SchaferAutismReport: The Search for Autism's Missing Piece

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FEATURE

The Search for Autism's Missing Piece

Autism Research Slowly Turns Its Focus to Environmental Toxicity

By Brita Belli is.gd/658jA

Note: E – The Environmental

Magazine is celebrating its 20th with a new design. Its anniversary

issue, in bookstores now, takes an in-depth look at the connection

between environmental toxins and autism -- a condition that affects one

in 90 kids, according to the latest numbers. In its cover story,

E talks to researchers who are drawing connections between

mercury, lead, pharmaceuticals, plastics and other environmental chemicals

that might be pushing susceptible kids past their toxic tipping points.

Autism cases are on the rise. Or so

the most recent data would have us believe. The Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC) found that 1 in 100 children in the U.S. have been

diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—up from 1 in 150 in 2007. A

study in the journal Pediatrics in October 2009 revealed similar

numbers—parents of 1 in 90 children reported that their child had ASD. With

boys, the rate of ASD was 1 in 58. Without a doubt, autism is the country’s

fastest-growing developmental disability, affecting more children than

cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. Still, in dealing with a childhood

disorder that ranges from “highly functioning†to uncommunicative, and such

a long list of potential triggers and treatments, even the numbers

themselves are subject to questioning.

“It irritates me to no end that we still

argue over whether there is an increase in incidence,†says Merzenich,

Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the University of California San Francisco who

has pioneered research in brain plasticity (essentially, retraining brains)

and leads the brain-training software company Posit Science. “I think there

is lots of evidence for increased incidence,†Merzenich says.

“Overwhelmingly it supports that there are things in the environment that

are contributing to the rate of incidence. But people still argue. "

Doubters point out that autism is better

understood today and more frequently diagnosed. Some have even suggested

that an autism diagnosis may be a means to an end—a way for parents to get

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In This Issue:

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FEATURE

The Search for Autism’s Missing Piece

RESEARCH

Research Adds To Evidence That Autism Is A Brain 'Connectivity' Disorder

TREATMENT

Autism Service Dog Barred From Oregon School

Risperdal Lawsuits Filed Over Breast Growth Among Boys

PUBLIC HEALTH

Report Calls For Research On Nanoparticles In Food

NEWS

Prominent African Women Call Attention to Autism

COMMENTARY

'Evidence of Harm' Revisited, Part 2

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Vol. 14 No. 4

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