AGE OF AUTISM

Never Surrender

By Jane Johnson

One of the things that saddens me is the prevalence of the idea that if biomedical treatment isn’t started before a child turns five, it's useless, and you—we—might as well give up.

Olmsted on Autism: The breast cancer analogy

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 -- One big problem the autism community faces is lousy coverage by Big Media. Where is the curiosity and sense of urgency in the face of the soaring autism rate? Where is the willingness to challenge self-interested parties like the CDC and the AAP rather than rewriting their press releases and calling it a day?

This kind of coverage is not limited to autism, and it can be revealing to look at other illnesses and see the same kind of haphazard and just plain mediocre reporting. This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so let's make it a case study.

Time Magazine's Oct. 15 cover says, "Why Breast Cancer is Spreading Around the World." You'd expect when you read the story to find out why, would you not? But the story itself is a mish-mash. Rather than focus in-depth on the question, the article offers touching but irrelevant anecdotes (so-and-so in China was recently diagnosed and might not have been a decade ago) and pointless diversions. "Of all the things that can determine a woman's chances of surviving breast cancer, perhaps one of the most powerful is the simple matter of race."

Well, that's interesting and important, but it has zero to do with "why breast cancer is spreading around the world." Time devotes only a couple of paragraphs to answering its cover question.

Here are the reasons Time offers:

1)  "Women are simply living long enough to reach the age at which they're most susceptible to breast cancer."

2)  "With Westernized life spans, however, can come Western habits too – fatty foods, lack of exercise and obesity, all of which may raise the incidence of breast cancer."

3) Having fewer children can raise breast cancer risk.

4) There are a bunch of other tenuous and unproven links, from anti-perspirants to birth control pills.

IOM "Autism and the Environment" Report Now Available

The IOM Autism and The Environment workshop was the result of several meetings that Mark Blaxill, Jim Moody and Kelli Ann Davis had with Dr. Raub, Secretary Leavitt's Science Advisor over the last two years.  They met with Dr. Harvey Fineberg, the President of the IOM last October (a meeting hosted by Dr. Raub) and it was from this meeting that the idea for the IOM hosted Workshop on Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research transpired.

Mark Blaxill and Laura Bono were part of the Planning Committee which helped to organize the Workshop.  Sallie Bernard and Lyn Redwood were part of the official Workshop and made presentations.  Lyn Redwood was also asked to help in reviewing the Proceedings Report for accuracy, comments, etc.

Here is the memo announcing the report and a link:

Merck Halts AIDS Vaccine Trial

Unfortunate news in the search for an AIDS vaccine. More people who got the Merck experimental AIDS vaccine contracted HIV than those who got the placebo/dummy shot. So did the vaccine make them MORE likely to contract HIV?  Or was it their high-risk predisposition?

Read the full article from AP HERE.

Breaking the Routine of Things

By Cathy Jameson

My husband has been on a 3 ½-week business trip, and it’s been awful from the start.  Three of our four kids came down with the chicken pox.  The baby started her rash as Steve was loading his suitcases into the car to leave. She had more spots traveling down her body as my husband rolled down and out the driveway.  I knew I was in for a long, long three weeks alone.

TACA Reaches Out to CA Families Caught in Fires

Reprinted from the TACA-USA Yahoo group for California members caught in the fires who may need help. Thank you, TACA for your hands on approach to providing services.

For complete information on how you can help, make a donation or if you need help, go to TACA's SITE. 

Wild Fires in Wild Fires!

Thousands of families have been evacuated and the fires are far from
being contained.

TACA Families: If you have lost your home or been evacuated (or know a
family affected by autism that has) please contact us if you need a
place to stay or any other help!

If your child is a regional center client, be sure to contact your
caseworker for information about emergency housing and food allowances.
Find your regional center.

Donald T. and the Gold Salts

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Donald T. occupies a special place in autism history.  He was patient #1 in Dr. Leo Kanner’s original monograph which first described autism in 1943. 

However, according to former UPI writer Dan Olmsted in his Age of Autism series, Donald T. didn’t spend his life in an institution.  Instead, he graduated from college, went to work for a bank, and is now at the age of 74 is spending his retirement traveling the world and playing golf.

Soap and a Dope

By Kim Stagliano

My children received papers in their school bags about the importance of hand washing for preventing the spread of the Staph bacteria that is wreaking havoc across the nation. The school district has been proactive, which is great.

