Murder Suicide in Maine Starts Conversation About The Coming Flood
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:
And NPR in Maine has picked up the conversation, reporting the realities of the autism epidemic.
Gray Tragedy Focuses Attention on Pressures of Raising Kids With Autism
...Some observers warn about the coming surge in the number of adults recognized as having autism. Ginger Taylor of Brunswick has an eight-year old autistic son and writes a blog for families affected by the condition. She recently set up Greater Brunswick Special Families -- a support group for parents of autistic children. "There's this autism tsunami," she says. "There started to be a huge increase in autism rates in the late 80s and early 90s. It's been growing 10 to 17 percent a year."
According to figures from the U.S. Center for Disease Control, cases of autism diagnosed among Maine school children rose by nearly 4,000 percent between 1992 and 2008, reaching more than 2,200. Ten years ago, about 1 in 750 children was diagnosed with autism -- now according to the CDC, the figure is about 1 in 150...
Read and listen to the full piece here
MMM
I am so sorry.
I have just a small idea of how it is. Mad one minute and so very sorry the next - breaks your heart. Breaks mine. I am so sorry you and your son have to be separated.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 03, 2010 at 11:34 AM
ANGIE ---- GREAT POST!!!
....... When the billionaires kids GET IT, their Grandkids GET IT, or the Pharma pigs kids or grandkids GET IT, or high Government officials kids or grandkids GET IT, then maybe, MAYBE everyone will GET IT and FINALLY SAY "Holy CRAP, what have we done?"....
As a Mom of a 23 yr old son with autism who is non-verbal, extreme OCD, aggression.... I KNOW how BAD and deadly it can be. My son has been living in a state residential center 70 miles away since October 2009 because of his aggression. I didn't know if I could handle it, but I have to. I hate it. You almost wish you could die of something to take away the pain. Which is worse, I don't know? Daily head butts, hair pulling, breast punches, head slammed into the floor, hiding behind your locked bedroom door... I guess being alive is better. I guess my son living in a residential facility instead of jail is better. A year ago a KSU (Kent State) professor Trudy Steuernagel was killed by her non-verbal, aggressive autistic son. Her son & mine could be twins. His name is Skye Walker. He is now living in a state residential center similar to my son's once they realized he did not belong in jail. I know he didn't mean to hurt his mom and my son didn't either. It's something inside that makes them do it. I wish someone could figure it out. My son would head butt me & then dry my tears with his t-shirt.
My son is 23. The other residents are 50 yrs +. I visit my son every week. Never see any other visitors. He has a tv in his room, but no cable is allowed so I bring him tapes. Wheel & Jeopardy. The staff doesn't know how to or encourage use of his Go Talk. I had to tell them to make icons for choices at his workstation in the workshop. I could go on. My son gallops when he sees me! He can't stop smiling. It makes my day and his. I know in 20 years there will be more facilities, better choices, more awareness, a cure??? At least I hope. My son was just born 20 yrs too early.
Posted by: MNM | May 03, 2010 at 09:15 AM
This is the fear we in the autism community live with on a daily basis. Gray is near where I once lived and worked, pre-autism. The story in Maine will probably become commonplace news 10 years from now, unless something is done.
The Frontline show was a disgusting farce, so DISRESPECTFUL of what parents and grandparents are saying.
I have two things to say: Raymond Gallup, you are so right-on! Get a lawyer, don't give in to despair. And, second: We parents and grandparents are not a bunch of wacko conspiracy freaks: we just want straight answers from all these "spin doctors." We just want some honest science done.
Posted by: Gammie | May 01, 2010 at 10:00 PM
Ginger,
I read your entire post on your website regarding Frontline and the latest murder/suicide. Everyone should read that one. Thanks for everything you do and for your words that speak for so many.
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Cynthia Cournoyer | May 01, 2010 at 07:22 PM
But I thought Autism was NOT deadly?
When will everyone GET IT? WHEN? I guess our world is still full of selfishness, because its OBVIOUS that those who do NOT GET, they will NEVER GET IT until they have GOT IT!
When the billionaires kids GET IT, their Grandkids GET IT, or the Pharma pigs kids or grandkids GET IT, or high Government officials kids or grandkids GET IT, then maybe, MAYBE everyone will GET IT and FINALLY SAY "Holy CRAP, what have we done?"....
I HATE that it will have to get to that point, but the more and more I fight, the louder and harder I fight, I realize more and more that its almost impossible to GET IT if you do not WANT to GET IT. Those that GET IT who dont GOT IT, well, they are the ones with empahty and compassion and unfortuneately, those who GET IT who dont GOT IT are becoming fewer and far between because more and more people now HAVE IT.
WHO is going to BE our future billionaires, government, big decision makers? If something isnt done NOW, RIGHT NOW, then as things are going now, soon all kids will have GOTTEN it, and then where is our future?
