Clinic Notes: The Combating Autism Act

According to a recent note in the Schafer Report funding for investigating the role of environmental factors as a possible cause of autism has been removed in the House by Energy and Commerce Chair Joe Barton. The Senate has already voted 100 to 0 to fund special centers that would focus on the role of environmental factors as possible cause of autism. I don't know how this will all turn out in this lame duck congress. Last summer the Senate voted to exclude money that would look into vaccines containing thimerosal as a possible cause of autism. So both houses are trying to play to special interest and hogtie science. But science doesn't work that way. I have no idea whether thimerosal or environmental factors are involved in autism. We are now analyzing data from over 2500 surveys from mothers of children with autism and normally developing children and we will look at what we damn well want to. And the rest of the scientific community should do the same. Many in Congress have already demonstrated that they are cntrolled by special interest and are not concerned with finding a cure for autism. Science should find away to do the research without government funding.Schafer Autism Report Nov. 20, 2006