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By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
The autism community may have found a new rallying cry.
On last Wednesday's Larry King Live show (Click here to find the Podcast of the show) on CNN Jenny McCarthy was asked if knowing what she knows now, would she choose to vaccinate another child. “No way in hell,” she replied, and I felt my heart stop.
“No way in hell.”
By J.B. Handley
Bummer. That’s my reaction after reading the report examining allegations of misconduct between CDC and IOM by the Senate HELP Committee.
From sources I trust, the folks at HELP seemed pretty genuine in getting to an answer, so I’m not going to second-guess what they concluded. At least we all now know that third world countries are still getting Thimerosal-containing vaccines.
Here is the HELP report from the "Executive Summary of the Ranking Member on Alleged Misconduct by Government Agencies and Private Entities Related to Thimerosal in Childhood Vaccines." Most of the allegations were not substantiated.
Well, now that we know our government agencies are spiffy clean and always taking care of the American people, I guess we can all go back to playing with our lead filled toys and pop a Vioxx for the headache many of us feel approaching.
Check this out on MSN. Jenny McCarthy and autism recovery are on the A-list. And DAN! is listed right there on the top right.
LONDON (Reuters) - A set of pearls once belonging to Marie Antoinette and taken to Britain by a friend for safekeeping will go on sale in December, and are expected to fetch up to $800,000. Full story HERE.
We fully expect Autism Speaks to buy the pearls and use them for their next fund raiser or simply display them in their offices at Two Park Avenue in New York City.
"LET THEM EAT CAKE." Yes, gluten and casein free cake at that.
By Cheryl Bailey
In the wake of Jenny McCarthy’s run away newest book, Louder Than Words, the CDC scrambles to once again set the public at large free of the guilt that toxins such as those found in childhood vaccines could ever cause autism.
Hop over to Huffington Post to read David Kirby's latest and greatest titled: CDC, Mercury in Vaccines.
The CDC reports Thimerosal may offer benefits including an increased IQ. Well then line up your children for 100 shots! But didn't CDC ask manufacturers to remove the Thimerosal in 1999 in case there was a safety issue, although they said there wasn't but pulled it anyway? Oh gosh, it's all just so confusing. Perhaps that's the point?
Click HERE for the transcript from last night's Larry King Live.
By Anne McElroy Dachel
I listened to ABC NEWS tonight waiting for the story about the new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines with mercury and autism. I watched commercials for prescription pharmaceutical products like Advair and wondered what influence the drug industry has on ABC NEWS. The ABC report on the CDC study again dismissed any suspicion that the mercury used in vaccination is linked to autism.
Continue reading "AGAIN: A STUDY SHOWS NO LINK BETWEEN VACCINES AND AUTISM" »
By J.B. Handley
I’m not sure why CDC employees wear sailor suits, but after Jenny McCarthy’s two week talk show romp, they’ll be bailing water out of battleship CDC for months to come.
On Larry King Live, Jenny ripped the hull right off the frame, going as far as to say there’s no way in hell she would vaccinate another child if she had one.
Continue reading "Jenny McCarthy Missile Sinks USS Gerberding" »
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 -- One of the best journalism movies ever is called "Shattered Glass." It's about the serial fabrications that a young, ambitious New Republic writer named Stephen Glass foisted off on his editors, and subsequently his readers. One too-good-to-be-true story after another made him into a minor celebrity in the DC-media-darling world until a reporter at Forbes Digital started making inquiries about a software startup Glass wrote about called Jukt Micronics. The Forbes reporter, chewed out by his boss for being scooped on his own beat, tried to do a follow-up story but couldn't find any evidence that Jukt even existed.
Behind the scenes, the CDC PR machine is running at full tilt to make a splash tomorrow regarding a study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine (thank you to www.autismlink.com for an early copy) titled: Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 and 10 years old, New England Journal of Medicine
By Kim Stagliano
Last night I had the great pleasure of watching my friend John Elder Robison launch his debut book, Look Me In The Eye, in New York City. John was diagnosed with Aspergers at age 40, after a lifetime of wondering what was "wrong" with him. (His words, not mine.) John's brother, author Augusten Burroughs suggested he write this book. And boy did he hit a homerun his first time at bat.
Ba-ba Wa-wa Don’t Know Nada.
So, there you have it, right there on The View: Barbara Walters says autism is not reversible and that Jenny McCarthy is giving false hope.
