How Do We Solve The Puzzle of Autism?

Just put the pieces together. Isn't it easy?

It is somewhat difficult to put a puzzle together when there are pieces that are missing, no picture of what the puzzle looks like, and no one has been able to piece it together as of yet, so you don't know that it actually can be done. Some individual puzzles have been solved and you can take some clues from these successes. However, even though your puzzle is similar, it is still not the same. The following is an attempt to at least try to understand what the puzzle of autism may look like while not having all the pieces on the table. My attempt at a solution is just one possibility based on facts, theory, and hope.

How did my child get autism?
If we knew for certain, the puzzle would be much less difficult to solve, although still a challenge. You see, when I look at my puzzle it looks different than your puzzle. The puzzles are similar in many ways, but my pieces don't seem to fit in exactly the same way yours do. Some of the pieces seem identical while other shapes are very different. Each puzzle seems to fit into a subgroup of a handful of puzzles. Some puzzles have many pieces while some only seem to have a few.

According to figures by The ARI (Autism Research Institute) and Dr. Rimland, the majority of children with autism today had developed normally until an "event" occurred triggering their autism. Certainly some children may have been born with autism, but I believe the underlying reason for acquiring the autism is the same. An infection must occur for the immune system to begin its work. Whether this infection happens in the womb or postpartum, via a natural method (i.e. wild measles virus), or by a vaccine, would seem to be irrelevant. The outcome is still the same. The course of autism is set in motion and our once beautiful, perfect little picture now begins to change into a difficult, and incredibly challenging puzzle.

Does genetics play a factor?
Certainly genes play a role in all that we are as an individual, including our immune system. So the first step in getting autism can certainly be "blamed" on genes. Is it that these genes are bad or defective, or is it simply that they are different, and that if the child's immune system had time to mature prior to getting an infection, these children would be perfectly normal? I believe the latter. While attending a NIMH (National Institutes of Mental Health) conference in Chicago a few years ago I was baffled at a comment made by one of the speakers that was doing genetic research. He stated his belief in the importance genetics has on autism, and his theory that it is a disease with its roots based in genetics. I'm assuming in order to back up his theory, the speaker mentioned that identical twins have a 65% chance of both being autistic. I believe that not only did his comments show his reasoning to be flawed, but furthermore his own comments prove that an OUTSIDE event must occur for autism to take place. These children have the SAME genes. Therefore, they should both always be autistic if one child is. So genes do play a vital role, but they alone are certainly not the cause of autism.

Is autism a "chain of events" that takes place, or an instant phenomenon?
I believe that it depends on the child. Again, each puzzle is different. However, I think they all start out looking the same.

A genetically predisposed child or fetus becomes exposed to mercury via dental amalgams from the mother, vaccines (in the form of Thimerosal), contaminated fish, the environmental pollution, or a combination of these. Mercury is a known neurotoxin that affects brain function. Furthermore, mercury can disrupt immune function, the kidneys and lungs. Lastly, mercury can interrupt enzyme activity. Clearly the above problems can present the child with a host of challenges.

As these problems begin to take effect, the child's body now gets a chronic infection. This infection seems to always manifest itself in the GI tract. This infection does not necessarily have to be measles at first, although that is probably a good guess. While making the antibodies to fight the infection, the immature immune system, which has been disrupted by the mercury, malfunctions and incorrectly produces myelin basic protein antibodies (MBPA) instead of antibodies to fight off the infection. According to Dr. Singh, 85% of all autistic people have MBPA as compared to 3% in the aged matched controls. Myelin covers the nerve like insulation covers a wire. This MBPA begins to assault the child's myelin. If "nicks" occur in the insulation of a wire then electricity cannot be conducted normally and a "short-circuit" can occur. This is possibly the beginning symptom of autism in many children.

Dr. Wakefield has found that the same measles virus that is in vaccines is found in many of the GI tracts of autistic individuals. This measles virus then causes inflammation of the lymph nodes in the gut. The lymph nodes become enlarged, as do any when fighting off an infection. But the infection is chronic so the nodes stay inflamed. The inflamed nodes now begin to cause the gut to become "leaky".

When a gut becomes leaky it is no longer able to keep peptides (gluteomorphine and casomorphine), neurotoxins, and other poisons from entering the blood stream and going into the brain. Now the diet of the child begins to change. The child seems to become pickier in what foods he or she wants to eat. The child has a strong desire for wheat and dairy products. And rightfully so as to maintain the natural "high" from the morphine-like addiction that has occurred. There seems to be less pain to physical things that hurt the child before and the child does not seem to fear anything. The child begins to slip further away.

While the immature immune system is doing its best to fight off this chronic infection, it uses up many of its nutritional stores and the child now begins to have symptoms of certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The enzymes that depend on these vitamins and minerals are no longer being made properly and in the quantities that are needed to absorb the nutrients from the foods. The child again slips further away. Eye contact fades, the child zones out and may now have seizures, and learning seems to have stopped.

The nutrients that are needed to supply vital organs such as the liver, are now down to a trickle. The liver can no longer do its job of being the "filter" and toxic metals and chemicals are not released from the body and brain. The child begins to exhibit or increase signs and symptoms of lead and mercury poisoning.

As the immune system continues its fight, it is clearly weakened and opportunistic "bugs" such as Candida Albacans (yeast) and Clostridia (bacteria) begin to colonize the gut. These bacteria now release as excrement, neurotoxins, which are able to travel to the brain. Since the gut is leaky, these toxins can easily travel into the bloodstream to the brain, passing through the BBB (Blood Brain Barrier). These neurotoxins further disrupt the neuropathways and thus "normal" thinking and processing cannot occur normally. A further fading of the child occurs.

There is simply too much of a fight now to win a "multifront" war. But the body does try. The immune system begins to produce IgE antibodies to fight off Candida and now the body seems to be unable to differentiate between what it needs and what it should get rid of. Foods that the child had typically eaten now become foreign as well, and the child begins to have allergic reactions to foods due to the IgE response in trying to fight off the Candida. Tantrums happen for no apparent reason. Many of these children must have terrible GI pain, but are unable to communicate it. They are unable to filter out their environments so everything is taken in at once. Perhaps it is like trying to watch a thousand television sets at one time. It becomes extremely difficult to focus on one for more then a second or two. The children begin to "meditate" by doing repetitive motions, much like a chanting monk would do, to get into a different state of mind. This calms them by focusing on something other than their pain or "a thousand televisions" and they can become very upset if this ritual is interrupted. It becomes difficult for people with autism to concentrate on anything due to the tremendous attack that has now occurred to their brains. When they are able to concentrate on one task, like moving a toy car back and forth or spinning a wheel, they are soothed and must feel a sense of certainty and security that they cannot feel when there are too many things coming at them at once.

So the puzzle is clearly very complex. Your picture of the puzzle is bound to be different than mine, but they also must share many similarities. All of our puzzles can become a little easier to put together by using one or more of the many different treatments that are now available to help with the above challenges. By working as a team and identifying which pieces look the same and which treatments work the best, we can solve our individual puzzles together. The more information we share, the sooner we will be able to recognize where each piece goes. Working together we can solve the puzzle of autism and help all our children.

Bram Hornstein

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