By John Stone

A letter in on-line BMJ today from, Susan E Davies, one of the signatory histopathologists to the Lancet paper (HERE), rebuts Brian Deer’s imputation that there was anything amiss with the interpretation of the histopathology results in the study. This should finally knock on the head the claim made by Deer first in the Sunday Times in February 2009 that Andrew Wakefield had manipulated the results of the biopsy tests for his own purposes (HERE & HERE ).

Deer wrote in his article published a fortnight ago (HERE):

“The lead pathologist for the Wakefield project, and an author of the now retracted paper, was Susan Davies, now at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. At weekly meetings with paediatricians, the unexceptional results were confirmed. For four of the 12 she made additional notes recording the position more bluntly: "no abnormality detected". “

Deer based his report on evidence given by Davies to the GMC hearing in 2007 but it now looks clear that he put too much emphasis on isolated statements. Instead, Davies’s letter substantially corroborates the account of the matter that Wakefield gave in his complaint to the UK Press Complaints Commission (HERE). This is the text of Davies’s letter (HERE):-

Caution in assessing histopathological opinions. 30 April 2010

As one of the pathologists in question, I wish to respond to some of the issues raised in the recent article by Brian Deer(1), and accompanying editorial by Nick Wright(2), on the histopathological aspects of autistic enterocolitis. There is some misrepresentation of my involvement and lack of understanding of the process in studies involving histopathology.
Firstly, at the time in question I was working solely for the NHS and acted as the key pathologist for the clinical gastroenterology paediatric team. I was not the lead pathologist for this, or any other Wakefield project.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today the appointment of five new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a federal advisory committee created in an effort to accelerate progress in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research and services.
 
“Today I am pleased to announce new members of the IACC, who will bring additional points of view and expertise to the committee”

The committee is composed of a diverse group of federal officials from HHS agencies and the Department of Education, as well as public members that include people with ASD, parents of people with ASD, and leaders of national ASD advocacy and research organizations.

By John Stone

Evan Harris, the MP who made allegations in a debate about MMR in the House of Commons in March 2004, disclosed that his father, Frank, was a recently retired professor paediatrics ((see TheyWorkForYou), but not that the latter had sat on the Committee on Safety in Medicines in 1990-92 (an appointment listed in his entry in Who’s Who) in the period leading to the withdrawal of the Urabe strain MMR vaccines in September 1992 .

 A report in British Medical Journal testifies to the hectic manoeuvring that followed the sudden removal of these two vaccines:

 "Last week the GMSC was worried that the vaccination programme would be put back by the debacle over the new arrangements for supplying the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR). The CMO has apologised to the profession that the information that two brands of the MMR vaccine were to be withdrawn was leaked before the profession was told. The department had planned to give doctors 48 hours' notice. The information was leaked on 15 September and earlier in some places. But by the time of the MSC meeting (17 September) many members had still received no information. The department has advised doctors to return their stocks of Pluserix-MMR and Immravix [sic] and order extra supplies of MMR II.

"The chairman will draw the department's attention to the possible effect on vaccination target levels if parents are deterred from bringing their children to be vaccinated because of the adverse publicity. Dr Eric Rose suggested that the department should mount a publicity campaign on the virtues of the MMR and the Hib vaccines."

By contrast Evan Harris had written failing to recall the episode in the Sunday Times on 22 February 2004 (HERE):

"On the safety of MMR, the evidence and scientific consensus are overwhelming. There is a lot of good research that fails to find any significant safety problem with MMR..."

At the Autism One/Generation Rescue 2010 Conference
Chicago, Illinois
Register at www.autismone.org

PANDAS refers to the acute onset of tics and/or obsessive-compulsive symptoms in temporal correlation with a group A strep infection. However, PANDAS is but one of
a larger group of post-infectious neuropsychiatric disorders known by the acronym PITANDS.

Friday, May 28 & Saturday, May 29
PANDAS Presentations

Fri.   1:45 Drs. Susan Swedo & Madeleine Cunningham
Fri.   3:00 Dr. Rosario Trifiletti
Fri.   4:00 Dr. M. Elizabeth Latimer & Laura Matheos
Fri.   5:00 Dr. Denis Bouboulis & Lynn Johnson
Sat. 4:00 Beth Alison Maloney

Bios and presentations below the jump.

Ginger Taylor wrote a powerful post at Adventures in Autism about the panic in the media over vaccination safety issues (and blaming the autism community) and how it juxtaposes with the very real emergencies taking place every day for people with autism and their caregivers. Like the murder suicide this week in Maine.  

Ginger wrote, Last night I returned home, planning on watching Frontline's "The Vaccine War", which we already knew would be a hit piece on parents, as we saw the website that only offered the perspective of dismissive doctors, heard that they had cut famous UCLA pediatrician Jay Gordon out of the show (even though he was interviewed sitting next to Jenny McCarthy), and we had seen the preview which basically told vaccine resistant mothers they were bad citizens and condemning other children to death by vaccine preventable illness. But I never got to watch the show. Because as soon as I came in the door, the phone rang. It was a reporter from the Portland Press Harold who had interviewed me after Ashley's death looking for comment on a story. Another murder suicide of someone with autism by their parent. But this time it was just a few towns away from me. Click into Adventures in Autism to read the full post.  

Deaths Ruled Murder-Suicide; Parents of Autistic Kids Speak Out By News 13 Story Created: Apr 29, 2010 at 6:56 AM EDT.   Fox TV 13   in Maine took the time to speak with parents about their fears for the future:

Interesting blog entry by Lylah Alphonse in the Boston Globe's, Blogs in the Parenthood on Frontline's The Vaccine War. Frontline is produced by Boston's WGBH. (The link is wonky, sorry.)

While the search continues for a cause -- and for a cure -- autism in general has become part of the mainstream. But while children's programs like PBS's Arthur are encouraging acceptance and understanding about autism spectrum disorders, controversey is what's making headlines in the news.

Last night, PBS broadcast its Frontline piece on "The Vaccine Wars," touching on the MMR vaccine-autism debate and the Thimerosal-autism debate, both of which are still ongoing in some communities in spite of the fact that the supposed links have been debunked. The show pitted anecdotal evidence from parents against research and advice from medical professionals, creating, as Dr. Jay Gordon put it in an open letter to one of Frontline's co-producers, "a pseudo-documentary with a preconceived set of conclusions: 'Irresponsible moms against science' was an easy takeaway from the show..."

Click into Blogs in the Parenthood to read the full post. Lylah M. Alphonse is a member of the Globe Magazine staff and mom and stepmom to five kids. She writes about juggling a full-time career and parenthood at The 36-Hour Day, and about everything else at Write. Edit. Repeat. When she's not glued to the computer or solving a kid-related crisis, she's in the kitchen or, occasionally, asleep.

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee has a public meeting tomorrow. Click HERE for full details on how to participate.

Friday, April 30, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern

Agenda: The purpose of this IACC meeting is to welcome the new members of the IACC and to discuss IACC activities including the 2009 IACC Summary of Advances and the 2009 Portfolio Analysis. There will also be presentations on the Autism Treatment Network, autism in the DSM-V, stem cell research, nonverbal autism and comparative effectiveness research.

Place: The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Rotunda Room
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
 
Webcast Live: http://videocast.nih.gov/
Conference Call: USA/Canada Phone Number: 888-577-8995
Access code: 1991506 
Registration: http://www.acclaroresearch.com/oarc/4-30-10_IACC 

There's audio tape of Odgren, the video tape is an intense debate of whether a 16 year old should have ever been convicted of First Degree murder. They keep referring to him as having mental illness. "Completely lacking in social skills," in prison comes up in the conversation below. Worth watching to see perceptions outside our community. A recap of the murder is at
Boston.com.

