iPods Cause Autism With Non-Existent Mercury?

from the oh-come-on dept

Mon, Jul 17th 2006 11:44am — Mike Masnick

Rajesh writes "So you have covered iPods causing car crashes, people to be struck by lightning, and other fatalities. And now a scientist claims that iPods cause autism! From The Express in UK: "THE huge rise of autism in Britain is linked to old iPod batteries, mobile phones and other products of the electronic age, a leading scientist claimed this weekend." "If they are buried in landfill, the mercury in the batteries leaks out when it rains, and if they are burned it goes straight up into the atmosphere." Interesting! Considering all iPods are alkaline- and lithium-based batteries that do not contain lead, mercury, or cadmium (from Apple.com)." There have been plenty of stories in the past about the possible connection between mercury and autism, so that's not surprising. But the headline and the opening of that article clearly try to pin the rise in autism (which has gone on for many years) with the iPod, which has been around for less than five years. The article does mention other types of batteries as well, such as mobile phones and computers -- but it seems like a bit of a stretch to blame iPods.

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68 Comments

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MissingFrame, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:01pm

That's it, I'm tossing my iPod in the trash!
This thing is too dangerous! I don't want my kids to have autism, so I threw my iPod away.
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- ananymous, 16 Sep 2006 @ 7:22pm
  
  Re: That's it, I'm tossing my iPod in the trash!
  don't believe in this shit man, autism came earlier before the ipods were released. Don't believe this shit. The media and THIS ARTICLE is trying to brainwash you so that you would believe their story. this is a non-conspiracy theory and this is just some shit that is like a virus spreading through the media. JUST DONT BELIEVE IN THAT CRAP!!!
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RenderingSanity, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:10pm

hmmm...
So do video ipods cause you to become autistic AND addicted to porn?
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:14pm
  
  Re: hmmm...
  "So do video ipods cause you to become autistic AND addicted to porn?"
  
  We can't tell... Thd only people that bought one were already addicted to pron. Everyone else bought a nano.
  
  Sincerely,
  Apple Research
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Matt, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:10pm

Dangerous
I'm going to burn mine....
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Paid to much to throw it away, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:18pm

thank you!
Well I just want to say thank you MissingFrame for throwing your Ipod away. You have not only greatly helped keep our atmosphere safe, but also have saved your child from obtaining such a terrible thing like autism. I read an article somewhere comparing Ipods to Satan, its really quite convincing. Anyways, im gonna get back to my solidary bubble that effectively shields me and my family from all hazardous risks over .0753%.
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Topher3105, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:21pm

Hmm, that explains it
Brits are calling it Autism, I just think its an increase in general stupidity over there. Like baning standby modes in electronic devices to save energy. Anybody think about inbreading? I doubt it is limited to the royal family.
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:52pm
  
  Re: Hmm, that explains it
  ha!
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- Flamsmark (profile), 17 Jul 2006 @ 6:23pm
  
  Re: Hmm, that explains it
  that comment isn't funny, it's simply abusive, and offensive.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - claire rand, 18 Jul 2006 @ 3:28am
    
    Re: Re: Hmm, that explains it
    speaking as a brit i think its funny.
    
    mind you maybe we're to daft not to see the humour, either that or are too busy learning to count to eleven on our toes to bother.
    
    btw were are you from?
    
    i only ask cus normally people who complain this sort of thing is 'offensive' are not part of the group thats meant to be offended.
    
    naturally i could well be wrong, but then i am british after all...
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- Sam Clarke, 18 Jul 2006 @ 3:24am
  
  Re: Hmm, that explains it
  An increase in stupidity over here!!!! That may be true, but it's highly unlikley that we will ever get close to you lot! Try looking in the mirror, or even at your TV, your president is probably the most stupid bloke the world has ever know!!!!
  
  Just out of interest what is wrong with banning items that use 3/4 quaters of the amount of energy when they are on standby as when they are turned on??? What sort of STUIPID comment is that??? Lets all waste energy by leaving items on standyby, that way, the planets natural resources will run out quicker, so then we wont have any power!!! Mind you, atleast I wont have to read comments like this again, might be a bonus. Or maybe you were trying to be funny, by adding what could only be described as a idiotic, ill thought through comment. Unfortunatly, it wasn't funny, just typical American nonesense, now get back to your trailer park, and try reading up on things before you put your brain cell into gear!!!
  
