Olmsted on Autism: Is Kathleen Seidel Toxic?

By Dan Olmsted

I've just finished reading Autism's False Prophets by Paul Offit (more on the book in a later post). Offit showcases several parents of children with autism who do not believe vaccines had anything to do with it. One such parent is Kathleen Seidel, whom Offit says "has been a constant, unshakable thorn in the side of those who have hijacked the discussions about the cause of autism."

"All autism is caused by mercury poisoning?" she is quoted as saying. "Excuse me. Did it ever occur to [vaccine mercury critics] that someone might object to having their family members labeled as inherently toxic?"

Well, I don't think every case of autism is caused by mercury poisoning -- just that mercury, as a matter of simple fact, is implicated in the rise of autism. It's a free country and a reasonable public health debate, whether Paul Offit and Kathleen Seidel object or not (and boy, do they). After reading Offit's book, I will say this: I have a hunch why Seidel reacts to this so personally and so vociferously.

First it's worth restating where I'm coming from. My research on the earliest cases of autism -- the 11 children described in Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact, written in 1943 by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins -- has convinced me that autism was a new disorder that was triggered by the commercialization of ethyl mercury, in the form of thimerosal, starting about 1930. All of Kanner's kids were born in the 1930s, and Kanner -- the dean of child psychiatry, the one man who had seen it all -- described autism as "markedly and uniquely different from anything reported so far."

And how was ethyl mercury commercialized? In fungicides and in medical products. I've written at length (see Mercury Rising on our home page) about a link in those early cases to ethyl mercury fungicides. Those fungicides were banned long ago for good reason, but thimerosal continues to be used -- inexplicably and unforgivably -- in vaccines and in many different eye-care solutions. To see just how many, check out the FDA's list HERE.

Offit describes Seidel moving to New York City "where she met her future husband, a guitar player. She worked for Project Orbis, a flying ophthalmalogic surgical teaching hospital. …"
Whoa. A flying ophthalmalogic surgical teaching hospital? I suppose it's possible she just booked their flights and never set foot on the plane, but assuming she was part of the team, I strongly suspect Kathleen Seidel was exposed to thimerosal occupationally. Just for example, a study from 1970 is titled "Bacterial cultures from donor corneas. A study of eyes treated with thimerosal solutions prior to corneal grafting." Sounds like an opthalmalogic surgical procedure to me. And in the closed space of an airplane, you have to think anything toxic would circulate and re-circulate almost endlessly. We all know how easy it is to catch a cold on a plane; how much mercury can you catch in an airborne surgical eye hospital that exposes you to thimerosal?

Laugh me off if you want, but I have spent a lot of time looking for plausible links between parents' occupations and autism in their children, and I know them when I see them. If Kathleen Seidel chooses to talk about her occupational background with Paul Offit, and I pay $25 to read about it, I get to connect dots just like any other observer. Why should I write about everyone else and leave her out?

Nor am I the only one to think occupational chemical exposure is relevant in parents of children with autism. In the 1970s Dr. Mary Coleman, a Georgetown University researcher, found that while only 1 percent of all occupations involved exposure to chemicals, about 1 in 4 parents of autistic children had such exposures. She said that was worth pursuing -- though no one did, and the idea that autism was genetic soon came to the fore. Kathleen Seidel would certainly make the cut as someone in that statistically significant group of autism parents with an occupational exposure to chemicals.

The overlooked, uncomfortable but undeniable truth is that chemicals are implicated in autism from the beginning. Among those first 11 cases, the very first child to show up at Johns Hopkins in 1935 was the son of a chemist at the patent office. (Seidel's own father, Offit says, was a chemical engineer. More background toxicity?) Then came the plant pathologist, the mining engineer, the forestry professor, the doctor ... oh, never mind. The gene-iacs aren't listening anyway.

What I find so interesting is the vehemence with which Seidel attacks the thimerosal idea and its advocates. It's not just that those who disagree are wrong, it's more personal than that -- "Did it ever occur to you that someone might object to having their family member labeled as inherently toxic?" Well, they might object, but that doesn't have any bearing on the truth.

Nor is anyone with autism actually harmed or damaged in Seidel's universe; they're just differently wired in ways that must be honored (her Web site is neurodiversity.com). I'm for honoring everyone, but I'm also for facing the fact that autism is an environmentally triggered disorder that can be understood, prevented, and treated. People like Kathleen Seidel keep this from happening.

Seidel is smart and informed; she must know by now that she was working with ethyl mercury. If so, she clearly has concluded it did not cause her child to develop autism (she might reasonably have been expected, though, to share that exposure with the neurodiverse fan base who cling to her and to the genes-made-me-unique gestalt). No wonder people who keep raising this simple idea of ethyl mercury -- a stupid molecule -- causing autism are simply intolerable to her. No wonder she hates that I keep looking for chemical exposures in early cases as the key to the epidemic. ("How many more of Dr. Kanner’s patients do you have in your sights?" she asked me three years ago. The answer is, all of them, and all of their toxic exposures, and I'm getting there.)

