ASD and Vaccines 41the clinical onset of autism: a smaller than expected head size at birth; and then
a sudden aberrational growth in head size beginning during the first two
months of life and continuing through months 6–14. The Courchesne team
suggested that abnormally accelerated head growth rates may signal that an
infant is at risk of ASD development.
Therefore, we believe that the ASD children’s brains are missing a large
branch, the cerebral deficiency would be comparable with surgically removing
a branch of a newly planted young plant. However, we speculate, after gesta
tion week 24, if the fetal human brain is exposed to the same kinds of synthetic
chemicals that cause degeneration of the specific kinds of progenitor cells just
mentioned, the damage may be less, and although some branches may be
smaller than normal, by age three, the neurological tree may appear fine, except
for a larger brain and larger skull. In another case, if a fetus is exposed to
the same kinds of chemical that removed the whole branch of the tree after
22 weeks or more of gestation, the result may be comparable with a much
larger oak tree than usual, with lots of branches and extra fruit. The first
scenario would be a case of classical autism, the middle case one of a child
with ASD, and the third scenario a case of Asperger syndrome or an unusually
brilliant child. A child with this syndrome may be missing some specific social
skills, but overall will have a larger brain size and well‐formed synapses
(Figure 1.10). Our goal is to understand how the process of normal fetal brain
development is impacted by exposure to certain synthetic chemicals and how
they interact with other factors to increase the risk of developing ASD, and to
use this understanding to minimize potential damage (see Chapter 2).
ASD and Vaccines
Data show clearly that vaccines save lives. Health professionals recommend
that all children routinely be given a variety of preventive vaccines in their early
years as protection against infectious diseases that can be dangerous and even
life threatening. Measles provides a case in point. Among earlier generations,
measles was exceptionally common; given current vaccine practices, measles
has become rare and could become nonexistent if universal compliance with
vaccine recommendations was followed. In the USA, for instance, since pedia
tricians began administering vaccines as a part of normal checkups, the results
have been exceptionally positive, with nearly universal prevention of illness,
death, and disability that plagued earlier generations (Chapter 11).
In the USA, ~27 vaccines are administered to children by about age three.
Because this is the age at which ASD symptoms commonly emerge and become
apparent, some parents might have erroneously linked the ASD symptoms
with the preventive vaccines their children have received. Thimerosal, used as
an additive in vaccines to prevent dangerous growth of fungi and bacteria,