  Not suprised president 'brains' didn't sign up to the Kyoto agreement, your all to self obcessed with eating crap whilst watching your waist lines increase (instead of watching TV because it's on standy!!)
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Z, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:22pm

=P
Uh-huh. The article says that there's mercury in the batteries, which there isn't. They don't even contain lead, dang. How hard do you have to throw the damn things at your kid to give them Autism? =X I don't want to know...

Z
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:37pm
  
  Re: =P
  .... How hard do you have to throw the damn things at your kid to give them Autism? =X I don't want to know...
  
  I suspect it would be better to throw them at scientists. I am hoping that it would motivate them to actually research what they are reporting rather then making wild uninformed claims.
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anonymous coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:25pm

only mindless idiots buy iPods, so I think the brain damage is already done.
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- Some one you dont know, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:33pm
  
  Re:
  If you buy them all, they will just make more. If you think profit margins on PC's and other parts were bad, what till you see the store markup and then compare it to what apple actually makes of each Ipod. Its so mind blowing 88 percent of all cases have been linked to Autism.
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s, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:27pm

buy them all
The only viable solution is to buy all the ipods yourself and make sure they get disposed of properly.
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Jimbo, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:37pm

You Lose!
We are all damned to hell. If you use them, you will get killed (lightning, traffic accident, walking in front of a train, etc.) If you throw it away, you give your kids autism.

I guess the best solution is to place them all in a rocket ship and launch them into the sun. (Or just bury them along with all of the nuclear waste under a couple of feet of dirt... (not literally.)
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Mike Harty, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:50pm

hmmm
I think autism occurs when two generally stupid people mate... and judging by our society I'd say this is happening exponentially. Time to take out all of the 'safe guards' and let the genepool experience some "natural selection."
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- Billy Johnson, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:53pm
  
  Re: hmmm
  "Time to take out all of the 'safe guards' and let the genepool experience some 'natural selection.'"
  
  Yeah... they should have never outlawed lawn darts!
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- Lay person, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:04pm
  
  Re: hmmm
  Yup, Autism is a genetic defect, at least one parent must carry that defect. Who's at fault? Both parents--the noncarrier for procreating with a carrier and the carrier is to blame for either not knowing she carried the potential or not caring.
  
  Either way, it's the truth. Sometimes the truth is bitter and readingf all these responses at times is bitter as well.
  
  Sorry, for all looking for some sugar all I do is state the facts.
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- Wifezilla, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:36pm
  
  Re: hmmm
  That has to be the most ignorant thing I have heard in years.
  
  Actually autism is more likely when both parents are highly intellegent. There has been a large number of autism cases reported in places like Silicon Valley and other tech communities.
  ( http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html )
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  - dorpus, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:56pm
    
    Re: Re: hmmm
    Actually autism is more likely when both parents are highly intellegent. There has been a large number of autism cases reported in places like Silicon Valley and other tech communities.
    ( http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html )
    
    And the editors of Wired magazine obviously never took an epidemiology course before. In reality, places with good programs for autistic children tend to attract more autistic families. High tech communities tend to have good medical centers.
    
    Sudden spikes in the reported incidence of other diseases have happened many times before, whenever new requirements to report the condition were instituted, a change in diagnostic guidelines occurred, or more reliable lab tests became available. This happened twice to the incidence of Lyme Disease, when the disease received a reporting requirement in the early 90s, then a reliable lab test became available in 1997. There is no "Lyme Disease holocaust", despite the claims of activists.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - dorpus, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:59pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: hmmm
      Oh and, we learned another interesting case study today of failed research findings. In the late 1990s, a provocative paper claimed that babies who grew up in rooms with night lights were going blind, because the light was impairing the development of their optic nerves. Follow-up research discovered that parents with poor vision tend to have children with poor vision, and parents install the night lights so they won't trip over things.
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GIJoeBob, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:56pm

Not this crap again.
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Aaron Friel, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:57pm

Re: Mike Harty
That's a fairly 'stupid' viewpoint you purport, there, Harty. Have you considered that perhaps you were the result of two generally stupid people mating?

