For Those who don't know, Autism is a complex developmental disability that .
typically appears during the first three years of life. It impacts the normal development of .
the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults .
with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, and .
social interactions. The disorder makes it hard for them to communicate with others and .
relate to the outside world. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may .
be present. Persons with autism may exhibit repeated body movements (hand flapping, .
rocking), unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes .
in routines. Individuals may also experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, .
hearing, touch, smell, and taste.
Unfortunately, their is very little known about the cause(s) of autism. One theory, .
according to the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, is that autism may be caused by a defect in .
metal metobolism that impairs the development of the brain and can result in .
hypersensitivity to toxic substances. According to William J. Walsh, Ph.D., biochemist .
and chief scientist of the Pfeiffer Center, Naperville, Illinois, and Anjum Usman, M.D., a .
physician at the Center, Blood and urine analyses yielded evidence of a metallothionein .
(MT) dysfunction in 499 of 503 patients (99 percent) diagnosed with autism spectrum .
disorders. "MT is a family of proteins essential for many important processes in the .
body, and a dysfunction in this system can explain most of the classic symptoms observed .
in autism," according to doctor Walsh.
The following article by Anita Manning, USA TODAY, in my mind backs up the theory present in the preceding aritcle. For a while it was thought that the vaccine that protects .
children from mumps, measles, and rubella may be the cause of autism. In fact, studies .
now show that the vaccine does not directly cause autism.