AGE OF AUTISM

Play The Age of Autism Irony Game!

Come one! Come all! Find the irony and win a prize! (To be determined at a later date. How do you feel about a box of GFCF cookies, mostly crumbled?)

There's an article in Pediatric News that is actually quite encouraging. It was sent to us by "a friend of ours who says, "The attached is an interesting column out today in the “Pediatric News” - promotes the concept of honest dialogue for pediatricians.  I don’t agree with all of it – but Dr. Barbara Howard is a major voice in the AAP, and it’s encouraging to see her stating things like:

“If the family has been traumatized by a diagnosis of autism that coincided with timing of the vaccine schedule, discuss the option of a customized vaccine schedule to avoid the peak diagnostic age for autism spectrum disorders.”

Now, click open the file HERE to see the article and then report in the comments section on the bitter lemon sucking, pickle juice puckering irony that you see. No cheating by peeking at the comments first! 

(And yes, you all nailed it. If it weren't so pathetic, it would be amusing, wouldn't it?)

Best of A of A: Autism Explosion Followed Big Change in MMR Shot

Managing Editor's note: This piece ran in January. It seemed appropriate to re-post it following the Banks v. HHS decision.  Merck no longer makes the single MMR components.

By Dan Olmsted

In 1990, Merck & Co., manufacturer of the mumps-measles-rubella vaccine known as the MMR, made a significant but little-noticed change: It quadrupled the amount of mumps virus in the combination shot, from 5,000 to 20,000 units. Then in 2007 it reversed course, reducing the amount to 12,500 units. Neither the measles nor the rubella (German measles) component of the MMR was changed at all -- each remained at 1,000 units throughout.
 
Merck also makes the single-component mumps shot, and in 1990 it also increased the potency of that shot by the same amount, from 5,000 to 20,000 units. But unlike the MMR shot, the standalone mumps shot’s potency was not scaled back in 2007. It remains at 20,000 units.
 
These changes were mentioned in passing recently during an informal conversation with a Merck scientist. I started looking for an explanation for the sequence of events, but Merck did not respond to a detailed written request for comment.
 
Absent such an explanation, simple logic dictates the reduction had something to do with the MMR in particular rather than the mumps vaccine in isolation. But what? And what about the timing -- the increase in 1990 and the decrease in 2007?

Why is the Media Ignoring the Bailey Banks Autism Vaccine Decision?

Update: Alison just added broadcast media contacts. I've included them below.  I've also added the full text of the decision that you can copy and send, saving the reporters the strenuous effort of a Google search.

Warrior Mom Alison MacNeil compiled this list of mainstream media contacts who have, so far, ignored the Bailey Banks vaccine court decision (HERE.) Perhaps you'd like to email each of them, politely of course, to ask when their stories will run informing parents that the "door" is still very much open regarding vaccines and PDD's.  Let's keep demanding coverage until we're blue in.... well, you get the point, right?  Feel free to add more contacts in the comments. Thanks. (PS) Anyone got any gum?

CBS
hoodm@cbsnews.com  -mary Hood, health producer
ckx@cbsnews.com - craig katz, news assignment editor

NBC
brian.williams@nbc.com
patricia.martell@nbcuni.com  -assignment editor
jennifer.sizemore@msnbc.com -exec prod. news
nightly@nbc.com

MSNBC
kolbermann@msnbc.com
ted.savaglio@msncb.com -breaking news editor
jonel.aleccia@msnbc.com- health reporter

CNN
shahreen.abedin@turner.com - medical producer
rick.martin@turner.com -assignment editor
ann.curley@turner.com -medical news unit editor
saundra.young@turner.com - health editor

FOX
roger.ailes@foxtv.com -CEO, Chairman
jessica.mulvihill@foxnews.com-health producer
housecall@foxnews.com

Dr. David Gorski and His Merry Band of Idiots Don’t Like Full Page Ads

By J.B. Handley

Like clockwork, a long, crass, meandering post from Dr. David Gorski, known to the dorkosphere as “Orac”, was guaranteed to hit soon after Generation Rescue’s Ad.

Now, let me be fair, Dr. Gorski is actually damn funny as a writer. Consider this post:

“If stupid were a poison, all life on earth would be dead and rotting from the emanations of the two articles contained under the above link. And if stupid really did burn, the surface of the earth would consist of nothing more than charred rock, with the oceans themselves vaporized.”

Of course, funny is a relative term. As writing goes, it’s damn funny. The fact that it’s coming from a research scientist who also interacts with breast cancer patients in his job as the Assistant Program Leader (which I think is one rung up from “piss boy”) at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and considers himself a research scientist makes his writing less funny.

I have some quick advice for potential patients of Dr. Gorski: If you are looking for someone who is crass, arrogant, very black & white in his thinking, suffers from a weird Blogger-God complex, and spends all of his free time blogging, Dr. Gorski is your guy. Consider this gem from Dr. Gorski:

Best of A of A: More Bullshit from the Apparatchiks

Managing Editor's Note: We thought this piece deserved a second run - Mark wrote it after the Hannah Poling decision last year when the press referred to Miss Poling as having "autism like symptoms." 

