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'''Autism''' is a neurological disorder, characterized by inability to interact socially; linguistic disability; intense, narrow interests; and repetitive behaviors. These are called stims or stimming. They include walking on tiptoes, flapping of hands, staring at objects for a prolonged period of time, oral fixation, spinning in circles, and other repetitive activities.  Other signs include lack of eye contact, playing alone, lack of words, or in the case of Asperger's syndrome possessing a large vocabulary and intense knowledge of specialized areas but a lack of social skills or inappropriate behavior. It is usually detected by the time a child is four years old but in some cases, autism goes unnoticed into adulthood. There are many intelligent and talented autistic individuals.<ref>Temple Grandin, "Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism" amazon link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307275655/ref=wl_it_dp/103-3432247-4184629?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1CWNFSEUCIXQL&colid=49VN3HJC5OQK</ref>  The term '''autism''' was first used in 1912, and is based on the perception that autistic individuals tend to be self-absorbed and have difficulty relating to others.

'''Autism''' is a neurological disorder, characterized by inability to interact socially; linguistic disability; intense, narrow interests; and repetitive behaviors. These are called stims or stimming. They include walking on tiptoes, flapping of hands, staring at objects for a prolonged period of time, oral fixation, spinning in circles, and other repetitive activities.  Other signs include lack of eye contact, playing alone, lack of words, or in the case of Asperger's syndrome possessing a large vocabulary and intense knowledge of specialized areas but a lack of social skills or inappropriate behavior. It is usually detected by the time a child is four years old but in some cases, autism goes unnoticed into adulthood. There are many intelligent and talented autistic individuals.<ref>Temple Grandin, "Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism" amazon link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307275655/ref=wl_it_dp/103-3432247-4184629?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1CWNFSEUCIXQL&colid=49VN3HJC5OQK</ref>  The term '''autism''' was first used in 1912, and is based on the perception that autistic individuals tend to be self-absorbed and have difficulty relating to others.

Diagnoses of autism has increased from 1:10,000 in 1988 to as high as 1 in 150 people,<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/faq_prevalence.htm</ref> and it has been rising. Among boys, 1 in 94 has the disorder.  In New Jersey, which has the highest rate in the nation, 1 in every 60 boys has autism and 1 in every 94 children is affected.

Diagnoses of autism has increased from 1:10,000 in 1988 to as high as 1 in 150 people,<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/faq_prevalence.htm</ref> and it has been rising. Four times as many boys suffer from autism as girls.<ref name="Clinic Stats">http://www.iupui.edu/~psycdept/autism/autism.htm</ref>  Among boys, 1 in 94 has the disorder.  In New Jersey, which has the highest rate in the nation, 1 in every 60 boys has autism and 1 in every 94 children is affected. There is a seizure disorder in about one-third of those who have autism.<ref name="Clinic Stats">

Autism is a spectrum disorder which means there is a range in how it affects different people. There is the fragile x syndrome, Asperger's syndrome, pdd nos, mild autism, moderate autism, severe autism, and some [[idiot savants]].  Autistic children will not all act like the character portrayed in the movie ''[[Rain Man]]''.  Nor are all autistic children uncaring or unable to show emotion, in fact many are very caring.

Autism is a spectrum disorder which means there is a range in how it affects different people. There is the fragile x syndrome, Asperger's syndrome, pdd nos, mild autism, moderate autism, severe autism, and some [[idiot savants]].  Autistic children will not all act like the character portrayed in the movie ''[[Rain Man]]''.  Nor are all autistic children uncaring or unable to show emotion, in fact many are very caring.

Autism was first identified clinically in 1943 by Dr. [[Leo Kanner]]. Dr. Hans Asperger also did some research into autism at about the same time and discovered Asperger's syndrome. As early as the 90's many psychotherapies were used to treat it. One very effective treatment, though not a cure, is Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA therapy).

Autism was first identified clinically in 1943 by Dr. [[Leo Kanner]]. Dr. Hans Asperger also did some research into autism at about the same time and discovered Asperger's syndrome. As early as the 90's many psychotherapies were used to treat it or least hide its symptoms, including Applied Behavioral Analysis ([[ABA therapy]]).

==Theories of causes of autism==

==Possible causes of autism==

It has been claimed by some that a [[mercury]] preservative used in [[vaccines]], thimerosal, is the cause of injury in many recipients, including a cause of increase in autism rates.<ref>[http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:952MmAWeCOsJ:www.jpands.org/vol8no1/geier.pdf+jpands&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a Thimerosal in Childhood Vaccines,

Obvious potential causes of autism, or vulnerability to it, are the environment (including increased vaccinations), genetic predisposition, and diet of both the mother (pre-birth and during breastfeeding) and child.

