AGE OF AUTISM

DAVID KIRBY AT DHHS VACCINE MEETING

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice that the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) will convene a meeting of NVAC's Vaccine Safety Working Group. The meeting is open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on April 11, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The following provides a transcript of David Kirby's comments at this meeting:

Hello, my name is David Kirby, I am an author and journalist, and my only conflict of interest is that I wrote a book about vaccines and autism. But I don’t plan on selling any books here today.

This has been a really extraordinary meeting, and I am very happy that everyone came together to discuss this important topic. I will probably be reporting on this in various venues, though I am not quite sure what my, what we call “take home message,” is going to be.

But I do want to say, and at the risk of overstatement: History will judge each and every one of you. A year from now, five years from now, ten years from now, people like me will look back on the history of vaccine safety in this country, and look at you folks, and say, “What did they do?”

THE CEDILLO FAMILY DESERVES OUR SUPPORT

The Cedillo family needs our support following an article about their daughter Michelle that is in the Yuma Sun.

The article begins: This is the story laid out in Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, which was chosen as a test case from those 4,900. It is the story of Michelle Cedillo, a 13-year-old Yuma girl whose case has become a landmark in the question of what causes autism.

Please read the full article (HERE) and leave a comment on the Yuma Sun site to set ignorant readers straight, won't you? Speaking of ignorant readers, here's a presumptuous comment currently there from someone calling himself "Slimething."

I agree fully with yumasand. I also have an autistic child and his symptoms did not begin abruptly after any vaccination. I feel for all those affected but there is no link between vaccination and autism. Such belief arises from "correlation bias", a logical flaw. Hyperactivity has been blamed on red M&M, horniness on green M&Ms, etc. It's natural to associate a bad or good effect with a recollection of something unusual that occured at approximately the same time. That's why coaches on a winning streak will wear the same clothes to every game.

I am sorry for the Cedillo family but, no, vaccinations were not the cause of the child's autism.

HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER

By Cathy Jameson

We’ve had to Ronan-proof much of our house due to my son’s never-ending sneaky behavior. He’s gotten himself into the deep utility sink in our laundry room, filled the Jacuzzi tub while fully clothed, wedged himself into a toilet backwards and even walked out of our house into the middle of the street one Sunday afternoon. 

The last incident has to be by far the scariest one I’ve had to live through since Ronan was vaccine injured.  Thankfully, weekend traffic is minimal in our neighborhood since we live near a bunch of quiet retirees. Had this been a work day, I’d be afraid Ronan would have been plowed down by a car or the school bus that usually screams down our street at that time of day.

MORGAN FOGARTY & FOX CHARLOTTE GET AUTISM STORY RIGHT

By Jack Russell

I don’t normally pay too much attention to the local news promos. But as I walked past the TV on my way to take out the trash in between Idol Gives Back segments I heard something that caught my attention. 

“Did they just say they were having a segment (HERE) on vaccines and autism?” I asked my wife.  We watched for more promos and sure enough they were.  And not only that, it seemed from the promos that the piece would be a good one.  The tag lines were questions along the lines of, “Are vaccines dangerous?”and “Can vaccines cause autism?  One local mom says yes.” 

It turned out the piece wasn’t running until the following night but they hyped the story again during the newscast.  It sounded too good to be true.  I started to worry.  I started to get nervous.  All the next day I wondered what the piece would say.  Would they open by posing the question, “Are vaccines dangerous?” and follow it by merely flashing the word “NO” in big red letters a thousand times.  Would the “one local mom” be made out to be an idiot? 

On the edge of my seat I watched and my excitement and surprise grew throughout the segment.  They talked about the continuing presence of thimerosal.  They talked about diet and recovery.  They talked about religious exemptions. 

THANK YOU SIR! MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?

"Thank you sir! May I have another!"

The NYT (all the news that's fit to print as long as it promotes vaccines at all costs) reports on a mumps outbreak. Instead of asking why the vaccine is failing to protect recipients who'd already had two vaccinations against the disease, it calls for a third booster. Can you think of any other product where failure encourages more consumption?