I feel free to attack you, however, on the grounds that you believe autistics are simply stupid and/or the result of stupid people having children.
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- Mike, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:07pm
  
  Re: Re: Mike Harty
  Lighten up buddy, it was a joke.
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  - txjump, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:36pm
    
    Re: Re: Re: Mike Harty
    You may not have been very "PC" but I like your idea of letting natural selection prevail. ;)
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anonymous coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 12:59pm

I am going to burn mine and smoke it in a pipe.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:02pm

i heard macbooks cause bad teeth in England also.
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Paul, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:04pm

ipod=kleenex, coke, band-aid
I think ipod in this case is just a general term for a small consumer electronics item. A mistake to lump the real ipod into this category when there is no foul substance, but many small ipod-like gadgets do have mercury, no?
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DreadedOne509, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:07pm

MacBook!?!?! No it's the MS Money CD's!
MS Money CD's are the root cause of all medical/dental/evil conditions in England.
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whatthe?, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:12pm

not even close
coal power plants in the US alone dump 40 to 50 tons of mercury into the air every year. All the batteries in the world don't even come close.
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Q, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:31pm

My guess is this....

The scientist(s) came across data that MIGHT support the mecury (and other stuff they listed) MIGHT cause autism, so they did their little research and found that hey, it might but funds were getting low. They published this report and said 'ipod' and 'cellphone' was the cause because they know how people get all worked up about that (cellphone causing deaths, Ipods causing deaths, we've all read it here before) and in hopes, people would donate money to their research.
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Pirateguybrush, 17 Jul 2006 @ 1:48pm

I'm with Mike too.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:02pm

Ignorance
I've never hear so many ignorant comments about autism in one place before. Must be indicitive of the majority of techdirt readers...
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- Lay person, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:07pm
  
  Re: Ignorance
  Yup, people are stupid and Techdirt is not excluded. We all are stupid and until we accept that fact we will have problems in the world...period.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Lay person, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:56pm
  
  Re: Ignorance
  Yup, people are stupid and Techdirt is not excluded. We all are stupid and until we accept that fact we will have problems in the world...period.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jake, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:02pm

Mike Harty
Natural Selection would be great, i think it would reduce many of the worlds problems, so screw aaron friel, good idea mike harty!
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Len, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:03pm

ipods
dude...im gonna go buy like 10 ipods now
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:06pm

When's the last time anyone made a mercury battery? I'm pretty sure that they are illegal in quite a few states.

Perhaps mercury does cause autism, I don't know. But as far as I know, most batteries in cell phones and other "consumer electronics" are lithium ion.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:13pm

look up thimerosal
this stuff is a mercury based preservative for vaccines they give to children

it is the cause of the spike in autism in the US. not sure how things are done overseas

weve been pumping infants and children with autism causing mercury for decades, even more so in the early 90s, before the 1930s before they started using thimerosal there was so no autism, if it occured at all it was so uncommon they didnt have a name for it
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- dorpus, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:24pm
  
  Re: look up thimerosal
  Yeah, that old urban legend. Truth is, in places where they discontinued thimerosal usage in vaccines, no change in the incidence of autism was observed. There have also been no spikes observed in developing countries where infants were given thimerosal-containing vaccines. The whole notion of thimerosal causing autism was started by a poorly written paper in which British researchers examined the records of 12 autistic babies, discovered that 8 of them had received vaccinations, and therefore that the vaccines must have caused autism. (Never mind that most babies receive vaccinations to begin with.)
  
  That hasn't stopped a multi-billion dollar industry from developing, telling parents of autistics what they want to hear about "vast industrial conspiracies" or whatever.
  
  We have pretty strong evidence for the genetic basis of autism. There are also some promising leads linking the use of beta-adregernic (anti-asthma, labor postponing) drugs in expecting mothers to an increased risk of autism.
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jdragon, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:31pm

Another attempt to piggyback on the success of the
Anything iPod related in a headline will surely grab attention...
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WirelessGuy, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:41pm

So owning one isn't bad, just don't throw it away
I guess I am missing the point, but you can own all these things and they are safe, just if you put a LiIon battery in the trash that ends up in the landfill it will grow mercury?????

I do think it is important to recycle your LiIon batteries. At least they didn't talk about the actual hazard of these things exploding in people's faces.
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IPODSRSTUPID, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:41pm

Retards and IPODS
I don't think that it is the IPOD that causes people to be retarded. I think a majority of people who buy IPODS are retarded. It seems to be an easy mistake to make, so I don't blame the article. If you look around and see people who are using IPODS you notice that 9 out of 10 look retarded.

