I stopped questioning whether the increase in autism was due to better and earlier diagnoses while working in the schools and having Special Education teachers that had been working for 20 years say that in the past few years “the number of autistic-like students had increased year after year, no matter what you diagnose them as that type of student was increasing in numbers.” I even witnessed an increase in the few years I was working in the schools and while children with autism are all different there are enough similarities to have a feeling for someone on the spectrum.
A new study by researchers at U.C. Davis M.I.N.D. Institute published in January’s Issue of the peer-reviewed journal Epidemiology gives even more weight to the actual increase in cases of autism and the need for more research into possible environmental triggers. A great synopsis of the study can be found on the Autism Society of America’s website.
I fell in love with every child that I worked with, these children are truly beautiful. Their personalities are nothing short of charming and magical. However, education and medical expenses for children with autism can place an enormous financial and emotional burden on parents and without intensive one-on-one education as well as other therapies their quality of life declines drastically. So while I truly cherish and love these children for who they are, I do not wish the struggle on anyone.
Certainly there are some genetic components at work, but it is not all genetic and research does need to focus more on chemicals and their effect on neurodevelopment if we are going to get any real answers. Autism is what opened my eyes to the insane chemicals that I had incorporated into my everyday life from garden pesticides to cleaning chemicals to air fresheners to cosmetics. Most of the chemicals we use today have had little to no testing. Research available shows many chemicals to be carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and endocrine disrupting in laboratory testing yet they are found in many common household products. For the most part ingredients are required to be fully disclosed so the consumer is able to adequately asses these chemicals (with a little research). One exception is ingredients that fall under trade secrets such as “fragrance”. When you see “fragrance” as an ingredient know that you may be getting more than what you bargained for as phthalates (many of which have recently been banned for use in products for children under the age of 12) extend the life of a fragrance and are considered to be trade secrets so they do not have to be labeled. A resource I find helpful in evaluating ingredients is Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database. Even if the products you are wanting information on are not in the database itself you can pull up research on the ingredients themselves.. All of this to say that we as consumers need to be as educated as possible about the products we bring into our homes to protect the health of our families.
