I always feel bad for the parents who are given false hope by them to always look at autism as a gift. For any parents knee deep in the anguish, pain and suffering (particularly markedly notably caused by vaccinations) the true gift of a beautiful soul is broken. That's not a gift, that's the wizardry of the evil organization overtaking taking credit for ruining our lives.

This is what I posted on their facebook page after reading their statement.....Geri Dawson, chief scientist, following last week's IOM whitewash of vaccine safety problems: "The IOM report is consistent with Autism Speaks’ policy statement on vaccines. Given the present state of the science, the proven benefits of vaccinating a child to protect them against serious diseases outweigh the hypothesized risk that vaccinations might cause autism." Are you kidding me? Why would you say that? You know better. I walked for AS and donated heavily to AS but never again. Do the rest of the austism community a favor and keep your rediculous spoutings to yourself.

I am a mom of two children one on the spectrum and the other not. I do and wil continue going on Autism sites to find new information that may help me with my own sons. I say sons because I think autism don't just affect one person
it affects us as a family.If I had a problem with this site I would simply delete it and not return to it, that would be the adult thing to do.

Blue About Autism Speaks, Please tell me your name. I would like to start a "charity" and collect money in you name then I can slander you and manipulate people to donate money out of fear. I will pay my friends to do research that involves testing drugs on you and turning you into a human pin cushion. As long as I do not force you to donate money personally that is OK with you right?

Hi, Mary. We've written extensively about Autism Speaks over the last few years. Some praise, some finger pointing, some disgust. Katie Wright has probably written the most about As for AofA. I suggest you use the "search" box on the left and type in Autism Speaks to find many of those articles. Thanks. KIM

Phillip,

If you're dedicated to helping people with autism, then I have no doubt you want to see this devastating disorder prevented.

And if I'm reading your comment correctly, it sounds like you agree with Generation Rescue that there is a link between vaccines and the autism epidemic.

Therefore, you must be in favor of protecting infants' and toddlers' developing immune systems and brains from an assault of vaccines that could permanently harm them.

Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks Geraldline Dawson is in direct opposition to reducing, minimizing or testing for susceptibility to all these vaccines now pushed by pharma. She has very openly stated that children should get the full CDC schedule of vaccines, and she doesn't exclude children in autism families who are most likely to be in the "susceptible subset" to vaccine harm.

You don't want us to be "argumentative" even though children's brains are in peril? Why on earth not? Do you think everyone holding hands and singing Kumbaya is going to prevent a 3-hour-old infant from seizing and having his brain permanently damaged after being jabbed with an unnecessary Hep B shot?

Perhaps you're so close to the people you work with that you haven't stepped back and looked at the big picture and seen that something very frightening is happening to a generation of children. One in six has a neurological disorder. This is not normal.

Sorry you don't like my "argumentative behavior." Here's the behavior I dont like - collecting $70 million dollars on behalf of children like mine, spending $15 million of it on payroll, setting up shop in a fancy office in midtown Manhattan, and publicizing the "benefits outweigh the risks" of the current vaccine schedule when exactly the opposite has been shown to be true.

And by the way, Autism Speaks has not been "successful with their mission." To quote one well-known autism mom, "Autism Speaks has cured as many children with autism as I have."

Here's one for Tereasa O If you stop putting poison in children you will stop having poisoned children.

And as far as the person that likes the The brain research.

You said

I am referring to is the scientific data relating to functional MRI scans of the autism brain. The 3 areas
are the amygdala, the hippocamus and the corpus callosum. The amygdala.

Here is a clue, of of the damage being found in the brain.

On the Thimerosal MSDS sheet it states that Thimerosal is accumulative in the body,and it targets the organs of the body..(now here is where you need to pay close attention)
The MSDS goes on to say; [in particular the Brain and the
lining around the Brain].

They are just finding the damage in the Brain that the Manufacturer admitted it caused.

Phillip,
If you think Generation Rescue is "the no-vaccine lobby," then you're ignorant of the most basic facts. Maybe you should read through the GR website before commenting on the organization.

What exactly is the "latest brain research" that you suggest to "apply to your individual with autism"?

I wonder who or what you represent. You sure don't sound like someone with a family member affected by autism.

And John Stone--

Of course, I'm not going to run out and tell all my friends to get their kids the MMR today. Even if I believed that it doesn't cause autism, I wouldn't be too keen on encephalitis, seizures, or anaphylaxis... and I don't think the risk or measles, mumps, or rubella to a healthy child with access to modern medical care justifies the MMR.

All I meant was that if AS wanted to parrot the IOM, they should have stuck to commenting on MMR. They have no basis at all for making a comment about any other vaccine. It makes one wonder why they do it.

Followup to Teresa O.

The link below is for one organization I belong to. In fact, my kids, their mother and I participate in some of the research studies listed.

Look into it please.

