The following is our sponsor ARI’s Statement Regarding Lawsuits Filed Against Drs. Usman and Rossignol (.pdf HERE.)

Recent articles by ABC News and the Chicago Tribune on M.D.s who subscribe to the Defeat Autism Now! approach to treatment indicate the spread of misinformation and misunderstanding in recent months. The complaints about Drs. Usman and Rossignol resulted from a custody case-- a painful situation for any family, one that can lead to accusations that must be sorted out in a court of law—not the media.

The Defeat Autism Now! approach to autism invites the medical community to be more responsive, inquisitive, and knowledgeable about treating these disorders. 

The approach is not in itself a source of controversy, since many treatment interventions are commonly prescribed by traditional health professionals.

The great problem is rather that chronic, unaddressed illness plagues many, if not most, of the children and adults on the autism spectrum. These conditions, thoroughly documented in the scientific literature, often involve the gastrointestinal system and/or the immune system, but the medical establishment has been professionally insensible to what is a desperate situation in the expanding autism population.

The focus of the Defeat Autism Now! approach is twofold: to provide patients with allergen-free nutritional support, to uphold and to repair the immune system as needed, and, if appropriate, to reduce the  body burden of environmental toxins; to provide clinicians in-depth medical and scientific information, with Continuing Medical Education credits.

We assure the public and the autism community that the Autism Research Institute will track developments closely and will provide information as necessary. We will continue our efforts to provide appropriate support to Drs. Usman and Rossignol, as well as to other physicians.

By Adriana Gamondes

“Everything is permitted the hero”.  ~Jean-Paul Sartre, “No Exit”

The film “The Constant Gardener”—starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, and directed by Fernando Meirelles from the book by John le Carré—is the story of sacrifice and moral constancy against the corruption of fictional corporate giant KVH, maker of pharmaceuticals and pesticides. It’s a beautiful film in many ways, and terrifying; a cross between reality check and forecast.

The book and the film were said to be loosely based on Pfizer’s deadly Trovan trial in Nigeria, which led to the injuries and deaths of over 200 children. The case was since settled for $75 million in civil and criminal penalties . 

But if the film’s protagonist, Justin Quayle, had been loosely based on New York Times’ public health reporter Gardiner Harris, the whole thing would have been over in fifteen minutes. As soon as it turned out that the gorgeous activist was concerned with a dangerous pharmaceutical product having anything to do with controlling contagion, Quayle would have called her a fervent conspiracy theorist, while her laptop might have mysteriously slipped into the clutches of KVH. She’s dead, he plays golf, roll credits.

No one could ever accuse Gardiner Harris of being haunted by the “hobgoblin” of consistency (foolish or otherwise)—not in terms of his reporting on pharmaceutical products. On the one hand, when the same companies producing vaccines and drugs engage in cover ups of certain drugs’ side effects, Harris is all over them like a rash, exampled by his latest reporting on Avandia .  In fact, some of his reporting on fraud and corruption in psychopharmaceutical marketing is quite good, such as his coverage of Harvard’s Biederman scandal, illegal marketing to children, drug front groups, FDA capitulation, media ties to drug makers and much more.

Harris has undeniably shown some spine when it comes to drugs. Maybe not as much as Times colleague Alex Berensen, who actually engaged in risky legal maneuvers with activist attorney Jim Gottstein to expose secret Eli Lilly documents showing the company hid the dangers of its blockbuster antipsychotic, Zyprexa  — a report which led to Lilly quickly having to settle $500 million more in injury claims to top off the $1.2 billion in Zyprexa settlements already lost . All the same, at least in regard to select pharmaceutical products, Gardiner Harris reports news generally fit to print. 

But when it comes to rates of vaccine injury, vaccine-defenders’ conflicts and potential vaccine research fraud—all of which is virtually identical in pattern to that stemming from certain prescription drugs— fit to print becomes s*** to print without so much as a blink. He’s been suffering from this biformity for a while .

In Harris’s recent report on the Lancet retraction , he demonstrated his grasp of the concept of inconsistency when he painted vaccine injury proponents as virtual flip-floppers regarding  autism causation theories:

 “After Dr. Wakefield’s study, vaccination rates plunged in Britain and the number of measles cases soared.   

Managing Editor's note: The Coalition for Vaccine Safety has issued the following request:

We are asking parents who have a child who was injured by vaccines or who had a case the Omnibus Autism Proceedings to please contact their local media outlets and tell them your story and how these decisions impact your family in an effort to get this story out to the public. Feel free to use the talking points provided below. Please report back to AOA the responses you receive and stories published by leaving a comment this post. Should you need any assistance in your efforts please contact the Coalition for Vaccine Safety.

Late last Friday, at the end of week’s news cycle, the Court of Federal Claims released its decisions in the second set of “test cases” for the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. These three cases alleged that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines, contributed to autism. The Special Masters who heard the claims ruled against the three petitioners, just as they had ruled against three test cases last year on a related theory that thimerosal and the mumps-measles-rubella vaccine together caused autism. The breaking story of fraud at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) involving Dr. Poul Thorsen, a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote studies supporting the claim of no mercury-autism link, casts further doubt on the Special Masters’ decisions. The emerging evidence of Dr. Thorsen’s embezzlement of $2 million and falsehoods about his employment raise further questions about the integrity and validity of the much criticized epidemiology that under girds the no mercury-autism link. Especially because the Court in part relies on these studies to reach its conclusions, this deepening imbroglio may explain why the Court sought an eleventh hour release of its long-awaited and critically important decisions. 

Here are the three main take-away points:

1. The Special Masters protected the vaccine program – and denied justice to vaccine-injured children.

2. Vaccines cause autism – this Court and HHS have previously acknowledged that.

3. These decisions highlight the inadequacy and possible suppression of vaccine safety science. 

By John Stone

A blunder by Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer has left him exposed in the columns of British Medical Journal on-line, leaving open the question of how he could have legally obtained information on the background to cases in the disputed Lancet study including the identities of the patients and their families (HERE). 

Deer had intervened in continuing correspondence following ‘the findings of fact’ in the General Medical Council case against Andrew Wakefield, John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch, and the Lancet’s decision to retract the 1998 paper. Misunderstanding a claim by distinguished US paediatrician and autism/vaccine campaigner,  Ed Yazbak, that his grandson was one of the Royal Free cases, Deer wrote:

“I know the names and family backgrounds of all 12 of the children enrolled in the study, including the child enrolled from the United States. I don't believe that Dr Yazbak has a family relationship with any of them.”

In fact, Yazbak had never intended to imply that his grandson was one of the original 12, only that he had been a patient at the Royal Free and had been included in ongoing research into autism, gut disease and MMR at the hospital.

The issue of Deer’s access to confidential patient material had arisen before - both in relation to articles in the Sunday Times and to posts on his website - but there had never been opportunity to question him about it in a public forum before. Deer was immediately embarrassed by a mild mannered response from Yazbak, pointing out the misunderstanding, but asking how he came by such information, and a more caustic one by well-known New Zealand vaccine campaigner, Hilary Butler.

Yazbak rejoindered:

“ It almost seems that Mr. Deer is less upset about what I wrote than about the fact that some web site somewhere had picked it up. I certainly have no idea where my remarks were circulated and by whom and I have no control of that.

“In any case: If anyone else misunderstood my statement (s), I sincerely apologize for the confusion. No deceit was ever intended! I must say that I am troubled that Mr. Deer was able to obtain the names and family backgrounds of the 12 original study patients.

“I am also surprised that he finds it fair to censor my defense of Dr. Wakefield after he subjected him to public flagellation for so long. Maybe it is time for Mr. Deer to take a deep breath and relax. “

Managing Editor's note: The following information is to assist you in speaking to media, friends, family and colleagues from the Coalition for Vaccine Safety: 

Please contact local media to discuss the Omnibus Autism Proceeding decisions.  Here are the three main take-away points:

1. The Special Masters protected the vaccine program – and denied justice to vaccine-injured children.

2. Vaccines cause autism – this Court and HHS have previously acknowledged that.

3. These decisions highlight the inadequacy and possible suppression of vaccine safety science. 

1. The Special Masters protected the vaccine program – and denied justice to vaccine-injured children.

a. The Special Masters’ denied compensation to the King, Mead and Dwyer families apparently out of the misguided government policy that their role is to protect the vaccine program before doing justice for vaccine-injured children. 

b. They apparently believe that if they acknowledge that mercury causes autism, parents will stop vaccinating their children.  Based on this policy, the court failed to weigh the evidence in an impartial way. 

c. The scientific evidence at the hearing that mercury causes neurological and immune damage to infants leading to autism was credible and strong. 

d. The petitioners met their burden of proof to show that the thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) they received more likely than not contributed to their autism.  These petitioners will likely appeal.

2. Vaccines cause autism – this Court and HHS have previously acknowledged that.

a. HHS conceded in the 2008 Poling case that Hannah Poling’s autism was caused by vaccines affecting her mitochondrial condition. 

AoA Contributor Mary Holland was interviewed by Elaine Quijano of CBS News on the recent vaccine court ruling. In case you are unfamiliar with Mary, her bio at NYU School of Law reads: Mary Holland is Director of the Graduate Legal Skills Program at New York University School of Law. Educated at Harvard and Columbia Universities, Holland has worked in international public and private law. Prior to joining NYU, Holland worked for six years at major U.S. law firms, with three years based in Moscow, Russia. She also worked at a major U.S. human rights advocacy organization as Director of its European Program. After graduating law school, she clerked for a federal district court judge. She has taught international law courses at Columbia Law School and has served as a consultant to the Aspen Institute Justice and Society Program. She co-founder of the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy and on the steering committee of the Coalition for Vaccine Safety. Thank you, Mary.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

By J. Lorraine Martin

Over the fifteen years I’ve raised my autistic son, I’ve struggled to articulate to others the pain of the journey.  I’ve read reflections equating autism to an unplanned trip to Holland.  When one has laid on a cold, tiled floor in a darkened room with an autistic child beating his head with his fists in sheer catastrophic angst, screaming “I’m afraid!” and “Make this stop!” and one craves rescue both for them self and their child, Holland is simply a fairytale. Another essay that came my way suggests the universe is paying me a compliment as I was selected for this role because I was so patient and wise; I’m encouraged to gaze at my saintly self in the mirror.