For those that $ seems to be more important than anything else, I wonder if someone coudl do the math for, lets say, 20 years from now, lets figure out how many adults ages 18+ who would be considered 'our workforce', and figure out just how many will be able to be independant and be able to pay taxes, pay 'into' the SS system, and then how many will NOT be able to, how many WILL need full time help from the government, via SS and/or Disability, I wonder, in 20 years what our taxes will look like to have to make up the differences from those unable to work full time work??? I mean, so many are worried now about costs/healthcare/taxes/etc...and now we have SO MANY MORE people paying 'into' the system..but what happens, on todays costs (not even adjusting for inflation) what would happen if 1 in 80 of the workers today went from paying INTO to TAKING OUT OF the bucket? Anyone good at math that can put this into REAL numbers? Maybe THAT will make some who DONT GET IT a smidgen of hope TO GET IT before anyone close to them ends up GETTING IT!
WHAT WILL IT TAKE to make those who DONT GET IT understand that Autism IS DEADLY, in SO many ways...not even just literally, but figuratively as well.
HEck, when I watched that NASTY upsetting Frontline MOCK-umentary, Paul Offit said something like "parents dont remember the terrible diseases vaccines have stopped, I mean, I lived it, I had the measles, the German Measles, the Mumps..I remember how horrible it was"...there was another 'professional' that said something like "I had polio, I was paralized from the waist down for a year in the hospital"...and the family of the poor baby with whooping cough, what a terrible event to happen to a 6 week old baby, but ya know what? THEY ARE ALL ALIVE AND WELL RIGHT NOW!
THANK GOD that Modern Medicine could treat that 6 week old baby! THANK GOD the doctors could help my 2 year old, fully vaccinated against whooping cough, survive a terrible case of whooping cough, but cant TOUCH his Autism???
I am sorry, I will take, in today's modern hospitals, I will take measles, german measles, mumps, whooping cough (wait we did have it in our fully vaccinated, vaccine injured child with Autism)....
Mr. Offit, the doctor who is a pediatrician in an PICU who treated the 6 week old baby with whooping cough, and the other 'experts' they showed on the show...I am sorry, but WHAT MAKES THEM EXPERTS on Vaccines and their connections to AUTISM? NADA...anyway, I guess THEY Were SO MUCH MORE RELIABLE DOCTORS than lets say, Dr. Gordon, or any medical doctor who DOES treat patients with vaccine injuries/Autism??? What gives that PICU doc any more creditibility? HUH?
Off track, sorry that Frontline thing has been up in arms more than usual...I mean, shouldnt the 'other side' be as ticked off? I am SURE they want to have a 'piece' where BOTH sides get a FAIR representation so that 'we' can stop saying 'it wasnt fair'...right? Seems logical to me, if I was on the 'other side' I would be furious at PBS saying "FINALLY you had a chance to show the world both sides fairly so that we can finally show that the science has spoken and move on with this, but you failed, and now it so obviously one sided that its done NOTHING but make us continually look like that is WHAT WE WANT TO DO, never show the other side because we are afraid of what people might find out"...but I guess that IS what they want then right?
Gosh, I hope I made some sense...at least it makes sense in my head..LOL! Get it?!? LMAO!
Angie
Mom to Ethan, Alex, and Megan
Posted by: Angie | May 01, 2010 at 04:47 PM
This is another terrible outcome for a family. Ginger's website also points out that the Frontline show was funded by a group out of Chicago. The board of directors are spooks, CFR and CDC. No wonder our cause has trouble getting media traction. The big shots in the media are members of the CFR.
Posted by: Mr. T | April 30, 2010 at 10:38 PM
Sad that this happened. If the Dad had gotten a lawyer to place his son in a residential center then this wouldn't have happened.
That is what we did when we saw the writing on the wall and that we would get no help or support. We realize now that it was the best we could do because the science is not there to cure vaccine damaged kids (and it more than likely will NEVER happen). Sure some kids with autism get better with certain treatments but most like our son remain with autism and either have seizures or aggressions or both.
Again the Dad would have better served his son and himself by getting his son placed and not go to extreme that he did.
Posted by: Raymond Gallup | April 30, 2010 at 07:36 PM
One thing this autism epidemic has taught me math is not really the logical science!!!!
Every time I turn around it is a new and different number.
1 out of 11,000 will react to the DPT I was told
1 out of 350 "Shot in the Dark" estimated.
A friend that works in the state health department as a stats guy said 1 out of 160
Advertisment says 1 out of 150
Recently the CDC says 1 out of 110
but other studies say 1 out of 91
Now the state of Maine on the news says it is 1 out of 80.
So what is it? This is logical study of the science of math for goodness sakes.
I thought math dealt with absolute numbers.
Posted by: Benedetta | April 30, 2010 at 03:29 PM
This is the most frightening aspect of autism to me. Our nation now deals with hundreds of thousands of autistic children everywhere. Stories are constantly in the news. Ones about raising funds for autism,
getting insurance co.s to pay for therapy, and about what autism is doing to our school system. Soon that will all change as more and more children age out into adulthood. If we haven't learned to provide for children with autism, I can't see how adults will do much better. The concerns of hundreds of thousands of parents about their children's future after they're gone is truly a health care emergency.
Anne Dachel
Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | April 30, 2010 at 09:56 AM