Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism, Pediatricians Do.

By J.B. Handley
 
Our community has been giving pediatricians a hall pass for far too long.
 
If a doctor sticks six vaccines into a child while the child is taking antibiotics for an ear infection and Tylenol for a cold, he’s not a doctor, he’s a criminal, and should be hauled into jail on the spot for assault and battery. If the child also happens to have eczema, long-term diarrhea, and has missed a milestone or two, perhaps the charge should be attempted murder.
 
As you know, pediatricians do just this and more every day. How do we stop this recklessness?
 
If my son’s pediatrician had been more careful, better informed of warning signs, less close-minded, and less AAP-party line in his approach to pediatrics, I genuinely believe my son never would have regressed into autism.

 
I’ve met many Pediatricians who belong to the AAP, but have chosen a much safer and more deliberate route to practicing pediatrics: they give fewer vaccines, they prescribe fewer or no antibiotics, they don’t throw Tylenol at every ailment, they stop vaccinating if a child develops eczema or an allergy after a vaccine or has any other reaction, they don’t give vaccines like Hep B unless the mom has Hepatitis herself and shy away from useless flu shots. They listen to parents. They practice the precautionary principle.
 
And, you know what they all have in common? You guessed it: far fewer children in their practice with autism.
 
You may have met one of these great, open-minded doctors – many towns have one, although there’s not nearly enough of them. And, you also know many of the doctors like the ones Jim Carrey described -- “Mister grab ‘em and stab ‘em” -- the ones who don’t understand why so many kids in their practice have autism, while they reach into the incubator in the ICU to make sure the preemie gets her Hep B shot. Recently, the AAP has begun advocating “firing” parents who don’t conform to the CDC’s overloaded vaccine schedule, the schedule with 36 vaccines on it, almost double the average of 30 other first world countries. The schedule that has never been tested for combination risk.
 
Really, AAP? You’re going to “fire” parents who want to be more cautious with their babies? I don’t mean to give you advice, AAP, but I don’t think that’s very good for business.  
(By the way, whenever I meet a pediatrician I ask them a simple question: what percentage of your revenue come from vaccine administration? The number always astounds me. The answers I get are that anywhere from 50-80% of their revenue comes from giving vaccines. Imagine that.)
 
So, parents, help me out, let’s turn this thing around and let’s do it right: let’s put bad pediatricians out of business RIGHT NOW. Let’s fire them for reckless endangerment of our children and our neighbor’s children.
 
If a mechanic who was supposed to fix your car actually screwed your car up worse, what would you tell your neighbors if they asked you for a recommendation? You’d tell them to stay the hell away from that mechanic!
 
Why should it be any different for your pediatrician, the one who facilitated your child’s autism? Let’s hit these close-minded, unhelpful, dangerous doctors where it hurts: right in the wallet.
 
Do Something Today, and Be Bold
 
It’s a new decade, and it’s time to put an end to this madness. If your idea of activism is making comments at AoA, I encourage you to expand your horizons, right now.
 
I’ll make it easier for you, I’ll go first. My son’s pediatricians were all based at Lamorinda Pediatrics in Lafayette, CA. He saw many different doctors there, and I believe with my heart that they made terrible decisions, showed utter cluelessness when it came to warning signs, and facilitated my son’s descent into autism. They are based in the East Bay of the SF area, and if you have a friend out there, please email them this link.
 
In no particular order, here are some of the horrible mistakes I believe my son’s pediatricians made:
 
1. They gave him multiple vaccines at every well-baby visit

2. In two years, they allowed him to get 12 rounds of antibiotics, including one round for 6 straight weeks

3. They vaccinated right through any and all rounds of antibiotics

4. They encouraged us to give him Tylenol immediately after vaccine appointments

5. When he developed eczema immediately after his first DTaP shot at 2 months old, they prescribed Cortisol and kept on vaccinating

6. They never drew any line between his constant diarrhea, eczema, extreme lethargy, and food allergies. He would come into their waiting room, leaning on furniture to ease the pain in his belly, and the doctors paid it no heed at all

7.  When my son was 14 months old and we expressed concern about many missed milestones, they told us he was fine, costing us valuable time
 
In short, Lamorinda Pediatrics was clueless and reckless, and, I believe, helped push my son over a cliff. By not being more on their game and understanding the full implications of every choice they made and by being ignorant to all the red flags my son’s symptoms should have sent up, I believe they caused his autism. (And, I was an ignorant S.O.B. for letting them do it).
 
If a doctor like Jay Gordon or one of the many other great Pediatricians out there had been caring for my son instead, I truly believe I wouldn’t be here writing this today.
 
Conversely, in Mill Valley, CA is a practice called Pediatric Alternatives. We started going there AFTER my son had been diagnosed with autism. They were fantastic. Yes, they vaccinated kids, but the precautionary principle abounded in everything they did. They believed that nature had actually figured things out pretty damn well and their job was to not screw it up. They listened closely to parents. They shunned antibiotics unless risks were extremely high. They knew vaccines had benefits AND serious risks. They were absolutely great and I recommend them highly – please send this link to your Bay Area friends for a great Pediatrician.
 
Also, Integrative Pediatrics up here in Portland, OR is equally terrific, and I recommend Dr. Paul Thomas and his staff highly.
 
Now, you can do the same thing. Let every parent you know understand the mistakes made by your Pediatrician that led to your child’s autism. Write your story down, make copies, and hand it out to parents walking in and out of the Pediatrician’s office (and film it so when you get kicked off their property you can put it up on YouTube!). Save parents from the same fate that befell you.
 
And, remember, these Pediatricians and their recklessness and ignorance are doing more than causing autism. The food allergies, ADHD, and other behavioral and learning disabilities running rampant through your town and school all start with that same pediatrician who messed up your kid.
 
At the same time, reward the great, open-minded doctors. Make sure every parent knows how great they are and encourage every one of them to quit the bad practice and join the good one. Become the loudest cheerleader for the pediatrician who really cares about our kids and understands. Contribute to helping the great Pediatricians have a booming practice.
 
Parents, the AAP claims they have 60,000 Pediatricians who belong to their organization. It is these 60,000 people who can stop the autism epidemic, but they won’t do so unless we ramp up our pressure on them dramatically. 
 
Please join me in putting bad pediatricians out of business today.
  
(Author’s note: The only list I have been able to find of potentially “good” Pediatricians is from the website of Dr. Sears who wrote The Vaccine Book. Find his list of Doctors HERE.)

J.B. Handley is co-founder of Generation Rescue.

Comments

[Benedetta]

Amber;
Yes, all kinds of things have happened in different ways to our children.

The Hep B is a bad shot - and why are they giving it to little children. It is a sexual transmitted thing, or for people who work around human blood.

[amber]

My very verbal and smart two and a half daughter got her 2nd hepB vaccine last week and a couple of days later started stuttering real bad. She has never stuttered before and I was actually told by he pediatrician at her appointment how advanced her speech and development was. I am concerned it is due to the vaccination. I also have a son who started showing signs of adhd at two and now is developmentally at a five year old level and he will be eight next month. has anyone else had this happen to them?

[Nikki]

Your focus should be on the insurance companies!!! Prove that THEY are losing profits from vaccine induced injuries and tides will turn. Just like when they revealed that circumcision was unnecessary and caused more complications the circumcision rate is dropping like a fly.

[Cara]

My daughter's pediatrician vaxed her knowing she was sick, with multiple shots at a time, and he encouraged me to give tylenol before and after shots. When my daughter had a high fever for more than 3 days and broke out in spots after her MMR, he told me it was a mock case of the measles and that it meant the vaccine was working. When she still had horrendous diarrhea after 6 weeks, he told me it was because I gave her too much juice. When I told him I don't buy juice and that we don't drink it he just shrugged as if he didn't believe me. When I mentioned I was concerned that she STILL wasn't talking, he told me she was working on other skills. WORKING ON OTHER SKILLS?!?!?! At 23 months?!?!?!?

His name is Dr. Paul Toussaint, he is based out of Resurrection Hospital in Chicago. Do not bring your children to that practice, it's a death sentence.

[Erik Nanstiel]

My daughter was rendered autistic at the age of 15 months courtesy Dr. David Schwartz at the Pediatric Place in Schaumburg, IL. They're still practicing. I fired them long ago after they answered our concerns with "she's fiiiiiine, don't worry Dad..." he spoke to me like I was a kid. To this day I watch my daughter struggle to communicate, to cope with her overwhelming world and the promise of a life of dependency.

[kathy blanco]

JB, this is why our grandson who is living with us, will be paid for out of pocket by us to go see a naturopath, and luckily enough our own GP is unwilling to vaccinate, due to our family history. He is also disgusted in what is happening to the vaccine schedule, and really believes and knows our story well. I recommend anyone to FIRE their pediatrician and seek a practice in which they are combined with alternative doctors/ND's. Also if they belong to a group of doctors who are with ACAM, even better (environmentally based phsyciains). GP's are less likely to be vaccine happy as well. But the story doesn't just end with vaccines, they must be into nutrition, longer breastfeeding, and avoiding toxins like the plague. It's time for us to learn what good health is again, and stop trusting those damn AAP members. LEt them eat it. Let them know our distrust in them will put them out of business.

[Benedetta]

Cat,
But I do admit it! It does maim and even kill.
It affects the metabolism, and vaccines are responsible for an array of diseases not just autism and Kawasakis but othere things ow present in our society like diabetis, thyroid problms, alziheimers, and the obsesity problem.