Mumps Outbreak Prompts Questions

An alarming outbreak of the mumps two years ago has raised questions about whether an additional vaccination is needed. Read the full article HERE.

DR. JON POLING IN THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION

Dr. Jon Poling has an opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution today.  You can read it HERE.

Autism in the U.S. has reached epidemic levels, at 1 in 150 children. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has recently upgraded autism to "an urgent health threat." The most contentious issue of the autism debate is the link to routine childhood vaccines. My daughter's case, Hannah Poling v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has changed this debate forever. Hannah has pointed us in a new and promising direction —- the mitochondria.

Dr. Poling ends his piece with this paragraph.

Reform of the vaccine schedule will be an important part of the solution, whether vaccines play a major or minor role in autism. Our public health agencies and programs need a reconstruction plan. Day one of the reconstruction hopefully starts at the Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee's Working Group, to be held at HHS headquarters today in Washington.

ONE MORE VOICE -- A BIG ONE -- SPEAKS OUT FOR COMMON SENSE AND DECENCY

By Dan Olmsted

More and more mainstream experts are standing up for the vaccine court and Hannah Poling and her parents -- and deserve our thanks and support. The latest is Dr. Bernadine Healy. Her bio from U.S. News & World Report, where the article we're pointing out is appearing in the current issue:  "Dr. Bernadine Healy is Health Editor for U.S.News & World Report and writes the On Health column. She is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and has served as director of the National Institutes of Health and president and CEO of the American Red Cross."

Here's the beauty part from her column: "Pediatricians were concerned enough about mercury, which is known to cause neurological damage in developing infant and fetal brains, that they mobilized to have thimerosal removed from childhood vaccines by 2002. Their concern was not autism but the lunacy of injecting mercury into little kids through mandated vaccines that together exceeded mercury safety guidelines designed for adults."

So by definition, the former head of the NIH says people like Paul Offit -- who calls it a mistake to take mercury out -- and organizations like the CDC, the World Health Organization and their ilk who are keeping mercury in flu shots in the U.S. and in standard immunizations around the world ... the former head of the NIH says they're lunatic(s).

That's about as harsh as anything we've ever said, isn't it? -- Dan Olmsted

Read the US News and World Report article HERE.

AND THE WALL CAME DOWN

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

On August 23, 1989 the government of communist Hungary opened its border with Austria and for the first time since the Iron Curtain had risen more than four decades earlier, citizens of eastern Europe could travel to the west. 

Less than three months later, on November 9th, the government of East Germany decided people could pass through the Berlin Wall, the barrier which had separated the two Germanys for more than 28 years.  On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet Union which was founded in 1917 and had for more than 70 years proclaimed itself the vanguard of the future, ceased to exist.

In any successful struggle there comes a tipping point when one knows the back of the enemy has been broken.  Retreat and eventual surrender is only a matter of time.  And sometimes that change can come quicker than anybody imagined.

NATURALNEWS.COM ON CNN AUTISM COVERAGE

The website www.naturalnews.com has posted a story following CNN's Autism Awareness programming last week.  It provides a superb summary of the current autism/vaccine information under the following headings:

• A Brief History of Vaccines, Profits, and Politics
• A Major Crack in Our Government's Armor
• How Our Government Defends Itself When It Is Clearly Wrong
• Why Vaccines are a Problem
• How Your Brain Works
• Government Responsibility
• The Genetic Red-Herring
• Reducing the Risk for Adverse Vaccine Reactions

By Byron Richards (NaturalNews) On April 2, 2008 CNN spent the day bringing awareness to the problem of autism. Larry King's segment, which included Jenny McCarthy along with a panel of guests, was particularly enlightening. My hat is off to Jenny, a celebrity mother who is making it quite uncomfortable for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to ignore parents of autistic children seeking answers. Why does a mom have to do the work of the CDC? The answer is rather simple: our government's zeal to insist on too many vaccines while ignoring the actual risks is the driving force behind the autism tragedy. Sure there are many related factors – but the bottom line is that our government is causing disease at an alarming and devastating pace.

Read the full article HERE.

