By Elinor Kriegsmann

December 4, 2009

The statistics on autism are alarming. A study published on October 5, 2009 in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics found a parent-reported autism prevalence rate of one in every 91 American children, including one in 58 boys. See www.washington.chenw.org for more information on the epidemic of autism and other neurobiological disorders in the past decade: "28% of neurobehavioral disorders (including autism) could be directly or indirectly related to environmental contaminants, not including alcohol, tobacco, or drugs of abuse." Put these data together with the inundation of toxins from multiple sources that affect fetal development and vulnerable infants (see www.ewg.org and www.watoxics.org).

Daily, articles on possible risk factors for toxin exposure for children are published. In "The Dirt on Dust" segment on NPR on November 16, 2009, toxins from fibers of carpets, furniture, and bedding were found in indoor dust. On November 18, 2009, Washington Toxics Coalition (www.watoxics.org) released a study of blood and urine samples of 9 pregnant women during the second trimester to see if and what toxins were found. Shockingly, or depending on your experience with this literature, not too surprisingly, toxins such as heavy metals (lead, arsenic, and mercury), phthalates, bisphenol A, and others were found in all the samples. Watoxics.org has helpful suggestions on avoiding toxin exposure during pregnancy and in the nursery.

So if this information is out there for those who search the Web, why aren't doctors in family medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, and pediatrics educating every woman of child-bearing age about taking precautions such as those listed on the WTC website? This brings me back to the assertion that there is a relationship between these toxins and autism. I speak from over four decades as a speech-language pathologist, including teaching at a large university training program and directing a major clinical program in Western Washington. Before the mid-80s a child with characteristics of autism (primary social communication issues) was rare. In fact, school districts gathered autistic children from various districts to form a single classroom. In the past 20 years, however, there has been a steady increase in the prevalence of autism, and now there is an explosion of children with autistic features.   

Looking back on what has been the major change in the past 20 years, most outstanding is the deluge of toxins attacking this generation of young women and children. Whether or not we can currently prove the relationship between having a child with autism and toxin exposure is not the most important point. Instead, we can focus on the precautionary principle, which states that given all the data on current levels of toxicity and the rise in autism (and other neurobiological disorders in infants), women should be advised to take every possible precaution both when planning to get pregnant and when preparing the child's environment. As described in the WTC healthy tips for pregnancy and the nursery, precautions should be taken with food intake and utensils, decisions on remodeling, new furniture, carpets and bedding, toys, clothing, personal products, and much more. Women want to know what is safe: what they can control, and what possible preventive measures they can take to assure their baby's physical and emotional health. The information is out there, and it is time for physicians to spread the word. It is not okay to wait till that scientific study comes along to prove what may have been staring at us all along.