How Will Sarah Palin Vaccinate Her Son Trig?

By Mark Blaxill

John McCain's surprise decision for his Vice Presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has shaken up the 2008 presidential election race. Since Palin, who has served only two years as Alaska's governor, is not well known, her selection as the Republican candidate for Vice President has raised a number of questions. The most obvious and important question is being asked widely: is she ready to be President should something happen to John McCain? In the meantime, this telegenic, 44 year old mother of five has made history as only the second woman in American history to be selected as Vice President for a major party ticket.

But for some of us, the selection of Sarah Palin has a special resonance. Palin's younger son, Trig, born on April 19, 2008, is barely 4 months old now. Trig has Down's syndrome, a disorder that began at conception when he received two copies of his 21st chromosome from either his mother or father (close to 90% of the time, the extra copy is maternal), leaving him with three copies of this chromosome instead of the usual two. This genetic condition, formally known as trisomy 21, affects roughly 1 in 800 American children today, but as many as 1 in 27 children born to mothers who, like Palin, give birth at age 44.

For readers of the Age of Autism, this 4 month child is worth watching. Because trisomy 21 is not just the cause of Down's syndrome, it is also a genetic susceptibility factor for autism.

Rates of autism in children with Down's syndrome have not been determined with any great precision. They are quite likely increasing as the background rate of autism has also increased in the last 15-20 years. But there is little dispute that autism rates are high in the Down's syndrome population. One 1999 study in the UK estimated the minimum rate of autism in a population of children with Down's syndrome in South Birmingham at 7%. That places the risk of autism in children with Down's syndrome at least 10 times higher than the regular population. For Sarah Palin, that means her 4 month old son Trig may have at least a 1 in 15 chance of developing autism in addition to his Down's syndrome if one applies a ten year old estimate. If one makes the reasonable assumption that autism risk has risen over the last decade Trig's autism risk may well be greater than 1 in 10. Those aren't very good odds, especially for a family already facing the hardship of managing the difficulties of a special needs child.

These concerns would be important for any mother of a child with Down's syndrome, but they will take on an even greater urgency for Sarah Palin now that she is a Vice Presidential candidate. Quite literally overnight, Sarah Palin has become America's most visible mother of an infant child. And in her position, a stark and important personal health care decision now becomes a matter of public interest.

How will Sarah Palin vaccinate her infant son Trig?

Trig will be over six months old when flu season rolls around. Will Governor Palin consent to give him the recommended mercury-containing flu shot when his next well baby visit arises? As Governor, when she signed a statement in October 2007, as part of Influenza Vaccination Awareness Season in Alaska, to "encourage all Alaskans to get a flu vaccination to protect themselves, their families, and their communities," did she follow her own guidance?  Indeed, did she receive a mercury-containing flu shot herself during last year's flu season when she was in the late stages of her pregnancy? Will Governor Palin follow the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for Trig and receive over 40 separate vaccine doses over the first 5 years of his life. Indeed, at 4 months of age, at a time when Trig should already have received 16 different vaccine doses, is he on schedule or not?

Make no mistake, as the mother of a Down's syndrome child, Sarah Palin is playing with fire if she chooses not to deviate from the recommended schedule. With so many children with no identifiable risk factors showing up with autism that their parents connected to a vaccine reaction, if I were the mother of a child in an identified high risk group, I'd be scared to death to follow the rules. And I'd be doing everything I could to select only the most important vaccines and slow the entire process down. Most of all, I'd do my best to stay under the radar and not call attention to anything I was doing. The easiest way to delay the process is to feign ignorance and let the task of scheduling appointments carry the necessary delay.

Unfortunately for Sarah Palin, her newly visible public role doesn't allow her to fly under the radar. Every personal choice she has ever made, from playing point guard on her high school basketball team, to entering the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, to running for Mayor of Wassilla, is about to come under relentless scrutiny. Her decision not to abort Trig even after she learned he was a Down's syndrome child has won her the admiration of the pro-life crowd. But knowing that she has delivered her special needs child and has started to manage this 4 month old baby's health and development, she has a new set of choices to make that will become a matter of intense public interest. Will she follow the recommended childhood immunization schedule for Trig, or will she not?

