Saturday, March 15, 2008

John McCain on Autism.

I will be honest. I haven't been following the presidential campaign all that closely, largely because I'm not overly impressed with any of the candidates. Because of this I haven't developed strong feelings one way or the other on any of the runners. However John McCain finally said something that caught my attention. He went on record saying that he believes mercury preservatives in childhood vaccines is causing autism. This is a very touchy subject in the SLP world, one that I can get pretty riled up about. One reason is that it is dangerous to make those claims. Parents end up not giving their children important shots, because of anecdotal claims. Children have been suspended from school, unable to attend class because they haven't received these required shots. While it's true that there have been tests done that show that autism rates tend to be higher in areas with high mercury content in the water, extensive studies have not been done. I could go on a boring scientific rant citing peer reviewed studies, but I won't. There are whole books on the subject of the evils of mercury. While digestive causes for autism cannot be completely ruled out it is unlikely. Autism can be observed in prevaccinated children. However the most damning evidence is that the mercury preservative HAS BEEN TAKEN OUT OF VACCINATIONS! It is no longer being used, and yet we are still reporting new cases of autism. I am a firm believer the the genetics argument, but etiology isn't my area of concern. There is a lot of need for parents to place blame on their child's disorder. Whether they see it as a testament to their own bad genes or they just don't know enough, blaming isn't going to make your child communicate any better. Let's lay off the mercury people. It is so 1990's.

9 comments:

james said...

i have been suffering from autism...
My doctors treated me for few months and i am perfectly fine now,
But i didnt knew that it was also because of high rate of mercury in water,
Can you please tell me other symptoms and remedies for autism?
keep up the good work,
james

Jet said...

This is either Spam, or you have some really incompetent doctors, because I have never heard of anyone "cured" of autism, lest not someone only treated for a couple of months, like it is some kind of virus.

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Chris Schommer said...

The spam on this post is awesome.

james said...

Hey jeannette...let me tell you i was suffering from autism...it was the early stage of disease.and you should not comment till you dont know the full picture.
and yes,autism can be cured....may be you havnt got any competent doctor....
james

Jet said...

What is it with this post and Spam? And what is it with Spam telling me I don't know what I'm talking about? I'm keeping these posts for sheer entertainment value.

james said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
james said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
james said...

Hey jeannette,
i will be highly obliged if you can give some useful tips on autism and its symptoms.My friend is suffering from Chronic fatigue syndrome.So is there any chances for him to suffer from autism?
james