No wonder she hates David Kirby's Evidence of Harm: "I thought maybe this guy is just really naïve. … But does he realize there are a whole lot of us out there … who are kind of offended at the willingness of certain people to go on beating this drum saying that all autistics are poisoned?"

I'm sure she's more than kind of offended. It must be awful to keep hearing that.
--
Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.

Comments

[Carolyn]

Ostriches

We are vaccinating our children with TOO many vaccines, TOO soon.

Get your head out of the *sand* and view autism for what it really is...vaccine poisoning.

As long as we vaccinate our newborns with the Hep B and have a vaccine schedule that continues to increase there will be AUTISM. PERIOD

[Leila]

Kathleen has an amazing website with excellent resources for the autism community. Extremely useful for parents and professionals.

Calling a person "toxic" on your website shows the type of disrespect and bad journalism that you won't find on Kathleen's, because she in fact does investigative research and checks her sources.

[Teresa]

Ms Seidel,

I have a hard time picturing you giving that information honestly to Dan. He stated in his piece-" I suppose it's possible she just booked their flights and never set foot on the plane, but assuming she was part of the team, I strongly suspect Kathleen Seidel was exposed to thimerosal occupationally." So if you were willing to share that, could you share what your father did as a chemical engineer?

Also, did you order the very toxic, thimerosal, ophthalmology solution used in cataract surgery? It was called Wydase. My father was an ophthalmologist and surgeon and did weekly cataract surgery for over 30 years.

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/dockets/05p0134/05p-0134-cp00001-Tab-B-vol1.pdf
Each vial of 1,500 USP units contains 1.0 mg thimerosal (mercury
derivative), added as a preservative, and 13.3 mg lactose. Each vial of
150 USP units contains 0.075 mg thimerosal (mercury derivative),
added as a preservative, and 2.66 mg lactose. Wydase Stabilized Solution A hyaluronidase injection solution ready for use, colorless and odorless,
containing 150 USP units of hyaluronidase per mL with 8.5 mg sodium
chloride, 1 mg edetate disodium, 0.4 mg calcium chloride, monobasic
sodium phosphate buffer, and not more than 0.1 mg thimerosal
(mercury derivative).

[Oh, I'm so victimized!!]

"Did it ever occur to you to simply call or email me before publishing these false statements about me?"

Do you and the rest of the Vaccine-Thugs ever call or email Dan, J.B. or Kim whenever you spew your hate-filled slander at them? I didn't think so...

Typical of a bully...you can dish it out, but you can't take it.

[Ohgivemeafrickin'break]

Belinda, Age of Autism elects to moderate, as do some other Autism venues:
Neurodiversity
Autism Diva
Aut-advo list serve - moderates every post.
and so many more.
Age of Autism probably knows how fast the ND pile on to list serves expressly to antagonize.
Welcome to the world of civil discussion.
Respectful debate.
Presidential debates are moderated baby.
Get up with it.
How 'bout we let JB comment on Neurodiversity unmoderated?

[AmongtheSlandered]

Kathy-
Why don't you settle this once and for all metal test (body burden and urine challege)test yourself and your child.
Nothing worse than people spouting off that "it wasn't vaccines" without producing any evidence to prove it.
Let's see your shot records,
metal testing data etc.
So far, all we have in alliance with Paul Offit vaccine patent holder.
Your mantra sounds like Dr. Peter Hortez, who swears up and down vaccines did not cause his daughter's Autism while overseeing and 18 million dollar hook worm vaccine grant.
In God we trust, all others must bring data.

[Steve]

Don't want to be labeled as toxic huh? Tell us what your real motives are Kathleen because this is ridiculous. If you had diabetes would you refuse to get your blood sugar checked as to not be "labeled diabetic". You are a liar.

Why is your tribe on nincompoops so afraid of being labeled toxic but so eager to be labeled "autistic".

[Kathleen Seidel]

For heaven's sakes, Dan, I was a secretary at Project Orbis during its start-up phase; I prepared grant proposals and press releases, and yes, I occasionally made travel arrangements for my bosses. I set foot on the plane once, at the inauguration celebration. From the comfort of my seat in the passenger section, I watched cataract removal surgery, broadcast live from a camera attached to the operating microscope.

I would certainly *not* "make the cut as someone in that statistically significant group of autism parents with an occupational exposure to chemicals," and have never "work[ed] with ethyl mercury."

Did it ever occur to you to simply call or email me before publishing these false statements about me?

