USAAA: Q&A with Dr. Boyd Haley

US Autism & Asperger Association: Q&A with Dr. Boyd Haley

USAAA: How do you respond to professionals and parents who disregard any Thimerasol theory when they point out that children who were not immunized and are still diagnosed with autism, thus refuting the Thimerasol controversy? We hear this quite a bit from parents who have children who are much older that didn't receive the heavy schedule of immunizations that kids received in the 1990's or who just were not immunized?

Dr. Boyd Haley: Vaccines are not the only exposure to mercury or thimerosal. Remember merthiolate, or methyl mercury from fish? In the 1970s and early 1980s there was a high level of fungicides use in products like paint that children could be exposed to. Also, it appears to be a mercury toxicity issue if one follows the porphyrin profile data. Therefore, any mercury exposure could be the cause, or perhaps any combination of heavy metals, and most mothers had dental amalgams and many had them placed or worked on during their gestation period. In the UK, a large group of parents of autisitic children screened their members and found only 2 who did not vaccinate their child, and one of these two had amalgams placed in her first trimester of pregnancy. The bottom line, I wouldn't claim that vaccinations from the mandated vaccination program was the cause of all autism as it did exist at low levels before the 1990s. However, it was in my opinion the cause for the increases we observed in the late 1990s. What I really believe is that autism (and AD, Parkinsons, MS, ALS) are neurological diseases indicating a weakness in certain individuals for response to certain toxins. Exposure of these individuals to mercury from any source increases their risk. We now have scientific reports that certain individuals do not excrete mercury effectively, and certain have enzymes that are specifically sensitive to mercury or other heavy metals. How do these parents explain the Amish observations, or the fact that in England they could not find near the expected number of children with autism that were not vaccinated?
USAAA: Is there an organization that lists specialized dentists for the removal of amalgams, similar to the list that DAN creates for physicians.
Dr. Haley: Yes, go to www.iaomt.org.

Dr. Haley presented "The Effects of Synergistic Toxicities and Genetic Susceptibilities on the Toxic Effects of Inorganic and Organic Mercury Compounds: The Relationship to Autism and Related Disorders," at the USAAA 2006 International Conference in Park City, Utah. To preview his presentation, click here