AGE OF AUTISM

Olmsted on Autism: The China Syndrome

By Dan Olmsted, WASHINGTON, Aug. 30

In my first column for Rescue Post, I wrote about the irony that America sends mercury-laced childhood vaccines to China, and China sends lead-toxic toys to the USA -- an "instant karma" lesson that heavy metals are unsafe for children anywhere on the planet.

This week I was reminded that China is zapping us with mercury, too -- and it could be a key factor in the relentless rise in autism rates here. On Sunday, The New York Times began a series on pollution in China and how it is devastating that country even as it fuels an unprecedented "economic miracle." The fuel, literally, is coal, and mercury is a toxic byproduct when it's burned.

How much coal? Oh, brother.

IOM and a Three Letter Word

By Kelli Ann Davis

"But" 

At first glance, not really an impressive word and definitely not one I thought much about…at least, not in my spare time - and as a mother of a child with autism, I can tell you “spare” as in money, time, hands, is not a reality in my neck of the woods - not, that is, until I realized just how much of a wallop this tiny, 3 letter word had when placed strategically within the confines of a news story.

And that "eureka" moment - the one where my spare time became consumed by that pesky, 3 letter word - occurred about two years ago…shortly after the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – IOM, another 3 letter word that used up my spare time - released its official "findings" in regards to the possible link between autism and vaccines.

Champagne Wishes and IEP Dreams

By Kim Stagliano

It's back to school time! I don't know about you, but I have the bottle of bubbly chillin' in the fridge and when the school bus chugs away, so will I. 

2007, Professor, "There Is No Cure For Autism"

"There's no cure for autism, and many parents are willing to believe anything if they come to think it could help their child."  James Mulick, Professor, Ohio State University

This is what you're up against when you get an autism diagnosis. People in charge of major national programs who believe and TEACH that if you have a child with autism, throw in the towel, toss your hopes in the trash, call the local group home and book your kid's reservation now. This guy also wrote a book about it.

This is also why Rescue Post exists.  Read more below.

KNBC LA Shows Autism & Recovered Child on Air

KNBC Los Angeles aired this piece on the vaccine/autism connection.  Local TV seems to have more chutzpah than its national counterpart.  This segment is a nice change from the company line so often spoken, "There is no autism epidemic and if there was there's nothing you can do about it since it's all genetic and there's no hope or cure for autism anyway."

Here, watch some TV.

Dr. Jayne Donegan Cleared of Misconduct in UK

Dr. Donegan was called as an expert witness in a vaccine injury case in the UK. This announcement was on her website this morning:

Dr Jayne Donegan MBBS DRCOG DCH DFFP MRCGP MFHom

August 24 2007 - Statement from Dr Jayne L M Donegan, who was today cleared of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council.

Hello, Detox. How’s it going?

By Cathy Jameson

I check my favorite Yahoo Message Group--ChelatingKids2 (CK2)--daily which really means almost hourly.  I leave the web window opened all day and refresh the page frequently.  As soon as I can break away from my chores and kids, I link to the outside world. By the end of one day, I may have checked the board up to seven times to read as many as 80 messages. The Old Timers have subscribed to the group eons ago and are years ahead of Ronan’s recovery.  Parents like me are on the board doing biomedical intervention for 2-3 years, but we still feel like Newbies absorbing every single message. Then there are the New Newbies who have joined only weeks ago.  It’s sad to read their messages because their stories remind me so much of my own.  I want to cry every time I see and “Hi, I’m new here; I need help.”  The New Newbies are immediately welcomed and find themselves quite at home researching with the rest of us. 

Thank You JAMA, HPV Vaccine Warning

The FDA and Merck are conducting clinical trials on your daughters with the new HPV vaccine. Your pediatrician is lying if he/she tells you it's safe and fully tested for your 11 eleven year old daughter.   If he hasn't done his homework, that shouldn't become your child's health problem.

Why did the FDA approve this vaccine for an age group on which it was not tested? Why is Merck pushing it for pre-teen girls? Have they learned nothing from the myriad drug recalls of late?

The AMA Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) warns Legislators about mandatory HPV vaccine:

JAMA excerpt: "However, the rush to make HPV vaccination mandatory in school-aged girls presents ethical concerns and is likely to be counterproductive."

