ASD & Environment

Thank you to the Autism Society of America (ASA) for producing a special edition of Autism Advocate in December of 2006, which explores the critial effect of environmental toxins on the incidence and treatment of individuals with autism. ASA has allowed Autism Canada to reproduce two of the papers published in this issue of the magazine.

This special issue of Autism Advocate does a great job to broaden the current paradigm of autism diagnosis and treatment, now focused mostly on behaviour and social interaction, to include autism as a condition with treatable medical features. ASA President and CEO Lee Grossman comments, "For too long, parents receive the diagnosis of autism and are told there is nothing that can be done medically. As the evidence presented by these publications shows, children with autism present with medical symptoms that can be treated, which may then improve their abilities to learn, live and maximize their potential.”

Dr. Martha Herbert, Pediatric Neurologist and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and a member of ASA’s Panel of Professional Advisors, explains this paradigm further. "We're saying, yes, autism is biological, but more than genetic...it's more than the brain, it's the whole body, and it's a chronic illness." While genetics have been driving federally-funded research into the disorder, more than genetics is needed to yield answers about autism. "Autism is not simply wired in before you are born," says Dr. Herbert, who along with colleagues has shown abnormal changes that happen in brains of those with autism after birth. "When you include environment, lots of things in autism make more sense," she says. For example, large numbers of children with autism have various forms of gastrointestinal disease, or immune systems that react abnormally. "The gut and immune systems are the body's gateways to the environment, and they are also very connected to the brain." As people see that treating medical problems can help children with autism function better, Herbert says that the new paradigm in autism research should look more at how children with autism can change and improve, and incorporate treatments that can restore the body's resiliency and the brain's ability to adapt.

Feature Article

Time to Get a Grip by Martha R. Herbert, M.D., Ph.D.

Does an environmental role in autism make sense? How do we decide? And if environment is involved in autism, what do we do about it? These are challenging questions. Because our available information is complicated in many ways, each of us answers these questions based on our own judgment and deeply held worldviews.

Click here to read more of Time to Get a Grip

Canadian Study

Is There a Digestive Link to Autism? by Kulani Mahikoa

A newly formed multidisciplinary research team at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, is studying the involvement of a number of environmental factors relating to the causes and symptoms of ASD. These studies have a particular focus on diet and digestive issues.

Click here to read more of Is There a Digestive Link to Autism?

If you are interested in reading the entire issue of the Special Edition of the Autism Advocate please click the cover to the left to go to ASA's website.