(NECN) - Former Lincoln-Sudbury high school student John Odgren was convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a fellow student. A jury rejected a defense assertion that Odgren was legally insane when he stabbed 15-year-old James Alenson in a boys' bathroom in 2007. Odgren's lawyers said he had a long history of disorders including Asperger's syndrome and ADHD. Attorney Wendy Murphy joins Jim Braude on Broadside to discuss the Odgren case, as well as the anti-bullying legislation passed by Massachusetts legislators.

We've been following this story. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending for Erik Lippmann, of Santa Cruz, CA, or his family. His body has been found. Our condolences to his family and friends. This has been a very tough Autism Awareness Month, hasn't it?

From the Mercury News

 — An autistic Santa Cruz man missing for more than a week was found dead at Marina State Beach this morning, according to authorities.

Erik Lippmann, 30, walked away from his Seabright-area home April 21. People have searched relentlessly for Lippmann, who liked to walk through parks, forested areas and beaches, since his disappearance.

Around 8 a.m. today, someone found Lippmann's body on the beach near a sand plant north of Marina.

"He washed ashore," Santa Cruz police spokesman Zach Friend said.

Here's a beautiful, hopeful post by our good friend Barbara Fischkin about her son Dan Mulvaney's new home. Please congratulate Barbara and (and Dan) with comment over at Huffington Post.

In a ballroom in a Beaux Arts landmark building at the Bronx Zoo this week, housing rights for the disabled was on the agenda. The place was packed with the kind of federal, state and non-profit officials and administrators -- and just plain, old working heroes -- who are willing to wade through a dense bureaucracy because in the end it leads to justice.

I know they all have their stories to tell. This one, though, is dedicated to Bryan Greene, General Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development better known as HUD, who sat upfront. For our family HUD made a miracle possible. It approved funding and in turn, permission, for a terrific group home for our young adult son with autism to be opened by the Nassau County AHRC.

And so here's to Secretary Greene. With people like him at the helm we could someday live in a world where disabled individuals get the housing they need every day...

By Anne Dachel

Tuesday night’s PBS Frontline show, “The Vaccine War,” is getting a lot of reaction within the autism community today.  Before watching Frontline, I’d heard enough about the show not to expect fair coverage. The very title was misleading.  The word “war” makes one think of a conflict with two sides.  That’s not what PBS presented to the public however, and anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the vaccine controversy, could recognize the spin. 
 
On their website, PBS promoted this show saying, “In The Vaccine War, FRONTLINE lays bare the science of vaccine safety and examines the increasingly bitter debate between the public health establishment and a formidable populist coalition of parents, celebrities, politicians and activists who are armed with the latest social media tools -- including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter -- and are determined to resist pressure from the medical and public health establishments to vaccinate, despite established scientific consensus about vaccine safety.”
 
In truth, what we witnessed on PBS was yet another example of media bias and a distorted reporting of the facts.  Parents have grown weary of the mantra, “vaccines are safe, vaccines save lives.”  How many times has this issue been declared settled?  How many studies have been announced showing vaccines don’t have serious side effects like autism?  This debate shows no signs of stopping, despite the ardent efforts of shows like Frontline.
 
The claims of parents were noted and dismissed on Frontline.

By Katie Wright

If you watched “Frontline: The Vaccine Wars” you probably learned:

1) Unregulated free speech is dangerous, especially the internet which is a major cause of the autism epidemic

2) Parents have access to way too much information

3) Pediatricians, not children, are the real victims of this phony epidemic

4) Parents who do not vaccinate are selfish, naïve and are putting the health of the entire Unites States of America, and possibly the world, at risk.

5) Pandemics are always a plane ride away, so don’t get on that plane!

6) Despite numerous reports to the contrary, are no conflicts of interest between the CDC and the vaccine industry. That is why we were afraid to discuss it on “Frontline.”

7) The risks of unlimited vaccination are infinitesimally  small, so small you don’t even understand how small, teeny tiny small, so small we won’t measure it or allow public access to adverse vaccine reaction records

8) Parents who saw the children regress after multiple vaccines are “confused,” “emotional and “looking for someone to blame.”

9) Ashland, OR is a super dangerous place, filled with crazies

Frontline The Vaccine Wars complete interview with Jenny McCarthy

Jenny, in your book Louder than Words, you describe Evan's first and subsequent seizures. Summarize that episode, when he began having seizures.

One of the first signs when I knew something was wrong was one morning he slept in late. So I opened the door and just saw Evan struggling to breathe, and pasty white, blue lips, and shaking. I picked him up and just started screaming at the top of my lungs, ran down the hallway, called 911, and it took them about 20 minutes to stop what they were calling a seizure.

We went to the hospital. They blew it off as a febrile seizure -- seizures that you can get if you have a fever. And considering Evan did not have a fever, I was a little concerned.

Three weeks later we went down to Palm Springs to visit Grandma, and when I pulled Evan out of the car, he had this stoned look on his face. And shortly thereafter, his eyes rolled back, and I laid him down, and he was hardly taking in air, just turning blue. I called the paramedics. By the time they got there, he had gone into cardiac arrest. Halfway to the hospital, they gave me the thumbs up that they got him back.

Frontline "Vaccine Wars" Interview with Dr. Bob Sears.

Recount your first encounter with an anti-vaccine book with the DTP [diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis] vaccine.

I got interested in the topic of vaccines way back in medical school. A friend of mine convinced me to read a book about vaccines, and it ended up being a very anti-vaccine book. It was all about an old vaccine called the DTP vaccine that we don't use anymore. But the book talked a lot about the risks and the dangers of that vaccine. The author of that book was calling for that vaccine to no longer be used.

A number of years later, it turns out that they did discover that vaccine was causing a lot of very severe, life-threatening, even fatal side effects, so they did end up taking that vaccine off the market.

So it kind of opened my eyes to the fact that there are some very severe, fortunately very rare, side effects to vaccines, and I wanted to learn more about this issue. I started reading a lot more books.

And unfortunately, when you look at vaccine books on the market, you'll see they're for the most part very anti-vaccine. They only tell all the dangers and risks of vaccines, only that side of the story. I found there were no books out there that gave both sides of the story: the risks of vaccines versus the risks of the diseases. So that's what I set out to write about, was something that gave both sides of the issue so that parents can read something that helps them make an informed, educated decision.

Frontline The Vaccine Wars interview with J.B. Handley

How did your life change when you discovered your son had autism?

Everything changed from the day it happened. It was an immediate nightmare. It was 30 days of six, seven, eight hours of nonstop crying by both me and my wife. It was the painful realization that my son may not have the kind of life that I expected for him. And once the grief had passed just enough to get up off the floor, it was a mandate to do whatever I could do with the rest of my life to give him the best possible life.

How old was he when this happened?

He was just under 2 years old.

How did you discover this?

People sometimes talk about how these kids are diagnosed today at much higher rates, that we just have a more narrow filter, that parents are more paranoid.

You don't miss this. This wasn't something that was hard to figure out. The child stopped talking. He stopped socializing. He started doing extremely unusual behaviors that no other kid was doing -- running on walls, turning his eyes to the side, spinning around in circles, laughing for no reason. I mean, we watched our son decline into something we'd never seen before, and it didn't take us long, especially with the Internet, to go quickly look up some of these behaviors.