Suzanne Wright Promised Autism Speaks will Study Mercury and Autism

By Kim Stagliano

This has been a difficult post for me to write. I have a two and a half minute video clip of Suzanne Wright making a serious promise at the end of this post.

I have no intention of embarrassing or disparaging Suzanne Wright, founder of Autism Speaks.  But she promised me, and hundreds of others, that Autism Speaks is going to study vaccines, mercury, Thimerosal and autism over a year ago. 

You'll need the latest version of Quicktime to run the clip. Download it free from www.apple.com/quicktime/player

Pediatric Specialist Doubts Mercury Link, One Doc Responds

When the Autism Omnibus trial ended, a pediatric specialist wrote an editorial for the Contra Costa Times in which he claimed, "The autism omnibus trial has ended not with a bang but a whimper. The trial, brought by 5,000 families seeking financial compensation because they believe that vaccines cause autism, showed the world what most of us in the medical community already know: There is no such link, nor has there ever been."

You can read his full editorial here.  If you can not open the link, you can try to paste this address into your browser:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6487989?source=most_emailed

A doctor who was willing to stick her neck out (and we thank her) named Lynne Mielke responded with the following commentary.

Olmsted on Autism: Get the lead out

By DAN OLMSTED

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 -- Is it just me, or is there an "instant karma" quality to the news that the Chinese are endangering American kids by exposing them to a heavy metal that is a known neurotoxin?

I'm referring, of course, to the fact that thousands of toys imported from China, just recalled by Mattel, were found to contain lead that could harm children if they mouthed them. (Kids don't ever mouth toys, do they?)

Lead, we know, is bad. It's so bad there is no safe level. It stunts the brain and body in both blatant and subtle ways, lowering IQs and so on.

Kind of like organic mercury, right? Kind of like the organic mercury we phased out of most of our own vaccines but say is just fine for everybody else -- including a billion Chinese? (At least Mattel did a full and immediate recall rather than offer to phase out the leaded toys as toddlers outgrew them.)

And the similarities don't stop there. As with mercury, knowledge that lead is deadly spans millennia, and clear evidence of pediatric lead poisoning emerged by 1904 – yet lead actually became ubiquitous after that, powering the rise of the automobile and peaking in the environment in the 1970s. It was then that a courageous, much-vilified scientist named Herb Needleman showed a dose response between lead exposure and IQ -- enough "proof" to get the feds to finally face up to the truth.

MESSAGE BOARD BUZZ. Autism Speaks Selects Eric London?

Scenario A) Mrs. Smith? My name is Michael Jackson. Oh, that's so lovely. Thank you! Yes, I'm so glad you enjoyed my songs in the 1980's. Well, you see, the thing is, speaking of "Beat It" I'm soooooo excited to tell you that I will be Johnny's cubby scout leader this year, and our first trip is to Neverland Ranch to study the night time habits of the habitual bed sharer!

(So we at Rescue Post ask, are you nervous, Mrs. Smith? Oops! Careful not to pull Johnny's arm out of its socket as you yank him away from Mr. Jackson and drag him home to safety!)

Scenario B) "Like, um, hi! I'm, um, Lindsay Lohan. Welcome to the DARE 2007 Just Say No (sniff, sniff, anyone got a tissue?) conference."

(Feeling confident, Mom and Dad? You'd better hide your twenty dollar bills.....)  Now try this one on for size:

Scenario C) Eric London, psychiatrist and founder of NAAR, is about to be put in charge of alternative treatment research for Autism Speaks. 

Sorry, but that one just might be true.

Spontaneous Horsepucky

By J.B. Handley

Have you ever tried to talk to someone involved with autism from the “other” side about recovered children?

Typically, the conversation goes something like this:

Us: So you think autism is a genetic condition and biomedical intervention is quackery?

Them: Yes, exactly.

Us: But what about the children who are recovered, how do you explain them?

Aluminum, Antimony, Autism and Answers

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

“There were incidents and accidents.  There were hints and allegations . . .”
You Can Call Me Al – By Paul Simon

As my wife and I are well into our eighth year of dealing with our daughter’s seizure disorder and autism I thought I’d delve into some of the more confounding elements of this issue.