The hand washing memo reminded me of an incident at a recent pediatric visit. I had scheduled two children in one time slot. The doc examined both kids fully. Including the "panty peek" some older girls get. I'm not used to that one yet.

1) She did not wear gloves and 2) She did not wash her hands between checks. It didn't occur to me until after we'd left the building. I'm thinking of changing practices from the local "puppy mill pediatric group" to a sole practitioner. If I can find one.

Wash your hands. Wash your kids' hands. And make sure your doctors wash their hands too. Soap and water. Your first line of defense for a healthy winter.

Sugar and Spice and Antimony? Not Nice!

Why is it when we ask about the chemical cocktail in vaccines doctors turn a blind eye, a deaf ear and give us the finger to boot? And yet, here is a doc at a major medical center in the USA saying point blank that "industrial toxins could be leading to more childhood disease and disorders."  Where does he think the chemicals in vaccines come from, the tooth fairy?  You can find an A - Z list of vaccine ingredients in THIS Rescue Post piece from Kent Heckenlively.

Here's a quote from the full CNN report.

"We are the humans in a dangerous and unnatural experiment in the United States, and I think it's unconscionable," said Dr. Leo Trasande, assistant director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Trasande says that industrial toxins could be leading to more childhood disease and disorders.

"We are in an epidemic of environmentally mediated disease among American children today," he said. "Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and developmental disorders have exponentially increased, and it can't be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we're being exposed to."

BRAINS. BEAUTY. BREAKTHROUGH.

Now appearing at #5 on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction list.  Can you hear the entire CDC, AAP and FDA running to grab the cat and shove it back into the bag? Not going to happen. The train has left the station. Are you on it? Or are you watching the caboose speed off without you? Order yours HERE.

Big News Coming

Rescue Post will have a new name and a new look. Stay tuned.

Big News Coming

Rescue Post will have a new name and a new look. Stay tuned.

No Cold Medicines for Kids under 6??!! What’s Next? No Vaccines??!!

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

A panel from the Food and Drug Administration recently voted 13-9 that over-the-counter cough and cold medications should not be given to youngsters between the ages of 2 and 6, according to an article in The Washington Post.

The same panel voted 21-1 to discontinue the use of the same medications for children under the age of 2.

What’s happening here? 

Strawberry Steps Up to the Plate for Autism

Strawberry has teamed up with Autism United and we hope he hits a home run.

NEW YORK (AP)  -- Former baseball star Darryl Strawberry says his celebrity, his alcohol and drug addictions, the 11 months he spent in prison and even his bouts with cancer and kidney disease were all for a purpose.

The 45-year-old Strawberry has formed a foundation to get help for families dealing with autism.

See you at The National Autism Association Conference?

Have you registered for the National Autism Association Conference on November 8-11 in Atlanta? Where else can you can meet the autism treatment cavalcade of stars; Jenny McCarthy, Deirdre Imus, Katie Wright, David Kirby and Dan Olmsted in one location?

Learn about everything autism from writing an IEP to teaching your child where to pee! (Great toilet training seminar.)  Project Lifesaver will be there (remember Jacob Allen) as will an RDI pro, life planning expert and many other speakers you'll want to hear. In four days you'll have covered so much territory you'll be at the head of the class as you help your child on the road to his or her best possible functioning. This is a terrific event to attend as a husband and wife team if you can get coverage for the kids. And a great opportunity to put faces with the names we read on the lists and here at RP. We're a close community, after all.

Check out the NAA site for more details. Consider it an early holiday gift to your child on the spectrum.

Young Man Found Safe in W. Virginia Woods

By the grace of God, Jacob Allen was found safe and physically unhurt after several days lost in the woods of W. Virginia after having been separated from his parents during a hike last weekend.

You can read about his return HERE.  Personally, I'm uncomfortable with how the media has characterized the boy.

Barbara Fischkin and Kim Stagliano at the Long Island Autism Conference

I'll be speaking at the Long Island Autism Conference tomorrow at 2:00pm along with the fabulous Barbara Fischkin. Our presentation is called, "Two Autism Moms. Two Writers." and we'll be sharing ideas on how to write your own story and get into publishing. Our presentation will be in juxtaposition to the serious list of top national and regional presenters including Rescue Post's own Dan Olmsted. Barbara and I have some fun planned for attendees including a raffle or two or three. Autism is serious business, but we try to lighten the moment when we can.