Food is #1 Rx for Autistic Children: |How to Get Others on Board

Join me on our FREE one hour teleclass so that you can learn about effective ways of getting others to support you in your child's dietary changes.

Call-in time is TODAY April 29th 12:30 PM Eastern email [email protected] for call in info.

www.autismhelpathome.com

Your In-laws, Your Neighbors, Your Schools and Your Spouse!
Getting Support Instead Of Resistance ~What To Say, and Why

Are you currently struggling with:

• Resistance to dietary changes from caregivers?

• Unintentional sabotage by well-meaning family members?

• Pressures from school, neighborhood and community?

Please read Jenny McCarthy's post and comment at Huffington Post.

When the producers of PBS's Frontline approached me to be interviewed for their new documentary "The Vaccine War," I accepted with a simple condition: doctors and scientists on our side of the vaccine-autism debate needed to have a voice, too.

Prior to agreeing to the interview, Frontline sent us this email:

"Frontline will carry out a detailed and even-handed investigation including voices from all sides of the controversy including parents, activists, physicians, scientists, lawyers, politicians and vaccine manufacturers."

You are invited to share your thoughts on vaccines in the PBS Frontline Vaccine Survey.

Please leave a comment here when you complete the survey. Thank you.

Please read the full post and comment at Huffington Post.

By Dr. Jay Gordon

PBS aired a show called "The Vaccine War." I was interviewed at great length and in great depth about vaccines and my point of view and expressed my ambivalence about the polarization of this issue and the need for more calm reasoned discussion about the number one question that new parents have. I told Kate McMahon, the co-producer of the show, that there was a large group of doctors and others who cannot be dismissed with the facile label "anti-vaccine" because we still give vaccines and see a place for them in the practice of medicine but we do not agree with the current vaccine schedule nor the number of vaccines children receive all at one time.

A few days ago, Ms.McMahon emailed me to tell me that the decision had been made to omit my interview from the show. There would not be one word from me. She didn't tell me that she had also omitted 100% of Dr. Robert Sears interview. And that any other comments from physicians supporting the parents on the show in their ambivalence about vaccines or their decision to refuse all vaccines would also be omitted.

She left this as a show with many doctors commenting very negatively, very frighteningly and often disdainfully and dismissively about vaccine "hesitation" as they called it.

Below is my email response to Kate McMahon.

Dear Kate,

The "Frontline" show was disgraceful. You didn't even have the courtesy to put my interview or any part of the two hours we spent taping on your web site.

You created a pseudo-documentary with a preconceived set of conclusions: "Irresponsible moms against science" was an easy takeaway from the show.

Did you happen to notice that Vanessa, the child critically ill with pertussis, was not intubated nor on a respirator in the ER? She had nasal "prongs" delivering oxygen. I'm sorry for her parents anxiety and very happy that she was cured of pertussis. But to use anecdotal reports like this as science is irresponsible and merely served the needs of the doctor you wanted to feature.

No one pursued Dr. Offit's response about becoming rich from the vaccine he invented. He was allowed to slide right by that question without any follow up. Dr. Paul Offit did not go into vaccine research to get rich. He is a scientist motivated by his desire to help children. But his profiting tens of millions of dollars from the creation of this vaccine and the pursuit of sales of this and other vaccines is definitely not what he says it is. His many millions "don't matter" he says. And you let it go.

From the International Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders.

It is with great sorrow that we share with you the news that Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D. died on April 27, 2010. Dr. Greenspan was the Founder and Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), founding member and past board president of Zero To Three: National Center for Infants,Toddlers, and Families and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Clinical Infant Developmental Program and Mental Health Study Center. As the world's foremost authority on clinical work with infants and young children with developmental and emotional problems, his work continues to guide parents, professionals and researchers all over the world.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Stanley Greenspan Memorial Scholarship fund, established by the Greenspan family to support future leaders in the field of infant mental health and developmental disorders, currently enrolled or applying to the ICDL Graduate School. Applications for this scholarship will be made available online soon.

Please read the full article and comment over at The Lakeland Times.

By Richard Moore

For much of the past decade, as autism diagnoses have surged, there has been a broad effort by the mainstream media, the government and the scientific community to dispel any notion that autism might have some environmental connection or that childhood vaccines might trigger the disorder.

Along with an escalation of autism occurrences has come an escalation of studies and articles and pronouncements designed to disprove any environmental component, or to rationalize away any real increase. No fewer than 19 studies have brushed aside any vaccine link, for example, while the federal government, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has expended great time and money to reassure the public that vaccines are safe.

The same for the national media. In 2008, for instance, Time Magazine ran a glowing piece on the "miracle marvel" of vaccinations and their benefits.

"CDC officials estimate that fully vaccinating all U.S. children born in a given year from birth to adolescence saves 33,000 lives, prevents 14 million infections and saves $10 billion in medical costs," the article by Alice Park stated. "Part of the reason is that the vaccinations protect not only the kids who receive the shots but also those who can't receive them-such as newborns and cancer patients with suppressed immune systems."

The New York Times, too, has acted as a vocal instrument of the pharmaceutical industry, as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., pointed out last year on The Huffington Post, saying The Times acted as a "blind mouthpiece" for the government and a leading defender of vaccine safety.

Today, well into 2010, there's no question the academic, pharmaceutical and mainstream media bias toward vaccine safety still exists, but new studies are forcing at least some professionals to look again at toxicity as a real cause of autism...

Richard Moore can be reached at [email protected]. Please read the full article and comment over at The Lakeland Times.

Age of Autism has been reporting the story of Harry Horne-Roberts since his death in December last year – the double victim of iatrogenic abuse (Autism's Harsh Reality, Parents Welcome Inquiry) . Here his parents Keith and Jennifer – Jennifer is a British lawyer - declare their determination to do everything in their power to bring to an end this tragic episode in human history, which has destroyed and damaged so many promising young lives, by bringing the Urabe atrocity to court.

Dr.Andrew Wakefield's latest video interview, (HERE) courtesy of Alan Golding, includes the true and horrifying story of the UK government's introduction of the Urabe strain MMR vaccines Pluserix and Imravax into the UK in 1988, although the vaccines had already been withdrawn as dangerous by that date in Canada.

So the UK government knowingly introduced  dangerous vaccines into the UK - only the names had been changed.

As the result many thousands of children became autistic, including Harry Horne-Roberts whose story and tragic death have featured  recently on Age of Autism, Matthew Butler and William Cramer - all members of the MMR 10 whose legal challenge to the UK government went to the European Court of Human Rights.

The introduction of the dangerous vaccines was by a Tory government - Thatcher was in office in 1988. The Urabe vaccines were withdrawn in the UK in 1992, renamed and sent to the Third World where they did untold damage including in Brazil.

The Tory government in 1988 had given  the pharmaceutical companies immunity from civil suit  should any tragically damaged children subsequently sue.  The Labour government elected in 1997  has continued to cover-up the abuse.

Welcome to Age of Autism.

There are many important topics within the autism epidemic. Vaccination is certainly one of them. If you have a child on the spectrum and/or to learn more about your parental choice regarding vaccination, we suggest you read The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for your Child by Dr. Bob Sears, visit The National Vaccine Information Center for Exemption Rights Info, read  Healing and Preventing Autism by Dr. Jerry Kartzinel and Jenny McCarthy, and Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons. We've pulled a few posts from our extensive archives for new readers to review.

Dr. Paul Offit, The Autism Expert. Doesn't See Patients with Autism?

