Autism's False Prophets

In 1998, a researcher in London claimed that the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as MMR caused autism in children. At around the same time, a handful of parents declared that a mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines was responsible for autism. If mercury caused autism, they reasoned, eliminating it from a child's system should treat the disorder. Consequently, a number of alternative therapies arose, and in one such treatment, a doctor injected a five-year-old autistic boy with a chemical that bound to mercury, only to stop his heart instead. Children with autism been placed on stringent diets, subjected to high-temperature saunas, bathed in magnetic clay, asked to swallow digestive enzymes and activated charcoal, and injected with various combinations of vitamins, minerals, and acids. Instead of helping, these therapies often hurt those who are most vulnerable, and particularly in the case of autism, they undermine childhood vaccination programs that have saved millions of lives. In this book, Paul Offit, a national expert on vaccines, challenges the modern-day false prophets who have so egregiously misled the public-and exposes the opportunism of the lawyers, journalists, celebrities, and politicians who support them. Offit recounts the history of autism research and the exploitation of this tragic condition by advocates and zealots. He considers how science is manipulated by the media and the courtroom, and he explores why society is susceptible to the junk science and dangerous therapies put forward by anti-vaccination activists.