This conference is one of the top regional events in the country featuring a combination of therapy, school and biomedical treatment breakout sessions.  There's something for everyone who has a child on the spectrum.

Thank you to Christine Hereen for her hard work throughout the year to make the event a success.  I'll tell you more about it on Monday.

Kim Stagliano

What's Up, Docs?

By Kelli Ann Davis

Nope.  Not what you're thinking -- no rabbit or duck starring in this tale.   I've actually been thinking about those other Docs -- you know the ones with MD and Ph.D. behind their names.

Only in My Dreams

by Cathy Jameson

Does it count if my non-verbal son spoke in my dream?  Does it count if I asked him to repeat the sentence to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and he did?  I don’t know what it meant, but Ronan said to me, “I saw the white car going down the road at 15 miles per hour.”  He said it twice.  He said it to me while looking me straight in the eyes. He said it to me like any typical 4-year old would.  He said it.  Then, I woke up.

Why the Department of Education Can’t Count

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

When journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were pursuing the Watergate scandal which eventually brought down President Nixon they were advised to “follow the money.”  Or as my friend the Stanford economist says, “The truth is usually revealed when you find where people spend their money.”

I was considering these ideas when I came across some data from the U. S. Department of Education about the number of autistic children in public schools.  The question of whether there’s actually an epidemic of autism is a controversial topic for many medical and educational professionals.

FIND JACOB ALLEN!

10/19 12:48am:  Jacob is safe! And home with Mom and Dad. Amen.

Do you see this handsome boy? He is 18. He is lost in the woods of West Virginia. He has severe autism. I will not label him "autistic" anymore than I would call a child with cancer, "cancerous." His name is Jacob Allen. Did I mention he is lost in the woods?

He wandered ahead of his parents during a hike and did not respond to his name when they called him. And that was that. This beautiful child has been missing since Sunday. Read more here.

My family took a vacation last week and one of my girls with autism wandered away. For about 30 minutes we had security in a 2000 room hotel searching for her. Jacob Allen's Mom has been waiting for days. And nights. Cold nights. I am profoundly sad for his parents, who wait with a worry, a fear and a "we knew this could happen" that must be paralyzing.

Jacob Allen, come home. Please, child. Come home.

The Semmelweis Reflex

By Twyla Ramos

Why is it that the biomedical paradigm of autism is so readily dismissed by many doctors and scientists?  Parents tell compelling, credible stories about their children's descent into autism after vaccinations, and recovery through biomedical treatments such as chelation, but the “experts” reject these reports as "anecdotal" and say that parents don't understand science.  I read about scientific studies supporting the biomedical paradigm of autism, only to hear critics lambaste the studies as not real science.

Although I don’t fully understand why this happens, I found a name for this phenomenon:  "The Semmelweis Reflex". 

The Mistake of "Early Intervention"

By Lenny Schafer

Early Intervention has been making the news in the last day or two.  There is a new video screening tool sponsored by Autism Speaks and First Signs to help parents determine if their child exhibits signs of autism.  ABC News covered this story HERE.

By itself, this screening tool for autism is wonderful and we are glad to see it happen. But for some autism research fund raising groups, "early intervention" is perhaps little more than a euphemism for "membership drive".

What Comes After Us?

   By Angela Warner

“Mom, what comes after us?” This question was asked of me at dinner by my six year old Nathan, who is recovering from autism. It was one of those moments where you can’t believe what you’re hearing, your world stops yet spins at the same time, and color perception changes. As luck would have it; I’d just taken a bite of my dinner so I had to figure out how to chew my food and swallow it even though my saliva had disappeared, and I’d instantly developed a huge lump in my throat.

GFCF DIET? TACA Talks, Autism Speaks Whispers

For many years, learning about the GFCF diet has been like learning about sex.  You hear things. Rumors. Whispers.  You ask yourself, "Can this be true?"  You're excited, intrigued and a little scared too.