From Safety Last to Children First: A White Paper On Vaccine Safety (Prepared For The Blue Ribbon Panel On Vaccine Safety) written by Mark F. Blaxill, Director, SafeMinds and Barbara Loe Fisher, President, National Vaccine Information Center

Vaccine Injury Story on American Idol? We Are the Mainstream. Public Health and Media is the Fringe.

Tinderbox: U.S. Vaccine Fears up 700% in 7 years 

Counting Offit's Millions: How Merck Made Him Wealthy

Mark Blaxill on Wakefield in USA Today: 'Believe objective science and parents, not the medical industry or the media frenzy"

Parents vs. the Science? Ask Geraldine Dawson and Autism Speaks.

Temple Grandin on Vaccines -- If There's a Risk, "Space Them Out." 

RotaTeq, The Vaccine No One Wants

Paul Offit's Work

First Fraud: Dr. Poul Thorsen and the original “Danish Study”

The Truth about Gardasil? It’s Destroying our Girls.

Scandal Looms Over Key Scientist In Danish Mercury Autism Study

Naked Intimidation: The Wakefield Inquisition is Only the Tip of the Autism Censorship Iceberg

I Am Josh. A Boy After His MMR.

Vaccine Contamination: Pig Virus DNA Found in Rotarix 

India Suspends Gardasil Program After Four Deaths and Complications in 120 Girls 

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Grant Park, Downtown Chicago 
 
Chicago: The Windy City, That Toddling Town, My Kind of Town and now we want it to be your kind of town -- full of the helpful and hopeful parents, families, educators, researchers, organizations, doctors, therapists, and all who care about the sanctity of human rights. As Autism One fast approaches in Chicago (5/24-5/30),  you're invited by the group American Personal Rights to attend the American Rally for Personal Rights. From the group:

We believe in the rights to life, liberty, and personal security for ourselves and our children. We demand the universal human rights standard of informed consent for all medical interventions. Compulsory vaccination cannot be legally and morally justified. We affirm the sanctity of personal space, the right to be left alone, and the freedom to make personal health care decisions guided by the professionals of our choosing. We invite all people, families and organizations committed to protecting these fundamental rights to stand with us in downtown Chicago on May 26, 2010 at our inaugural rally, and to work with us after the event to support grassroots advocacy, education, and leadership in defense of our personal – individual, parental, legal, moral, religious, civil, and human – rights. Here are the participating organizations.
 
UNVEILING... THE RALLY PLATFORM SPEAKERS!

Our two-hour rally program will feature platform and rapid testimony speakers. A couple of notable leading voices will be added to this list soon. Listed in alphabetical order, we proudly announce our platform speakers:

Judith Converse, MPH, RD, LD. Judy will describe the American public health crisis. In addition to testifying before state and federal lawmakers on vaccine safety, she works closely with our most vulnerable and damaged children. An author of three books on the subject, Judy is a licensed registered dietitian specializing in pediatric special needs nutrition care since 1999. 
 
Louise Kuo Habakus. Louise is the lead organizer and emcee of the Rally. Through the selection of speakers and coordination of the rally program, she will show that the ascendant zeitgeist of vaccination is first and foremost a rights issue. Louise is a board-certified health practitioner specializing in homotoxicology and integrative nutrition. A former senior corporate executive, she is the founder of Life Health Choices and a founding board member of the Center for Personal Rights. 
 
Boyd Haley, PhD. Boyd will speak to the organic chemistry of vaccine ingredients. He is Professor Emeritus and former Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky. Boyd is the founder and President of CTI Science, a biotechnology company. 

You're invited to join us here at Age of Autism and on Twitter for live blogging/Tweeting during PBS Frontline's "The Vaccine War" tonight at 9pm EDT. Check your local listings. We have heard that Dr. Jay Gordon and Dr. Bob Sears, who were interviewed, were left on the cutting room floor, ensuring that the slant is "Mommies and Daddies and activists" versus "science." We'll have to watch to find out for certain. Here are the PBS sites where you can comment as well. 
 
PBS Ombudsmen for Feedback  
www.pbs.org/frontline/vaccines
www.facebook.com/frontlinepbs
www.twitter.com/frontlinepbs

By Dan Olmsted

Gary Golkiewicz, chief special master of federal vaccine court when the key rulings denying a link between autism and vaccines were issued, has stepped down from that post, replaced by a judge who – perhaps ominously -- seems to believe in moving cases through the court on as fast a track as possible.
 
The court gave no reason for the change. Golkiewicz was in charge of the court from October 1988 – the year it was created by Congress – until April 8. His replacement is Sandra Dee Lord, who became a special master in vaccine court only last July. She was previously an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration in Raleigh, N.C.
 
Here is the press release: “Chief Judge Emily C. Hewitt of the United States Court of Federal Claims (USCFC) announces the USCFC’s appointment on April 8, 2010 of Special Master Sandra D. (Dee) Lord to the position of Chief Special Master of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (Vaccine Program), located within the USCFC by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 to -34. Chief Special Master Lord succeeds to the position held by former Chief Special Master Gary Golkiewicz, who continues his service to the Vaccine Program as Special Master.”
 
In an e-mail to interested parties, Lord wrote: “As the newly-appointed Chief Special Master, I would like to extend my 
greetings and share with you my excitement about the Office of Special 
Masters.  My goal is to continue our office's tradition of objective and 
compassionate decision-making.

 I am pleased to have this opportunity to recognize Gary Golkiewicz, who
 will continue his service as a Special Master, for the more than 20 years
of service he provided as Chief.  The considerable achievements of the
 Office of Special Masters are due in large measure to Gary's skill, vision
 and effort.”
 
She added: “My colleagues and I look forward to working with you to ensure prompt and 
fair adjudication for injured petitioners and their families under the
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.”
 
Autism parents and their attorneys who’ve dealt with the vaccine court would take issue with the idea that the process has ever been “objective and dispassionate,” as the three special masters who issued a total of six rulings in the MMR and thimerosal omnibus cases, while oozing pity for the families left to deal with autistic children with no money, were snarky and condescending, suggesting parents were duped by ridiculously bogus scientific theories and greedy lawyers. Yet government lawyers conceded one case before it was even heard – stipulating that Hannah Poling’s autism and seizure disorders were caused by vaccinations. And, it turns out, a number of other rulings over the years awarded compensation to children for what were actually symptoms of autism by any other name.
 
But with the MMR and thimerosal decisions handed down, the vaccine court masters have at least temporarily shut down the more than 5,000 parents who went to the court alleging vaccines did in fact cause their child’s autism. The remaining avenue – allowing the cases to be heard in regular courts – is the subject of a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. If that goes against autism families, the government will effectively have blocked every avenue of judicial review.

Please vote for SafeMinds to share in $50,000 prize from the E-Bay Social Media Fundraising Tournament for environmental organizations.  Did you know for every 1,000 pounds of environmentally-released mercury there was a 43% increase in the rate of special education services and a 61% increase in autism?  Not only will your support help SafeMinds win a much-needed donation, it will drive awareness to the fact that exposure to mercury is a huge issue for pregnant women, infants and children.  Currently SafeMinds is in the number 2 position . . . vote for SafeMinds and spread the word via facebook and twitter.  You can earn extra votes by donating and spreading the word.  Thank you. http://tiny.cc/votesafeminds

TODAY on the VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel
April 27, 12 noon ET
www.health.voiceamerica.com

The Best Kind of Different: Our Family's Journey with Asperger's Syndrome with author Shonda Schilling

In The Best Kind of Different, Shonda Schilling, the wife of Major League Baseball All Star, former Boston Red Sox, and World Series championship pitcher Curt Schilling, shares the story of their son’s Asperger’s Syndrome, how it changed their lives, and what other parents can learn about this increasingly common diagnosis. Candid and compelling, The Best Kind of Different traces their family’s struggle with Asperger’s, following Curt and Shonda as they come to understand their son’s differences and in the process relearn everything they thought they knew about parenting.