THE ROLE OF MERCURY

Although we’ve done more than forty urine toxic metals tests for Jacqueline we’ve never been able to measure more than twice the normal amount of mercury coming out of her.  However, we have recorded aluminum levels at eighty times normal (one of the highest levels our doctor had ever seen), antimony at twelve times normal, lead at six times normal, tin at eighteen times normal, and uranium at twenty-eight times normal. 

The Thimerosal Shield

By J.B. Handley

Thimerosal is now the shield protecting the Centers for Disease Control and pharmaceutical manufacturers from culpability in the autism epidemic, taking the focus away from a schedule that has grown from 10 vaccines to 36 vaccines in 20 years.

The PR spin is aided by reporters who rarely appreciate or understand the complex argument many parents, doctors, and researchers are making to explain what has happened to make so many children sick.

This article from the Boston Globe -- “Under Suspicion” -- is perhaps the best recent example of the challenging PR spin the mainstream is having to create to explain the seemingly contradictory points that:

• Autism is indeed on the rise and therefore the environment must be part of the reason

• But, in no uncertain terms can vaccines have anything to do with the rise. (We ask, isn't a child's bloodstream and immune system part of his environment?)

Say it ain't so GI Joe!

More toys recalled for lead. All produced in China. Where else? We demand cheap products and so we get them. And as in most things in life, you get what you pay for.   And at the end of the day, our kids pay the highest price of all.

Laissez faire and caveat emptor, right? 

Better put some EDTA in those Polly Pocket baby bottles.  For those of you outside of the autism treatment world, EDTA is the prescribed treatment for lead poisoning - it's called heavy metal chelation.  Every pediatrician in the world knows about it. And knows it works to remove metals from the system. However, to use chelation appropriately, you first have to acknowledge that there ARE metals in the system. It's easy to blame Mattel for lead. Not so easy for docs to blame themselves for mercury in our childrens' bodies.

1.  Mattel Recalls Batman(tm) and One Piece(tm) Magnetic Action Figure
Sets Due To Magnets Coming Loose
2.  Mattel Recalls "Sarge" Die Cast Toy Cars Due To Violation of Lead
Safety Standard
3.  Mattel Recalls Barbie and Tanner(tm) Magnetic Toys Due to Magnets
Coming Loose
4.  Mattel Recalls Doggie Day Care(tm) Magnetic Toys Due to Magnets
Coming Loose
5.  Additional Reports of Magnets Detaching from Polly Pocket Play Sets
Prompts Expanded Recall by Mattel

You can find the Consumer Products Safety Commission site and the list of recalls HERE.

The Karate-Chopping Kid

By Cathy Jameson

When I started to suspect an autism diagnosis for my older son Ronan, one of the books I grabbed from our library was Catherine Maurice’s book “Let me hear your voice.”  I already scoured technical books and found plenty of websites on autism and biomedical treatments.  I wasn’t ready to do all that work to make food from scratch and experiment with hundreds of vitamins.  I needed to find something more ‘human’ and Maurice’s book about her children’s recovery from autism was exactly what I needed.

A Message from the Editor

We'd like to clarify our mission at Rescue Post. We provide information on current treatments and news related to autism. While we encourage all readers, we will not allow comments that denigrate our writers.  You can disagree with the information in a post, but we will monitor the tone of the comment.  Also, we will monitor comments that are communication between readers.  We have no intention of entering into the negative fray that exists in other online commmunities.

We hope you will gain knowledge here that will help a child with autism.  If your goal is simply to debunk the efforts of others or ridicule our writers or our commenters, Rescue Post is not the site for you.

Thank you.

Kim Stagliano, Rescue Post Editor

Everyday I'm Thankful

By Julie Obradovic

Everyday I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that while it took years to figure out what was wrong with my daughter, during that time I was not corrupted by people who told me there was nothing I could do. Their ignorance instead...."Wait and see"...."Not all kids develop the same way"...."Don't compare her to her brother"....just may have been her saving grace.

For you see, by not "comparing her to her brother", I allowed her to slip into a scary, painful world where she stayed for a long time, but is now no longer a part of. Had I been given different advice, been given a label, I shudder to think what I would have done. Based on what most parents are being told now-a-days, it probably wouldn't have been much.

Remembering those three years is hard though. Very hard.