By Mark Blaxill

Some people get a little squeamish when others use the word bullshit to describe a certain kind of bureaucratic doublespeak. Not me.  I like to remind the squeamish among us that bullshit is a precise term in the philosophy of science and it’s entirely respectable to use the word in polite company. To support my case, I point friends to Harry Frankfurt, emeritus Professor of Philosophy at my alma mater, Princeton University, who elaborated on the relevant philosophical concepts at some length in his wildly popular essay, On Bullshit, in which he famously distinguished bullshit from lying.

Bullshitting is not exactly lying, and bullshit remains bullshit whether it's true or false. The difference lies in the bullshitter's complete disregard for whether what he's saying corresponds to facts in the physical world: he does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

Autism. What's in a name?

By Kim Stagliano

As expected, the mainstream media outlets who couldn't wait to announce that the Vaccine Court Special Masters found against three cases earlier this month, thus, "closing the door on the autism/vaccine debate forever" have said little to nothing about the current case, by the same court, which awarded a large judgement to a family for their child's vaccine-induced autism.

The diagnosis code selection is subjective.  A PDD-NOS diagnosis can be a function of a doctor trying to soften the blow of "the A word" for a parent. It can also be based on geographic differences in terminology use, I've found. Not to mention the skill and experience of the diagnosing doctor and the honesty of the parents explaining their child's life at home. For those who say, "Oh Bailey Banks had PDD-NOS, that's not autism," here are a few definitions to review. Go ahead and submit a PDD-NOS code to your insurance company. See if they tell you, "That's not autism, so we'll cover the charges."  What was your diagnosis experience like?

FROM AUTISM SOCIETY OF AMERICA

What is the difference between autism and PDD?

Age of Autism Contest: Frank Nappi's The Legend of Mickey Tussler

WINNER: ANGELO NATOLI! The contest is closed as of 2/26/09. You can buy a copy at Amazon. We'll have another contest on Sunday. Hint, toilet training!

Imagine what would happen if God combined the baseball prowess of Roy Hobbs from The Natural and the unique temperment and aspergers of Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. This fictional experiment is the inspiration behind my novel, The Legend of Mickey Tussler, a story that chronicles the rise of 17 year old Mickey Tussler to local baseball stardom, despite his aspergers and a vocal faction of heartless critics.

The book, which highlights the remarkable achievements of this special young man, has been celebrated by many parents of autistic children as a "victory for special needs kids everywhere," for it portrays the boundless possibilities of these amazing individuals while indicting those ignorant people who would still like to ignore their very existence.

Campbell Brown Where Are You?

By Kim Stagliano

I just sent this email to Campbell Brown of CNN. You may recall her sharp toned editorial (after the three vaccine cases came down earlier this month) to make sure parents fully vaccinate their children and not put her own children, including her unborn baby, at risk.  You can email her at campbell.brown@turner.com.
 
Ms. Brown – are you going to cover the Bailey Banks award of over a million dollars for an MMR injury as vociferously as you covered the three cases ten days ago?  No bias, right? The door is not closed on vaccine safety.  By any stretch.  Please consider consulting with Dr. Bob Sears, mainstream pediatrician and author, for your newborn’s vaccination schedule.   None of us in the autism world want to welcome you to our world. Even as you accuse us of “endangering” your children. It’s Merck et al who are endangering your kids.  Not us.  Autism is a hell we wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Remember, herd immunity is all well and good in theory, until your baby calf falls and is devoured.

Yours,

Kim Stagliano
Managing Editor, Age of Autism
Mom to three girls with autism

David Kirby on HuffPo: NIH Agency Head: Vaccine-Autism Research is “Legitimate”

By David Kirby

A major health official within the United States Government today endorsed more research into possible links between vaccination and autism, saying that such studies are “legitimate.” 

The official, Dr, Duane Alexander, Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), an NIH agency, said scientists must investigate susceptible subpopulations of children, including kids with mitochondrial disorders and those who have trouble metabolizing mercury...

Read and comment on the full HuffPo piece HERE.

UPDATE: ARI’s Treatment Survey Deadline Extended through this Sunday, March 1

From our sponsor Autism Research Institute:

Last week we sent out a request to caregivers to complete the Autism Research Institute's free "Parent Ratings of Behavioral Effects of Biomedical Interventions." (HERE)

The response has been fantastic - we're grateful to all who have already had the opportunity to respond and are extending the deadline another week to assure everyone has a chance to submit.
The more data we collect, the more meaningful the results will be. To include your responses in the next release of the Treatment Effectiveness Survey please respond by this Sunday, March 1.

April is Autism Awareness Month – please consider joining our Million Dollar Puzzle Piece Campaign. (HERE)  If we raise the funding necessary, ARI will see that important research is done, including the important large-scale, independent study of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children
 
Submit treatment ratings online now (HERE).

The treatment category is sponsored by Lee Silsby, the leader in quality compounded medications for autism.