AGE OF AUTISM

Congratulations to David Kirby as Animal Factory Garners High Praise from NPR

Join us in congratulating David Kirby whose new book, Animal Factory is earning high praise at NPR in Books We Like and elsewhere. It is now featured on NPR's main Arts and Life Page. Of course, we've known since 2005 that when David Kirby tackles a topic, he does it with honesty and integrity. Order your copy HERE.
 
"Kirby combines the narrative urgency of Sinclair's novel with the investigative reporting of Schlosser's book — Animal Factory is nonfiction, but reads like a thriller."
 
"Heartbreaking"
 
"There's no political pleading or ideological agitprop in this book; it's remarkably fair-minded, both sober and sobering. Like Sinclair's and Schlosser's work, it has the potential to change the collective American mind about contemporary food issues. It deserves a wide audience, despite — or because of — the fact that it might be the most frightening book of the year." 
 
 

Autism, Vaccines, Thimerosal: Further Study Needed

By Julie Obradovic
 
In light of the recent Vaccine Court ruling I thought I would again highlight for readers precisely what has and has not been studied with regard to Thimerosal.
 
The fact is, it is impossible, absolutely, positively impossible to exonerate vaccines and/or Thimerosal in Autism based on the current science. Honest, ethical, and responsible people have no choice but to concede that in good faith.
 
Remember, only 1 ingredient (thimerosal) and 1 injection (the MMR) have been studied for their relationship to Autism. No study exists on the combination of vaccines given to children in a real world setting, with or without additional environmental insults such as antibiotics, or with regard to genetic susceptibilities.
 
No study has looked at the possible effect of the synergistic toxicity of aluminum and thimerosal, which are never supposed to be used in combination (according to the Manufacturer Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for thimerosal ) and are indeed combined in many shots (according to the Vaccine Excipient Summary  from the CDC).
 
And no controlled study, not one, exists on the effect of low dose ethyl mercury toxicity in humans (a statement made by study author Anders Hviid himself below on p.1765).
 
Furthermore, the studies are overwhelmingly population based which is widely accepted as incapable of ruling out causation. The authors repeatedly fail to identify or seek out vulnerable populations.
 
And last but not least, there are the tremendous conflicts of interest presented by the authors, more often than not witnesses for the government in vaccine injury cases, vaccine patent holders, and/or employees of pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines.

Parent Testimonial to UK GMC Panel, Update

Below is a testimonial to the GMC panel from Heather Edwards, regarding her son and his current health. Heath just contacted me and sent this photo of Josh with permission to run it.:

16th March 2010
 
Dear Claire Henesy,  
 
I write to you again now I am aware of the findings of facts from the panel, with regards to the case of Dr Wakefield, Professor Murch and Professor Walker-Smith.

I stand by the contents of my previous testimonial and would like to add a statement following the findings on fact.
 
My own son’s health has deteriorated since I wrote my previous testimonial. It has now been 4 years since my son has been able to eat and still remains unable to tolerate ANY food. This is due to the bowel disease raging through his poor body.

My son is now 17 years old and weighs under 6 stone, he looks like a victim of a concentration camp.

Josh my son is living proof this bowel disease Dr Wakefield discovered does exist. As a Result of the severity of the disease, his whole colon had to be removed.

I cannot begin to explain the pain my son endures and how his own consultant is unable to treat the condition and move him forward.
 
I was very angered and upset on the days I attended the hearing, to hear Miss Smith say “there was nothing physically wrong with these children” perhaps she needs to see my son and live with what he has to live with.

Josh’s output in his ileostomy bag remains double the daily amount of stoma losses, due to untouchable bowel disease.

I have images of my son’s insides 3 years after trying to treat the disease with steroids and immuno-suppressants. These images show the bowel disease remains untouched in fact it was more prominent to see.

Olmsted on Autism: Boys Failing Due to Short Recess, Feminism - Yeah, That's the Ticket!

By Dan Olmsted

New test scores show boys falling behind girls in reading, dropping out of school more often and getting fewer college degrees. It's true everywhere, across every state. "In some states, the boys are trailing girls by as much as 10 percentage points," ABC News reported HERE last night. What's going on? Well, ABC speculates, boys brains are different. Recess is shorter and boys need to move around. And feminism has created opportunities that might make girls want to try harder.

Puh-LEEZE! This is what happens when the national conversation is as warped as it is right now. The most likely, the simplest explanation for a change this big in this short a period of time is obviously some kind of environmental factor. We have a clue from autism, which affects boys 4 or 5 to 1 and is increasing dramatically. But since we can't get real about what's going on, we end up talking about recess and women's rights. If you want to watch the medical community and the media failing our kids in real time, just tune in.

The Autism-Vaccine Controversy Continues

By Twyla Ramos

As J.B. said in the March 13, 2010 L.A. Times article “Court Rejects Vaccine Link to Autism”:

"Find me another industry where the U.S. government defends their product in court and funds the science that exonerates them," said J.B. Handley, a founder of Generation Rescue in Sherman Oaks and father of a child with autism. "The average citizen has no hope."
 
It’s important to keep in mind that the Autism Omnibus decisions are not scientific papers.  The "special masters" making these decisions are lawyers, not scientists.  Their undergraduate degrees are in subjects such as Political Science, Philosophy, and Electrical Engineering.  Their legal specialties include tax, patent, tort, and military law.  While some seem to think that these decisions should end the controversy, they do not.
 