Please visit Harper Collins Books to learn more.

By Katie Wright

The grants AS’ Scientific Advisory Committee have chosen to fund are alienating the community of families. Parents see the redundancy and waste in so many over financed genetic and behavioral projects at the expense of meaningful treatment, biomedical interventions and environmental causation research. Over and over and over again, when board members had the opportunity to fund an innovative researcher, someone outside the box, someone studying critical environmental factors, someone proposing biomedical treatments, they have chosen the same names and the same tired projects. This tiny review board is jeopardizing Autism Speaks’ relationship with the community of families, who have a right to expect better.

First let’s look at the scientific grants. $450,000 to studying Skank 3- genetics. $450,000 to study social processing. $450,000 to study Fragile X mutant mice- genes. $265,000 to study Fragile X genetic links. $449,000 to study early identification in infants- the 10th such AS study. $450,000 to do a study on the outcome of ASD adults in order to identify their needs (good but ask the parents!) as well as a study on the effects of loss of sleep.

All these grants are modeled on the paradigm “autism is genetic” and this committee’s belief that dozens of early identification studies are an appropriate substitute for research helping children living today with autism. Social processing, visual processing, face processing are dated over researched tools for studying autism as a wholly heritable, genetic and behaviorally mediated disorder. There is nothing innovative here. A number of GI studies were rejected. An important biomedical treatment study for children with regressive autism was rejected as well as meaningful and under financed environmental research. No research on adjuvants, autoimmune interventions, severe food allergies or the urgent and immediate needs of ASD children and adults with severe chronic illnesses.

The study on the effects of loss of sleep isn’t bad, it just isn’t great. Don’t we already know (or better yet- live with) sleep deprived children and see everyday how it hinders their academic progress? Rather than describe what we already now, why not invest in research that would address the biological causes of wakefulness (often pain) and research cutting edge interventions?

The scientific advisory board is betting the house that millions of dollars invested into Fragile X, Retts and Tuberous Sclerosis will somehow, some way, some day benefit the other 90% of ASD children without these defining chromosomal defects. Reasonable people can agree to disagree on this research, but by any stretch of the imagination the sheer amount of Fx, Retts and TB grants is excessive. How could they fail to realize that?

Your kid is in unbearable gut pain? Tough luck. Your child regressed after multiple vaccines? Too bad. Your child is chronically sick and there are virtually no doctors or interventions available? Sorry. You are terrified to vaccinate your second child because you don’t know if the vaccine schedule is safe? Sorry the Scientific Advisory Committee can’t help you.

By Kim Stagliano

Katie Wright wrote a powerful post today titled, Why The AS Scientific Advisory Committee Needs to Resign that raises excellent questions. As a corollary to her post, I'll add that in May, 2006, I met Suzanne Wright at an event for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation held in Waltham, Massachusetts. I had high hopes that this large, shiny, glitzy, well funded organization called "Autism Speaks" was going to make a real difference for my children, their older peers on the spectrum, and those to follow. I asked Mrs. Wright  blunt (but polite) questions. "Shouldn't we find out what's causing autism?" And Is Autism Speaks going to investigate vaccines as a cause of autism? She answered with a definitive, "YES." In the meantime, the autism numbers have gone from 1 in 166 to 1 to 150 to 1 in 110. Here's the video: (Thank you to Erik Nanstiel of FAIR Autism Media for the code.) Why isn't the science committee listening to their own founder? 

Every year the Wrights win humanitarian awards presented at fancy white tablecloth dinners. It does not appear that they wield any particular influence in their organization, however, given Katie's article on where the science funding continues to go. Meanwhile, the walks continue to rake in millions from parents and loved ones of the autism community. And good people from coast to coast work in the trenches on their behalf. No one says we all have to sit back and watch Autism Speaks grab for all the marbles. Or wait for them to conduct research. We have a few aggies of our own, don't we?

Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor for Age of Autism. Her "Kimoir," All I Can Handle, I'm No Mother Teresa, is available for pre-order at Amazon and will debut in November.

At the Autism One/Generation Rescue 2010 Conference
May 24-30, 2010
Chicago, Illinois
www.autismone.org

You Deserve It! Dinner and Dance Featured Speaker

Shonda Schilling, author of The Best Kind of Different:Our Family's Journey with Asperger's Syndrome

In The Best Kind of Different, Shonda Schilling, the wife of Major League Baseball All Star, former Boston Red Sox, and World Series championship pitcher Curt Schilling, shares the story of their son’s Asperger’s Syndrome, how it changed their lives, and what other parents can learn about this increasingly common diagnosis. Candid and compelling, The Best Kind of Different traces their family’s struggle with Asperger’s, following Curt and Shonda as they come to understand their son’s differences and in the process relearn everything they thought they knew about parenting.

Until the summer of 2007, the word Asperger's, was not a part of Shonda Schilling's vocabulary, but that summer changed everything. By then, her household was in chaos as her son Grant spiraled out of control. His acting out and refusal to listen had grown to epic proportions, but even worse was his apparent inability to relate to the people around him. None of the Schillings' other three kids ever acted like Grant; his behavior wasn't just unruly, it was irrational.

Complicating matters was the fact that Shonda's husband, Curt, was constantly on the road pitching for the Boston Red Sox, so he wasn't always around to see Grant's behavior firsthand. Seemingly everyone Shonda encountered had an opinion—"he's too spoiled," "he needs a good spanking," "he needs more discipline"—but it was a disastrous first attempt at summer camp that told Shonda something was definitely wrong. It was then that a neurologist diagnosed Grant with Asperger's syndrome—a form of high-functioning autism that, in recent years, has been found in children who at first glance appear disruptive and difficult.

PBS Frontline to feature, "The Vaccine War" on April 27th. Check your local listings. From their site:

Public health scientists and clinicians tout vaccines as one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine.  But for many ordinary Americans vaccines have become controversial.  Young parents are concerned at the sheer number of shots--some 26 inoculations for 14 different diseases by age 6--and follow alternative vaccination schedules advocated by gurus like Dr. Robert Sears.  Other parents go further.  In communities like Ashland, Oregon, up to one-third of parents are choosing not to vaccinate their kids at all.  And some advocacy groups, like Generation Rescue, argue that vaccines are no longer a public health miracle but a scourge; they view vaccines as responsible for alarming rises in certain disorders, including ADHD and autism.  This is the vaccine war: On one side sits scientific medicine and the public health establishment; on the other a populist coalition of parents, celebrities (like Jenny McCarthy), politicians and activists.  It's a war that increasingly takes place on the Internet with both sides using the latest social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter, to win the hearts and minds of the public.

MON AM: KEVIN KWOK HAS BEEN FOUND SAFE. Kevin Kwok was found around 7:30 p.m. Sunday after his parents alerted officers of his disappearance from their home at 138 Bonis Ave, just south of the Tam O’Shanter Golf Course at 9 p.m. Saturday. Security guards in a nearby building found him in an apartment; police suspect the youth simply wandered into the building, said Sgt. Shane Penton.

This just hit Google from The Star News in Toronto, Ontario. Also, Erik Lippman, 30, with autism, is still listed as missing in Santa Cruz, CA.

