New Jersey and Autism Perfect Together!

By Katie Wright

Deirdre Imus organized and moderated an amazing vaccine forum last week at Hackensack University Hospital. To my recollection it was the first time staunch defenders and architects of our infant and toddler vaccination schedule have spoken to the public and taken uncensored questions from parents of vaccine injured children. It was exactly the kind of event, promoting open discussion between doctors and parents that Autism Speaks should be facilitating. We all know that Deidre and Don Imus have been huge advocates for kids with cancer and chronic illnesses, like autism, for decades. What many people do not know is that the Imuses have helped create one of the most child friendly, progressive and greenest hospitals in the nation at Hackensack.

New Jersey recently made the flu shot mandatory for every school age child and baby in daycare over the age of six months. Given that an astonishing 1 in 64 boys in NJ is autistic it is both reckless and insane for New Jersey to mandate yet another vaccine for infants and toddlers.

The flu is not a horrible, often life long, severely disabling epidemic in New Jersey, autism is. Dr. Larry Rosen combed through New Jersey’s influenza records and found that one New Jersey child died from the flu last year. That is indeed a horrible tragedy but not a state wide crisis.

Dr. Margaret Fisher was a speaker at the forum. She is a pediatrics professor an AAP representative. Dr. Fisher rejected any and all parental concerns about over-vaccinating infants and toddlers out of hand. Dr. Fisher forcefully stated that all parents are wrong to be concerned about “so many shots so soon.” She expressed excited anticipation about adding even more vaccines at younger and younger ages to our infant vaccination schedule. It only went downhill from there… I looked around the room and it was like two parallel universes. All the Moms seemed to be thinking, “Is she serious? Is she out of her mind?” Dr. Fisher continued to deliver an angry tirade against those who dared to question the sanctity of vaccination safety policies. Fisher described VAERS as the data base ensuring safety against adverse reactions, but admitted it is a “passive” mechanism. I would say VAERS is so passive it is comatose. Did anyone’s pediatrician actually make a VAERS report after their child’s adverse vaccination reaction? Mine did not, and at the time, I had no idea VAERS existed. The only adverse reaction that pediatricians seem to reliably report to VAERS is death.

.Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp was also on the panel. He is Chairman of Pediatrics at Hackensack and an active member of the NJ AAP. Dr. Boscamp showed an audience of autism Moms and Dads horrific slides of African babies suffering from whooping cough, meningitis and measles. For good measure he also threw in some old chestnuts from the American polio epidemic. We were treated to photos of kids in the iron lung and long lines of families taking their children to receive the polio vaccine. Dr. Boscamp referred to vaccines as a “gift.”  I kept thinking to myself, if only I could return his gift and have my son healthy and well again!  How many times have parents who want safer vaccines been labeled “extremists”? Well Dr. B is giving us all a run for our money! Dr. Boscamp spoke about how great it was to vaccinate his teenage daughter with Gardisil on the “Today” show and how that vaccine should be mandated as well. Clearly, he is committed to stopping disease, as long as that disease is not autism.

In his tour de force of vaccines= always good, questioning vaccines= monstrous, there were no pictures of kids like mine. I would have loved to insert a few photos of my own into Boscamp’s slideshow of horrors. Christian age 2, eczema all over his face, head and limbs, eyes shiny and infected. Christian age 2 and a half hospitalized with staph. Christian age 2 and half with pneumonia, strep, croup and cellutis. I would also include a few candid shots of our home: a bedroom wall smeared with feces, Christian’s head covered with electrodes for three 48hour EEGs and maybe some audio of the piercing cries that went on for hours, everyday, for years.

