I am putting on my "special education teacher" hat here to respond to this:
Molly had a call regarding a speaker that
> stated that breastfed children were at a greater risk for learning
disabilites since toxins are stored in fat and that passes on through the
breastmilk.  There was a comment about IQ and she of course stated they
might have
> a higher IQ but still have learning disabilites.

   We actually have no real certainty about what exactly causes learning
disabilities.  True, learning disabilities can occur in people who are
bright, even gifted;  LD has nothing to do with IQ.   The actual cause is
not certain by any means; it is most likely linked to neurological
development in some way.  There is NO data that I am aware of in 10 years of
special education experience to support the idea that toxins contained in
breastmilk can lead to learning disabilities.  However, the IQ points
preserved by breastfeeding, rather than lost to formula feeding, can make
the difference between a diagnosis of mental retardation or low average IQ,
the difference between intellectually gifted or not, etc....  I would
suggest asking the speaker to produce her research data that proves this
connection, and check who is funding the study if she actually has such
data!

Esther Friedman, LLLL, CLC, LD Specialist

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