These reflections ring untrue in my mind.  Here is how I have experienced autism…

Autism is an empty suitcase. Upon receiving the diagnosis, you will hear and see volumes of theories and remedies, with no definitive answer in sight; it is to be overwhelmed with the emptiness of the suitcase placed in your hand and the myriad choices of what to pack.   
Autism is an empty guidebook. You will hold the book in your hands looking for answers, but you will painfully come to understand your job is to fill the blank pages with your own words, your own map, your own best guess at solving its riddles; your child is like no other despite the commonality of a label.

Autism isn’t locatable.  It is a mysterious an endless array of degrees of longitude and latitude, not confined to one defining point on a map.  You often have the sense “Where am I?  Where am I going?”

OzCeejay has won a signed copy of "Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism" by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons, published by Skyhorse Publishing with an afterword by Teri Arranga of Autism One. The authors are both Autism dads. This book features a compendium of treatments, described by experts in that area, from behavioral therapy to psychiatric drugs to chelation. It's a real A-Z explanation of choices and something I think has been missing from our libraries for some time. I'm glad to see so many options between the covers. The list of the therapies is below. 

Purchase Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism today! Contest is CLOSED.

1.
Allergies, Their Role and Treatment in Autism
by Dr. Marvin Boris 6

2.
Animal-Assisted Interventions and Persons with Autism Spectrum
Disorders by Dr. Aubrey Fine 10

3.
Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social Therapy
by Dr. Marga Hogenboom and Paula Moraine 17

4.
Antiepileptic Medications by Dr. Richard E. Frye 22

Our commenter of the week is "Steve, Autism Dad" on the post: Did Kathleen Sebelius Pressure Media to Deny Vaccine Safety Voices? Here's my idea: every chance we get, when somebody says vaccines have been proven to be safe, refer to it as "tobacco science" great term, Jake!

 Didn't win but still want a T-shirt? Taking a page from public television, we'll happily send you one as our thank you for making a donation to A of A via our PayPal donate button.  You choose the donation amount. OK? Please tell us on the PayPal form if you want an adult M, L, XL or 2XL and include your mailing  address in the comments box at PayPal. Click below to  to see the back of the shirt.

From ABC News. The video features TACA's Rebecca Estepp. The first line is terribly misleading. The decision of a court doesn't mean the charges are not true. Acquittal does not equal innocent.Right OJ? Thanks to Rebecca for going on camera on behalf of families.

Millions of parents who for years had feared a vaccine was to blame for their child's autism learned today that is not the case. At least according to a special federal court, which -- while expressing sympathy for families -- found no direct link between autism and the vaccine additive Thimerosal. The ruling by the so-called vaccine court means that those families are ineligible to receive federal victim compensation. So tonight, we ask: Is this ruling enough to convince you there is no connection between vaccination and autism?http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/03/thimerosal-in-vaccine-out-as-autism-cause-.html

Play Now for Autism will be returning for a second year. After last year’s successful baseball event, the committee decided to bring it back. The event is set to return March 28, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA. The event will be held at the Montecito Heights Recreation Center (4545 Homer St., Los Angeles, CA 90031). It will begin at 11am and go on until around 4pm. The event will consist of two baseball games. The first game, beginning at noon, will solely be for children with autism while the second game will invite others on to the field for a game too. Children with autism that participate in the baseball game will be given a free baseball and a free t-shirt. 

Many changes for the event have been made. This year will feature some of the same attractions (petting zoo, arts & crafts, etc) but will have a much bigger and better resource fair. Everything in the resource fair will be related to autism. A book signing by the event’s creator, Zack Gonzalez, will also be held from 2pm-3pm. He will be selling and signing his new book, Saving Deets!: A Family’s Journey with Autism. The event will have a whole houraside from the baseball games & performances where attendees can mingle and go through the resource fair. During this hour (2pm-3pm) autograph signings and mini presentations will be held amongst the different booths. 
 
The event will host more performances than last year’s event, as well. The event will, again, be selling Dodger Dogs and regular concession stand snacks, but this year,  GFCF (gluten-casein-free) treats will also be available. You can expect to see more Los Angeles Dodger Legends along with last year’s Bobby Castillo and Jim Gott.

Registration to play has already begun. To register your child with autism for this event, be a volunteer for this event, or if you are interested in being a vendor or booth holder for this event please email either, [email protected] or [email protected]

All the proceeds from the Play Now for Autism 2010 Baseball Event will be donated to Jenny McCarthy’s non-profit  autism organization, Generation Rescue, and go toward family grants. The grants will help the families fund for biomedical interventions and more!
 
For more information on this event please visit www.myspace.com/playnowforautism or Zack Gonzalez or Generation Rescue.

 

Managing Editor's Note: Below is a detailed "weekend read" from Martin Walker, who has covered the GMC Hearing since its start. Grab of mug of coffee or a cup of tea and enjoy.

By Martin Walker

Part Two of Counterfeit Law: A Tale of Two Trials

The oath taken when in the witness box is no less solemn or important. Often the only evidence given in a case is that of a single Constable and on it the Magistrate has to decide the issue. The greatest care, therefore, must be exercised to avoid any statement which is not strictly true. Never keep anything back, on the other hand never enlarge on nor exaggerate the evidence. State your plain story in simple terms, remembering that on your plighted word depends the liberty of a fellow citizen.

Instruction to Recruits into the Liverpool City Police
 from the Deputy Head Constable. 1919

In Britain today, especially in relation to vaccines, the pharmaceutical industry has managed to completely disappear both the history and the idea of serious pharmaceutical adverse reactions. The past is like a raked-over garden, the pharmaceutical companies have re-written the history of law, medicine and democracy to make the public believe that no one has ever suffered an adverse reaction from a vaccine. This mirage is evidently helped by the fact that there has been only one in-court decision against the pharmaceutical companies on vaccine damage since the second world war. (1).

 In the presentation of the new pharmaceutical reality, even the case of thalidomide, a drug that was advertised as being 'outstandingly safe' is now heralded as a fine example of how pharmaceutical companies admit to their errors, accidents and organised disasters; like a fake wall of remembrance on a Hollywood film set. The truth about thalidomide is that the involved multinational chemical and pharmaceutical companies put up massive obstruction, obfuscation and prevarication, in a wholesale attempt to evade responsibility for the damage it did.

 In a series of international trials the defendants were able to find scientists from all over the world to come forward and give evidence that there was 'no proof ' thalidomide had damaged anyone. The German branch of the trial against Chemie Grunenthal, the original producers of the drug, began in 1968. Six years of preliminary investigations were followed by two and a half years of court proceedings, and the case finally concluded without a verdict in December 1970.

 The trial in Germany was marked by constant melodrama by the defence counsel who crowded the court, continually demanding that certain defendants were freed because of illness. Expert witnesses for the claimants were consistently accused of having vested interest - despite the fact that most of the expert witnesses for the defence either worked for the company whose executives were on trial or were good friends of theirs and despite the fact that one of the defence counsel had until only a few months before the trial been in the dock as one of the accused.

Government's Refusal to Fund  Sound Science Stacks Deck Against Vaccine-Injured Children and Casts Doubt on the Integrity of the National Immunization Program says SafeMinds.

Washington, D.C. - March 12, 2010 - Autism and mercury advocacy organization SafeMinds regrets today's ruling by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against three families who argued that vaccines which contained the mercury based preservative thimerosal contributed to their child's autism. The denial of reasonable compensation to families was based on inadequate vaccine safety science and poorly designed and highly controversial epidemiology studies supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the defendant in vaccine injury cases and is also responsible for carrying out the very vaccine safety research that should be integral to court decisions. This conflict of interest means the deck is stacked against families when they enter "vaccine court" and is yet one more reason for parents to doubt the integrity of the National Immunization Program. 
 
"The government has its thumb on the scales of justice," said Laura Bono, parent of a vaccine injured child whose case was dismissed. "The Vaccine Injury Compensation Act passed by Congress in 1986 gave immunity to vaccine manufacturers and diminished the incentive to create safer products. Meanwhile, the law only gives the illusion that parents will have their day in court. The process is dysfunctional and many families will not see justice done."

Mercury-Autism Link Not Found Because of Government Policy, not Science.

Washington, DC – The Coalition for Vaccine Safety (CVS) believes that the Special Masters of the Court of Federal Claims wrongly decided that thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) do not cause autism.  The Special Masters appear to have based their decisions on the government policy to protect the vaccine program rather than to fulfill their role to do justice by vaccine-injured children.   In these three ‘test case’ decisions in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, petitioners William Mead, Jordan King and Colin Dwyer developed normally through the first year of life and then regressed into autism.  They presented thousands of pages of scientific documentation and testimony.  Their evidence showed that thimerosal, a mercury-laden vaccine preservative, more likely than not contributed to their autism. 

"The deck is stacked against families in Vaccine Court.  Government attorneys defend a government program, using government-funded science, before government judges.  Where’s the justice in that?" asked Rebecca Estepp, a CVS steering committee member and mother of a petitioner in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding.

It is universally accepted that mercury is a neurotoxin and can damage the developing brain and the immune system.  All three boys’ health improved through medical interventions to reduce mercury toxicity and immune dysfunction.  Nonetheless, the Special Masters concluded that petitioners failed to meet their burden of proof, even though Health and Human Services (HHS), the respondent in the proceeding, offered no alternative explanation other than genetic predisposition.  The Special Masters appear to be following a misguided government policy that if they acknowledge a mercury-autism link, parents will stop vaccinating their children.

The breaking story of fraud at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) involving Dr. Poul Thorsen, a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote studies supporting the CDC’s claims that there is no mercury-autism link, casts further doubt on the Special Masters’ decisions. The emerging evidence of Dr. Thorsen’s embezzlement of $2 million, falsehoods about his employment, and serious questions about his research throw into question the validity of the science at the heart of HHS’s claim of no mercury-autism link.

