Autism in America: A “Mercurial” Public Health Problem?
Written with Ann Arbor Holistic Health Practitioner, Alma Moya
After losing her thyroid at 19, Alma turned her personal challenges into a lifelong mission to help others. She is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner with over 13 years of experience, a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and holds additional certifications in fitness and lifestyle coaching. Now settled on 22 acres, Alma combines her global experience with hands-on living, cultivating an organic farm.
Explore what autism is, possible contributing factors, and why rates differ across communities, including research on the Amish.
Autism is often described as a spectrum because no two individuals experience it in exactly the same way. As Alma Moya, FDN-P explains, “It's a neurodevelopmental condition, it also affects how a person navigates the world: it's going to affect their emotional intelligence, how are they interacting socially, how are they processing, how they communicate, how their relationships are and what that looks like with caretakers and their loved ones.”
Autism Symptoms
The signs of autism can range widely depending on where someone falls on the spectrum. “The symptoms are going to really vary because you can have level one, two or three, with three being more severe on the spectrum where it's nonverbal.”
Level 1: Independent living possible, but social difficulties (missing cues, one-sided conversations, challenges forming friendships) and stress with changes in routine or task-switching.
Level 2: Regular support needed due to marked communication deficits (limited conversations, narrow interests) and rigid behaviors that disrupt daily life; struggles with change and organization.
Level 3: Intensive support required; very limited or no speech, severe difficulty with social interaction, extreme distress with routine changes, and repetitive behaviors that interfere with all aspects of life.
But behaviors that might look aggressive are often misunderstood. “What I've come to believe is the hitting, often with the main caretaker, isn't an act of violence, but it's an act of the children actually looking to get connected back into their bodies and feel that connection.”
Causes of Autism
While there is no known cause of autism, it is believed that environmental factors can play a role. “Pesticides and insecticides are loaded with toxins and toxic heavy metals,” says Moya. If a mother is exposed to foods that are constantly sprayed with pesticides, “we know that in utero, all those toxins can pass through to the baby. Mom could have had a toxic load already, and then baby can be born with a certain load,” explains Alma Moya, FDN-P. That’s why it’s so important when supporting autism to look at toxin overload and environmental factors.
She offers a useful analogy: “I equate toxin load like a bucket. When you're born you have a bucket and say there's five rocks in that bucket the minute you're born for what you've inherited.” Then over time you have more toxin exposures which drop five more rocks in the bucket. Before you know it, the rocks are overflowing and the bucket spills over. When the bucket spills over, that is toxin overload that could contribute to autism.
Holistic Support for Autism
While autism cannot be “cured,” Alma emphasizes that progress is possible. “Even though autism isn't necessarily curable, it's no surprise that we can make incredible gains.” She highlights the importance of nourishing foods, particularly “high, high antioxidant foods, the right kinds of glucose and the right amounts… the brain feeds off of glucose. I can't say that enough.”
Equally important are patience, creativity, and caregiver support. “Creativity and patience are key when working with higher on the spectrum autism.”
Understanding what autism is and how it can affect daily life is only part of the picture. Questions about why autism develops, and why rates vary so widely between different communities, continue to spark research and debate. The following article explores one such comparison by looking at autism rates among the Amish.
The autism rate for U.S. children is significantly higher than the autism rate for Amish children. According to the federal government, 1 in 166 children have autism, while the rate for the Amish around Middlefield, Ohio is only 1 in 15,000, according to Dr. Heng Wang, board certified pediatrician and medical director at the Das Deutsch Center (DDC) Clinic for Special Needs Children in Middlefield. Quite literally, in a community of 15,000, only one boy has been identified with the disorder. While this sample is not necessarily representative of all Amish communities, United Press International has identified similar patterns among other sizable Amish settlements in Pennsylvania Dutch country, Kentucky and Indiana.
Rate of Autism in the Amish
Why and how are the autism rates so much lower among the Amish?
The DDC Clinic, created in 2002, aims to find answers to the complex genetic disorders to which the Amish are prone due to an isolated gene pool. Because of recent increases in autism incidence among children in the U.S., the clinic now also has the potential to serve as a means of understanding autism.
What causes autism?
Is it food, vaccines, or a genetic fluke? While most mainstream medical experts and federal health authorities say there is no link between vaccines and autism, the director of the CDC told Congress she still considered it a possibility. The Amish receive a religious exemption from immunizations; however, more and more Amish families now opt to vaccinate their kids. Though the Amish boy in Middlefield received routine childhood immunizations unlike other children, his autism is still considered of “unknown etiology,” meaning the cause is undetermined. Dr. Wang hesitates to concede any correlation between vaccines and autism. According to Wang, people need “to do more research.”
What is it about vaccines that some think could cause autism?
Some parents and a few medical professionals believe thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in vaccines, triggered the spikes in autism incidence in the 1990s. Others believe the issue might be in the vaccines themselves. Because of the supposed correlation, manufacturers of the vaccines began phasing out thimerosal at the CDC’s request in 1999. A doctor in Virginia told UPI that none of the autistic Amish children he treats were vaccinated. In 4 out of the 6 cases, however, the Virginian doctor suspects mercury toxicity due to environmental pollution may have triggered the onset of the disorder. Additionally, since the Amish have such a limited gene pool, genetics could play a significant role.
Why is there mercury in vaccines?
Thimerosal is an ethylmercury preservative that kills or prevents the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Thimerosal, which is about 50% mercury by weight, is one of the most commonly used preservatives in vaccines. Very few studies have been conducted on the toxicity levels. In fact the federally allowed exposure to ethylmercury isn’t based upon any study of ethylmercury at all, but another organomercurial, methylmercury. Methymercury is a neurotoxin that gained great notoriety in the 1950s and 1960s when industrial discharge in Minimata Bay, Japan led to the consumption of contaminated fish. Many children were born with deformed limbs and severe mental disabilities. This public health crisis spurred many scientific studies to find the maximum exposure level to the organomercurial, though many parents and some medical professionals question whether a compound so dangerous and potent should be used for public consumption at all. Though the CDC is phasing out thimerosal, it is still present in many vaccines today. For an updated list on vaccines that do not use thimerosal, consult the FDA’s Vaccine Safety page and contact the vaccine manufacturers directly.
What can families with autistic children do?
While there is no cure for autism, there are many things that parents and family members can do to improve the quality of life of a child with autism. Finding solutions can be hard because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy- each child is unique. At Ann Arbor Holistic Health we help families develop action plans that address their particular needs and circumstances.
If you're feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start, you're not alone. You don’t have to navigate this by yourself. We’re here to listen, support, and help you create a plan that’s personalized to your body and your goals. Book a free consultation today and take the first step toward feeling balanced, clear, and empowered.