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in finding a missing autistic teen in Scarborough. Kevin Kwok, 17, was last seen Saturday night around 9 p.m. in his home at 138 Bonis Ave., just south of the Tam O’Shanter Golf Course. He is described as being about 5-foot-6, 130 pounds, with a thin build. He was last seen wearing an orange Adidas T-shirt and black shorts. Police are concerned for his safety as he requires medication.

Anyone with information is asked to call 42 Division at 416-808-4200   Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

RE: Erik Lippman, from IndyBay News org:

The search continues for Erik Lippmann, the local autistic man who went missing from his apartment in the Seabright/Broadway block of Santa Cruz early Wednesday morning. Family and local authorities are asking for volunteers to help continue the search in Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas. Updates and information on volunteering can be found by visiting the facebook group, linked below, or by contacting Raquel Cool at raquelcherylcool [at] gmail.com. (Click photo to enlarge.)

I Googled this story from Australia. I got a few hits with an ad for the pertussis vaccine on top. You might call that one medical error regarding chelation (and the death of a child) a few years back garnered gallons of ink. The Chicago Tribune missed this story too - isn't that shocking?

Our condolences to the grieving family. Please go to News.com/au for the full story.

A FAMILY is in mourning after their toddler unexpectedly died less than 12 hours after receiving a seasonal flu vaccination.

Two-year-old twin Ashley Jade Epapara had been "perfectly fine" before dying at her Upper Mt Gravatt home, on Brisbane's southside, on April 9. Parents David and Nicole are shattered by the mysterious death of their baby girl. "It's dreadful, it's a very hard time," Mr Epapara said yesterday.

National health authorities have ordered doctors to stop giving seasonal influenza vaccinations to children under five after dozens of serious reactions, including convulsions...

Our friends at HandHold Adaptive are giving away FIVE copies of iPrompts ®: The original picture-based prompting app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad!

HandHold Adaptive will give away five free copies of iPrompts to its Facebook fans in a random drawing. The drawing will be conducted on the morning of May 1. All Facebook users who become a fan of iPrompts by midnight on April 30 are eligible to receive one of the five free copies.
 
To enter, join the Facebook iPrompts Fan Page HERE.

Thousands of caregivers use iPrompts® to provide visual support for those with language and behavioral challenges, including autism and ADD/ADHD. Acclaimed in news stories around the world, iPrompts® also works great with typical kids!

At $49.99, iPrompts® is hundreds of dollars less expensive than DynaVox Mayer-Johnson’s Boardmaker® v.6. And, 10% of all iPrompts® sales benefit Autism Speaks™, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization. Purchase at HandHold Adaptive.

iPrompts® offers many innovative advantages over traditional Velcro®-backed picture cards:

■ Create visual prompts “on-the-go,” adapting quickly as situations change.  No need to spend hours creating image cards by printing, cutting and laminating.   

■ No bulky or stigmatizing binders or strips of images.

■ Store thousands of images in your pocket.  Add your own pictures to the hundreds of stock images included within iPrompts®.

■ Electronically backlit images are bright and visible any time of day or night.

■ Paperless and environmentally friendly. 
iPrompts® includes several easy-to-use, visual prompting templates (no audio prompts or voice output) to help individuals transition from one activity to the next, understand upcoming events, make choices, and focus on the task at hand.

Please Join Us For
 A Cocktail Reception 
To benefit

The Elizabeth Birt Center for
Autism Law and Advocacy (EBCALA)
An AutismOne Initiative
~Serving the legal needs of the autism community~

Monday, May 3, 2010
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Presentation begins at 7:15 p.m.
Cosmopolitan Club
122 East 66th Street (near Lexington Ave.)
Manhattan
Please reserve your space by April 20th

Honoring Mary Coyle, 
John Gilmore and Robert Krakow

For their years of service and dedication
to the Autism community
$150 minimum donation*
*Donations are tax deductible less $50 per reception ticket

To learn more about the work of EBCALA, please visit HERE 
RSVP HERE  
 
Host Committee:  Kevin Barry, Lisa Colin, Louis Conte, Daniele Gerard,
Louise Habakus, Jimmie and James Holland, Mary Holland,
David Kirby, Kim Mack-Rosenberg, Lisa Rudley,
Sabeeha and Khalid Rehman and Katie Weisman

Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal. Thank you to Michael Belkin for the info. 

"There's no way to sugarcoat the last 12 months," Bruce Aylward, a WHO official, told Mr. Gates in the meeting in the underground pandemic center last June. He described how the virus was rippling through countries believed to have stopped the disease.

Mr. Gates asked: "So, what do we do next?"

That question goes to the heart of one of the most controversial debates in global health: Is humanity better served by waging wars on individual diseases, like polio? Or is it better to pursue a broader set of health goals simultaneously—improving hygiene, expanding immunizations, providing clean drinking water—that don't eliminate any one disease, but might improve the overall health of people in developing countries?

The new plan integrates both approaches. It's an acknowledgment, bred by last summer's outbreak, that disease-specific wars can succeed only if they also strengthen the overall health system in poor countries.

If successful, the recalibrated campaign could shape global health strategy for decades and boost fights against other diseases. A failure could rank the effort as one of the most expensive miscalculations in mankind's long war with disease. Already, polio has evaded a two-decade-long, $8.2 billion effort to kill it off.

Big donors have long preferred fighting individual diseases, known as a "vertical" strategy. The goal is to repeat 1979's victory over smallpox, the only disease ever to be eradicated. By contrast, the broader, "horizontal" strategy has less well-defined goals and might not move the needle of global health statistics for years.

The polio fight is a lesson for Mr. Gates's foundation, which is funding other vaccines that could face similar setbacks.

 

Autism debate focuses on question of epidemic Global pandemic, or myth?

By Richard Moore
Investigative Reporter

Read the full article and comment at Wisconsin's, The Lakeland Times. 

Second in a series, the first was: Autism diagnoses explode off the charts - 1 in 110 affected

Children who are diagnosed with autism are described as being "on the spectrum," sitting along the range of neurological impairments, from mild to severe, that compose autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, but it could be said those so diagnosed are not the only ones on an autism spectrum.

In the politically-tinted scientific world, there is what might be called a spectrum of causality, a sweep of beliefs about autism yielding two opposing viewpoints - those who believe the globe is engulfed in an autism pandemic constituting a major public health crisis, and those scientists who say it is all a myth.

Put UW-Madison Dr. Morton Anne Gernsbacher in the latter group.

"If you have learned anything about autism lately from the popular media, you most likely have learned - erroneously - that there is 'a mysterious upsurge' in the prevalence of autism (citations omitted), creating a 'baffling . . . outbreak,' in which new cases are 'exploding in number' and 'no one knows why,'" Gernsbacher wrote in a 2005 paper, Three Reasons Not to Believe in an Autism Epidemic. "However, no sound scientific evidence indicates that the increase in the number of diagnosed cases of autism arises from anything other than intentionally broadened diagnostic criteria, coupled with deliberately greater public awareness and conscientiously improved case finding."

Put Dr. Bernadine Healey, the past director of the National Institutes of Health, in the former grouping.

"I think one has to listen to the families of these children," Healey said on Larry King Live in April 2009. "I have always believed, you listen to the patients and the patients will teach. I think there are many legitimate concerns that families have. And I honestly believe that the focus that we have on autism today and the embarrassing recognition that we know so little about it, in terms of what causes it, in terms of how to treat it, in terms of whether it's dynamic, whether it's structural, I think that says that we have neglected this disease for all too long in the face of this growing epidemic."