 

CONFESSIONS OF AN AUTISM JUNKIE

By Harry Hofherr

Last year, during one of my son's recurring IEP meetings, the director of special education for our school district said, "I love autism."

My wife began to seethe and turn purple. I just thought the lady had lost her fookin' mind. Nobody loves autism. Ask the parent of a child with autism. Sure, you love the child, but you hate the disorder. There is nothing to LOVE about autism.

Autism sucks.

MORE EMAILS FROM THE FDA ON MERCURY TESTING

By Twyla Ramos

On December 31, 2007, Age of Autism posted a series of emails between the CDC, the FDA, and me, in which I asked whether any government agency tests the mercury content of the vaccines which supposedly contain only a "trace" amount of mercury.  Neither the CDC nor the FDA, would answer my questions. (Read the piece HERE.)

The following month, I received an e-newsletter from the National Autism Association (NAA) which included a link to a January 17, 2008 letter from Representative Dan Burton to the FDA, demanding answers to questions raised by "a parent" in an email dialogue with the CDC and FDA.  In his letter (HERE), he asked the FDA for a response by February 11, 2008.

On February 14, 2008, to my surprise, I received an email from Christopher Middendorf, Chief of the Consumer Affairs Branch, Division of Communication and Consumer Affairs, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA.  He responded to my initial email sent to the FDA in November.  Our exchange is shown below.

----------------------------

From: Twyla Ramos
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:57 AM
To: CBER OCTMA Consumer Account
Subject: "Trace" amounts of Thimerosal in vaccines

The CDC says that: "Thimerosal still may be used in the early stages of making certain vaccines. However, it is removed through a purification process. When this process is complete, only trace, or insignificant, amounts of thimerosal are left (less than 0.3 mcg) and these amounts have no biological effect."

Does any governmental agency monitor and test vaccine products to ensure that this "purification process" is consistently effective and that the final product does not exceed 0.3 mcg of thimerosal?

Thank you very much,
Twyla Ramos
concerned parent

THE CONUNDRUM OF AUTISM

Last year, the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop on the role environmental risks may play in autism. In contrast to the IOM's flawed 2004 report exonerating vaccines, this event  may come to be seen as a watershed -- the moment when mainstream science faced up to the strong evidence that something besides genes is putting a whole generation at risk.
Remember, "environmental risk" just means something coming from the outside-in to trigger autism in susceptible kids. And that leaves the door wide open for everything from live viruses in vaccines to mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Read this comprehensive report on the IOM conference (HERE) and you'll know as much as anybody about where the science stands -- and where it needs to go.

CRY SHAME COMMENTARY ON BRITISH MEDICAL TRIAL

Click HERE to read the most recent coverage of the British medical trial as reported by Cry Shame.

CryShame is a campaigning group co-founded by a number of UK parents and professionals who are concerned about the catastrophic rise in autism spectrum disorders and in the potential link with environmental toxins– particularly MMR and thimerosol (mercury) containing vaccines.

HOW ABOUT A THANK YOU?

By Julie Obradovic

A little over a year ago, the school district in which I teach asked me to present an Institute Day program on Autism and our schools. (You know, what Institute Days are, right? Those days you have to find a babysitter for your kids because they have a day off while your teachers go do various things directed towards improvement?)

If you're a teacher, you know these days well.

THE CHINA SOLUTION

By J.B. Handley

“China executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog this morning for approving untested medicine in exchange for cash, the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it is serious about tackling its product safety crisis.”

OK, calm down. I’m not recommending anyone at the Vaccine Lobby of Pharma, CDC, FDA, AAP, or Autism Speaks be executed (jail time is punishment enough for me).

FIRST REPORT FROM DAN! ON AAP PARTICIPATION

Adventures in Autism blogger Ginger Taylor has written a report from last week's DAN! conference. We reported last week (HERE) that the AAP sent out a press release saying they were going to work with DAN!. Then Dr. Karp and Tayloe appeared on Larry King Live and many of us thought, "It's just business as usual at AAP." Perhaps not?

If you attended DAN! and have an opinion be sure to comment.

The Defeat Autism Now! Conference was last weekend and the big news was not that Jenny McCarthy showed up, but that the American Academy of Pediatrics showed up.

