The autism rate is now 1 in 42 boys. Despite the current measles outbreak, the number of anti-vaxxers will likely grow as more and more people witness their family, friends, and loved ones experience the emotional and financial collapse which often accompanies an autism diagnosis. The only way to resolve this issue is through transparency and truly comprehensive data collection so people aren't forced to turn to frauds and quacks for information.
I’m a single parent of a 4 year old boy with autism. Since there’s no known cause, and since the frequency of cases is now 1 in 68 kids (1 and 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls), I often think about what may have caused my son to have autism:
Another random theory regarding autism.
Is it my fault? Is it completely genetic (nobody else in my extended family has it)? Were my eggs too old and toxic (I had him at 31)? Was it stress during my pregnancy? Was it my amalgam crown or dental fillings? Was it all the years of drinking Crystal Light, which contains aspartame? Was it my use of Home Defense to kill ants? Was it the WiFi Router in my son’s room when he was a baby? Was it the abrupt separation from my son’s father when he was around 18 months? Did someone at his daycare harm him? Did I not pay enough attention to him? Was I a “refrigerator mom” due to undiagnosed postpartum depression? Should I have breastfed him longer? Or was the breast milk I gave him toxic? Was he harmed by the Similac formula I gave him? Or the toddler meal replacements like Pediasure? Is HFCS involved? GMOs? BPA? Was it the prenatal vitamins that I took religiously during my pregnancy? Was it the epidural they gave me (us) during my c-section? Is it something in the water? Is it due to Radon exposure? Is it his diet? Did my son have an allergic reaction to the Chicken Pox vaccine or one of the other vaccines he received? Is it evolution--maybe humans are quickly evolving into non-verbal beings? Or… maybe the developmental pediatrician who diagnosed him was wrong and he doesn’t have autism?
You can mock... you can laugh... but these are some of the thoughts that I have swirling around my head day in and day out with no relief. And as you can see, vaccines are just one of many possible culprits from a long list of options.
With the autism rate now at 1 in 42 boys, where the fuck are the studies to give parents like me some...any kind of closure or understanding of what the hell happened? You have all these random sites that claim to know the cause of autism and sites promising to cure autism. Then you have the medical community saying there’s no cure. Their only suggestion is that you continue spending hundreds of dollars each month to work with therapists who are so incompetent that you’re left feeling depressed and hopeless after every session.
Again, where is the official information gathering? Official data collection? Nobody knows shit. And honestly, it doesn't appear that the powers that be even want to know shit about the families who are dealing with this. Why hasn't anyone asked me for information that could contribute to understanding the condition better?
If ANYTHING else was affecting our population at this rate, we’d know everything about the demographics and every little factor that may have contributed to it.
The lack of transparency and comprehensive data collection is why the anti-vaccination movement has taken hold: My family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. who plan to have kids are watching my struggle. They see the stress and frustration, the lack of support, and the inevitable financial ruin that I’m dealing with. They want to be helpful. When they’re not offering meaningless platitudes about how I’m such a special person and that’s why God gave me a child with autism (because He knew I could handle it), or promising me that my son will simply “snap out of it” soon--they’re warning me to not give my son anymore shots based on something they saw (or read) that linked vaccines to autism. Undoubtedly, when it comes to their own family planning, they’re wondering how they can avoid ending up in my shoes and they’re quietly forming their own conclusions. Vaccinations will be just one of many things they'll avoid in the hopes of not ending up like me.
These are my thoughts only. I'm not speaking on behalf of anyone. Also, thanks, but I'll pass on anymore unsolicited advice, especially from people who have not gone through this.