Certainly no one disputes the exponential rise in autism diagnoses.

"Lu" is the winner of Dr. Bob Sears's, The Autism Book: What Every Parent Needs to Know About Early Detection, Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention from Little Brown. Don't forget to leave a review at Amazon after you read the book. You can purchase a copy for just $8.99 HERE. Also available on Kindle.

From Amazon: With clarity and compassion, Dr. Robert Sears guides the reader through the maze of autism, explaining what precautions parents can take to decrease their baby's risk, how to detect autism at the earliest possible age, and how to proceed once a diagnosis has been made. The book provides parents with a simple and clear understanding of the biomedical treatment approach that Dr. Sears has used successfully with many of his young patients. It lays out a plan for developmental, behavioral, and learning therapies; shows parents how to begin treatments without a doctor's help; presents information on vaccines and their safe use; and includes an extensive resources section. THE AUTISM BOOK provides all the information and reassurance parents need.

Our commenter of the week is Sylvia: "This is so awful - there are no words for it. This beautiful boy is in the morgue, and Offit is home lighting his cigars with hundred dollar bills. Julie Gerberding is looking at the 2011 BMW catalogue. Marie McCormick is planning her summer in the Hamptons. Gardner Harris is polishing his awards for fine "journalism". The world is definitely not a fair place. My heart aches for Aiden's family. I hope they can find some sort of peace someday," on the post Toddler Wanders and Perishes.

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.

Are poor children with disabilities more likely to be drugged than those from wealthier families?  This story raises many valid questions for our community. From the Miami Herald:

State healthcare regulators have booted from the state Medicaid program a Miami psychiatrist who had prescribed a cocktail of potent mental health drugs to an autistic, 12-year-old boy who later died of complications from over-medication.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees the state Medicaid program for the needy and disabled, has notified Dr. Steven L. Kaplan that he has been terminated from the insurance program effective May 17, said Tiffany Vause, an agency spokeswoman in Tallahassee.

Vause said Kaplan, like all Medicaid providers, had signed a ``voluntary contract'' with the state. ``The agency elected to terminate the agreement as it was believed to be in the interest of the program to do so.''

``We will be working to ensure a smooth transition of care for his patients,'' Vause added.

Kaplan declined to speak with a Miami Herald reporter Tuesday.

Kaplan, who treats about 800 patients -- most of them disabled or impoverished children -- was the subject of a report in The Miami Herald on Monday. The story said administrators at three state agencies had expressed concerns about Kaplan's prescribing of psychiatric drugs to disabled children before and after the May 23, 2007, death of 12-year-old Denis Maltez.

Denis, who weighed 70 pounds, had been on three different mental health drugs, two of them in the maximum dose, at the time he died, a consultant for the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities wrote.

This is Graham Parker live in Fairfield, CT singing "I've got mercury poisoning!!" Man, did he know I was coming to the show? KS

Please read and comment at Huffington Post HERE.

By David Kirby

If it seems like most of the people you know with autism are 22 or younger, that's because most people diagnosed with autism were born after 1987. A recent US EPA study has found a distinct "changepoint" year - or spike - in autism in California and elsewhere and concludes that it would be "prudent to assume that at least some portion of this increase is real and results from environmental factors."

"In the Danish, California, and worldwide data sets, we found that an increase in autism disorder cumulative incidence began about (the birth cohort years) 1988-1989," wrote the authors Michael E. Mc Donald and John F. Paul, of the EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory.

"Although the debate about the nature of increasing autism continues," they added, "the potential for this increase to be real and involve exogenous (external) environmental stressors exists."

But it was the distinct timing in the increase of autism - the birth of an epidemic, as many believe - that was most notable, and which "may help in screening for potential candidate environmental stressors."

"The calculated year was determined to be significant," the EPA scientists said. The rate of increase before 1988 "was significantly different" than the rate after that year (the "postchangepoint," in epidemiology parlance). In California, the rate spiked from 5.7-per-10,000 before the changepoint, to 20.8-per 10,000 in its wake, and the worldwide dataset showed a similar jump (from 6.0 to 24.2). In Denmark, the rise was even more dramatic, though total incidence was only a fraction of that in the US: from 0.6 to 6.6....

Please read and comment at Huffington Post HERE.

David Kirby is the author of the critically acclaimed Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment available now at Amazon.  He is also the author of Evidence of Harm, a contributor to Huffington Post and a contributor to Age of Autism. 

National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) Meeting
Friday, April 23, 2010 3 - 5 pm EDT
Click HERE for more details

Participants call-in: 1-888-677-1385 Passcode: NVAC

3:00 pm
Introduction (5 minutes)
Dr. Gus Birkhead (NVAC Chair)
 
3:05 pm
Report of H1N1 Vaccine Safety Risk Assessment Working Group (VSRAWG)(15 minutes)
Dr. Marie McCormick
 
3:25 pm
Public Comment (10 minutes)

Below is a portion of the detailed report generated from a new survey titled, National Autism Survey Evaluating the Satisfaction With the US Government’s Investment and Approach To Investigating Causes of Autism, by Beth Clay. You can read the Full Report HERE  including charts and graphs.
 
"There is the need to regard Autism Spectrum Disorders as an urgent public health concern." (CDC)

Author: Beth Clay

National Autism Survey
March 2010

Introduction: In March 2010, an online survey was launched to seek current perspectives from individuals in the autism community as it relates to the United States (US) government’s handling of autism research. The survey was promoted on Facebook, Twitter, and through email. Several organizations and electronic information resources were gracious enough to post online or email an announcement of the survey for their constituents to be informed. These included Unlocking Autism, SafeMinds, Age of Autism, and the Schafer Autism Report.

In the Eyes of the Community They Serve, How are the CDC and NIH Doing? While I am a woman of many opinions, it is not my opinion that matters when it comes to evaluating the focus and investment of US government agencies into autism research. Rather it is the opinion those who are living with autism, individuals themselves, parents, grandparents, siblings of individuals with autism as well as medical and educational personnel working with individuals on the spectrum.

Who Might Benefit From This Report? The White House, Legislators, Policymakers, Autism and related organizations, researchers, educators, families and the media. More than 2,000 People Responded: It was hoped with the launch of the survey to have at least 1200 respondents in order to give the survey the power to be a ‘national’ survey. With 2090 individuals completing the survey of 14 questions, 12 of which were multiple choice questions, the goal was achieved. Question 13 requested demographic information including city, state, and country. Because there are many aspects of the government’s interaction with autism, research, services, and education, a final question was posed that provided the opportunity for a personalized text response. Sixteen hundred (1,600) individuals took the time to offer their personal comments on the government’s handling of autism spectrum issues.

Key Findings:

• 90.4% of the autism community is not satisfied with the level of resources and approach that the US government is taking in their investigating the causes of autism.

• Over 40% not satisfied at all with NIH’s spending on autism research. Only 1% completely satisfied.

• 41.6 % of respondents are completely dissatisfied with the NIH autism research focus.

• 43 % are not satisfied at all with the quality of research funded by the CDC as it related to autism statistics?

• 58.3% are not satisfied at all with the research conducted by or funded by the CDC regarding any potential relationship between autism and vaccine injury?

• 94.1% want to see more research funding on environmental toxins and their potential relationship to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders?

• 90.2% want to see parents have a greater say in what the government funds relative to autism spectrum disorders research?

• 90.3% want to see studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals to determine if there is a difference in the rates of autism and other medical conditions?

• 60.6% of respondents were parents of a child with autism who also has or has had gut issues.