Meanwhile, Jenny McCarthy is sitting at the table, the mother of a recovered son. Off camera and back stage, Stan Kurtz is watching Barbara’s preposterous statement on an in-studio feed, mouth agape, himself the father of a recovered son.
And so it goes for thousands of parents around the country with recovered and recovering children.
Barbara, where exactly do you get your information to make such a sweeping statement? Is it OK to be 100% wrong about something and act like you are right?
If you’d like Barbara to hear your perspective, please write her and The View. From a TACA action alert:
WHAT DOYOU NEED TO DO? Your help needed is a quick email to Barbara
Walters at the View. Jenny needs our help.
WHO SHOULD EMAIL?: Anyone who has a child affected by autism and has
either:
a) benefited from biomedical treatment GREATLY (the definition of
greatly is up to you, the parent)
b) or HAS a recovered child
WHY?: The View folks think Jenny's message is an anomaly. Recovery is not
possible. Biomedical intervention does not work.
If you disagree with this opinion – we need your help. It is urgent.
The View main web site:
http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index
Ask the View:
http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/ask
PLEASE address your message to BARBARA WALTERS
PLEASE DO NOT HOLD BACK YOUR EMOTION. PLEASE SPEAK FROM THE HEART. It is imperative that family's stories are heard from those affected.
It is time to share information about your child and tell your story.
Your help is needed today. Right now. Please take the time if you
qualify for the WHO SHOULD EMAIL.
Click HERE to see the full page ad in USA Today from Generation Rescue. Pick up a copy today!
Click HERE to see the full page ad in USA Today from Generation Rescue. Pick up a copy today!
By J.B. Handley
Back in June, we released what we felt was an astonishing data set for the first ever study comparing the rates of ADHD, autism, and asthma between vaccinated children and unvaccinated children. Our conclusion was weighty:
"We surveyed over 9,000 boys in California and Oregon and found that vaccinated boys had a 155% greater chance of having a neurological disorder like ADHD or autism than unvaccinated boys."
And the mainstream media wouldn't touch it.
Continue reading "America, Meet Our Unvaccinated Kids, Version 2.0" »
By J.B. Handley
Back in June, we released what we felt was an astonishing data set for the first ever study comparing the rates of ADHD, autism, and asthma between vaccinated children and unvaccinated children. Our conclusion was weighty:
"We surveyed over 9,000 boys in California and Oregon and found that vaccinated boys had a 155% greater chance of having a neurological disorder like ADHD or autism than unvaccinated boys."
And the mainstream media wouldn't touch it.
Continue reading "America, Meet Our Unvaccinated Kids, Version 2.0" »
Last night I decided that we'd run enough posts about our enthusiasm for Jenny McCarthy's new book. Then I got a submission this morning from a Mom that made me change my mind. (Who wants a "waffle" for breakfast?) So THIS piece is the last one on Jenny McCarthy. Until the next one that makes me smile crosses my desk in oh, about an hour? Thanks to Barbie Hines, our newest contributor for her piece. Here it is:
By Barbie Hines
"OK."
I’m standing in my kitchen watching Good Morning America. I am still in my pajamas. If I run upstairs to shower, I may miss Jenny this morning. So my daughter may be a few minutes late for preschool. Oh well, priorities!
Jenny appears on my television screen. I say, “Go Jenny go.” My neurotypical daughter is next to me saying, “Go Benny go.” My son is also in the kitchen, jumping on his mini trampoline. I say, “Say it Jenny, say it.” My daughter says, “Say it Benny.” With the jumping and repeating going on behind me, I cannot hear the television well enough. And if I turn up the volume, it may hurt my son’s ears. So I turn off the dishwasher and move closer to the television.
We apologize for the computer gremlins last night. Eye test over.
By Kelli Ann Davis
“The Facts Ma’am, Just the Facts.” Anyone remember that phrase from yesteryear?
Yeah, I know. I’ve just given away my age but gosh, Dragnet was one of my absolute favorite shows at the time – along with The Green Hornet, Get Smart, The Flying Nun and The Mod Squad. (Don’t look at me. I didn’t pick the names; I just watched ‘em.)
Anyway, a recent article on Newsweek.com entitled "Raising Healthy Kids" got me to thinking about Joe Friday and that famous catch-phrase of his: “The facts Ma’am, just the facts”.