My response was to someone else, I wanted Harry to know the effects of the vaccines had on my kids - rechallenged as Dr. Wakefield says.

[Shawn Siegel]

I'll see you your criticism, JB, and raise you a demand; that pediatricians educate, and stop vaccinating. Both the nature and extent of vaccine damage are much more serious than ever discussed in the mainstream media, as the fear of disease is terribly overblown, and knowledge and appreciation of the natural process of immune system maturation smothered by silence.

If the current rate of increase continues unabated, all young boys in the U.S. will be diagnosed on the spectrum by 2032, and within a decade later, all young girls as well. The mental acuity of the nation is at stake.

[Cat]

Vaccines maim and kill. You might not want to admit that Benedetta, but there are a lot of people on VAERS who will (and it is estimated that the number if adverse reactions that actually get reported is close to 1%, so even VAERS info is not accurate in just how much those vaccines maim and kill). Our government pays these people a meagerly fee while allowing the vaccine pushers and makers to go Scott free. If vaccines did not cause harm then why would our government be paying these families? Why does VAERS exist? Why does every vaccine come with a package insert and list of potential adverse reactions that, upon reading, would scare the beejesus out of anyone with common sense (and if you really want to be scared you could look up ALL of the potential reactions they do not list on their VIS on the CDC website). Don't post your vaccines save live propaganda here when the majority of people who read this site have been vaccine injured or have a child who has been.

[Anita Kysor, RN]

I have not been vaccinated and now, many years later, I have no arthritis, I am very healthy. I am a RN and i see the time correlation between vaccinations and autism.
The Amish do not vaccinate their children, and they have zero autism.

[Elisabeth]

I am 34, and have had exema ever since a flu shot several years ago. There is no one in my family with any skin problems. It started within 2 days of a flu shot that left my arm (injection site) swollen for a week, and fever for a few days. I ended up getting the flu anyways. Next time, I'll just take the flu. The flu is more pleasant.

[Adele]

I come from a family that did not vaccinate, but always knew the risks of exposure to others who were vaccinated, ie. live polio virus. My brother had extreme allergies as a child and was well on his way to recovery until he decided to get vaccinated before a trip to Europe. His eczema went into overdrive shortly thereafter, and was diagnosed with full blown Hodgkins by 27 years old. He is now a three time "survivor" of cancer and heavy chemotherapy. Although the rest of us have allergies, skin problems, gluten intolerance, lactose and casein intolerance, we have remediated our symptoms through diet and reduction of exposure to sick people! You must use family history to support your decisions to vaccinate or not. We are not all born with the same immune systems. Use the laws on the books with regards to the vaccination requirements for schools. It is all about being informed. Do some research. The information is out there.

[sam]

my daughter is almost 3 yrs old with autism and finding out all this info on vaccines and autism is very scary to me since i am pregnant again and due in 2 months, should i not vaccinate my new baby and risk her gettin sick and prone to diseases? im so scared and dont know wat to do. pls help me

[Melissa]

Vaccination schedules coincide with infant development so this cause (vaccine) and effect (autism) is refuted by medical experts not Jenny McCarthy and a bunch of upset parents. Also, the comment that 60 percent of doctors don't vaccinate their own children is a bald faced lie. Seriously, where do you get your information. I have a three year old who has never been sick either, who has been given all her vaccines, I attribute it to nursing and low exposure to others with germs. Lets leave the medical expertise to precisely those people, the experts.

[Leslie]

I have 4 children and my husband and I had made an informed choice before their births not to vaccinate. My children have never had an ear infection, eczema, or a need for any anti-biotics in the 17 years I have had them. I also know that the most recent study shows that 60% of all doctors now do not vaccinate their own children!!!! I was told by one of them "If people knew what was in the vaccines they would choose not to as well". Pretty scary. I urge people to find a good doctor and make the decision that makes sense to you.

[Benedetta]

Harry;
I did vaccinate my two kids.
Each of the eight times my kids reacted to their DPT shot. Each and every time the reaction was worse. Each and every time the ped said all was fine.
The last DPT shot my son had after the first reaction left him with a heart murmur the second passing out with 106 temperature. After my daughter had Kawasaki's, after she passed out with 106 - the last shot he had a stroke! He is now an epileptic.

So we did vaccinate. Thank You for your kind words and advice.

[Harry]

the real crime would be not vaccinating your child. The facts are there that vaccines and autism are in no way related, and to continue the blatant fear mongering, and that is what this is, should be seen as more of a crime. Vaccines protect children and adults from a wide spectrum of diseases, all of which have the potential to be fatal, and to choose not to vaccinate your child based on pseudo-science and things you read on the internet(which is not the best source of information) is a naive and dangerous step to take.

[baby carriers]

People should always be careful about the medications and vaccinations that they give their child.

[JenB]

Kim,

I'm not an expert. Other readers here may be able to give better information if they see your question.

My understanding is eczema may indicate allergies/food intolerances, and a tendency towards immune-overstimulation. I know of a child in my neighborhood who lost his when his mother essentially implemented a gluten-free/casein-free (and I believe a removal of other allergens) diet.

Having eczema (or a family history of such) may also indicate a greater risk for adverse vaccine reaction. Anecdotally, at least, there seems to be a higher correlation with autoimmunity, eczema, allergies in the family history and neurological damage following vaccination. Some vaccine ingredients may be causal as well.

Maybe try something like a search at www.nvic.org on "eczema" as a starting point in researching vaccination concerns?

[A Mom]

In addition to Age of Autism, www.14studies.org is a great place to start.

www.talkaboutcuringautism.org

www.adventuresinautism.com

http://mercury-freedrugs.org/

[Kim]

I am a new mom and I'm trying to dive into vaccines: good or bad? research. It is so hard to find the facts.

My baby girl has eczema - I noticed it a couple of weeks before her 2-month check-up. This post mentions a link between eczema and vaccinations ... what is it?

[francesca]

Almost terrifyingly, exactly...what happened to my precious baby daughter, who is now brain-damaged for life after the horrific "well baby care" she received at Dr. Max Kahn's group office in Scarsdale, NY. Every time I pass that office, I want to die. J.B., did you sue for malpractice in addition to filing suit with the NVCP (a joke if there every was one). Every "doctor" there who routinely destroyed my child's brain and life (and the lives of her immediate family), should pay in so many ways...

[Maureen H. McDonnell, RN]

JB Couldn't agree more. If it helps the cause and you consider the content bold enough, please feel free to use the article I wrote that appeared in Age of Autism and is now on my blog: Safer Ways to Vaccinate....if there is such a thing. The blog is RaisingHealthyKidsNaturally.blogspot.com. One parent wrote in that we should make copies of it and secretly leave them in pediatrician's offices and public restrooms. She called it "guerrilla marketing". It all comes down to our PR strategies (based in truth) have to be smarter and more creative than theirs (based in out right lies). Thanks, Maureen
Saving Our Kids, Healing Our Planet www.SOKHOP.com
Blog: www.RaisingHealthyKidsNaturally.blogspot.com

[Beth Bento]

I found an amazing Dr in Charleston.

The Center for Organic Medicine
843-767-7650

In Florida, 10 yrs ago I allowed my child to get his 2 month shots.. I nursed him immediately afterward and got the hairy eyeball from the nurse.. Um.. natural pain management.. After making all his next visit for shots.. something felt wrong.. I never took him back. I thank God every night.

What makes me angry is what happened with my daughter, in 2006. She was born at 25 weeks weighing 1 pound 12 pounces. At 7 weeks old she developed a fairly common intestinal infection, NEC. Very scary. She weighed 2 pounds 5 ounces the day of her surgery. Whilein the NICU at Florida Hospital SOuth, my daughter recovered from her surgery and was doing well, I was approached at every visit, several times a day to begin her shots. I tried the smile and nod method, until ultimately that method was TOO NICE.

They assured me that it was fine (they used the word safe, over and over). I had not done as much research as I have now. I knew the ingredients and had done some light reading. Basically enough to reassure my son.

Before her surgery the nurses began asking to sign consents for the shots and giving me info on them. I accepted the information from the nurses, several colorful sheets, one vaccine for each color, all touting what the vaccine would prevent and how deadly each one of these diseases were.

After several days and then weeks of politely accepting the colored packets. I got a phone call from the Head NICU Nurse at FL Hospital Orlando. She was wanting to know when I would swing by the NICU to sign the consents for my preemie's's vaccinations. This was 2 days after her surgery.

I asked her why we would do the shots so soon after her surgery and that she was fighting an infection (a big contraindication, if you read the package inserts).
She informed me that it was vitally important to keep my preemie on the Vaccine Schedule and she was 2 months old and needed these shots.

I told her " I do not vaccinate and that I would not sign the consents, today, tomorrow, or next yr." Her tone immediately changed, growing very terse, she said that my preemie would not be able to attend daycare, or public school ect.

I stopped her right there. I said to her in my big girl voice" How dare you attempt to intimidate me? I know my rights and I am fully informed. I will not be bullied into giving these shots (5 in total) to a baby who is on a ventilator. And for your information children who do not receive vaccinations can go to public school. My son is sitting in class right now in Seminole County, and he is not vaccinated."

She didn't have much to say after that. But in my gut I know, had I allowed those vaccines, my daughter would not be the same girl I have now.
Her therapists are amazed at her health considering she has a feeding tube and has cerebral palsy. No ear infections, no meds, I am blessed to have a resource like AoA.. Thank you JB.

[WILLIE]

Well your starting to catch on JB but you are not there yet. You have to sue the pediatrician not fire them sue them. They have a responsebility to treat your child individually and not just follow directions from the CDC. They must also be ethical and know the literature that is their job. They cannot just fall back on "the vaccines are recommended".

