Today’s children face a growing chemical assault from compounds found in cleaning products, plastic, food, medicine, pollution, and more. This assault can undermine well-being in uncounted ways.
“We have this new version of what we’re calling autism that might not be autism. We call it autism, but could it be mold or lead or another environmental toxin?” McGuinness asked.
Toxin exposures can lead to too many free radicals in the body. People with autism have been found to have higher levels of metals in the body and lower levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that protects the mitochondria by neutralizing free radicals. This illustrates how something besides genetic vulnerability can trigger autism.
Parents have long wondered whether vaccines—which contain small amounts of aluminum, chemical preservatives, and stabilizers—have chemicals in amounts that could cause autism.
Driving parental concern is the growing list of vaccines children are expected to receive and anecdotal evidence that children’s development has suddenly and markedly regressed after being vaccinated, only to be later diagnosed as autism.
Today, one in 36 children born will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—up from one in 2,000 in 1980.
I watched my nephew—full of light, joy, and brilliance—radically change as a toddler. He suddenly began to behave obsessively, lost his vocabulary, and his bright eyes averted everyone’s gaze. It happened shortly after he was vaccinated, and he was later diagnosed with ASD.
When I became pregnant not long after this, I found myself asking doctor’s opinions on whether vaccines could cause autism. They assured me there was nothing to worry about. However, I couldn’t help being concerned as a growing number of friends described their children’s sudden post-vaccine personality and developmental changes.
I stand among the parents who genuinely want to know not only if there’s a vaccine-autism link but also what all the risks are for costly, chronic, and new diseases bombarding children at increasing rates.
Wang noted that besides genetics, autism can be caused by a number of environmental factors, such as prenatal infections and toxins, environmental pollution, various medications, paternal cannabis use, and preterm birth, among others.
Parents deserve more definitive research on how chemicals and vaccines may be cumulatively affecting our children.