There has been a bunch in the news recently about Autism. I learned here that researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago will be focusing their efforts on finding the cause. This made me curious though. With many physical disabilities, I've learned that people don't think of them as things to be fixed but just the way they are. I would even venture to say that part of the definition of "Disability" is a condition that persists over time, not something temporary. Is Autism different? What is the general belief about Autism, that it should be fixed or that it's something to live with? I would definitely agree that regardless, it is a good thing to research a cause so that Autism can be prevented in the future perhaps.
I would imagine however that it causes mixed feelings for someone with autism to support preventing a condition which is a very big part of their own life. How does a person with Autism or with any disability for that matter, feel at peace with their abilities while at the same time working to make sure that their condition does not befall others? Can any readers provide some insight?
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Have you heard of an association between autism and thimerosal? Thimerosal is a mercury-containing organic compound that is used as a preservative in some vaccines (http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm).
Jenny McCarthy was on Oprah last week to talk about her autistic son and how the MMR vaccine (immunization against measles, mumps and rubella) was the cause of her son's autism (http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200709/tows_past_20070918.jhtml?promocode=incl20070918TD).
However, according to the CDC, there are no current studies that support an association between thimerosal and autism.
There's even been a class action lawsuit related to this issue that went to court recently (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/autism_6-20.html).
Any thoughts? I think it's noble for celebrities to use their fame to advocate a cause, but is McCarthy misguided or uninformed? I think it's important to promote awareness but isn't the focus on thimerosal taking away from what should be the real focus, autism?
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