or at

least shows what it says it does. And it does not look as if this one will

be any different.

A week on two commentaries - which should really be the basis of

further discussion - have been published by Red Flags Weekly, by

Wakefield and Carol Stott, and F Yazbak* by myself, and

Aasa Reidak (all dated 5 March). Perhaps the most striking single emerging

point is that when MMR was abandoned in Japan it was largely replaced not by

three staggered injections, but three separate injections administered in

the same visit. The study therefore sheds no light on Wakefield's

original proposition that it was advisable to space the shots a year apart,

but this point is not acknowledged and would seem to invalidate its main

claim. I think the authors, and other MMR proponents, should be prepared to

discuss this point.

No information is provided about how the study was funded.

* See below.

* * *

MMR – Autism Epidemiological Studies: Just a Distraction

[by Red Flags Columnist, F. Yazbak, MD, FAAP.

tlautstudy@...]

http://www.redflagsweekly.com/yazbak/2005_mar10.html

Epidemiological MMR-autism research is a waste of

time and money.

Independent clinical research is needed.

The recent study by Honda, Shimuzi and Rutter has

not proven that an MMR-autism connection does not exist.

Only clinical research is of any value in

identifying the causes of regressive autism.

A new MMR-Autism epidemiological study from Japan has just been

published.

" No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: a total

population study " , Honda H, Shimizu Y and Rutter M

In February 1998, Wakefield and his team published a study in

the Lancet in which they reported the investigation of a consecutive series

of 12 children (11 boys) aged 3 to 10, with chronic enterocolitis and

developmental regression. (1) All children underwent ileocolonoscopy (with

biopsy), electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) and

cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine examinations. Some had barium

follow-through intestinal X-Rays.

The parents of eight of the 12 children reported that their children’s

behavioral changes and autistic regression happened after they had received

a measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination.

Dr. Wakefield carefully stated: “We did not prove an association

between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described…We

have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to

neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases, onset of symptoms was after

measles, mumps, and rubella immunization. Further investigations are needed

to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine

Addendum: Up to Jan 28, a further 40 patients have been assessed; 39 with

the syndrome.”

Since then, the Regressive Autism-MMR connection has been further

investigated by other CLINICIANS who have identified similar intestinal

findings as those described by Wakefield, in hundreds of affected children.

Evidence of measles virus genomic RNA was detected in many intestinal

biopsies and in cerebrospinal fluid samples. (2) Specific serological

testing has also confirmed the co-existence of measles and or MMR antibodies

with Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) auto-antibody in the majority of the

examined affected children but not in the controls. (3)

Challenge-Dechallange-Rechallange, the fact that some children regress after

their initial MMR vaccination, improve and regress again after the MMR

booster, has also been documented in many children, further suggesting a

vaccine-autism connection.

The present epidemic increase in autistic regression cannot obviously

be due to genetic causes. It has been estimated that MMR vaccination could

potentially be a precipitating factor in 5 to 10% of cases. The CDC and the

British medical authorities deny any such connection and claim that if

indeed it was proved, its impact would be extremely negligible - when

compared to the benefits of vaccination.

Parents, including doctors, nurses and scientists, who have children

and grandchildren with regressive autism, disagree.

***

Persecuting decent and brilliant researchers is

not new. The Austrian physician who suggested that doctors

should wash their hands before delivering babies was

ostracized as well as the Australian doctor who dared say

that stomach ulcers were caused by bacteria.

The anti-Wakefield campaign started immediately

after the Study of 12.

It is safe to say that no decent researcher in

recent history has been as viciously attacked, personally

and professionally as Dr. Wakefield. He has remained

focused and dignified.

His courage and resilience are an inspiration.

***

“All truth goes through three stages.

First it is ridiculed.

Then it is violently opposed.

Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.”

Schopenhauer

***

Substantial funds (over £3 million) were spent in the United Kingdom

on a pro-MMR campaign. Much effort was also invested in order to negate the

Study of 12.

The few weak clinical studies that were reported raised negligible

interest.

