Washington Post: From vaccines to Panetta-Burns, our fictional concerns

“Consider the Congressional hearing today on the dangerous link between vaccines and autism — again, not a real problem that exists, as countless studies have demonstrated. It is abundantly clear that vaccines save lives. Meanwhile, scientists can show no connection whatever between vaccines and autism. This is a fictional problem.

“Too bad. We are having a hearing about it. Next there will be a hearing about ‘How To Keep The Dragon Smaug From Ravaging Your Village’ and ‘Will The High Costs Of Troll Health Care Prove To Be A Hidden Tax?’ Frankly, I wish we were having those hearings. They at least would not be actively dangerous, perpetuating a harmful misconception that continues to endanger the lives of babies.

Alexandra Petri called autism and vaccines, “a fictional problem.”  The Post had no coverage of the hearing yet they can find time to ridicule Congress for holding it in the first place.  The real story here is that the media could care less about autism.  As long as health officials act mystified, pretend to be earnestly looking for answers, and NEVER EVER call autism a crisis, autism will remain a subject for satire. 

Bennington Banner 

“Parents made passionate pleas at a school board meeting last week for the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union to overhaul its autism programs.

“‘We need to make a major change for our students with autism,’ said David Crossman, who was one of seven parents with an autistic child who attended Thursday’s meeting hoping to influence a change. ‘The current program, plain and simple, needs to be ripped down, restructured, and it needs to come from the top.’ …

“Superintendent Catherine McClure acknowledged the need for improvement in SVSU autism programs. The programs have been short staffed because the SVSU has been unable to fill positions, she said. And McClure cited a national rise in the number of children on the autism spectrum that is reflected locally. Making it even more difficult is that needs vary greatly from child to child.

“‘The increase in number of students and variety of scope has caused stress on our delivery program,’ McClure said.

“Since 2008 the number of children on the spectrum has climbed from 30 to 51. Seven additional children with autism are expected to enter the school system by the end of the school year.”

Meanwhile, two staff positions remain unfilled: occupational therapist and behavioral specialist. …

Parents on Thursday pointed out that if things do not improve quickly, more children will likely be placed outside of the supervisory union, which will cost significantly more than bringing services to the schools. A residential placement at NECC costs SVSU more than $300,000 McClure said.

And no one asks why it’s happening. I posted a comment.

Slate  

Phil Plait: “And it’s very clear that there is no elevated rate of autism in the vaccinated children.”

Slate isn’t concerned about what autism is doing to children.  This is a resounding attack on Dan Burton and the House Reform Committee for daring to bring up vaccines and autism.  My comments were up but all were subsequently removed.

NPR Boston 

This is so sad. What better example of America’s acceptance of autism---no questions asked? We’ve seen two decades of soaring rates that have not been a cause for concern. Now the autism generation is aging into adulthood with nowhere to go. Shouldn’t this lead to questions? Shouldn’t people ask why this is happening? Countless articles from around the country describe the impact of young adults with autism. We never demanded to know where all the children were coming from and we’ll probably continue to scratch our heads over all the young adults with autism too.