You hit the nail squarely on the head, pediatricians mostly get paid to give vaccines so they will NEVER see the relationship between autism and vaccines because they are paid not to, they are complicit. They are chasing a dollar and hurting children.

Use your money to put together a legal team with the help of physicians like myself to discuss the ethics of medical fraud, for example like giving a baby girl or boy a hep b shot for a sexually transmitted disease predominately of male homosexuals and IVDA'S that only last 10 years at most.

The pediatricians are willful particiapnts in this scam and all scams come to an end and once you start sueing people and making the insurance companies pay out for malpractice suits they will no longer cover the pediatricians or they will be made to pay much higher premiums and they will stop giving vaccines that are "recommended".

You can also go after univerisies that fund these bull shit studies like Brown University in New York. That get paid millions of dollars in grant money to publish fraudulent studies. A little bad publicity goes a very long way JB

Then you will see vaccinations go away like a bad dream and maybe people will wake up to what they have done to our children

[Kathy Blanco]

From Shot in the Dark......

The "less serious" long-term sequelae resemble the more severe cases but are milder.

Instead of having epilepsy or seizures, the children suffer from what are called "staring spells" or "absence seizures."

Instead of being mentally retarded to the point of incapacity to function in society, they suffer loss of IQ: many function at the 80 or 90 IQ level -- just above subnormality.

Instead of paralysis or cerebral palsy, they may lose a degree of muscular control -- "atony" -- especially of the hands. The parents will say that the baby doesn't use his hands for crawling, or that he picks up objects with his feet instead of his hands.

They manifest all the cranial nerve palsies, but in a less severe form.

Instead of being blind, they have astigmatisms and nystagmus (involuntary and jerky repetitive movements of the eyeballs). They can be cross-eyed. They may have trouble moving their eyes from side to side. Or they are dyslexic, cannot read letters, cannot spell, cannot understand numbers, and the like. A peculiar feature is that they sometimes have obsessions about people's eyes, are afraid to look others in the eyes, etc.

Instead of being totally deaf, they have mild loss of hearing. Or they have chronic earaches -- otitis media. This is called in the United States "glue ear," and it is a kind of buildup of water in the ear, often requiring the installation of little tubes for drainage.

At least half of all U.S children have had otitis media by their first birthday. By age 6 90% have had them. This condition accounts for 26 million visits to physicians every year. In addition, about 1 million children have tubes inserted in their ears every year, at a cost of $1000/operation. Thus $1 billion is spent each year on this operation. Just imagine what it means if this is all, or mostly all, caused by the pertussis vaccine.

This particular "glue ear" type of otitis was not known in American medical practice before the late 1940's or early 1950's -- in other words, the time when the pertussis vaccine was being introduced.

Instead of being completely dumb, they may have a peculiarly harsh or dull or inexpressive voice. Often they stutter and have other speech impediments.

The child will have asthma or other breathing difficulties. The incidence of asthma has been steadily rising in the United States for the past several decades -- especially asthma in very small children. Children now are dying of asthma, whereas in the past doctors always used to say that "no child ever dies of asthma."

Migraine headaches are also very common in this population.

] They have sleep and appetite disturbances -- anorexia and bulimia. In the latter case, they will often put on weight.

Another long-term effect of this vaccine is tendency to allergies, especially allergy to milk. Needless to say, a large proportion of the population in all of the industrialized countries of the world today suffer from allergies. We found that newborn infants with colic -- meaning an allergy to milk-- tend to react more strongly to the vaccine. Undoubtedly colic should be considered a counterindication to vaccination.

Another long-term effect is disturbance of sleep rhythm; the child turns night into day and day into night.

They are often hyperactive. They have an extremely short attention span. Their behavior is dominated by impulses.

They have lowered resistance to infection -- due, presumably, to defective operation of the immune system.

Other serious disorders are: seizures and epilepsy, blindness or loss of speech, paralysis or palsy of one or several limbs, and mental retardation. These are all possible effects of the vaccine.

So one finds the same kinds of physical disabilities as in the more profoundly affected children, but everything is somewhat milder. "Mild" here is a relative term. After all, hyperactivity, dyslexia, and short attention span are very serious social problems -- leading, in fact, to the collapse of the American educational system today.

Indeed, the physical disabilities are only part of the picture. Much more important are the mental, emotional, and moral dimensions of vaccine damage.

Side note, funny....or not....my three BOY grandchildren, unvaccinated, certainly with a clear genetic predisposition to autism, HAVE NONE OF THESE THINGS, NEVER....if autism is so genetic...then wouldn't there be SOME form of this in them? come on? I mean, what pediatric office doesn't see a slew of these illnesses EVERY DAY? Vaccines are a BUSINESS for themj, the business is to derail the immune system to such a point, that the CNS crashes, the metabolic immune system crashes, the response to allergens crashes...

What - A - Rackett....

[quiet in the south]

I spend too much time on the internet and facebook but i find there really are two different types of people that i am friends with the AOA, EWG etc ppl and then the farmville types kind of wonder why I am even friends with people who spend there day fertilizing imaginary crops. I guess its an escape and who am i to judge but we have so many things that need to be done. Here is to the passionate warriors who are willing to look at reality straight in the eye.

[michael framson]

PIA
PEDIATRICIAN INDUCED AUTISM

[Kristine]

I agree wholeheartedly with blaming the peds. I expect more from these who we consider to be "the best and brightest". All of that aside, what CAN we do to educate the young pediatricians about autism and treatment? I can assure you as the wife of a ped resident that we cannot trust the major medical centers to do this. My husband knows much (much more than his colleagues) about autism and treatments but this is because of his experience with our son and Jepson's book. Medical training currently doesn't leave much space for independent research and again NO ONE is telling these young doctors about autism (except maybe how to administer a quick m-chat and how to refer to a devt'l ped or child psych). Why don't we bring these DAN conferences to many cities, put them on a webcast, make them FREE. Have a mentor program? My husband would love to go to a DAN conference but he would have to plan his vacation days a year in advance (they may or may not coincide with the conf dates), he would have to pay $700 for DAN registration fees plus transportation (flight?) and hotel costs. That's a lot to ask of someone who is making $40k per year and has three kids, one with severe autism. I'm just using him as an example of how we need to do a better job of making this information accessible and free. Should we, as the parents, have to do this? Of course not. But that is what has a higher chance of success than trusting the AMA and AAP to actually do their job.

[Laura]

Sigh. My first-born son was a "colicky" baby -- hours of inconsolable crying (Hep B at birth? Hmm). He seemed to overcome that as an older baby, and had several good months, then at 15 months, he got eczema, soon after I weaned him and introduced cow's milk. Of course, his pediatrician didn't connect the two (I figured out when I took out the milk, the eczema went away) and gave us cortisone and steroid skin creams to try. This was when the ear infections, started, too. No problem - give him antibiotics. And he's due for shots, so let's give him those, too, and be sure to give him Tylenol afterward. And, no surprise to all of us autism parents, the milestones stopped -- he took months to progress from cruising to walking, didn't add to the few words and baby signs he used...

I still didn't make the connection, and when my second son was born, he had the hep B at birth, and went for his "well baby" check ups and shots for two months. Then I finally started to figure out what was going on, as my older son received his autism diagnosis, and switched to a naturopathic pediatrician for my younger son, who told us the only vaccine he usually recommended was tetanus, but we opted out of that anyway. Even so, my younger son has not had any reason to go to the doctor in almost 5 years (knock on wood), with only colds and possible food allergies to deal with. Just wish I could redo that ill-fated 15 month checkup for my older son!

[Sue]

Not one pediatrician in the state of Maryland on that list. Not one pediatrician in the Sacramento area, where I live. I can't take my kid to San Francisco for his pediatrics appointments. We need more doctors on the "good docs" list!

[Kim Bastible]

I am fortunate to work with 2 amazing, caring practitioners. Dr. Lawrence Palevsky, a board certified pediatrician and founder of the first holistic pediatrician organization and genius and Dr. Alan P. Sherr, chiroprator. Autism Practitioner and extraordinary human being. Google them, they don't get Amy better.

[M]

Back in 2003 when I questioned whether or not my son was vaccine-injured our pediatrician made a cross with his fingers and backed across the room from me like I was a vampire. He said "I'm pro-vaccination" and I said "well, I'm not anti-vaccination, I just want to know if this was possible and what has happened to my child" (and could explain his weight loss, his loss of language, his gut problems, stranger anxiety, etc.). He never answered me and acted insulted I'd ask such a thing. He told me my son was fine.

Thank you, JB.

[Col]

someone recommended ratemds.com which i had never heard of, but there's also angieslist.com where this type information could be listed.... and could truly benefit others. she's also fighting against a gag order being pushed by Dr' which i thought was very interesting.

[Holly]

Thanks again J.B.! www.tinyurl.com/kalebsstory
The pediatrician that pointed at me and told me to vaccinate or my child could die has since moved to Kalebs current pediatric practice. I contacted him and sent him a copy of Kalebs story as well as an into in which I told him I blamed him in part for Kalebs medical problems. I received an email back from him with an apology and an admission that he should have been more flexible with the vaccines. He also admitted that there had been some reaction that caused my childs regression. Both pediatricians attended Maine's groundbreaking conference last spring read here on AOA about it: http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/05/the-maine-event-cdc-and-dhha-hosts-groundbreaking-autism-conference-for-doctors.html
Both pediatricians looked a bit shocked as I checked in the medical staff attending the conference hosted by the Maine CDC and DHHS. DHHS at the federal level being the defendant in my son's Vaccine Injury Compensation case. I'm not sure what was more shocking to them....that connection or the fact that I am sure at least one time or another they have both thought I was completely off my rocker and may need to be medicated for my delusions about the cause and treatments of autism.