Neurodevelopment Disorders, and Heart Disease in the United States]</ref> Thimerosal is a inorganic form of mercury that was widely used as a preservative, but since FDA and CDC action in 1999 and 2000 thimerosal usage in vaccines has been either removed or lessened to around 0.01% in [[vaccines]] that still use it, including influenza and DT vaccines. However, U.S. rates of autism have increased rather than declined.<ref>http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/autismincreases.php</ref> Vaccines have been shown not to be a likely cause for autism <ref>http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13703.html,</ref><ref>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B75KN-4DJ97VJ-8&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c555dd340aa6cb7c3a18806ba0fd162a</ref><ref>http://www.iom.edu/?id=27771</ref>, but worries about the vaccine still linger in people who have not been informed of these findings and their subsequent refusal to vaccinate their children have been the leading cause in recent outbreaks of these diseases.<ref>http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.425/pub_detail.asp</ref>

As noted above, there is a strong interest in whether a possible link exists between the increasing numbers of people being diagnosed with autism, and the use of thimerosal (which contains mercury) as a preservative in vaccines. However, this has been disproved as a likely cause of autism and now most data indicates that autism is a mostly genetic condition. <ref> ''American Acadamy of Family Physicians'' http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020301/tips/14.html </ref>. The genetics of this condition are not yet fully understood and could be caused by complex interactions between multiple genes which would account for the "spectrum" like differences in the severity of many cases <ref> http://66.102.1.104/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:7kMNqvTgRtoJ:www.ikhebeenvraag.be/mediastorage/FSDocument/52/Freitag-2.pdf+</ref><ref>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17764594</ref>

 

 

A toxic [[mercury]] preservative used in [[vaccines]], thimerosal, is a suspected cause of injury in many recipients, including a cause of increase in autism rates.<ref>[http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:952MmAWeCOsJ:www.jpands.org/vol8no1/geier.pdf+jpands&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a Thimerosal in Childhood Vaccines,

Neurodevelopment Disorders, and Heart Disease in the United States]</ref> Thimerosal is a inorganic form of mercury that was widely used as a preservative.  Only after intense public pressure did the FDA and CDC act, in 1999 and 2000, to reduce thimerosal usage in vaccines. But thimerosal continues to be used far more than realized, as in the annual flu vaccine and stockpiles of vaccines left over from years ago.  U.S. rates of autism have increased rather than declined.<ref>http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/autismincreases.php</ref>

 

The is enormous pressure to deny that vaccinations are causing autism, as such a revelation would result in political, legal, and financial consequences for those who have been supporting increases in vaccination.  As researchers denied smoking caused lung cancer for decades, researchers now claim that vaccination is not causing autism.<ref>http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13703.html,</ref><ref>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B75KN-4DJ97VJ-8&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c555dd340aa6cb7c3a18806ba0fd162a</ref><ref>http://www.iom.edu/?id=27771</ref>  Many parents who see first-hand the changes in their children immediately shortly after vaccination see a clear cause-and-effect, and some are opting out of vaccination.<ref>http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.425/pub_detail.asp</ref>

 

Thimerosal is not the only ingredient of vaccines that may be causing the increase in autism.  By assaulting the immune system at a very young age, multiple vaccinations may be doing other harm that is not yet fully understood.  Autism is a neurological condition, and side effects of vaccination are known to cause other neurological problems.

 

 

This is much evidence that there is a genetic susceptibility to autism.<ref> ''American Acadamy of Family Physicians'' http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020301/tips/14.html </ref>. The genetics of this condition are not yet fully understood and could be caused by complex interactions between multiple genes which would account for the "spectrum" like differences in the severity of many cases <ref> http://66.102.1.104/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:7kMNqvTgRtoJ:www.ikhebeenvraag.be/mediastorage/FSDocument/52/Freitag-2.pdf+</ref><ref>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17764594</ref>

Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the [[University of Cambridge]] (U.K.) notes the strong evidence that males and females are hardwired for different behavior, with boys tending to be stronger at mechanics, categorizing and systemizing information, mathematics, etc. and girls stronger at emotionalizing and empathizing.  He has proposed that autism is merely an extreme version of the male brain type, in which the (female) urge to empathize is nearly absent and the brain is almost entirely hardwired for the (male) tasks of systemizing.<ref>Baron-Cohen, Simon.  ''The Essential Difference'', Basic Books 2003.</ref>

Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the [[University of Cambridge]] (U.K.) notes the strong evidence that males and females are hardwired for different behavior, with boys tending to be stronger at mechanics, categorizing and systemizing information, mathematics, etc. and girls stronger at emotionalizing and empathizing.  He has proposed that autism is merely an extreme version of the male brain type, in which the (female) urge to empathize is nearly absent and the brain is almost entirely hardwired for the (male) tasks of systemizing.<ref>Baron-Cohen, Simon.  ''The Essential Difference'', Basic Books 2003.</ref>