Autism & Wandering Issue Reaches Capitol Hill
By Lisa Wiederlight, executive director, SafeMinds One of the most urgent problems facing the autism community is that of wandering and elopement, which is a primary cause of mortality associated with an autism diagnosis. Heartbreaking stories of missing children and adults appear on our newsfeed each week. Recognizing that safe minds require safe bodies, SafeMinds […]
Study Finds Autism-Mercury Link Through Elevated Antibodies to Critical Brain Proteins
A study published in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical & Cellular Immunology found indicators of autoimmunity to critical brain proteins associated with mercury exposure in children with autism. The authors, Gehan Ahmed Mostafa and Laila Yousef AL-Ayadhi at the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, in Cairo, Egypt and the Autism Research and Treatment Center in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, respectively, hypothesize that mercury might play a causative role in some cases of autism through increased levels of antibodies to myelin basic protein, or MBP.
Make the Call Today—Ask Your Elected Officials to Attend Autism & Wandering Briefing on Capitol Hill on May 19
By Lisa Wiederlight, Executive Director, SafeMinds It’s a nightmare that most parents don’t want to consider. They turn around, and their child is gone. Research published in the journal Pediatrics has found that half of all children with autism engage in wandering or elopement behaviors, and many die alone without the ability to answer to […]
Worms and Germs: Why This University Researcher Believes that Understanding the Human Biome Can Help Our Kids
By Sallie Bernard, SafeMinds Co-Founder and President William Parker, Ph.D., an immunologist and associate professor at Duke University School of Medicine, spends his time studying the effects of worms—yes, worms—on rats’ and humans’ immune systems. His worms aren’t the brown kind that live in your garden, but special worms called helminths that might help […]
Announcing Our New Executive Director: Lisa Wiederlight
Dear Friends of SafeMinds, I am delighted to share some exciting news with you today. We have a new executive director here at SafeMinds, Lisa Wiederlight. Lisa brings tremendous energy, commitment, and passion in the fight to end the autism epidemic by promoting environmental research and effective treatment, as well as a wealth of experience […]
The Unexpected Way This Mom is Giving Thanks
By Heidi Roger, SafeMinds Board Member I’m sending one to that guy behind the pizza counter. The one who helped Andrew after he was mistakenly left on the school bus by himself and somehow managed to pry the bus door open and cross Main Street without getting hit by a car. The pizza man could […]