[Amy]

When I questioned the link between vaccines and autism, our pediatrician laughed. She then proceeded to order a DtaP, Hib and HepB for my 4 month old daughter who had a previous adverse reaction to her 2 month vaccines (didn't make eye contact or sounds for 2 weeks and developed eczema), had a severely autistic almost-3 year old nonverbal, nonresponsive brother spinning pot lids on the floor of the exam room, and an active cold. She'd had a fever that morning, but they assured me since she didn't have a fever at that moment, it was not only safe, but the best thing I could do for her future health. 36 days later, she finally stopped screaming; an accidental ingestion of my son's beverage containing Peptizyde and Zyme Prime at 16 months, a full year later, resulted in her first day without projectile vomiting or multiple bouts of diarrhea, and first sounds (babbling) since that day.

Devin Houston personally has guided us through a lot of this nightmare, and David Miller, MD is a Chicago physician who is not only a licensed alternative medical practitioner with a vast knowledge of treating the factors contributing to autism, but a member of the FAAP as well. I am hesitant to post the names of the many doctors who mocked my concerns, offered me prescriptions for valium because I was "too nervous" about my son's development, and told me things like "there is no such thing as food allergies" or "that rash has nothing to do with his shots, you must just not be cleaning him up well enough after he eats," but I will say that they, and bad media, have convinced my ex husband that the only "problem" my kids really have is my refusal to see conventional practitioners. Then there was the relative pediatrician who insisted "there's no mercury in thimerosal, that's just a rumor started by hysterical parents."

I can't believe most of the pediatricians I saw in those days got through medical school. With respect to those with critical thinking skills and actual compassion, most of the ones we saw during my kids' vaccine years seemed like complete idiots with no ability whatsoever to listen to me with anything beyond authoritarian contempt for my ridiculous questions and imaginary concerns.

Now, too late, I have two kids on the spectrum, and finally have found ways to get our school forms filled out that don't involve visits to conventional pediatricians - ever.

[Sherry]

Jenny W., I feel your pain. My story is exactly like yours. The eczema, rashes, reflux, and high fevers. This all sounds like my oldest son's life story. I'll have to also add head banging, violent temper tantrums, unconsolable crying(what they called "colic" but I am now questioning that)and bowel obstruction, etc. He is doing much better now after 10 years. Speech and occupational therapy helped. Special Olympics was a positive turning point in his life, also. Now when someone questions as to why I don't vaccinate anymore, I say that my son is sick. I am considering his Autism a sickness. If he had an illness like Diabetes or Cancer, I would want to do everything I can to help him get better. I blame myself for much of this, but do doctors feel any remorse? Are they all that ignorant or just plain greedy? I will be looking for a new doctor soon because all three of my children are due for vaccinations and there will be none. I refused all flu shots and got a look like I was insane. Then I asked for information regarding side effects and ingredients of vaccines and all the info. she gave me was from Paul Offit-so I threw it in the garbage where it belongs.

[Greg]

Jb, I suggest a web site (call it a registry) where parents can list the Pediatricians that are recklessly harming our kids. I know we have three different practices to contribute. I'll even post the letter from one who dismissed us from his practice for refusing to follow recommended vaccine schedule.

[MinorityView]

I think the main reason pediatricians do not want unvaccinated children in their practices is so they won't see the contrast. My grandchildren go to a family practice which does not enforce vaccination, although they certainly offer it. When my granddaughter was three she had an ear infection and the nurse practitioner recommended an antibiotic. Looking through the file, she said in amazement, "this child has never had an antibiotic!" She is 10 and has still never had one.

[GrammaKnows]

BTW - docs actually can't "fire" patients. they work for us. They are QUITTING their job...which they weren't actually doing in the first place if their job was to protect our health instead of treating illness.

Don't you wish they would quit their job and spare kids who DON'T have autism, too?

[Maurine Meleck]

I would love to do what is suggested here. However, the biggest problem lies in the fact that when you've taken children to clinics and hospitals years ago--the doctor turnover is great and the same doctors are not there any longer who treated your kids.
But I suppose it doesn't matter since the new doctors are still vaccinating the little ones in droves. This is something I will seriously consider. Thanks.
Maurine

[N]

Thank you for the informative article. SOmetimes I sound like a blundering idiot when I'm talking to new parents. Actually I foam at the mouth almost!! my friend is expecting to Grand kids. God bless you and keep you.

[Renee Tag]

I have long thaught that Peds should wear a sort of "badge" like the bbb that states or signifies that they ARE trained in the new childhood epidemics and that parents rights and informed consent come first. And on their website or PRE apointment they know just how this Dr. and staff is going about additional training ie. attendance record to NAA, Autism One, ARI conferences and think tanks.

The guy working on your car has his continuing education on the wall and boasts his updated credentials. Why do we have to assume or find out after the appointment has happened with a bill in hand?

[Kristina]

JimK wrote, "We need to have a clearinghouse of statistics for percentages of autistics for each pediatrician. The medical services consumer can then see which pediatricians have higher autism rates so that they can be checked by the power of the purse. Those pediatricians that start losing clientele can then look around and see why. Their colleagues who don't administer vaccines indiscriminately will be the ones rewarded in the marketplace because they will have the better autism statistics."

So true! People now have access to hospitals' cesarean section rates. People should also have access to every pediatrician's autism rates.

[doodle]

Mary,

So basically there is no increase in autism, just "better" health care and insurance, meaning more diagnoses so parents can get those awesome services. Hey, I guess we shouldn't worry after all since the number of autistic kids must be the same as always. These parents with their superior cognition are able to identify autism and not just write it off as something else. I suppose that college educated parents always had higher percentages of disabled kids, although labeled differently before. Is that what you are implying? It sounds like something that is a bit unlikely, especially with the admission by govt. that autism is actually on the rise.

Rebranding disgnostic substitution does not make it something different, and especially does not make it true. The truth that folks may not want to hear is that autism is increasing, and increasing more in families with with a history of intelligence and education. Since even the govt. is looking at environmental factors, and smart folks are not all living on toxic landfills, maybe there is something linking genetic susceptability to toxins.

Maybe folks whose bodies have more sensitive nervous systems, glutamate pathways, and faster neuron firing, may be more sensitve to any sort of neurotoxin or immune system imbalance. Or maybe everyone is the same and it's all better diagnosis, and we should just all shut up and be happy.

[Robert Schecter]

It's funny how brave these doctors are in "firing" patients who don't accept their vaccine dogma yet when it comes to their responsibility for the massive overuse of antibiotics, they blame patients for pressuring them into it.

[Charlie]

Thanks to Palm Beach Pediatrics "Grab em and stab em" policy, my son regressed in 1999 into autism following his 12 month vaccinations. Their web site today has the following posted: "We feel very strongly about immunizing all of our patients according to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Please discuss your apprehensions with your provider so that he/she may answer all your concerns. There are very few instances in which we will exempt a child from these recommended vaccines, even if parents have strong preferences or “philosophical or religious objections.”

In other words, "We know don't give a rats ass what the parent has to say because we know what's best for your child and if you don't like it, fuck off!

If your child is a patient of Palm Beach Pediatrics, I urge you to fire their asses like we did!

[timeforchange]

Thank you JB for this excellent article. Change is happening at the grass roots level with parents and now with pediatricians. Its way past time for peds. to start thinking for themselves and not just following the party line of the AAP.

[Pamela]

JB is spot on that pediatricians are firing parents who do not follow the AAP schedule.

We moved to a new town last year...actually a new state. We had a GREAT doctor back home who fully supported the decision not to vaccinate our second child based on our first child's adverse reaction to vaccines. He actually provided medical waivers for both children.

When we moved I settled on a practice, in the short term, that I knew was not going to share the philosophy of our previous Ped. When I told the new Dr. that we had medical waivers on both kids because they were contraindicated for vaccination she took no interest in learning exactly what the contraindication was or why the previous doctor felt it necessary to provide medical waivers. She simply focused on the fact that she believed vaccines don't cause autism. She actually said to me, without taking a full history of on either of my children, "I will go along with any decision you make regarding vaccines as long as you agree with me that vaccines have been proven not to cause autism."

Well, several months later and before I could find a more reasonable doctor (and by reasonable I mean one who was at least interested in hearing the nature of my child's adverse event and reasons that we held a medical waiver from another state) we received a letter stating that they would no longer provide medical services because we "choose" not to follow the vaccine schedule and we had 14 days to find another doctor.

I contacted the state chapter of the AAP and while they said that they do not "recommend" that pediatricians fire parents they do make them aware that this is the practice of some doctors and that they offer a form letter that pediatricians may use if they would like to employ the same policy.

The good news is that we found a family practice with a very, shall I say, seasoned pediatrician who was happy to provide us with medical waivers. When I told him we had been kicked out of the last practice he said, "You know what their problem was. They think they are supposed to give you mandates and you are not supposed to questioned them. You had the audacity to question the medical establishment, therefore you must be squashed like a bug." I thought he put that very well as I felt like I had been treated no better than a common roach. Another plus, this man has been around long enough to know what a case of measles or whooping cough looks like and how to advice a parent in appropriate treatment.

