What causes Autism?

I originally wrote this article 18 months ago.  I posted it on a site at cafemom.com, and there it remains to this day.  Since I am often asked about Chet and how he "got" autism I have revised the article a bit and am posting it here.  I am often asked if I think people should vaccinate their children......and how to prevent autism.  I do want to stress that this article is based on my opinion only, and may differ from others.  I am not a doctor, or an expert in any way.  I am just a Mom who deals with Autism every day. 
Dee

As the mom of an autistic son, and a nurse...I am often asked what causes Autism. Is it vaccines? Pollution? Abuse? Sickness? Pesticides? Is it medical? Emotional? Physical? Can it be cured? Treated? Plus a whole host of questions about what may be signs of Autism. Not speaking? Speaking constantly? Hyperactivity? Being withdrawn? Not making eye contact? Lining toys up? Spinning? Screaming? Arm flapping? Amazing talents and gifts? My answer to all of these questions is YES.

The fact of the matter is that we are all unique individuals. We are products of our genetic backgrounds. A mix of genetic material from our parents, grandparents and great-great grandparents, and all the generations before them. We are also products of our environment, our household, where we grow up, who raises us and what we are exposed to in our lifetime. Each of us come with genetic "blueprints" and they make each of us the same and so very different from one another. Each of us come with a set of life experiences this is what I believe makes Autism so complex......

Imagine a situation you may be more familiar with than Autism.  Like cancer. Lets say Jim has a family history of cancer, his grandpa had it. One brother was recently diagnosed. Will Jim get it? The answer is a resounding MAYBE. Does he have the genetic markers for cancer like his Grandpa and brother? And will Jim come in contact with the specific"trigger" needed for Cancer to activate? If the answer to either question is "No", then Jim won't get Cancer. He can posses the gene for cancer, but never trigger it. So it sits there taking up space on his blueprint like a stick of dynomite with no spark.  Or he can hit every trigger on the planet but not carry the gene. Jim could have sparks flying around but nothing to ignite.   Now here is where it gets tricky.....what is the "trigger?"  It could be smoking. But lots of people who smoke don't get cancer.  It could be working around chemicals. But not everyone who works in jobs like that get cancer, either. Perhaps it is his diet.........but some people have really crappy diets and never develop cancer. Others have never touched red meat or processed foods and exercise four times a week.......and die of cancer. EVERYONES TRIGGER IS DIFFERENT.

If you ask me, it's just darn unfair. Some guy who smokes, drinks, eats crappy and never exercises: essentially does everything wrong.....lives to be 90. And another who does everything right is dead at 53.   Why? Because his blueprint had cancer genes triggered by irritation in his lungs from living on a dusty ranch.  His specific cancer had nothing to do with diet, exercise or smoking.  Again, a gene triggered by a specific cause. 

So back to Autism..........What causes Autism?  I believe it is a genetic pre-disposition to develop it combined with the person-specific trigger to bring it out. It's that simple. And that mind-bogglingly complex.  I believe there is a genetic proponent to it because four times as many boys as girls are autistic.  If one child in a family has autism, the chances of a sibling having it more than double.  The "autism gene" must be dominant in males and recessive in females.  That's just my theory, mind you.  My son is Autistic. Just as yours may be diabetic, or brilliant in spelling, or dyslexic, or the best soccer player in 3 states. A wonderful and frightening mixture of blueprint and life experiences.

I don't know what made Chet Autistic.  I believe he was genetically pre-programmed for it, but I don't know what triggered him. It could have been a fever he had, or the laundry soap his clothes were washed in. It could have been triggered from the vaccines he received, or a chemical he was exposed to at a certain time in his life. Perhaps an allergic reaction was the catapult.  "Experts" have claimed Autism is caused by vaccines, or living by industry, or having children close together......the child's diet....or in-utero exposure to something.  But the truth is.........every one of us is so unique! All of these things could be contributing factors in Autism. And Soccer. And Diabetes. And being a great speller.  And cancer. And ............

We must be very, VERY careful when putting correlations into play. If I eat a fried chicken meal at a nice restaurant, and then get in a car wreck on the way home.........I could deduce that eating chicken causes car accidents.  Additionally, if my son broke his arm, I would want that arm to be set and casted and made functional again.  I wouldn't want his doctor to waste time wondering if it was his bone composition or the fall from the tree that was more to blame for the fracture. It is what it is.

Most people who ask what caused Chet's autism are not asking for Chet's sake..........they want to know so they can avoid it in their own kids or grandkids.  They want some assurance from me that Autism won't touch their family. They want a cut and dried answer to avoid being in my shoes.  Sometimes I see the frustration and fear in their eyes when I try to explain that it can happen even if they avoid all of the "expert" deemed causes.  Otherwise unvaccinated kids wouldn't get autism...........but they do. Rural children wouldn't get it..........but they do.  Even if all of the suspected "causes" are avoided, some kids still develop autism.  I honestly believe that there will never be proof of an definitive cause of autism.  Tens of millions of dollars in research money has brought us no closer to finding a cause.  Meanwhile 1 in every 115 kids has autism and the resources to advance them.......speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, language tools, behavioral interventions and availability of well-trained professionals are out of reach for a whole lot of them. Insurance won't touch most therapies and good luck finding someone to provide the therapy even if insurance will pay.  Unless you live in a large city, the resources are just not available.  It is heartbreaking to know that Chet would benefit from therapy in Omaha or Denver, but our home, jobs and families are here.  We do everything we can with the limited resources we found in our area.  I feel some of that research money would be better utilized in treatment for kids already diagnosed.

I feel that autism in children needs to be addressed from the perspective of making each child as happy, healthy and as functional as possible. Isn't that what ALL parents want for their kids? Don't ask me how my son "got"autism, but ask me how far my son has come since his diagnosis! Be supportive of the classrooms and teachers that streamline autistic kids. Volunteer to do respite in your area for families that have kids on the spectrum. Speak up if you have an autistic child, or if you are on the spectrum yourself. My son isn't broken or damaged or have something in him that needs to be fixed or removed. What he has is a uniqueness that most of us can't fully understand.  I am not sure what causes autism, but I do know that I love a little boy who has it.     

Momma Duck