My Child: A Former "Non-Responder"

By Lisa Poole

Michael developed severe diarrhea at about 10 months of age, after a HepB vaccine in 1994. We removed dairy, which relieved the diarrhea, but over the next two years he lost what little language he had and regressed slowly into autism.  When we were told he had autism, we removed gluten from his diet and began researching treatment alternatives.

Using the DAN! Protocol, we had various tests done and added many supplements to his diet. Over the years, when a new treatment came up on the internet lists, such as secretin, we pursued it for him. In 2000, we did HBOT.  In 2002 we did chelation. That year he had his first grand-mal seizure. We put him on medication for that. We did an MRI. In 2004 we began working with a well-known classical homeopath and stayed with her for 1.5 years. Nothing brought improvements and in the case of chelation, it worsened his condition.

A Company of Heroes

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

A few weeks ago I went kayaking with my father-in-law at a local reservoir.  I’ve always enjoyed my father-in-law as we share a love of literature and the outdoors.  My wife has several siblings who live in close proximity and when we get together for family functions there’s usually great amiability and plenty of food, but often little chance for deep conversation.

But as my father-in-law and I were out on the peaceful lake and he was asking me some really good questions about the Autism Omnibus Trial which I covered for this web-site he asked something which I think could be asked of every one of us.

He said, “Kent, when you consider what you and Linda have done for Jacqueline over the years, do you think of yourselves as heroic, or does that thought even cross your mind?”

U Cal Davis Environmental Autism Study

Will the autism epidemic denial crew and the pure genetics crowd lose their "marbles" when they learn of this study?   

From the Sacremento Bee Newspaper:

By Dorsey Griffith - Bee Medical Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Researchers have long suspected that autism's causes are rooted in one's genes, combined with some kind of a hit from the environment.

But pinpointing the interplay of these factors has been daunting, in part because the probing tends to come after a child is diagnosed.
A new study at UC Davis will examine potential clues pointing to the neurodevelopmental disorder before it occurs -- prior to birth and during a baby's earliest years.

"We are quite concerned about the role that environment might play in autism," said Nigel Fields, a scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one of two federal agencies to fund the $7.5 million research. "We would like to understand the complex interaction of genes and environmental factors as early in the developmental process as possible."

Massachusetts/Rhode Island Autism Center Event

Hopewell Autism Initiative is holding a fundraising event to benefit its newest project:  The Gottschall Autism Center.

The Gottschall Autism Center Fundraising Gala will be held on Friday, September 7th at 5:30pm at White’s of Westport, 66 State Road, Westport MA.

The evening will begin with a cocktail hour and the chance to meet and mingle with local politicians and business people, autism professionals, and parents of children and adults with autism.  Join our Honorary Host, Wendy Fournier, President of the National Autism Association, as we introduce The Gottschall Autism Center, and enjoy the comedy of the wonderful Loretta LaRoche and the music of the incomparable Livingston Taylor.  The evening will also feature a sumptuous buffet and a silent auction.

For tickets, additional information, or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Pam Ferro at 508-941-4791 or visit www.gottschallcenter.com.

Autism was once thought to be a rare developmental disorder but is now being diagnosed with alarming frequency.  Autism Spectrum Disorder currently affects one in every 122 children in Massachusetts. 

Every person with autism has unique gifts to contribute to society.  The Gottschall Autism Center is committed to facilitating the revelation of those gifts.  The Center will partner with families to provide children and adults with optimal health interventions, support services, educational enrichment, and employment opportunities.

Please join The Gottschall Autism Center  team on our journey of creating a community campus that will provide an individualized biomedical and nutritional plan for children with Autism, an educational program for parents and families, as well as employment opportunities for adults with Autism. 

To receive more information about Autism or The Gottschall Autism Center, please contact us at 508-941-4791 or visit www.gottschallcenter.com.

Docs Afraid of Informed Parents?

What is the reaction of pediatricians who are seeing more families questioning and avoiding the dozens of childhood vaccines thrust at their children? A marketing CD-ROM to train docs in how to convince parents that vaccines are safe.  Not more research into the effects of the ingredients in vaccines. Not a study or two to investigate whether maybe 48+ jabs before age six has repercussions for a subset of children.  A CD-ROM.

What's next? A "Victor the Vaccine" Webkin giveaway??

