Enough With All The Causes, Causes, Causes

People have often asked me how I think my daughter "got" autism. At Bloomingdales may be my answer to the next person who asks! Kind people will send me articles, with the best intentions, of the latest & greatest quack-cause du jour. I believe my daughter was born autistic. I have no evidence to prove otherwise. I'm at total peace with that, I accept autism, I accept my daughter. I have moved on from scratching my head, trying to figure out what and why. I have the what, the why has been answered, at least for me (genetics).

I suppose if I had an extra, say 15 hours a day or so, I might give more thought to french fries or air pollution. But, I doubt it. I'd more than likely opt to sleep (or eat the french fries), or do something more beneficial than endless searching for a possible cause that more than likely I would never find (unless I was staring at my and my husband's DNA). I prefer to live in the moment, embrace my life, and go with it. My heart really does go out to families who are so consumed in finding the cause of their child's autism. I know they spend countless time, money, and energy on it. It must be extremely tiring and stressful, and I often wonder about the effect of it all on their child.

Mercury, Lyme's, environmental triggers, viruses, cigarette smoke, air pollution, prenatal aspartame consumption, maternal stress, folic acid, ultrasound, excessive hygiene, television, french fries...

For each supposed "cause" of autism, people claim there are studies that have been done to prove them. Granted, the study may be some quack-pseudo-scientist talking to 3 families who all ate glazed donuts on a Wednesday, and they all had autistic children. Yes, that's a bit exaggerated and comical, but it's not too too far off from how a lot of these "studies" are done (and then presented in a scientific manner). Typically, people who passionately believe in the cause of their child's autism, will say that studies have been hidden by the government.

The conspiracy theorists are alive and well in "causes of autism" world. They say that the government (think Men In Black), is intentionally keeping us, the public, uninformed. They (the Men In Black) continue "poisoning" our children, mostly so that "big pharma" can keep ringing in the big money. And, that they (the Men In Black again) are hiding these mountains of studies. I wonder how many of the autism conspiracy theory folks carry around their own copy of Catcher In The Rye (which, I have to add: it was my most beloved book in my teen years, and second, I do believe true government conspiracies exist, just not about autism!).

Anyway, it always goes back to "big pharma," whether you are talking about vaccines or "autism fries." Most who believe these various conspiracies, which at last check seem to be more of them that here are of Grimm's Fairy Tales, feel that the government and others have kept things hidden for one reason: money. They often state that doctors, therapists, pharmaceutical companies, and many others, are making big money on autism. So, they'd not want to find a "cause."

Apparently with all the diseases, psychological disorders, traumatic-brain/car-accident/work-related/sport injuries, birth defects, organ transplants, plastic surgery, viral and bacterial infections, genetic disorders, etc., doctors simply weren't making enough money. No, hospitals, drug companies, therapists, and physicians wanted more. So when they discovered that x, y, or z was causing Autism, they quickly hid that "fact," for the sake of making bigger bucks.

Yeah, because diabetes, heart disease, cancer, epilepsy, stroke, and whatever other assorted health issues you'll encounter at the doctor's office just wasn't cutting it. They needed something more, and apparently were so desperate for cold cash, they didn't care about the individuals or families involved. They didn't give a rat's arse about how "giving" Autism to all these kids would affect society, our school systems, government programs, etc. Nah, it was all about making that precious dollar. And, what's even more interesting, is that apparently doctors from all over the world were in on this. There must have been secret meetings--perhaps held at U.N. Headquarters? So that in every country, every nation, autism would be "dispensed" in whichever method one is arguing for (vaccines, pollution, etc.).

Um, yeah...that makes perfect sense to me.