Autism is not something that can be cured. There are many ways to enhance an Autistic child’s life, but trying to cure them is not one of them.
But the vaccines!?!
There are endless claims that the heavy metals in vaccines cause Autism. This has been debunked many times. The connection between Autism and the MMR vaccine was initially introduced after a lengthy study of this vaccine and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a common condition causing gastric discomfort. While there is evidence that leads to a connection between the MMR vaccine and IBD, there is no connection with Autism.
The next time a medical professional claimed that vaccines caused Autism it actually ended with the doctor losing his ability to practice medicine. After being found guilty of falsifying research and only including information that solidified his argument Andrew Wakefield was stripped of his medical license.
To this day there are many people who chose to believe that the MMR vaccine causes Autism. This can be seen all across social media as influencers claim they have found a detox that works or an essential oil that will rid the body of toxins. This has caused a drop in vaccination rates across the United States, which has lead to outbreaks of once eradicated diseases like measles.
So, if not the vaccine, then what about the metals?
There is connection between higher levels of metals in the blood stream of Autistic children. But this has been connected to environmental factors such as products used during pregnancy, exposure to secondhand smoke, lead paint, leaded fuel and many more environmental toxins.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is the timing of diagnosis. Children are typically diagnosed with Autism in early childhood, they are also given these vaccines in early childhood. So it may appear that there is a correlation but peer reviewed research states otherwise.
It’s fine, we’ll just detox the metals out!
At this time, there is little to no research about heavy metal detoxes. There are few doctors that are comfortable with the practice, which means that there is almost no medical guidance for detoxing a child’s body from suspected heavy metals.
Most of the guidance surrounding these detoxes through baths, essential oils or even bleach (scary) are coming from social media influencers with a large following on platforms such as youtube, tik tok or instagram. They typically do not have any medical background. This is dangerous. Would you take medical advice from someone who’s most notable attribute is having 1 million followers?
Okay so no detoxes, what can we do instead?
Accept that Autism does not change who your child is, it only changes the way they experience the world around them. As an Occupational Therapy practitioner I primarily work with Autistic children. One of the best things that has worked for a lot of the children I see is having their family learn to navigate the world with them. Autistic people have different experiences than neuro-typical people (people with Autism, ADHD, or any neurological differences). Learning the way the child you love sees the world will help you understand them better and how to better suit their needs. Occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, sensory gyms, autistic friendly experiences and exploring activities that fall into their niche are a few ways to get started on acceptance.
A cure might sound inviting, but learning to live in your Autistic child’s world is really what they need.
In this video, the speaker talks about her positive experience with being diagnosed with Autism and how everything she ever thought it was turned out to be wrong.
Want to learn more about studies debunking vaccines and Autism? You’re in luck! Find them here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.4/mdavidson
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-virology-092818-015515
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/1/308
Resources
Błażewicz, A., & Grabrucker, A. M. (2022). Metal Profiles in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Crosstalk between Toxic and Essential Metals. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(1). https://doi-org.ezproxy.neit.edu/10.3390/ijms24010308
Davidson, M. (2017) Vaccination as a cause of autism—myths and controversies, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 19:4, 403-407, DOI: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.4/mdavidson
DeStefano, F., & Shimabukuro, T. T. (2019). The MMR vaccine and autism. Annual review of virology, 6, 585-600. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-virology-092818-015515
LaSalle, G. (2018). When the answer to vaccines is “No.” The Journal of Family Practice, 67(6), 348.