However, I must say I am still utterly galled when I think about he fact that a doctor would show no interest in the nature of a vaccine reaction in a specific patient. Has she never read an insert inside the box of any given vaccine. Has she never read the adverse events list on the adverse events table provided by VAERS? It's the most reckless, obnoxious thing I have ever experienced. What I think is at play here is that if this doctor acknowledged that my daughter might have actually experienced and adverse event then she might have to question how many kids in her practice have autism thanks to vaccines and that prospect scares the ever living shit out of all of them. Better to just stick your head in the sand and transfer responsibility to the parents. I call it Willful Ignorance.

[JS]

I like Kendra's idea, but also that of samaxtics. We should definitely start filling up www.ratemds.com with our opinions, both good and bad. That site gets a lot of traffic (and not niche traffic like this site) and the docs hate it because patients are allowed to post anonymously.

[DannysVoice]

My son was diagnosed w/ Autism at 3+ years, by then he had received all his vaccines (except flu shots because I never saw the point of those). After much research I concluded the vaccines were a major contributing factor to his Autism. He has not received ANY vaccines since then (at age 5 we did the titer test for MMR and he passed w/ flying numbers).

My son turned 14 years old this month and saw his pediatrician today for his annual check up; the same pediatrician he's had since birth. This was our conversation about vaccines today...

Dr. - "now, you don't do vaccines, right?

Me - "that's correct"

Dr. - "He's due for Chicken Pox and Tetnus booster and we have the Menengitis vaccine too

Me - "No, he's not getting any shots today.

Dr. - "We can give him just one, he doesn't need to get them all"

Me - "No thanks, not today...I respect you a great deal but I disagree w/ you on this issue

Dr. - "I have parents on both sides, if you change your mind just call"

We then proceeded with my son's check up.

There are pediatricians out there who do
give parents a choice...our pediatrician gives us a vaccine choice and provides our children with exellent care!

[Lisa Brown]

My son received 5 shots all in one day (MMR, Flu & chicken pox) and I asked, begged for information, talked about Autism and my pediatrician assured me that Autism was not caused by vaccines. (I know stupid me - I cry thinking if only I had information or had gone with my gut). I tell EVERYONE I meet to be very, very careful. Some have listened carefully, others that ignored me now have their kids in EI with various issues. Sad, so very sad that we trust doctors - What does Do No Harm really mean?

[TexasDad]

I want a bumper sticker that says "The AAP Causes Autism"

[quiet in the south]

I have written before about my Dad who was an internist and would of been 82 if the hospital hadn't killed him 2 years ago (wish I was kidding) and he was horrified by the vaccine schedule and the last 3 grandsons he had after 1992 all are on the spectrum luckily mildly. one is aspergers and the parents are in total denial. But I was an RN and until my son was dx'd we never questioned vaccines. I dutifully took my youngest to the pediatrician and never asked what they were giving him. I had 3 kids under 5 I was lucky I was dressed some days. I had no idea they had added so many shots since my daughter had been born in 1990. I had no idea the first shot they gave him was for hepatitis B.. Why don't they do a better job of educating parents? you know why is they don't want to be bothered with us and they think they know better like a condescending parent.
Now that my youngest is about to drive (yes biomedical works) I am thinking about going back to become a nurse practitioner bc I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF TRYING TO GET WHAT I NEED FOR MY FAMILY FROM THESE FUCKING STUPID DOCTORS WHO DONT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK THEY ARE DOING..... my Dad looking down from heaven would agree..my oldest son had a goiter which I discovered couldn't get his doc to order a full panel of thyroid levels had to have my BFF's neurosurgeons husband do it... just ridiculous oh btw iodine took care of it he was a lifeguard and he cleaned up a chlorine spill.

[TexasDad]

What if the clustering around better educated parents isn't an effect of better health care, but an actual effect: if you have the brain chemistry and drive to get through a higher education, your offspring have brain chemistry more susceptible to the environmental cause.

[julie]

Mary,
That was just the point I was trying to make when I said that if I had been an unemployed teen mother maybe my son wouldn't have autism. Only you said it much better. The irony.

[Kendra Pettengill]

Can GR do a page where people can post good and bad in every state. If more than one person had seen the same doc we could have multiple inputs. Seems like you could do an opinion disclaimer and not have any defamation issues.

[Anne McElroy Dachel]

JB,
I've been in amazement FOR YEARS thinking about the doctors who've been in practice for 25, 30 or more years.
THEY'VE SEEN THE DRAMATIC INCREASE IN VACCINES.
THEY'VE SEEN THE EXPLOSION IN THE KIDS WITH REACTIONS---SEIZURES, ALLERGIES, REGRESSION.
What do they call these things?
How do they explain it when a normally progressing child regresses into autism following a vaccine reaction?
How do they account for the waiting rooms full of learning disabled kids?
Does the "better diagnosing" mantra also extend to diabetes, arthritis, and bowel disease present in overwhelming numbers in our children?
Aren't they at all concerned or even just curious about where all these sick kids are coming from?
Does making a living off the damage persuade doctors that all these things are normal and acceptable?
MOST OF ALL: How do they live with themselves?

Anne Dachel
Media

[Joan Campbell]

When I brought my son back 1 week after having his MMR at 14 months the doctor prescribed anti biotics for his condition and never wrote down anything in my sons medical records that I was worried he was so unwell after the MMR, fever, high pitched crying, very pale and lethargic,no appetite and wanted to be held all the time.
WRONG!!

[Angus Files]

Yep trythis, written on your medical notes "this child is not ill" at this time temp of 41 ,a river of green puss coming out of the ears,nappy rash that had to be seen to beleive,and inbetween no sleep for 48 hours and a high piched scream that would scare the Wolves....

Hang Em High !!!!!

Lot to answer for these Dr ******

[Buna300]

Here is what most childhood vaccine package inserts say today:

"The decision to administer or delay vaccination because of a current or recent febrile illness depends on the severity of symptoms and on the etiology of the disease. According to the ACIP, all vaccines can be administered to persons with mild illness such as diarrhea, mild upper-respiratory infection with or without low-grade fever, or other low-grade febrile illness. However, children with moderate or serious illness should not be immunized until recovered."

So, how many people here had a child vaccinated, despite having "moderate or serious" illness? Perhaps that is the question that epidemiologists should be asking.

[mary podlesak]

Dear JB,
Thanks for the great endorsement for my autism eradication action plan. No seriously, this is exactly what autism families need to hear, that is, the concrete actions they can take to send out the message that business as usual in medical care is no longer acceptable. There must be financial consequences for the medical ennui in regard to autism.
I hope you or someone else here does a piece on the known pharmacuetical kickbacks in medicine, the low rates of self-reporting of vaccine and drug side effects to the CDC, and a loud and clear call is sent out for public debates on vaccination and for political solidarity in the autism community. Wishful thinking will not end the autism carnage.
To restate, the autism eradication action plan is:
1) Boycott all physicians who will not forgo pharmacuetical kickbacks, will not honestly track drug and vaccine side effects, will not explore alternative autism remedies, and will not allow parents to refuse use of drugs or vaccines.
2) Demand of public health representatives, pharmacuetical representatives, and elected government officials, public debate over the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
3) Run for public office to "clean up and reform medicine". There should be a demand for public debate of vaccines during any campaign. All autism mothers should run, but not only those, but also any one in any way harmed by any artifically compounded drug or anyone with a child having a "rare" disease (or not so rare disease), diagnosed following vaccintion.

God bless you all in this new year of our Lord, 2010.

[Judy Converse MPH RD LD]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If your child isn't sick, why go to the doctor? Yes, it's time for parents to recover control of their children's health. Parents in my practice are always so surprised to learn that their pediatrician has no liability for ill effects caused by vaccines. Pediatricians don't have to learn about those because they DO have that hall pass, thanks to Pharma's handwriting on the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in the mid 1980s. Let's say you're a bad driver. Every time you total your car, the insurance company tells you it's not your fault. Not only do you get a new car for free, you get paid every time you cause another wreck! Would you bother to learn to drive, or would you keep wrecking cars? Peds are totaling kids everywhere by wantonly vaccinating. They get to walk away from the wreck scot free every time.

[Mary]

To Jeff C.--I have another explanation for the "college educated have more autism" finding of late. It's pretty simple: those with at least a college education, not to mention those who've been to graduate school, are the most likely to have good jobs with steady health insurance coverage! It's the lack of gaps in health insurance coverage that makes it highly likely that the baby will get all of his/her shots on schedule. College graduates tend to be organized and responsible as well; without those attributes they wouldn't have graduated from college. So it's a confluence of two factors: the responsibility which enabled the parents to get the college degrees, and now impels them to make sure their child is protected against each disease that's supposedly preventable, and the good job with steady health insurance which pays for the shots. And that's really all there is to it, as far as I can tell.

[MAMA BEAR]

At the end of the day the responsibility of our children's health belongs with US!!! and somewhere along the way in the last century we gave that power away to doctors. It use to belong to mothers that was handed down to them by their extended family. Let's face it we didn't like not being a "good mom" and having the nurse giving us that disapproving look oh ur one of them you knew she was thinking. We didn't want to stand out in the neighborhood expressing our concerns about vaccines. Of course we didn't know we were just lining up our kids for slaughter but now we do. AND BOY DO WE STAND OUT NOW. STOP taking your kid to the pediatrician believe me they aren't driving to ur house to vax them. and when they get sick go to a doc in the box and when they ask if the are up to date on vax say "of course". saves you being treated like a piece of shit.

[Cynthia Cournoyer]

Great idea. Fire 'em. Parents have more control than they realize. Doctors and vaccine makers exist only at the will of those who purchase a product.