What are you going to do Governor? What are you going to do?
--
Mark Blaxill is Editor at Large of Age of Autism.

Comments

[frank burns]

To counter rumors back in August, Sarah Palin made a statement, to the effect that her daughter was five months pregnant. At that point, about 95% of the people who were actively discussing the rumor laid off, but of course expecting that in December there would be a baby to back up Sarah’s claim. In December, there came no evidence of any baby except for a new round of statements by Sarah, Sarah’s family and her press office.
The concern here is that Back in August perhaps Bristol was not yet five months pregnant, did not give birth to Tripp in December, and that in due time photos will appear of Tripp, but with no way to date when they were taken.

[Craig Willoughby]

Mehoo, mercury is still in the vaccines. It was never taken out, just shuffled around like in a shell game. It is in the majority of flu shots in full 25 mic dosage, and the Flu shot is becoming mandatory in some states.

What us and the rest of the Autism Community are trying to say to everyone that sometimes the vaccine IS more dangerous than the disease for some children, like in the case of the MMR. What we are trying to get proven, but are rejected at every step of the way, is that the vaccines need to be better studied and that there are indeed susceptiple subgroups of children who are getting harmed by vaccines, like in the case of Hannah Poling and all of our children.

Despite the propaganda that the anti-safe vaccine crowd spews, we don't want to get rid of vaccine entirely.

[mehoo]

I have a kid with Down syndrome. Even if I did think vaccination was a risk for autism, which at this point I don't (especially since the mercury is gone) - don't forget that kids with DS have weak immune systems, making them at greater risk of diseases the vaccines protect against, and greater risk of disability or death due to them. I'd be more worried about that than autism.

[Theresa]

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/09/how-will-sarah.html

Mark,

Thank you so much for raising this issue. Although I'm coming late to this discussion, the issue of vaccines for children with other kinds of neurodevelopmental disorders does not have a time-stamp on it. It is as pertinent for them as it is for children with autism.

I believe you are just scratching the surface here, and I thank you for doing it. If you look on the CDC website at the page “Who should not get vaccinated?” you will see precious little concerning Down Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, “mental retardation,” neurodevelopmental delay, Cerebral Palsy, ataxia, mitochondrial disease, metabolic disease, genetic disorders, etc. You also won’t see much about vaccines being contraindicated for adults with neurological disorders.

Look at the CDC page on who should not get vaccinated here --http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm . Count the number of “exemptions” kids and adults with neurological problems get.
Look at this WHO site on mitochondrial diseases and vaccination - http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/mitochondrial_diseases/Jun_2008/en/index.html -- “While vaccines may cause fever, clinicians caring for children with mitochondrial disease recommend vaccinating their patients since the risk of developing an even more devastating clinical deterioration would be associated with natural infection.”
Look here in the UK on recommendations for immunization in Down Syndrome - http://www.dsmig.org.uk/library/articles/keypoints-immunisation.html

When was it that the policy on children with neurological disabilities changed? Because the going advice from neurologists used to be that children with neurological disability should not be vaccinated, – or so says both our pediatrician and our neurologist. That’s not the case anymore. When and how did that “consensus” change? Now there’s a story worth printing.

Regressions in children who already suffer neurological disorder or damage may be masked or passed off as part of their disease/disorder/syndrome/damage process. There is plenty of literature concerning vaccines and toxins as the cause of various neurological disorders, autism being only one of them. What about regressions afterward, descent into behavioral problems (which we know are most often immune-mediated), chronic intestinal problems, autism spectrum disorders, seizures, tics, movement disorders? In a typically developing child who regresses into an autism spectrum disorder, the change is highly visible. Even so, parents often have to jump through an enormous number of hoops to prove it. Imagine how difficult it might be to determine vaccine-induced regression in a child who already has a disorder – even kids who are diagnosed with non-regressive autism at birth?

