hi everyone, i have a friend who's 6 or 7 year old son has autism and she didnt ask the doc all those years ago any questions about why her son has it, and i was just wondering if anyone knows some resons this happens?
(i mean not to offend anyone, i was just wondering and i am afraid to ask her)
thanks.

It varies. Could be from the mercury in vaccines. Could be heritary (spell?). Could be a blessing in disquised. Look for causes in the net, and you will probably be overwhelmed with the answers.

I haven't asked my doctor, why? I got a lot more info on the internet.

Yvette

I think the answers as to "what and why?" are probably as variant as the people who are on the spectrum. With my daughter, I am pretty certain she has been this way since birth. I think that the genetics on each side of her family probably lent to her condition: Depression on both, and ADHD and dyslexia on father's side. If vaccines played a role, I guess they could have deepened her already present atypicalities, if that makes sense. I suppose that is possible. Whatever the case, I know it will end up a blessing. Somedays, I am not as convinced as others, but in my heart, I really do know that.:)

doctors have booted the idea that vaccines cause autism, and i pray that vaccinations do not play a role since i am vaccinating my child.
but i had another question...what about eating fish while pregnant? i have head that the mercury in fish can cause it (though i am not a doctor and just read it somewhere) i was just wondering what you guys thought that could be a cause?

shue--- what were some signs your daughter gave you as an infant that she may have this condition?

She had poor eye-contact always, and she was not affectionate. She was "rigid", to my touch from day one, unless it suited her, like when she needed to be nursed or changed or moved about. She still prefers contact on her terms, though she is increasingly physically affectionate all the time. From the first day we had her home, my friend said of her, "She is so pensive. It's as if she is solving quadratic equations." She was a very solemn baby and young toddler. She ignored people most of the time, people asked me if she was deaf, and she was very aloof. She has always had extreme reactions, often seemingly out of the blue, and has been very difficult to calm. We originally began to learn of the possibility of autism when her ped flagged her for a speech delay at 18 months and we had her evaluated through ECI. We did not receive the diagnosis until this past December, just before her third b-day.
I was unaware of the significance of her "atypicalities" when she was a baby. She was my first and is a twin (her sis is NT), and in the insanity of caring for two infants, I just didn't read anything into her behavior. I thought it was just her personality. I have some regets about that now, not that it may have made any difference.

thank you shue for letting me know that. and about my previouse post, i did some reasearch and found that vaccinations as a cause has not yet been ruled out (i found that on the CDC site) so please excuse that.

You shouldn't have any regrets, still you caught it very early. My girl was diagnosed about the same age, and she has a brother that is10 months older than her, so in a way I can relate to the chaos.

Yvette

i dont know if you were talking to me or someone else in your post dzzred i didnt mean my daugher was autistic, but that my friends son is, anyway maybe you were talking to someone else?

Sorry, I was referring to Shue.

Yvette

Hi Winnie;

I am new to this board and read your post. I just completed a training at the University of Washington in the U.S. They strongly suspect both environmental and genetic contributors to the condition. Some specific genes are strongly suspected but not completely proven. In short, they do not really know yet! There has just been a 65 million dollar funded research project into your question! We would all like to know.

hi everyone, i have a friend who's 6 or 7 year old son has autism and she didnt ask the doc all those years ago any questions about why her son has it, and i was just wondering if anyone knows some resons this happens?
(i mean not to offend anyone, i was just wondering and i am afraid to ask her)
thanks.

I have a 6 year old autistic spectrum son. I do not believe in the vacinne theory, but agree with the belief that autistic disorders are usually only noticed at about the times that vaccines are given - it is hard to tell if a child is very differnt or behind in anyway if they are not yet at any age to have reached any significant milestones. Autistic disorders can be caused by 1. Alcohol during pregnancy 2. Heredetary predispositions 3. Just one of those things!!!!
There really are no firm whys, and I tormented myself for years believing that I did something to make my son the way he was, however, that is just not the case. Unfortunately, I just had an unlucky draw that time! (3 other perfectly healthy 'normal' children!)

I think the answers as to "what and why?" are probably as variant as the people who are on the spectrum. With my daughter, I am pretty certain she has been this way since birth. I think that the genetics on each side of her family probably lent to her condition: Depression on both, and ADHD and dyslexia on father's side. If vaccines played a role, I guess they could have deepened her already present atypicalities, if that makes sense. I suppose that is possible. Whatever the case, I know it will end up a blessing. Somedays, I am not as convinced as others, but in my heart, I really do know that.:)

Hi. I too agree that autism is very genetic if you have learning disabilities already present in immediate family and I believe there are environmental causes. My son is 6 and has moderate autism with SID. My husband's dad and a lot of 13 siblings all had LDs and somewhat autistic traits (not diagnosed back then as autism). My husband's 2 siblings out of 4 had LDs. So 2 out of 3 of my kids got autism. My daughter is very, very mildy autistic and my son is on the lower end of moderate autism. So, I definitely think LDs in family history can turn into more than an LD, such as autism and SID.

Also, I have read a couple months ago that "propylene glycol" is under investigation for a cause of autism. You have to wear gloves and safety equipment to handle it in a factory, yet it's in most lotion, shampoos, soaps, etc. that we use. Even in that cream we used to prevent stretch marks when we were pregnant. They are saying if this chemical which is put on our skin through lotions, etc. interacts at exactly the right time at which the baby's brain is developing , that it might cause autism. But, who knows? It's just another theory. Bless us all for all of our hard work we do for our little ones. They are so innocent and precious.

It seems like each case is a little different, and there definitely isn't one cause for everybody, nor is it likely there will be one cure for everybody.

I believe my daughter's PDD is caused by a cyst on her pineal gland. Disrupting the excretion of one endocrine hormone can cause a chain reaction in several others. Studies have been done that indicate many autistic children have erratic hormone levels, specifically melatonin, seratonin, and cortisol.

Some autistic children are dramatically helped with dietary changes or digestive detox regimens, indicating that their main problem was candida, leaky gut, or some other intestinal problem. Some PDD kids are helped with chelation therapy to remove heavy metals from the body. While the FDA/CDC findings indicate that immunizations do not cause autism, a study that I found points to a sort of back-door effect. There's a hormone in the body said to regulate metals (in the past, just the common biologically necessary metals like zinc, magnesium, etc.) And in the study, autistic children were found to have a significant lack of this hormone. If that were true, some kids would be more vulnerable to heavy metal toxification because their bodies would mis-regulate it. That would mean that shots don't necessarily cause autism, but the possibility is there that some kids are more at risk for damage when exposed to them. Just one study of many, of course. If anyone's interested I can find the link and post it.

And there's the genetics as well. I consider PDD to be caused by a combination of factors. We are exposed to more toxins in the environment now than ever before, pre- and post- birth. Genetic flaws or weaknesses that may have meant nothing two hundred years ago are now at the mercy of environmental factors that weren't even an issue back then. And then there's the diagnostic factor-- kids that used to be lumped into "mental retardation" are getting more specific diagnoses and treatments because of medical advances. We know more about the body, and that's beginning to eliminate a lot of wrong assumptions.

Every child has his own autistic fingerprint, and the causes/treatments are just as varied.