The many epidemiological studies that were published since 1998 had

much more impact. Their release was invariably surrounded by intense

publicity and celebrated by multiple accolades from other local or distant

“experts”. The studies were always referred to in the superlative. They were

“final”, “conclusive”, “and convincing” or “the last word”, they were “the

large 14-year study from Finland” and the “BIG study from Denmark” and they

were to be believed just because Wakefield’s sample was SMALL.

Strangely enough, the Study of 12 stood the test of time and the big

ones quietly faded away. “Bigger and Better” studies were constantly needed

and some expert could always be found to produce them. A British MMR-Autism

epidemiological study published in early September 2004(4) received little

attention and only for a short while.

The new study from Japan is enjoying a nice honeymoon –so far.

The CDC-funded Madsen MMR study (5) “The BIG study from Denmark” was

published in November 2002. It attracted a lot of attention and “had a great

run”. It is likely that it was a major consideration in the 2004 IOM Special

Committee decision that an MMR-Autism connection did not exist. In the UK,

the Madsen study, among other things, provided justification for the

interruption of Legal Aid to the parents involved in the MMR litigation.

Promptly after the Madsen study was published, Professor S. Suissa, a

McGill University epidemiologist reported her serious concerns about the

epidemiological analysis of the vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts to the

editor of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Her letter was never

published.

+ Complete commentary with references here:

http://www.redflagsweekly.com/yazbak/2005_mar10.html

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in COMMENTARIES are those of the

authors and are not necessarily the opinions of the Schafer Autism Report.

* * *

FEATURE

The Age of Autism: Backward

[by Dan Olmsted for UPI.]

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050228-053300-1821r.htm

UPI - When Leo Kanner first identified autism as a unique

developmental disorder in 1943, he was certain it was present from birth.

“This is not, as in schizophrenic children or adults, a departure from

an initially present relationship,” Kanner wrote. “It is not a 'withdrawal'

from formerly existing participation. There is from the start an extreme

autistic aloneness.”

Almost 30 years later, in a 1972 speech, Kanner was of the same mind.

“I didn't find that withdrawal was a proper term because you withdrew from

something where you were before. These children had never been there.”

Not emphatic enough for you? Kanner declared these children were

“pure-culture examples” -- as in a closely observed petri dish -- “of inborn

autistic disturbances.”

But certain is not a synonym for correct, and there are signs Kanner

was wrong -- or at least not totally convincing -- about that. Re-evaluating

his 11 case studies of children born from 1931 to 1938, there is ample

reason to wonder whether some of them developed autism after a period of

normal development.

Take M., born in November 1937. “I can't be sure just when he

stopped the imitation of word sounds,” his mother wrote when he was almost

3. “It seems that he has gone backward mentally gradually for the last two

years.”

Or Elaine C., who was born in February 1932. “She took feedings well,

stood up at 7 months and walked at less than a year. She could say four

words at the end of her first year, but made no progress in linguistic

development for the following four years.” (Four words at the end of the

first year is about right for normally developing babies. No words for the

next four years, obviously, is not.) Both Elaine and were “there”

before age 1, it seems. Then they went backward -- they withdrew, to use the

word Kanner wouldn't.

The term for that is regression, and today children who at first

develop normally but become autistic by 36 months are diagnosed with

regressive autism. Yet few associate that sequence with any of Kanner's

original cases because he was so definite that their autism was present from

birth.

What difference would it make if Kanner used too broad a brush in

painting every single case as innate? It would make a lot of difference, by

raising the possibility that some factor triggered autism in these children

after they were born, not before.

In earlier articles in this series tracking the natural history of

autism, we looked at whether autism has always existed at a steady

prevalence or, instead, began decisively among children born in the 1930s.

We found the “steady state” theory hard to reconcile with the

relatively few cases of autistic-style behavior reported before then; we

calculated that at today's rate there should have been 369,000 hard-to-miss

full-syndrome autistics alive in the United States in 1930. Where were they?

We also pointed to a striking link among the first 10 parents -- they had

college educations and many had advanced degrees. But we concluded this link

weakened when the first 100 parents were analyzed.

Implication: It's plausible some new factor triggered autism in those

college-educated families in the 1930s, and by the 1940s it was spreading to

a broader range of families.

If some of Kanner's original cases were not autistic-from-birth but

regressive -- acquired autism syndrome, in effect -- that would fit with a

“new trigger” theory.