The time spent in long rants to the choir could be spent providing informational clues to a true "smart scientist" who is dedicating their life to unraveling the molecular etiology of ASDs.

http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/research_studies/overview

Martin, I'm still not sure what you mean about the political pressure. Do you mean that a state representative could make public statements about AS that would make AS spend its money in a better way? I guess that's possible.

As for organizations worthy of donations, feel free to post! I know Kent has blogged a few times about the Whittemore-Peterson Institute and its work with XMRV. I, for one, would love to see more research done on XMRV and its possible role in human diseases. I'm not very connected to the world of laboratory research, so any information on what is being studied would be welcome.

I still don't think the AS statement about vaccine safety with respect to autism is merited by the IOM review, and here's why: AS didn't limit itself to MMR. The IOM did not find enough studies to draw any conclusions about the bulk of the vaccines on the American immunization schedule, so the most that AS could say would be that the benefits of the MMR vaccine outweigh any possible risk of autism. Many might disagree, given the Bailey Banks and Hannah Poling cases, but AS would be on somewhat firm ground to make a statement about MMR alone, given the IOM's conclusions. The fact remains that a comparative study of the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations has not been done, so AS really shouldn't make any statements about the link (or lack of a link) between any autism and any vaccine other than MMR.

It's kind of like when people say, "Mandatory vaccination is important, so polio doesn't come back." No, the only vaccination that would be important to polio not coming back would be the polio vaccine. Ending universal varicella vaccination would not play any role in bringing polio back. Nor does the IOM statement about MMR not being linked to autism have anything to do with Varivax, Gardasil, the hepatitis B shot, or any vaccination other than MMR.

I really don't think it's possible to see that point any other way. Nothing has been proven, according to the IOM, about the role any vaccine other than MMR may play in autism. I don't know why AS feels the need to make a stronger statement than the IOM does.

(follow-up to Martin)... actually, the amount left for salary for a postdoc (or anyone) from $40,000 is probably more like $15,000. I usually double a salary to figure what it costs a company to hire a person, but in double-checking that assumption, I found this calculation online (http://web.mit.edu/e-club/hadzima/how-much-does-an-employee-cost.html) that indicates that a person's actual cost can be as much as 2.7 times his salary... turning the $40,000 donation into not quite $15,000 of pay for the postdoc. I guess you'd need about 4000 donors to fork over $20 each in order to cover the average postdoc's salary in the US--and that's assuming that a researcher is going to accept donations from the general public, as Martin describes. I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing happening.

There have been multiple meta analyses of every well-controlled study that has looked at the correlation of vaccines and ASDs.

There is no causation evident.

As a father with a child on the spectrum, I want to find the thing that causes autism. Don't you?

As a PhD scientist (22 years) in all things biochemistry, I look carefully at the individual studies, and carefully at the large studies. I pour over details of the bigger studies that pool together the information of smaller ones. There is no causation evident.

I respect the correlations noted, and the suggestive laboratory studies in model systems. But these are only clues. The real answer is MUCH more complicated than aluminum or mercury exposure.

It irritates me that so much energy is spent on the same issue, over and over, ad nauseum. Why not put all that energy into help finding the set of conditions in our kids that result in autism?

Why not send a $20 bill to a good research scientist with a well-thought idea about one of the other factors that contribute to ASD? That won't go far, but if 2000 people did it, that scientist could hire a postdoc to work on that idea.

Or get your state politician involved in getting AS to put more of their non-profit money into solid research studies.

Do something productive.

Martin

Dear Dan,

A leech? Come on. How about calling Autism Speaks one of those spaceman black holes? The kind that sucks in entire universes?

I recently transferred browser favorites from one program to another. I culled through all the old URL links just to see which ones are still active (worth keeping).

It's amazing how so many Autism activists suddenly vaporized. They're all gone.

Probably the most obvious was autismfacts.com. The extremely well-produced Thimerosal time line, which has a beginning in the late 1800s, stops like the day the earth stood still at:

December 11, 2006

* President Bush is presented with the passed Combating Autism Act and it awaits his signature to put the Bill into law.

Take a look at the old Evidence of Harm yahoo list. Now at EOH? All the Autism activists/posters are vaporized. They're all gone.

I was excited, recently, to look at the in-box and once again see that I was part of one of those "undisclosed recipients" E-mails, the kind where fifty Autism parent/activists are sharing their thoughts about the best way to move forward. It was just a computer virus.

The E-mails from fellow parents of vaccine-injured kids have vaporized. They're all gone.

I guess there are two ways to look at this. People are brown-nosers and have a sixth sense for smelling money or Autism Speaks spread like cancer making formerly fearless folks simple little cyber-marxists re-educated into drug company rock-breakers.

Autism Speaks was designed to enable the United States Centers for Disease Control to money launder excessive amounts of tax dollars to CDC anti-litigation bloc Autism researchers.

Autism Speaks chummed millions and millions of dollars looking for the best expert witnesses money could buy to testify against innocent children harmed by vaccines.

