Being the mother of three children with Autism I can safely say that I know a bit about it having been immersed in it for the past 8yrs. I keep up to date with the latest news and theories and regularly get together with other families who are affected by Autism to share information and see if there are ways to support and help each other.

After a lot of research and asking questions of different physicians around the globe and also alternative medicine practitioners I have come to the conclusion that Autism does have a genetic link, either of the parents being a carrier and then it takes an environmental trigger to convert the child to having Autism.

The Autism Spectrum is a large one. It goes all the way from Aspergers to profoundly Autistic with a myriad of Autistic genres in the middle.

I have heard some people link it to Mercury and it is possible that Mercury is a trigger. Some say that if a parent worked in a field where possible over exposure of Mercury occurred, then the child was possibly affected.

It has also been said that vaccines cause Autism and if your child develops Autism then it straight after they have been vaccinated.

I am in no way saying that vaccines are not causing the children to develop Autism.

I myself have two sons ages 7 and 8 who both developed Autistic symptoms within a couple of days of receiving their routine vaccinations. I think that it is entirely likely that the immunizations triggered their Autism.

But, I also have a little girl aged 5 who was never immunized.

So, what caused her Autism?

It all goes back to my theory that there is a genetic disposition towards Autism and then their is a varying environmental trigger which makes the child convert.

It is also interesting to note that I have another 3 children who never developed Autism.

One 6 yr old girl who received most of her routine vaccinations until I discovered that I had a choice and refused the rest and two others who I chose not to vaccinate because of the familial risk of them developing Autism.

The other remarkable thing about the Autism Spectrum is that although the medical industry says there is no cure for Autism, there are reports of families who have found ways to reduce the symptoms of their children's Autism to the point of non existence. eg Raun Kaufman of the Autism Treatment Center Of America.

Which would lead me to believe that if each child with Autism, although having the same key deficits that are the requirement for the Autistic diagnosis, are different, then there may be a myriad of different treatments that will bring relief from symptoms.

So, to sum up.

My theory stands as this: Genetic disposition for offspring to develop Autism + environmental trigger = child with Autism.

Autism develops between the age of 14 months to 3 yrs.

Children are immunised between those times.

Some children develop Autism and some don't.

Some children do not receive immunisations at all.

Currently the numbers are set at 1 in 150 children developing Autism. That is better than your odds for winning Powerball.

Some families only have one child with Autism while other siblings do not have it. Other families have all Autistic children. And of course, there are those families who do not have any children who develop Autism.

If the cut off point for developing Autism is 3 yrs, then, I propose a study in which children do not begin to be immunised until they are 4 yrs old, thereby allowing them to complete their vaccination regimen by the time they enter school but it gives them a few years to grow stronger before their immune systems are assaulted by the vaccinations.

Now, here is the crunch.

If children start developing Autism after the age of 4 yrs old following vaccinations, I would expect that we could conclusively say that Vaccinations do cause Autism. Without a doubt!

I would also expect our government to pull their vaccination programs for an intensive investigation and a major overhaul.

I would also expect that the major drug companies that are responsible would offer remuneration to all the families affected by vaccination related Autism and not try to wheedle out of their responsibilities.

I do not honestly believe that a research study such as the one that I proposed will ever be undertaken.

If I were to be proved correct, it would cost the major drug companies an awful lot of money and they and the FDA would have to admit what parents have been telling them for years was true.

I also don't believe that the government would be prepared to fund such a study as they appear to be a little more concerned for themselves than about the hundreds of thousands of families who are struggling each day to deal with Autism.

But, if anyone out there is rich and would like to invest in such a study, I would be more than happy to do it.