By Rebecca Estepp, TACA.

March 12, 2010

Today in Washington DC, the Special Masters of the Court of Federal Claims released their decisions in the second round of Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP) claims. Once again, the OAP has failed children with autism that exhibited regression after their routine childhood vaccinations.  All three cases: Mead, King and Dwyer were denied compensation.

First off, what is the OAP?

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-660) created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) in 1988. The VICP was created to ensure there was an adequate supply of vaccines and stabilize vaccine costs. Prior to this Act, there were only a handful of drug companies that producing vaccines.  These companies faced lawsuits in civil court when their vaccines caused injuries.  The drug companies lobbied for liability protection and the Act was passed.

A responsibility of the VICP was to establish and maintain an accessible and timely venue for individuals found to be injured by vaccines. The VICP was developed to be a no-fault alternative to the traditional tort system for resolving vaccine injury claims that provides compensation to people found to be injured by certain vaccines. The U. S. Court of Federal Claims that decides these claims in court is commonly referred to as vaccine court.  Damages are paid to individuals from a government-maintained fund. Drug companies can no longer be sued in a civil court of law until the claim has gone through the VICP. For more information go to: HRSA Vaccine Compensation.

The VICP was set up for individuals who suffered an “on-the-table” vaccine injury.  That is an injury that happened within minutes or hours after receiving a vaccine.

In 2001, parents of children with autism started filing claims with VICP.  These claims were considered “off-the-table,” meaning the vaccine injury did not occur “on-the-table” or at the time of injection.  In July of 2002, the Special Masters (the term used for “judges” in vaccine court) established the procedure for addressing these claims and the Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP) was born. It was at that time that parents started flooding OAP with claims.  More than 5500 claims have been filed in the program to date.
For more information on the Omnibus cases & decision click HERE.

Who are the Mead, King and Dwyer families?

The Mead, King and Dwyer are families with many similarities. All three families have boys with autism.  All of the boys in these cases are the same age, 12 years old. Each family reported that their sons developed typically during the first year of their lives and then suffered a regression after their routine pediatric vaccines were administered.  William Mead and Jordan King are both from Portland, Oregon while Colin Dwyer is from Queens, New York. Interestingly, William Mead was developing so typically that he was a model for Pottery Barn.

Read and comment at Edmonton's Vue Weekly online. Thank you to VL for the link.

By Connie Howard ([email protected])

It turns out I didn't get an inch past the shoreline when I dipped my toes into the Andrew Wakefield Lancet paper retraction story a few weeks ago, so I decided to revisit it. To give the man at the centre of the controversy the opportunity to respond to media statements being made about his ethics and integrity, I contacted him.

To recap, The Lancet retracted Wakefield's 1998 paper suggesting a potential link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and the bowel disorders he was seeing in his autistic patients. Journalists and medical professionals alike have been cheering ever since: the so-called hoax and vaccine conspiracy theory has been exposed, and we can now apparently relax in the safety of the MMR vaccine.

I asked Wakefield if it was true that he'd been paid over 400 000 pounds by trial lawyers working to prove the vaccine unsafe. "I worked as a medical expert for nine years on the MMR litigation," he wrote in an email. "When the case folded because Legal Aid was withdrawn, the lawyers refused to pay what was owed and the costs judge took a lot of the fees back from the various experts. What I did earn was donated to an initiative to build a new centre for gastroenterology care and research at the Royal Free [in London]. Unfortunately I was forced out and it never got built."

Not a single penny of Legal Aid Board (LAB) money was spent on the Lancet paper. A LAB grant was provided for a separate viral detection study, but the Lancet paper had been submitted for publication before the LAB grant was even available.

What about allegations that Wakefield had been working for a company making a rival vaccine? He was involved in developing a nutritional immune stimulant they hoped would clear up chronic vaccine-induced measles infection. But this, he says, "could in no way have competed with a live viral vaccine and was not intended for that purpose. The patent was owned by the medical school and not by me. It was never progressed."

The charge that Wakefield is responsible for new outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella is, to my mind, absurd. Parents have become wary of vaccines, true, but this, it seems to me, is the doing of vaccines, not of Dr Wakefield.

We are pleased to announce that the Spring Conference in Baltimore April 8-11 will offer a variety of financial support options for families, including:

EARLY BIRD RATE:
$69/day or buy all 3 days for $179

ANGEL DISCOUNT
Thanks to generous support from our conference exhibitors, families in need are invited to register at a reduced "Angel" rate - select this rate if you are truly unable to pay the regular rate - no questions asked. Funds are limited and available on a first-come/first-served basis.
You must pre-register online to receive this rate while funds last - Angel discounts are not available at on site registration.

VOLUNTEERS
Free admission for volunteers on the days worked - slots are limited - first-come/first served. Volunteers are able to attend General, Science or Friday Nutrition Seminar sessions in exchange for volunteering to help with registration or serve as a badge checker at the doors of the lecture halls. (Volunteers may not attend clinician seminars)
You must preregister online to volunteer while slots are available - volunteering opportunities are not available at on site registration.

STUDENT & MILITARY DISCOUNT
We also continue to offer 15% discounts for students and active members of the military. (ID required at check-in)

Click HERE to learn more and to register.

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

The following is an action alert from The Autism Action Network. There is an automatic email action alert below the jump including phone numbers to Autism Speaks to ask them to support the broadly embraced S6123 "Autism Speaks' bill contains vague language that doesn't compel insurance companies to cover any specific treatments, services or therapies. And would require any treatments to be approved by three separate state agencies. There is no time line for the agencies to act and no money to pay for staff. It is a recipe for inaction.:

Autism Speaks gravely jeopardized the chances of real autism health insurance reform in New York State last Friday by undercutting a bill supported by every national and statewide autism advocacy organization in the state by introducing into the legislature their own watered down bill written by a lobbying firm who represent both major health insurance companies and Autism Speaks.
 
Autism Speaks unilateral action undercuts Senate Bill S6123, the bill the autism community in New York has been working to pass for 15 months to get real autism health insurance reform.
 
The Community Bill This has no annual spending caps; no age limits, and requires coverage of medical specialists, and therapies including applied behavior analysis, occupational, physical and speech. In short the same kind of coverage that is provided for disorders other than autism.
 
In an unprecedented show of support, the Community Bill has been endorsed by groups as diverse as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics along with SAFEMINDS and Generation Rescue as well as the Autism Society of America and the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Project. And it has significant bipartisan support.
 
Autism Speaks has been approached dozens of times since the fall of 2008 about working with a statewide coalition. But they have steadfastly refused to work with anyone. And coming in at this late hour with a competing bill provides the legislators a perfect excuse to do nothing.
 
Here are some of the groups backing S6123, the Community Bill:
 
The Medical Societies of the State of New York (the AMA)
American Academy of Pediatrics, Chapter 2
NYS School Board Association
NYS Speech, Hearing and Language Association
NYS Occupational Therapy Association
Autism Action Network
Autism Action NY
Autism One
Autism United
Autism Society of America (National)
ASA, Albany Chapter
ASA, The Bronx
ASA, Hudson Valley
ASA, Nassau/Suffolk
ASA, Western New York
Foundation for Autism Information and Research
Generation Rescue
Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Project
National Autism Association, New York Metro Chapter,
New York Families for Autistic Children
Project Link
SAFEMINDS
Schafer Autism Report
Talking About Curing Autism
Upstate New York Families For Effective Autism Treatment
Upstate New York Autism Awareness
United State Autism and Asperger Association
YAI
 
No groups other than Autism Speaks are supporting their bill.

Managing Editor's Note: We ran this post in October of 2008. We're running it today as background about the 1986 law that is being challenged in the Supreme Court (see HERE.)
 
By J.B. Handley

Almost 22 years ago, on October 20, 1986, the Los Angeles Times ran a story regarding a controversial bill making its way through Congress, the headline shouted:

REAGAN LIKELY TO VETO VACCINE COMPENSATION BILL

The story went on to explain the highly divisive nature of the bill, intended to shield vaccine makers from liability, and the Reagan administration was speaking out to express their opposition:

In a strongly worded letter to House Speaker Tip O'Neil, the then secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Otis R. Bowen said, "The bill is likely to do little to assure the vaccine supply or to improve our childhood immunization efforts."

Assistant Attorney General John R. Bolton, writing to the Head of the House Judiciary Committee on behalf of the Department of Justice, said the White House opposed the legislation because it was creating, "a major new entitlement program for which no legitimate need has been demonstrated."

Ronald Reagan himself was troubled by the vaccine compensation bill and was quoted as saying, "Although the goal of compensating those persons is a worthy one, the program has…serious deficiencies."

The Reagan administration seemed to be particularly concerned with two issues: who was going to pay for the compensation required for vaccine injury, and the precedent of the federal government indemnifying private companies from liability.

All of us at the National Autism Association would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to our Founder, Joanne Pike, and her family. This week, Jo was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.

Jo is a wife and mother of four children. Her youngest son, Hunter, became the inspiration for Jos advocacy work after he was diagnosed with autism. She founded NAA in 2003 based on extraordinary hope for Hunter and all those affected by autism. Since that time, thousands of families in the autism community have received financial assistance, support, helpful information, and most of all the encouragement to never give up on finding answers for their children. Her strength, faith and ambition have made NAA one of the largest autism nonprofits in the country today and a leader in advocating for childrens rights, resources, research, therapy and treatments. Its this same extraordinary strength, faith and ambition we believe will help Jo win her battle against cancer.

We ask for your support, prayers, and well wishes for Jo. Please pray for her swift and strong recovery and add her to your prayer groups and lists.

If anyone can beat this, it's Jo.

With the hope NAA was founded upon,

The NAA Team

Listen to Sandy Gottstein of Vaccination News on Liberty News Radio here.