These decisions are based on the overriding goal of maintaining the vaccine program without too much liability.  This is a travesty of justice.  The vaccine court was established in 1986 as an alternative to tort product liability, and it is supposed to be a "no-fault" system which provides benefits to injured children.  In the 11/20/2008 article “Vaccine Injury Compensation: A Failed Experiment in Tort Reform?” Barbara Loe Fisher described quite well how this program is failing. (HERE)

There is no doubt that vaccines do injure some babies. Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) is a known effect of some vaccines for some children (even listed on some of the vaccine labels, and in the government's list of accepted adverse reactions HERE).  Studies have found inflammation in the brains of people with autism (HERE).  But the vaccine court routinely turns down cases where autism is alleged to be caused by vaccines.

Palm Beach Post: "Victorious at Doral, Ernie Els Out to conquer the Monster that is Autism"

From ErnieEls.com: Liezl and I are private people, but we are also very much in the public eye and we recognise that this gives us a platform to help raise funds and awareness for the causes of Autism and its possible treatments. It is something that we both feel very passionate about. We wish the Els family the best in their fight to help their son. You can comment at The Palm Beach Post.

DORAL — The Big Easy may be Ernie Els' nickname, but Easy Street never has been his permanent address.

Half a dozen times the Jupiter resident has been runner-up at one of golf's major championships, and twice in 2004 alone. Ernie's long ago run atop the World Golf Rankings lasted just nine weeks, too, for Tiger Woods has come to own that title and every other in the golfing universe.

On Sunday afternoon, however, when the final putt of a four-stroke victory at the WGC-CA Championship vanished into the cup, Els wore the almost incomprehensible look of a 40-year-old athlete going on 25, all things possible again if not absolutely likely.

Today at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, yet another fresh wave of hope washes in.

A private pro-am tournament featuring Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and a long list of contemporary PGA Tour stars like Robert Allenby and Mark Calcavecchia is where Ernie will spend the day after his dominating Doral performance.

The event benefits the Els for Autism Foundation, which is as personal as it gets for the affable South African and his transplanted South Florida family.

Ernie and his wife Liezl moved to Palm Beach County, as a matter of fact, to take advantage of intensive therapy and specific educational opportunities for their 7-year-old son, Ben, who as a toddler was diagnosed with the complex neurobiological disorder of autism.

Restraint and Seclusion Prevention Symposium at Autism One Generation Rescue Conference

Learn more and register for AUTISM ONE  in Chicago, Illinois  May 24-30.

150 STRONG & THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ROSTER OF SPEAKERS EVER ASSEMBLED TO HELP WITH AUTISM, NEUROIMMUNE, AND RELATED ISSUES

FEATURING:
Wednesday, May 26: 8 am - noon
The National Autism Association Presents: The Restraint and Seclusion Prevention Symposium

The Restraint and Seclusion Prevention Symposium will cover all facets of the R&S issue. From introducing the basic understanding of restraint and seclusion to discussing how to address the issue in your child’s IEP, presenters will offer applicable and useful information to help you preserve your child’s rights, protect your child from harmful restraint and seclusion practices, and provide materials designed to increase your child’s protection in the school setting.  Presenters will also provide invaluable tips on how to spot signs of abuse in your child and students, how teachers and aides can prevent dangerous situations in the classroom, and how you can help with federal and state legislative efforts.  Take-home reference materials will be provided.  Visit our friends at NAA: www.nationalautism.org. 

Thursday, May 27: 9 am - 5 pm
The Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy presents a day of autism legal and advocacy training with Dr. Andrew Wakefield and Dr. Arthur Krigsman (EBCALA Keynotes); Mary Holland, JD; Jennifer Keefe, JD; Robert Krakow, JD; William Long, JD, PhD, MDiv; and more!

Friday, May 28:  8 am - 2:45 pm
Prediction and Prevention of ASD: Signs to watch out for and treatments that will help you avoid the diagnosis of autism

Dave Humphrey, JD, Kenneth Bock, MD, Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA-D, Kendal Stewart, MD, and Lisa Hunter Ryden, MT, MBA, will take attendees through a 5-part series emphasizing the importance of early detection of the symptoms of ASD as helping practitioners alter the course of diagnosis. With early detection, practitioners can identify treatment strategies and interventions that, when provided intensively, can prevent children from developing the full symptom criteria of autism. These red flags and treatment options will be reviewed. The speakers will include data from young siblings of children with autism illustrating that children who receive treatment at a very early age do, in fact, avoid receiving an ASD diagnosis as their symptoms are effectively reversed. Here's just a sample:

Polly Tommey's "Hello Boys" Campaign Hits the UK

Polly Tommey is in the midst of launching her new campaign. Next week billboards and posters will be displayed nationwide; and Polly’s personal letters will reach Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. This bold move is aimed to persuade the party leaders to provide the help and support so desperately needed by the autism community. Polly’s message is simple: millions of people are affected by autism, most of these people will use their vote to support any party willing to help their loved one.

Polly’s new campaign follows the success of her “Dear Gordon Brown…” campaign which last year culminated in a number of meetings at 10 Downing Street. These meetings were instrumental in the government’s move towards helping those with autism. Following these meetings Polly joined the external reference group that helped to formulate the government’s ‘strategy for adults with autism in England (2010)’ which was released earlier this month.

Polly comments, ‘It is important that politicians do not underestimate the power of the autism community. With over 6 million votes and the current likelihood of a hung parliament, we really do have the power to tip the balance in favour of whichever party promises the strongest support.’

