Heckenlively on the Omnibus Autism Proceeding 7/21-23

Going for the Knock-Out Punch! – The Omnibus Autism Proceeding – Second Set of Hearings (Thimerosal & Autism) – Days Fifteen through Eighteen – July 21-23, 2008

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

It’s the kind of knock-out punch every attorney dreams of delivering in an important case. Turning the opposing side’s expert witnesses to your side.

While I’m sure some may quibble with whether that actually happened with the withdrawal of the expert testimony of thimerosal experts Drs. Magos and Clarkson, it is certainly what attorneys for the families argued.  Even more damning was that fact that Dr. Clarkson was one of the co-authors on the Burbacher monkey study which showed thimerosal-containing vaccines delivered high levels of mercury to the brain which in turn caused neuro-inflammation.

Many of the arguments and counter-arguments in the third of this group of hearings, and sixth in the entire proceeding, have been made before, but the withdrawal of the expert reports of Drs. Magos and Clarkson makes it very difficult (in my opinion) for the government to prevail.  And it was a point which family attorney Tom Powers made sure stuck out like a sore thumb.

In his opening remarks Powers briefly reviewed the history of Colin Dwyer and that Dr. Mumper would show the legal sequence of cause and effect leading to Colin’s autism.

In her opening remarks, government attorney Lynn Ricciardella remarked that this case was only about specific causation, and that the issue if general causation was now closed.  The case had to rest on good, credible science, and had to comport with the standard established in the Daubert case.

Direct Examination of Maria Dwyer (Mother of Colin Dwyer) by Mr. Powers – Attorney for the Families

Mrs. Dwyer, who had worked in media for NBC radio and MTV reviewed the history of her son, Colin.  He developed normally until approximately 20 months when he had a vaccination.  Colin lost language, would scream and cry, and became difficult to pick up.  In addition, he later developed self-injurious behaviors.

The Dwyers tried numerous, costly interventions, before beginning work with Dr. Kenneth Bock, a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor.  Colin was put on a gluten/casein free diet and there were immediate improvements in his bowels and physical appearance.  Chelation therapy showed his mercury levels were off the charts.

There have been no suggestions that Colin is mentally retarded, as he seems to learn quickly and uses his PECS (picture exchange system) with good proficiency.  On a daily basis he still seems to have rigid and compulsive behavior and may hit himself if he becomes frustrated.

While Colin is not recovered, in comparing Colin with three other similarly affected children who were roughly similar many years ago, Colin is the most high-functioning of the group.

Cross-Examination of Mrs. Dwyer by Ms. Lynn Ricciardella (Attorney for the Government)

Mrs. Dwyer believes Colin’s autism was caused by his thimerosal-containing vaccines because his regression started right after receiving his vaccines in July 2000.

Questions from Special Master Denise Vowell

Colin received 4 hepatitis B vaccines rather than the usual 3 vaccines.  Although Colin started the gluten/casein free diet, the Dwyers noticed later that it seemed he could handle the gluten without any negative effects.

Direct Examination of Timothy Dwyer (Father of Colin Dwyer) by Mr. Timothy Powers – Attorney for the Families

Mr. Dwyer worked for the New York fire department for 16 years and the police department for 4 years.  He was in the second wave of fire-fighters during the 9/11 attacks in New York, arriving just as the towers were coming down.

In Colin’s first year of life there were no problems for him with sirens and he did not appear to have any sound sensitivities.  He recalled his wife saying at 13 months that Colin was “into everything.”  He also recalls how during the 17-18 month period he spent a lot of time with Colin, going out into the neighborhood, or the beach, and that Colin was fine.  After 20 months however, that all changed.

In early 2001 Colin started hand-flapping and displaying other sensory issues.  While Colin is better today than he used to be, Mr. Dwyer is worried about Colin’s future.  He doesn’t like the idea of Colin living in a group home or being lonely.

There was no cross-examination.