Vaccination News is published in order to provide a wide range of news and views on vaccinations and vaccination policy. By providing all sides of the vaccination controversy, it is believed the public/consumer will be best equipped to make reasoned decisions regarding vaccination use, decisions which will have profound implications for them and their family’s health. By providing all sides of the vaccination controversy, it is also believed that readers will recognize both the complexity of the controversy and the dearth of good information available to them. You can subscribe HERE.

Click HERE to read the full post and comment over at HuffPo. Thank you, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

A central figure behind the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) claims disputing the link between vaccines and autism and other neurological disorders has disappeared after officials discovered massive fraud involving the theft of millions in taxpayer dollars. Danish police are investigating Dr. Poul Thorsen, who has vanished along with almost $2 million that he had supposedly spent on research.

Thorsen was a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote several key studies supporting CDC's claims that the MMR vaccine and mercury-laden vaccines were safe for children. Thorsen's 2003 Danish study reported a 20-fold increase in autism in Denmark after that country banned mercury based preservatives in its vaccines. His study concluded that mercury could therefore not be the culprit behind the autism epidemic.

His study has long been criticized as fraudulent since it failed to disclose that the increase was an artifact of new mandates requiring, for the first time, that autism cases be reported on the national registry. This new law and the opening of a clinic dedicated to autism treatment in Copenhagen accounted for the sudden rise in reported cases rather than, as Thorsen seemed to suggest, the removal of mercury from vaccines. Despite this obvious chicanery, CDC has long touted the study as the principal proof that mercury-laced vaccines are safe for infants and young children. Mainstream media, particularly the New York Times, has relied on this study as the basis for its public assurances that it is safe to inject young children with mercury -- a potent neurotoxin -- at concentrations hundreds of times over the U.S. safety limits.

Thorsen, who was a psychiatrist and not a research scientist or toxicologist, parlayed that study into a long-term relationship with CDC. He built a research empire called the North Atlantic Epidemiology Alliances (NANEA) that advertised its close association with the CDC autism team, a relationship that had the agency paying Thorsen and his research staff millions of dollars to churn out research papers, many of them assuring the public on the issue of vaccine safety.

The discovery of Thorsen's fraud came as the result of an investigation by Aarhus University and CDC which discovered that Thorsen had falsified documents and, in violation of university rules, was accepting salaries from both the Danish university and Emory University in Atlanta -- near CDC headquarters -- where he led research efforts to defend the role of vaccines in causing autism and other brain disorders. Thorsen's center has received $14.6 million from CDC since 2002...  Click HERE to read the full post and comment over at HuffPo. Thank you, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

Age of Autism has been covering the story of Dr. Poul Thorsen, architect of the "Danish study" that exonerated vaccines as a cause of autism, see: Poul Thorsen's Mutating Resume and First Fraud: Dr. Poul Thorsen and the original “Danish Study” and Danish Scientist Absconds with $2 million, Poul Thorsen "Proved" Vaccines Don't Cause Autism 

Jayne Watson of 11alive.com Atlanta had this story last night.

ATLANTA -- A Danish scientist who was a lead researcher in two studies that purport to show that mercury used in vaccines do not cause autism is believed to have used forged documents to steal $2 million from Aarhus University in Denmark.

Dr. Poul Thorsen was also a research professor at Emory University from 2003 until June of 2009. Emory University officials gave no reason for Thorsen's departure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded research conducted by Thorsen and his colleagues at Aarhus University.

The CDC asked the researchers to conduct studies to determine whether thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative and adjuvant used in vaccines, played ay role in causing autism.

The results of the studies, that there was no link between vaccines containing mercury and autism, formed the foundation for the conclusions of several Institute of Medicine reports.

In a statement Aarhus University officials said Thorsen forged documents supposedly from the CDC to obtain the release of $2 million from the university.

Autism advocacy groups are demanding his studies be given a closer look. Those same groups have long claimed that the results of the studies were suspect. (We've linked the video below, but it appears to be unavailable. URL is HERE.) More copy from the report is below the jump. Please scroll down.

By Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill
 
In bits and pieces, in Danish and English, from three universities in two hemispheres and the CDC in Atlanta, a picture has begun forming in the past few days that is already startling in its outline: Paul Thorsen, one of the key scientists involved in CDC-backed studies exonerating vaccines as a cause of autism, is under investigation for collecting millions of dollars in bogus “grant” money, misrepresenting himself to his employers and the world and possibly forging the documents that enabled the scam.
 
Even more astonishing, it appears the CDC and several other major autism research centers have known about this for months and stayed publicly silent, even as the debate over autism and vaccines has reached several decisive moments -- and a new decision is expected any day from U.S. vaccine court. The CDC in particular would have a hard time claiming ignorance about the suspected crime -- at least three of the forged documents were in the agency’s name, and it helped uncover the fraud last year.
 
In addition, several current CDC employees including Drs. Diana Schendel, Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp and Catherine Rice were affiliated with Thorsen’s now-defunct research group. Age of Autism has obtained Internet-archived pages from the Web site of the North Atlantic Neuro-Epidemiology Alliances (NANEA) that list the members of the “Atlanta autism team” including Schendel, Yeargin-Allsopp and Rice, all of whom have been in leadership positions in the CDC’s autism epidemiology projects. Schendel is described as NANEA’s “coordinator at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA.” (The CDC did not respond to phone and e-mail requests for comment.)
 
Meanwhile, Thorsen apparently continues his involvement on an American Psychiatric Association committee that is revising the classification of autism for the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – a change that could affect how the prevalence of the disorder is calculated and its victims compensated and treated. (The APA did not respond to phone and e-mail requests for comment.)
 
Thorsen’s resume, dated Jan. 22, 2010, remains on the DSM 5 Working Group members page. (View HERE.) He lists himself as “Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.” (Calls and e-mails to Drexel seeking confirmation of his status there have gone unanswered.)
 
There is also an earlier Thorsen resume still available on an APA directory dated Jan. 12, just 10 days earlier, (View HERE) that differs substantially from the Jan. 22 update.  On that earlier resume, Thorsen calls himself “Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Denmark, & Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.”
 
What happened in 10 days to change Thorsen’s bona fides so substantially – going from apparently tenured positions at two leading autism research universities to a part-time adjunct professorship at another school?
 
Follow the chronology: On Jan. 22 – the day the new resume is dated – the University of Aarhus issued a statement "to whom it may concern" (View HERE) contradicting key parts of that first resume: “In March 2009, Dr. Thorsen resigned his faculty position at Aarhus University,” the statement said, meaning, obviously, he could not have been an associate professor of epidemiology as he was claiming as late as Jan. 12, 2010. “In the meantime, it has come to the attention of Aarhus University that Dr Thomsen [sic] has continued to act in such a manner as to create the impression that he still retains a connection to Aarhus University after the termination of his employment by the university.” Of course, one way this could have come to its attention was through a resume posted at the American Psychiatric Association in which Thorsen still stated exactly that.
 
“Furthermore,” the statement said, “it has come to the attention of Aarhus University that Dr Poul Thorsen has held full-time positions at both Emory University and Aarhus University simultaneously. Dr Thorsens [sic] double Full-time employment was unauthorised by Aarhus University, and he engaged in this employment situation despite the express prohibition of Aar- hus University.”

By Mary Holland, Esq. and Jim Moody, Esq.

On March 8, the Supreme Court voted to hear Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, an appeal from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Supreme Court will decide whether a vaccine-injured child has the right to pursue a traditional "design defect" claim under state tort law when "Vaccine Court" refuses compensation.  The Supreme Court must interpret the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and decide whether Congress intended to "preempt" all industry tort liability when it wrote, “No vaccine manufacturer shall be liable…if the injury or death resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.”

Did Congress intend to extinguish the right to sue for all defective vaccine designs in civil court?  While the statutory language is awkward and thus somewhat opaque, Congress’s legislative intent was not – the statute as a whole shows clearly that Congress intended to leave civil courthouse doors open for petitioners who elect to leave Vaccine Court to sue for design defects.  Lower courts, nonetheless, have decided the question both ways.  So the Supreme Court must step in and resolve the conflict.  The stakes are high: whether a person injured by a vaccine can challenge the safety of the design in any court in the United States.

A three judge panel of the Third Circuit unanimously decided in March 2009 that petitioner Hannah Bruesewitz did not have the right to sue vaccine manufacturer Wyeth, Inc. to assert that its vaccine design was unsafe.  [See Bruesewitz-Decision]  Hannah was born in October, 1991, and received her third DPT shot on schedule on April 1, 1992.  Shortly thereafter she developed "residual seizure disorder," recognized as a Table Injury at the time, meaning that causation was presumed.  "Residual seizure disorder" was deleted from the Table just one month before she filed her case.  Finally, on December 20, 2002, more than ten years later, Vaccine Court categorically rejected her claim.  This hardly complies with Congress’ promise in the 1986 NCVIA that awards be “made to vaccine-injured persons quickly, easily, and with certainty and generosity.”  The Bruesewitz family argues that the safer acellular DTaP vaccine was long available by the time Hannah received the DPT and suffered seizures, and that her vaccine injury was avoidable had the manufacturer used this demonstrably safer vaccine design.

Before Bruesewitz, in October 2008, the Supreme Court of Georgia came out in the exact opposite way in Ferrari v. American Home Products, Inc.  That nine member court decided unanimously that petitioners could pursue their claim for a vaccine design defect in state civil court.  [See Ferrari decision]  The Ferrari family alleged that the mercury-containing preservative in his childhood vaccines, thimerosal, contributed to his autism.  AoA discussed the Ferrari decision HERE. 

In a recent development, the Ferrari family decided to voluntarily withdraw their claim at the trial court level without prejudice – in other words, the family decided that now is not the most auspicious time to continue the lawsuit, for whatever reason.  Most commentators, although not all, believe that the Ferraris could reopen their lawsuit later, if they chose to, while the child is still a minor.  So, while Bruesewitz and Ferrari interpret the 1986 statute in diametrically opposite ways, the Supreme Court has decided to hear the Bruesewitz case as the vehicle to resolve the conflict.