Autism Speaks was designed to divide and conquer all opposition to mainstream ideals and encourage lots and lots of covert experimental research by vaccine/drug companies.

Autism Speaks' salaries are nearly double the industry average for non-profits. http://www.careerbliss.com/salary/autism-speaks-salaries-722883/

Their ratings are lousy. Just 1 star out of 4 for efficiency. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12720

But who cares? They're brilliant at raising money.

It's hard to believe the same Geraldine Dawson who wrote the statements below just a few years ago is now pimping for pharma.

1. “In the past several years, the prevalence of ASD has increased dramatically, underscoring the potential role of environmental factors in its etiology.”

2. “Recent studies point to a key role of the immune system in the biology of ASD, raising questions about the effects of the significant immune challenges associated with vaccinations, particularly when delivered in combination and early in life.”

3. “We believe that the question of whether immunization is associated with an increased risk for ASD is of extremely high priority.”

4. “Still other studies point toward subgroups of children with ASD with genetic vulnerabilities than can amplify the adverse effects of environmental exposures, including vaccinations, on brain development and function”

5. “There is a need to describe the nature and prevalence of vaccine adverse events in children with metabolic disorders and assess risk factors for these events.”

6. “As mentioned in the draft scientific agenda, many key questions have not yet been adequately addressed. Many of the studies to date have relied on data from the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS). While this system has clear strengths such as its broad coverage, it nevertheless has substantial limitations (Ellenberg and Braun, Drug Safety, 2002). Because the system relies on passive self‐report, a major limitation is under‐ reporting such that only a small fraction of adverse events are reported. Furthermore, events that occur weeks following vaccination are less likely to be reported than those that are proximal to the vaccination.”

7. “Many fundamental questions have not been addressed, such as whether the use of combination vaccines confers increased risk for adverse events and whether there are subgroups in the general population that are more vulnerable to serious adverse effects of vaccines, including ASD.”

8. “Research has shown that children with metabolic disorders, including mitochondrial disorders, may experience neurological decline when physiologically challenged. There have been reports of metabolic crisis after receiving vaccinations”

9. “As noted in the draft agenda, preliminary results from a VSD study underway found that children aged 12‐23 months who received MMRV vaccine were about 2 times more likely to have febrile seizures during the 7‐10 days after vaccination than children who received separate MMR and varicella vaccines at the same visit (CDC MMWR, 2008). In a population‐based study, there has been a report of an increased risk for ASD after infantile seizures during the first year of life”

10. “Studies that can address the current questions raised by parents are feasible. Clinical studies of individuals with ASD can address whether certain metabolic conditions associated with ASD are correlated with increased risk for serious adverse effects. Case‐control studies and randomized clinical trials can be conducted to address whether there are differences in adverse effects associated with a combination vaccine versus individually administered components”

11. “Fever after vaccination is common and can induce seizures in vulnerable children”

12. “For example, a recent study identified mutation in a sodium channel gene in children who developed encephalopathy after pertussis vaccines, suggesting that genetic factors may influence the risk for neurological deterioration after vaccination”

13. “Children with metabolic diseases are at higher risk of health complications from diseases that are prevented by immunizations”

14. “Such research could have wide‐ranging effects on clinical practice/vaccination policy. For example, it could allow pediatricians to identify subgroups of children who may benefit from a different vaccine schedule or for whom careful monitoring of adverse effects is warranted.”

15. “Over the past decade, parental concerns, both in the general population and the autism community, over the possible link between immunization and increased risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have only increased despite concerted and persistent efforts by the medical community to reassure the public about the safety of vaccines.”

16. “It is Autism Speaks’ position that the best way to ensure that parents are confident in the safety of our vaccine program and, at the same time, protect the minority of children who may be at increased risk for serious adverse effects of vaccinations, is to foster collaborative, trusting relationships among the general public, the medical and scientific communities, and the federal government whose mandate it is to conduct research on the safety of vaccines.”

17. “Establishing and maintaining a trusting relationship and providing answers to parents’ questions cannot be achieved by one set of studies addressing one set of questions, but rather it will require an on‐going process of scientific discovery as medical science continues to uncover individual differences that predict differential responses to vaccines and other medical interventions. We need to embrace our obligation to address new questions with an open mind, adequate resources, and renewed commitment.”

http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/01/parents-vs-the-science-ask-geraldine-dawson-and-autism-speaks.html

On reading this article and 57 comments I have started to picture a campfire in a hollow on a remote mountainside where a group of revolutionaries are furiously confronting a delegation that has tried to compromise with the despots and come back having won a few very modest concessions at the cost of the total subjugation of the tribe.

This situation calls for a revolutionary approach, as compromise is impossible.

Excellent, Dan! Thank you.

There's a Pulitzer Prize with your name on it waiting down the road.

Australia,

I know very little about Autism Speaks and hear very little about the topic of Autism overseas except on this website and a couple of others.

We[Australians] are very sheltered from the rest of the world when it comes to other countries dealing with the Autism epidemic. Our own Prime Minister has never uttered the word "AUTISM".

