Children diagnosed with Autism often have trouble with normal social skills like engaging in conversation, paying attention, and showing affection. Autism has been labeled a “spectrum” disorder because it has many different symptoms that fall under the same category, much like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the 1980’s Autism was estimated at one in twenty five hundred kids. CDC reports from 2000-2002 estimated Autism occurrence at one in one hundred fifty, and a recent CDC report puts the disorder at one in sixty eight children suffering from this spectrum disorder.
Why the rise in occurrence of Autism diagnosis’s? One reason is that the criteria for diagnosis has broadened, almost half of the cases involve children with above average IQ levels now. Milder forms are being diagnosed (Aspergers Syndrome), plus the more attention a problem gets from the media the more apt parents are to get kids checked, and the more apt a health professional is to diagnosis it. Although these explanations do account for a lot of newly diagnosed cases of Autism, they cannot fully explain the increase of occurrence to the extent we are currently seeing right now.
Where does Autism come from? No one has been able to come up with a definitive answer to this just yet, but I can tell you for sure that no epidemic (and this is an epidemic) has ever arose without the introduction of an outside factor to the human body. Genes do not, and cannot explain this rapid explosion in Autism cases.
What outside factors contribute to Autism? Did you know that there are almost one hundred thousand chemicals found in our food, drink, and air supply, of which only a small percentage have been tested as to their safety. It was originally believed that the placenta would keep toxic chemicals and hazards from reaching a mothers unborn baby. It wasn’t until almost 1970 for experts to agree that virus, bacteria, and chemicals can in fact invade not only the placenta, but also the babies own defense systems, as evidenced from a German Measles epidemic. As a result of mounting research it is becoming more and more evident that chemicals may be playing a part in the growing Autism epidemic. It is indisputable that the amount of chemicals a baby is exposed to before birth is much greater than ten, twenty, and thirty years ago. Many are quick to point the finger at vaccines and the main reason is that they contain mercury which is the second most toxic chemical on earth behind only plutonium. Thermometers are no longer constructed with mercury because the mercury in those old fashioned thermometers is enough to kill a human if ingested, and enough to wipe out an entire lake. Many over the counter prescription drugs and vaccines including the flu-shot contain a preservative called Thimerosal. Thimerosal is made up of fifty percent mercury. Mercury can also be found in fish in varying degrees, some of the highest levels are found in Swordfish, Orange Roughy, and Tuna (Bigeye/Ahi). One in six women have mercury levels in their blood that are high enough to cause neurological problems in the fetus.
Can a Chiropractor help with toxic chemicals and neurological damage? Yes. One of the best ways to eliminate toxic chemicals and more specifically, mercury is to use a natural cleanse to first flush out your system then to use a chelating agent to bind with the mercury and other toxic heavy metals. Once the chelating agent binds to the harmful substance it is eliminated through the urine and feces.
Improved neurological function can be achieved by removing toxins from the system as previously discussed and by removing mechanical interference to the nervous system by means of spinal manipulation by a chiropractor. Mechanical pressure on the nervous system comes from trauma, like the birthing process, horsing around with friends, brothers, sisters, falls, and accidents. Nerves control all of our cells, tissues, and organs, so any pressure applied to that system will negatively affect a person, and cause the nervous system to perform at less than one hundred percent to varying degrees. In our office we use a combination of traditional “hands on” adjusting of the spine and computerized methods to remove spinal interference.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Ryan C. Giel
