AGE OF AUTISM

No Coke! Pharma!

Managing Editor's Note: I actually agree with the doctors' protest. Coke isn't quite healthfood , although I have no problem with older children and adults drinking it in moderation. You might recall last year the AAP expressed  outrage at the sugar content in organic baby formula. Anyone else hear fiddling while Rome burns?

Nearly 20 doctors have resigned from the American Academy of Family Physicians after it accepted a grant from Coca-Cola to pay for education about the dietary role of beverages and sweeteners.  "...I am appalled and ashamed of the partnership between Coca-Cola and the American Academy of Family Physicians. How can any organization that claims to promote public health join forces with a company that promotes products that sicken our children?  “...We need as much help as possible to get our communities to see past the false claims of companies like Coca-Cola."  Click HERE to read more. 

Meanwhile, AAFP has a grant from Merck to train "Vaccine Experts:" 

Herbert Young, M.D., director of the Academy's Scientific Activities Division, said the AAFP needs more family physicians to be "significantly involved" with immunizations, science and policy.

"We need a pipeline of family physicians with special knowledge about immunizations for a variety of reasons, including research, policy creation and education," Young said.

The AAFP will select two fellows each year for one-year commitments. The program, which is slated to last three to five years, is funded by a grant from Merck & Co. Inc., but the vaccine manufacturer will have no input or control over the selection of fellows or content of the fellowship program. Read that one HERE.

Smashing Pumpkins and Propaganda: Billy Corgan Speaks Out

Amanda Peet, Meet Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.

Just days after Blink-182's Mark Hoppus penned his own medical missive, Billy Corgan has released a scathing 800-word communiqué about the H1N1 -- aka swine flu -- vaccine. In his blog-itorial, the Smashing Pumpkins' mastermind spoke out against both the virus and the "propaganda machine" that accompanies it.

"I do not trust those who make the vaccines, or the apparatus behind it all to push it on us thru fear," Corgan explained in his critique, which can be read in its entirety here. According to him, the virus is not yet an emergency and he believes it's ridiculous that "our American President Obama" has declared it so....

Seasonal Flu Vaccine: Should Parents Go Dutch?

Read the full story Here at USNews.com.

LONDON—Dutch scientists ignited a controversy Friday by suggesting that children would be better off skipping the seasonal flu vaccine this year — a proposal flatly rejected by other health experts.

Their commentary, based largely on animal studies, was published online Friday in the British medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. The theory is that children infected with seasonal flu acquire a certain kind of immunity that might protect them against new flu outbreaks like swine flu or bird flu.

Other health officials said there was no proof that children are more likely to avoid swine flu by passing on a seasonal flu shot.

Bob Wright Talks Autism on Fox Business

Click HERE to listen to Bob Wright talk about autism on Fox Business.  

Special Education Inclusion Works: Ask the Homecoming Queen in Georgetown, MI

By Kim Stagliano

I went to Catholic school for eight years. Then a boarding school. (Can you believe my folks sent me away?)  LOL! And then I attended Tufts (alma mater of Dr. Paul Offit) and was graduated from Boston College during "the Flutie years."   One of my husband's and my earliest arguments as a newlyweds was how we'd educate our children. I was adamantly in favor of prep school, and he was equally adamant about Catholic school. Now we don't think about SATs, instead it's IEPs. (Hello, Autism. Goodbye, Groton.)

When I tell people that my three beautiful daughters with autism each attend the public schools in our town, they are often surprised. "Really?" they say with their eyebrows up around their hairline. Yes, really. That's not to say the girls are in regular ed classrooms all day. They aren't, nor would I want them to be, as their learning styles require one on one instruction.

We happen to be blessed with a town that funds special education and has made a commitment to educating students on the autism spectrum particularly. Right now I'm on a committee to craft the high school program which will begin next year with my daughter Mia's class. If you're seeking a strict ABA-based program, or if your child has severe behavior issues, you probably need a private school. However, we have trained ABA paraprofessionals, BCBA's and highly trained teachers, plus our district uses a number of therapies and teaching tools to educate my girls. I know from harsh experience that the difference between districts from state to state and even town to town can be startling. 

I consider it my responsibility to reign in behaviors from home, using diet and biomedical treatments, so that the school has three girls who are comfortable enough to take advantage of their learning opportunity.

NAA Conference: You'll Be Thankful You Went!

Wendy Fournier, President of NAA, wants you to know there is a scholarship program for the conference. Doesn't that just take the cake? Please click HERE for details.

