by Dr. Kari Miller
In this edition of expert corner, Deborah Merlin, Los Angeles mother and author of Victory Over AD/HD; A holistic approach for helping children with Attention Hyperactivity Disorder, discusses the role of environmental toxins in ADHD and autism.
We face an epidemic of neurological and learning disorders that cannot be explained away by simple genetics. The Centers for Disease Control report that one out of six children has a neurological disorder.
Autism was one of the main health topics discussed during the presidential debates. Autism has increased twelve-fold in California, and many others states are experiencing similar increases. This is an urgent crisis, and we must immediately address the root causes of these neurological disorders.
Environmental toxicity — particularly heavy-metal toxicity — causes a range of serious neurological and degenerative disorders. Heavy metals and other environmental toxins saturate our world. Our children come into frequent contact with mercury, lead, aluminum, pesticides and other toxins such as the fire retardants found in cars and electronic equipment.
How prevalent is environmental toxicity? We don’t have the answers — yet. But, as the Environmental Protection Agency reports, we do know that one out of six women carries unsafe levels of mercury in her blood, putting 630,000 American infants per year at risk for cognitive and developmental damage. Fetuses in particular have the odds stacked against them if they mature in a cesspool of toxins.
What can be done? Please read the full article here: http://www.examiner.com/x-10067-LA-Special-Education-Examiner~y2010m4d19-Environmental-toxins-ADHD-and-autism-in-LAUSD–2009-update
About Tammy Kniffin