For us, the poof has been in the pudding – in testing and treating our child who has had a neurodeveopmental disorder since soon after birth -- just like you would a child with autism. And yes, she regressed severely between 18-24 months on the accelerated CDC “catch-up” schedule required for international adoption. Behavioral problems, movement disorder, chronic diarrhea. And no, you couldn’t pick her tests out of a line-up of tests of children with autism. And yes, through three years of biomedical intervention, her behavioral problems are massively reduced, she is learning better and hardly ever has diarrhea anymore (a work in progress).

Keep going down this road of inquiry, as I think there is a big Pandora’s box waiting to be opened for the vaccine makers – a treasure chest for countless kids whose parents need to know more about how to recognize regression when they see it, how to prevent it from happening, and how to treat it once it does.

In great appreciation,
Theresa

[Vann Black]

I just had an unforgettable trip to Alaska where I was able to speak to others about Sarah Palin before and after she was selected for the VP spot. Alaskans lover her and so do I. So much that I have set up www.SarahPalinEagle.com to commemorate the trip and raise money for her.

-Vann Black

[Mamie]

I read through the thread and didn't see a mention of this.

Newsweek contradicted the claims about Palin reducing funding for special needs. In fact she tripled funding in the last 2 years. So that was BEFORE she knew she was carrying a baby with Down's, BUT it is now being reported Palin's sister Heather's son has autism - so a double reason for her to be an advocate for special needs.

[Kelli Ann Davis]

As soon as Sarah Palin was done with her speech I *KNEW* John McCain would be the next President of the United States.

She connected with me and I knew she had most likely connected with millions of other Americans as well.

Karen, the NYTimes story you posted resonates with me and explains why I felt an almost *immediate* connection to this woman.

She is *real and genuine* and she totally ROCKS.

[KarenAtlanta]

Interesting NYTs piece:
"In private, the Palins slowly started to share the Down syndrome diagnosis. They wrote a long letter to Bruce, Palin's sister, who has an autistic son, explaining how they had come to embrace the challenges their baby would bring."
NYTs Palin fuses politics and motherhood in new way
By Jodi Kantor, Kate Zernike and Catrin Einhorn
Monday, September 8, 2008

This article was reported by Jodi Kantor, Kate Zernike and Catrin Einhorn and written by Kantor.

Sarah Palin's baby shower included a surprise guest: her own baby. He had arrived in the world a month early, so on a sunny May day, Palin, the governor of Alaska, rocked her newborn as her closest friends, sisters, even her obstetrician presented her with a potluck meal, presents and blue-and-white cake.

Most had learned that Palin was pregnant only a few weeks before. Struggling to accept that her child would be born with Down syndrome and fearful of public criticism of a governor's pregnancy, Palin had concealed the news that she was expecting even from her parents and children until her third trimester.

But as the governor introduced her son that day, according to a friend, Kristan Cole, she said she had come to regard him as a blessing from God. "Who of us in this room has the perfect child?" said Palin, who declined to be interviewed for this article.

Since that day, Trig Paxson Van Palin, still only 143 days old, has had an unexpected effect on his mother's political fortunes. Before her son was born, Palin went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that his arrival would not compromise her work. She hid the pregnancy. She traveled to Texas a month before her due date to give an important speech, delivering it even though her amniotic fluid was leaking. Three days after giving birth, she returned to work.

But with Trig in her arms, Palin has risen higher than ever. Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, says he selected her as his running mate because of her image as a reformer, but she is also making motherhood an explicit part of her appeal, running as a self-proclaimed hockey mom. In just a few months, she has gone from hiding her pregnancy from those closest to her to toting her infant on stage at the Republican National Convention.

No one has ever tried to combine presidential politics and motherhood in quite the way Palin is doing, and it is no simple task. In the last week, the criticism she feared in Alaska has exploded into a national debate. On blogs and at PTA meetings, voters alternately cheer and fault her balancing act, and although many are thrilled to see a child with special needs in the spotlight, some accuse her of exploiting Trig for political gain.