Doctors who vaccinate, whether according to the actual schedule or on a modified version, have no motivation to examine what they are doing because they CAN'T BE SUED. That is the basis of the existence of an uncaring physician. If we had been able to sue, vaccines would now be a thing of the past. So firing is all that is left.

My idea of an open minded physician would be one who never vaccinates. I truly wish there were more of them.

[JimK]

We need to have a clearinghouse of statistics for percentages of autistics for each pediatrician. The medical services consumer can then see which pediatricians have higher autism rates so that they can be checked by the power of the purse. Those pediatricians that start losing clientele can then look around and see why. Their colleagues who don't administer vaccines indiscriminately will be the ones rewarded in the marketplace because they will have the better autism statistics. Perhaps this is yet another reason to ensure that single payer health care never comes to pass because the marketplace will be destroyed.

[Jeff C.]

Bendetta said:
“I still think it is the medical schools and colleges - even undergraduate colleges that need to held as criminal. Because if I had not gone to college and heard this bunch of bull for 4 years plus another 2 years I would not have been dubbed. I have always been proud of my college education but the real truth of it - it just made me dumber.”

What a fascinating comment. I have been thinking along these same lines ever since reading news accounts of a study linking increased autism rates to the parents with a higher educational status:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_93735.html

In the article, AS trotted out the apparent party line that improved diagnosis is the explanation as educated parents have more access to resources. You see, less educated, poorer parents think it's perfectly normal for their kids to not speak, walk around flapping their hands, and have hour-long tantrums. The condescension is unbelievable.

I think the opposite is much more likely. People are taught in college to cite experts and peer-reviewed studies. There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself, but it can foster intellectual laziness. Paradoxically, as people attain more education they often engage in less critical thinking. They outsource the critical thing to others, as they cite the work of those before them. Thus when the American Association of Pediatrics says a newborn must get a Hep B shot at birth or the sky will fall, the educated mother or father blindly follows as the “experts” must be right and they don't want to be seen as one of those unfit, lower-class parents. It never occurs to them that they never had a Hep B vaccine and they turned out fine.

It took my older son’s ASD to shock me out of that mindset. We aren’t making the same mistake with our second child.

[ashley]

Looking back I am horrified at our pediatrician. My son would get blazing mad and throw up for two straight years. We kept hounding our ped for a answer. He told us our son would grow out of it. Come to find out he had a milk allergy. My poor child was suffering and he had no answers period for us!! We had to go to a child psych to finally get a clue that this thing might be physical!! Thank goodness she was familiar with food allergies and behavior!!!

The first page of my child's chart says"mother is calling because she is concerned about child reacting to vaccinations her baby received in Africa." He totally ignored everything I told him even from the very beginning. My premature baby just couldn't handle vaccines like others. Where did just plain common sense go???

[cmo]

It is very difficult to believe that these "pediatric medical geniuses" did not see a problem in the early 90's as their number of "well baby visits" nearly tripled with the expansion of the CDC vaccine program. I would suppose the pediatric nurses saw many, many, problems as they continued to give out seven to nine vaccines per child on any given day....

The CDC was holding secret meetings on Thimerosal two years before my son was born, and now ten years later, they still have no damn clue as to what is causing the problem.

The Vaccine Industry controls the IACC, who hope to someday find an "Autism gene" and maybe a test for Autism abortion options. They cannot do simple studies that will quickly and clearly show where the hell the problem is.

They continue to poison children with the current "free / four-dose" toddler flu vaccine program. Anyone public official who can be bought out, has been bought out. They now hope to pull off the same disaster in Africa and around the world.

Between the CDC, the drug industry, and the American banking system, that has already recently borrowed and gambled away the money from three generations, it is far beyond time to quit being so damn nice to many of these career criminals.

[Alex]

The Ped for our boy/girl twins, our firstborn children, was Dr. Michelle Singer of Pavillion Pediatrics in Baltimore, MD area. We liked her personally, but she was a traditional shot freak. We'd get the little sheets that told you "when to call the doctor", high fevers, etc.. Our son always became very ill after his shots. We'd call and be told it was "normal" for him to have a fever of 101 and be listless and unresponsive for hours. Like big dummies we believed. We brought to her our concerns about his plagiocephaly, asked if he needed a corrective helmet. She said it would straighten out by itself..It didn't. We asked her about his delays, his odd behaviors, she said it was because because he's a boy, because he's a twin, because he was early..Guess what? At 3 he was finally dx'd as autistic by a different doctor, and we could have started therapy SO much earlier if she'd listened. Once we had a new doctor we found out he also had torticollis, which she'd missed entirely (he just always tilted his head because of the plagio, she said)so we got a tort collar and fixed that ourselves. I blame myself for my son's autism, for not educating and researching enough before I had children, for being a blind follower. My eyes have been opened. However, that doesn't mean I don't hold her accountable for being a poor excuse of a doctor in general.

[Terra]

When my son was born in January 2009 my husband and I had already done the research and decided against vaccinating him. The pediatrician's office that we chose for him was a small 2 doctor practice with really nice nurses and office staff. We liked the office aside from the fact that they insisted we vaccinate Griffin in order for him to remain a patient in their practice. After 2 "well baby" visits with Dr. Catherine Chidester in Germantown, TN we were told that his next appointment would be his first round of shots. When we declined and explained why she told us that she was Griffin's doctor and she worked for him alone and was looking out for his best interests. She provided us with the scary literature to take home and the # of pertussis cases in Shelby county last year. She told us that they wouldn't continue seeing Griffin unless he was up to date on his shots. We bundled up our baby, didn't make a follow up appointment and never went back. Griffin hasn't been to the doctor since. There's been no need, he hasn't had a sick day yet. He's hitting all the developmental milestones appropriate to his age. I fear that may not have been the case if we followed through with his vaccines. I don't think that all doctors are looking out for our kids best interest, as suggested by Dr. Chidester, so we have to.

[Kristin]

"If my son’s pediatrician had been more careful, better informed of warning signs, less close-minded, and less AAP-party line in his approach to pediatrics, I genuinely believe my son never would have regressed into autism."

Will that fit on a bumper sticker? This one sentence says it all. I questioned giving my preemies vaccines on what should have been their 2nd day of life and was told it was fine, no need to wait another two months. When my daughter had stomach pain (didn't know it at the time) and would fall to sleep struggling to hold her legs up in the air, I was told that was just something she liked to do, when my son stopped saying words, I was told it was fine, he had said them before and that was what counted. They ignored my sons horrible sensory issues and low muscle tone. They didn't think eczema was a problem. They vaccinated my son when he had "water on his ear". They told me since it wasn't an actual infection, that was fine. Oh, they even supplied the Tylenol at their first vaccination. Criminal is absolutely right. Doctors should be held accountable for their actions when they are so grossly negligent. I asked my doctor why they have to consider my child's medical history and my family medical history to give a prescription, but they give a vaccine with known neurotoxins to kids showing signs of neurological problems or an immature immune system without a second thought. I was told "Those are the guidelines." It's time to change those guidelines!

[Kim]

Thanks for this.

You know, you may have something here. I can't but help to see the correlation. I do not think the MMR shot caused her autism, however I think the combination of medications + MMR shot may have triggered it.

I credit my pediatrician with early detection. She was VERY diligent. Every month she went over a checklist - my daughter passed each one. I was on top of it. My daughter was fine until 16 months and at her 18 month check up, her doctor told me to call Early Intervention and get a diagnosis from a neurologist.

However, Ava did have her MMR shot while she was on antibiotics AND she had a bad reaction to the antibiotic as well. She was zoning out and withdrawing. She had her MMR at 15 months, by 16 months she lost her eye contact, stopped responding to her name and lost her words.

I would love to know why this happened. Why is my daughter autistic? Why did she lose her skills and regress? I hate to think it was something I did, but I would like to know why.

[samaxtics]

You can rate your doctor(Canada and USA) and read reviews of other doctors here:
http://www.ratemds.com/

[Casey]

Pediatricians FIRING patients??! I never even thought of it that way. We should FIRE them!! They are hired by us to perform a service for us, not the other way around!!!

They are highly paid servants. Just like I am a teacher, I am a lowly paid servant to my students.

Thank you JB. On so many levels do we need to change the system. I am all about civil disobedience, but then there is a real fear in me that this isn't just a short trip to the brig, it is where the money behind all this comes after you and your reputation your job, and possibly worse?? (Hello, Dr. Wakefield anyone? All he did was write a paper!)

I also think we need to get organized in spreading the word. I’ll pitch in for more ads in national papers, online. Make people see the valid questions we pose.

[Kathy Blanco]

We must remind ourselves, that we are the paying customer, seeking for expert medical opinion. Let us repeat that....we are the customer paying for THEIR expertise. We can fire, and hire at will. We have plenty of options. We can go to a GP doctor. GP doctors GENERALLY do not siren call the vaccine schedules, and oft have to be reminded that the child needs one. But I would prefer the bulk of us to never walk into such situations again, UNLESS, they are afflicated with ACAM which is an organization built on the premise that environmental things can cause illnesses. They are more of the bent, that we can alter the schedule (and yes, they have a website with a searchable engine), and may even be into chelation, vitamin therapies, and bio identical hormones, etc. I personally have that just so that we have a primary care person for insurance referral purposes. Then, for the bulk of my biomed stuff, we go to a naturopath who is versed in lyme disease, autism, chelation, etc. Most of our prescriptions are written from the GP MD, but most of our natural things are from the ND. With a little care, one can forgoe all vaccines in children, by only visiting doctors when your child is sick. Well baby visits are to make your child unwell by vaccines. Going back through tons of records, I would note, everytime my kids were vaccinated, they were back in the office within weeks with ear infections, impetigo, other infections. Little by little, chunk by immune chunk, my kids were disappearing by the hands of my trust, and my pediatric so called doctor.