An amazing autism Mom, Louise Kuo Habakus spoke for every parent of a vaccine injured child when described Boscamp’s African slideshow as “insulting.” Indeed, no American parent who wants safe vaccines and a sane schedule can be accused attempting to sabotage African health care. What those pictures have to do with the health and well being of children in New Jersey eludes me. In turn Dr. Boscamp said he was the one who was “insulted” saying that he works in a hospital with sick children! And he wanted… a medal, applause; I am still unclear what that point was about. Yes, Boscamp agreed that autism must be partially environmental but it could not be the vaccines, case closed! David Kirby then asked Fisher and Boscamp what they think the environmental trigger might be. Clearly neither doctor had given this much thought. Boscamp hypothesized that it was cleaning products and unsafe homes. Kirby agreed that cleaning products are often toxic but in such a diverse nation are we all really using the same cleaning products and living in the same type of home? It seems unlikely.

At this point David Kirby jumped in asking Dr. Fisher why they still “have no idea what is causing autism” and why that is OK. Kirby pointed out that the medical community figured out in less than 5 years that HIV was causing AIDS and no stone was left unturned in fighting the that disease. Here we are 20 years into this epidemic and “I don’t know” is still an acceptable answer. Also if they do not know, how do they “know”- it is definitely not vaccines?? For once Drs. Fisher and Boscamp had no response.

I want to pay special attention to Dr. Montana. Dr. Montana was sitting in for Dr. Heather Howard, of the NJ Health Department, who had somewhere more important to be.  Meanwhile, New Jersey probably has the highest rate of autism in the world and most parents point to over-vaccination as a trigger. Dr. Montana looked as if she were attending the forum under pain of death. Whenever a parent spoke she rolled her eyes, looked at her watch, clearly bored and inpatient. Dr. Montana never uttered a word until Deirdre Imus directly addressed her silence on the recent NJ flu shot mandate for babies 6 months and older. Dr. Montana stated that when schools have outbreaks the Dept. Of Health gets angry phone calls from parents who are irate that a classmate of their child has measles or another disease. “It is very difficult getting these phone calls! And we get many phone calls!” Therefore, mandates are the only solution… I guess to her being left alone, unmolested by pesky parents? The fact that vaccinated children often get these diseases is irrelevant. When the panel wrapped up, Montana tore out of the room like it was on fire. As much as I disagreed with Dr. Fisher and Dr. Boscamp they deserve a lot of credit for taking this forum seriously and not behaving as if they had somewhere else more important to be.

The subject of mandates electrified an already tense room. A question from a Mom with a 6 year old ASD child and a 6 month old baby in daycare was submitted. The Mom did not want her baby to receive the flu shot but the baby would be barred from daycare as a result, how is this justifiable that the State of NJ make these decisions rather than the parents of this baby? Dr. Montana just smiled wanly and shook her head. David Kirby pointed out that European nations do not have any of the type of strict vaccine mandates American states employ and certainly not for the flu shot.

Next came a bizarre discussion of AAP doctors as crusaders against indifferent and ineffective inner city parents. Louise, Barbara Majeski another NJ autism Mom, stated that the AAP and the Dept. of Health have no right mandating so many vaccines so early in a baby’s life when the risks of combination vaccines are so clearly unknown. When a family already has a child who experienced terrible adverse reactions who is better informed to make the right decision about vaccination, the parents or Dr. Montana? Not a tough choice. Dr. Fisher than said that inner city parents do not get their children to the pediatrician and the mandates are in place to insure they do. I guess the implication is that inner city parents cannot be trusted to care appropriately for their kid? More likely parents who do not have or cannot afford health care, but of course that did not come up. Dr. Boscamp echoed Dr. Fisher saying that “they have tried and tried” and these kids do not get to a pediatrician’s office without mandates but it did not work. So, of course the answer is to give up and blame families?

To summarize the AAP doctors points:

1)     Vaccines are a gift.

2)     Mandates exist because inner city parents cannot be trusted to care appropriately for their kids.

3)     The state of New Jersey, no matter how indifferent and uninformed they are about autism, know better than parents of autistic kids about the benefits and risks of vaccinating siblings

4)     The real health crises are in Africa, not New Jersey. We still have no idea what is causing autism but it is definitely NOT vaccines.