You [Americans] are very lucky to keep this topic in the forefront of peoples minds. Over here this topic is kept on the 'backburner' or 'swept under the carpet'.

It is good to see that this article has so many different opinions, thus igniting other debates and raising other questions that need to be considered. And remember:- "Sometimes you need to create a problem to solve a problem".

Also, good on Dan for venting some frustration!

Elizabeth

To Dadvocate. I am truly sorry to disappoint you on all your baseless speculation as well as for offering up a comment that challenged your abilities in terms of length and content. I will give your suggestion all the consideration it deserves.

Theresa O - I understand and also appreciate that the marketing like billboards is superficial and many parents (me included) sometimes want a more unvarnished approach like the life that exists in my house with a highly impacted young adult. Little adorable kids and cures are far from the whole story but they do sell (I'm in marketing) so I'm ok with that as long as there's detailed info available below the headline. I think there is at AS with the things their family services group is doing on the topics I mentioned. You should take a look. My "axe to grind" with Dan's piece is that when he and others throw bombs instead of agreeing to disagree while pushing their own agenda like crazy, it makes getting leverage consensus and action on issues we all agree on 10 times harder.

JB - you didn't direct a comment my way but I do feel a need to point out that it's really unfair to say any organization has failed to deliver by not doing things that aren't in their mission.

Geri Dawson politely declined my sincere proposal for her to evaluate Ben's medical history and be my expert witness in vaccine court. I promised I would present whatever she put forward as her opinion.

At this point, AS is as useful to autism as the CDC. Another big pharma monkey...

Dadvocate,

Your popping on here whenever AS gets a well deserved critique is very interesting. You write a dissertation defending them, more than a casual observer would need. I take it you are not a casual observer or commenter but a sort of lobbyist for them -- maybe a shill?

-AS helped with ABA
-AS helped with insurance lobbying

Big deal. Autism is a money ticket for everyone of them, maybe including yourself, so why would they look to really focus on prevention or a cure? It's only political, Dadvocate, when your bread and butter depends on it, eh?

It's really easy to pick studies that dance around the issue. Your coming on here only to protect jobs at AS is really obvious. Dan Olmsted has the right message by saying,

"Autism Speaks is The Man's favorite autism org, preaching treacle and hogging the spotlight while doing nothing useful and letting the epidemic roll on. It is a leech upon the autism community, sucking resources and walk-a-thon energy away from cash-strapped families struggling to cope. If there was any value in its "awareness" campaign, it has been achieved; AS has no apparent further reason for being."

Your ridiculously long rebuttal to that paragraph is just another dance, dazzling only to you. Since you are so fed up with the Truth that is the guts of AOA, I suggest you do pack up your AS paraphernalia. You know, banners, noise makers, confetti, and all that bullshit that you dish out.

Well I have to say. I'm with Dan on this. Having 2 possibly 3 vaccine injured children... having autism speaks come out and say, Yeah its ok to vaccinate your children.... NO thats stupid! The more children that are injured or have autism just puts the economy in an even worse situation than we are already in. I myself and my husband who is Blind, are already below poverty level. Its hard enough for us to take care of our children and if they were to cut our benefits we get due to more people applying for their children due to vaccine injuries/autism. That would devistate our already devistating financial issues. So I think this is stupid for them to say... keep vaccinating its ok its safe... whatever autism speaks does need to sit down shut up and break up. It may have been started for a good cause, to bring autism awareness to the community, but dang really?!?! How much money did they get for saying vaccines are safe??

I wish AoA had a "like" button for some of these comments!

AS is supporting an Autism License Plate in Massachusetts that some parents are trying to push through with a signature collection. I am all for the Autism awareness plate but not if it has the Autism Speaks name on it. I could not help but wonder how much of each plate $$ to register AS is going to collect.

Thank you for saying in a much clearer way what I have been saying for year. Autism Speaks does not speak for me or my family.

The most productive and best thing ever for the "autism community" is for Autism Speaks to just go away! Thank you Dan Olmsted, Kim Stagliano, Mark Blaxill, Ginger Taylor and many many parents I have met through facebook for all you do for us parents.

Dan:

Thank you for saying what needed to be said. Autism Speaks should really only have 2 goals:

- Preventing future cases of autism
- Recovering as many children today as possible

They have failed completely at both. Unfortunately, few nonprofits are capable of creating their own irrelevancy. In the case of Autism Speaks, I think the people who lead the organization are more interested in perpetuating their careers than taking risks and solving the problem.

Kudos to you for calling them out,

JB Handley

Wow. Obviously, the IOM report hit nerve with Dan (did anyone really expect an about face in their views from this survey of already published studies?) However, I'm very, very disappointed to see Dan join the ranks of bomb throwers and name callers. I didn't know he'd gone on record with this stuff earlier.

I see absolutely nothing new or changed in terms of Autism Speaks already published position on this issue in their (routine and expected) response to a major government report's release.

