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the current conversations around Autism has grown incredibly complex over the last decade. some of this make sense in light of the fact that we have seen an incredible increase in diagnosis over the last two decades. some say as much as 2000%. that can’t all be explained away by better diagnostic criteria and the loosening of definitions.

the fundamental problem is thus: we don’t really know exactly what Autism is. secondly: we really don’t know what causes Autism.

in light of this fact I don’t think we can rule anything out from first principles. some have suggested that Autism is a genetic condition but that wouldn’t explain the massive increase in cases since most genetic conditions remain steady over time. it seems reasonable to conclude there is an environmental factor here.

we need cool heads on this issue at a time where cool heads don’t exist. personally, I think it’s ridiculous to assume that non-verbal autistic children are actually telepathic. such claims would require an enormous amount of scientific validation.

at the same time, I don’t think it’s crazy to propose that the adjuvants in vaccines may be causing an inflammation/immune response in small children. one of the most accepted facts in western medicine is that inflammation is the foundation of countless diseases.

it’s also true that vaccine manufacturers enjoy an incredible level of legal protection from liability that most other drug manufacturers don’t possess. this skewers their incentives to make a safe product, as well as increasing the quantity and quality of the vaccines we give to our kids nowadays (72 before 18 years old by my count).

keep up the good work Zaid.

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Thanks again for covering this. Useful information. I heard Huberman last year positing that autism rates increased because of the increase in sonograms. I’m really kind of fed up with people trying to explain the increase, when what we need to do collectively is for everyone to be educated on how to be kinder and more open and understanding towards autistic people and their families. How to support them, not fringe theories on why they exist. Thanks again for writing on this topic.

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Deepful thankful for your rigorous, thoughtful reporting on this.

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Well, well, well, isn't this an interesting development? Thank you for your continued and invaluable coverage on this topic.

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Thank you for your continued attention to this topic and your measured way of reporting on it.

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If vaccines are safe, then why the need to pass the law in 1986 making pharma no longer liable for damages caused by their products? And why, after the act was passed, did vaccines both on and off the schedule skyrocket in number? And finally, have these new vaccines ever been tested for how they may cause harm when used in combination? I think we all know the answer to that last question.

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One day we’re going to get to the truth and God help all of you hardline vaccine apologists who went to the ends of the earth to defend trillion dollar pharma industries for zero discernible reason.

Perfectly intelligent human beings who just refuse to ask a single question about anything that’s occurred in the past 35 years. Boggles the mind.

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That seems like a bit of a strawman. There are hundreds if not thousands of studies about vaccines, it's just that the people who are refusing to "ask a single question" don't believe in them and are stuck in a conformist attitude.

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Yes there are lots of studies of vaccines but show me one that is observational and publishes their programs (ie so we can see how case controls were constructed) or show me an RCT with an inert placebo from the foundational studies of children’s vaccines (hint there are none). Or gosh even find a study that is not funded by pharma, a shady pharma promoting org, or one of the agencies that has as their mission to increase vaccination rates. I’m with you that the evidence is weak showing links to autism. And I get being skeptical of the patchouli earthy crowd. But nowhere is there such corrupt and frankly crappy studies as in vaccine research and someone like you ought be able to notice. Seriously look into it starting with finding the aforementioned studies (that do not seem to exist) . My guess is that they need to keep evidence on benefits and harms opaque because the harms are greater than people think. They’re probably not very large but it really ticks me off that we can’t see it and discuss it. We’re adults and it’s our right to make informed decisions about ourselves and our children.

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It’s fine to study vaccine risks. There are always risks to any medical intervention. However the autism claims are all bunk. None of them have panned out when closely researched.

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Indeed! Thank you Ximena. We need to be able to discuss it. Vaccines work - and also there is harm. I really think what Powell was saying is many who have vaccine harm - overload of neurological toxins - is misdiagnosed as autism. People are BORN autistic. Those who REGRESS after getting a vaccine? Not autistic (imo).

