Telegraph (Australia)

"JENNY McCarthy has a lot to answer for. The sometime actor, swimsuit model and one-time girlfriend of Jim Carrey is perhaps the most destructive celebrity in the Western world.

"McCarthy was instrumental in bringing the fringe anti-vaccine movement into the mainstream with an Oprah Winfrey interview in 2007 devoted to her kooky theories linking vaccines with autism. McCarthy's harrowing tale of her healthy son being struck down with "vaccine-induced autism" was powerful TV and resulted in a decline in immunisation rates in the US."

"The call for unvaccinated children to be excluded from childcare centres and public schools is gaining momentum and has the conditional support of Dr Steve Hambleton, federal president of the Australian Medical Association, who is concerned about vaccination rates in pockets of inner-city Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

"'We should certainly make it difficult for (unvaccinated) children to get to school,' he said.
"It seems absurd we can't send children to school or childcare with a peanut butter sandwich, but we can send an unvaccinated child who is a real and present danger to others. Our pets are afforded greater protection; you can't leave a cat or dog at a kennel without providing up-to-date vaccination records, but irresponsible parents who fail to immunise their children have no issues gaining a place in childcare centres or public schools.

"Inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine Professor Ian Frazer has called for childcare centres to have the right to ban unvaccinated children."

The issue of vaccines and autism isn't going away. There is a growing resistance to vaccination that will only get worse as we continue to hear about AUTISM---the mysterious disorder that can strike at will. Paul Offit is in the PI wanting to end religious exemptions. In Oregon they want to require parents to consult a doctor before they're allowed to exempt their children. Moves have been started to compile vaccination registries in states.  Things will only get worse.
 
Rock Hill (SC) Herald

"Flowers, cards, breakfast in bed, and lots of hugs and kisses all are what a mother typically expects to receive from her children on Mother's Day. But for many mothers of children with autism, their experience is very different. 'I know that Gavin will never come up to me and say 'Happy Mother's Day,' Monica Schrader said of her 3-year-old son who was diagnosed with autism about a year and a half ago."
 
With a 2 percent autism rate, Mother's Day coverage will naturally have to include stories about moms of autistic kids. Here's a very realistic one. This boy is severe. We're told one in 88 children have autism. The rate is applied across the population of South Carolina and that's how they came up with "more than 52,000 people with an autism spectrum disorder in South Carolina."
Imagine what the state of SC would be like if over 50,000 people had the disorder.
How sad that this mom can only resign herself to "acceptance."
 
New York Times

"... Dozens of genes contribute to the development of the disorders we call autism, schizophrenia, bipolar illness, severe depression and A.D.H.D. Two people with the same genetic predisposition to mental illness may manifest their conditions differently. Why? Because a patient's clinical picture depends on a jumble of other factors, including childhood adversity, head trauma, life experience and simple chance. ...

"Insurance companies cover services only if there is a diagnosis. Yet, the suffering of a patient who doesn't have the symptoms required to qualify for a diagnosis is no less real and no less worthy of professional attention....

"School districts also rely on the D.S.M. Conditions like autism, A.D.H.D. or conduct disorder must be diagnosed in students in order for them to qualify for special therapies.

"Parents press physicians to give children diagnoses, falsely inflating numbers of those with autism and A.D.H.D. It makes more sense to provide therapeutic services based on a child's degree of impairment at school, at home and with peers.

At face value, here's what the Times is saying about the autism and the DSM.

Yes, the DSM definitions are related to insurance coverage and school services (but nothing about the crippling costs of treating an autistic child).

Autism is mentioned in passing here (but the whole controversy over the elimination of Asperger's and PDD is neatly omitted).

Autism and ADHD are "mental illnesses."

And we are told that "dozens of genes contribute to the development of .autism" and that doctors have falsely inflated the autism numbers because of pressure from parents.

This is a preview of we can expect when the DSM5 comes out. More kids really aren't disabled. There's been 20 years of OVER-DIAGNOSING. The DSM 5 will correct the problem.

Naturally, there's no comment section on this story.

U of Houston-Victoria Advocate

"The University of Houston-Victoria is addressing the increase of autism in schoolchildren by providing a new graduate-level degree concentration that offers educators insight into the minds of those who have the disorder...."
 
Notice the definition: "Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the way CHILDREN interact..." They make no bones about it. It's a kid thing.

This is how crazy we've become. Here is proof that we've accepted of the end of childhood as we've known it.  Autism is now undeniably an epidemic. There's no pretense that it's no real increase...."increase in autism..." "as more children with autism......" Instead of demanding to know why, we're merely providing for the victims. Teachers need to be trained. This is a happy announcement of "a new graduate-level degree concentration."
 
A degree in autism? I think I already have one.
 
Seattle Times

"With the nation's highest rate of parents refusing vaccinations for their kindergartners, Oregon has become ground zero for the contentious debate over whether children should be vaccinated.

"A growing number of parents are declining some or all vaccines for their children out of fear of harmful side effects, alarming doctors and public health officials who fear the trend will create a resurgence of preventable diseases.

"The state Senate is scheduled to vote next week on a bill that would require parents to be educated about vaccines before they can exempt their children from them."

They're going after religious exemptions because almost all states have this and parents are using it. Dangerous ground I would think because "religious freedom" is so fundamental.

Likewise, they want to force parents to attend information sessions before they're allowed to claim their religious exemptions. 
 
This is another way to whittle away at resistance. It gives doctors a great opportunity to resort to using fear and intimidation to get parents to vaccinate. I posted 11 comments.
 
WFTV Orlando FL

"Even though the research did not examine WHY the patients seem to outgrow the disorder."
"Some believe between 10 and 20 percent of children who were diagnosed with autism may achieve optimal outcomes."
 
More of the mystery of autism. There's no known cause, cure, or prevention and for some reason yet undiscovered, some kids outgrow autism.
 
HLN-TV
 
"Five moms came together to make a documentary about autism"
"1 and 50 kids diagnosed with autism"
 
Listen to the moms talk about their children with autism. Regardless of whether their child is mildly or severely affected, the moms are so accepting of autism.

Mom: "It's who they are."

It's more conditioning.