 

Copenhagen Police Investigating Autism Vaccine Researcher Dr. Poul Thorsen for Fraud

This report is from CPHPost Online:

WEDNESDAY, 17 MARCH 2010 12:19 RC NEWS
 
Critics of MMR vaccines say Danish researcher’s alleged fraud casts doubt on studies refuting connection between shots and autism

A Danish autism researcher is being investigated by police for defrauding an estimated 10 million kroner from Aarhus University while he was employed there.

Dr. Poul Thorsen, one of the researchers involved in two well-known autism reports that appeared in the influential New England Journal of Medicine, was accused of fraud last month by the university and East Jutland Police have now got involved in the case.

Thorsen resigned on Tuesday from his position in the US as adjunct professor at Drexel University in Philadephia, Pennsylvania in the wake of the investigation.

Tinderbox: U.S. Vaccine Fears up 700% in 7 years

By J.B. Handley
 
With less than a half-dozen full-time activists, annual budgets of six figures or less, and umpteen thousand courageous, undaunted, and selfless volunteer parents, our community, held together with duct tape and bailing wire, is in the early to middle stages of bringing the U.S. vaccine program to its knees.
 
A well-publicized report from Pediatrics, released earlier this month, Parental Vaccine Safety Concerns, discussed the following:
 
“Our study indicates that a disturbingly high proportion of parents [25%] continue to believe that some vaccines cause autism in otherwise healthy children.”
 
The same report went on to comment on the public health’s response to this “problem” so far:
 
“This finding indicates that current public health education campaigns on this issue have not been effective in allaying the concerns of many parents.”
 
Worse for pediatricians and public health officials than the 1 in 4 people who believe vaccines can cause “autism in healthy children” is the 54% of parents and 60% of moms who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I am concerned about serious adverse effects of vaccines.”
 
Community, prepare to take a bow, America is listening.
 
But, before you do, let me share some more data with you. When this study came out, the headlines were focused on the “1 in 4 believe vaccines cause autism” but nowhere in any of the press reports could I find any data on how attitudes have changed over time.
 
Taking a very different approach from the average journalist, I started doing some of my own research, and came across this study, Parental Vaccine Safety Concerns, Results from the National Immunization Survey, 2001-2002 .
 
I was floored.
 
I remember 2001-2002. My son was born in 2002. I’d barely heard of autism. I’d heard the faintest whispers about vaccines causing autism, but wrote it off as hippy-conspiracy stuff. Not surprisingly, the 2001-2002 report, unlike the 2009 report, does not even mention the word “autism.”
 
And, in 2001-2002, what percent of parents expressed any concerns about the safety of vaccines? Seven. 7%. Less than 10. Five plus two. A full 93% of parents said vaccines were “completely safe.” In fact, the 2001-2002 study was exceptionally proud of the “low prevalence of vaccine safety concerns.”
 
What a difference seven years has made. Folks, the U.S. vaccine program literally has its hair on fire. 56% of parents today are concerned about the serious adverse effects of vaccines, and 60% of moms. 56% of parents is an 8-fold, or 700% increase from 2001-2002.

Parents, you can now take a bow. It’s way worse than we thought.

The Supreme Court takes on Vaccine Court: Turning the Tables with Bruesewitz v. Wyeth

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

In the movie Ransom Mel Gibson and Rene Russo play the wealthy parents of a boy who’s been kidnapped and is being held hostage for $2 million dollars.  The business man played by Mel Gibson is a smiling charmer, but also knows how to turn the table on his opponents.

Going on live television with the two million dollars piled high on a table in front of him he announces that he’s turning the ransom into a bounty on those who kidnapped his son.  It’s a bold, risky move, and like most Hollywood movies turns out well.  Gibson’s action causes the kidnappers to start looking over their shoulders, making mistakes, and eventually turning on each other.

That’s the best way to understand the potential implications of Bruesewitz v. Wyeth.  For nearly twenty-five years the pharmaceutical companies have been able to lock vaccine injuries out of the courthouse through the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act establishing the Vaccine Court.  Their potential losses for vaccine injuries as well as the discovery of possible dangers from vaccines have been minimized by this structure.

But like Mel Gibson turning the tables on the people who took his son, parents may soon be able to turn the tables on the pharmaceutical companies.  The money which was once used to influence legislators and medical associations could soon be coveted by legions of trial lawyers.  When I consider the more than one million children with autism, and the 1 in 4 children who have a chronic health condition I really don't care if the wolves of the legal profession gobble them up.  It's called justice and every other industry in America has had to live under the same set of rules.  If their product causes injury they need to pay for the damage.  Why shouldn't vaccines be subject to the same level of scrutiny as other products?

Let me tell you why I think the current legal legal status of the vaccination program in this country is so crazy.  If you got up this morning, put some bread (gluten-free, of course) in the toaster, turned your back, and the toaster was on fire, burning up your kitchen, you’d be able to sue the manufacturer.  In discovery you’d be able to subpoena all the records from the company on toaster fires, design and manufacture of the product, reports to consumer agencies on defective toasters, and eventually you’d be in possession of just about all the necessary information on toaster fires.  You could present this to a jury and twelve of your fellow citizens would determine if the company was negligent in the design or manufacture of their toaster, and if so, how much you should recover.

It’s a pretty simple system and for the most part it keeps everybody honest.  The safety of the majority of the products in our lives is fairly high.

