Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [autism]

Use this tag for questions with claims about autism and its causes

A neurophysiological disorder typically characterized by impairment of social interaction/function and communication. Autism is classified as a Spectrum Disorder because it encompasses a very wide and often disparate variety of symptoms. While there has been no definitive cause identified, there are several prominent theories which remain the subject of much contention.

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How dangerous is thiomersal (thimerosal)?

Some people blame the preservative thiomersal in vaccines for all kinds of illnesses, but mainly for autism. As thiomersal is a mercury compound, there is some plausibility in suspecting it may cause some damage, but is there some hard data on how…
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Is there an autism epidemic?

The number of diagnosed cases of autism has increased substantially in the last decades as seen in the following graph. Bar chart of the number (per 1,000 U.S. resident children aged 6–17) of children aged 6–17 who were served under the Individuals…
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Did a US court rule that the MMR vaccine causes autism?

The question of whether MMR vaccines cause autism has been addressed already on Skeptics.SE, and then again when new documents came to light. This question is not about rehashing those facts, but is about a July 2013 Whiteout Press report claiming…
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Are there any other studies (besides the discredited Wakefield studies) that have found a link between vaccination and autism?

Wakefield's study from 1998 is now refuted as fraudulent, however there must have been subsequent research by others looking for a link between vaccines and autism. Did any of this research find a positive correlation?
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Can dogs have autism?

From Alex Griswold, 2.3K RTs, 3.2K Likes: Brooklyn hipsters aren't vaccinating their dogs because they think it'll give them dog autism, which does not exist [Link to https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/892455062621966336 , which in turn links…
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Does a dairy-free diet reduce autistic behaviour?

PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) suggest the existence of a link between milk consumption and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (see here on the PETA website). More research is needed, but scientific studies have shown that many…
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Is any special diet an effective treatment of autism?

Treatment Ratings for Autism claims that basically any special diet is an effective treatment of autism. Is this true? From the study, The following data have been collected from the more than 27,000 parents who have completed our questionnaires…
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Is Chelation therapy effective for autism?

Especially in connection with claims that thiomersal in vaccines is responsible for cases of autism, I've read that removing mercury through chelation can help autistic children. Is there evidence that mercury plays any role in causing autism? Is…
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Do vaccines cause "hypertoxicity"?

A friend recently posted this on their Facebook: Vaccines don't cause autism. They cause hypertoxicity which leads to neurological impairment, and cell death. DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS! ~Dr. D.Mihalovic In my personal opinion, it reeks of woo,…
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Is Autism in Children frequently due to low Glutathione Levels?

GlutathioneForHealth: Autistic children have 50% less intracellular glutathione than other children), which is why they have so much trouble detoxifing vaccines, medications, environmental toxins, toxins in food and why they have so much trouble…
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Do the Amish have a lower rate of autism?

This 2006 article - after making conjectures about autism and vaccinations suggests that autism rates might be lower for (unvaccinated) Amish children, and offers some anecdotal evidence: "I have not seen autism with the Amish," said Dr. Frank…
Boris Pavlović
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Are there large scale studies investigating relationship between IQ and autism spectrum disorders (especially Aspergers)?

There's a lately-somewhat-widely held belief that there's a strong correlation (and to a certain extent, a fairly obvious causation) between Asperger's syndrome (or Autism spectrum disorders in general) and being a "geek". Since defining a "geek"…
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Are 85% of autistic college grads unemployed?

In 2016, a paper entitled Autism in the Workplace: Assessing the Transition Needs of Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder claimed: The most recent unemployment statistics for adults with ASD show that 85% are unemployed [...] They cite the…
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Do glyphosate-based herbicides cause autism?

I just read this article on a 'health news' site: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/mit-researcher-glyphosate-herbicide-will-cause-half-of-all-children-to-have-autism-by-2025/#sthash.C8EWLSzN.gbpl In summary, it states that an MIT researcher has said…
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Do the symptoms of autism resemble mercury poisoning?

This prevalent meme image claims that mercury poisoning and autism have similar symptoms. (Presumably it is intended to imply that vaccines containing mercury cause autism, but that isn't what this question is asking.) Mercury poisoning and…
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