"This thing has been studied to death, and no link has ever been found
between thimerisol and autism.  But hope springs eternal that there is a
smoking gun for parents of autism and they will find it even if it is the
wrong gun.  Better that than admit that there is a strong genetic
component, and probably multiple environmental contributors in children
with a genetic predisposition.
Kathy Dettwyler"

Leaving aside the question of whether or not the case is closed...

        --Why does "multiple environmental contributors" have to preclude
thimerosal?  Surely that is one legitimate piece of the environment to
examine.
        --Is the thimerosal explanation necessarily the easy one?  I should have
thought that a lot of parents would rather believe their child's illness
was genetic than that their own deliberate act had unknowingly damaged the
health it was intended to protect.
        --As I think of my good friend with an autistic child, I have to say the
depiction of such parents as self-deluded people grasping at the first
"smoking gun" rather than facing hard facts about genetics and environment
really does her a cruel injustice.  I'm sure this is accidental, but the
wording unfortunately recalls the old belief that autism was directly
attributable to maternal neglect.
        --There are different kinds of validity.  Whether "correct" or
"incorrect", parents' views on the illness of their child are legitimate
and merit respect and compassion.

I myself am not arguing one way or the other about whether thimerosal or
any other substance contributes to autism.

Elise

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