Creatively Ironic

There were two articles over the weekend discussing the theory that some cases of autism are caused by vaccines- in particular, the mercury-based preservative used in vaccines called thimerosal. The first story in MedIndia.com called "MMR Vaccination on its way to regain past glory" is a short descripion of how MMR (so-called "triple jab") vaccine rates are up in India. The second article by UPI's Lidia Wasowicz entitled "Ped Med: Seeking Allies in autism fight" is a much more thorough introduction to the political stakes in finding the cause of autism. I tend to agree with the Ms Wasowicz's general conclusion:

While a strong genetic component in autism is now generally accepted, there's no consensus on the non-hereditary contributors to the disorder.

In the past, I've found myself hoping that the vaccine theory would hold up to scientific scrutiny - only to be disappointed, not only by the outcomes of the research, but also the pseudoscientific tendencies of its proponents. I also find that the "hidden Hoard" theory lacks credibility. "Hidden Hoard" holds that autism rates were always high, but underreported, therefore there should be a hidden hoard of autistic individuals who are now adults and receiving services (studies here are also inconclusive).

In my families case, we are 100% hit by the disorder- both kids. My interest in the research is not so much to find out the cause of the disorder for our own case, but to hope there will be prevention in the future so that other children do not suffer from the disorder needlessly.