Direct Examination of Dr. Elizabeth Mumper by Mr. Timothy Powers – Attorney for the Families

Dr. Mumper is a pediatrician in private practice, and is medical director of the Autism Research Institute and Defeat Autism Now.  She is also director of the Rimland Center.

In her review of Colin’s medical records she believes it’s pretty clear that Colin developed normally until approximately 20 months, the same time during which eh received his thimerosal-containing vaccination.  Based on the medical reports and the parent testimony, she believes Colin regressed into autism.

She places great importance in blood tests which show antibodies suggestive of neuro-inflammation, antibodies against myelin basic proteins, low glutathione levels, indicators of oxidative stress, low levels of plasma sulfate, problems with his cysteine levels, and the pre-and-post provocative urine challenges, at first showing no detectible mercury, than 3 times the normal range.

It is her opinion that Colin was tipped towards neuro-inflammation or neuro-toxicity by his thimerosal-containing vaccines, and thus developed autism.

Cross-Examination of Dr. Mumper by Ms. Lynn Ricciardella – Attorney for the Government

Dr. Mumper has not done an evaluation of Colin, simply reviewed his medical records and talked with his parents.

In regards to the specific tests she cited, Dr. Mumper agrees that no individual test is conclusive, but when taken together they paint a certain clinical picture.

In order to get a good clinical marker of neuro-inflammation one would need to do an autopsy, or obtain fluid from the central nervous system, a practice which at this point is discouraged, if not the subject of possible sanctions for the physician who performs it.

Redirect Examination of Dr. Mumper by Mr. Timothy Powers – Attorney for the Families

Dr. Mumper notes that the anti-bodies to myelin basic proteins are also found in Alzheimer’s and ALS, but there is no suggestion that Colin suffers from those conditions.  In addition, no medications are currently known to cause the formation of such anti-bodies.

Colin was not diagnosed by her as being autistic, but by a pediatric neurologist, based on his case history and symptoms.  She relies on the experience of Dr. Aposhian for the science which supports the mercury efflux disorder hypothesis.

Questions from Special Master Denise Vowell

While there is abundant data on autistic children and the results pre-and-post provocation challenge, no reference range has yet been established.

Direct Examination of Dr. Bennett Leventhall by Ms. Lynn Ricciardella – Attorney for the Government

Dr. Leventhall is a professor of child psychiatry at the University of Illinois in Chicago,
and his research practice is part of a National Institute of Health designated “Center of Excellence.”  He diagnoses about 50-200 new cases of autism a year and has published 120 peer-reviewed articles.

He does not believe that Colin’s autism is the result of receiving a thimerosal-containing vaccine.  Dr. Leventhal agrees that Colin probably has autism, but says the “gold standard” of testing, the ADI/ADOS testing has not been done on him.

In Colin’s medical charts he notes a slippage of his growth curve at 6 months.  He also notes that the Bailey and Stanford-Bennett tests were performed on Colin and showed mild to moderate mental retardation.

If he suspected neuro-inflammation in a child he would consult a neurologist and do a lumbar puncture to look at the cerebro-spinal fluid.  From photo-graphs of Colin he claims he can see some mild facial dismorphologies.

Cross-Examination of Dr. Leventhal by Mr. Timothy Powers – Attorney for the Families

Dr. Leventhal does not believe autism is purely genetic, but doesn’t believe a causal relationship has been shown between thalidomide and autism, or with the drug terbutalene.  He agrees that there is some data on association between maternal rubella exposure and autism.

He states that approximately 10% of children with autism have an identified genetic cause.  He is unfamiliar with the articles by Pardo, Vargas, and Zimmerman showing neuro-inflammation in people with autism.

Leventhal claims that 90% of the children have early problems which are not identified.  However, he does concede that in this case there is no affirmative evidence of early abnormal development.

He believes that there are genetic conditions that can be triggered by the environment and does believe that glutamate in the brain of people with autism is a worthy area of study.