But her son has given Palin, 44, a powerful message. Other candidates kiss strangers' babies; Palin has one of her own. He is tangible proof of Palin's anti-abortion convictions, which have rallied social conservatives, and her belief that women can balance family life with ambitious careers. And on Wednesday in St. Paul, she proclaimed herself a guardian of the nation's disabled children.

"Children with special needs inspire a special love," Palin said, echoing the message she had shared at the shower.

A New Turn

By last winter, Palin seemed to have everything she had ever wanted. She had raised four children while turning herself into a rising star of the Republican Party of Alaska and then the national one. But then the still-new governor discovered she was pregnant. Piper, the youngest of the Palin brood, was 6. The family had long since given away their crib and high chair.

A few weeks later, after an amniocentesis — a prenatal test to identify genetic defects — Palin learned the results. Some abortion opponents decline such tests, but as her older sister, Heather Bruce, said, Palin "likes to be prepared." With her husband, Todd, away at his job in the oil fields of the North Slope, Palin told no one for three days, she later said.

Once they reunited, the Palins struggled to understand what they would face. Children with Down syndrome experience varying degrees of cognitive disability and a higher-than-average risk of hearing loss, hypothyroidism and seizure disorders. About half are born with heart defects, which often require surgery.

The couple decided to keep quiet about the pregnancy so they could absorb the news, they told people later.

And there were political factors to consider. "I didn't want Alaskans to fear I would not be able to fulfill my duties," Palin told People magazine last week.

The governor, thin to begin with, began an elaborate game of fashion-assisted camouflage. When Vogue photographed her, five months pregnant, for a profile in January, she hid in a big green parka. At work, she wore long, loose blazers and artfully draped accessories.

"All of a sudden she had this penchant for really beautiful scarves," recalled Angelina Burney, who works across the hallway from the governor in Anchorage.

As Palin's clothes grew tighter, Alaskans began to talk. She told several aides that she was pregnant, and a week or so later, her parents and her children, who called other relatives.

On March 5, as she was leaving her office for a reception, she shared the news with three reporters.

"We're expanding," the governor said brightly, said the deputy press secretary, Sharon Leighow.

"You're expanding state government?" one of the reporters asked.

"No, my family's expanding," she said. "I'm pregnant."

The trio fell silent, dropping their eyes from the governor's face to her belly.

"You're kidding," one finally mustered.

She assured them she would not take much time off: she had returned to work the day after giving birth to Piper, the child in tow. "To any critics who say a woman can't think and work and carry a baby at the same time," she said, "I'd just like to escort that Neanderthal back to the cave."

There was no mention of the baby's condition. Instead, she joked about giving her child the middle name Van, since Van Palin would sound sort of like the hard rock band Van Halen.

The next day, her office issued a minimalist masterpiece of a press release, conveying the news in three curt sentences.

In private, the Palins slowly started to share the Down syndrome diagnosis. They wrote a long letter to Bruce, Palin's sister, who has an autistic son, explaining how they had come to embrace the challenges their baby would bring.

A Big Speech

In mid-April, Palin and her husband flew to Texas for an energy conference with fellow Republican governors. Days before, Palin, a little-known governor from a faraway state, was asked to speak to her peers.

Around 4 a.m. on the day of her presentation, Palin stirred in her hotel room to an unusual sensation. According to The Anchorage Daily News, she was leaking amniotic fluid. She woke her husband and called her doctor back home. Go ahead and give the speech, said the doctor, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who declined to comment for this article.

So Palin marched through the day. At a news conference, a reporter asked the six Republican governors present to raise their hands if they would refuse to serve as McCain's vice-presidential nominee. Palin was one of two who kept their hands down.

In her lunchtime speech, Palin held forth on the trillions of cubic feet of gas in the Alaskan Arctic, competitive bidding over pipeline construction and natural gas combustion. As she left the podium, Governor Rick Perry of Texas joked, "You're not going to give birth, are you?"