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
I have to admit that I’ve been puzzled this week by the appearance of Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete on the Oprah show.
It’s not that I wasn’t suspicious about their plans. I’d known about Jenny McCarthy’s book coming out for several months, and the vague statements about what the book contained made me think they were planning something big. I thought to myself, “If I was going to make an attack on the whole system, that’s the way I’d do it. Tease for a few months, then hit strong.”
by Nancy Hokkanen
For parents of children injured by vaccines, one logical followup to Jenny McCarthy’s appearance on “Oprah” would be putting representatives from the CDC on the Dr. Phil show.
Because, as Dr. Phil says, you can’t fix a problem if you don’t acknowledge it first.
How can the CDC fine-tune the quality of vaccines if the agency doesn't investigate parents' honest reports of their children's adverse reactions to shots?
Continue reading "Giving CDC Dysfunction the “Dr. Phil” Treatment" »
By J.B. Handley
Is it just me, or do Autism Speaks and the Wrights all of a sudden feel about three inches tall after Jenny’s appearance on Oprah?
Continue reading "Jordache Jeans, Betamax, Yugo, and Autism Speaks" »
by Julie Obradovic
There was something very subtle Oprah said at the end of the show on Tuesday that hasn't left my mind since. It was so subtle in fact, that I actually don't think I caught it until the second time I watched it.
Looking straight at Jenny and Holly, leaning in closely and appearing teary eyed, Oprah called them both "Warrior Moms".
"You are Mother Warriors," she said sincerely. "That's what you are."
I stopped in my tracks when I heard it. I think I even gasped out loud, holding my breath for a second.
"I AM a warrior mom!", I thought. "Damn right, I am! And there's no better term to describe exactly how I feel!"
I am a warrior mom.
A few months back I wrote a piece called "Welcome to the War on Disease", a parody of the CDC. In it, I sincerely claim our children are drafted soldiers, the front line if you will, of the current war on disease (real and imagined). They are mandated by law to participate, given all the same equipment regardless of ability to use it, and casually tossed to the side if they can't fulfill their duties. Only worse than real wars, they aren't revered as heroes, don't receive any public recognition, don't get help for their wounds, and are rarely compensated in any capacity for their sacrifice.
I stand by those words, and as sarcastic as it may have come across, I was dead serious.
I didn't know I was signing my children up for a war when I had them. And I didn't know they would be given faulty equipment just because it was easier to do that than distribute new arms. And most devastating of all, I didn't know one of my children would be a needless casualty.
But given that she was, that makes her a wounded veteran and a hero.
And I am her warrior mom.
By Ronna Hochbein
When Kim Stagliano asked me to write for the Rescue Post, I specifically requested that I only cover medical topics. Editorials were not my thing, I told her.
Well today I am making myself a liar and writing one for a most excellent reason. This day in the autism world is gargantuan, huge. Like the big tobacco scandal coming clean.
By Kelli Ann Davis
I knew the day was coming. With numbers like 1 in 150 children and 1 in 94 boys, “it” was bound to happen.
by Julie Obradovic
Sounds a bit like a punch line, eh?
I mean, if you heard it, you might think I meant "jeans" as in denim. But I don't, and this is certainly no attempt at making a joke. Today, I felt validated. For the first time in 3 years since joining the fight against Autism, I felt like I was heard.
Continue reading "Old Dads, Bad Genes and Jenny McCarthy..." »
By J.B. Handley
Help Wanted: Director of Media Relations for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control. Must be able to spin cow pies into gold and make pigs fly. Need you today!
In the always hot autism-vaccine debate, the CDC has taken their share of hits in recent years: David Kirby’s release of Evidence of Harm, Dan Olmsted’s consistently logical reporting for UPI (and now the Rescue Post), screaming parents in front of CDC headquarters, and a full page ad we ran in USA Today in 2006 blaming the CDC for causing the autism epidemic.
But, CDC has never met the category 5 shit-storm that blew into town yesterday after two angry moms, Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete, appeared on Oprah (the last truly national TV show in our new media world, with an estimated 10 million daily viewers).
Continue reading "Atlanta, We Have a Problem (and her name is Jenny McCarthy)" »
It's a good day at Rescue Post! We have new piece from the dedicated Dan Olmsted. Jenny McCarthy was fabulous on Oprah. And I have a new piece on Huffington Post called, "The Crapiside. Part Doo." I felt that the original piece, "The Crappy Life of the Autism Mom" needed a follow up.