We are pleased to share this opinion piece from Jeremy Sicile-Kira, whose Mom, Chantal Sicile-Kira is a writer and autism advocate (and a dear friend of ours.) Isn't it wonderful to hear from a person with autism who can represent those with more severe challenges than are usually represented, and who is not able to use traditional speech? It is our honor to showcase Jeremy's talents as a writer. We hope the autism community will embrace and celebrate his success. The original piece ran in the North County Times HERE. Please go leave a comment encouraging Jeremy to continue his writing. The intro is from Chantal:

Our pledge to spread awareness during Autism Awareness month  is going strong in our house. Yesterday, Jeremy Sicile-Kira had his first Op-Ed published in The North County Times. This morning, I was a guest for one hour on  "The State of Things" on North Carolina Public Radio station WUNC.   (I had to disagree with another guest about possible connection between autism and vaccines, and about the fact that there is more autism and not just better diagnosing. All in a day's work (HERE) -audio will not be available till a few hours after the show). Saturday I am presenting in North Carolina. Next Monday, April 26 I organized a book signing / fundraising event (latest book 41 Things to Know About Autism at a local bar/restaurant The Poseidon in Del Mar between 4-7 and funds will go to ARI and TACA, thanks to the owner of the restaurant and to the owner of the Bookworks. For more information go to my website and shoot me an email.

FORUM: It takes a community to assist those with autism

By JEREMY SICILE-KIRA -- TPHS student | Posted: April 20, 2010 12:01 am | 1 Comment | Print

I am 21 and I have autism. Recently, the state Senate passed a resolution making April Autism Awareness Month in California. The reason the resolution passed is because there are a lot more children diagnosed now than ever before (one in 110, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Autism is a label that is shared by people who have different abilities and challenges.

People in the autism community often say, "When you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." To be diagnosed with autism, you need to have challenges in the areas of communication and social relationships, and intense attachments to objects or topics.

I have been very lucky, and I would like to give back to my community by telling people what having autism is like. There are many people on the autism spectrum in our community, so it is important to realize what your fellow citizens have struggles with every day.

My greatest challenge is communication. I cannot talk very much. I have found a way to communicate, and this has changed my life. In high school, I learned to point with one finger to a letterboard or keyboard to do my homework and to communicate.

It has not always been easy. My mom never gave up on me. Once my mom found a way to teach me, the high school teachers were really great about trying the method and were successful. In June, I am graduating from Torrey Pines High School with a full academic diploma. I have a 3.5 GPA. I am concurrently taking a community college class. I am lucky to live in such a great community.

I behave strangely because of my sensory processing difficulties.

By Katie Wright

Yes, it is that time again. Time to download and listen in as our federal agencies’ representatives discuss autism research with a bizarre assortment of public and not so public members.

A few months ago the new president of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, met with a diverse group of community representatives in order to discuss this very issue. The National Autism Association, representing 12,000 dues paying parents and TACA representing 17,000 parents implored Dr. Collins to assign these organizations seats on IACC.  Of the 19 members on the committee, only 3, Lyn Redwood, Lee Grossman and Stephen Shore represent a significant public constituency. The committee is currently over-staffed with an excess of poorly informed, frequently absent and late federal members.

Dr. Collins graciously listened to our concerns and promised to give the matter careful consideration.  New appointees will be announced at the April 30th full committee meeting. It would be wonderful to put this rancor behind us by finally giving the families the representation they deserve, on the committee they made possible. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if the important issues could be openly discussed at committee meetings rather than only in irate public comments, angry e-mails to Congressional representatives and blogs? Community advocates deserve a voice commensurate with their constituencies.

Tuesday’s mini conference call was attended by IACC Director, Dr. Tom Insel, SafeMinds co-founder Lyn Redwood (the only IACC member never to miss a meeting), Dr. Cathy Rice of the CDC, Jennifer Johnson, EdM of the Administration of Disabilities, Dr. Cindy Lawlor, Dr. Stephen Shore, Lee Grossman of ASA, and Dr. Walter Koroshtez of the Natl. Instit. Of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. I apologize if I am missing anyone, but it is very difficult to identify people when they do not give their name when speaking.

By Sandy Gottstein

This column was originally posted as a Scandals  on Vaccination News.

It took 26 years for the families of babies who died from a perhaps well-meaning, but ill-conceived, effort to prevent blindness by delivering intravenous vitamin E to “premies”, to get compensation.  Finally, though, there is some justice in the form of the settlement of a class-action suit (HERE) brought long ago against the manufacturers.

The lawsuit concerned 38 babies identified by the CDC as having been effected, although more are known to have died.  Each and every one of those deaths was tragic and unnecessary. 

The tragedy would have been compounded, however, had no one cared to investigate the deaths.  The tragedy would have been compounded if the deaths were presumed to be unrelated and relegated to the rock-heap of coincidental events.

But they were acknowledged and investigated; additional unnecessary deaths were thus averted.

But, of course, it was investigated.  It was a vitamin, for God’s sake!  Who cares if vitamins are found guilty? 

The Bolted Horse

There is one consolation that I will bring to that house of misery
 - a clear conscience, a heart whose still small voice
 tells me that I have done no wrong to upbraid myself with.
 This is the consolation that I have - that my conscience is clear.

Augustine E. Costello in1867
Speeches from the Dock, M.H.Gill & Sons

By Martin Walker

On Tuesday 13th April and Wednesday 14th April, its 200th day, the hearing sat in order to hear mitigation and assess  'sentencing' arguments on behalf of Professor Murch and Professor John Walker-Smith. Dr Wakefield, disgusted by the clearly biased 'findings on fact' in January, had decided to have no more to do with the hearing. Mr Miller, counsel for Professor John Walker-Smith, presented his case on Tuesday and on Wednesday, Mr Hopkins for Professor Murch presented evidence to their character and integrity while arguing the words 'serious', 'professional' and 'misconduct'.

 So essentially, all parties having been found guilty on most if not all the charges, the tribunal was about to pick the carcass clean arguing politely about who received which internal organs. Although from the perspective of the legal profession, perhaps even from the perspective of the medical profession, one can understand the defence attesting to the good character of the defendants, over a single day after the prosecution has spent over two and a half years attesting to their dishonesty and unethical behaviour, from my perspective and perhaps that of other survivors of the nineteen sixties, this situation might have appeared absurd.

I often think back to the book, I'll Love You Forever, when I look at my girls. I used to sing to them, "I'll love you forever. I'l like you for always. As long as I'm living my baby you'll be." Little did I know that those words would have a sharper, more poignant meaning than I ever expected.

Erik Lippmann, age 30, autism, is missing from his home in Santa Cruz. He is someone's baby. It's been a tough month for missing people with autism. The ending isn't always happy. If you have info to help find Erik, please alert the Santa Cruz police. KS

Autistic Man Missing From Santa Cruz; Police Use New Alert System
 
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Santa Cruz Police is using a new tool to quickly get information out to the community.  It's an online system called Nixle; people can receive alerts on their phone or computer.

"We try to use that sparingly just for major incidents such as this and unfortunately the woman who went missing a couple weeks ago because it allows people to get the information on their cell phone, and if they're driving, they see the photo on their cell phone they can actually alert us immediately," said Zach Friend, Santa Cruz Police.

One of the major alerts that went out today is a missing autistic 30-year-old.  Erik Lippmann was last seen around 2 am Wednesday morning in the 1200 block of Seabright Avenue.  Officers sent an alert through Nixle shortly after he was reported missing.