If you have just been told your child is autistic, you are probably screaming “Why did this happen to me/my child?” Honestly, no one knows conclusively what causes autism. If you listen to or read the news, you know that there is a popular belief that childhood immunizations can cause autism. Companies that manufacture vaccines have been strongly encouraged to stop using or greatly reduce the amount of Thimerosal. If you are concerned a particular vaccine may contain Thimerosal, ask your doctor.
There are many different studies that focus on gestational exposure to agents and their link to autism, which is called Teratology. Some examples are alcohol, x-rays, pesticides, household cleaners, etc. Since the mother and child share the same body, it stands to reason that whatever environmental factors she is exposed to are passed along to her fetus. Finally, there is the genetic factor. We inherit our genetic makeup from our parents, who inherited it from theirs and so on. So if you are 35 and your parents are over 66, there is no history prior to your parents that would allow you to trace diagnoses of autism in your family tree before 1943. Lateral tracing would be beneficial by exploring the health of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., but you would have to consider their spouses genetic input as well. Unfortunately, we cannot focus on one factor to blame for autism. Autistic children are not doomed to a life of sitting in a room playing with numbers. Through therapy and hard work on everyone’s part, an autistic child can become a very productive member of society and a parent’s nightmare can become a parent’s dream.
