William Stillman is a nationally recognized autism self-advocate, speaker, and author of numerous special needs parenting books including Demystifying the Autistic Experience, The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Asperger's Syndrome, Autism and the God Connection, and The Soul of Autism. Stillman has advocated for persons with different ways of being since 1987, and he serves on several advisory boards including Autism National Committee. He also writes columns for The Autism Perspective and Children of the New Earth magazines. In his work, Stillman seeks to passionately transform perceptions of autism from those defined as "afflicted sufferers" to those with valuable gifts to offer the world. His Web site is www.williamstillman.com.

What causes autism is the subject of an increasingly-heated debate nationwide that is not likely to refrain any time soon. Most prominent among the multiple theories is too many childhood vaccinations in quick succession—and the toxins therein—induce rapid regressions in children developing typically. Previously it was thought that the mercury preservative, thimerosal, in the mumps, measles and rubella vaccine was the culprit but that was eliminated almost a decade ago. Books and journals have focused on the vaccination theory and certain persons in the public eye have endeavored greater awareness of this issue. It does, though, beg a number of questions. If the vaccines overwhelm the physiology of very young children, does it induce autism or does it accelerate emergence of autistic symptoms already present? Is the experience of those children who become violently ill after receiving certain vaccines (and who appear autistic-like) the same thing as autism? And what of those children unaffected by vaccinations who are later diagnosed with autism. As much as I disdain the puzzling puzzlement of the autism puzzle-piece symbol, it is quite the conundrum.

In addition to the preceding, proposed causes of autism also include a genetic strand that naturally predisposes some children to the autism spectrum. (In my work as an autism consultant, I meet a lot of undiagnosed adults, and they’re the parents of the children for whom I’m consulting.) External environmental toxins to which a fetus is exposed in utero (as inhaled or consumed by its mother) are also proffered, as is more accurate diagnosis of individuals who would’ve been labeled with intellectual deficiency in another era. Other theories range from plausible and worthy-of-research to downright outlandish such as middle-aged fathers; indifferent mothers; mothers who are depressed or have extended ring fingers (I think, I can’t recall exactly which finger was the pre-determinate); too much television; too much cell phone use; a mixing of different ethnic groups (!); even extraterrestrials (!!)—well, you get the picture. We’re purveying paranoia about an “epidemic invasion” of sorts.

As a result, many Americans are panicked into believing that virtually anything—the theory du jour—is culpable for causing autism. Not only that, Americans may be led into thinking that autism is a phenomenon isolated to the United States. It’s not. It is occurring worldwide. It is estimated that there are approximately 1.5 million people with autism here but the numbers are also comparable for what’s being cited in China. Our statistics indicate 1 in 150 children have autism but in Ireland it’s 1 in 110 and in the United Kingdom it’s 1 in 100. Autism shows no signs of slowing down despite research and studies and awareness and fund-raising. In fact, I’m going to predict that within five to ten years, the rate in the United States will jump to 1 in 10 children. And at this rate, concurrent with research efforts, it’s high time we began to focus on not just what causes autism but what autism causes.

Thank goodness human beings are different now than we were as Neanderthals. We’ve made innumerable, extraordinary advances. It’s called evolution. But what’s to say we’ve reached our epoch? What’s to say we’re going to remain as static as we are at present? What’s to suggest that we won’t evolve further still and emerge as differently in contrast as when we compare ourselves with cavemen—and what precisely would that look like if it were to occur? Perhaps there’s a purpose to autism being in the world; a renaissance, a rebirth, and a call to reverence for all of humanity. People with autism tend to have less need for words, desire to live in peace and quiet, and don’t comprehend aggression or competition. I hear regularly from parents of children with autism who, as a result, have been compelled to slow down and really focus upon what’s important in life. Not the highest-paid position, the fastest car, the biggest house, or the most expensive wardrobe but love and compassion for their child with a unique and different way of being. One mom told me that autism made her finally “grow up” and become a responsible adult. Others undergo dramatic transformation such as Bill, father to son Christopher, “I was a violent, angry man until I met my son. Thank God for autism and the changes it has brought about: human beings without prejudice, spiritual beings full of love—what a fantastic epidemic.”

Of course not everyone is in a position to attain such surrender and sacrifice. It may be argued that disagreement and dissension will keep rising in accordance with autism’s very statistics. But be advised that the numbers of children diagnosed with autism will also continue to grow silently and surely and without any singular explanation. Can we entertain unconventional notions in compromise with research for causation? If so, I suspect we might just uncover a strange and remarkable enlightenment.

© 2008, William Stillman

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