Palin just laughed.

"Nobody knew a thing," said Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii. "I only found out from my security detail on the way home that she had gone into labor and that she had gone home to Alaska."

In fact, Palin was not in labor, and her doctor thought she had time. So the governor flew to Seattle, continued to Anchorage and then drove to a small hospital near her hometown, Wasilla — a journey of at least 10 hours.

"She wanted to get back to Alaska to have that baby," said a friend, Curtis Menard. "Man, that is one tough lady."

A woman with symptoms like Palin's should be examined to determine her condition, said Dr. Laura Riley of Massachusetts General Hospital. The long trip home could have posed a risk, "but the odds were still in her favor that everything would be O.K.," said Susan Gerber of Northwestern University.

When Palin arrived at the hospital, she was still not in labor, so her doctor induced it, Bruce said. Trig was born early the next morning, weighing 6 pounds 2 ounces.

Parents who were in the next delivery room said the scene looked like any other, with no security detail in sight. The three Palin daughters came and went, and as Todd Palin passed through the corridors, he stopped to accept congratulations.

A Discovery

Inside Palin's room, her daughter Willow, 14, immediately noticed her new brother's condition, according to People magazine. "He looks like he has Down syndrome," Willow said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Palin had wanted to let the news of the pregnancy sink in first, said Cole, her friend. She had intended to tell her family more after she returned from Texas. Then the baby arrived.

Her hesitation gone, Palin glowed with maternal pride. "Sarah was absolutely ecstatic," said a friend, Marilyn Lane. After months of reflection and prayer, friends say, the Palins, who are Christians, had come to believe God had chosen to send them Trig.

Later that day, Palin sent an e-mail message to her relatives and close friends about her new son, Bruce said. She signed it, "Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father."

"Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy," Palin wrote. She added, "Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome."

Palin's three-day maternity leave has now become legend among mothers. But aides say she eased back into work, first stopping by her office in Anchorage for a meeting, bringing not only the baby but also her husband to look after him.

Many high-powered parents separate work and children; Palin takes a wholly different approach. "She's the mom and the governor, and they're not separate," Cole said. Around the governor's offices, it was not uncommon to get on the elevator and discover Piper, smothering her puppy with kisses.

"She'll be with Piper or Trig, then she's got a press conference or negotiations about the natural gas pipeline or a bill to sign, and it's all business," Burney, who works across the hall, said. "She just says, 'Mommy's got to do this press conference.' "

Palin installed a travel crib in her Anchorage office and a baby swing in her Juneau one. For much of the summer, she carried Trig in a sling as she signed bills and sat through hearings, even nursing him unseen during conference calls.

Todd Palin took a leave from his job as an oil field production operator, and campaign aides said he was doing the same now.

At her baby shower, Palin joked about her months of secrecy, Lane said. "About the seventh month I thought I'd better let people know," Palin said.

"So it was really great," she continued. "I was only pregnant a month."

[Twyla]

See L.A. Times article today "Sarah Palin's leadership style has admirers and critics" at www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-palinstyle8-2008sep08,0,855616.story

Some excerpts:

a strange thing happened on the ethics issue once Palin became governor: She appeared to lose interest in completing the task of legislating comprehensive reform, some who supported the cleanup say.

The ethics bill she offered was so incomplete that its supporters had to undertake a significant rewrite. Moreover, when it came to building support for the bill, politicians in both parties say the new governor was often unaccountably absent from the fray.

And the seeming paradox of the ethics reform fight -- the combination of bold, even courageous readiness to take on a tough issue, coupled with a tendency to drift away from the nitty-gritty follow-through -- appears to be a recurrent theme of her record. Some lawmakers were so perplexed by her absence from a recent debate over sending oil rebate checks to Alaskans, for example, that they sported buttons at the state Capitol reading "Where's Sarah?"...