Kanner was brilliantly right in identifying autism -- which, by the

way, he described as “a behavior pattern not known to me or anyone else

theretofore.” And Kanner wrote the book on child psychiatry -- “Child

Psychiatry,” published in 1934.

But like anyone studying a puzzling new phenomenon -- consider some of

the misbegotten theories about AIDS -- not all of Kanner's observations or

inferences have proven absolutely correct.

For instance, Kanner wrote that in the whole group of parents, “there

are very few really warmhearted fathers and mothers. For the most part, the

parents, grandparents, and collaterals are persons strongly preoccupied with

abstractions of a scientific, literary, or artistic nature, and limited in

genuine interest in people.”

Kanner wondered whether “this fact” caused their children's autism,

but his belief that it was present from birth gave him pause.

“The question arises whether or to what extent this fact has

contributed to the condition of the children. The children's aloneness from

the beginning of life makes it difficult to attribute the whole picture

exclusively to the type of early parental relations with our patients.”

Hey -- so does this fact: Quite a few of those parents didn't fit that

cold unfeeling stereotype. Kanner individually described several: “a

patient, even-tempered man ... a well-educated, kindly woman ... energetic

and outgoing, fond of people and children.” Another mother told him, “The

thing that upsets me most is that I can't reach my baby.” How unfeeling is

that? Kanner's gift for observation undercut his generalization, which has

since been proved to have nothing to do with the risk of having an autistic

child.

Trying to make sense of those first cases, we did the modern thing --

we got a second opinion. We asked a pediatrician who has worked with dozens

of autistic children and their families to read Kanner's original study.

These were her main points: -- “I don't think he makes the case that they

all were totally autistic from birth,” she said. By the same token, given

the limitations of the data reported in the case histories, we can't be

absolutely certain that any were instances of regressive autism.

-- Ironically, some of the children seem to have the milder Asperger's

Disorder rather than classic “Kanner autism,” which has come to signify the

most severe cases.

-- A number of these children had physical problems that shouldn't be

overlooked as possible clues to their developmental disorder. Those problems

centered on food, digestion and illnesses that could suggest allergic

reactions or a weakened immune system, the pediatrician pointed out.

-- T., the first patient Kanner saw in 1938, never had a normal

appetite. “Eating has always been a problem with him,” the father wrote.

“Seeing children eating candy and ice cream has never been a temptation to

him.”

-- “Following smallpox vaccination at 12 months,” M. “had an

attack of diarrhea and fever from which he recovered in somewhat less than a

week.” This is the child whose mother recalled him going “backward” about

that age.

-- Barbara K. “nursed very poorly and was put on bottle after about a

week. She quit taking any kind of nourishment at 3 months. She was tube-fed

five times daily up to 1 year of age.” Her eating eventually became normal.

-- Herbert B. “vomited all food from birth through the third month,”

after which feeding progressed satisfactorily.

-- F.'s father said, “The main thing that worries me is the

difficulty feeding. That is the essential thing, and second is the slowness

in development. During the first days of life he did not take the breast

satisfactorily. ... There is a long story of trying to get food down. We

have tried everything under the sun.”

Kanner noted that had “frequent hospitalizations because of the

feeding problem. No physical disorder was ever found, except that the

anterior fontanelle did not close until he was two-and-a-half. He suffered

from repeated colds and otitis media (ear infections).”

What could these symptoms mean? Perhaps nothing, as babies tend to

have all sorts of upsets. But the pediatrician said such illnesses and

digestive ailments might increase a child's vulnerability to toxins by

making them harder to eliminate.

Conversely, they could signal that if something was causing the

child's autism, it was disrupting their entire system.

Obviously it's impossible to tell. But consider this: Today, the

children diagnosed with the regressive kind of autism are usually the ones

with the food allergies, digestive problems and long-running infections that

suggest an immune system under siege and out of whack.

And that is the kind of autism that now predominates. Initially,

autism at birth was much more frequent, but now regressive cases are several

times more common, according to Bernard Rimland, a pioneer autism

researcher.

Perhaps something did happen to some of Kanner's children after they

were born in the 1930s. And perhaps whatever that was is still happening.

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