It might be the chicken and the egg thing. Which came first the IPOD or the retard? Sometimes it is just too hard to tell.
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- WirelessGuy, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:56pm
  
  Re: Retards and IPODS
  Do you happen to work for Microsoft?
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- Lay Person, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:01pm
  
  Re: Retards and IPODS
  Dude!
  
  That is hilareous!
  
  I haven't had a good laugh from these feedbacks in some time.
  
  Funny! Ipoders DO LOOK RETARDED!
  
  Ha! Ha! Ha!
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Guy, 17 Jul 2006 @ 2:46pm

I have a Simple solution to not giveing your kids autisim....... dont have kids ! life is so much more enjoyable
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buddy, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:02pm

idiots
next they're gonna blame ipods for world hunger
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old guy, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:07pm

Ipods
A new study shows that IPods are the leading cause of incompetent scientists....
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Apaxmez, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:16pm

iPod Disposal
I am starting an iPod disposal service. Simply mail me $19.99 and your iPod and I will safely dispose of it. Via eBay.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 3:38pm

I love it when the medical community doesn't check their facts.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2006 @ 4:29pm

Forgive me if the point was already made, but the guy has a point, and people are focusing too much on the ipod. For years, alkaline batteries had mercury in them, only in the last few years have we seen mercury and cadmium-free versions. Major recycling programs are in place for nicads, but they and other rechargables do much to reduce overall toxics since they are disposed of so much less often. I'm glad to see NiMH making inroads on store shelves. They are ideal when long waits for use are not anticipated, as in MP3s. I prefer Lithiums when long standby use is expected, like the flashlight in the glovebox, or the emergency radio in the cupboard.
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Adam, 17 Jul 2006 @ 4:53pm

Dammit
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Causation, 17 Jul 2006 @ 5:02pm

Causation
Statistics do not prove causation. They can show a link in trends. If they were going to the stretch of saying that the rise of iPods caused a rise in Autism, they could easily turn it around and say that the rise in Autism caused the rise in iPods. Maybe Autistic kids actually needed that new iPod or something?

It's great to see how statistics are being misused. That course last year really did open my eyes to the bullshit :P
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Alvioli Spakbibble, 18 Jul 2006 @ 1:01am

Autism? Ha ha ha. Yeah - about as funny as World W
Would the first idiot here that manages to reproduce and has an autistic child, care to tell us if they still find autism funny?
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Kay, 18 Jul 2006 @ 5:27am

Ignorance
Since when did being stupid get linked with autism? Last time I looked many of those who have an ASD still had great cognitive ability. Aspies are believed to be highly intelligent, so I suggest if you think you're in a position to joke about something, you go look at the little pockets of known information on autism.

BTW those that say its just genes - not known. So again you're not speaking in facts, just theories and studies. We still know very little about the brain and considering that it is widely accepted that is it a neurological disorder, we need to fully understand the brain to fully understand autism.

As an Aspie myself, it's not all gloom and doom. There are also many positives, but of course you wouldn't know that if you don't know what you're talking about. Which is what it seems like by most of the comments here.

So I suggest before you go throwing your gadgets away, actually find out about Autism.
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jon, 18 Jul 2006 @ 7:13am

They will be removing mercury from the MMR vaccine soon so it will be interesting to see if autism cases drop.
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m, 18 Jul 2006 @ 10:29am

Re: Thimerosol/Autism link
Removing mercury from the MMR is a great step, but it is still in so many immunizations and drugs --- it's even in most eye drops! --- that that step in of itself is unlikely to make a huge dent, at least not overnight.

And to whoever called the whole anti-immunization movement a "multi-billion dollar industry" is totally off their rocker. Vaccinations are a huge profit-maker for drug companies. Parents who do not vaccinate (or, more commonly, delay vaccination) just take their $$ away from Big Pharma; they don't put it elsewhere. How does not vaccinating equal a multi-billion dollar business? More like, it takes a good potshot at one.
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Heather, 1 Aug 2006 @ 5:12pm