The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs(DDSN) is facing huge budget cuts unless the SC House and Senate provide more funds than were recommended by the House Ways and Means Committee.  There is a shortfall of over $25M in state dollars  and this will result in many more federal dollars being lost.  The cuts will threaten the health and safety of many people in SC including hundreds on the autism spectrum. Waivers for many disabilities  such as spinal cord injury and pervasive developmental disorder will end.  Services can be withdrawn from children in school and many parents will be forced to leave jobs to take care of their children. See the Autism Society of South Carolina for more info HERE.

The only services guaranteed are for those in residential homes with no place else to go.
This is happening in SC now, but it could follow in any other state.  We need to fight together NOW and preserve the rights and needs for our disabled, the most vulnerable in our society.

If you live in SC, please contact your own representatives See List Here and gave them your personal stories and how the cuts will affect you.

If you are out of state, please phone or e-mail any of the legislators you choose.  I know the list is long and nobody can do all of them.  Let them know(politely as possibly) that this is an outrageous act if these cuts pass.  Special thanks to Craig Stoxen, director of SC Autism Society and Ralph Courtney, Executive Director of the Aiken County Board of Disabilities for their help.  Debate begins Monday, March 15 so we need to act NOW. A vote is expected shortly after.
 
Thank you for your help.
Maurine Meleck

 

COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION IN ONE LOCATION:
AUTISM ONE/GENERATION RESCUE 2010 CONFERENCE
MAY 24-30, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
www.autismone.org

OVER 150 SPEAKERS:  NEW FACES, TRUSTED VOICES:

Sym Rankin, RN, CRNA, and Suruchi Chandra, MD, present:
The Impact of Psychotropic and Anesthetic Agents on Underlying Biomedical Conditions in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Many of the psychotropic and anesthetic pharmaceutical agents used in the pediatric population influence and may even aggravate the underlying biomedical conditions seen in autism spectrum disorders. An understanding of these interactions will allow parents and clinicians to make better decisions regarding the use of these drugs for children with ASD. In addition to reviewing the science and research supporting the use of psychotropic medications in ASD patients, this session will focus on the impact of SSRI and atypical antipsychotic medications on neurologic functions, metabolic systems, and liver detoxification. Also discussed will be special concerns related to anesthesia for the various surgical, radiological or dental procedures so many of our children are undergoing. Topics will include the various drugs typically used in anesthesia and how you can educate your anesthesiologist about the medical concerns of your child.

Laura Hewitson, PhD, presents:
Primate Models for Testing Vaccine Safety

With the number of pediatric vaccines being recommended for infants increasing dramatically over the last decade, there remain concerns over cumulative and/or synergistic adverse effects. This presentation will describe the development of a non-human primate model to assess CNS, gastrointestinal, and immunologic consequences of the pediatric vaccine regimen. Vaccines containing a standardized, weight-adjusted dose of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, were administered to infant male macaques following the recommended pediatric vaccine regimen in place in the 1990s but adjusted for the faster development of macaques; unvaccinated animals received a saline placebo or no injections. Non-human primate infants underwent daily testing for the acquisition of neonatal reflexes, and subsequent behavioral and developmental assessments, including non-invasive imaging by PET and MRI. Neurodevelopmental outcomes in infant rhesus macaques receiving thimerosal (Th)-containing pediatric vaccines will be presented. The study findings will be discussed in relation to other animal and clinical studies of vaccine safety.

Andrew Wakefield, MB, BS, FRCS, FRCPath, presents:
Autism and the vagrant in the brainstem

This talk examines the possibility that brainstem injury plays a central role in autism. In light of recent observations of brainstem injury in a primate model of vaccine-associated effects on early neurodevelopment, and an analysis of the scientific literature, it is proposed that, as an epicentric event, damage to the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) of the brainstem may be necessary and sufficient to initiate the central and systemic features of autism, including the many that fall outside the behavioral definition of this condition. Mechanisms by which primary systemic inflammation can cause brainstem damage are presented with reference to the published literature. The talk discusses the anatomical predeliction of the DVC for injury resulting from a variety of mechanisms including disruption to the blood supply in the developing brain, environmental toxicity and, via retrograde vagal pathways, intestinal inflammation. Ways of examining this theory are discussed.

Mark Blaxill was on AOL Health this week talking about the TIME magazine article on Jenny McCarthy. Click HERE to see the full post with links.
 
By Mark Blaxill Mar 8th 2010 12:58PM

Categories: Family Health, News

Following a story in Time magazine about Jenny McCarthy's role as an autism activist, AOL Health contributor Mark Blaxill responds, saying that "Time" magazine is feeding what he calls "the hungry lie."

More than most other media outlets, you can count on "Time" magazine for the worst in autism coverage. In the pages of Time, rising autism rates are always due to better diagnosing; causes are always genetic, orthodox scientists are always heroic and parent advocates always sadly misguided. What's more, any and all vaccines in any combination are always safe and certainly have nothing to do with autism. A friend of mine calls this the big hungry lie. Why hungry? Because it's so wrong, it requires frequent feeding and thanks to a largely compliant media, feedings take place with regularity. Always at the front of the pack, "Time," in a February 25 article, fed the hungry lie again in a fascinatingly passive-aggressive essay titled, "Who's Afraid of Jenny McCarthy."

In case, you missed it (who reads "Time" anymore?), the Time piece focused on celebrity mom Jenny McCarthy, who has become one of the most prominent and formidable autism parent advocates. In a successful entertainment career, she has shown the world that she is beautiful, sexy, earthy, smart, articulate and determined (and in roughly that order). She also happens to have a son who received an autism diagnosis in 2005 when he was not quite three. To her lasting credit, McCarthy didn't meekly follow the advice of incompetent experts, most of them in thrall to the hungry lie, but has instead given voice to a large community of autism parents, channeling the mojo of a generation of "warrior moms" in a series of books, taking her audience's cause to a new level in the process...

Please read the full post and comment over at Huffington Post HERE.  Jenny will welcome your support and you know the "machine" has gone into overdrive to beat her up - and our kids. Don't let them. Go comment at HuffPo. KS

Parents of recovered children, and I've met hundreds, all share the same experience of doubters and deniers telling us our child must have never even had autism or that the recovery was simply nature's course. We all know better, and frankly we're too busy helping other parents to really care.

Corner one of the hundreds of doctors who specialize in autism recovery, and they'll tell you stories of dozens of kids in their practice who no longer have autism. Ask them to speak to the press and they'll run for the door. They know better.

Most doctors in our community share a common trait: their own child regressed into autism. They fixed their kid first and knew they'd have to spend their lives helping parents do the same, accepting the loss of "mainstream" status in their field.

Who's afraid of autism recovery? Perhaps it's the diagnosticians and pediatricians who have made a career out of telling parents autism is a hopeless condition.

When I first went public with my son Evan's story, I just planned to talk about the "R" word -- Recovery. But soon I was spending most my time talking about the "V" word -- vaccines.

It's hard to address one without the other because so many of the parents of recovered children I know, myself included, blame vaccines for their child's regression into autism and use vaccine injury as the roadmap to treat their child.

The idea that vaccines are a primary cause of autism is not as crackpot as some might wish. Autism's 60-fold rise in 30 years matches a tripling of the US vaccine schedule.

With so many kids with autism, the environment has to be to blame, and vaccines are an obvious culprit. Almost all kids get vaccines -- injected toxins -- very early in life, and our own government clearly acknowledges vaccines cause brain damage in certain vulnerable kids.

Take those simple facts, along with tens of thousands of parental reports of regression after vaccination, not to mention a growing list of court cases where our government paid claims to children with autism acknowledging vaccines as the trigger, and the case we Moms are making makes sense...

 

By Teresa Conrick

For those of you who are new to the autism-vaccine saga, the Chicago Tribune keeps sinking to new lows with its coverage.  In November, they had an article that described an ugly divorce in which a disgruntled father was fighting for custody of his autistic child.  Now this past March 4th, they came out with part 2 in that family's personal drama.  This time the father is suing the Defeat Autism Now! doctors, "family-practice physicians Dr. Anjum Usman of Naperville and Dr. Daniel Rossignol of Melbourne, Fla. — are prominent in the Defeat Autism Now! movement.....Both have spoken to groups of parents at autism conferences and trained other physicians in their methods." HERE

Being prominent in the DAN! movement, speaking at autism conferences and training other doctors has the potential for making you a prime target for possible trumped up lawsuits.  The child is reported to be "a playful, funny and outgoing 7-year-old" per his father in November 2009 yet the Tribune reports the father "alleging they harmed the child with "dangerous and unnecessary experimental treatments."  I need to insert here that my daughter is also a patient of Dr. Usman so I consider myself very fortunate for that as well as more than a casual observer in this story. Both of these doctors, Usman and Rossignol. are passionate and tremendous in their care to our children and commitment as medical doctors.  I find myself suspicious of this lawsuit on many levels.

While googling to find the Tribune article, I instead found Orac's site.  Who is Orac?  Well, suffice to say that he has some mysterious desire to want autism to be only a genetic disorder.  He gets upset if you discuss vaccines or the environment as causative factors.  The usual suspects of the neurodiverse world and the assorted anonymous Wackosphere characters were hanging out at his site with their typical sarcasm and "blood-thirsty" DAN! comments.  Orac though was beyond his usual histrionic self as his comments were pointed at the exact wording of the lawsuit.  He actually had the lawsuit in a pdf file for the taking on his site!  Now how, within hours of the Trib posting and to be exact, the Trib article by Patricia Callahan was posted online at 5:19 p.m. CST, March 4, 2010 and Orac had his pdf and blog up at March 5, 2010 3:00 AM. Appears to be quite bizarre and a bit suspicious?   

Leave a comment to enter the contest to win a signed copy of "Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism" by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons, published by Skyhorse Publishing with an afterword by Teri Arranga of Autism One. The authors are both Autism dads. This book features a compendium of treatments, described by experts in that area, from behavioral therapy to psychiatric drugs to chelation. It's a real A-Z explanation of choices and something I think has been missing from our libraries for some time. I'm glad to see so many options between the covers. The list of the therapies is below. 