[belinda]

Why are the comments moderated? Can't you stand opinions that oppose your own? My guess is that this comment will never see the light of day, but if it does - I ask all the people applauding Dan....(and Dan himself) why are you making such huge assumptions? Did you even ask Kathleen Seidel what she did as SECRETARY for Project Orbis. Oh yes she BOOKED flights - she never got near the planes herself. So much for being exposed to "mercury". You do know that thiomersal has been out of all paediatric vaccines in the USA since 2002 and autism rates are still climbing, just like in other countries such as the UK and Japan.

I must admit I am so glad I live in a country where much cooler heads (and ones that use strong peer reviewed and replicated studies) seem to prevail.

[Terri Lewis]

To PicturingPaulOffitinprisonorange:

Thank you for signing off that way!

Your pseudonym gave me the biggest laugh I've had all day! Really.

Anne VR:

Thank you, too!

I'd never heard that one before (Don't Even kNow I Am Lying=denial) but it's pretty funny and completely true (at times) for anyone who's human.

This is a wonderful community.

And as far as being offended at being called "toxic"--get real. Most of us are. Literally. We are living on a polluted planet, and we are poisoning ourselves.

Oh well.

Maybe we can change things if we're willing to leave the state of Don't Even kNow I Am Lying.

Terri Lewis

[Carolyn]

Yes guilt. I know it well.

The permeable heartache that I feel on a daily basis.

Somehow the love that I feel for my child is stronger than the paralyzed thinking of the nuero crowd. It takes a very strong person to take ownership of ones failings. To educate oneself...to look into the eyes of your child...and become one with the pain that they feel on a daily basis.
For me it has taken time for me to grow into my new role as advocate, educator, medical advisor and parent. Of course with any growth comes pain.
Some parents are not willing, or able, to withstand the painful knowledge that their child could possibly be "toxic" because of something that they did. I honestly feel that is why they become so strongly opposed and vile to people with opposing views. It is out of their fear. They own it well.

My husband and I have a shorthand for parents that have not been able to acknowledge their child's physical sickness and toxicity...we call them ostriches.

Ostriches - They either have their heads in the sand, their tongues spitting in the wind or they are running nowhere.

Let's try to keep our fingers to ourselves for fear that they may bite ...thinking it's a worm.

[Chris]

My husband is in the Navy and solders with lead frequently. Before my children were born, I was also in the Navy and was a 2M maintenance tech. (And of course the military injected us with every shot known to man, God knows what was in them).

My daughter's porphyrin test came back high in guess what? Lead. Of course, that could also be because she mouths things constantly; I'm sure that contributes.

I'm not offended if someone were to say I was "toxic". Shoot, it's probably true. With all the crap that the military injected me with, I will probably no doubt die a slow and painful death. Blech, what a thought.

On the topic of guilt, of course it makes me feel a little guilty that things I was exposed to a few years before I had my babies might have hurt my child. Same with me getting her shots.

But let me tell you, I would rather these things be the case than it being "genetic" (and there is no one on either side of our family with autism or Asperger's, I've looked". Because if this IS the case, then yes, autism is treatable and preventable.

That gives me a lot more hope than it would if it was all "genetic".

[Carolyn M.]

Ms. Seidel's vehemence could arise from another source of guilt as well. If she avoids realizing that autism is treatable, and that the functioning of a child/person with autism can be markedly improved by doing so, then she does not have to feel any guilt for not treating her own child. I would think that the realization that you could have done something to help your child function better and did not even try would be intolerable for a parent.

[Pamela]

Thank you Dan. This sort of emotional response to the idea that something might actually "cause" autism always befuddles me.

I have had several parents say to me and have read postings by people stating, "if I thought vaccines caused autism, I could never forgive myself."...and to that sort of stick-your-head-in-the-sand mentality I say, "I don't blame myself for my child's reaction to vaccines. I should have been able to trust the CDC about vaccine safety and I should have been able to trust that my child's doctor was educated on the matter rather than simply being another victim of the CDC and AAP propaganda. The only thing I could blame myself for is if I let the same thing happen to my next child now that I know better."

Like you said Dan, being offended by the idea does not make it untrue. There is absolutely no logic in saying that it is offensive to imply that a child is poisoned. Poising is something that happens to someone.Poisoning is not a trait one is born with. How can you "offend" someone by stating or hypothesizing that an event happened to someone? Ridiculous!

Assuming she was part of this team, the idea that Ms. Seidel's exposure might have caused her child's autism apparently causes her great guilt. That would be the only explanation for her defensive, emotional and illogical response to the simple idea that autism might have a cause. If Ms Seidel could set aside her emotion she might realize she has no reason to feel guilty or defensive over the idea that thimerosal may cause autism...unless she knowingly exposed herself to thimerosal for the purpose of harming her unborn child. We all know that's no more the case than that I vaccinated my child with the foreknowledge that I would cause her autism.

