Weekly Wrap: Review of United States of Autism Film; Temple Grandin's Gaffe
I had my guard up this week when I sat down with Cat Jameson and her husband, Steve, to watch The United States of Autism. Let's face it, there are a lot of autism movies, and a lot more in the pipeline. I'm interested in causation, not awareness, and I don't view autism as something we just need to get up close and personal with and all shall be well. And really, how good can something be that sprang to life thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from Pepsi?
My guard started dropping partway through the amazing opening credit sequence. I leaned over to Cat and whispered, "That's $50,000 worth of animation right there."
Well, it could have been, but as I learned later, the director and executive producer, Richard Everts, sat down and taught himself to do it after an a professional wanted a couple of thousand dollars for just the first few seconds. I learned that from Richard's wife, Sugey Cruz-Everts, also an executive producer, who attended the screening in Arlington, Va.
But on to the film itself. The gimmick is some guy taking reluctant leave of his wife and son and running around the country for 40 days, dropping in on lots of families with autism and a few experts, interacting, popping questions, shaking hands, hugging, and heading on down the road. At one level, it's like a bunch of Love It or List It episodes on HGTV jammed together: Host and (unseen) camera crew arrive at the door, family greets them, they go inside and chitchat for a few seconds about their difficult circumstances (two kids in one bedroom, etc., if we're talking HGTV). Once over lightly, but from a darker place.
Well, it could have been, if not for the guy they chose to do all that running around -- Everts himself. His interactions with the families don't have to be long and wordy because they are honest, human, and beautifully constructed -- and because Everts avoids the traps of this kind of filmmaking -- insipid narration, icky empathy, lingering fadeouts, tears for the sake of tears.
What you get instead are vivid glimpses of high-functioning kids and adults, full-syndrome kids who do or don't respond to various treatments, siblings who are coping or not (the one who really, really wants her sister to stop talking about "dictators" all the time is priceless), tales of bullying and acceptance and all the rest (including the stunning comment from a Muslim mom that a bystander compared her son to a terrorist during a meltdown).
You have to admire the sheer energy and intelligence that shines through -- not just the geographic pace, but the smart decision to whack the daylights out of just about every interview and leave the nubbin, whether it's two or three minutes or two or three sentences.
At one point, Everts arrives in New York City to interview Ezra Susser of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Setting up the interview, driving into New York, getting into the building, setting up the camera, making smalltalk, doing the interview, then doing it all in reverse ... that's a lot of work (and money) for only a minute or so of film.
But it's quite a minute. Here is a guy with gravitas saying that you might be able to discount half of the increase in autism due to better diagnosis, etc., but you're left with a fivefold increase. Fivefold! I might pick at that number, but it's a great thing to get on film and a great person to get it from. You don't have to go on about the epidemic after that; you just know that the people you're meeting in this film had no comparison just a couple of decades ago. Enough said, so to speak.
For me, the best scenes in the movie are Everts' interactions with the kids and their sibs: sword-fighting with them in the living room -- I can hear my mother yell, you could put your eye out with that thing! -- spraying a delighted boy with a garden hose in the driveway, etc. Yes, it's set up to happen, but it comes across as fun, not fake.
Some of the kids say wise things into his camera, but some are just, well, kids. There's one little boy trying to say what his sibling's autism means for him. "It's like well, it's like, it's like," says the boy, about 10 times. He's just too young to be able to say anything, and the way Everts shakes with laughter is, to me, the best moment in the movie. Autism isn't funny, but life still is.
Everts' appreciation for these families is a mirror of his own life back home in Pennsylvania with Sugey and their severely affected 14-year-old, Tommy. We see an evolution in Everts' approach to his son -- aided by a remarkable family reunion -- that is subtle and unforced but deeply moving.
Oh, and about causation? There was enough for me. Lin Wessels: "I believe Sam's autism was caused by the mercury in vaccines." Thank you, Ma'am! (And thanks for wearing the Age of Autism T-shirt -- so did another parent.) Tim Welsh talks about vaccines, and so does Dan Burton. (Everts went to Washington because he had appointments to see several movers and shakers, all of whom canceled. So let's not hear any whining from the "experts" about who he talked to and who he didn't.)
