# There is a cure for Autism...(mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066 "2008-10-01T20:26:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/41 "2008-10-02T00:40:25Z")
> [@incidental](#): > > Kind of…my university pays a group subscription fee that gives everyone access to some online journals. > > I could probably e-mail you the pdf (I am all for fighting vaccination fears…these people drive me crazy). I would say PM me, but as a guest, I’m not sure if that would work or not. > > If PMing doesn’t work, I’ll post one of my junk e-mails and we can work something out. Email me please at jwmwt @ yahoo. com. Thanks! The anti-vaccine stuff also drives me crazy. On some level I wouldn’t mind what people did with their own bodies but the problem is that they aren’t doing this to just their own bodies. They are doing it to the rest of us as well. Contagious stupidity is the worst kind of stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/42 "2008-10-02T01:17:53Z")
Well, [the government conceded](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/99826.php). . . something about vaccines and. . . “autism-like symptoms.” Why they agreed to this, after having long denied it, seems to be a bit of a mystery, since it appears the records are sealed. In any case, it gives the Jennys of the world more. . . uh. . . credibility. If you’re into that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/43 "2008-10-02T01:34:09Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Licking her armpit? > > Regards. > Shodan Oral ingestion of Aluminium hydroxide in the mother. Autism in the child. Shodan…any chance there’s a cause-effect link? If so, we need to warn people: “Women, for the Love of Og, Stop Licking Those Armpits…!” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/44 "2008-10-02T02:01:29Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > But that’s the science we have. True, but you have to go to kindergarten with the science you have, not the science you might want or wish to have at a later time. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/45 "2008-10-02T02:11:09Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > Enough to at least pay for the electricity in their spooky, cliff-top, perpetually engulfed in a lightning storm castle. But, being perpetually engulfed in lightning, they wouldn’t have to pay for electricity. Which, I guess, makes Evil Scientists the longest running supporters of Alternative Energy ever. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/46 "2008-10-02T02:12:03Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Well, [the government conceded](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/99826.php). . . something about vaccines and. . . “autism-like symptoms.” Why they agreed to this, after having long denied it, seems to be a bit of a mystery, since it appears the records are sealed. What the government “conceded” in the Hannah Poling case relates to the low standard for agreeing to pay compensation in alleged vaccine injury cases, as opposed to the scientific standard for establishing a connection between vaccination and autism - which [has not been met](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/opinion/31offit.html). \*"In 2000, when Hannah was 19 months old, she received five shots against nine infectious diseases. Over the next several months, she developed symptoms of autism. Subsequent tests showed that Hannah has a mitochondrial disorder — her cells are unable to adequately process nutrients — and this contributed to her autism. An expert who testified in court on the Polings’ behalf claimed that the five vaccines had stressed Hannah’s already weakened cells, worsening her disorder. Without holding a hearing on the matter, the court conceded that the claim was biologically plausible. On its face, the expert’s opinion makes no sense. Even five vaccines at once would not place an unusually high burden on a child’s immune system. The Institute of Medicine has found that multiple vaccines do not overwhelm or weaken the immune system. And although natural infections can worsen symptoms of chronic neurological illnesses in children, vaccines are not known to. “There is no evidence that children with mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies are worsened by vaccines,” Salvatore DiMauro, a professor of neurology at Columbia who is the nation’s leading expert on the disorder, told me. Indeed, children like Hannah Poling who are especially susceptible to infections are most likely to benefit from vaccines."\* ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/47 "2008-10-02T04:47:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What the government “conceded” in the Hannah Poling case relates to the low standard for agreeing to pay compensation in alleged vaccine injury cases, as opposed to the scientific standard for establishing a connection between vaccination and autism - which [has not been met](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/opinion/31offit.html). > > \*"In 2000, when Hannah was 19 months old, she received five shots against nine infectious diseases. Over the next several months, she developed symptoms of autism. Subsequent tests showed that Hannah has a mitochondrial disorder — her cells are unable to adequately process nutrients — and this contributed to her autism. An expert who testified in court on the Polings’ behalf claimed that the five vaccines had stressed Hannah’s already weakened cells, worsening her disorder. Without holding a hearing on the matter, the court conceded that the claim was biologically plausible. > > On its face, the expert’s opinion makes no sense. Even five vaccines at once would not place an unusually high burden on a child’s immune system. The Institute of Medicine has found that multiple vaccines do not overwhelm or weaken the immune system. And although natural infections can worsen symptoms of chronic neurological illnesses in children, vaccines are not known to. > > “There is no evidence that children with mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies are worsened by vaccines,” Salvatore DiMauro, a professor of neurology at Columbia who is the nation’s leading expert on the disorder, told me. Indeed, children like Hannah Poling who are especially susceptible to infections are most likely to benefit from vaccines."\* The most frustrating thing about debating with the non-vaxing crowd is that providing them with perfectly sensible information like this does nothing. To them, it’s just further proof of big pharmaceuticals evil big cover-up. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/48 "2008-10-02T05:24:53Z")
Doctors are wrong about vaccines, but they got that diagnosis right when he was three. ---
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/49 "2008-10-02T05:51:20Z")
> [@autz](#): > > Can you summarize what her brilliant thoery is? I don’t want to watch that video and give her more attention. Is that really the reason?.. Really? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/50 "2008-10-02T06:05:20Z")
[QUOTE=back in April] We believe what helped Evan recover was starting a gluten-free, casein-free diet, vitamin supplementation, detox of metals, and anti-fungals for yeast overgrowth that plagued his intestines. Once Evan’s neurological function was recovered through these medical treatments, speech therapy and applied behavior analysis helped him quickly learn the skills he could not learn while he was frozen in autism. [/quote] Maybe what cured Evan’s “autism” was that his mother was paying attention to him…for once. I don’t believe for a second that her son was ever autistic at all. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/51 "2008-10-02T12:51:09Z")