Vaccine Injury Story on American Idol? We Are the Mainstream. Public Health and Media is the Fringe.

Last night on American Idol, viewers heard that a contestant had had a "bad reaction to pertussis vaccine and seizures." This the most mainstream program on television. Read JB Handley's post on "The Tinderbox"" and how Americans no longer trust the overloaded vaccine schedule. Please comment if you watched American Idol last night.

Casey James, we learn, had a bad reaction to the pertussis vaccine -- lots of seizures -- and his mother was worried about his delayed speech, until he started humming songs in his crib. He sings "It's All Over Now." He has a great time on stage, rocking out. Randy says he is back. Ellen says for most women, their hearts will race just looking at him, but "for people like me ... blondes ... I thought it was fantastic." Heh. Kara says he really was a rock star, unlike last week when he was just trying. Simon says he look great, sang well, played well, but it felt more like an audition than to him doing something incredible on this big stage.  You can read more in The Baltimore Sun.

Can Improper Storage of Measles Vaccines Lead to Death? Four Babies Die in India.

A tragedy from Telegraph India.

Babies dead after anti-measles shots in MP

Bhopal, March 14: Four babies have died after being given anti-measles shots at a government vaccination camp in Madhya Pradesh, prompting the arrest of a doctor and a nurse amid fears that expired drugs had been used.

Many in Autism Community Opposed Ari Ne'eman On National Council on Disability

Details on where/how to sign to follow once live.

Dear President Obama:
 
We the undersigned oppose the nomination of Ari Ne'eman to the National Council on Disability. Although we salute your effort to include a person with an autism spectrum disorder on the council, the choice of Mr. Ne'eman is wrong for the autism community and wrong for our country.
 
1) We are a nation in the throes of an autism epidemic, with 1 in 110 afflicted and hundreds of thousands of families struggling to confront the enormous financial and emotional hardships of this disorder. It is an insult to our community and to the people of this nation who will bear the enormous costs of millions of children and adults with autism that a 22-year-old student has been nominated to this position. Mr. President, how can you praise this nominee's "depth of experience" when he has not held a job, earned a degree or experienced life after college?
 
2) Mr. Ne'eman vehemently opposes curing autism, calling cure "offensive." However, many individuals who would benefit from a cure are incapable of disagreeing with him. Mr. President, will your appointees also recommend ending the search for cures for childhood cancer and diabetes? Or just autism? Mr. Ne'eman opposes the mission of the country's leading autism organization, Autism Speaks, which supports efforts to prevent and cure autism. He also opposes the depiction of autism as a crisis and does not address the very significant needs of the large population of individuals who are profoundly disabled by autism.
 
For a member of the National Council on Disability to not advocate for a cure on behalf of tens of thousands of people who suffer from disabling problems such as self injury, inability to speak, incontinence and dependence on others for their care - and who will cost society $3-5 million over a lifetime - is unconscionable. To fight against prevention and cure for such a serious disorder is inhumane and not representative of the majority in the autism community or the general population. Mr. Ne'eman's views are extremist.
 
3) Finite resources will not stretch far enough to support the large number of people now diagnosed with autism. Without making the goals of prevention and cure a top priority, there will not be sufficient funding to adequately provide for the growing population of people with autism, rendering Mr. Ne'eman's goal of providing better quality of life for those on the autism spectrum unachievable.

Sebelius Asks Media to Censor Autism Debate

By Katie Wright

“There are groups out there that insist that vaccines are responsible for a variety of problems, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. We (the office of Secretary of Health and Human Services) have reached out to media outlets to try to get them not to give the views of these people equal weight in their reporting.”
See Reader's Digest HERE.

That’s right. Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of HHS, has asked newspapers, magazines, television journalists, who knows who else- specifically NOT to listen to parents and scientists in the autism community, not to respect their concerns, not to take seriously the condition of chronically ill children with autism and to disregard a growing body of evidence questioning the safety of our infant and toddlers' immunization schedule. If I have got anything wrong I would love to hear a tape or see a transcripts of these media “outreaches.”

Pretty frightening stuff. Thank you to Jake Crosby who uncovered this frank and disturbing exchange between Arthur (autism is not so bad and there is no increase anyway) Allen and Ms. Sebelius.

I am taking Ms. Sebelius at her word. Ms. Sebelius has unilaterally said that she knows that every single American parent who saw their child regress post vaccination or experience a severe adverse reaction is wrong and she knows better. Ms. Sebelius has ordered, suggested, beseeched, implored (?) American journalists NOT to “give these people (anyone concerned with vaccine safety) equal weight in their reporting” because she has decided by informal governmental decree that the debate is closed?

Sounds like something that would happen in a communist dictatorship, right? Was there a similar decree when “citizen dissidents” questioned the safety of hormone replacement therapy for women? Was the media instructed to ignore those nuisances who were suspicious of a long denied link between hormone therapy and breast cancer? Did the HHS order a first amendment crackdown of those trouble-making women who had long complained that Fibromalgia was a real disease and not a psychosomatic condition. Menaces everywhere who dared to question medical authorities! They must be silenced! You have got to be kidding.

Video and Paper on Rules of Using a Public Restroom for Autism Population

Managing Editor's Note: Our friend's Dennis Debbaudt and Stephen Shore granted us permission to run this video. I was just blown away by how important it is. We use video modeling for small children on the spectrum. This is a version for older kids and adults to learn lifeskills. The first available is on the use of a public restroom. A paper follows the video, please scroll down.