Additionally “autism causing telepathy” is a very simplified take. It doesn’t. Perhaps these nonspeakers have access to it more easily because their senses are further shut off. But it doesn’t CAUSE it.

I have always been able to understand what infants are thinking and feeling - by the descriptions of telepathy in the podcast that’s what it is. I get full pictures in my head about what they need, why they are crying.

My daughter used to read my mind when she was little. A few times it was very obvious. She’s very verbal.

My sister read my mom’s mind - it’s an old family story.

Plus all of Rupert Sheldrake’s research with animals - they are not autistic.

What this podcast is showing - and the nonspeakers is the hook, the bigger picture is the consciousness - is that there is a paradigm shift upon us.

And that’s not new to many of us who are already there.

You aren’t so you’re stuck needing proof - valid. But you’re looking at the wrong things and nitpicking at the wrong part of the story.

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"There are hundreds if not thousands of studies about vaccines"

You assume so, I understand. But look up, "CDC Concedes Never Conducted Vaccinated v. Unvaccinated Study"

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FWIW; you aren’t born a “vaccine skeptic.” But some of us eventually have kids in this misbegotten age and then things happen. As a man born in the 70s I had 8 vaccines and an entirely different experience with what was the old FDA and the crap we put into our bodies. My child had 84 and is already addicted to sugar, despite rarely having sweets.

I’ll tell you what, if you aren’t a skeptic of this world and its endless lies then you’re willfully blind and deaf to what is happening. Titling an article to “vaccine skeptics” as if they/we are dog rapists is really just something else.

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This guy is blaming vaccines for being a shitty parent.

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How many studies are there on autism and links to ANY childhood vaccine? Dont worry, I’ll wait for your researched response.

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How many people smoke and don’t get cancer Zaid? Is that a strawman too?

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There are hundreds if not thousands of studies showing a link between cancer and smoking. There are zero showing a link between autism and vaccines. There is wild conjecture, mostly. That doesn't make you open-minded, that just makes you close-minded...you've made up your mind and a million studies won't budge you.

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I’d rather see you focus on debunking their claims from the podcast

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See my previous story.

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WHAT A COMPLETE MORON - THESE ARE TOTALLY UNRELATED TOPICS & THE MORON AUTHOR TRIES EVERY WAY POSSIBLE TO DISCREDIT THE PODCAST WITH AN UNRELATED BEEF ABOUT STUFF HE HAS NO IDEA ABOUT.

ZAID IS EXACTLY WHY NO ONE TRUSTS ANY MEDIA. YOU ARE AN EMBARASSMENT AND SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO CALL YOURSELF A JOURNALIST.

TOTAL TRASH

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Translation: "Here is a belief which has gained intense traction in the face of incredible pushback. I refuse to believe in it, because it's unsupported by evidence. I would certainly not support any investigation into whether this belief is true, because it's false. Authority figures say so. And it's simply not possible that they say so because large corporations would stand to lose billions of dollars if it turned out, for instance, that proper long-term studies had never been conducted comparing the health outcomes of vaccinated vs unvaccinated children."

BTW, "CDC Concedes Never Conducted Vaccinated v. Unvaccinated Study" So if they misled us about that, what else did they mislead us about?

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Thanks for this from an autism mom.

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Imagine being so inbred closing your eyes and talking to yourself multiple times a day while trying to debunk anything outside of your own pathetic bubble

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This is not a helpful response.

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Would you trust a journalist who deleted this from 3 months ago? What a little bhitch

"Whenever someone asks me who's going to win the election, I think to myself, if the polling is correct, probably Kamala Harris."

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I delete all my old tweets regularly. But for the record if you were honest, you’d include the follow up where I said if there’s polling error then Trump will win. There was about two points of polling error.

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you are what is wrong with journalism

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yeah i'll bet you do so people don't look back on how wrong you are on everything

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look at your completely idiotic thinking - YOU'RE SAYING IM DISHONEST FOR NOT FINDING ONE OF YOUR RANDOM DELETED TWEETS. What a complete moron - no logical thinking at all

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