Purchase Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism today!

1.
Allergies, Their Role and Treatment in Autism
by Dr. Marvin Boris 6

2.
Animal-Assisted Interventions and Persons with Autism Spectrum
Disorders by Dr. Aubrey Fine 10

3.
Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social Therapy
by Dr. Marga Hogenboom and Paula Moraine 17

4.
Antiepileptic Medications by Dr. Richard E. Frye 22

Congrats to Jaclyn Sands! The contest is closed.

Visit the website HERE. Order your copy at Amazon HERE.


"A propulsive chronicle. Thanks to Kirby’s extraordinary journalism, we have the most relatable, irrefutable, and unforgettable testimony yet to the hazards of industrial animal farming." BOOKLIST

"Immensely readable, should be required reading for anybody concerned with how CAFOs are changing the nature of livestock farming." LIBRARY JOURNAL

Swine flu. MRSA. Unusual concentrations of cancer and other diseases. Massive fish kills from algal blooms and flesh-eating parasites. Recalls of meats, vegetables, and fruits because of deadly E-coli bacteria contamination.  Recent public health crises raise urgent questions about how our animal-derived food is raised and brought to market.  In Animal Factory, bestselling investigative journalist David Kirby exposes the powerful business and political interests behind large-scale factory farms, and tracks the far-reaching fallout that can contaminate our air, land, and water supply. 

By J.B. Handley
 
In my last post Frantic: CDC’s Dr. Diane Simpson Travels the World to Find Dr. Poul Thorsen, I detailed the desperate world travel of Dr. Diane Simpson, a CDC employee tasked with proving, at all costs, that thimerosal in vaccines was not causing autism.
 
If desperate times call for desperate acts, than there is no desperate act more extreme than the study ultimately published due to Dr. Simpson’s world travel, Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data .
 
More than any other, this study has been used to club our community over the head that thimerosal couldn’t possibly cause autism. Of course, it was published in Pediatrics, a journal that appears to have no standards whatsoever if a paper written by anyone anywhere exonerates vaccines.
 
A few years ago I took the time to read every published study that “proved” vaccines don’t cause item. Knowing this “Danish study” was the biggie, I started here.
 
It’s hard to put into words how dishonest and outrageous a study this is, and I knew after reading it that we were in for a long fight: if scientists will lie this explicitly and call it a study and if Pediatrics will publish something this dishonest, they are playing to win at all costs.
 
Herewith, an analysis of the original Danish study, prepare to be disgusted and outraged:
 
Thimerosal was removed from Danish vaccines in 1992, and the original Danish study published in Pediatrics in 2003, Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data  (with co-author Dr. Poul Thorsen) proclaimed that not only did autism rates not go down after its removal, they actually went up! The study's lead other, Kristeen Madsen, had been one of the Danish researchers Dr. Diane Simpson reached out to early on in her world travel of 2001. This study was highly fraudulent for the following reasons:
 
The data as it was captured was blatantly obscured.
 
The study looked at data between 1970-2000. In 1995, the Danish registry added "Outpatient Clinics" to their count of autism cases. It turns out that Outpatient Clinics are where 93% of Danish children are diagnosed with autism, so the number of autism cases before 1995 did not include the clinics. More surprising, the authors even note this in the study: "since 1995 outpatient activities were registered as well...the proportion of outpatient to inpatient activities was about 4 to 6 times as many outpatients as inpatients...this may exaggerate the incidence rates."
 
Exaggerate the incidence rates? It is the equivalent of doing a study on "Divorce Rates in North America" and counting Mexico and Canada only for the first few years, then adding in the United States, and noting that divorce rates went up.

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

(Author note - No offense is intended to actual idiots who are really nice people and would never do any of the foolish things mentioned in this article.)

I keep wondering when the “moment” will come.  I’m talking about the moment when the average person who isn’t really interested in the vaccine-autism question will go “Hey, that doesn’t make sense!”  You might call it something else.  Perhaps the “bull***” moment, or even the “what the f*** moment!”  For me, I prefer the “idiot moment.”

Maybe the idiot moment came a few weeks ago on February 25, 2010 when Nicholas Kristof, op-ed columnist for The New York Times wrote an article entitled, “Do Toxins Cause Autism?” Click HERE  (Strangely, the national media employs a great number of idiots when it comes to autism, and I don’t mean the ones who are really nice and wouldn’t do any of the foolish things I’m getting ready to talk about.)

According to Mr. Kristof’s account, Dr. Phillip Landigran, professor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York told him he is “increasingly confident that autism and other ailments are, in part, the result of the impact of environmental chemicals on the brain as it is being formed.”

The article may have actually captured an idiot moment in real time with Dr. Landrigan who said to the reporter (one idiot to another), “The crux of this is brain development.  If babies are exposed in the womb or shortly after birth to chemicals that interfere with brain development, the consequences last a lifetime.”  For those who haven’t been tuned into this debate, this is a major shift from medical professionals who have long argued that autism is a genetic condition, and the rise is nothing more than better detection of autism.

So let me think here for a moment.  Pregnant women are advised not to drink or smoke during pregnancy, not to eat too much seafood because of the mercury it contains (remember, that’s the bad kind, not the kind in vaccines which is really good and will cause an increase in mental functions, just like it did to the Mad Hatter in the new Alice in Wonderland movie), so I’m trying to think where they might be getting these bad chemicals? 

Managing Editor's Note: J.B. Handley is quoted in this post at The Bloomington Alternatice. The American experience with mercury-containing vaccines parallels the autism epidemic to the letter.

In 1930, the pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. patented a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal for use in childhood vaccines. According to a 2003 congressional report, despite repeated requests through the years, Lilly never tested thimerosal for its human health impacts.For 70 years, Lilly relied on a "woefully inadequate" and "uncontrolled study" from the 1920s as proof thimerosal was safe, the report said.
. . . Starting in the 1940s, American children were vaccinated for diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP). A polio shot was added in 1955, and measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) joined the list in 1971.

In 1989, a fully vaccinated child of 5 had received a total of 11 injections of these three vaccines. In 1990 and 1991, two more were added to the schedule with seven more shots, including hepatitis B at birth. And in 1995 and 1998, an additional two vaccines with five more shots were added, bringing the total number of injections to 23.

Four more vaccines were added in 2000, 2004 and 2006. The CDC and AAP's recommended vaccination scheduletoday says American children should receive 36 shots before they enter first grade, the most aggressive vaccination schedule in the world.

Canada is a distant second with 28, according to a 2009 study published by Generation Rescue titled "Autism and vaccines around the world." The average number of vaccinations among 30 industrialized countries is 18.

Meanwhile, between 1980 and 1994, the incidence of California children with autism jumped 373 percent, from 1 in every 2,272 live births to 1 in 480, according to a 2001 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association...

Read the full article and comment HERE.

This startling story, as yet unseen in the mainstream media, is from our friends at The Autism Action Network.

A Danish scientist who was a key researcher in two studies that purport to show that mercury used in vaccines and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine do not cause autism is believed to have used forged documents to steal $2 million from Aarhus University in Denmark according to reports in the Copenenhagen Post Online and a statement from Aarhus University.
 
Poul Thorsen, MD PhD, headed up a research unit at Aarhus University that was hired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prepare a series of studies that would exonerate thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative and adjuvant used in vaccines, and the MMR vaccine from any role in causing autism. The veracity of the two studies he co-authored is now in doubt.
 
These studies formed the foundation for the conclusions of several Institute of Medicine reports that claimed that it was highly unlikely that thimerosal or MMR were implicated in autism.
 
In a statement Aarhus University officials said that believe Thorsen forged documents supposedly from the CDC to obtain the release of $2 million from the University. Thorsen resigned abruptly in March 2009 and left Denmark. Since then Thorsen has held several jobs in the US, first at Emory University in Atlanta and then at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Documents show that as late as January 22, 2009. Thorsen was employed at Drexel. Any reference to Poulsen has now been deleted from the Drexel website.
 
Investigations also revealed that while employed full-time for the University of Aarhus in Denmark, Thorsen simultaneously held a fulltime position at Emory University in Atlanta, and drew salaries from both Universities despite a contract with Aarhus forbidding outside employment. According to the statement from Aarhus University.
 
Autism advocacy groups have published extensive analyses on Thorsen's studies and found many problems in methods, assumptions and conclusions that are supported by the data. And Thorsen is the lynchpin in the series of studies used to dismiss concerns about thimerosal and MMR causing autism.
 
See SAFEMINDS analysis of Thorsen's role in the discredited studies HERE.

See the Copenhagen Post Online article HERE.
 
See the statement from Aarhus University HERE.

Read more at: Age of Autism this week.
 
The two studies now in doubt include:
 
Thimerosal and the occurrence of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data.

Madsen KM, Lauritsen MB, Pedersen CB, Thorsen P, Plesner AM, Andersen PH, Mortensen PB, Pediatrics. 2003 Sep;112(3 Pt 1):604-6.
 
A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism.

Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, Schendel D, Wohlfahrt J, Thorsen P, Olsen J, Melbye M., N Engl J Med. 2002 Nov 7;347(19):1477-82.
 
 

Read the full post, ANIMAL FACTORY Book Excerpt - Is Manure a Hazardous Substance? Blanche Lincoln Says "No" at Huffington Post. We have a contest running for a signed copy of David's book, enter HERE.

In my new book, "Animal Factory - The Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment," I describe the efforts of Pro-Agribusiness members of Congress who are working hard to make sure that spilled animal waste from industrial farms is exempted from federal Superfund clean-up rules.

The now-endangered Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), along with House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Petersen (D-MN), are among several outspoken congressional champions of a rather obscure piece of legislation on a topic that few Americans spend much time pondering: Who should pay for manure spills at animal factories?

Ever since 2007, their efforts to undermine the Superfund law by permanently exempting manure as a hazardous waste has been "ruffling feathers on Capitol Hill," according to Politco.com.

Their bill did not pass, and has not yet been reintroduced in the current Congress. But it does beg the question: Is manure an organic fertilizer, or it is a dangerous pollutant with potentially devastating consequences for human health, the environment, and even local economies? It can, in fact, can be both...

