The Titanic Wave of Autism: “You will lie there and drown!”
“You will lie there and drown!”
By Jake Crosby
That was what my great-great-grandfather, first-class passenger and Civil War veteran Captain Edward Gifford Crosby (that's his ship in the photo), said to my great-great grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Halstead Crosby 100 years ago on the RMS Titanic after the ship struck an iceberg and began sinking. He rousted her out of bed and had her go into a lifeboat along with his adult daughter, my great-great aunt Harriette Rebecca Crosby. They were both saved by the RMS Carpathia. But because of the women and children first custom, Edward did not get into a lifeboat. He perished along with two-thirds of the ship’s passengers and crew instead.
With the recently reported autism prevalence of 1 in 88, the words of my great-great grandfather take on a new meaning. They don’t just describe what will happen to sleeping passengers on board a sinking ship, but rather what will happen to a sleeping nation as the autism prevalence continues to rise, as more crooked members are appointed to a federal autism committee and as vaccine industry front men continue to give public talks unchallenged. Like the passengers onboard the sinking RMS Titanic, we cannot afford to just lie there.
But this quote has more than a figurative meaning to our community. The mortality rate among people with autism is twice as high as the general population, mostly because of drowning accidents. As with the Titanic, there are real lives at stake and inaction will cost more lives. There is a modern, manmade epidemic of titanic proportions largely caused by our vaccine program, which shields vaccine makers from personal injury litigation. We do not have anything to fear of challenging people like Seth Mnookin or Paul Offit at their speaking events around the country, only what the consequences of not challenging them will bring. As long as we do not, our nation will lie there and drown in its own complacency.
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Jake Crosby has Asperger Syndrome and is a contributing editor to Age of Autism. Jake is a 2011 graduate of Brandeis University with a BA in both History and Health: Science, Society and Policy. He currently attends The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services where he is studying for an MPH in epidemiology.
Managing Editor's Note: There is a site called Lives Lost to Autism that memorializes children and adults whose lives have been cut short by their autism - through drowning, parental murder, caregiver assault. Autism kills from the outside in.
But my biggest fear is the effect on the heart.
My daughter's feet is peeling - she is 30 now.
She had Kawasakis as a child and peeling of hands and feet is a bad sign.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 26, 2012 at 09:26 AM
MO
I don't know if it is a stat????
But from personal observations - they are drawn to water.
As was my son.
I could tell you lots of stories as a toddler of close calls.
It was amazing how quick he could get into trouble -- and I am finding on this web site the things that I thought I was alone on - is a common observation of other parents.
If they live through this affinity to water long enough to learn to swim - they are great swimmers.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 26, 2012 at 09:25 AM
higher mortality of autistic people is mostly due to drowning? This can't possibly be true.
Posted by: Mo Ro | May 26, 2012 at 01:02 AM
Kerbob,
You've misrepresented my observations.
Posted by: First do no harm | April 18, 2012 at 04:47 PM
First do no harm,
Do I have it correct that from what you have observed it is apparent that parents of ASD children are all equally treated by society and the differences in the services such as speech therapy, etc. are entirely there or not there according to parental choice?
Yet the entire purpose of posting the statistics from Titanic were to indicate that society has not changed.
I suppose it could be possible that rich parents with ASD children who are selected for services according to their lofty economic status coincidentally have a much higher level of recovery for their children and that poor families just don't seem to be making much progress regardless of the fact that their children are treated like steerage class citizens.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Posted by: Kerbob | April 17, 2012 at 05:08 AM
Kerbob1,
From what I've observed, the really wealthy parents are much more likely to send their children to the "best" doctors (expensive, big name, mainstream docs) who put the kids on pharmaceutical cocktails and continue to vaccinate them, mercury flu shots and all. The parents who think smart and go biomed tend to be across the board financially.
All the tutoring in the world won't help if the child's brain isn't functioning properly. Most of the "best" doctors at the "best" hospitals and universities have no clue how to make that happen.
I sometimes feel bad for the rich kids. "I take my kid to the Yale Child Study Center" has a lot more cache than "I have to send out a stool specimen to determine my kid's candida levels. " But you know which kid has a better chance.
Posted by: First do no harm | April 16, 2012 at 03:47 PM
You would think society would be less class conscious in our "modern" times. Everybody likes to feel good about themselves, but reality is nothing ever changes.