The AS should "go kill themselves" approach may work (for something?) when preaching to the converted but won't win too many new friends among the undecided or new members of "the club no one wants to join". I just don't get the point of this piece other than angry venting about AS. It's no different than much of the nonsense one reads from some in the "Neurodiverse" community. Ah well, maybe it's progress if some at AoA agree with the ND-er's on at least one thing.

The success of Autism Speaks has a ton to do with the many folks who agree with (in whole or part) and financially support their mission and the research priorities they fund. Personally, I also think their funding genetic stuff is out of whack proportionally but do like a bunch of other things they're writing checks to help do. Dan is free to disagree and oppose their existence but others clearly don't, including people like the many families who are now getting their kid's ABA paid for and aren't going broke because AS hired staff and lobbyists to focus on this issue with donor funds raised nationally. With the help of a lot of other organizations and committed advocates, AS has helped get insurance reform passed in a lot more states than pre-AS, creating momentum for a national policy. I worked with a group who got limited insurance reform passed in my state before AS got involved. We could've done it years earlier (and a lot better) had we been able to tap into the resources they've created today. We would've saved families facing these bills millions of dollars paid out of pocket to hire therapists while we were flailing at the Chamber of Commerce ineffectively for years. This battle is far from over and a lot more needs doing but I guess spending money to help save people millions more doesn't count as helping them in their communities.

As for autism "awareness" being a goal that's been achieved. If only Dan were correct. It's too bad that he isn't. A lot more people today may think they know what the word "autism" means, but when you scratch below the thin surface, their understanding of what the issues facing kids, adults, their families and caregivers actually mean and the supports needed is next to nil. Zero. Nada. All of which translates into no political policy or financial supports locally or on the national level. "Awareness" is a lot more than Dan apparently thinks it is. It's really about helping to educate an entire society and their leadership about how to make the best (or at least minimal) supports, financial and otherwise, available to the people with autism who need them. Some of that is through scientific research initiatives and a whole lot isn't.

School/Family/Work/Housing/Employment policy and operational issues cry out for a thousandfold increase in "awareness" (and education). If people think that's happened already and were all passed that stage apparently don't live on the same planet that I do as an advocate. Sigh.

I read AoA because there are, from time to time, some good pieces and comments about the need to dramatically strengthen the current broken system of checks and balances vis a vis immunization (and public health) policy and research in this country as well as some others work on a wide range of autism issues. It's too bad that those informative pieces seem to be becoming rarer in favor of pieces like this. Perhaps it's time to move on.

Scott, if you have a degree in psychology then you must know that epidemiology is very limited as a science, by ethics and limitations with the study designs. How do you reconcile the fact of people being paid out for vaccine damages and actual listing of side effects on vaccine package inserts with things like encephalitis don't mean that vaccines cause a lot of problems for many people, including autism?? Also, the new CATS twin study shows that genetics don't matter so much and that environment is key in autism causation.
I thank God every day for actually doing some research and not over-vaccinating my son (we don't hep b at birth in Canada) and I only gave him 2 dpt's, one at 3 months and one at ten months and only one MMR somewhere around 2.
Also, like it or not, just because someone is a playboy bunny doesn't mean they don't have a brain.
You sound very sexist.
If they're so confident about the vaccines, why don't they do a vaccinated VS unvaccinated study or
even better, do what Hewitson did and give monkeys the vaccines and study the biological changes
that occur ( brain inflammation, etc.)

Unfortunately, ERISA laws wipe out Autism Speaks' work in many states as more and more companies are self-funded. All the glory but none of the payoff. If a family can indeed get ABA paid for - for a tot (when ABA may be helpful) I'm all for freeing up other dollars for other treatments. However, for those of us with older kids, many of the mandates exclude our age group or we old timers know that copious ABA for a 16 year old isn't tops on the list. And I doubt insurance companies will EVER step up to fully pay for what our kids needs - is that what's behind the DSM V changes - make fewer kids eligible for treatment? The entire process smells from start to finish and parents, families and the PEOPLE WITH AUTISM OF ALL AGES lose. Very depressing, whether you light it up blue or smear it with poo.... K

"At some point, you have to believe science rather than a former Playboy model."

What part of all the science listed herein, with NOTHING mentioned about Jenny McCarthy at all, did you misinterpret?

It is these baffling comments that make people smack their face with their palm, did you read ANY part of this article or just rush in to make a statement of misdirection and ignorance?

Yes, let's DEFINITELY follow the science, that IS the message being given by those that know vaccines cause autism and while not the only cause, they are definitely a proven cause unless you think Hannah Polling is the ONLY person in the entire world that suffers from vaccine-induced autism.

Just looking at the role glutamates alone play in vaccines, particularly when you throw aluminum and mercury (influenza) into the mix, yields plenty of science:

1. Keller JN, Mark RJ, Bruce E, et al. 4-hydroxynonenal, an aldehydic product of membrane lipid peroxidation, impairs glutamate transport and mitochondrial function in synaptosomes. Neurosci.1997;80:685-696.