One parent tells you that her child is sleeping through the night after removing dairy from the diet. You're at the CVS refilling yet another scrip for Clonidine, the high blood pressure drug your doc prescribed off label for your child because its main side effect is drowsiness.  You're an exhausted parent, whose child still drinks 6 glasses of milk a day and eats mac and cheese for lunch and dinner, and sleeps no more than four hours a night. Your ears perk up.  "Sleep?" You ask your doctor about this diet. The doctor, who knows next to nothing about the GFCF diet and who thinks the only "treatment" for the sleep disorder is Clonidine says, "Mrs. Smith. There are no studies proving this diet works. Don't waste your time." 

I've heard over and over from Moms who say their doc pooh-poohed the diet. Of course! No pharma rep ever walked into a pediatric practice offering a can of Dari-Free milk substitute and a Namaste GF chocolate cake mix as an autism treatment for the dozens of ASD kids the docs see.

FDA Says A-OK: Vaccine Ingredients from A to Z

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

The late, great Senator from New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." 

In that spirit I offer the following list of ingredients used in vaccines approved for use as compiled by the United States government and which can be found HERE.

My own opinion will follow the list, but for now I present the list with what I hope will be perceived as a few simple, objective observations and explanations.

Albumin from eggs, humans, and cows are used as a growth medium. Albumin refers generally to proteins with water solubility, normally found in blood or serum. 

Aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, and aluminum potassium sulfate are all used as adjuvants to stimulate the immune system.  Aluminum products found in commercial antiperspirants have been linked with breast cancer.  A recent article published in the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry based on research from Keele University in England was trying to explain the “known, but unaccounted for, higher incidence of tumors in the upper outer quadrant of the breast.”  They found that aluminum content was higher in the outer regions where there would be the highest density of antiperspirant.  In discussing aluminum’s potential danger the report stated, “Aluminum is a metalloestrogen, it is genotoxic, is bound by DNA and has been shown to be carcinogenic.  It is also a pro-oxidant and this unusual property might provide a mechanistic basis for any putative carcinogenicity.  The confirmed presence of aluminum in breast tissue biopsies highlights its potential as a possible factor in the etiology of breast cancer.”

In Ants We Trust!

By Charlie Hoover

I'm watching a long line of ants leading from under a door to the dog's food bowl and I am powerless to do anything about it. Oh sure, I could run down to the local supermarket and buy some insecticide spray like Raid but I dare not. In fact, just thinking about it makes me tremble. Why would a 54 year old man tremble? I fear my nine year old son's big Mama!

Life After Jenny McCarthy

By Lisa Ackerman

A funny thing happened to me in 2005. A friend of mine Lisa Menne introduced me to Jenny McCarthy. As with many families introductions are made parent to parent needing to provide help and hope.  Lisa is a dear friend of Moira Giammatteo who runs the TACA Valley chapter and Jenny met Lisa at the UCLA program.  This story of moms helping moms happens every day – but it does not always include some one who is famous.

Open Wide and Say, "ARGH!"

University of Washington and Universidad de Lisboa have published a study on dental amalgams. The study was in the October 2007 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.  "Silver" amalgams are made with mercury.

The conclusion states: "Urinary mercury concentrations are highly correlated with both number of amalgam fillings and time since placement in children. Girls excrete significantly higher concentrations of mercury in the urine than boys with comparable treatment, suggesting possible sex-related differences in mercury handling and susceptibility to mercury toxicity."

Here's a link to the full report in a PDF FILE.

School Daze

By Kim Stagliano

"In 1990, there were no students with autism enrolled in public or private schools in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Five years later, there were 65. By 2005, there were 299."

In 1998 we lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania just north of Philadelphia. When I expressed concerns about our second child's developmental progress her pediatrician told me point blank, "I've never heard of a family with more than one child with autism." 

I suppose he meant to allay my fears. He was affiliated with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and was not a country bumpkin doc who worked with the Amish population. And in 1998 he had seen so little autism that he'd never heard of a family with more than one affected child.  Fast forward nine years. I'm in a Yahoo group for families with THREE or more affected kids. And there are thirty four members.

Olmsted on Autism: Thanks a lot, Columbus.

By Dan Olmsted

Washington, Oct. 8 -- Did you know that in all probability we have Christopher Columbus to thank for the big fat dose of mercury being injected every day into pregnant women, infants and old folks this time of year?

Among the goodies Columbus and his sailors brought back from the New World was, almost certainly, a nasty little bug called syphilis. Although the origins of syphilis have been disputed for centuries, the timing seems an unlikely coincidence. The Pox, as it was called, broke out soon after his voyages; in recent years, the discovery of pre-Columbian cases of syphilis in disinterred remains from the New World -- but not from Europe -- have pretty much clinched the argument.