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 02 - A pediatrician at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has developed a CD-ROM-based tutorial to help primary care providers deal more effectively with parents' concerns about childhood immunization.

"Despite their remarkable success, along with the very real dangers of vaccine preventable illnesses, there is growing concern among parents over the appropriateness of immunization," Dr. Benjamin H Levi notes in the July issue of Pediatrics

Not Even One Shot for That Guy in a Cave?

Why is an American state donating vaccines to a foreign country at all? This is an odd story.  And are these really the people we want tick off any further?

Yahoo news reports:

CHICAGO - Millions of dollars worth of flu vaccine that Illinois donated to Pakistan after federal regulators refused to allow it into the U.S. never helped anyone, according to a published report.

Pakistani health officials destroyed the quarter-million doses of vaccine, worth $2.6 million, because the expiration date had passed, The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.

"After all, human beings are equal. They are not guinea pigs. And vaccines, if they are not good in one country, they should not be usable in another country," said Pakistan's retired Lt. Gen. Farooq Ahmad Khan, who coordinated relief for the Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake that killed 80,000 people.

Sensory Integration and Biochemistry

By Ronna Hochbein. OTR/L

Once, in what seems another life to me now, I worked for a plastic hand surgeon. I was responsible for the rehab of all sorts of bizarre diagnoses such as MCP implant arthroplasties, tendon transfers, and amputations. We fabricated splints with moving parts that would impress many who saw them.

I had my children, two at the time, my husband and my dream job. All was well. Then the looming specter of a magazine appeared in my mailbox one day. "Special needs Parenting Magazine." I felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. My children were fine, why in the world did this magazine arrive at our house?

David Kirby on Air America Today with RFK Jr.

David Kirby, author of Evidence of Harm, will be on Air America's RING OF FIRE with Robert F. Kennedy Junior, between 3pm and 6pm today, August 4th.  The webcast is HERE.

David amazes us at every turn with his diligence and dedication to the autism community. Thank you, David. Thank you, Robert.

A Parent Seizes The Science, a Child's Seizures STOP

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

One of the more common accusations leveled against the community of parents who believe vaccines are at the heart of their children’s neurological problems is that we don’t value science.  This was probably best expressed by the headline of an article in The New York Times from June 25, 2005 which declared, “On Autism’s Cause, It’s Parents vs. Research.”

Christians Sniffing at the Pharma Lions

All we can say is, "Thank God." The Christian Broadcast Network surprised us with this video. Questioning the mass vaccination of every child with a one size fits all approach will lead to research. Research will tell us if our current program is safe. Getting the word out is our goal here at Rescue Post. Parents should be able to participate in INFORMED CONSENT. Not blind faith.

"He was a normal 18 month old with a 10 word vocabulary. Then two days after Jeremy received a shot for diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus, he was in the hospital."

Watch the video here.

A Child Regresses, You Tube Video

This is a video that shows a child's regression into autism.

Rachel Hellewell, the Mom in this video says, "Kim, I feel like our family owes Generation Rescue a ton of thanks. Your site, GFCF kids (a Yahoo group about diet and autism) and Talk About Curing Autism started me on this journey. Before finding them on the internet I was terrified and had no hope at all for my son. It seems funny that you are going to put my video on GR when that is where I started. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

No Rachel, thank you. You can watch the You Tube video HERE.

J.B. Handley Radio Interview

Check out this PODCAST of an interview with Generation Rescue Co-Founder J.B. Handley, published by Coy Barefoot on the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.

The Kids are NOT All Right

The Daily Mail reports Ritalin use skyrocketing in the UK. Docs are throwing drugs at children with limited diagnosis time. Parents don't bother to question the safety of the drugs, or their own parenting ability. Just drug the kid and make everyone's life easier. Where's the Super Nanny when you need her?

We realize Ritalin is a life saver for some kids. We do. But we question that there are millions of children who need the drug.

Justice for Justice Roberts?

By Kim Stagliano

Justice Roberts had his second seizure last week. His first was in the early 1990's. Therefore, the neurology community considers him to meet the criteria for epilepsy. I think that's a travesty of justice. The docs' response? "Put him on anti-seizure drugs immediately." Even though the drugs bring with them potentially serious side effects.