2. Diedier M, Bursztajan S, Adamec E, Passani L, Nixon RA, Coyle JT, Wei JY. DNA strand breaks induced by sustained glutamate excitotoxicity in primary neuronal cultures. J Neurosci.1996;16:2239-2250.

3. Eriksson PS. Glial glutamate transporters. In: Hansson E, Olsson T, Ronnback L, eds. On Astrocytes and Glutamate Neurotransmission: New Waves in Brain Information Processing. Austin, Texas: Chapmen & Hall; 1997:93-103.

4. Aschner M, Yao CP, Allen JW, Tan KH. Methylmercury alters glutamate transport in astrocytes. Neurochem Int. 2000; 37:199-206.

5. Hardin-Pouzet H, Krakowski M, Bourbonniere L, Didier- Bazes M, Tran E, Owens T. Glutamate metabolism is downregulated in astrocytes during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Glia 1997; 20:79-85.

6. Zuccarello M, Anderson DK. Interaction between free-radicals and excitatory amino acids in the blood-brain barrier disruption after iron injury in the rat. J Neurotrauma.1993;10:397-403. 30. Dubovicky M, Tokarev D, Skultetyova I, Jezova D. Changes of exploratory behavior and its habituation in rats neonatally treated with monosodium glutamate. Pharmacol Biochem Behavior.1997;56:565-569.

7. Hsieh Y-L, Hsu C, Lue S-I, et al. The neonatal neurotoxicity of monosodium L-glutamate in the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area in rats. Dev Neurosci.1997;19:342-347.

8. Hu S, Sheng WS, Ehrlich LC, Peterson PK, Chao CC. Cytokine effects on glutamate uptake by human astrocytes. Neuroimmunomod. 2000;7:153-159.

9. Gonzalez-Burgos I, Perez-Vega MI, Beas-Zarate C. Neonatal exposure to monosodium glutamate induces cell death and dendritic hypotrophy in rat prefrontocortical pyramidal neurons. Neurosci Lett.2001;297:69-72.

10. Beas-Zarate C, Riverera-Huizar SV, Martinez-Contreras A, Feria-Velasco A, Armendariz-Borunda J. Changes in NMDA receptor gene expression are associated with neurotoxicity induced neonatally by glutamate in the rat brain. Neurochem Int.2001;39:1-10.

11. Zhu L, Gao J, Wu J, Zhao XN, Zhang ZN. Enhancing effects of beta-endorphin on glutamate neurotoxicity. Zhongguo Yao Li Xue Bao.1998;19:108-111.

12. Bar-Peled O et al. Distribution of glutamate transporter subtypes during human brain development. J Neurochem 1997;69:2571–80.

13. Schlett K. Glutamate as a modulator of embryonic and adult neurogenesis. Curr Top Med Chem 2006;6:949–60.

14. Chao CC et al. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha potentates glutamate neurotoxicity in human fetal cell cultures. Dev Neurosci 1994;16:172–9.

15. Taylor DL et al. Stimulation of microglial metabotropic glutamate receptor mGlu2 triggers tumor necrosis factor -induced neurotoxicity in concert with microglial-derived Fas ligand. J Neurosci 2005;25:2952–64.

16. Samland H et al. Profound increase in sensitivity to glutamatergic –but not to cholinergic agonist-induced seizures in transgenic mice with astrocytes production of IL-6. J Neurosci Res 2003;73:176–87.

17. Deloncle R, et al. Aluminum L-glutamate complex in rat brain cortex: in vivo prevention of aluminum deposit by magnesium D-aspartate. Brain Res 2002; 946: 247-252.

18. Sass JB et al. Aluminum pretreatment impairs the ability of astrocytes to protect neurons from glutamate mediated toxicity. Brain Res 1993; 621: 207-214.

19. Mutkus L et al. Methylmercury alters the in vitro uptake of glutamate and GLAST and GLT-1 transfected mutant CHO-K1 cells. Biol Trace Elem Res 2005;107:231–45.

20. Aschner M et al. Involvement of glutamate and reactive oxygen species in methyl mercury neurotoxicity. Braz J Med Biol Res 2007;40:285–91.

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Dan:

My son was diagnosed with pdd nos in 1996. He had severe impairments at the time of diagnosis. I had noticed something "not right" from the day he was born (not wanting to be held or close to me, getting stiff with affection, unable to be comforted).

Last June, my son Caleb who had these severe impairments graduated high school, and will be attending the local community college in a couple weeks. I am grateful, and amazed at this young mans determination to beat insurmountable odds. Even his developmental pediatrician who had not seen him in years, was brought to tears by his recovery.

You claim that AS should dismantle, and has no reason for being. I live in NY, and just recently THEY were instrumental in the passage of the Autism Insurance Reform Bill that mandates coverage for essential autism services. THIS includes $15,000 a year in ABA that is currently not being received by families, or they are struggling to pay for.

