Autism and Mercury: History Repeats Itself

There was a precedent set back in the 1940’s when it became known that acrodynia, or pink disease, was caused by a teething powder. The culprit was the mercury in the ingredients. Once this was realized, companies began to remove the mercury from the teething powder due to adverse publicity and possible legal liability. By the late 1950’s pink disease virtually disappeared from outpatient pediatric clinics. It took a little time, but the theory that the mercury caused the disease was generally accepted. End of story.

Today there is another, more complex condition being linked to mercury. This condition is more complex due to the vast number of subtypes and the immeasurable role that genetics play in the development of the disorder. Pharmaceutical companies and certain politicians in nations around the world are turning a blind eye to the evidence that is present. The disorder: autism. Parents are worried about it, the majority of our government officials don’t seem to believe or care about it, and most mainstream doctors aren’t buying it: mercury could lead to autism.

As a parent of twin, four-year-old daughters who developed typically and then regressed, I certainly have a stake in the outcome of laws and medical practices regarding vaccines. Let me give you some information so that you can make your own judgement on the facts.

First, I will list some of the characteristics of mercury poisoning. Then I will list some of the characteristics of autism. Mercury poisoning: social deficits/withdrawal, shyness, anxiety, depression, lack of eye contact, loss of speech and/or failure to develop speech, sound sensitivity, motor disorders, vestibular abnormalities, poor concentration, self-injurious behavior, sleep difficulties, rashes, increased gut permeability.

There are many more, but I am just trying to illustrate a comparison, so this will do. Now, for autism characteristics: social deficits/withdrawal, anxiety, depression, lack of eye contact, delayed language or failure to develop language, sound sensitivities, vestibular abnormalities, stereotyped hand movements, repetitive behaviors, sleep difficulties, self-injurious behaviors, permeable gut/ GI difficulties, and so on. The lists are eerily similar. Almost identical.

Next, I want to highlight some statistics that were produced from information released from the U.S. Department of Education. From the school year of 1992-1993 to the 2000-2001 school year, the average increase in autism for the nation was 544%! That is a phenomenal increase. It should also be noted that the number of required vaccines has nearly doubled in the past 25 years. Still, there are some that want to attribute this to nothing more than a coincidence and account for the increase in known cases to better diagnoses.

Finally, I would just like to add a personal note. I would like to know why my bright, cheerful twins who began walking at the age of nine months and talking at around 11-12 months quit talking within months of their 15 month check-up shots. Also, try telling me it is a coincidence when I tend to my youngest daughter who has no functional language at four and a half years of age, when I remember by her first birthday she already had about 18 words in her vocabulary. Tell me that it is no one’s fault, when I have to worry if my daughters will ever be able to dress themselves and live on their own as adults.

I think that the denials and silence have gone on long enough. If there’s nothing to hide then our government shouldn’t have any inclinations to disallow individuals to sue pharmaceutical companies. There shouldn’t be any problem performing further studies if there is nothing to hide. My personal belief is that our government and pharmaceutical companies know that they ignored safety for the sake of profit. Now they are afraid of the liabilities that will surely come. Action needs to be taken by individuals now. I don’t think that our government is going to do anything about it otherwise.