Those are my "crapisode" gloves from the Autism One dinner and auction  last Spring. Pretty fancy, huh? Ms. van der Leun did a terrific job with this interview and I thank her. I particularly appreciated her questions about the criticism I (we) face for using biomed treatments and and seeking a cure.

The Mother of Three Autistic Children Shares Her Story: From AOL Health HERE. 
 
By Justine van der Leun Mar 4th 2010 5:00PM

Connecticut-based stay-at-home mom and autism advocate Kim Stagliano chronicles her trying and illuminating daily experiences raising her three daughters with autism on her eponymous blog. In her other venues -- she's the managing editor of the Web site Age of Autism and blogs at The Huffington Post -- Stagliano argues alternately for research for a cure, government funding for children with autism and their families, alternative therapies and biomedical interventions. She is also the author of a forthcoming memoir. AOL Health asked Stagliano for her take on the joys and challenges of being a parent to children with autism and what she says to her critics.

AOL Health: You have three daughters, all of whom fall on the autism spectrum. What do you believe caused or contributed to their autism?

KS: The million-dollar question. I think we have a genetic predisposition to environmental insults, which could include vaccines, toxins, my husband and my heavy metal load, the quality of my breast milk and unknowns.

AOL Health: Over the past 15 years, what treatments have you tried with your girls, and how have they responded to them?

KS: The GFCF [Gluten Free Casein Free] diet has been our best treatment. The diet has helped with stomach problems, which, in turn, has greatly cut down behavior issues. It also helps the girls sleep through the night. Imagine taking a test on a day when you have terrible cramps or a headache. How well would you do? We've also used a number of biomedical treatments -- supplements, vitamins, other natural products -- that have helped the girls function and feel better.

AOL Health: On your blog, you contend that autism is curable and that your role as the mother to children with autism is to "get rid of it." Can you explain your perspective?

KS: Every mom wants to make her child's path easier to travel -- whether it's tutoring to get better grades for college admission or weight-loss camp to address health issues or trying to ameliorate the undesirable behaviors and pain associated with autism. Autism affects every aspect of my children's lives. I'd be remiss if I didn't try to help them.

Managing Editor's Note: I usually love the satirical news site, The Onion. This piece just made my stomach churn though. I know too many families who've headed into divorce or who are struggling to remain intact following an autism diagnosis. Would they have run this using cancer or leukemia? Maybe. You be the judge and let us now what you think in the comments. Read the full article HERE or below.

HOUSTON—With the challenges accompanying his developmental disorder widening the already vast gulf between his parents, autistic child Evan Thomas, 3, continued this week to destroy the failing marriage he was brought into this world to save.

Evan, who through the very act of being born was entrusted with the task of resolving lingering conflicts, soothing deep-seated contempt, and restoring intimacy to Mark and Sharon Thomas' long-strained relationship, has thus far utterly failed in his assigned duties, sources reported Monday.

"It's so much work taking care of Evan, and Mark just refuses to help out as much as he should," said Sharon Thomas, who endured a long, agonizing childbirth to put an end to the couple's constant bitter arguments. "It's so frustrating. I don't get any time to myself because Evan needs attention like 24 hours a day."

"I never asked for this," Sharon added.

On 3/21 NY'ers Strike Against Autism

NAA New York Metro is having a Bowl-a-thon, its first fundraiser.  Help this important organization reach more families affected by autism. 

The NAA NY Metro Chapter provides direct support to families and people affected by autism in the NYC Metro area since March 2008. They are having their first fundraiser, a Bowl-a-Thon on March 21st at Bowlmor Lanes in NYC.  Donations in any amount are appreciated at http://www.firstgiving.com/naanyc.  Information about bowling and corporate sponsorships is also available at that web location.  Or contact Peggy Becker at [email protected]
 
 

By J.B. Handley
 
Without Dr. Diane Simpson, a CDC employee, Dr. Poul Thorsen would likely be a person none of us would have ever heard of. I’m looking forward to following the case of Dr. Thorsen and the implications it may have for the withdrawl of some of the most important documents used to shut the door on the possible link between thimerosal and autism. For AoA readers, I provide some background on Dr. Simpson’s critical and “frantic” role in locating data.
 
This story below is an excerpt from the website, PutChildrenFirst a Generation Rescue initiative, an excellent resource to see this dark tale spelled out in detail:
 
CDC's effort, beginning in the summer of 2001, was in anticipation of the IOM's report coming out in the October 2001. They knew what it was going to say and they knew it was going to be trouble.
 
The CDC's subsequent worldwide effort was an attempt to find corroborative data showing no link between autism and thimerosal and get it to the IOM or release it at the same time as the IOM report was released. As Dr. Diane Simpson says in this August 7, 2001 email :
 
"I don't have any new data at the moment and am frantically trying to see what is available and how best to get it in time for the expected IOM report release (we have given up trying to submit it in time for the report as they are in the process of writing it)."
 
Dr. Simpson's actions beginning in June of 2001, require some context. The Deputy Director of the NIP, Dr. Simpson, was given the task of finding data on autism and thimerosal in other countries. And not just any data, she was looking for data that would support the idea that there was no relationship between mercury and autism, despite the fact that she had seen the Generation Zero data and attended Simpsonwood.
 
Further, you have the division of the CDC that is responsible for keeping vaccination rates high, the division that would be held most responsible for creating the autism epidemic, and one of the leaders of that division, Dr. Robert Chen, who had the most to lose, directly involved in a process to find data about the relationship between thimerosal and autism.

Would CDC be "frantic" to find data that would corroborate the conclusion coming from IOM, that the thimerosal-autism relationship was "biologically plausible"? No, she was frantic to find data to disprove it. 
 

Leave a comment to enter our contest to win a signed copy of David Kirby's book, Animal Factory.

Visit the website HERE. Order your copy at Amazon HERE.


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Swine flu. MRSA. Unusual concentrations of cancer and other diseases. Massive fish kills from algal blooms and flesh-eating parasites. Recalls of meats, vegetables, and fruits because of deadly E-coli bacteria contamination.  Recent public health crises raise urgent questions about how our animal-derived food is raised and brought to market.  In Animal Factory, bestselling investigative journalist David Kirby exposes the powerful business and political interests behind large-scale factory farms, and tracks the far-reaching fallout that can contaminate our air, land, and water supply. 

Our commenter of the week is "Jack's Dad" on the post: Fox Atlanta on Autism Treatment. When our sons were getting early-intervention ABA, one of their therapists acknowledged that EVERY SINGLE ONE of her "clients" was on the diet. Funny how what's clearly the mainstream for autism families is still considered "alternative" and "out of the box" by the medical community. It just shows that families have taken treatment into their own hands. How sad.

Didn't win but still want a T-shirt? Taking a page from public television, we'll happily send you one as our thank you for making a donation to A of A via our PayPal donate button.  You choose the donation amount. OK? Please tell us on the PayPal form if you want an adult M, L, XL or 2XL and include your mailing  address in the comments box at PayPal. Click below to  to see the back of the shirt.

By Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill

A website focused on flu vaccines, citing Danish news accounts and a statement from an official of Aarhus University, is reporting that "A Danish scientist who was the author of a key study that undermined the scientific basis for believing that mercury in vaccines caused autism was employed full time by Emory University in the USA without his university knowing, it has emerged. ... Aarhaus University said in a statement today that they had "expressly prohibited" Dr Poul Thorsen from working for a second university, Emory. ... The revelation that Thorsen had a second secret job will raise fears of a hidden bias in the studies and undermine the scientific case for thiomersal." (HERE)

Poul Thorsen was a co-author on two influential papers on the link between autism and vaccines, one on MMR published in 2002 by the New England Journal of Medicine and another published in 2003 by Pediatrics on thimerosal. SafeMinds performed an extensive analysis (see HERE) of the close network of collaboration the included Aarhus University researchers, employees of the Staten Serum Institut (a vaccine manufacturer) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Thorsen was a central figure in that network, with close ties to CDC (Thorsen is 4th from left in photo, click to enlarge), and now stands accused of forgery and fraud. According to a statement from Aarhus University (see HERE for full text):

“The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI) has been a grant recipient as part of a cooperative agreement with the US National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC, since 2001. The grant has been administered by Odense University Hospital and Aarhus University (AU) under the direction of Dr. Poul Thorsen. The grant has multiple components and involves collaborators at other institutions in Denmark, including the University of Copenhagen and SSI (Statens Serum Institut). This successful collaboration has resulted in numerous valuable scientific results, and many more are forthcoming.

“Unfortunately, a considerable shortfall in funding at Aarhus University associated with the CDC grant was discovered. In investigating the shortfalls associated with the grant, DASTI and Aarhus University became aware of two alleged CDC funding documents as well as a letter regarding funding commitments allegedly written by Randolph B. Williams of CDC's Procurement Grants Office which was used to secure advances from Aarhus University. Upon investigation by CDC, a suspicion arose that the documents are forgeries.”

According to the university, “a police investigation is ongoing.”

Thorsen made important contributions to some of the most influential studies that have been claimed as evidence for no link between autism and vaccines. The Pediatrics paper is one of five major epidemiology studies cited by the Institute of Medicine in their 2004 report on thimerosal and autism. Based on these studies, three of which included the Aarhus team, the IOM concluded that “the evidence now favors rejection of a relationship between thimerosal and autism.”

Stay tuned for updates on this story as more details emerge.

Dan Olmsted is Editor and Mark Blaxill is Editor-At-Large for Age of Autism.

By Dan Olmsted

What, exactly, did Dr. Andrew Wakefield do wrong?

To most people who followed the drumbeat of news about the retraction of his 1998 Lancet paper – and especially to most of the mainstream media who did the “reporting” – that does not need to be put in the form of a question. Wakefield’s medical license is now in jeopardy because he did just about EVERYTHING wrong in an “Early Report", (HERE) a case series on 12 children with regressive autism and a novel bowel disorder their parents or doctor attributed, in most cases, to administration of the MMR vaccine. Given the egregiousness of these wrongs and the prestige-ousness of those who announced them, the “question” moved almost immediately from who, what, when and where to why – why had the Lancet let itself be so misused as to publish the claim that vaccines cause autism based on a bogus study; why had it taken so long to disavow such fraudulent nonsense?

