Link between austim & meth?

Question

My mother was a meth addict & my older brother is severly autistic (three of us were raised by our grandparents). I've met two other girls whose mothers were methheads, & they've got younger autistic brothers.

Reading an article about an autism gene that was found (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6369347.stm), I wonder if there's a link. What do you think?

In response to an answer (re: caffeine & redheads), I really think that autism & meth are much less common. My question was that because my mother had done a dangerous drug, could it have done something to my brother?

There is a huge difference between caffeine and meth. A huge difference. I'm sure that your mother never lost her kids for that second cup of joe. I'm also sure that you never once touched meth in your life, so your child's case is unrelated to my brother's.

Is this a loaded question (can I 'blame' my mother for my brother's autism?)? A little, yeah. But I think it's a relevant one. I love my brother, and I would never 'cure' his autism. I'd love to have him talk more, but I think it's more a course of therapy (medical or a teacher or whatever) that will obtain that more than any cure-all.

Also, because someone can't take off the ), that yahoo kept on the link, a properly working link with spaces fore and aft: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6369347.stm

Answer 1

My mom was addicted to caffine & my younger brother is a red head. I know some other women who are also addicted to caffine and they have red headed children. So caffine must cause red headedness!

Do you see the fallacy in your question?

I have an autistic child so I'm not joking about your situation but please, God, can we stop hearing about what may cause autism until there is some scientific evidence?

Your link does not work.

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I don't think your question is relevant. Autism is part of the human variation and has been around a lot longer than meth has. There is no science showing a link to autism from meth either. Sorry to ruin your day but you'll need to find something else to blame your mother for.

Answer 2

@Tom: Yes, there is mercury in vaccines. It's ethyl mercury, NOT methyl mercury. Ethyl mercury is actively excreted via the gut whereas methyl mercury accumulates in the body becoming toxic. Your argument is moot. EDIT: Homeopathy makes no sense. How can something less concentrated be more 'powerful'? According to them a 1:100 solution is 100 times LESS POTENT than a 1:100,000. EDIT 2: @Tom: Ethyl mercury is not eliminated via the kidneys. BTW, no TD from me. Interresting website. It's biased. It's 100% anti-vaccine. Interresting article tho. The infant study done is flawed. If you give the same amount of vaccine to premature infants who were on average 4-5 times smaller than their term counterparts, of course you'll get higher levels. There is less volume for it to distribute into. But, no mention of this in the article. EDIT 3: @Tom: TD is thumbs down

Answer 3

I tell ya, I wouldn't be surprised... Crack babies tend to have major developmental delays, not to mention physical problems, so... My neighbor is raising her grandsons, whose mom is a meth addict. The older one has severe ADHD and major social (defiance/aggression) dysfunctions, and the younger one is moderately retarded and has crossed eyes, not to mention a few other nondescript physical problems (asthma, etc)...