How is this NOT going to have a direct impact on every family in this state? This isn't helping?

What about CARA (Combatting Autism Reauthotization Act going before the HELP Committee in Washington? Who is going to be there? Autism Speaks. Who is on the phone non-stop trying to get endorsements from senators to pass this $693 million legislation, and establish National Institute of Autism Spectrum Disorders Research (NIASD) as part of NIH in this legislation?

I agree more needs to be done at the local levels, there is and continuing to be a lot of work to do. Rates are rising faster than organizations can keep up them locally. But to say that NOTHING is being done to help ANYONE... so WRONG...

While I agree that AS's lack of action on vaccines is egregious, I do want to point out that the AS "Information on Vaccines and Autism" statement you linked to also says:

"Because it remains possible that specific genetic or medical factors present in a small minority of the general population might lead to an adverse vaccine response, Autism Speaks and other advocacy organizations are investing in research to determine whether subsets of individuals might be at increased risk for developing autism symptoms following vaccination. In parallel, it is important to make a sustained investment in monitoring and optimizing vaccine safety relating to variations in manufacture, new vaccines, and new combinations of vaccines.

"Because parents and guardians differ in their sensitivity and concern about this issue, we urge parents to find a pediatrician or health practitioner who will partner with them to consider their concerns, and help them ensure the optimal well-being of their child. We recommend that the decision of when and how to vaccinate be made after a thoughtful and thorough review of all the options, benefits, and risks in consultation with their own pediatrician. For example, while to date no published studies have evaluated the efficacy of alternative vaccine schedules, some parents are choosing to use these schedules in consultation with their child's physician."

I don't know what kind of research they are "investing in" but if they are looking for groups susceptible to vax injury and specifically vax-induced autism, that is a step in the right direction.

It is amazing how this IOM report continues to be spun as reassuring when actually it confirms that:

- Vaccines can cause inflammation of the brain, brain injury, seizures, and anaphylaxis (which is consistent with findings of inflammation in the brain and immune system dysregulation and seizures in many people with autism), and

- For many other alledged injuries there is not enough data to say whether they are vaccine related.

Plus, this report is not any new research, just a survey of existing research. Our govt agencies are still not doing in depth study of vaccine injured children, nor epidemiological studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children or animals.

Scott, no amount of ABA or training will get my kids brain encephalitis like ADEM back. They deserve respect for their medical condition, with treatments like immune therapies, supplements, diets, Hbot, IVIG and a host of other strategems that are not covered by "so called health insurance". Stop calling my kids autistic, they are not autistic, they have brain inflammation due to toxins, viruses and bacteria and possibly even the result of birth processes like immediate cord clamping and birth drugs. My kids almost died from their vaccines, with high pitch screaming, convulsions/collapse and inconsollability. I would have much rather preferred "so called dangerous" childhood rites of passage which I lived through. And, if you think polio was scary, I think DDT was even scarier, which is the true cause of polio.

They are also toxic because I was toxic with amalgams and lived near a cement plant that emitted tons of mercury over silicon valley. So, really, I am one of those parents that doesn't wholly blame just vaccines, but the accumulative affect up to the point of vaccinations. AS has never spoken the words of ADEM or brain inflammation, or viral persistence from vaccines, never. But the science is there, and why aren't they up to the state of art? Even Dawson "back then" at the U of W was exclaiming kids with autism can't recognize faces...gee, what does that sound like class? Mercury poisoning much?

I have no problems with researchers exploring such things as immune genetics (if genetics of the immune system are genetic, more like ghost gene generational poisoning), and or things like MTHFR/COMT, mitochondrial disorders, hemachromatosis, thyroid insufficiency, or even vitamin deficiencies such as cerebral folate deficiencies, etc...which would affect brain development in utero...but let's get real....a toxic mom has more influence on her genetics than genetics alone!

AS needs to have no support from our community, it needs no walkers from innocent parents, and most of all, it needs to be exposed for the pharmaceutical hacks they are. Geraldine alone makes 6k a year. How much does someone need to shut them up? Just about that much I suppose....sigh....

I have no idea what caused my son's autism, but, given his lab results, he is simply not suited to further vaccination, so I exercise my right to refuse them for him. He is thriving. As we've corrected the physiological problems, he has improved. So, as Diane says, I will not accept autism, since there are correctable problems. I don't think my son would've toilet trained or improved to the degree he has without those interventions. Scott, I'm not a playboy bunny - I am a trained scientist and I prefer to not prejudge results, I like to see the data for myself, and I do. Everyday. I urge you Scott to do the research and to read. Let's face it - Jenny McCarthy has a recovered child, who, although still suffers from seizures, is recovered. So, it's possible. I would rather take guidance from a parent (who has worked with a useful MD), whose child is recovered than a doctor who cannot tell me why my child has autism, or how to help him, but he's 'sure' it's not vaccines. No thanks. I'll read for myself.
As for the real subject - I agree with the stance on AS. They do not help families. They do not help communities. I think we're all plenty 'aware' of autism. I want to see more real help from them. I want to see them pay their executives non-profit level salaries, not huge corporate level ones. I want them to move somewhere cheaper for their offices. I want the sob story adverts to go away and real research to happen so that we can help our children recover and prevent this happening to others. Autism Speaks, but not for me.