After years of inaction and obfuscation, this was action number two taken by the AAP in just one week.

HOW APRIL BROUGHT US AUTISM AWARENESS

By Monica Bice

April 7, 2005 started out like any other day. We woke up, got the kids fed, dressed, and off to school and ourselves to work. I hurried through my workload, knowing I had to be out by 2 for Jade's well baby visit. The previous evening I had spoken to my mother about the appointment. She commented that babies get too many shots now, and wished Jade didn't have to get any. I scoffed at her, exclaiming that not vaccinating was akin to child abuse!

PHARMA BITES THE HAND IT FEEDS

"People" wonder why so many of us do not trust the safety of vaccines or the integrity of the agencies that approve, oversee and administer them.  Check out this circuitous debacle. The NYT reported yesteday (HERE) that J&J is claiming it can not be sued for problems with one of its birth control products because the FDA, a federal agency, approved the drug. And it appears that they might win.

Next, Reader's Digest has a scathing report (HERE) about the state of the FDA, saying that the agency is a shambles and that it receives upward of 50% of its funding from "industry."

From the J&J story: For years, Johnson & Johnson obscured evidence that its popular Ortho Evra birth control patch delivered much more estrogen than standard birth control pills, potentially increasing the risk of blood clots and strokes, according to internal company documents.

But because the Food and Drug Administration approved the patch, the company is arguing in court that it cannot be sued by women who claim that they were injured by the product — even though its old label inaccurately described the amount of estrogen it released.

DR. OFFIT's ROTATEQ: MERCK'S AVIS OF VACCINES!

Aw shucks, Dr. Offit*! Seems the vaccine on which you co-share the patent, RotaTeq, was only Merck's second best selling vaccine last year, bringing in a cool half a billion dollars. Uh oh! Glaxo is bringing out a competitor! (Click HERE to see the AP article.)

That makes you the "Avis" or, perhaps we should say, "the number two" of Merck's vaccine division. Maybe next year the AAP (who claimed on Larry King that they don't make any money on vaccines. Greedy old Merck!) will firmly enforce their vaccine schedule to make sure every single American infant gets her three doses before age one. Then you can become Merck's Hertz!

CDC ADMITS VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM ON CNN

Thank you to Adventures In Autism for this You Tube video of CDC's Dr. Gerberding on CNN.

MOM JENNY EXPOSES AAP UNDERBELLY ON LARRY KING

By Barbara Loe Fisher

In what can only be described as a brilliant turn on Larry King Live, celebrity Mom Jenny McCarthy stood her ground with a defiant "anecdotal evidence IS scientific evidence" in calling on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to back away from one- size-fits-all vaccine policies that recommend all babies get dozens of doses of vaccines. Describing what happened to her son, who suffered convulsions and nearly died after a round of vaccinations and then regressed into autism, Jenny was accompanied by her pediatrician, Jay Gordon, M.D., and journalist David Kirby in a face-off with AAP pediatricians Harvey Karp, M.D. and David Tayloe, Jr. M.D..

It was a ground-breaking television debate about vaccine risks that highlighted the soft underbelly of a medical community unwilling to deal with the reality that regressive autism is part of the vaccine injury spectrum.

CNN'S DR. GUPTA INTERVIEW W/ DR. JON POLING

THE POLINGS, MD, PhD, RN, JD, MOM, DAD RESPOND TO DR. PAUL OFFIT

Dr. Jon Poling and his wife Terry have responded to Dr. Paul Offit's op-ed in the NYT.

Re “Inoculated Against Facts,” by Paul A. Offit (Op-Ed, March 31): Our daughter, Hannah, developed normally until receiving nine vaccines at once. She immediately developed a fever and encephalopathy, deteriorating into what was diagnosed, based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M. IV, as autism.

The federal government, not an “unusual court,” made the concession. The decision wasn’t “careless,” as your subheading called it. It was based on a thorough review of Hannah’s records by Health and Human Services doctors.

Read the full letter HERE.

MY FUNNY VIROLOGIST

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

My daughter’s new virologist is a charming man and I think we’re going to be great friends.  He also thinks I’m completely wrong about vaccines and autism, and in my daughter’s case, seizures.