If you are rich your child gets all the tutoring, all of the services, all the therapies, all of the attention of rehabilitation. The rest of our families are ponded and our children put on waiting lists.
If you look at those that vociferously work to deny our vaccine-injured children justice, they have perhaps the grossest conflicts of interests there are.
Children:
First Class - 0 of 6 children were lost = Pct. Lost 0%
Second Class - 0 of 24 children were lost = Pct. Lost 0%
Steerage - 52 of 79 children were lost = Pct. Lost 65.82%
Women:
First Class - 4 of 144 women were lost = Pct. Lost 2.78%
Second Class - 13 of 93 women were lost = Pct. Lost 13.98%
Steerage - 89 of 165 women were lost = Pct. Lost 53.94%
Crew - 3 of 23 women were lost = Pct. Lost 13.04%
Men:
First Class - 118 of 175 men were lost = Pct. Lost 67.43%
Second Class - 154 of 168 men were lost = Pct. Lost 91.67%
Steerage - 387 of 462 men were lost = Pct. Lost 83.77%
Crew - 693 of 885 men were lost = Pct. Lost 78.31%
Posted by: Kerbob1 | April 16, 2012 at 02:13 PM
The loss of life on the Titanic was about 1500.
At the present rates, 1500 children descend into Autism every 19 days.
For some reason the CDC thinks the children lack a "proper gene" that prevents them from climbing out of the icy water and into a lifeboat...
Posted by: cmo | April 15, 2012 at 10:59 PM
Let them walk in my shoes half a day then they may just may have a little understanding or maybe not , why oh why is no one looking at Autism and trying to find out the cause , what are they scared of with 1 in 28 in New Jersey THIS IS AN EPIDEMIC , Donald Trump if you care so much lets get some work done , i have nothing but admiration for raising the subject , but how do you get people to listen Louis Theroux next Thursday 19th April BBC 9pm please watch
Posted by: Debora | April 15, 2012 at 07:13 PM
No they dare not care about our children , the sadness is that mums and dads give their lives for their children , and yes sometimes it is to much to bare and lives have been lost , parents have walked into the sea , parents have jumped off bridges and more how can the governments of this world allow this to continue , there is a strong need for us parents to educate these people , these people who do not have the foggiest idea about the lives of these precious children and their saints of parents , because that is what we are , the Titanic sank with many precious lives taken , we cannot allow our pain and our childrens pain to continue thankyou Jake a great piece
Posted by: Debora | April 15, 2012 at 04:45 PM
Jake, thanks for sharing this important warning from your family history. Can you imagine Titanic officials recommending to the passengers to keep on board. While somewhat concerning, they are not certain whether reports of increasing water levels in the lower decks represents a true breach or just greater awareness and shifting measurement techniques?!
@John Fryer, thank you for linking to Heather's timeline. I have found it useful in past, and she has added much more.
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | April 15, 2012 at 03:30 AM
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God, to Thee
There let the way appear steps unto heav'n;
All that Thou sendest me in mercy giv'n;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee
Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee,
Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upwards I fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Posted by: Ottschnaut | April 15, 2012 at 12:50 AM
@ John Fryer-
somehow I had found your amazing timelime earlier-excellent, informative, well done.
Thank you!
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | April 14, 2012 at 07:11 PM
Jake;
This is the 100th year for the Titanic. I know becaue my son was obsessed with the Titanic even before the movie. I think his first grade teacher turned him on to it. I have a five foot replica of the Titanic up in the loft of our metal buiding - perfect in every way from the number of window and all-- my son built it.
John Fryer loved your website. I am book marking it as a favorite.
Amazing that they increased the mumps in the MMR vaccine - so it was not the same vaccine that my children had. Good Gosh, the 1987 protection of vaccine makers just allowed full blown slaughter, more vaccines and even the safer ones made more dangerous.
Posted by: Benedetta | April 14, 2012 at 07:01 PM
The backbone of America and they turn away..shame on them all..
Angus
Posted by: Angus Files | April 14, 2012 at 06:24 PM
Thanks, Jake, for sharing your compelling family lore and admonitions. Think of all the CDC denialists desperately plugging holes in their sinking ship.