5)     Parents need to trust their doctors and the AAP.

Summary of Parent points

1)     1 child died of the flu in New Jersey last year.

2)     VAERS is a ridiculous safety database.

3)     While the AAP has demonstrated admirable dedication in fighting diseases affecting children in the Third World their concern about autism is minimal and their treatment of parents abysmal.

4)     Foolish and punitive mandates for the flu shot only promote more distrust of the AAP, the CDC and local health officials. Mandates do not work, reasoned debate and open discussion does. This is how health care policies are made and enacted in Europe, with parents and other stake-holders involved in every aspect of the health care policy-making.

5)     Sick autistic children are suffering tremendously, adverse vaccine reactions to untested combination vaccines are rampant and these issues must be immediately addressed before any new vaccines are added to our already over-crowded schedule

Katie Wright has two young boys. Her oldest son, Christian, is severely affected by autism. He developed normally; smiling, talking, walking; only to lose every skill and every word by the age of 2 and a half.  Upon the advice of medical professionals Katie and her husband were advised to pursue only high quality behavioral therapy, speech and OT for Christian. It had no meaningful impact on Christian until his parents sought help from DAN! doctors who treated the underlying causes of Christian's descent into autism. Christian has improved but still has far to go. He has Inflammatory Bowel Disease, the measles virus in his gut and an immune system akin to a late stage AIDS patient. Christian does not have a psychiatric disorder. Before autism, Katie Wright was the Clinical Director of Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Stamford Connecticut. Katie is proud to serve on the Boards of NAA and SafeMinds.

Comments

[Joyce M. Simmerman]

Since the good Madam from the Health Dept. did not like the ph.calls from angry parents after their child got a disease wondering about the vaccinations of others; PERHAPS an crescendo of ph. calls from angry parents BIGGER than that from the other parents would solve the problem? Just one tactic! Best wishes to all & so glad to hear the championship from the Imus's.

[Caro]

Keep in mind that the pharmaceutical lobbies donate to politicians in order to promote and protect their own interests, and that money still makes the world go 'round. As long as money, instead of people, control laws, those with the most money will control the fates of those with the least money. It is up to us to protect our children, regardless of the "facts" fed to us to silence us and decrease our resistance. I will not be a sheep. My children have been vaccinated on a schedule comfortable to me, regardless of what we have needed to sacrifice. I love how educated and aware the posters on this page sound, it's a refreshing change from the sheep baaing at the bus stop. :)

[John Stone]

Brent

In the UK we have not been monitoring this properly by any means but in 2004 Nation statistics gave an incidence of 1 in 100 for children between 5 and 16 years of age (that is born between 1988 and 1999):

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1229

[Brent Rooney]

Hello Age of Austism readers,

I am a medical researcher but very new to
autism. Would much appreciate it, if someone can give me a book title or webpage address that will give me autism rates for devoloped countries other than the U.S. In a 2006 article Dr. Judith Grether estimated the U.S. autism rate as 6-7 per one thousand U.S. children; my email address is:
fullterm40@gmail.com . Thanks.

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

Of course children in Africa get measles and meningitis and pertussis. Some of these kids have no immune system due to AIDS and some of them have very little immune system left, due to the mercury in the vaccines they were given. Hello? World Health Organisation? Have you ever heard about the Immune System? Its a very useful thing.

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

To Patrick, A couple of suggestions- Stop eating fish or seafood for at least 6 months. Get out in the sun daily for 25 minutes minimum, with arms,legs exposed. Research sources of mercury other than fish, to see if you are getting mercury from sources other than fish,vaccines.You might be living near a coal fired power plant for instance. Keep your thyroid in good control. Take vitamins and wait for your immune system to turn itself around.

[Twyla]

Willie, thank you for writing as a physician who sees the logic of the current concerns about vaccines. You make a good point that many of the physicians whose voices we hear on this subject are political appointees. So much of what we hear is clearly political. I often wonder what many physicians -- especially pediatricians -- say to each other on these topics behind closed doors.

