Attacking Autism: Doctors Debate the Cause

HENDERSON, Nev. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Less than 10 years ago, one in 250 children was diagnosed with a form of autism. Today, that number is one in 150. For boys, it's one in 94. To get to the bottom of the disorder, we must first know the cause.

When Ashkan Roumi was diagnosed with autism 13 years ago, little was known about the disorder.

"They told us that he was going to be in an institution," mother Zohreh Roumi told Ivanhoe.

The biggest mystery for Ashkan's parents was what caused their son to be different.

"The doctor told us that his head is smaller than normal, so he might have brain damage," Roumi said.

The most widely accepted theory: Abnormalities in the brain. Behavioral doctor David Childers, M.D., believes the problem is in the gap between spatial and language brain development.

"The average person in our country has a gap of between 5 and 10 points between their spatial language abilities," Dr. Childers, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician and Chief of the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Fla., told Ivanhoe.

The average gap in a person with autism is 60 points. Men tend to be better spatially, and women tend to be better with language, which may explain why boys may have higher rates of autism.

Kurt Woeller, D.O., a biomedical autism physician specialist at the Stillpoint Center for Integrative Medicine in Murrieta, Calif., believes it's caused by genetic problems triggered by vaccines and foods like gluten in wheat products and casein in dairy. He also believes heavy metals found in vaccines are extremely dangerous.

"Mercury is just as neuro-toxic as lead, if not more," Dr. Woeller told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Woeller says many of the abnormal behaviors seen in kids with autism may be a sign of something else.

"They were in so much pain from all the intestinal inflammation and constipation that they'd bang their head," Dr. Woeller said. "They'd bite themselves because they can't tell their parents, 'My belly hurts. My tummy hurts.'"

Rick Hunt, Ph.D., Research Director at the Children's Mental Focus Foundation in Henderson, Nev., believes autism is a treatable virus -- a sexually-transmitted disease passed from mother to child.

"Since the virus is introduced to the child in the uterus, it has no immune response whatsoever," Dr. Hunt told Ivanhoe.

Since boys don't have a uterus, Dr. Hunt says it goes straight to their brains. That's why boys get autism at higher rates than girls.

"That's normal in the world of viruses," Dr. Hunt said. "They usually migrate to very specific places in the human body."

As for Ashkan's autism, no one knows.

"You want to find your answer," Zohreh said. "You want to know why these things happened, or why do these things happen to your kid, so you go back and look at it."

For a disorder that's being called an epidemic, the Roumis, along with the rest of the world, will continue to search for the cause.

Fragile-X Syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, congenital rubella syndrome, congenital herpes and PKU may also play a role in some cases of autism. Single studies have also suggested a link between autism and Lyme disease and even prolonged rainy weather. Counties in the United States with higher precipitation levels were shown to have higher rates of autism.

For additional research on this article, click here.

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If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Lindsay Braun at lbraun@ivanhoe.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

Children's Mental Focus Foundation
Henderson, NV
http://www.childrensmentalfocusfoundation.org

Stillpoint Center for Integrative Medicine
Murrieta, CA
(951) 461-4800
info@mystillpoint.com
http://www.mystillpoint.com
               
Autism Action Plan
http://www.autismactionplan.org