Kim Stagliano, RP Editor and proud mom to Mia, Gianna and Bella
"Autism is reversible." Those are the words Jenny McCarthy read when she Googled "autism" after she wiped away the tears following her son's autism diagnosis. Had she linked to a hospital website? Her neurologist, pediatrician or school district's site? Nope. Sounds to me like Ms. McCarthy was fortunate to find the Generation Rescue site. GR gave her the hope and information she needed to act on behalf of her child. Seems to have worked out pretty well for her. And now she's talking about it.
By Dan Olmsted
Art Caplan, the University of Pennsylvania ethicist, certainly knows how to get a rise out of many parents of children with autism. Here's something he wrote in February: "If there has been a more harmful urban legend circulating in our society than the vaccine-autism link, it is hard to know what it might be. At a time when vaccines may be our last best hope in facing some of the greatest challenges we and our children face, this legend needs to be put to rest. Vaccination, not vaccine-bashing, is what this nation needs."
Last week Caplan took the next logical step, co-writing a piece in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics titled "Off the Grid: Vaccinations Among Homeschooled Children."
This (new link) crossed our desk today. "Financial" is referencing the Generation Rescue study (HERE) on vaxed versus unvaxed kids on a large political blog called The Daily Kos. Thank you, "Financial." Your stock's up with us.
Thank you to commenter Deborah for providing a better link.
By Tami Giles
"Study Links Autism to High Testosterone Exposure in Mother's Womb"
Wow, the press really had a heyday with this FOX News story. This is surely one of the finest examples of the sad reporting we have in America this month. Fox not only created their own headline, but it’s a darn misleading headline. Blame those moms again. Has anyone kept score this year on what the ratio of stories that “blame the moms” ~ vs~ “blame the dads” ?
By Cathy Jameson
Recently, my computer started to get all wonky. Websites took longer to refresh, the cursor wouldn’t point correctly and my document ‘blinked’ going from happy white background to the black screen of death. As I sat there staring at the biggest Uh-Oh I’ve ever done to a major appliance, the screen slowly came back. Thoughts of losing everything on the computer were only temporary.
The experience reminded me of what happened to Ronan after he received his flu shots several weeks before his second birthday.
By DAN OLMSTED
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- Did you notice the coverage last week of the 40-fold increase in bipolar disorders among children? The "experts" and their Big Media outlets could barely get the facts out – that a new study found a stupendous increase in the disorder between 1993 and 2004 – before they started swatting them down.
Case in point: The second paragraph of the Washington Post story -- "But even one of the authors of the report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry isn't certain whether this represents a dramatic increase in the number of people who actually have the disorder."
That is classic pseudo-objective journalese -- "but even," "isn't certain," "actually have the disorder."
Continue reading "Olmsted on Autism: Sneezing at bipolar kids" »
Many of us in the autism world seek the help of doctors, optometrists, who offer vision therapy. The opthalmogists laugh at us and recommend surgery to uncross the eyes. The behavioral pediatricians scoff and then prescribe meds. I've seen school staff roll their eyes at the words, "prism glasses." One of the leaders in vision therapy is a doctor in New York named Melvin Kaplan. You can see his site here.
Do you wear glasses? Take them off. Then try to navigate your day. Now imagine a child who can not tell you that his vision is funky. Think he'd be frustrated? Confused? Maybe even belligerent?
There's an article in the New York Times today that might change a few minds.
By LAURA NOVAK, The New York Times, 9/11
As an infant, Raea Gragg was withdrawn and could not make eye contact. By preschool she needed to smell and squeeze every object she saw.
Continue reading "Not Autistic or Hyperactive. Just Seeing Double at Times." »
Many of us in the autism world seek the help of doctors, optometrists, who offer vision therapy. The opthalmogists laugh at us and recommend surgery to uncross the eyes. The behavioral pediatricians scoff and then prescribe meds. I've seen school staff roll their eyes at the words, "prism glasses." One of the leaders in vision therapy is a doctor in New York named Melvin Kaplan. You can see his site here.
Do you wear glasses? Take them off. Then try to navigate your day. Now imagine a child who can not tell you that his vision is funky. Think he'd be frustrated? Confused? Maybe even belligerent?
There's an article in the New York Times today that might change a few minds.