Katie, thank you so so much for attending and for writing about this for those of us who couldn't be there -- so interesting to read about this groundbreaking meeting. So frustrating in many respects, yet I love the fact that the powers-that-be seem to have finally started thinking that stonewalling may not be sufficient, and they may actually have to debate these issues.

[Kevin Barry]

Thanks for the report Katie.

It is clearly not appropriate to compare the developed vs. developing world regarding the conditions which promote infectious disease.

Here's to refrigeration, toilets, and relatively clean water.

from A User Friendly Vaccine Schedule:
www.generationrescue.org/pdf/user_friendly.pdf

"What is less known, and doctors are not taught, is that the death rate for measles declined 97.7 percent during the first 60 years of the 20th century. The mortality rate was 133 deaths per million people in
the U.S. in 1900, and had dropped to 0.3 deaths per million by 1960.

Measles caused less than 100 deaths a year in the U.S. before there was a vaccine for this disease (in 1963). The same thing happened with diphtheria and pertussis. Mortality rates dropped more than 90 percent
in the early 20th century before vaccines for these diseases were introduced.

This was due to better nutrition (with rapid delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables to cities and refrigeration), cleaner water, and improved sanitation (removing trash from the streets and
better sewage systems), not to vaccines.

The World Health Organization promotes mass vaccination, but knowing these facts states, "The best vaccine against common infectious diseases is an adequate diet" –
fortified, one might add, with vitamin A."

************************************

Water and Sanitation
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/ways-we-help-water

"Children's tiny bodies are dependent on clean water and susceptible to waterborne disease and parasites. When clean water is scarce, all aspects of life are impacted.

Health: Contaminated water and poor sanitation are factors in 80 percent of all disease in the developing world."

[Willie]

At this time as a physician I do not recommend flu shots for anybody especially children. My children will never receive another flu shot. The CDC and the FDA simply have no credibility anymore. These Doctors you were talking to are political appointees they did not earn anything, they got there by politics. You people have to wonder what is driving this vaccine craze. The fact that they insist on vaccinating in the face of withering criticism from parents and an out of control epidemic of autism that is clearly an autoimmune and viral related disease and that they have not done the standard evidence based medical research (i.e. the randomized double blind study) speak's much larger than any lies they could tell.
So what is the real reason? They have a mandate to find a vaccine for AIDS and the only way they can do it is to get more money for vaccine research and the only way to get more vaccine research money is to sell more vaccines and the only people to sell vaccines to are children so no matter what the cost in children lives and families they must push vaccines because their agenda is not the health of your children but a vaccine solution for AIDS. (See Liam Scheff article on the House that AIDS built).
These people are truly nefarious. The idea that this Dr. Montana is saying that they are vaccinating children unnecessarily because of the angry phone calls they get from parents who's children have already been vaccinated is beyond absurd. If, as a parent, your child has survived the gauntlet of vaccines why do you even care as a parent? The child according to the CDC and FDA is supposedly safe so what are you afraid of? That argument is simply to stupid and nonsensical to even discuss in addition to being obviously completely unscientific. Only a political appointee would have the hubris to come up with an excuse that is clearly not well thought out and does not have even a modicum of scientific logic. We as parents need to truly investigate who these people are and hold them accountable.

[Anna Villa-Bager (MJKIDS)]

Katie,
I was sitting right next to you during the forum. You really hit this right on! I was taking notes and missed half of what you have included in this incredibly detailed, passionate article, which makes me think that you must have superior auditory memory! I hope Deirdre has another vaccine forum soon. Looks like it was still going strong when I slipped out at 5:45.

It was so nice to meet you and for anyone who wasn't there and reads the article and comments, I am happy to testify that Katie's recollection and how stated in this article is absolutely true. REALLY!!!

Anna Villa-Bager
MJKids