The CDC’s Caldera

By J.B. Handley

Yellowstone National Park’s beauty has been enjoyed by millions. Up until the 1960s, scientists knew the park’s hot springs, geysers, mud pots, and frequent earthquakes were all signs of volcanic activity. However, it wasn’t until a single government scientist took a step back to re-think the park that an extraordinary discovery was made: most of Yellowstone was one massive volcano -- a conical, inverted “super volcano” known as a caldera.

Some context: Mount St. Helens’ crater-top is about 2 square miles. Yellowstone’s caldera? 1,500 square miles. Yellowstone’s most recent eruption, roughly a half million years ago, was about 8,000 times as powerful as the Mount St. Helens’ eruption of 1980. When it erupts again (not “if”, but “when”), you can count on a good part of the West and Midwest being wiped out.

I think of the CDC scientists looking at the connection between vaccines and autism as similar to the early Yellowstone scientists documenting each hot spring and earthquake, while never realizing they were standing on a single, massive Caldera.

Tragedy in Nigeria as Polio Vaccine Causes Polio

File this one under, "We can put a man on the moon but..."

The comment by WHO is astounding:  "It would be nice if we had a more stable oral polio vaccine, but that's not the way it is today," Heymann said. "We will continue working the way we have been working because we don't want children to be paralyzed anywhere."

Nice? Yes, I suppose for the children now stricken with polio it would have been nice. I say, "FIX THE VACCINE" so the you are truly protecting the children in the developing world. If you had a car that "occasionally" went in reverse at 60 mph instead of drive, you'd recall the car. Why are drugs any different?  Is it necessary to sacrifice the few for the many?

LONDON - A polio outbreak in Nigeria was caused by the vaccine designed to stop it, international health officials say, leaving at least 69 children paralyzed.

Flu Shot Efficacy For Elderly in Question

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the flu vaccine, available at every drug store and dime store from coast to coast may not be worth its aluminum, er, mercury, er, salt to Grandma and Grandpa. 

The adult flu vaccine contains 25 micrograms of mercury. There is a pediatric version (I've yet to hear of a pediatric practice that has brought it in) and a nasal spray that do not have mercury. However, is ANY flu vaccine necessary? From the article: "A team of National Institutes of Health researchers has concluded that the often-touted benefits of flu shots to people over the age of 70 are highly exaggerated - there is no real proof they provide protection to the frail elderly.

The conclusion published Monday in an online edition of the British journal the Lancet Infectious Diseases is unwelcome news for public health officials in the United States who are preparing to launch the annual flu shot campaign."

Read the full article HERE. 

My Safe Room

by Cathy Jameson

Two baby gates surround my kitchen entrances.  Anti-door knob devices are attached to every bathroom door.  A special lock secures our outside doors.  All cabinets with tasty snacks at kid-level are locked. Am I afraid? Am I paranoid?  Nope, I have a child who is loaded with metals.  He’s the Houdini of Little People trying to get one step ahead of me.

Once, when we had visitors, Ronan escaped from our sight.

Why Does Johnny Need a Tums for his Tum Tum?

More evidence of sick kids and/or pediatricians drugging our kids to the hilt.   This is disturbing. Why do children have GI problems requiring drugs under the age of 18?  And when will parents say, "Enough!" Parents outside of the autism world, that is.

By Lindsay Tanner, AP Medical Reporter:

The Yahoo link is HERE.

CHICAGO - "The number of young children on prescription drugs for heartburn and other digestive problems jumped about 56 percent in recent years and researchers say obesity and overuse might be contributing to the surprising increase.

Pediarix: FIVE VACCINES in ONE!

Relax Mom and Dad! Pediarix, from GlaxoSmithKline is safe! Five vaccinations in one injection.  Mom says, "Tiffany had a shot today." No Mom, Tiffany had FIVE shots, just one needle.

Who says Pediarix is safe? Technically the University of Rochester. At least on paper. Who funded the study, to determine if this combo vaccine is safe? GlaxoSmithKline, the people who manufacture the vaccine. 

