by Mama Hippo
I was just talking with my husband, and he mentioned a conversation he'd had with a fellow new mom friend about flame retardants. She said that the use of flame retardants in infant sleepwear was banned a few years ago in the European Union, and that apparently they've seen a drop in autism rates since then.
I've heard often how the chemicals used to make infant sleepwear flame retardant may be very dangerous to their health, but had never heard of a connection between them and autism. I immediately started googling and
found a
few links mentioning flame retardants as a possible link/cause to autism, but it seems not much research has been done about this yet (or at least not many definitive answers have been found).
What I'm wondering is, why have I not heard about this before? We seem to be so stuck on the link between vaccines and autism, one that has little evidence at best. Why is there not more public discourse going on about these other potential causes? Especially since cutting out flame retardants seems to have a much lower downside to it than avoiding vaccines (I assume most of us know better than to hold lit cigarettes near our sleeping children, there's little I can do otherwise about keeping my son from catching polio or measles if he's exposed without the protection of a vaccine).
Then there's the mention of "nature deficit disorder." Apparently, "
outdoor exposure has long been associated with healthier cognitive functioning in children, with reduction in Attention Deficit Disorder symptoms and greater emotional capacity. But new findings suggest it could impact autism, too. Last year, Cornell University researchers found higher rates of autism in counties where more households subscribed to cable and children under the age of three regularly watched TV. The Amish, with almost no exposure to TV, have little evidence of autism, notes the study." (
source) This is fascinating. Could it really be as simple as exposing our kids to more time outside, and away from TV, etc, to help lower their risk of autism? Why is
that never talked about??
If we are truly so concerned about autism and finding the reasons for its recent rise, why are we not looking at these alternative risk factors and doing something about them? Have vaccines become a scapegoat and such an obsession that it's keeping us from finding and talking about other, possibly stronger links to autism?
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Comments (12)
interesting post. I will check this out more
i know my mom has also talked about reading newspaper articles on kids coming down with rickets again from spending too much time inside and not enough in the sun and outdoors.i honestly think a lot of things could be helped by getting our kids outisde more.maybe not make them all go away or cure them but def help them!!
Perhaps the Amish seem to have "little evidence of Autism" b/c they're not receiving the same medical care as your average American. Part of the reason that Autism rates have risen in the US is b/c it's being diagnosed properly more often. To me, these higher rates of Autism could simply be b/c these ppl are in developed nations where they're more likely to receive the medical care needed to be actually diagnosed with Autism.
Interesting. Flame retardant sleepwear and bedding has been linked with developmental problems and more studies are definately needed. I think that is true for many of our technological advances. Society is always looking for the new and improved and long term safety studies are rarely done before the products are on the shelves. They certainly aren't done for children. Even vaccines given to babies were not tested on babies or baby animals. They were given to grown men so the medical community bases their safety on children on that fact and on the fact that the majority of kids getting the shots experience little to no ill effects.
As a parent of a child with Autism, I have heard just about everything blamed for the condition from advanced paternal age (my husband was 21), to too much television (we didn't even have cable so we rarely watched tv when Junior was younger), vaccines (most studies ruling out vaccines as a cause were not scientific nor convincing and the same could be said for the studies "proving" the link), poor parenting (thanks Michael Savage for that totally insane and inaccurate rant, a la Bettleheim, that will no doubt spread intolerance for the developmentally disabled out and about in their communities), dietary allergies, and even yeast infections. I think the only thing I haven't heard linked with Autism is alien abduction and I am sure it won't be long. Currently, the bulk of scientific studies have focused on genetic links and several have been found. It is generally believed among researchers that Autism is caused by genetics with a possible environmental trigger but no specific trigger has been definitively linked.
The CDC has recently provided quite a bit of money to groups studying causes and the efficacy of some of the more non-traditional treatments for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) so we should have more answers in the next few years.