And now we’ve sunk to the seventh circle of journalism hell – based on this slapdash and slipshod reporting, the media says the entire debate over vaccines and autism has been settled. Nothing to see here. Please move along.
 
Not so fast. The media’s first job is to report the facts correctly, and a corollary to that is to “rely on your own original reporting” whenever possible, according to “The Elements of Journalism” by the respected journalism elders Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenthal. At a minimum in the Wakefield case, this would mean that key reporters breaking the story nationally – on the TV news networks and major online news sites, in the big dailies and magazines – needed to be familiar with three things: Wakefield’s original paper; the General Medical Council ruling from the week before that found his ethical behavior “dishonest,” and The Lancet retraction of the paper itself that quickly followed.
 
“Being familiar with” in this circumstance, it seems to me, means reading the paper (with comprehension, as they used to say in grade school) and retaining its key elements. This story had been coming down the pike for months, so there was no reason to be unprepared. Even if, given the 24/7 Internet exigencies of today’s news cycle, a reporter was caught flat-footed, the same Internet provides instant access to primary materials. What’s more, the Wakefield report is only five pages long and the relevant passages are in unusually plain English for a scientific report. (Anyone who thinks this level of diligence is asking too much of reporters and editors doesn’t really understand the value or purpose of journalism, or why the Amendment by which it is protected is the First.) It wouldn’t have hurt to talk to Wakefield or the parents of the children involved in the study, either, but that appears to be asking way too much.
 
So setting a very low bar -- mere factual accuracy -- how did the media do? They got just about EVERYTHING wrong, and persisted in error even when it was being pointed out to them. The media were not helped by The Lancet’s own strangely worded (and, ultimately, inaccurate) retraction and failure to fully explain itself, but that’s not a good enough excuse.

As a way to focus the issue, it is fair to say that Wakefield’s presumed offenses can be broken out into two categories: acts of commission or omission that were morally wrong – unethical – on the one hand, and those that were scientifically wrong on the other. Because of the demonstrably inaccurate reporting of the science – the heart, after all, of a scientific work, we will discuss that here. (THIS report by Dr. Bill Long in The Autism File magazine does a good job of laying out the ethics charges and demonstrating what we strongly believe is their lack of merit.)
 
In this case it makes narrative sense to start in medeas res, in the middle of things, with the Lancet’s retraction. It is short, and here it is in full:
 
“Following the judgment of the UK General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise Panel on Jan 28, 2010, it has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al. are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation. In particular, the claims in the original paper that children were ‘consecutively referred’ and that investigations were ‘approved’ by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false. Therefore we fully retract this paper from the published record.”
 
One could watch news outlets grappling with this statement in real time. At Forbes.com, Senior Editor Michael Herper lampooned the Lancet’s language as “incomprehensible” and offered his own rewrite of what it was trying to say: “In particular, the patients were not ‘consecutively referred,’ raising the odds that the results were due to chance.”

Tune into "Go Green Radio with Jill Buck" TODAY Friday, March 5 at noon Eastern to listen to Mark Blaxill and NAA's Rita Shreffler in “Part II: Is the Environment to Blame for Autism?”

Good parents advocate for their children, and try to keep them safe from harm. Suppose your children were being harmed by the air they breathe, by chemicals sprayed on their schoolyard, or by vaccinations recommended by your most trusted ally in keeping your child healthy – your pediatrician. If that were the case, you’d likely do all that you could to protect your child, but you’d soon find that as a lone parent it is very difficult to sway the large organizations and companies that control the environmental hazards around your child. And then…you’d do what this week’s Go Green Radio guests did…you’d band together with other concerned parents to make a difference. This week we are joined by the Executive Director of the National Autism Association, Rita Shreffler, and the editor-at-large for the Age of Autism, Mark Blaxill. Rita and Mark will discuss their experiences as parents of autistic children, and help us understand the environmental toxins that may be responsible for rising rates of autism in America.

(MyFOX ATLANTA) - For parents, hearing their child has been diagnosed with autism can be devastating. One of the first questions they face is how do they help their child. For years there haven't been any easy answers and progress has been slow, leaving families searching for their own treatments.

Autism can run the spectrum of developmental disorders that goes from mild to severe.

The problem is a lot of parents with kids on that spectrum feel like they've been left without a road map. Parents want to help, but they don't know how to get it.

One Georgia family said they found a road map.

Will Redwood is a 15-year-old Tyrone High School student who leads a pretty typical life.

Redwood started showing signs of a mild form of autism just after his first birthday.

"He had no language. He couldn't communicate with us. He wasn't potty-trained. He wouldn't look at us, he wouldn't interact with us," said Redwood's mother, Lyn.

The Redwoods and thousands of other parents have tried some outside-the-box autism treatments to help their children... Read the full article and comment at My Fox 5 Atlanta
HERE. It's important that parents share their own treatment success stories so families with newly diagnosed children (or older children who have not had treatment) know that autism is indeed treatable.

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

By Brita Belli

Read the full article in E magazine.

Autism cases are on the rise. Or so the most recent data would have us believe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 1 in 100 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—up from 1 in 150 in 2007. A study in the journal Pediatrics in October 2009 revealed similar numbers—parents of 1 in 90 children reported that their child had ASD. With boys, the rate of ASD was 1 in 58. Without a doubt, autism is the country’s fastest-growing developmental disability, affecting more children than cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. Still, in dealing with a childhood disorder that ranges from “highly functioning” to uncommunicative, and such a long list of potential triggers and treatments, even the numbers themselves are subject to questioning.

“It irritates me to no end that we still argue over whether there is an increase in incidence,” says Michael Merzenich, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the University of California San Francisco who has pioneered research in brain plasticity (essentially, retraining brains) and leads the brain-training software company Posit Science. “I think there is lots of evidence for increased incidence,” Merzenich says. “Overwhelmingly it supports that there are things in the environment that are contributing to the rate of incidence. But people still argue.”

Doubters point out that autism is better understood today and more frequently diagnosed. Some have even suggested that an autism diagnosis may be a means to an end—a way for parents to get the immediate speech and physical therapies their children need to prevent long-term delays. Massachusetts-based health writer Lisa Jo Rudy, mother to one autistic child, Tom, 13, as well as to a 10-year-old daughter, Sara, is one such skeptic. “Are we simply calling what used to be called being a ‘dweeb’ autism?” Rudy asks. The National Institute of Mental Health writes: “It is unclear from the report in Pediatrics whether the 1 in 90 estimate is measuring a true increase in ASD cases or improvements in our ability to detect it.”

Researchers like Merzenich say the waffling over numbers is beside the point—too many children are living with the disorder, and not enough research is focusing on what’s causing it or how best to treat it. The term “autistic” was not even part of the modern lexicon until it was introduced by Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner in the 1940s—the word itself (containing the Greek autos) describes the self-absorption that is a hallmark of the disorder. While it takes many forms, autism affects social interaction and communication and leads to the development of intense habitual interests. Often, after a year of seemingly normal interaction, autistic kids will fail to respond to stimuli, make eye contact or turn at the sound of their name. They may not talk readily, or they may repeat themselves incessantly. They are likely to follow compulsive behavior, such as shaking their hands, stacking objects or repeating daily activities the exact same way each day. The treatment is years of intensive—and expensive—therapy.

Richard Lathe, Ph.D., a molecular biologist and former professor at the University of Strasburgh and Edinburgh University who wrote Autism, Brain, and Environment (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), calls the latest autism cases “new phase autism.” Explaining the term, Lathe says, “The rate of autism was quite low between the 1940s and 1980s. The beginning of the 1980s saw a marked increase in the incidence and prevalence of autism. Rates have gone up at least tenfold. It indicates that it can’t just be genetic—it must be environmental....”

Read the full article and subscribe at E Magazine.

It's taken me a couple of days to gather up the heart to run this story of a 16 year old boy who tumbled to his death out of the back of an ambulance in South Carolina. In the interim, I read that SC is considering draconian cuts to their social services budget.

(NBC) - Family members of a Greenville, SC teen killed when he jumped from a moving ambulance said that the death of the autistic 16-year-old on Sunday could have been prevented.

For starters, Shelly Hodge didn't want her son, Ryan Emory, released from the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute in Columbia on Feb. 6. On his discharge papers she wrote: "I, Shelly Hodge, Ryan Emory's mother, disagree with the Department of Disabilities and Special Need's discharge recommendation at this time. There are no services in place. I fear for my safety and his."

Hodge isn't just a concerned mother. She's also a nurse. Based on her medical training, she believes there was something very wrong with her son, more than just autism.

In 2009 Polly Tommey was approached by Gordon Brown to represent The Autism Trust within the External Reference Group (ERG).  This followed a meeting with the Prime Minister as a result of The Autism Trust’s "Dear Gordon Brown" charity billboard campaign.  Polly was part of the ERG that helped formulate "The strategy for adults with autism in England (2010)."

Since then, Sarah Brown became actively involved and recently organized a breakfast meeting at 10 Downing Street to bring together autism organizations from all over the country to discuss both the strategy and how best to move it forward.

Having read the aforementioned strategy, Polly was encouraged by the amount of work and effort that Phil Hope and the Department of Health had undertaken.  "They have acknowledged the desperate situation and lack of support that adults with autism in this country are living with.  They have also acknowledged the increased demand for facilities, services and provision, and have accepted the need for greater social awareness towards autism in this country."

A new autism program board has been established to lead change in public services.  £500,000 will be invested in developmental training within health, social care, and professional bodies; it will address training for job center disability employment advisors to work for those with autism to help them to be able to work, and it will champion improved diagnosis.

Polly comments, "In all, the strategy is hugely important and a crucial milestone. It is as the Department of Health said when presenting it – ‘a start’. And a very good one."