Sugey said afterwards that more and more screenings are being set up -- the one we went to was sold out, and I can see why. Word of mouth on this movie must be great. She also talked about getting Oscar consideration -- which requires being in a theater for a week each in New York and Los Angeles. Regardless of what happens, I think we'll be hearing -- and seeing -- more from the Everts.
I for one can't wait.
--
Temple Grandin needs to stick to her subject matter expertise. "And Dr. Grandin," asked S.E. Cupp on MSNBC this week, "why are you seeing such a dramatic rise in the number of autism cases? Have we gotten better at diagnosing or are we overdiagnosing?" (That's a clown question, bro!)
Here is Grandin's answer: "Well I think it's because the definition of autism over the decade has expanded. In my book The Autistic Brain, the whole history of a diagnostic manual is, go through it. Each decade or so they keep changing it, and they broadened it, where in the DSM-IV you no longer had to have speech delay, where now they're kind of tightening it up a bit.
"So some of it is just increased diagnosis. I can think of kids I went to college with that I know were on the spectrum. I have worked with people in meat plants that I know are on the spectrum but they run the maintenance shop. Now why is an old gray-hair like me got the job? Because as a little kid he was taught manners, he was taught social skills."
I'm not exactly clear on the plain prose sense of some of that -- I think she means that she ended up with a PhD rather than as a maintenance shop supervisor in a meat plant because her parents taught her manners and social skills.
But lending her gravitas to "increased diagnosis" as an explanation of the 1 in 50 rate that was flashing on the screen at the same time is incorrect and unfortunate.
I've got a movie she ought to see.
--
Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.
cia,
Your long term breastfeeding is likely responsible for your daughter's good health. Mother's milk is strongly anti-inflammatory, aids healing, prevents infection and is powerful in establishing and maintaining healthy gut flora. The health benefits of having been breastfed, especially for years, as nature intended, lasts for a lifetime. Good for you and thanks for bringing it up so that young parents can learn. Formula makers (Pharma) would have people think that their products are just as good. Breastfeeding, like vaccination, is also somewhat of a taboo topic. Isn't it interesting that they are both tied to the same commercial interests?
Posted by: Linda | August 11, 2013 at 10:52 PM
I remember Bachmann's comment, from Oct. 2010. I had a letter to the editor published about it. She said she had talked to a mom who said her daughter had reacted to Gardasil by becoming mentally retarded, and had believed her. What is there in this statement that was unbelievable, or that justified the feeding frenzy which followed? All the vaccines cause brain damage (and I believe every vaccine always causes at least a little, the inflammation that all vaccines always cause extends to the brain to some degree), why should this damage not include permanent impairment of cognitive function?
Twyla, you should read both of Hilary Butler's books, they're both brilliant, but From One Prick to Another includes several chapters on Gardasil, its dangers and inefficacy. Merck tests proved that in girls previously exposed to the virus, and it turns out now that HPV viruses are ubiquitous in our environment, and not acquired only through sexual contact, and many babies and toddlers have tested positive for exposure, the vaccine greatly increased the incidence of dangerous cervical lesions. And much, much more evidence proving that this is yet another extremely dangerous, useless vaccine.
Posted by: cia parker | August 11, 2013 at 02:14 PM
That's another question which might be profitably researched. My brother and I were damaged by the DPT, but were very healthy all through our childhoods (and overall, ever since). My daughter, damaged by the hep-B and DTaP, which caused her autism and GI disease, has always been otherwise very healthy, is rarely sick, has no allergies etc. She had pertussis and chickenpox, breast-fed on demand for years, has always eaten a lot of organic fruits and veggies, has only had antibiotics on three occasions (she's thirteen now). Lauren Feder cites evidence that the natural disease pertussis has cured asthma, and measles has cured eczema. Maybe getting natural diseases helps to straighten out immune response even after vaccine damage? My daughter did not have the MMR, varicella vax, or any of the newer ones, just polio, hib, and DTaP (besides the one fateful hep-B the day she was born). She had pertussis (despite the vaxes) and chickenpox. These factors may or may not have made any difference. I'm certain that a large number of children developed some degree of autism from the DPT (or individual vaccines before the '40s), because I know so many healthy, verbally impaired people that I'm sure were damaged by the DPT. But I think most of the autists before the '80s were minimally-damaged (so to speak) and remained basically healthy, like most of the autistics in Scandinavia today, with much lower rates of autism and usually much less severe autism when it occurs. A study should certainly be done on how many of our autistic children are immuno-compromised. Would it be from genetic factors, number of vaccines, age at which given?
