Yet more research is coming to light about the damaging effects of heavy metals. A recent study showed that autistic children have much higher levels of them than the general population (that said, however, doesn’t mean that the general population is free of heavy metals).
These children had significantly higher levels of lead, thallium, tin, and tungsten, “toxic metals that can impair brain development and function, and also interfere with the normal functioning of other body organs and systems.”
The study also noted that “38-47% of the variation of autism severity was associated with the level of several toxic metals, with cadmium and mercury being the most strongly associated. Mercury toxicity, the effects of which mimic autism, is, according to my perusal of the research, the most damaging.
It bears repeating, for those of you who don’t know or who haven’t read any of my previous blog posts, that heavy-metal toxicity played a huge role in my sons’ Sensory Processing Disorder (which I call “autism light” and Beth Lambert calls “almost autism“) and in a lot of health problems that I had as well.
I think that yes, it’s fair. As long as you have the support stseym (emotional, social, financial) in place so that you will be able to care for both children, and provide for both of their needs which may be very different. As long as one of the kids is not neglected due to the needs of the other child, I think it could be a pretty fantastic experience for everyone involved I am an autistic and adopted only child parenting an autistic only child and I think that the one thing missing from our family is another child. If I were to adopt, I’d lean toward adopting a child with autism, as I can’t imagine raising a non-autistic child or attempting to balance raising one of each (for lack of a better term). I wish we had the option to add another child to our family, but I feel like I’m strapped already (I have rheumatoid/autoimmune arthritis and spine damage). Hope this helps Let us know what you decide!