Autism Is Still a Medical Mystery
CJ Puotinen for Carol Wilcock, RN
July-August 2020 • Vol 3, No 110
Despite decades of research, autism remains a medical mystery. No one knows what causes its repetitive motions or other defining behaviors, though genes are thought to play a role (autism sometimes runs in families), and it may be more common when parents have children late in life or when mothers have medical problems, untreated metabolic disorders during pregnancy, or take anti-seizure drugs.
Is there a link between vaccinations and autism? In March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control conceded, in a stipulation signed by a Federal court judge, that no published studies support its claim that vaccines do not cause autism. At the same time, there is insufficient evidence to prove the contrary. In short, no one knows for sure.
The symptoms of autism usually appear in early childhood, before age 3. Typically, children with autism have trouble relating to others, avoid eye contact, prefer to be alone, dislike hugs, repeat words or actions, do not notice signals from body language, the voice tone, or expressions of others, need routine, and react strongly to smell, taste, or sound. Because no treatments offered by conventional medicine change its outcomes, autism is considered an incurable, irreversible, degenerative disease or brain disorder.