"When it comes to the real work of crafting policy, she's often not there," Gara said. He acknowledged her broad accomplishments, but added: "I don't know if she's disinterested in details or not comfortable with them, but the bottom line is: She is not truly a hands-on governor."...

In interviews, more than a dozen Alaska politicians described Palin as a master at burnishing her image and building a popular base...

[Mary Webster]

For more info on the possible connections between autism and Down syndrome, visit Autism One's archives. There you'll find Laurette Janak's enlightening 3-part interview from 2006.

Part 1 of 3
Teri Small Guest: Laurette Janak, similarities between Down Syndrome and autism; MMR vaccine, leukemia, arsenic, Thimerosal
http://autismone.org/radio/?archive=976

Part 2 of 3
Teri Small Guests: Dr. Rich Van Konynenburg and Laurette Janak. Part II - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, glutathione, autism http://www.autismone.org/radio/?archive=998&bg=&FromA1

Part 3 of 3
Teri Small Guests: Dr. Rich Van Konynenburg and Laurette Janak http://www.autismone.org/radio/?archive=1015&bg=&FromA1

[Laurette Janak]

High occurrence of autism within the Down syndrome population; facts to consider.

1.) In one of the Autism Omnibus Hearings it was brought up that children with autism suffer from oxidative stress. One of the lawyers correctly pointed out that we don’t know if oxidative stress contributed to the onset of autism or is oxidative stress a result of having autism. With children who have Down syndrome (DS) this is a clear-cut issue. Perrone et al. 2007 looked at this issue and found evidence of lipid peroxidation in fetuses with DS. This research team concluded that oxidative stress occurs early in a DS pregnancy and appears to, “predispose patients to oxidative injury that begins in utero, as a result of gene loading.” Thus, anything that further adds to oxidative stress in the DS population can be adding insult to injury. Oxidative stress is a known contributor to neurodegenerative disorders. I could NOT find any published studies that looked at parameters of oxidative stress before and after vaccination.

2.) In 2004 the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) questioned whether there may be some individuals who have increased sensitivity to the toxic effects of the mercury based vaccine additive thimerosal. The IOM stated, “This hypothesis cannot be excluded by epidemiological data from large population groups that do not show an association between a vaccine and an adverse outcome. Depending upon the frequency of the genetic defect, a rare event caused by genetic susceptibility could be missed even in large study samples.” Based on their constitutional genetics, children with DS may represent a group that has increased sensitivity to thimerosal. This is important because thimerosal is still a component of some vaccines.

The gene for superoxide dismutase (SOD) is located on chromosome 21 causing this gene to be overexpressed in children with DS (trisomy 21). Hydrogen peroxide, a by-product of SOD, is detoxified into harmless water by glutathione. The imbalance created by the over utilization of glutathione to remove excess production of hydrogen peroxide has been generally accepted as one of the mechanisms responsible for the oxidative stress and well documented low levels of glutathione found in persons with DS. It is an indisputable fact that heavy metals up-regulate SOD and deplete glutathione in a dose dependent manner. What might be the consequences of further depletion of glutathione upon exposure to the mercury in thimerosal for a child with DS who already has low levels of glutathione? The question of glutathione depletion was investigated using cultured hippocampal neurons from an animal model of DS by Stabel-Burow et al. 1997. First off they confirmed that the neurons did in fact have lower levels of glutathione as compared to cells from genetically normal animals. Secondly, the low levels of glutathione correlated with increased neuronal cell death. And most importantly, they found that additional lowering of glutathione further augmented the basal increased cell death rate suggesting there is a threshold below which it contributes to neurodegeneration in DS. Can exposure to thimerosal be sufficient to contribute to neurodegeneration in persons with DS? Even this basic question has NOT been answered so should parents be expected to believe that thimerosal exposure does not play a possible role in autism? Furthermore, it is my opinion that the allowable safety limits of exposure for any known toxin should take into consideration the most vulnerable within the human population.