Questions from Special Master Denise Vowell

Leventhal believes this record is inadequate to determine if Colin had any early developmental abnormalities.  He is uncertain whether the incidence of autism has risen in past years.

General Causation Closing Argument for the Families

Attorney Williams began by stating that the thimerosal-autism theory is biological plausible.  Neuro-inflammation can cause autism and from the Burbacher adult monkey studies we know that mercury can cause neuro-inflammation.

The government’s own expert witness on thimerosal toxicity, Dr. Clarkson, was a co-author on the Burbacher monkey studies.  There are several well-recognized environmental agents which can trigger autism, such as thalidomide, valproic acid, terbutalene, maternal rubella exposure, and that thimerosal should be added to the list.

The testimony of Dr. Fombonne should be ignored because on the one hand he says the data showing the increase in autism going up as the vaccination schedule changes can’t be trusted, but by the same token, the same data showing no decrease in autism rates with the removal of thimerosal are to be trusted.

The work by Dr. Young from the Vaccine Safety Datalink provides strong evidence of the connection, and although the court may be wary of the Geiers work, all they did was provide access.

The connection between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism is strong.  From studies of monkeys we know that mercury levels five times higher than normal creates a similar type of neuro-inflammation to that seen in the brains of people with autism.  Persistent neuro-inflammation can explain what is seen in autism.

Closing Argument on Specific Causation by Mr. Powers – Attorney for the Families

Powers began by asserting that Dr. Leventhal engaged in wild speculation, suggesting that Colin suffered from some genetic abnormality.  No evidence suggests any genetic abnormality.

The evidence showed that Colin was normally developing and regressed after getting his vaccination at approximately 20 months.

Closing Remarks from Mr. Vincent Matanoski – Attorney for the Government

Matanoski began by reminding the court that petitioners have the burden of proving that thimerosal-containing vaccines caused Colin’s autism.  The general picture that is emerging is that genetics are implicated in autism.

In criticizing the testimony of Dr. Mumper, Matanoski says she was relying on isolated lab results to show that the vaccines caused autism.

In addition, he said that the evidence submitted by the families fails to meet the standard of reliable science under the Daubert standard.  As far as the question of neuro-inflammation in monkeys, they were not specific to autism.  The claimants in this case have had six years to prove their case, but have been unsuccessful, even when they change theories.

Rebuttal from Mr. Williams – Attorney for the Families

Mr. Williams pointed out that this is a dynamic scientific environment with new information always being developed.  In 2004 the Burbacher infant monkey studies were not completed as well as the new information on neuro-inflammation.

Closing Remarks of Mr. Powers – Attorney for the Families

In his closing Mr. Powers pointed out that the questions at issue here are part of a changing scientific landscape.  New discoveries are constantly being made.

In addition, the respondent here, the Department of Health and Human Services has a dual role.  First, in this case, to respond to the specific allegations, and second, to fund the sort of research necessary to anser many of the questions raised in this hearing and convey that information to the public. 

The Department is aware that new information will always require an adjustment of previous theories.

Finally, Mr. Powers pointed out that the Vaccine Court was designed to be a less adversarial process than traditional courts, but that seems to have changed over the previous years.  Unfair attacks leveled at expert witnesses, such as the use of a thirty-year-old employment dispute involving Dr. Kinsbourne, or the claim that Dr. Bradstreet performs “exorcisms” would not be allowed in a traditional civil trial.

Closing Remarks of Mr. Matanoski – Attorney for the Government

Mr. Matanoski expressed his appreciation for the families who testified in this hearing, but noted that the questions at issue here were of a scientific nature.  He implored the court to remember that their decision must be rendered on reliable scientific evidence.

As far as questioning the credibility of expert witnesses, Mr. Matanoski believed the questions he raised were appropriate.

In summation, he claimed his expert witnesses, Dr. Catherine Lord, Dr. Eric Fombonne, and Professor Michael Rutter were much more credible than Dr. Deth and Dr. Kinsbourne.  In his opinion, all reliable scientific evidence was on the side of the ledger that vaccines don’t cause autism.