Using a Public Restroom by Dr. Liane Holliday Willey , Dr. Stephen Shore and, Dennis Debbaudt

This short video excerpt from Debbaudt Legacy Productions in progress video Autism & Safe Travel with Dr. Stephen Shore© 2010 illustrates what some of the public men’s room social rules and violations can be.

This video depicts some options and tips for persons on the spectrum, family and educators about social and safety considerations when using a public restroom.

Social Rules for Using a Public Men’s Room



While singing in the shower at home or in your hotel room’s washroom is perfectly acceptable social behavior, carrying a tune or talking in a public men’s room is not. Silence in the men’s room is expected and normal. Silence, in this case, is golden.  

Men who violate the rules of the men’s room risk consequences that include others becoming suspicious of the motives of the violator, confronting the violator or reporting the violator to authorities. Worse, perhaps, is that the violator is thought to be someone looking for an illegal sexual liaison. Difficult interactions with sexual adventurers could result. Police conduct undercover operations to root out this illegal activity. Those who get caught in the sting will be questioned, perhaps arrested.

God, Greed and the Apostles. Bill Welsh on Fallacies of The Lancet, GMC and MMR Reporting.

By Bill Welsh

I was reminded recently of the old joke, Question: What is the difference between God and a doctor?

Answer: God does not think he is a doctor!

This reverie occurred during a lull in a Radio Scotland broadcast where I had been invited to spar with a medical practitioner re (1) the recent GMC verdict in the ‘trial’ of Dr Wakefield, and (2) the MMR/bowel disease/autism controversy. My medical practitioner combatant was a particularly contrary and obstinate soul whom I suspect was a reluctant participant probably having been corralled into attending the live transmission at the last minute. He arrived at the studio with the usual bucketful of ill-informed assumptions plus half-truths gleaned lazily from pharma-backed medical journals and the tabloid press.

The broadcast followed the normal pattern with first the doctor’s reading of the situation countered by mine. None of this would I suspect make riveting listening to your casual mid-morning radio attendee but it fills space for the broadcaster and gives campaigners like me the opportunity to challenge the orthodox view. What did surprise me however was how my blustering antagonist continued to voice opinions and views that have been answered and countered repeatedly over time. It is as if there is a determination by the medical profession to re-position misinformation and downright lies into folk-lore. Was it Mark Twain who said “A lie can be half-way round the world before the truth has got its boots on”? Well current medical/pharma philosophy appears to be ‘If we keep saying the lie often enough, it will become truth’.
 
Here are just four examples from the radio programme:

1)“The Lancet study was too small, there were only 12 children”.
 
Not true. The report in the Lancet was on the FIRST 12 children. The addendum to the paper says:
''Up to Jan 28, a further 40 patients have been assessed; 39 with the syndrome'.
(Hundreds more followed of course.)
 
2) “The GMC concluded MMR was safe and unconnected to bowel disease and autism”
 
Not true. The GMC chairman stated: “The panel wish to make it clear that this case is not concerned with whether there is or might be any link between the MMR vaccination and autism”.

Teri Arranga Interviews David Kirby Author of Animal Factory on VoiceAmerica Radio

Tune in tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 9:00am to hear Teri Arranga interview David Kirby, author of Animal Factory, on the VoiceAmerica Health & Wellness Network.

Log on to Listen:
http://www.voiceamerica.com

Autism Research Institute Statement Regarding Lawsuits Filed Against Doctors

The following is our sponsor ARI’s Statement Regarding Lawsuits Filed Against Drs. Usman and Rossignol (.pdf HERE.)

Recent articles by ABC News and the Chicago Tribune on M.D.s who subscribe to the Defeat Autism Now! approach to treatment indicate the spread of misinformation and misunderstanding in recent months. The complaints about Drs. Usman and Rossignol resulted from a custody case-- a painful situation for any family, one that can lead to accusations that must be sorted out in a court of law—not the media.

The Defeat Autism Now! approach to autism invites the medical community to be more responsive, inquisitive, and knowledgeable about treating these disorders. 

The approach is not in itself a source of controversy, since many treatment interventions are commonly prescribed by traditional health professionals.

The great problem is rather that chronic, unaddressed illness plagues many, if not most, of the children and adults on the autism spectrum. These conditions, thoroughly documented in the scientific literature, often involve the gastrointestinal system and/or the immune system, but the medical establishment has been professionally insensible to what is a desperate situation in the expanding autism population.

The focus of the Defeat Autism Now! approach is twofold: to provide patients with allergen-free nutritional support, to uphold and to repair the immune system as needed, and, if appropriate, to reduce the  body burden of environmental toxins; to provide clinicians in-depth medical and scientific information, with Continuing Medical Education credits.

We assure the public and the autism community that the Autism Research Institute will track developments closely and will provide information as necessary. We will continue our efforts to provide appropriate support to Drs. Usman and Rossignol, as well as to other physicians.

The Inconstant Gardiner:The New York Times’ Fervent Disconnect Between Drug and Vaccine Reporting

By Adriana Gamondes

“Everything is permitted the hero”.  ~Jean-Paul Sartre, “No Exit”

The film “The Constant Gardener”—starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, and directed by Fernando Meirelles from the book by John le Carré—is the story of sacrifice and moral constancy against the corruption of fictional corporate giant KVH, maker of pharmaceuticals and pesticides. It’s a beautiful film in many ways, and terrifying; a cross between reality check and forecast.