3.) A study by Miller et al. 2003 looked at the possibility of immune overload with the MMR vaccine. They found no evidence for “immunological overload” that would support the use of single antigen vaccines. When reading through the methods section of this study I noted that “children with additional diagnostic codes indicting an underlying disorder predisposing to bacterial infection, such as immunosuppression, malignancy, cystic fibrosis, congenital heart defect, or a cerebrospinal fluid shunt were excluded” from this study. It is not clear from the methods section if children with DS would have been excluded from this study or not. It is well documented that children with DS have immune suppression and a high occurrence of congenital heart defects so it seems likely they were not included in the study. If “immune overload” was a viable consideration for development of autism wouldn’t it be reasonable to presume such an overload would occur in children with immune suppression? Thus it seems these are the children that should have been specifically included in the study instead of being specifically excluded. Glutathione levels are known to modulate immune response to viruses. The low glutathione levels found in DS may make these children less able to deal effectively with viruses. Research has NOT been done looking at children most likely to be affected by “immune overload”.

4.) After concession of a vaccine autism case in the Court of Federal Claims, we were told that vaccinations aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder thereby resulting in autism. The CDC and media implied that mitochondrial disorders are rare. Based on the medical literature, children with DS all have mitochondrial dysfunction. Studies have NOT been done on children with DS to see if their mitochondrial dysfunction can be aggravated by vaccination and thereby be contributing to their high occurrence of autism.

For a more in depth look at the possible relationship of vaccination to autism within the DS community watch for this topic in the January 2009 issue of the international autism magazine, The Autism File . The current issue of this quarterly magazine can be purchased at Barnes and Noble or Borders.

In closing it is important to acknowledge the biologically based scientific studies needed to clear vaccinations from being implicated in autism within the susceptible Down syndrome population have simply NOT been done!

Respectfully submitted,
Laurette Janak mother to Emily (Down syndrome, ASD, and leukemia)

September 8, 2008

[LKJ]

Our society needs to rethink the whole approach to vaccinations, in spite of what the medical establishment tells us.

I dutifully vaccinated my first three right on schedule. They are generally healthy, but my third has serious allergies.

I began to doubt vaccines about the time my fourth son was born, but took him anyway because it seemed to be the right thing to do. It wasn't until I had my sixth, and last, that I realized how harmful these innoculations can be. I did the research and made a conscious decision to have no more vaccines in our family. The youngest has never been vaccinated.

My younger three are healthier than my older three, who had the full range of vaccines. My youngest, at 13, is very healthy and has never had anything more serious than a cold.

I developed MCS after being vaccinated, as an adult, before taking a trip overseas. Of course, I also had all the shots recommended back in the 60s, and I don't feel they made me healthier. I would never put any of my children through this.

BTW, my husband, who is Southeast Asian, was vaccinated only once against smallpox. That's it. And he's much healthier than me.

[maggie]

Here is the story. She did cut funding for Special Education in AK.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/3/163229/8631

[Julie Swenson]

Erin
You wrote: "Is it because there is no prenatal testing for a predisposition to autism? Is it because if there was you may have made different decisions? "
Excuse me!? Do you think parents would make a 'different decision'- and by that I'm guessing you are talking about abortion, simply because their children would be predisposed to autism through genetics? Did you choose to make a 'different decision" when you discovered your child had DS? Of course not- you accepted him for what he was and love him for what he is. It's the same in the autism world. I always said I would ‘take what I got”. I never even had an amnio done as I would not have opted for abortion for any reason. Do you know what I got? I got a healthy, neurologically sounds child that developed as he should have for 12 months but disappeared after getting 6 shots in one day at his first birthday. I don't know ONE single parent of a child with autism that would have opted for abortion had they the prior knowledge of their child's condition.
Parents of children with autism love their children as much as you love your son, but most of our kids simply were not born this way. Many of us watched our kids have violent reactions to vaccines: fever, screaming fits, unrelenting crying, language regression, etc. As a nurse, surely you cannot agree that the combination of ingredients in vaccines are healthy things to be injecting into immature immune systems? We put things in our vaccines that you cannot even legally put into the gutter. Do you, as a nurse, not think it’s frightening to see so many children being diagnosed with autism?
Of course we all love our children, regardless of their particular issues.