[Birgit Calhoun]

David! I agree with all you say. I used to be a bit like Seidel because I didn't understand the nature of mercury poisoning. Since 2000 I am completely convinced. I grew up in Germany. I am a mother of mercury toxic children. My first experience with mercury came during WWII in a bomb shelter that was under attack. People in the infirmary on the second floor all died. The mercury thermometers up there broke and dispersed vapors all over the place. The effect for me, (I was three at the time) was that I stopped talking for about a year even though I had started to talk at age one. My doctor knew it was mercury poisoning and he knew it was autism. His prescription was Epsom salt baths (Magnesium sulfate). Luckily I recovered my speech.

I was later exposed to mercury in my step-father's house. He was a veterinarian and the person who had owned the house previously was also a veterinarian. Veterinarians were using a lot of mercury-containing ointments. This exposure lasted for about six years. I then worked at a hospital pharmacy for a year and after that at a regular pharmacy that had originally been built in 1812. It still had mercury preparations in bottles on shelves. In addition to all that I had amalgams in mouth. My children were born from 1966 to 1970. They received all their vaccines and they definitely received ear drops and eye drops mentioned in the list provided by you. My oldest son received 30 amalgams before he was 3. In those days there were also no warning labels on Merthiolate and mercurochrome bottles. Criminal. I should have known better. Sincerely, Birgit Calhoun

[Twyla]

This makes me so mad. It's just such total bullshit for Ms. Seidel to say, "All autism is caused by mercury poisoning? Excuse me. Did it ever occur to [vaccine mercury critics] that someone might object to having their family members labeled as inherently toxic?"

Nobody I know is saying that ALL autism is caused by mercury poisoning. Hello out there?!?! Autism is a spectrum, defined by behaviors, and may actually be a group of syndromes with different etiologies. Even if many share the neuroinflammation type of autism, there can be many causes of neuroinflammation. So why do the anti-biomedical-paradigm folks keep acting like nothing is legit unless it applies to all autism?

And, yes there are some ND's who are capable of writing impassioned defenses of their life-style. Anyone who can blog like that is worlds appart from many of our kids.

And no, people with autism are not "inherently toxic" -- toxins enter from our environment -- from sources such as food, water, air, and vaccines.

And "toxic" is not an insult -- it is a possible explanation which, when treated, can sometimes result in substantial improvement in quality of life -- health, social skills, cognition...

[nhokkanen]

Strange that Seidel claims "someone might object to having their family members labeled as inherently toxic." What an ostrich attitude, construing concern over treatment of a medical malady instead as a social gaffe.

I know toxic people, myself among them, and have no problem applying or wearing that label. I didn't ask to have my mouth filled with neurotoxic mercury starting at about age 7, but it wasn't Mom's fault. Those outgassing, leaching tooth fillings probably explains the chronic clinical depression that's plagued me since adolescence, and waned after I replaced all my mercury amalgams. Too many people still trust their dentists' ADA talking points.

Mercury studies offer some titillating clues. Is white matter overgrowth a byproduct of mercury exposure? Does microgliosis explain the plethora of skilled savants, hyperfocused geniuses and delusional Mad Hatters? Will the slow poisoning inevitably progress from mild mania to corrosive dementia? If so, wouldn't you want to get your mercury body burden lessened or eliminated?

Environmental triggers are all around us, damaging our health, mutating our genes. How bizarre that public health administrators mandate injections. How many decades must pass before honest science and common sense stop this criminal practice?

[Elucidatus]

Excellent Dan,

Perhaps Kathleen Seidel should use DMPS vs DMSA since DMSA has been proven to show neurological side effects. According to some toxicologists, DMSA is a neurotoxin and that it should never be used on anyone. I must also agree that she is very bitter but I would be too if everyone kept telling me the world is round.

[Michelle]

Dan, as always, thank you. I actually feel sadness for the people who think that autism cannot be treated and for the children that are effected by those people. If my son was merely "wired differently" he would not share a host of other medical issues with so many others who are wired the same as he. It's a shame so many have given up hope before they even tried.

[PicturingPaulOffitinprisonorange]

Is Kathleen Seidel Toxic?

Unequivocally "yes".
What else could explain her aggressive, obsessive, hateful demeanor.
Somebody toss this woman a DMSA, please!

You are *not* off mark.
The CDC determined the same year that Simpsonwood convened, that 1:6 women of child bearing age were already toxic with heavy metals.
The vaccines then pushed our kids over the proverbial cliff.
Imagine what lies ahead for the next few generations of fully vaccinated working Mommies.(shiver)