It's high time we put these people OUT of business...this is the only thing they are concerned about, clearly. Maybe interview an ACAM doctor, holistic type for your doctor, instead of the pediatrician that vaccinates to hell and back?

[D. Carlson]

Can someone with cyber-skills do a blog by state/city to give parents a structure to post "our kind" of doctor info? Link from AoA? The DAN practitioner listing is great but many practitioners without this label are out there to help. Pediatrician selection is the primary concern expecting parents present to me but things have changed a lot since we went to the wrong pediatrician. I don't have updated info to pass on. I know of 2 new parent/couples who just went through the process and got tossed out of one practice. They did find a receptive doctor willing to alter the regimen so we could spare other couples from repeated distress.

HELP - where to post? It would be so great.

[Jenny]

Thanks for posting this, JB! Yes, it is time these pediatricians are held accountable for their part in the autism epidemic. Here is the letter I wrote, firing my pediatrician right after our diagnosis. While I don't stand outside their office handing out fliers, I advise anyone who asks strongly against joining Town and Country Pediatrics. Subsequently, we joined Pediatric Alternatives, and it has been such a blessing. A pediatric practice with its head on straight! A place where you are not made out to be over-reactive and crazy. A place where your concerns are heard. A place where they believe autism is preventable!! That's what should be going on in EVERY SINGLE pediatric practice in America!

And lastly, with the help of DAN!, Generation Rescue and lots and lots of homeopathy, the child described in the letter below is not the child we have on our hands today! He's a success story...but had we stayed put things might not have turned out the way they did.

August 2, 2004

Town and Country Pediatrics
61 Camino Alto
Mill Valley, CA 94941

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to inform you that my children will be leaving your pediatric office. Until recently, I was generally satisfied with the level of care my children and I received while we were at your office. We were always offered same-day appointments if the children were sick, someone always got back to me in a timely manner when I had questions and most of the people we came in contact with at your office were very nice to all of us. In light of Ryder’s recent autism diagnosis and the nonchalance I received from Dr. Saffa when I repeatedly voiced my concerns over Ryder’s behavior and development, I feel as though it is best if we switch offices. I do know that diagnosing autism in a child under three is a difficult thing to do (and not something that a pediatrician does), but we have been having ongoing issues with him that stretch back to last summer, including: seizures, abnormally fierce and lengthy tantrums, regressive social behavior, slow language acquisition and the prolonged inability to move to the next level in his preschool class. We did see a behavioral pediatrician whom you recommended last October and she thought that Ryder was just a “tough kid,” but my concerns were raised in your office a number times after that throughout the winter and spring. I feel as though my concerns should have been taken more seriously since we now have a very real problem on our hands. Given Ryder’s history, instead of being told in April that I should come back when Ryder is 2 ½ to discuss these issues further (which would have been the end of June) I should have been advised to set an appointment immediately, as I now know that early intervention is key to a good prognosis. I do not have any ill will; I am just a parent who feels that she did not hear what she needed to hear regarding the health and well-being of her child.

Please send all records for Ryder DeMaria and Skye DeMaria to:

Pediatric Alternatives
Lindy Woodard
10 Thomas Drive
Mill Valley, CA 94941

Thank you,

Jennifer DeMaria

[K Fuller Yuba City]

I have heard so many stories all with the same opening words..."My child was always on antibiotics" How can so many ignore this?
Not only was our boy on antibiotics 24 time's during the first 2 years of his life, we were given the samples of Tylenol as he got immunizations right on schedule. Oh and a valuable coupon for our next purchase of that tasty red syrup. We just changed Doc's for our son, after he told us he couldn't get just tetanus for our son, and that it only comes as DPT. Bye Bye to him.

[Jenny W]

J.B.,

I haven't read the other replies yet but I am guessing that I am not the only one who will say, "That sounds just like my son, and what his doctors did to him."

When Gavin was getting dx'd around Christmas in 1998 they sent us to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. We sat through a day of testing to tell me what I already knew. --at the end of the day one of the team of idiots came in the room and sat me down and talked to me like I was a child.

She said that she noticed some of the things I wrote down on the history form and, "You know, we really do not know what causes autism but we do know that it's nothing that you did...." blah blah blah...

She was referring to the extensive medical history that I provided for them. All the ear infections, all the allergic rxns, all the antibiotics, all the rashes --the eczema, the reflux, the vaccine rxns, the 106 fevers after vaccination (indicative of poisoning) etc etc etc.

I looked at her, all pissed off and said, "I KNOW!"

I went on to chew them out --the were so quick to condensed and so quick to write off what we, as parents, were witnessing.
I asked them if they thought it MEANT ANYTHING that every parent of an autistic kids had the SAME story. THE EXACT SAME STORY.

I know they wrote me off that day.
Here it is 12 years later and it is probably the same canned answers from the same talking heads.

It is fucking criminal at this point.

[Charlotte Lee]

Dr. Jeffery Simmon in Montgomery AL missed all the warning signs with my daughter (now 8) so that she did not receive a diagnosis until four. He comepletely missed it the only thing that he knew about kids with Autism in 2004 was that the stacked things in a line.

Also, he missed a hypothyroid condition in our son (now 5) at birth that he was notified about by the health department. We only learned about it two years later when we requested our children's medical records. He was also the doctor that administered the vaccines at 20.5 months that sent him into autism. We delayed the 18 month shots to 20.5 months to try and prevent any adverse reation. He did not even take into account some possible problems with his older sister. Dr. Simmon just knew that our son had met every deveolpmental milestone and so it did not matter that he had had a round of antibiotice for an ear infection 1 month prior to the vaccinations. Needless to say I fired him and went to another pediatrician much much later who wanted to Catch Up on all the vaccines we had missed. I told her that we could not do that today and I never went back.

I have not taken my children to another one since. We use a wonderful family doctor. His first son has ADD the second has ASD and the third is neurotypical. What is the difference you ask? He did not vaccinate the third son. Infact, I know tweleve other mothers who have had similar results...vaccinate Autism, didn't vaccinate.... no Autism.

I also have a friend who knew but somehow could not tell me. We are no longer friends. With friends like that who needs enemies. She is one of the tweleve Mom's with a ASD kid and one without.

I DO NOT PLAN TO EVER TAKE MY KID TO ANOTHER PEDIATRICIAN. HOW'S THAT FOR THE BOTTOM LINE!

[Michelle Hammons]

My number one advice to parents that are choosing to vaccinate their children is, do not vaccinate while your child is sick and on antibiotics. I firmly without a doubt believe that is why my son, Jacob has autism. From infancy on he was on antibiotics, breathing treatments, and steroids. Jacob was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis at 15 months by one of the leading infectious disease doctors in the country. A sputum test was never done to confirm the diagnosis. He was on the four drug antibiotic protocol for two months, and then was reduced down to two for the following four months. A total of six months of hard core antibiotics! During that time he was not only vaccinated, but was given Tylenol for his high fevers. Jacob had severe diarrhea and rashes. His speech was replaced with humming and screaming and he stopped sleeping. It made me angry that the experts that helped us get to that point were sleeping at night and had no answers. It wasn’t until I started biomedical/DAN therapy at 4 years of age that Jacob’s behaviors started turning around.

Jacob will be ten on Wednesday. I have been home schooling him for the last six years. We still have a long road ahead of us, but Jacob has some speech, he sleeps well, he is meeting some academic goals,and he is potty trained. The whole family works with him to bring him back to our world. My favorite words out of Jacob’s mouth are “I love you and God bless you.”

God bless all of you that have been touched by autism and my 2010 be a year of recovery and awareness for all of our children.

[jen]

I'm glad that we never even went to a pediatrician. We went to a great doctor who never even brought up the idea of "catch-up" shots for me when I was pregnant. We (in Alberta) use the public health nurse clinics to get shots and even I wish I had given less of them. Interestingly, we just lost our doctor of 20 years to the new private clinics coming into our province. THey wanted 3,000.00 bucks for each adult to join. We said no way and did find another pretty good doctor, albeit further away. I try to make a practice of mentioning vaccines and risks at least once a day and hopfully I've made some impact.
You are so right, J.B. Peds are using the vaccinations "off label" when they give many at once or to sick kids etc. They are culpable.

[Theodore M. Van Oosbree]

Our healthy daughters (7 & 9) rarely see our pediatrician since pediatric visits are mostly for immunizations (and they have received none - we learned our painful lesson after my 3 sons were vaccine-damaged). He disagrees with our stance but is sympathetic because of our sons' plight and because he has an adult son with severe ADHD (who suffered from Kawasaki's Syndrome as an infant, BTW). If your pediatrician wants to fire you, just tell him: "Go ahead, make my day!"

[Carrie Elsass]

Bensmyson: I'm thinking the fallout is what accounts for the other 20-50%:) Without vaccines, Pediatricians would be out of business.

[Jill Rubolino]

J.B., I do believe that God himself has sent you to us! I have been hankering for a civil disobedience arrest since last year and I am ON THIS IMMEDIATELY! You are so right.....we must hit them where it hurts, and cost them patients, and subsequently money. Last time I checked, my pediatrician wasn't helping me pay for my son's "autism", bowel disease, meds, scope, supplements, failure to thrive, therapy, etc. But he sure did contribute to it, and ignore us once we were there. I've got a few friends who aren't afraid of a relaxing few hours of jail time and a uncle who's on call for bail money 24/7. We'll keep you posted!