The book and the film were said to be loosely based on Pfizer’s deadly Trovan trial in Nigeria, which led to the injuries and deaths of over 200 children. The case was since settled for $75 million in civil and criminal penalties . 

But if the film’s protagonist, Justin Quayle, had been loosely based on New York Times’ public health reporter Gardiner Harris, the whole thing would have been over in fifteen minutes. As soon as it turned out that the gorgeous activist was concerned with a dangerous pharmaceutical product having anything to do with controlling contagion, Quayle would have called her a fervent conspiracy theorist, while her laptop might have mysteriously slipped into the clutches of KVH. She’s dead, he plays golf, roll credits.

No one could ever accuse Gardiner Harris of being haunted by the “hobgoblin” of consistency (foolish or otherwise)—not in terms of his reporting on pharmaceutical products. On the one hand, when the same companies producing vaccines and drugs engage in cover ups of certain drugs’ side effects, Harris is all over them like a rash, exampled by his latest reporting on Avandia .  In fact, some of his reporting on fraud and corruption in psychopharmaceutical marketing is quite good, such as his coverage of Harvard’s Biederman scandal, illegal marketing to children, drug front groups, FDA capitulation, media ties to drug makers and much more.

Harris has undeniably shown some spine when it comes to drugs. Maybe not as much as Times colleague Alex Berensen, who actually engaged in risky legal maneuvers with activist attorney Jim Gottstein to expose secret Eli Lilly documents showing the company hid the dangers of its blockbuster antipsychotic, Zyprexa  — a report which led to Lilly quickly having to settle $500 million more in injury claims to top off the $1.2 billion in Zyprexa settlements already lost . All the same, at least in regard to select pharmaceutical products, Gardiner Harris reports news generally fit to print. 

But when it comes to rates of vaccine injury, vaccine-defenders’ conflicts and potential vaccine research fraud—all of which is virtually identical in pattern to that stemming from certain prescription drugs— fit to print becomes s*** to print without so much as a blink. He’s been suffering from this biformity for a while .

In Harris’s recent report on the Lancet retraction , he demonstrated his grasp of the concept of inconsistency when he painted vaccine injury proponents as virtual flip-floppers regarding  autism causation theories:

 “After Dr. Wakefield’s study, vaccination rates plunged in Britain and the number of measles cases soared.   

Coalition for Vaccine Safety Asks Parents to Contact Media

Managing Editor's note: The Coalition for Vaccine Safety has issued the following request:

We are asking parents who have a child who was injured by vaccines or who had a case the Omnibus Autism Proceedings to please contact their local media outlets and tell them your story and how these decisions impact your family in an effort to get this story out to the public. Feel free to use the talking points provided below. Please report back to AOA the responses you receive and stories published by leaving a comment this post. Should you need any assistance in your efforts please contact the Coalition for Vaccine Safety.

Late last Friday, at the end of week’s news cycle, the Court of Federal Claims released its decisions in the second set of “test cases” for the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. These three cases alleged that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines, contributed to autism. The Special Masters who heard the claims ruled against the three petitioners, just as they had ruled against three test cases last year on a related theory that thimerosal and the mumps-measles-rubella vaccine together caused autism. The breaking story of fraud at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) involving Dr. Poul Thorsen, a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote studies supporting the claim of no mercury-autism link, casts further doubt on the Special Masters’ decisions. The emerging evidence of Dr. Thorsen’s embezzlement of $2 million and falsehoods about his employment raise further questions about the integrity and validity of the much criticized epidemiology that under girds the no mercury-autism link. Especially because the Court in part relies on these studies to reach its conclusions, this deepening imbroglio may explain why the Court sought an eleventh hour release of its long-awaited and critically important decisions. 

Here are the three main take-away points:

1. The Special Masters protected the vaccine program – and denied justice to vaccine-injured children.

2. Vaccines cause autism – this Court and HHS have previously acknowledged that.

3. These decisions highlight the inadequacy and possible suppression of vaccine safety science. 

Brian Deer Blunders in British Medical Journal

By John Stone

A blunder by Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer has left him exposed in the columns of British Medical Journal on-line, leaving open the question of how he could have legally obtained information on the background to cases in the disputed Lancet study including the identities of the patients and their families (HERE). 

Deer had intervened in continuing correspondence following ‘the findings of fact’ in the General Medical Council case against Andrew Wakefield, John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch, and the Lancet’s decision to retract the 1998 paper. Misunderstanding a claim by distinguished US paediatrician and autism/vaccine campaigner,  Ed Yazbak, that his grandson was one of the Royal Free cases, Deer wrote:

“I know the names and family backgrounds of all 12 of the children enrolled in the study, including the child enrolled from the United States. I don't believe that Dr Yazbak has a family relationship with any of them.”

In fact, Yazbak had never intended to imply that his grandson was one of the original 12, only that he had been a patient at the Royal Free and had been included in ongoing research into autism, gut disease and MMR at the hospital.

The issue of Deer’s access to confidential patient material had arisen before - both in relation to articles in the Sunday Times and to posts on his website - but there had never been opportunity to question him about it in a public forum before. Deer was immediately embarrassed by a mild mannered response from Yazbak, pointing out the misunderstanding, but asking how he came by such information, and a more caustic one by well-known New Zealand vaccine campaigner, Hilary Butler.