The Pillsbury Bake Off wouldn't allow a contestant who baked an "Easy Breezy Marshmallow Cheesy Pop'N Fresh Pie" to judge the contest. But the pharmaceutical companies are allowed to commission and fund the studies on their own products.

New Mexico Gives Mercury Free Flu Vaccine Option

New Mexico is offering a choice in flu vaccines through the Department of Health.  Like "Smoking or Non-Smoking", you can choose with or without the mercury-based preservative called Thimerosal.

How many private docs bother? Not to mention the "Shot in a box" retail clinics like CVS, Walgreens and Target.  I ask at every store I enter come November, "Can I read the packaging?" and there's the Thimerosal in print. Then I loudly announce, "No thank you! I don't care to inject mercury into my veins today! I'm more of a crack cocaine kind of gal!" And I saunter out with stares of disbelief following me.

I hope reporter Diana Del Mauro runs a study at the end of the season to find out if all of the mercury free vaccines were used and the ones with 25 mcg. of mercury are leftover.  Send her an email at dianadm@sfnewmexican.com to ask her for a follow up come Spring.

New Mexico! Who knew? Perhaps we should give Presidential candidate Governor Bill Richardson a serious look? Maybe he "gets it?"

Read the entire story HERE.

"Trust us. Vaccines are exempt."

Why are we, the consumers, supposed to believe that all vaccines are 100% safe for every child in America when the pharmaceutical companies have shown again and again that they are willing to put profits before patients?  They mislead you about the safety and risks of their products. You think their vaccines are exempt from this practice?

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Eli Lilly has been asked to stop a Cymbalta promotion that makes misleading claims and understates risk, according to a letter sent to the drug maker by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The letter said a mailer for the fast-selling drug overstates effectiveness and "omits some of the most serious and important risk information associated with its use." The letter was posted on the federal regulator's Web site.

Read the entire article from MONEY HERE.

Technorati Profile

TACA Family Picnic

From the Orange County Register. TACA is Talk About Curing Autism a California based organization that is spreading across the country. Their spokesperson is Jenny McCarthy, author of Louder than Words.  Their annual picnic was a huge success.

Their Journeys Through Autism
Children and their families gather at event that draws more than 1,500.

By Blythe Bernhard. The Orange County Register

Irvine - For one day, the kids could scream and throw tantrums and nobody would stare or judge. Even if they couldn't speak, the children with autism were understood.

Playing "FAIR"

The Foundation for Autism Information and Research is an organization that provides a wealth of info to our community. Have you checked them out recently? 

Here's a message from them: 

"We have posted a interview with Former California State Senate
Secretary and FEAT (Families for Early Autism Treatment) and U.C. Mind Institute founder Rick Rollens.

I hope you will all find this INTERVIEW helpful in your state and federal
advocacy efforts. I tried to structure the interview so rick could articulate
the issues to legislatures, health officials and educators. We will have DVD's
available if you think they will help you with your efforts."

Michael Smith
Northeast Regional Director
Foundation for Autism Information and Research, Inc.

A-Champ 20th District Leader

Olmsted on Autism: The CDC's Point-Three Problem

By Dan Olmsted

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- If I were a rich man, and I wanted to downplay my wealth to someone who was hitting me up for money, I could say, "I'm only worth a tiny fraction of Bill Gates -- I've got a measly three dollars for every thousand he has, to tell you the painful truth." Of course, 0.3 percentage points of Bill Gates' $50 billion is big money -- $150 million. The point: Small fractions can add up to large numbers.

I've been trying to work out that kind of math in my head since the CDC conference call last week -- the one that flogged the new HMO-based study "reassuring" parents that organic mercury in vaccines is harmless. The one where I asked: Why not use never-vaccinated kids as a control group if you really want to reassure parents that mercury is just fine to inject in infants and pregnant women?

GUT CHECK

A mother's gut often sounds the first alarm when her child has a problem. That niggling feeling you can't let go. So you take the babe to the pediatrician and say, "Something is wrong. He's crying funny. His sleep has changed. He seems angry." And the pediatrician says, "Maybe he's teething. Maybe he's got a virus. Give him some Tylenol. Don't worry."

This research just came from our friends to the North. 

Scientists Make Brain Gut Connection in Autism: "Compounds produced in the digestive system have been linked to autistic-type behaviour in laboratory settings, potentially demonstrating that what autistic children eat can alter their brain function, say scientists from the University of Western Ontario."