Concluding Thoughts on this Testimony

I can’t say that the government has put itself in any stronger position over these days of testimony.

Inevitably, the parents, the mother who worked in entertainment, and the father a firefighter who was involved in 9/11, are going to come across as credible figures.

Dr. Mumper is a clinician by nature and does not have a long list of publications. 
However, regardless of what might be said of her opinions, her work at the Autism Research Institute and DAN shows that many professionals in the field consider her a person of substantial merit.

Dr. Leventhal has impressive academic and clinical credentials, but his assertion that Colin may suffer from a genetic disorder is unsubstantiated by any of the evidence presented.  It was a curious strategy to take, but possibly the only one available to him.

I was bothered, though, by his failure to have read the research on neuro-inflammation by Pardo, Vargas, and Zimmerman.  It came across to me as a way to honestly claim ignorance of many issues brought up by that research, but I doubt it will impress the Special Masters.  It would’ve been much better if he’d read them and then disagreed with their methodology or conclusions.

The fact that he didn’t comes across as the government attorneys realizing that he wouldn’t be able to draw such distinctions.  Along with the withdrawal of the expert reports of Drs. Clarkson and Magos, it seems that the government’s case is staggering under the repeated blows of the attorneys for the families.

We’ll probably have to wait several months to know if this was a “knock-out” punch.

Kent Heckenlively is Legal Editor for Age of Autism.

Comments

[Ray Hausler]

Kent, when time permits would you please explain to me the meaning and significance of the "Daubert" standard.

Many thanks for your invaluable reporting.
Ray H.

[Anne Dachel]

This past April, Dr. Leventhal was in a Chicago area paper talking about the genetics of autism. Here's a doctor who's director of the Center for Child Mental Health & Developmental Neuroscience Institute at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He's been working with these children for years. He's seen the dramatic increase in the number of sick kids everywhere--and I don't just mean autism. These kids come with seizures, gut issues, allergies and asthma like we've never experienced in children before, but Leventhal isn't worried. To him, autism has always affected an overwhelming number of children. He said, "Research has shown that 1 in 150 kids having one form or another of the brain disorder has remained relatively constant since 1943, when Leo Kanner first identified the condition."

According to Leventhal, doctors in the past just weren't able to pick out these kids like they can today.

The reporter continued, "Some have tried to tie ASD to the array of vaccines children get. But Leventhal said there is no hard scientific evidence of a link between autism and the ethyl mercury preservative -- thimerosal, which had been used as a preservative in vaccines -- and autism."

After reading the news story, I wrote to Dr. Leventhal. I sent him all kinds of findings and news stories that contradicted his claims that autism hasn't increased and that there is no research linking thimerosal to autism.

I received a polite response from the doctor in which he resorted to the CDC studies that show no link. He also ignored all the very credible evidence I had sent him. Leventhal ended his letter with a strange comment. He told me that since we obviously were far apart on our assessment of autism, "we'll just have to agree to disagree."

What? "Agree to disagree"? Did he think we were postulating on black holes in outer space or the Loch Ness Monster? I was talking about oversight failure that had resulted in epidemic number of disabled children!

This attitude was impossible to comprehend. We can't both be right. This isn't going to be an ongoing debate that we'll never settle. The truth about what's happened to hundreds of thousands of American children and millions of kids around the world will come out.

Doctors like Leventhal will have a lot to answer for. He's seen the results of this holocaust everyday in his work. He's made a living off of all these children and he's satisfied to pretend that nothing is wrong.

Anne Dachel
Media editor

[David Taylor]

Great job and thank you, Kent. As parents of a child who is part of this claim, we appreciate the hard work by you and Mary, and the support of AOA.

What stands out for me is your simple summation that thimerosal should be added to a list of things that are known to contribute to the development of "autism." It is really as simple as that now that the science has developed.

