AUTISM’s ALARMING FACTS:

• Autism affects nearly 1.5 million Americans.
• A new case of autism is diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes
• Autism occurs in 1 out of every 150 births (By comparison: Leukemia 1 in 25,000, Muscular Dystrophy 1 in 20,000, Cystic Fibrosis 1 in 5,000, Juvenile Diabetes 1 in 500)
• Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S. and is growing nearly 17% (24,000 new cases) every single year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 500,000 children in the United States have autism.

Autism knows no racial, ethnic, social boundaries, family income, lifestyle, or educational levels and can affect any family, and any child. And although the overall incidence of autism is consistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls.

What is Autism?

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

What Causes Autism?

There is no known single cause for autism, but it is generally accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function. Brain scans show differences in the shape and structure of the brain in autistic versus non-autistic children. Researchers are investigating a number of theories, including the link between heredity, genetics and medical problems. In many families, there appears to be a pattern of autism or related disabilities, further supporting a genetic basis to the disorder. While no one gene has been identified as causing autism, researchers are searching for irregular segments of genetic code that autistic children may have inherited. It also appears that some children are born with a susceptibility to autism, but researchers have not yet identified a single "trigger" that causes autism to develop.

Of course, there are many theories as to the cause of Autism, such as abnormal cerebral blood flow to areas of the brain, high fevers, birth trauma, brain injury, infections, reactions to vaccines (some reports implicate MMR which is a combined vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella), or lack of oxygen before, during or after delivery. Other theories suggest mineral deficiencies such as calcium, iron and zinc either in utero or after birth or fat and protein deficiencies.

Autism is now understood as a multi-functional disorder that may, among other things, involve:

• Heavy metal damage to brain cells
• Autoimmune damage to the brain cells
• Intestinal inflammation
• Persistent yeast, viral and bacterial infections
• Cellular energy processing dysfunction (Kreb Cycle dysfunction)

Recent peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies by Nataf et al. (2006) and by Geier and Geier (2006) indicate that many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may have unusually high levels of mercury in their brains. By age two, American children have received 237 micrograms of mercury through vaccines alone, which far exceeds the current EPA "safe" levels of .1 mcg/kg per day. (That's one-tenth of a microgram, not one microgram!) The cause is a mercury- based preservative called “Thimerosal” used in these vaccines.

Sadly, in a 1991 memo, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the “fathers” of Merck's vaccination programs, warned management that 6-month-old children who, when administered the shots on schedule, would suffer mercury exposures 87 times the government safety standards. He recommended that Thimerosal be discontinued and complained that the US Food and Drug Administration, which has a notoriously close relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, could not be counted on to take appropriate action, as did the European regulating counterpart. Merck ignored Hilleman's warning, and for eight years government officials added seven more shots for children containing Thimerosal.

Drug makers wary of liability have reduced the level of Thimerosal in most children's vaccines in recent years, but the preservative remains in flu shots, tetanus boosters, and some over-thecounter drugs.

Thimerosal is 50% mercury by weight. In October 1998, more than 7 years after Dr. Hillman raised the alarm about mercury in the Merk vaccines, the FDA finally banned the use of Thimerosal in over the counter medications. But the F.D.A. allowed it to still used in most children’s vaccines. Before the FDA ban, mercury had been added to eye drops, contact lens preparations, nasal sprays, contraceptive creams, hemmhoroid creams, lubricating gels, allergy injections, and antiseptics such as Mercurochrome® and merthiolate.

Three days in particular may be singled out as spectacularly toxic for infants. These figures are calculated for an infant's average weight in kilograms for each age:

Day of birth: hepatitis B-12 mcg mercury. This is 30 x the safe level.
At 4 months: DTaP and HiB on same day, which is 50 mcg mercury. This is 60 x the safe level.
At 6 months: Hep B, Polio which adds an additional 62.5 mcg mercury to the body. This is 78 x the safe level.
At 15 months: the child receives another 50 mcg of mercury when the booster shot is administered. This is 41 x the safe level.

These one-day blasts of mercury are called "bolus doses". Although they far exceed "safe" levels, there has never been any research conducted on the toxicity of such bolus doses of mercury given to infants all these years.

Mercury is a known brain poison. Historically, the toxicity of mercury has been known for more than a century. The Mad Hatter was more than a fantasy character from Alice in Wonderland. Mad Hatter's disease became well known in England in the mid-1800s, when hat-makers were subject to inhaling the vapors from the mercury-based stiffening compound they used on felt to make top hats. There is the distinct possibility that this one factor alone could be responsible for damaging the brains of young children and could be the reason for the increase in autism cases.

However, the government and the pharmaceutical complex has made the case that since no direct connection has been scientifically determined between mercury and autism, that such a connection cannot be in fact “true”. This is a ridiculous argument. It is like saying that we know lead is toxic, lead is used in bullets, and bullets can kill, that we cannot establish that it is the lead that killed someone when they were shot by a bullet. This is not what many researchers are saying. Rather, we know that mercury is a poison and mercury is used in children’s vaccinations therefore it is entirely possible that this same mercury could be causing physiological damage to children.

Fortunately a number of U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers have reduced or replaced Thimerosal as a preservative in vaccines. However, as the chart above identifies, there are still vaccines on the market given to children (and adults) that contain this toxic substance, which should be avoided.