Between the opposing poles of these two statements is the hazy outline of what I believe is an evolving dynamic which is not yet fully understood.

Let me back up a little so you can fully appreciate the story.

About six weeks back I was given the name of a woman who had approached Generation Rescue.  She has a foundation which is working on the theory that the Human Herpes Virus #6 (HHV-6) is the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome.  This woman’s foundation often talked with the world’s top virologists who privately tell her their belief that HHV-6 is also implicated in multiple sclerosis, autism, and seizures.  She didn’t have time to pursue HHV-6 in regards to autism, but thought we should be made aware of the theory.

HARVEY KARP: DVD SALESMAN

By J.B. Handley

I struggled with whether or not to write this piece because Harvey Karp-as a completely arrogant asshole with little grasp of the facts- is such a wonderfully appropriate spokesperson for the AAP. I have found that almost every parent I’ve asked who saw him on Larry King Live this week felt he did the other side a profound disservice.

That being said, Mr. Karp’s background to be a “spokesperson” for the AAP deserves some scrutiny -- and is quite murky, much like the AAP’s position on our vaccine schedule and autism in general.

WHY THE AUTISM SPEAKS BLACKOUT ON JENNY AND DAN!?

By Katie Wright

Like tens of thousands of parents I watched history being made on “Larry King” Wednesday night. Jenny McCarthy held up the AAP’s  1983 infant and toddler immunization schedule and the 2008 schedule and said what all of us have known for years, “too much, too soon.” We can no longer play russian roulette with our babies’ developing central nervous systems. As Kirby so eloquently said, “the debate is over, after the Polings concession, it is a fact that vaccines can trigger autism.” Newsflash- AAP- mitochondrial disorders among ASD kids are neither rare or in most cases, pre-existing. My child has a mito disorder too. They are triggered by too many vaccines at too young an age, overloading a developing immune system.

I almost felt sorry for Dr. Tayloe, the routing he endured was painful to watch, yet well deserved.

CDC HAS LOST CONTROL: DAVID KIRBY

David Kirby's latest HuffPo piece on the CDC's "loss of control" over the vaccines debate is HERE.

...the CDC now issues a written statement meant to soothe jittery parents, by saying that "the recommended vaccine schedule is flexible." Such decisions, the friendly announcement said, "are best made in consultation with the child's doctor, and parents shouldn't be reluctant to have such discussions."

OLMSTED ON AUTISM: THE HEAD OF HHS SAID WHAT?

BY DAN OLMSTED

One of the benefits of living around Washington, as I do, is that you hear the darnedest things – not because someone said them on C-SPAN or at a press conference, but because a neighbor chit-chatted in the produce section at Whole Foods with a senator's aide who said a little too much, or someone's wife let slip at a cocktail party something she didn't realize was that big a deal to someone who realized it was … and so on.

That's how I came across the following tidbit of hearsay – and make no mistake, that's what it is. But there is hearsay and then there is hearsay. None of it is admissible in court, but some of it simply feels more reliable, given the source and the circumstances. I think this falls in the latter category … but that is up to you, Dear Reader.

MEET DR. MINSHEW AT PENN BREWERY!

Remember Dr. Nancy Minshew? Allow us to remind you: "I used to think there were more cases [than in past years], but I don't think so any more." She is now convinced that the higher numbers are "not an increase in the number of cases, but are an improvement in recognition." Ah yes, the autism expert who doesn't believe there is an autism epidemic.

Want to meet her on Monday the 7th in Pittsburgh? The event appears to be her opportunity to tell people that vaccines do not cause autism. The event is wisely hosted at a brewery so you can hoist a few before before she arrives. The press release follows:

JENNY McCARTHY ON PEREZ HILTON

Gossip lad Perez Hilton picked up the Jenny McCarthy story. (A wonderful list member on a certain influential list (OK, it was EOHarm!) sent it to Perez. You can see his post with CNN video HERE. Pardon the F Bomb, OK?

