Although I am not a doctor or a nurse, but rather the mother of a child with autism, I have a theory about its' cause. Over the years, as we've evolved to live as a convenienced society, the human race has been ingesting copious amounts of hormones, preservatives, and chemicals present in food and everything else we take into our bodies. This also includes the concentrated timespan of vaccinations given to children. I believe there are individuals with sensitive physiological and neurological makeup who just do not tolerate these "alien" substances and have been "modified" somehow through the decades and thus autism has become the epidemic it is today. I have seen firsthand how wholesome, untampered food and environment can help children with autism. Also, the dangerous psychotropic medications doctors prescribe are killing our kids and awareness of this fact needs to come to light...