Our child sees Jeff Bradstreet. On our first visit back in 2004 he told us almost verbatim what was summarized by the claimants' lawyers: inflammation of the brain triggered by the vaccines, to which Davey was susceptible due to genetic anomaly.

And now, four years later . . . the courts seem on the verge of catching up.

BTW, it's Stanford-Binet.

Thanks again.

[Riley's mom]

Thanks Andrea
Is this something I should have done? Can this be done at a doctors office only and what qualifications does the doc need to do this properly? Is it really nessesary to have done? Are blood tests and urine testing more important? I know too many questions marks!!
I just want to make sure we are doing this right. That we have all the proper documentation to go with our case.

[Andrea]

Bowtie Benny diagnosed my son along with Catherine Lord back in 1998. She did the ADOS-G as well as the ADI-R and a couple other tests. $3,000 worth.

I think it is humorous that Dr. Leventhal doesn't know if there has been a real increase in autism since the waiting lists for dianosis have grown exponentially. I clearly remember the intake coordinator commenting on how busy they had become over the last year or two. My son was immediately seen at the clinic only because he was so young. 2 years 1 month made him one of the youngest children they had seen at the time. At first we were told it would be a year to a year and a half to get in. Once they learned he was so young he was suddenly first in line.

We were provided with a writen report that only contained the key points they cared to focus on. Nothing was ever put in the report about the regression my son experienced. Or any of his illnesses, or sleep disturbances or change in diet etc... We shared a lot about that stuff with Dr. Lord but somehow it never made it into the report.

Also, Dr. Bowtie told us that he thought my son's ears were too big and that they stuck out. Which could be an indication of something "genetic". I didn't see it...but what the hell did I know? Nonetheless, today my son's ears are completely proportionate for his head size and he is a hell of a good looking bugger too! I think that bowtieman's comments about physical appearance is his attempt to make autism genetic and tries to find characteristics that would support his view. At that time his thinking was autism is purely genetic- he told us so. He seems to have soften that view point a bit at least for this testimony. Because everyone else in the world knows environment is a factor and he would sound like a real dummmy if he didn't at least acknowledge that.

His bias is so evident when asked about a child having a lumbar punction if he thought that was a rather invasive procedure or not.

He responded by saying not anymore invasive then intravenous chelation or IV Glutathione. Smart ass...

[nhokkanen]

Regarding Dr. Bennett Leventhal losing his job in 2005:

"[T]he university abruptly announced it had removed one of its best-known child psychiatrists, Dr. Bennett Leventhal, from an administrative role in the department and was giving him a year to leave the school."

Photo caption:
Dr. Bennett Leventhal, a child psychiatrist and autism specialist, sits in a University of Chicago office June 21, 1996. Removed from an administrative role in the child psychiatry department and given a year to leave the school, in Dec. 2004, Leventhal is considering his legal options. The school claims his departure was part of a shake-up meant to ultimately strengthen the department.

http://media.www.dailyvidette.com/media/storage/paper420/news/2005/01/31/News/Changes.Leave.Department.In.Turmoil-846504.shtml

[Kathy]

I just listened the the closing of the Dwyer case. It had to be so hard for the Dwyer's to sit there and listen to Matanoski say that we shouldn't rush to judgment and that it's taken this long what's the hurry ... then they all laughed that it's taken 6 years to get here ... sorry totally paraphrased but as a mother of an vaccine injured child, I wanted to slap him across the face and everyone else who laughed. Honestly, why doesn't Matanoski and every other person who laughed get a proportionate amount of all the toxins that were injected into our kids and see if he could still speak or if they'd be in a corner of the courtroom banging their heads into the wall? Oh, yeah, let's throw some loose bowels into the mix, chronic GI pain etc ... Geeze, what's the hurry? I'll tell ya what the hurry is the current vaccine schedule is unsafe, vaccines are unsafe and until they stop covering up the dangers more kids are going to be banging their heads against the wall instead of saying I love you mommy.

What's the hurry? 6 years ... so how many more children have had their lives changed forever because nobody will listen to us?