Yazbak rejoindered:

“ It almost seems that Mr. Deer is less upset about what I wrote than about the fact that some web site somewhere had picked it up. I certainly have no idea where my remarks were circulated and by whom and I have no control of that.

“In any case: If anyone else misunderstood my statement (s), I sincerely apologize for the confusion. No deceit was ever intended! I must say that I am troubled that Mr. Deer was able to obtain the names and family backgrounds of the 12 original study patients.

“I am also surprised that he finds it fair to censor my defense of Dr. Wakefield after he subjected him to public flagellation for so long. Maybe it is time for Mr. Deer to take a deep breath and relax. “

Coalition for Vaccine Safety Explains the Autism Omnibus Proceeding

Managing Editor's note: The following information is to assist you in speaking to media, friends, family and colleagues from the Coalition for Vaccine Safety: 

Please contact local media to discuss the Omnibus Autism Proceeding decisions.  Here are the three main take-away points:

1. The Special Masters protected the vaccine program – and denied justice to vaccine-injured children.

2. Vaccines cause autism – this Court and HHS have previously acknowledged that.

3. These decisions highlight the inadequacy and possible suppression of vaccine safety science. 

1. The Special Masters protected the vaccine program – and denied justice to vaccine-injured children.

a. The Special Masters’ denied compensation to the King, Mead and Dwyer families apparently out of the misguided government policy that their role is to protect the vaccine program before doing justice for vaccine-injured children. 

b. They apparently believe that if they acknowledge that mercury causes autism, parents will stop vaccinating their children.  Based on this policy, the court failed to weigh the evidence in an impartial way. 

c. The scientific evidence at the hearing that mercury causes neurological and immune damage to infants leading to autism was credible and strong. 

d. The petitioners met their burden of proof to show that the thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) they received more likely than not contributed to their autism.  These petitioners will likely appeal.

2. Vaccines cause autism – this Court and HHS have previously acknowledged that.

a. HHS conceded in the 2008 Poling case that Hannah Poling’s autism was caused by vaccines affecting her mitochondrial condition. 

CBS News on Thimerosal Vaccine Court Rulings

AoA Contributor Mary Holland was interviewed by Elaine Quijano of CBS News on the recent vaccine court ruling. In case you are unfamiliar with Mary, her bio at NYU School of Law reads: Mary Holland is Director of the Graduate Legal Skills Program at New York University School of Law. Educated at Harvard and Columbia Universities, Holland has worked in international public and private law. Prior to joining NYU, Holland worked for six years at major U.S. law firms, with three years based in Moscow, Russia. She also worked at a major U.S. human rights advocacy organization as Director of its European Program. After graduating law school, she clerked for a federal district court judge. She has taught international law courses at Columbia Law School and has served as a consultant to the Aspen Institute Justice and Society Program. She co-founder of the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy and on the steering committee of the Coalition for Vaccine Safety. Thank you, Mary.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

A Mother's Perspective: What is Autism?

By J. Lorraine Martin

Over the fifteen years I’ve raised my autistic son, I’ve struggled to articulate to others the pain of the journey.  I’ve read reflections equating autism to an unplanned trip to Holland.  When one has laid on a cold, tiled floor in a darkened room with an autistic child beating his head with his fists in sheer catastrophic angst, screaming “I’m afraid!” and “Make this stop!” and one craves rescue both for them self and their child, Holland is simply a fairytale. Another essay that came my way suggests the universe is paying me a compliment as I was selected for this role because I was so patient and wise; I’m encouraged to gaze at my saintly self in the mirror.

These reflections ring untrue in my mind.  Here is how I have experienced autism…

Autism is an empty suitcase. Upon receiving the diagnosis, you will hear and see volumes of theories and remedies, with no definitive answer in sight; it is to be overwhelmed with the emptiness of the suitcase placed in your hand and the myriad choices of what to pack.   
Autism is an empty guidebook. You will hold the book in your hands looking for answers, but you will painfully come to understand your job is to fill the blank pages with your own words, your own map, your own best guess at solving its riddles; your child is like no other despite the commonality of a label.

Autism isn’t locatable.  It is a mysterious an endless array of degrees of longitude and latitude, not confined to one defining point on a map.  You often have the sense “Where am I?  Where am I going?”

Winner: Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons

OzCeejay has won a signed copy of "Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism" by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons, published by Skyhorse Publishing with an afterword by Teri Arranga of Autism One. The authors are both Autism dads. This book features a compendium of treatments, described by experts in that area, from behavioral therapy to psychiatric drugs to chelation. It's a real A-Z explanation of choices and something I think has been missing from our libraries for some time. I'm glad to see so many options between the covers. The list of the therapies is below. 

Purchase Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism today! Contest is CLOSED.

1.
Allergies, Their Role and Treatment in Autism
by Dr. Marvin Boris 6

2.
Animal-Assisted Interventions and Persons with Autism Spectrum
Disorders by Dr. Aubrey Fine 10

3.
Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social Therapy
by Dr. Marga Hogenboom and Paula Moraine 17

4.
Antiepileptic Medications by Dr. Richard E. Frye 22

Age of Autism Commenter of the Week 3/13

Our commenter of the week is "Steve, Autism Dad" on the post: Did Kathleen Sebelius Pressure Media to Deny Vaccine Safety Voices? Here's my idea: every chance we get, when somebody says vaccines have been proven to be safe, refer to it as "tobacco science" great term, Jake!