I am not a doctor, but it's hard for me to believe that one too many Elmo's can cause disability such as Autism. I live in the heart of Amish country, and know quite a bit about them... they only marry each other, so some diseases are very prevelant and others are non-existant, which would up hold the genetic theory. Amish have diseases that no other race has but seem to be "immune" from quite a lot of others. Also, it doesn't suprise me that more diseases are prevalent in more nations that have cable, because those nations are generally more industrialized, have more processed foods, pollution and other chemicals. People who live in remote areas of the world don't have any of those things. I think they'd need to study more than just TV to get an accurate result.
While some people did research on the subject and decided not to immunize their children because of it, I think more looked at it as, "So-and-so told me that she heard it could be bad...and it's how many less doctor appointments to attend? Sweet! Where do I check "religious reasons" so that I don't have to make any valid arguments to the school??" It's easy to get behind something that actually takes less effort than the norm...it's harder for some people to actually (gasp!) spend time with their kids and be outdoors.
I had never heard of the link to Autism HOWEVER, New Zealand researchers have found it to be THE CAUSE for SIDS.... Here is the web site on that
http://www.preventcribdeath.com/
I had also done the study about immunaizations and my husband was ver addamant (and I agreed) that we should wait until our daughter was 2 before we started her on the immunizations. That was an age that seemed comfortable to use, and so that was the plan. However I looked it over one more time and realized that as an Army family, near an army base, we are likely to be exposed to stuff that the average american may not be (and thus not really needing immunizations for it). So we decided to start her on them. It was a struggle for us, and we really felt like we shouldn't, but we couldn't take the risk of her being exposed to something that was incurrable that some soldier had brought back from another country, so we did what we had to!
@hubbaduh@xanga - I totally agree.
As for the flame retardant theory, I could not find a single article in a peer review journal that links autism to the use of flame retardants in clothing. I seriously doubt that there is a link. I did find peer reviewed journal articles about the link between SIDS, but only a few.
Saying too much TV is to blame for autism is just as bad as saying that autism is caused by emotionally detached and cold mothers.
As for the vaccines, I don't think they cause autism either. A study indicated that in countries were thimerisol (mercury) use in vaccines was reduced, autism still increased. Moreover, there is currently no scientific evidence to support that there is a linkage between autism and MMR vaccine. If there is a correlation between the two, it is most likely that children begin to display symptoms at the age the vaccines are given and we are able to diagnose autism better now.
Researchers do look for the causes of autism all the time. We just don't here about it because they aren't shocking enough or they haven't found a magic cure that will make an autistic child into a "perfect" child.
You have not heard about this because the rules about warning people about harmful chemicals and requirements for testing of harmful chemicals were weakened in the 80s. It was thought to be "big government." Clinton made some attempt to strengthen the rules again but did not get as much accomplished as he could have because of the Monica scandal. I have not heard about autism and tv but have read a study that too much tv causes kids to bully others.
It has been taught and spoken about in middle and high schools for years, as well as basic Foundation of Learning college courses that these are simlpe causes of autism and other issues.
Take a good look at your television, then go watch "affluenza" think about the need for new and shiny things, and tell me that doesn't promote ADD, the need for osmething new immediately makes old things boring and not worth fixing, or attention. TV presents new things constantly. Not information (no not even children's programming), but THINGS.
Seriously folks, go watch Affluenza the movie, it is a documentary and take a good look at the most difficult age range, teenagers, how much time to they spend seeing new shiny things they want, and what do they really get out of it.
I definitely think that TV is a huge problem. I personally don't have one-- I am ALL FOR kids watching movies on the computer, but having a TV, which many folks use as a babysitter, is just never a good idea when children are involved. I do not have any info about the correlation with autism, but I definitely have a ton of resources/research that demonstrate the correlation between TV viewing and violent behaviour in young children. Their little minds cannot handle and process everything that they see. If an adult is not there to explain the difference between what is real and what is not (most people who are shot multiple times do not just magically get up and walk away, as in some of the "great" action flicks that have been put out in recent years!) and/or to answer questions about what the child is seeing, then kids use their imagination to process the violence they have witnessed. Not a good idea.
would like to use this post for an up and coming xanga sister site.