AMEN!!! (and another Thank You, Dan)

Scott, I'm jealous that you are able to accept autism and trust in vaccines. I wish I could believe that I was not responsible for authorizing two series of vaccines to my sick baby. I would be a much happier person if I were like you. I'm bitter. I can't and won't accept autism. I want good science; the science you speak of us has been brought to us by pharmacuetial companies and governmental agencies that have only two agendas and that is to protect vaccine policy and profit. I know it's hard to believce but Playboy bunnies can read and understand, that your science you wish to believe in, is very biased. We all love our children regardless of any disabilities. You should be a little more understanding that many parents here do not want our children to be autistic. I can't imagine my son commenting to me someday, "Hey, why didn't you leave me autistic. I would have rather constantly be distracted by fans, beat my head, and be non-verbal than go to a main-stream school. Oh, I really miss my tummy aches and constant diahrea. I really would much rather be by myself than with friends. Damn you mom, and you stupid diets and expensive therapies that were not doctor approved!" Scott, we all are trying to make sense of autism and all the other childhood disabilites that we are facing. Unfortunately you see it differently than most here and we are going to have to agree to disagree.

Hmm, AS with tens of millions, lobbyists galore and FREE "public service" ads courtesy of the ad council and major Mad Ave agencies versus an online site that operates on less than Geri Dawson makes in a quarter... You're kidding, right? It's neither our job nor our desire to convince parents of anything - simply to bring out facts that others deny, ignore and bury. Parents are voting with their children's arms.

Ouch!
Dan, I would like to agree with you but the truth is that AS's success points more to AoA's failure to reach out to enough people in the autism community to make the case for the vaccine autism link.
I know you are right on the science but you have to find a more effective way of spreading that message. IMHO telling the largest autism foundation to "shut up, shut down and go away" is not the right approach.

Scott, your intro is offensive - Jenny McCarthy is far more than your cliched description. And you're missing the point - overall Autism Speaks doesn't help current families - they spend their dollars with lobbyists for insurance mandate and on ads - very little of their budget helps anyone directly. Take a look at their spending on grants to non-researcher programs versus other expenses.

Other orgs are doing far more for families facing the very real challenges of autism - including our own sponsors - one of whom is Jenny's org and putting cash and direct support into families hands.

What you're promoting is pure hospice - without prevention, treatment or cure. It's simply not enough.

KIM

At some point, you have to believe science rather than a former Playboy model. My grandson is Autistic and it is a very difficult life for him. He does his best and has great parents who work very hard with him. I love that kid more than you can imagine. He was our first grandson - if I thought there was any chance of vaccines giving him this hard life, I would have fought the doctors giving vaccines to our younger grand children. I give thanks everyday that my grand children have been protected from all of the conditions prevented by the vaccines they have had.
My belief is Autism Speaks and the whole Autism community should be spending more time and money doing things to help those on the spectrum be as productive and happy as they can. Help with school, therapy, job challenges, respite for the parents, education of others, and spend less time listening to movie stars and other layman experts. Real science and not stories from people who are so desperate to understand a very difficult and scary situation, is what is needed.
I am sorry if what I said causes anyone any more pain or sorrow. That is not my goal. I am only expressing my belief and I have not done any of the research. One of my degrees is in psychology, but I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Sometimes as the John Denver song says, "it is that it is just that way. Let the scientists figure out causes or ways to prevent Autism, we need to focus on those who are on the scale and show them how much we love them and give support to all the amazing parents, grand parents, and siblings who have such a difficult task. Thank you for reading.

I can't get John Stone's video out of my mine!
He is just sitting there talking about business, and what a area of financial oportunity this will be! Enough for all of the drug companies to have a slice of the pie!

Oh my gosh these guys are so powerful and rich - I don't think there is any way to fight them!

AT reminds me of dealing with my teenage son and his friends when they get together and formulate a scam, or a cover story for a minor crime. The lies are very very clever, credible, absolutely amazing ..the only thing they don’t ever,ever, think that people as adults do ,compare, exchangeand ivestigate stories and investigate the lies and slowly the truth comes out ..which will happen to AS...they are a blot that we can all do without sooner the truth is believed the better

Thanks

Dan

Autism Speaks is supposed to be focused on children and adults with autism. In addition to the science pointing to vaccines provoking autism, the IOM report repeatedly points to vaccine injury vulnerability in the immune impaired. There are, at this point, hundreds of studies pointing to immune impairment in autistic children. These children should not continue to be vaccinated and someone who is on top of the science would make that recommendation.