> [@torie](#): > > The most frustrating thing about debating with the non-vaxing crowd is that providing them with perfectly sensible information like this does nothing. To them, it’s just further proof of big pharmaceuticals evil big cover-up. It can get beyond frustrating. The physician and vaccine expert quoted above has received [death threats](http://www.nypost.com/seven/09142008/postopinion/postopbooks/autisms_false_prophets_128960.htm) for his public defense of vaccines. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/52 "2008-10-02T13:23:20Z")
Thank you for summing up, Gfactor. There is a new girl in our office with a daughter with autism. I haven’t asked her, and don’t pry, but one or two things she has said indicate she might believe in the vaccine link. I have just dropped a few things, casually, in conversation with another staff member - I didn’t mean to, we were already talking about autism - but once I found out what the deal was, I clammed up quick. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/53 "2008-10-02T13:39:04Z")
> [@torie](#): > > The most frustrating thing about debating with the non-vaxing crowd is that providing them with perfectly sensible information like this does nothing. My counter to that would be they can then cite the aforementioned news article and say, “See! The government says it’s true!” ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/54 "2008-10-02T13:46:47Z")
After a recent talk with our daughters therapist I fear that McCarthyism in a new form is back. You get the best ABA/floortime etc therapy for the recommended 40 hours a week, and you throw in some bullshit and you claim the bullshit is what “cured” him. And sadly I think our daughters therapist may just believe some of it. I hope some of our talk sunk in and she throws away the book and in future never mentions that name again to any parent of an autistic child. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/55 "2008-10-02T13:51:05Z")
I’d like to add that all this money being thrown into re-researching the same phony things could be better spent on new research on new possible causes. And all that money being spent on phony cures can be spent on getting children like my daughter more therapy than we currently get. You know get it up to the 40 hours many experts say can get many autistic children mainstreamed. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/56 "2008-10-02T14:00:30Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > My counter to that would be they can then cite the aforementioned news article and say, “See! The government says it’s true!” Yes, and have been known to do exactly that. I just want to smack them. There is a quote on the CDC website somewhere that says, in essence, “The total number of reported bad outcomes after vaccination, both false reports and real ones, exceeds the total number of injuries from vaccine-preventable diseases in the US”. Sure as you’re born, the chances approach unity as a limit that in any anti-vax thread, some clown will say, “See! The government admits that vaccines do more harm than good!” > [@](#): > > You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/57 "2008-10-02T15:55:15Z")
The next time she makes the same wacked out claims about how any parent would rather their child have the measles or whatever than autism, someone should ask her, point blank, “What about smallpox?” (Yes, I know that we no longer vaccinate for smallpox anymore, for the most part) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/58 "2008-10-02T17:15:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > There is a quote on the CDC website somewhere that says, in essence, “The total number of reported bad outcomes after vaccination, both false reports and real ones, exceeds the total number of injuries from vaccine-preventable diseases in the US”. Whatever the actual quote, it’s typical that after vaccination dramatically curtails incidence of infectious diseases, deaths and injuries from those diseases drop to the level of or perhaps even below deaths and injuries secondary to vaccination. If you want to reverse that trend, skip your kid’s immunizations and urge others to do the same. That way there’ll be lots more pediatric deaths, paralysis and brain injuries than occur now, but it will be according to Nature’s Plan, not some evil government-Big Pharma scheme to inject TOXINS into our babies. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/59 "2008-10-03T04:13:59Z")
Shall we bring out the iron lungs again? I am of the generation that _had_ “German measles,” red measles, mumps, whooping cough, and chicken pox. The “German measles,” which I think is _rubella_ can cause problems in the development of fetuses if the mother is in the first trimester and is exposed to the disease. Red measles is just regular measles, but it can cause very high fevers. Damage to the eyesight was one problem that we were warned about. Of course, any of these illnesses could cause death in a small child. Whooping cough made you feel like you were strangling to death. And you continued to feel that way for a long time even after you were pronounced “well.” The mumps was the one that made me the sickest. I didn’t eat or want to drink anything for days. I just threw everything up. My daddy finally played a trick on me and got me to eat three saltines and a little Seven-Up. I can remember how proud he was. If a guy got mumps when he was older, it might keep him from having children. That’s what we were told anyway. Two of my friends had polio. One spent most of her life in an iron lung. The diseases before us were much terrible. My mother had malaria and the Spanish flu. My father had thyphoid fever. Has Oprah done a show yet on how wrong Jenny was? I think that was Oprah’s worst show ever. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066/60 "2008-10-03T04:41:30Z")
The confusion around the whole “gluten-free diets are good for treating autistic spectrum disorders” is a classic example of the tail wagging the dog. Children with undiagnosed, untreated celiac disease are sometimes irritable even to the point of explosive outbursts, have trouble focusing, present as generally miserable, and (like any sick person) can lose interest in the world around them. Multiple misdiagnoses are common in child psychiatry, since child symptoms are tricky – children are lousy historians, their parents often interpret for them in ways that can confuse the diagnostic process, the whole matter is confounded by developmental issues, and so on. So, child shows up with a history diagnosed as ADHD or autistic spectrum disorder in past, new clinician eyeballs him and decides he looks like a good candidate for some serology, child turns out to have celiac disease which responds to a gluten-free diet – to which he responds by being less irritable, cranky, and engaging in his life again, like anyone else who’s been suffering and has symptom relief. Some will misinterpret this as the gluten-free diet having “cured” his autistic spectrum disorder. These same people will be found in tinfoil hats when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-cure-for-autism-mild/466066.md?page=4)