Oh dear God, this has to come to an end quickly, yes Mr. Matanoski, it's the only thing you said I agree with but not because you want to save face ... we need to save children.'

Thankfully I listened to the junk science out there and hysterical parents online and recovered my son ... who by the way was injured from 1999 on when the CDC knew thimerisol was dangerous. Not safe enough for the Simpsonwood attendees grandchildren to play alittle russian roullette with, but ok for my baby and so many others ... pisses me off.

[Teresa]

I have mentioned this before on other blogs and in a letter to the Editor of the Chicago Tribune, this after an article that featured psrents ( I was one, as well as a picture of my daughter Megan) who felt their children hsd been injured by vaccines (via thimerosal) vs Leventhal (does that tell you what this guy is all about). Here is the article and the later emails to the reporter and the Trib regarding her bias and lack of giving the facts on Leventhal.

Questions of Blame Linger in Autism, Vaccine Dispute
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/558828/questions_of_blame_linger_in_autism_vaccine_dispute/index.html?source=r_health

From: Teresa [mailto:redhead60707@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sun 6/25/2006 12:13 AM
To: CTC-PuublicEditor; Breslin, Meg
Cc: Roe, Sam L.; Hawthorne, Michael; Deardorff, Julie D.; jritter@suntimes.com; info@donharmon.org; rep@pbellock.com; karenmay60@aol.com; garrett@senatedem.state.il.us; granbergkm@ilga.gov
Subject: Re:"Parents, doctors and the disputed link between vaccines and autism"

To the Editor:

As a participant in the article, "Parents, doctors and the disputed link between vaccines and autism"(6/25/06), I request that you correct information that was inaccurate or omitted. The article states that the flu vaccine contains traces of mercury. This is not true. The fact is there are mercury/thimerosal-free flu vaccines, but you need to request them. Many of the flu vaccines still contain 25 micrograms of thimerosal (ethylmercury.........
In addition, the article does not state that Dr. Bennett Leventhal has a conflict of interest in speaking about autism and thimerosal, the mercury preservative that is used in flu vaccines. Dr. Leventhal receives research support from Abbott, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Shire, Pfizer, and Forrest Laboratories; he is on the speaker bureaus of Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Bristol-Meyers Squibb/Otsuka; and he has consulting relationships with Abbott, Eli Lilly, Janssen, McNeil, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline, as reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 44- Number 4- April 2005. It is a conflict as Pfizer, Abbot, GlaxoSmithKline, and Eli Lilly are defendants in lawsuits regarding thimerosal and autism. As a result, his statements in the article should be considered biased.
http://www.bcc-asa.org/Lexapro-Cook.pdf

Sincerely,

Teresa Conrick

(I am specifically speaking about civil cases that are still "lingering" in state courts and name these actual companies)

Breslin, Meg" wrote:

Hi Teresa,

I wanted to let you know I saw this letter and I understand your concerns. As I'm sure you understand, this issue is difficult because there are two very clear sides and everything you claim is challenged by others and vice versa. I do want you to know, however, that I am looking into this, particularly Leventhal's connection to the drug industry, and your concerns with the flu vaccine.
I hope you felt the article did offer something in terms of presenting parental concerns and I do very much appreciate all your time. I do plan to write more on autism in the future.

Finally, please feel free to call me directly to discuss any of these concerns/issues. I am out of the office today but will be in tomorrow in the morning.

From: Teresa [mailto:redhead60707@yahoo.com]
Sent: Mon 6/26/2006 12:14 PM
To: Breslin, Meg
Cc:
Subject: RE: "Parents, doctors and the disputed link between vaccines and autism"

Hi Meg,

Yes, there are definitely two very clear sides, but we had no "side" representing the facts and research regarding thimerosal. Dr. Ayoub's information was not included, but instead Dr. Leventhal, a psychiatrist who has financial ties to the very companies involved in thimerosal litigation, is given space to proclaim unscientific and biased opinion.