Doubt the Autism fact
Hello, I wanted to just say if your kids are fine by a certain age, I highly doubt that they will receive Autism by mercury. I have been working in this field (Autism) for the past 3 years and mercury doesn't have me convinced. There are pro's and con's to every scientist/researcher's theory. Until more proof can be provided about mercury I might start believing it then but as for right now it's debateable.
Autism does not have to mean bad. Children with Autism can still go to school and do things as us typical people but just in a different way. In face most of my clients are happy, wouldn't you want to be happy for the majority of the day? Don't always look at a disability as negative!
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heather, 1 Aug 2006 @ 5:26pm

Reply to look up thimerosal
Hi just wanted to inform you that even though Autism did not exist much before 1930's doesn't mean it wasn't real or it wasn't there. You know the line that goes like "you never know what goes on behind those doors?" People were to afraid to expose it out into the community that they probably feared their companions would look down on them. The main reason I believe, is that Autism is becoming more common is that it treatable. You are now able to learn with Autism and teach Autism with the help different thearists. You know just like once upon a time Learning Disorders were considered as STUPID but now it's a well known fact that it is a genetic disorder and it can be worked with.
This comment right here is not directing just towards you but to the rest of the comments above. You people need to learn the facts on Autism before you start critizing it. You have NO idea until you have researched it, lived/dealt with it, seen the emotional sides of it etc. You know just don't say anything at all if you can't say something nice!!!!
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frank, 24 Aug 2006 @ 11:26am

iPod Battery
ok, well i don't know about my iPod battery giving me autism but it will most likely give me an aneurism. i finally just bought a replacement battery from www.laptopsforless.com because the battery wouldn't hold a charge and Apple was giving me the run-around. i'm glad i bought it though because it works great and cost like $12.
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Anonymous, 16 Sep 2006 @ 8:22pm

COMMENT OF TRUTH
youre saying that Ipods causes mental retardation and make you become addicted to porn??? it depends on how long you listen to it you ASSHOLE, and who came up with this article? HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS RETARDED SHIT, HUH?? If you say autism was caused by ipods, YOURE MENTALLY IDIOTIC!!! IT'S LIKE YOURE A VIRUS WHO's TELLING PEOPLE "DON'T BUY IPODS, THEY CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE and AUTISM and they make you become ADDICTED TO PORN" and all these poor people who read this article is going to fuck and burn their ipods, decapitate it or whatever they're doing to abuse it or other KINDS OF SHIT!!! YOU ARE an ABUSE to the APPLE COMPUTER HEADQUARTERS!!! Man, when the homies and hos find out about this they will complain in anger and probably they might wanna own you or get your ass PORNO CAUSES AUTISM(maybe or maybe not), NOT IPODS!!!

sincerely,
Anonymous

PS: THE COMMENT OF TRUTH: if you knew that this is a non-conspiracy theory, NEVER EVER post it before you HAVE THE RIGHT, PRECISE EVIDENCE!!! Just a quick reminder, ipods make ya crazy like, for example, it gives you aneurism, I believe, depending on what kind of music you listen to and what videos you look at!!

And another thing, autism came first before ipods were released! Are you that retarded or are you just the type of person who posts lies to the media and to the internet, or you just don't get it at all? if ya don't get it, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism and find out. Maybe this would've made you think that the article that you posted didn't exist but YOU JUST DID BECAUSE YOU DONT THINK BEFORE YOU ACT! BESIDES, THIS ARTICLE IS JUST BIASED SHIT!!!
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Brolsma, 16 Sep 2006 @ 8:24pm

ADHD and autism
whats the difference between autism and ADHD?
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- Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2006 @ 8:29pm
  
  Re: ADHD and autism
  autism is less severe but ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is more severe and it could be affecting those who are autistic I believe. go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADHD and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism to find out. maybe you will understand the difference. Generally, I can't tell the difference
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tiger, 24 Oct 2006 @ 6:23pm

i know a kid who has autism. he is a stupid piece of shit...he does listen to his ipod alot too
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- naomi, 24 Oct 2006 @ 6:26pm
  
  Re:
  so this is the dumbest article i have ever read...so yeah i don't really know about that ipods cause autism...i will believe the car accidents and people getting hit by cars jamming out to their music but i dont know about autism...come on now
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Violet, 19 Dec 2006 @ 2:58pm

Sister of an autistic
This is so mean! My little brother has autism, and my parents are very intellegent. My dad is a docter at Children's Hospital! It makes me so mad that people can even think like this. And, to the person that thinks ADAH is more severe then autism, I have ADHD and I am doing so much better then my brother :-(
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