 Didn't win but still want a T-shirt? Taking a page from public television, we'll happily send you one as our thank you for making a donation to A of A via our PayPal donate button.  You choose the donation amount. OK? Please tell us on the PayPal form if you want an adult M, L, XL or 2XL and include your mailing  address in the comments box at PayPal. Click below to  to see the back of the shirt.

ABC News Features TACA's Rebecca Estepp on Thimerosal Autism Cases

From ABC News. The video features TACA's Rebecca Estepp. The first line is terribly misleading. The decision of a court doesn't mean the charges are not true. Acquittal does not equal innocent.Right OJ? Thanks to Rebecca for going on camera on behalf of families.

Millions of parents who for years had feared a vaccine was to blame for their child's autism learned today that is not the case. At least according to a special federal court, which -- while expressing sympathy for families -- found no direct link between autism and the vaccine additive Thimerosal. The ruling by the so-called vaccine court means that those families are ineligible to receive federal victim compensation. So tonight, we ask: Is this ruling enough to convince you there is no connection between vaccination and autism?http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/03/thimerosal-in-vaccine-out-as-autism-cause-.html

The Fallacy of Thimerosal Removal & Autism Increase: A Failure of Science, A Bigger Failure to Children Worldwide

By Jake Crosby
 
Readers of Age of Autism are aware of the term “the big hungry lie” coined by regular contributor J.B. Handley, used to describe the tactics of the CDC and the drug industry’s attempts to disassociate autism from vaccines in any way, shape, or form.
 
Perhaps the biggest lie of all is the one that has been repeated all too long, that after thimerosal was reduced or eliminated from vaccines, autism rates continued to go up. There have been multiple instances of this claim and each time it has been proven false, right up to the recent lie that after thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 2001, autism rates continue to increase. These two claims, the first that thimerosal was removed from vaccines, and the second that autism rates have not gone down as a result, continue to be used to justify the injection of thimerosal into pregnant women and children with flu shots. The claims have also been used to justify the immunization of children in developing countries with vaccines preserved with thimerosal. Sadly, neither claim is any more truthful than previous equally erroneous claims, the earliest of which originated from Scandinavia, then spread to Canada and most recently came out of California.
 
Cold-Blooded Lies
 
The paper by Stehr-Green et al., for example, purported to study autism rates in Sweden after thimerosal removal in 1993, but only hospitalizations in relation to autism were analyzed. Anyone remotely familiar with autism knows that it is not the kind of condition for which one would typically go to a hospital for treatment.
 
In the same study were also analyses of autism rates in Denmark, which were even more flawed. Many here remember the infamous Danish studies published in 2003, which served as the primary basis for the IOM’s predetermined conclusion in 2004, that autism rates shot up after thimerosal removal in 1992. In reality what happened was the Danish were worried there was a connection between thimerosal and autism, and right after thimerosal was eliminated from all their vaccines, they rapidly changed their registration program to include a lot more children. Such an interpretation of these studies -- designed by the CDC, and conducted by Statens Serum Institut, the largest vaccine-manufacturer in Denmark -- that autism rates skyrocketed after thimerosal removal, can be regarded as little more than propaganda.
 
When SafeMinds reanalyzed the data of the latest Denmark study, Hviid et al., by applying the same standards of higher case ascertainment to children born before 1992, they found a prevalence of 1 in 500, compared to a prevalence of 1 in 1,500 ten years later, a 66% drop. Unfortunately, this would not be the last time the CDC would design such self-contradicting studies.

The New-n-Improved Play Now for Autism Benefits Generation Rescue

Play Now for Autism will be returning for a second year. After last year’s successful baseball event, the committee decided to bring it back. The event is set to return March 28, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA. The event will be held at the Montecito Heights Recreation Center (4545 Homer St., Los Angeles, CA 90031). It will begin at 11am and go on until around 4pm. The event will consist of two baseball games. The first game, beginning at noon, will solely be for children with autism while the second game will invite others on to the field for a game too. Children with autism that participate in the baseball game will be given a free baseball and a free t-shirt. 

Many changes for the event have been made. This year will feature some of the same attractions (petting zoo, arts & crafts, etc) but will have a much bigger and better resource fair. Everything in the resource fair will be related to autism. A book signing by the event’s creator, Zack Gonzalez, will also be held from 2pm-3pm. He will be selling and signing his new book, Saving Deets!: A Family’s Journey with Autism. The event will have a whole houraside from the baseball games & performances where attendees can mingle and go through the resource fair. During this hour (2pm-3pm) autograph signings and mini presentations will be held amongst the different booths. 
 
The event will host more performances than last year’s event, as well. The event will, again, be selling Dodger Dogs and regular concession stand snacks, but this year,  GFCF (gluten-casein-free) treats will also be available. You can expect to see more Los Angeles Dodger Legends along with last year’s Bobby Castillo and Jim Gott.

Registration to play has already begun. To register your child with autism for this event, be a volunteer for this event, or if you are interested in being a vendor or booth holder for this event please email either, PLAYNOW4AUTISM@ymail.com or info@zackgonzalez.com

All the proceeds from the Play Now for Autism 2010 Baseball Event will be donated to Jenny McCarthy’s non-profit  autism organization, Generation Rescue, and go toward family grants. The grants will help the families fund for biomedical interventions and more!
 
For more information on this event please visit www.myspace.com/playnowforautism or Zack Gonzalez or Generation Rescue.