I have NO guilt over what happened to my son. None. I did not do this to him. Big Pharma and their greed did.

[kat23]

Although I haven't seen this written, Soledad O'Brien just reported that Palin cut funding for special needs in Alaska by 62 percent!!!! Exactly how does this jive with ther statement to SN parents last night as being "their gal"? So is special needs now important to her because it affects her life? Or maybe I am suppose to just be thankful that it matters to her now?

[BlueNight]

I just wish Thomas Jefferson's mother had considered his vaccination schedule more carefully. I mean, imagine how much more he could have accomplished in life if he hadn't had Asperger Syndrome.

....

Yeah.

[Kelli Ann Davis]

"Why are you questioning and JUDGING her choices as a mother?"

Erin,

I think you've misread this post and Mark's intentions. He's not *judging* Sarah Palin's choices -- he's merely pointing out the higher risks for autism when a child has Down's Syndrome and he's *wondering aloud* how she would vaccinate if she knew all the facts. Of course, she alone (along with her husband) will make the decision on how to vaccinate her child -- we all know that.

That said, I do agree with you that her choice on whether to vaccinate or not is a private decision. The fact that she is running for public office doesn't automatically equate to full disclosure on private medical matters regarding her children.

[Twyla]

To "Autism Remember" -- Your comment is so well said, so perfect: "The parents of autistic children HAVE vaccinated their children. That is why they have AUTISM. (Get it?) Trying to scare us ...or guilt us... by telling us TO vaccinate. ? Makes no sense. Go peddle your goods (vaccines) elsewhere. We are all filled up with toxic preservatives and heavy metals over here. Our kids brains are inflammed from viral encephalitis to last a lifetime."

[Stagmom for Nurse Werking]

"Shocked and saddened?" Are you writing a funeral announcement?

Autism and vaccination is a valid topic of conversation. Add in the genetic component of Down Syndrome and the fit is entirely right for Age of Autism. Parents today face the choice of which vaccinations they should or should not consider. After all, even the CDC says the AAP schedule is "flexible." That means parents have to put some THOUGHT into their child's medical care. Perhaps as a nurse you'd prefer we enter the doctor's office as monolithic lemmings? Those days are gone.

Don't insult my readers by insinuating they would have opted to terminate their pregnancies. I'm the leader of the pack on that one, dear. And her name is Isabella. We have argued forcefully AGAINST genetic testing for autism.

We're about protecting children, not splitting communities. Yours, mine and Sarah Palin's. Educating parents as to the potential problems they may face gives them choices. Any one of us would reach out to help you with your child, as we help each other within the autism community.

Thanks for commenting.

Kim Stagliano
Managing Editor
Mom to three beautiful girls who happen to have autism.

[Erin Werking]

I am shocked and saddened by this article.

As a mother of a 4 year old child with Down syndrome, a 7 month old typical child, and a nurse at Johns Hopkins, my heart just breaks as I see the scrutiny groups are placing on Sarah Palin. Why are you questioning and JUDGING her choices as a mother? Is it because there is no prenatal testing for a predisposition to autism? Is it because if there was you may have made different decisions?

I thought there isn't a disability hierarchy? All parents of a child that is differently-abled shares heartaches and joys that our friends cannot possibly understand. As part of our "sub-culture" don't we owe it to her to make that decision about vaccinations alone? Did anyone ask Obama if his children were vaccinated?

As parents we make the best decision for our children that we can with the knowledge that we have at the time. All of us who love our children do. Just as I have had to let go of the guilt and blame I put on myself for "causing" my son's genetic changes, so should some of your readers do the same.

Also, bringing a disability into the mainstream media in a positive light should be looked at as an opportunity for all of us parents! We all have to have new hopes for our families and want the world to know our children have value and purpose!!!