DEIRDRE IMUS ON CDC'S DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Deirdre Imus has written an insightful piece on The Huffington Post about the turmoil within the once prestigious Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.  Like FEMA ("Great job, Brownie!"), FDA and other US institutions, CDC seems to have become under unusual fire (self-inflicted?) over the last seven years.  Here's a taste of Deirdre's Post.

Over the past four years headlines frequently chronicle a disturbing litany of allegations charging top CDC officials with wasting money on questionable research priorities, public relations stunts, distorting or ignoring health concerns raised by their own scientists, and retaliation against those who object to the censorship of scientific findings.

The past three years have been particularly unpleasant for CDC Director, Dr. Julie Gerberding, but apparently not as bad as she and her managers are making it for many CDC scientists.

Click HERE to read the full post at Huffington Post. Don't forget to comment over there!

TRANSCRIPT: LARRY KING LIVE

HERE's the transcript from Larry King Live last night.

AAP'S TAYLOE: TYRANNOSAURUS INFEX?

Here's an excerpt from the blog: Adventures In Autism about Dr. David Tayloe, who appeared on Larry King Live last night, ostensibly to allay parental fears about vaccines.

Let me say outright, I cannot imagine for the life of me why the AAP has chosen David Tayloe as their new chief. He is a PR nightmare for them! In the current climate, when every day more and more parents quit vaccinating all together, choosing a dinosaur like Tayloe who is stuck in the 1950's polio epidemic, and who does not seem to notice that the threats to children's health have dramatically changed in the last half century, is just plain stupid.

I am going to say something here... and it will be the most harsh thing I have ever said about anyone on this blog before, but it needs to be said.

Dr. Tayloe said that in his practice that has seen 100,000 patients that he has never referred one person to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund. If he has never seen a serious vaccine injury, it is not because he has not come across one, it is because he has his head up his ass.

Tayloe is just dangerous.

Read the full post HERE.

REGISTER FOR JENNY McCARTHY AND JIM CARREY'S RALLY

Last night, Jenny invited you to join herself and Jim Carrey in Washington DC, for a rally on June 4th.   Mid-week means better news coverage. You can register HERE.

AN ALL TIME ASS-WHOOPING

By J.B. Handley

Did we all just watch that?

Jesus Christ. Jenny McCarthy, David Kirby, and Jay Gordon just put a whoop on the CDC and AAP so big, they may never recover.

We’re moving at light speed now, and it couldn’t happen soon enough. I just checked the poll at Larry King’s website, and 85% of respondents believe vaccines can cause autism.

If you think pediatricians were hating life last week, wait until their patients start showing up today.

NEW AUTISM FILM: BEAUTIFUL SON ON PBS

In 2003, Hawaii filmmakers Don and Julianne King realized something was wrong with their three-year-old son, Beau. Around age two-and-a-half, Beau started losing his ability to speak, his coordination, and was becoming disconnected from the outside world. Determined to help Beau, his parents brought him to the best doctors in the U.S. and took along a video camera to document the results. Two months later, Beau was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

In BEAUTIFUL SON, Don and Julianne take us on their journey through the landscape of this debilitating neurological disorder as they attempt to recover Beau from autism.

JENNY McCARTHY & AUTISM ON CNN

Read more from the talented and dedicated Jenny McCarthy on CNN HERE.  And you can comment too.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

Don't forget to tune into Larry King Live tonight!

By Julie Obradovic

I was sitting here today, basking in all that has been glorious about today's World Autism Day coverage, when something astonishing occurred to me.

Was it really just one year ago that we were jumping out of our seats because Oprah actually let Katie Wright SAY the word vaccine? Does anyone else remember that? Just the WORD being on television as something related to Autism was cause for a celebration!

My how far we've come in such a short time!

ON WORLD AUTISM DAY: A PLEA FOR BETTER JOURNALISM

BY DAN OLMSTED

Any journalist will tell you that the ickiest feeling in all the universe – far worse than just getting scooped -- is making a flat-out factual error. And the more pertinent it is to the point of the story, the more you want to run and hide.