By LAURA NOVAK, The New York Times, 9/11
As an infant, Raea Gragg was withdrawn and could not make eye contact. By preschool she needed to smell and squeeze every object she saw.
Continue reading "Not Autistic or Hyperactive. Just Seeing Double at Times." »
Ms. McCarthy's book is now available. Tune into any of the programs she'll be on over the week. And here's a chance to read PEOPLE without having to go to the dentist!
Jenny McCarthy will be making appearances on Oprah, Good Morning America, Larry King and ABC's 20/20 with Dr Jerry Kartzinel. Jenny is promoting her new book about her recovered son and hoping to give much
hope to parents of children with autism!
Jenny McCarthy Press Tour & Events Calendar:
Television Appearances
09/18/07: Oprah
09/21/07: ABC's 20/20
09/24/07: Good Morning America
09/25/07: The View
09/26/07: Larry King
Upcoming Events
10/13/07: Defeat Autism Now Conference Garden Grove, California
Registration required. For more information please see
www.danconference.com
Publications
09/21/07: People Magazine
Book Signings - "Louder than Words" by Jenny McCarthy
Stay tuned at www.tacanow.org for details.
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
As the bio-med parents are shunned by most Republicans, Democrats, and the traditional medical establishment, I think it’s fair to ask where we’re going to find our strongest allies.
Personally I believe it’s going to be in the education system, among those individuals who work on a daily basis with our afflicted children. They’re in the best position to observe how things have changed over the years, hear the accounts of numerous parents, and they have a vested interest in helping our children.
Here are a few of their stories that they have consented to share with me and our audience.
Kids with autism are going to college!
From The Organization for Autism Research about their scholarship:
"OAR is proud to announce the Schwallie Family Scholarship Program, established by OAR Board member, Ed Schwallie, and his family through a gift from the Schwallie Family Foundation. The intent of the program is to award three, $3,000 scholarships annually to individuals with an autism spectrum disorder attending college or pursuing post-secondary trade, technical, or vocational training. Applications will be grouped in three categories: students attending four-year colleges, students attending two-year colleges, and persons with autism matriculating in trade schools or technical and vocational training programs. OAR will make an award in each category, assuming there are qualified candidates.
The Rimland Center, named for Bernard Rimland, founder of the Autism Society of America and the Autism Research Institute opens in Lynchburg, Virginia this month.
The center will provide autism treatment, training and networking for families. There will be also be a general pediatric practice so that parents can care for their children's total health under one roof.
Here's an easy and beautiful way to support this new center.
Continue reading "The Rimland Center and Angela Moore Jewelry" »
How do we explain a forty fold increase in bi-polar disorder diagnosis in children since 1994 as reported in the LA Times and other national newspapers?
There are parallels to autism.
1) Experts proclaiming the numbers are in part a result of better diagnosis.
2) The use of powerful psychiatric drugs on these kids. Drugs that are unapproved for pediatric use. But docs prescribe them because families are desperate to help their children. Docs are compelled to try to help. Therefore, they rely on the only treatments that exist, even though they are not fully tested for the patient population. (Yet somehow chelation and other biomedical treatment is considered quackery.)
3) Little to no mention of CAUSE. Why are so many children neurologically damaged?
4) Large genetics studies underway.
5) The increase in the adult population was "only" twofold during the same time. So doctors got better at diagnosing kids but not adults. Or worse, are misdiagnosing these children with a profound, life altering diagnosis in droves. If so, why?
Continue reading "Forty Fold Increase in Bi-Polar Diagnosis in Kids" »
By J.B. Handley
My second child’s autism diagnosis put the plans my wife and I had for at least three kids on potentially permanent hold. Three years later, we are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, and we feel well-armed with the wisdom of other parents and many doctors to prevent her from the same fate her brother experienced.
What? We’re planning to prevent her from developing autism? The notion of being able to prevent autism is a highly controversial idea, and one sure to make many sentences in this entry blogger-fodder. So be it.
Continue reading "Preventing Autism: An Emerging Hypothesis" »
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
What causes a child to be sick?
Take asthma for example. We know it’s at least partially genetic as it seems to run in families, but what other factors might be involved?
A recent study entitled “Traffic and Childhood Asthma” from the University of Southern California, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency might provide some answers, as well as shed light on the complex interplay of factors involved in other disorders.
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