Plastic Jungle

[Guest Agyness]

There has been an increase in Autistic Spectrum diagnosis and the oil economy and its by products may be partially responsible. I came across a study that I feel is important to attend to. Already I will not use a plastic kettle nor microwave food in plastic containers and I am aware that baby feeding bottles have been scrutinised recently for male fertility effects. Here is the url not to alarm but to enable informed choice.

 

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/vi...?dcitc=daily_nl

 

This site US based advises manufacturers not using PVC

 

The Back to School Guide to PVC Free School Supplies

 

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/852/t...Up.jsp?key=3567

Edited April 3, 2009 by Agyness

[JacquieL]

I wasn't aware that autism was an acquired condition. I think we need to be very careful when we look at these so called studies. Look at the problems caused by the worries over the MMR vaccine. The only study I have really found interesting is the one over the increased testosterone in the Mothers blood during pregnancy, and its link to Autism. This theory is now subject to a longitudinal study in Scandinavia so we await the results.

The so-called increase in autism is more likely to be linked to greater knowledge and understanding, whereas in my day it was very hard to get a diagnosis. My daughter was nearly 20 before we finally got a diagnosis and I can't begin to tell you about the distress it caused us all before then. We don't smoke, didn't have vinyl floors and our windows were no more subject to condensation than any one else's. My uncle, on the other hand, had an undiagnosed condition but he always needed support. He spoke 3 languages fluently, had difficulty with social relationships and was very naive, everything had to be in it's own place and he became very anxious if anything was out of place, he wrote poems in those three languages, painted wonderful pictures, but was unable to look after himself and spent many years looked after in a wonderful institution run by nuns. Today he would be 104. So how would you explain that in terms of this information?

[Guest Agyness]

True. Einstein too would be diagnosed as on the spectrum now days and without genetic disposition (quite often family members can exhibit mild Asperger tendencies - assiduous ordering, difficulties/challenges with emotional/interpersonal relationships - empathy etc) I believe we would have fewer artists, writers and scientists - i.e. people who 'plug away' at esoteric subjects. Hopefully the scientific evidence will ultimately evidence plastics as innocent but in the mean time my risk assessment will remain - not using plastics where alternative materials can substitute where practicable.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Agyness

[HappyMaz]

Do you know that sometimes I don't think there's enough space in my head for all the research projects that show this or that isn't safe because there may just possibly be a causal link between the environmental baddie and some illness/condition/syndrome. Chances are some other study will be done to disprove the original one.

 

Its hard to know what and who to believe - they all can be made to seem so plausible and I lack the scientific knowledge to see the wood for the trees.

 

I guess it all comes down to which research you choose to trust, and making your own personal decisions.

 

Maz

[JacquieL]

Very true Maz, it is a complex subject and it is so difficult to decide what to avoid when all these scares comes out. So many things poison the environment in which we live. We don't have a lot of control over most of those things as individuals. Something hailed as safe is later found to be unsafe- the use of thalidomide for morning sickness being a really classic example, or asbestos in school buildings! I suppose when we do choose to avoid something, my particular worry being artificial sugars like saccharine and aspartame , we are trying to manage our own environment and feel that in some small way we have some control over the situation.

[Cait]

Aren't all men on the Autistic spectrum anyway?

[Guest]

Aren't all men on the Autistic spectrum anyway?

 

 

Hmm, I know you jest Cait, but rather sexcist I think.

 

I thought that a diagnosis of Autism cannot be made after 36 mths because in the true sense of the label it is genetic, and it is believed that 'environmental / nurture' issues show their effect clearly at and beyond this age.

 

A child who before the age of 36 mths displays the triad of developmental impaiments to;

difficulty in establishing Social

difficulty in establishing emotional

difficulty in establishing communication / imagination

 

Aspergers however, which is within the Autistic Spectrum can be diagnosed at a later age.

 

I do think that whatever diagnosis we give people, or whatever 'condition' anyone has, their characteristics, the ways in which they engage in this world won't change, so I don't think we would have fewer artists, writers and scientists. Quite a lot of Engineers etc are Autistic, they choose this profession because the maths, the calculi is always the same, it never changes, it is therefore in the users mind secure, becuase it does not require imagination. This type of job reduces the feelings of anxiety that people with this condition have, trying to live, as settled as possible, in a world that functions on imagination, with a mind that cannot imagine.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

Do you know that sometimes I don't think there's enough space in my head for all the research projects that show this or that isn't safe because there may just possibly be a causal link between the environmental baddie and some illness/condition/syndrome. Chances are some other study will be done to disprove the original one.

 

Totally agree, especially when you see who has commisioned the research and who they aim the research results at

 

Its hard to know what and who to believe - they all can be made to seem so plausible and I lack the scientific knowledge to see the wood for the trees.

....and if we use wood instead of plastic and vinyl, we will run out of tree's, so goodness knows what you'll be able to see then.

 

I guess it all comes down to which research you choose to trust, and making your own personal decisions.

 

Agree again, it is useful to have these bought to our attention so thanks for sharing Agyness but I think all information and more importantly what we do with it, does need to be kept in perspective, otherwise we would all be too busy worrying to be able to function at all. Imagine our lives if we acted on every piece of research conclusions. (doesn't bear thinking about)

 

Maz

 

I do personally prefer natural materials when choosing toys / equipment etc compared to plastic, solely due to their sensory aesthetics.

 

Peggy