[Benedetta]

Well I see everybody has a lot to blog about on this article.

I too could tell about each of the Eight times my kids has a DPT shot and each and every time they reacted - with kawasaki's, passing out, stroke, seizures. Each time me pushing, asking questions, the peds getting mad and being more than a little short with me. I hate them to this very day. I am also more than disappointed in myself too - for being taken in, on such a life changing matter.

AND SO;

I still think it is the medical schools and colleges - even undergraduate colleges that need to held as criminal. Because if I had not gone to college and heard this bunch of bull for 4 years plus another 2 years I would not have been dubbed.

I have always been proud of my college education but the real truth of it - it just made me dumber.

[Josh Day]

Here's a second for family docs/ GPs/ and even APs.

We fired our pediatrician largely out of principle. Her practice was a warehouse, servicing the majority of kids and teens in our county. They had about five waiting rooms.

We didn't like signing their criminal little form that stated we were neglectful parents... in fact, we didn't sign that. We scratched that part out. It's important to NEVER sign anything like that.

The final straw was the second visit where they tried to make us sign the same form again. Legally, there is no reason to sign the same paper twice... this is solely to intimidate and instill doubt as well as push the cult mentality of getting in line with the herd onto the parent. The icing on the cake was the form was such a poor copy we couldn't even read the bulk of the writing, so we would have had no idea what it actually said if we hadn't read it the first time.

Highly ethical treatment, huh?

The pediatrician herself was decent and didn't bug us about our decision ... like another parent we came together (also armed with a hidden audio recorder ready to be clicked on any moment). Also stayed out in the car with our HEALTHY baby as to not expose him to the myriad of germs in the waiting rooms. Man, the nurses sure didn't like that.

We'd heard about her from the owner of the local health food store after specifically asking about a non-vaxxing or delayed vaxing friendly doctor. Turns out she was 1 of maybe 3 doctors who didn't all-out refuse parents who didn't toe the AAP line and shoot up their kids with every single shot on the schedule.

Honestly, I think I'd rather allow an ex-con babysit my kid than let a pediatrician anywhere near him unsupervised.

[Stefania]

Thank you J.B.! I couldn't agree more! My son had severe, recurring eczema all over his body as an infant. What did my pediatrician give him? MORE vaccines, MORE Tylenol, MORE antibiotics, MORE Alclometasone. The chronic eczema is now long gone; the PDD however, ISN'T. :(

[Natasha]

We have a great pediatrician in Yarmouth, Maine. His name is Jeffrey Peterson. I would say the practice is fairly traditional. HOWEVER, he is open-minded, he listens to everything I have to say, helps us find other doctors (like a DAN! doctor) who can help our kids, approves referrals whenever we ask, and is genuinely interested in helping my kids get well. He is learning more and more about the relationship between our kids' immune systems and their autism - and doesn't reccommend any vaccinations for any of my kids. Once I told him I couldn't even consider any vaccines until my kids got healthier, he never once brought it up again. I wouldn't say we completely agree on everything, but I beleive we are headed in the right direction.

[cynic]

I watched an interesting exchange on a skeptical blog the last few days. A clinician chimed in toward the end and frowned upon a suggestion to make VAERS a mandatory reporting system. The challenger was right. NO duty to care. They also had no position on the use of antipyretics before / during / after vaccine administration either.

The poster had SEVERAL, and I mean SEVERAL very good points that they attempted to make. I thought they were succint, direct, and above all, polite. They were met with vitriol and the same ole "you're pulling the _____ logical fallacy" or "you're spreading misinformation" and character attacks in an blatant attempt to defelct the reasonable POV the poster had. It's probably difficult to dismiss a person that doesn't fit the standard nutjob antivaxxer definition they've cut.

Then when the tylenol question came up and the clinician was basically ambivalent on the topic it furthered my own suspicions that doctors, nurses etc... they just don't give a rat's ass. Then I saw this posted on another board:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/160/4/449

Maybe you need to care? The overall arrogant attitude is exactly as you state. Criminal.

[julie]

Jen you are right about Tylenol. After my son ran a high fever after the first set of vaccines I gave him a big whopping dose of Tylenol before all of his subsequent vaccinations (i.e. poisonings). I believe he would have developed autism from the vaccines without the Tylenol, but I'm sure it made the damage even worse. It's a bad drug and can cause liver damage even at recommended doses.

I am looking at Functional Medicine doctors for my son (his DAN dr is out of state) but haven't got around to making the appointment yet, mostly because he is so healthy with his vitamins and supplements he hasn't had so much as the sniffles for months!

[Iris B.]

The AAP can puff and blow about firing patients, but they will change their tune as the lay public wises up and turns their back on them en masse for their dogmatic policies in favor of open minded family doctors (and some pediatricians) who see the truth. Only pediatricians in grossly underserved areas will be able to dictate such crap dogma.

[Darian (nickname)]

I believe that the local Newspaper is an under utilized resourse when combating such people. Why not write your story in full, from the time the reaction from vaccines kicked in to what is going on now, and in said article where you share your story share the details of what doctor, what practice, what exactly that doctor said to you before the vaccinations took place, and after when you reported complications.

This I believe, would be something that would be able to start catching people's attention in your local area. And I garentee after reading your story, they will be more cautious about vaccines, and the doctor that they choose for thier child.

And us adults on the spectrum, we are going to be more careful in whom we choose to be our main physiscan!! Well, at least I and all the aspies I know will. Usually in the local paper there is a place where readers can submit such things, at least there is in my local paper and those in my region. Along with a letter writing campaign, and word of mouth, this would be something to comtimplate.

Unlike national papers, local ones are more likely to print you, even if they don't agree with what you say.

[Jen in TX]

"And, reading JB's son's story about illnesses and chronic antibiotic use and lots and lots of Tylenol etc... sounds so familiar. If we only knew then what we know now..."

It's long past time to get really, really angry about the whole Tylenol issue. That drug is pure poison and it's passed out to babies and pregnant women like candy. J&J fights like mad to keep that drug on store shelves, and resists efforts to strengthen the warnings about liver failure, and there is NO warning about the increased risks of allergic disorders, despite over 10 years of epidemiological evidence linking the two. Acetaminophen is also added to several OTC medications, and in addition, is added to several prescription narcotics. Too many people are unaware of how much Tylenol they may be ingesting...a dangerous situation, since there is not much difference between a "therapeutic" dose and a toxic dose.

Lately, I've been speaking with a former sales rep from J&J. He told me all sorts of disgusting things about their marketing tactics. One of the ways they marketed Tylenol in the 1970's was to sell it to hospitals dirt cheap, even giving it away to gain market share. (It costs only pennies to manufacture it) The goal was to start patients on it in the hospital so they'd establish the habit, and go out and buy the brand name at the inflated price. They still use this strategy today, and in fact, they used the same marketing strategy to get our kids on Risperdal.

http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/14/4/364.pdf

Looking at the graph in the above link, it's hard to believe that the dramatic increase in autism after aspirin was found to be linked to Reye's Syndrome, (complete with negative trends after the Tylenol tamperings of 82 and 86!) is just a coincidence. It's probably also not a coincidence that autism rates are so much higher in New Jersey, home to J&J, and very likely high numbers of J&J sales reps.

[AnaB]

Our pediatricians office recently sent out the vaccinate or you're fired letter. How twisted is it that they make you sign a waiver before they vaccinate your child that says in effect, "I understand that the following rare side effects, including death could happen and I don't hold the doctor responsible" AND YET if you refuse the vaccination they kick you out of the practice!!! How friggin' twisted is that?

I am thinking about pulling my son from the pediatrics system and sending him to my family doctor, who is very progressive. Then part of me says, "no, they (peds) need to physically see these kids and they need to look us in the eye!

[MB]

To Andrea,

The best doctors I have been able to find are affiliated with the Institute for Functional Medicine. There is a physician referral database on their website:

www.functionalmedicine.org

One well-known doctor who practices this approach is Dr. Mark Hyman. Dr. Hyman wrote an article for the Huffington Post recently explaining that most of the current assumptions about autism are wrong, i.e., that autism is a systemic medical disorder, not a mental disorder. If you check out his website or read any of his books, you can get a sense of the functional medicine approach.

I've given up on our pediatrician, and we now all see an internist (MD) who practices functional/integrative medicine. She is out of network for us, but worth it. Might be something to check out.

[Beth]

Love the headline!

[Andrea]

Weary said:

"Wow, I'm a little surprised that anybody still goes to a pediatrician after having a kid with autism. "

If I didn't need a pediatrician, I wouldn't go to him. Even though, we have an "autism" doctor my son still has complicated medical issues that still require visits to the ped. In '09 my son had an ongoing stomach issue and a couple of ear infections. He went from just doing OK to spending most of last year sick and on antibiotics and even a stint in the hospital.

When you have a child who doesn't speak- who can't tell you what's wrong, why their behavior is deteriorating- you need a medical professional to help you determine what is physically wrong with your child. We have a general list of things we check when we start to have problems. A process of ruling things out- such as checking for ear infections, sinus infections, strep, etc... This past year the issues were a little more involved.

If I knew how to get off this crazy ride with the ped I would. Apparently, my son's immune system is so f'ed up from all his early well visits and chronic infections and subsequent treatments we haven't been able to abandon the ped- I wish we could. You're lucky if you have been able to. I envy you.