Mistakes? I’ve made a few, especially in my younger and more vulnerable years at daily papers, where time pressure, lack of experience and the wide range of assignments can lead to disaster. One beaut was the time I was filling in for the courthouse reporter when the new tax assessment was announced for our Illinois county. Relying on my own calculations (bad idea!), I wrote the standard “taxes are rising yet again” story.

WORLD AUTISM DAY: LARRY KING LIVE

Jenny McCarthy will be appearing on CNN's Larry King Live tonight. Check your local listings for time.  Other guests may include David Kirby, Dr. Jay Gordon and a physician from AAP.

ASKING FOR HEROES

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

On the night the Polings were to be interviewed by Larry King on CNN I had a problem.  On that same night I’d been asked by the principal of the school at which I'm a science teacher to talk to the PTA about our science program.

I didn’t want to miss this historic interview with the parents of the first child for whom the government conceded that vaccines had “significantly aggravated” her autism, as well as her seizures.  The PTA meeting didn’t actually start until just after the Larry King show ended so I asked the principal if she could open up another classroom with a television so I could watch.

“I’ll join you,” she replied, showing up two minutes before the start of the show, clutching a bag of Taco Bell takeout.  Everybody at school knows I’m an activist about vaccines and autism, but my principal has always been non-committal.  She listens, asks questions, but has never ventured an opinion.

AAP TO WORK WITH DEFEAT AUTISM NOW! ON TREATMENT

This isn't an April Fool's Day joke. AAP has announced that they plan to work with with the Autism Research Institute's Defeat Autism Now! program in an effort to provide treatment for our kids.  I wonder if they will be sending a team to the DAN! conference this weekend?  Here's their press release:

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS RECOGNIZES WORLD AUTISM DAY

For release: APRIL 1, 2008

AAP media contacts:  Susan Stevens Martin  Debbie Linchesky
847-434-7131   847-434-7084
ssmartin@aap.org  dlinchesky@aap.org

CHICAGO – The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports World Autism Day (April 2) as a way to bring together groups that are committed to finding the causes of, and successful treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorders, which now affect an estimated 1 in 150 children in the United States. Thousands of children, parents and families are coping with what can be a devastating diagnosis with lifelong consequences.

SOMEDAY I'M GONNA DIE. WHAT HAPPENS TO MY KIDS?

By Kim Stagliano

Ray Gallup, a dedicated autism dad, sent out an email this week with the obituary of a 74 year old woman who left behind a disabled son. 

Leila Simon's obituary moved me to write a piece for Huffington Post titled, Obituary: Kim Stagliano, 86, Leaves Three Autistic Children Behind.  I think people need to know how we inside the autism epidemic look at the future.

You can read the piece HERE. I'd appreciate your comments over at HuffPo.

Thanks.

Kim

CNN DEVOTES PROGRAMMING TO AUTISM

CNN is airing pieces about autism in programming called, Autism Unraveling the Mystery. Click HERE.

TIMES ONLINE UK: DR. WAKEFIELD'S STORY

From The Times UK online: Read the full article HERE. Here's a taste:

March 28, 2008

The doctor at the centre of the MMR vaccine controversy was told by a mother that her child showed signs of autism after receiving the vaccination — and that other parents were facing the same problem, a medical hearing heard yesterday.

Dr Andrew Wakefield. 51, said that he found the story of a link “compelling” and that it “merited attention”. It was his duty as a human being to help mothers who came to him seeking answers, he said.

Dr Wakefield faces being struck off the medical register after publishing in The Lancet in 1998 findings that suggested the triple vaccine could cause inflammatory bowel disease and autism.

CONGRATULATIONS! HERE'S WHAT YOU'VE WON!

By Jack Russell

Whenever you read the comments sections following any article related to the vaccine-autism link you inevitably see someone write about the “anti-vaccine” crowd and our “agenda.”  There is so much so obviously wrong with these statements, starting with the “anti-vaccine” label, but I’m always most blown away by the fact that we are perceived to have some “agenda” and that it wouldn’t be a universally held one.  I thought our “agenda” was merely something along the lines of this: things injected into children should be safe and not cause debilitating disease and parents should have freedom in determining what those things are.  But yet there seems to be some perception that we would have something more to gain if we were to “win” this public debate.