I appreciate your response and do feel that the public deserves the facts. Looking into the reality of flu vaccines with thimerosal and also Dr. Leventhal's ties may prove to be quite an eye-opener. I look forward to seeing that in the Trib.

Thanks,

Teresa

Subject: RE: "Parents, doctors and the disputed link between vaccines and autism"
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:44:51 -0500
From: "Breslin, Meg"
To: "Teresa"

Thanks for your comments. I'm sorry you felt I wasn't balanced in my reporting as the last thing I want to do is add any further stress to your life. I have heard from others that the piece opened some eyes for them in terms of what parents face so I'm at least grateful for that.

I do hope we can keep in touch on these issues and that you won't write me off just yet.

Take Care,
Meg

And 2 years later--I wrote her off. She never did a follow up on Leventhal nor did she attempt to explore more about the biomedical issues in autism.

Meanwhile, reading that he is sitting in vaccine court denying that thimerosal has played a part in these children and giving bullshit explanations ie "He is uncertain whether the incidence of autism has risen in past years", "suggesting that Colin suffered from some genetic abnormality", "He does not believe that Colin’s autism is the result of receiving a thimerosal-containing vaccine", and "From photographs of Colin he claims he can see some mild facial dismorphologies"...is just crazy.

[Andrea]

Riley's Mom,

ADOS

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS: WPS Version; Lord, Rutter, DiLavore, & Risi, 1999) is a standardized observation designed to assess behaviors related to autism or Autistic Spectrum Disorders (see also Lord et al., 2000). Previous versions of the ADOS ( Lord, Rutter, & Goode, 1989) and the Pre-Linguistic Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (PL-ADOS: DiLavore, Lord, & Rutter, 1995) have been combined into this single instrument.

The ADOS is a semi-structured, standardized assessment of communication, social interaction, and play or imaginative use of materials for individuals who have been referred because of possible autism or an autistic spectrum disorders. The ADOS can be used to evaluate individuals at different developmental levels and chronological ages, from toddlers to adults, from individuals with no speech to those who are verbally fluent.

The goal of the ADOS is to provide standardized information concerning the diagnosis of autism in the areas of social behavior, use of vocalizations/speech and gesture in social situations, and play and interests. Structured activities and materials provide standard contexts in which social interactions, communication, and other behaviors relevant to autistic spectrum disorders are observed. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability, as well as internal validity, have been demonstrated for the ADOS. The ADOS and its previous versions, including the PL-ADOS and ADOS-G, have been widely used in research and in academic centers.

Read more here:

http://www.umaccweb.com/diagnostic_tools/index.html

[Kent Heckenlively]

Fred:

They did say thalidomide. Yes, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.

Thanks for reminding me it's Tom and not Timothy.

All the best,
Kent Heckenlively

[Fred King (Jordan King's dad)]

Did they really say thalidomide? Also, the attorney is the esteemed Tom Powers.

[gvtstrategy]

The government defense summary:

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Daubert.

Works every time for big corporations, so why would they do anything else here.

[Riley's mom]

Thank you Kent and Mary for always keeping me "up to date" on all this. I nearly spit out my coffee this morning when I seen the new post. In the article you mentioned a test called ADI/ADOS that is the "gold standard" of testing. This may sound like a silly question or maybe something I should already know but what is this and what does these stand for? Is this something I should or shouldn't have done? WHy is it concidered the "gold standard" of testing?
We've filed our VICP and are still having testing done and giving all this info to our lawyer as we have it done.

[Lisa Thompson]

My son was seen at age four by a top neurologist at Boston's Children's Hospital who also described my son's face as being dismorphic. I have never forgotten this. Most people consider my son, now age 13, to be quite handsome. Of course being his mother, I tend to agree! This is the same top neurologist who didn't have one toy in his office (at Children's Hospital, no less), but expected my child to sit quietly for a lengthy duration while he assailed my husband and I with the grim revelations of his autism diagnosis.