For 10 years I've read comments by the people who ensure that the epidemic vaccine-inducd autism continues. It's the self-imposed blindness of their hubris that strikes me -- bald statements like "I save lives!" or "I'm a vaccine warrior" or "Kids with autism do quite well."
Obviously these are not people who have spent any meaningful face time with sick children on the autism spectrum and their families, looking at medical records and behaviors that show the daily devastation. The psychological blocks the denialists maintain are similar to those of criminal abusers.
Society needs to develop a 12-step program to re-educate the serial public health child abusers whose fatally entrenched vaccine policies are quite literally killing us with kindness.
Posted by: nhokkanen | April 14, 2012 at 05:51 PM
Were all real people on here with identity to our countries.Why do our countries dis -own us now because we say vaccines cause autism ,or disabilities..the truth hurts some times ..
Angus
Posted by: Angus files | April 14, 2012 at 05:30 PM
And if that isn't a call to action, I don't know what is!
Hauntingly incredible post, Jake.
(added bonus: now I've got the Grateful Dead's version of Ship of Fools stuck in my head.
"It was later than I thought when I first believed you.
Now I cannot share your laughter, ship of fools.")
Posted by: Donna L. | April 14, 2012 at 05:24 PM
A fascinating and more than timely story Jake. And a well drawn analogy with the same components of lassitude, arrogance and stupidity leading to massive catastrophe. I liked the sound of your great great grandpa!
Posted by: Patricia | April 14, 2012 at 04:11 PM
Excellent piece there Jake, and another thing we share. My adoptive father was also aboard the Titanic. In third class as an infant. On April 11th 1912 he was exactly 9 months old. His father, like your great-great grand daddy also perished. It was my dad's survival of that disaster that has made it an obsession for me all these years.
The analogy is most fitting as well.
Posted by: Deborah | April 14, 2012 at 02:53 PM
Learning from history is possible.
I liked Heather White and her research on past TITANIC disasters of the vaccine lobby:
Worth a study if you haven't seen it before.
Heather White wrote on Jul 17, 2011 5:38 PM:
" The studies used to exonerate vaccines are large epidemiology studies that are unable to pick up small subsets of the population that might react to vaccines. But that isn't the only thing that makes them a poor tool for discrediting causation.
This study of the research "explains in detail the conflicts of interest, poor designs and unsupported conclusions in 16 different studies related to autism and vaccines. It includes the opinions of other authorities on these studies as well."
http://www.safeminds.org/research/library/SafeMinds%20Epidemiological%20Rebuttal.pdf
My son like so many others regressed into autism after vaccination. Here is a timeline I put together that details the history of vaccines and some of the health issues our children face.
http://interactivetimeline.com/653/causation-timeline/?w=320
Here is my webpage (a work in progress) that frames the data in the timeline.
Regards
Posted by: John Fryer | April 14, 2012 at 01:00 PM
God bless you Jake Crosby for all that you do. There are some amazing people in life and you are one of them. You will succeed. Keep up your efforts and they will start to listen. You are every day as much a hero as your great great grandfather.
Posted by: Nora | April 14, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Supreme analogy. Yes, arrogance, hubris and incompetence were all responsible for loss of life on the Titanic. A cluster of unexpected events, greed, lies and coverups played heavily in the events and factored in the loss of many lives. Yet individual brave stories of selflessness and courage provide lessons and inspiration for us all. (Unless they are sociopaths like Paul Offit.) Thanks again, Jake, for your perspective.
Posted by: ccredit | April 14, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Rumor has it that it was the Olympic that sunk not the Titanic, with the name plate switched from Olympic to Titanic and the Olympic painted the Titanic's black, all done for insurance money. Is it any surprise when government, medicine and corporations collude to conceal as in the autism epidemic or with the Titanic's coverup that many innocents die?
Posted by: mary podlesak | April 14, 2012 at 11:12 AM
Amazing story! Thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Ottschnaut | April 14, 2012 at 10:40 AM
If the CDC and AAP were on board the Titanic, the children would have been thrown into the icy water and all perished.
Posted by: cmo | April 14, 2012 at 10:14 AM
I couldn't agree more, Jake. Maybe a national email list of talks these people are giving and where that could be added to continually so that people could decide to attend them when they are local, or even to travel and meet up with friends there.
Posted by: Jenny | April 14, 2012 at 08:33 AM