The NAA Conference is next month in Ft. Lauderdale. Even though money is tight for most all of us, if you can swing this conference, it will be worth every penny. Call in some frequent flyer miles. Ask for an early Holiday gift from family members. You will learn so much that you'll save money by being able to narrow down treatment options for your child and by speaking with experts face to face. From our friends at NAA:

Relaxing, informative, hopeful, casual, laid-back, rejuvenating, affordable, tropical, FUN...are we talking about a conference?  Absolutely!

CDC Press Conference on H1N1 Vaccine and Antiviral Update

2009 H1N1 Flu Vaccine Distribution and Antiviral Update

WHAT: CDC will host a press conference to provide an update on 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine distribution and antivirals.

WHO: Anne Schuchat, M.D., Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

WHEN: Thursday October 29, 2009 at 2 p.m. ET (Webcast info below)

Olmsted on Autism: Clueless in D.C.

By Dan Olmsted
 
The Washington Post, my local paper, recently redesigned itself from head to toe. I have to say I like it – it’s kind of Wall Street Journal-y, not surprising given that its relatively new editor used to be in charge there. But a redesign is not going to cure what ails the Post when it comes to covering what’s the matter with kids today.
 
Those deficiencies are on compact display in the new weekly insert that is part of the redesign. Called Local Living, it combines health, home, wellness and community news in an amalgam that, in its first edition, told me the following:

  -- Ethyl mercury is harmless to fetuses and infants. “The dose of mercury you get from a vaccine containing thimerosal is far below the limits of mercury exposure, but the fact that thimerosal has mercury in it causes many people to be concerned about getting injected with it. It is not associated with any adverse side effects at the doses present in influenza vaccines, but it is being eliminated from childhood vaccines due to public concerns.”

So says Andrew Pekosz, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University in answer to a question about concerns over the swine flu vaccine. I’m going to skip the usual rejoinder and let that statement twist in the wind.

 -- A few pages later, there’s a Q&A with the authors of a new book on baby care titled, “Is It a Big Problem or a Little Problem: When to Worry, When Not to Worry, and What to Do.” Here is the second question from the Post reporter: “Sensory processing issues seem to be so common now. Do most children grow out of them or should parents be more proactive about getting their kids therapy?”

Really? Sensory processing issues seem to be so common NOW? What the heck is that about? I don’t recall my friends having sensory processing issues. In fact, I don’t even know what that means, to tell you the truth. But it sounds like a Big Problem to me. The experts’ answer is reassuring, though: “A lot of people don’t really realize that we all have sensory sensitivities.”

Unity Within Autism Community #UWAC a Twitter Initiative

By Tim Welsh (TannersDad)

I was amazed when Huffington Post, David Kirby, and Age of Autism were the first and only sources to report the new autism rates 1 in 91 and 1 in 58 Boys. I was outraged that no news source was picking this up like so many headlines before. We ripped into reporters, CNN, Fox, and all the networks with only silence as the answer. I learned later that there was a media Embargo on the information and they were not allowed to release the information until the following Monday. Hopefully, in the days ahead somebody will explain that to me. Bottom Line is that this situation sparked a new line of thinking and action for me.

I have been an outspoken advocate for Autism on many fronts. My main emphasis during the past 7 years has been lack of services, Insurance discrimination, Non profit Fiscal responsibility, biomedical treatments, Respite, vaccine safety, awareness Human social rights and the list goes on. This put me at direct odds with different groups within the Autism community  at times.  Specifically, I have directly challenged, confronted, campaigned against, rallied, boycotted, and been nasty to Autism Speaks, the neuro-diversty group and even bumped heads with a few in the biomedical & research community. I apologize for being rude, crude, and forgetting that there are people who are hurting behind all of these organizations.

CBS News Sharyl Attkisson: Freedom of Info Stalled at CDC

CBS News Sharyl Attkisson
Freedom of Information Stalled at CDC and DC Government
(CBS)

In August 2009, CBS News made a simple request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for public documents, e-mails and other materials CDC used to communicate to states the decision to stop testing individual cases of Novel H1N1, or “swine flu.” When the public affairs folks at CDC refused to produce the documents and quit responding to my queries altogether, I filed a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the materials. Members of the news media are entitled to expedited access, which I requested, since this was for a pending news report and on an issue of public health and interest.

Two months after my FOI request, the CDC has yet to produce any of these easily retrievable materials. Sadly, this is of little surprise. This has become standard operating procedure in Washington… read the full story HERE.