Posted by: cia parker | August 11, 2013 at 02:00 PM
I commented somewhere a few weeks ago that there was no reason to believe that Temple Grandin had any expertise on the autism epidemic. OK, she had autism, but, like most autists, never had children, and so never had to research vaccine damage before deciding if and how to vaccinate, and never had a vaccine-damaged child to motivate her. She herself was undoubtedly damaged by the DPT vaccine that my brother and I reacted to with days of encephalitic screaming, and the subsequent development of Asperger's syndrome. And, as a vegetarian and animal rights advocate, it troubles me that Grandin receives such high praise for her ability to "think like an animal" because of her disability, and design a system for slaughterhouses to fool cows into thinking they're safe as they approach the fatal blades. Some who are the victims of any iatrogenic damage will research it and realize that it was the medical system which had damaged them, often becoming advocates for change, while others, equally victims, will continue to revere the medical system and deny that it had caused their damage, especially if they profit from the system.
Posted by: cia parker | August 11, 2013 at 01:46 PM
John;
I think academics, like anyone can change their views. Some ( like Dr Poling) will change through personal experience. Some (like Dr Wakefield) will investigate the facts for themselves. And as evidence piles up, some will slowly be convinced by the accumulating data.
If you notice many more mainstream scientists are now talking about environmental factors in autism..
And fewer and fewer are saying the increase is purely "better diagnosing".
Slowly more and more studies are looking at probiotics and gut flora.
Yes, I believe academics can and will change their views. I know one science type friend who was dogmatically certain global warming wasn't happening. ( To be honest, I'm more concerned about autism affecting so many children than I am about the weather, so I have never had much input on his views either way.)
The other day, he was saying that he is now changing his mind. Too many facts on the other side.
Posted by: Hera | June 12, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Thanks John Stone,
I will read through the links you provided.
Posted by: samaxtics | June 11, 2013 at 11:48 PM
I have just come across this observation in the blog of Dr David Healy using thalidomide as an example:
"But there is an even more profound problem (S7). Any of you who are waiting for Health Canada, FDA or academics to agree that a drug has caused a problem will be waiting forever. The response from companies and regulators to thalidomide was that how do we know that it’s not preventing spontaneous miscarriages so that these children who wouldn’t have been born if their mother hadn’t been on the drug are now being born. They did not concede the obvious – that the drug was causing the problem."
http://davidhealy.org/prescription-only-homicide-and-violence/
So, this style of excuse has been in use for more than 50 years, and is standard.
Posted by: John Stone | June 11, 2013 at 06:07 PM
PoliticalGuineaPig; it all depends on your point of view, I suppose.
I'm all for medical interventions; as long as those interventions improve the health of a particular individual, not worsen it.
Some illness used to kill; some with autism die as a result of drowning, wandering or seizures. Autism can kill too.( These death rates are quite a bit higher than the general population; you can check the numbers.)
However when you see cases such as Alex S. ( may he rest in peace) its hard to see an outcome to any illness that left me alive that I personally would find worse than being in pain, unable to communicate at all , and tied down to a bed for 19 plus days till someone cared enough to start complaining. ( You might want to read about the recent events at Loyola hospital) and this was the "best' treatment a modern hospital could provide for him..
If I was in Alex situation, I would want everyone to do everything they could to prevent more situations like mine, and to do everything they could to find enough of a cure to at least take the pain away and help me talk.
What possible sequel to a vaccine preventable disease that left you alive do you see as worse than what Alex went through?
Posted by: Hera | June 11, 2013 at 03:17 PM
Why in heaven's name would some blog commenter think that he or she was in a position to make a pronouncement about lumbar punctures? Assuming the reference is to the Lancet children, the court ruled that in the cases where Dr. Walker-Smith ordered lumbar punctures, they were clinically indicated.
http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/english-court-exonerates-mmrautism-doctor-uk-general-medical-given-sound-thrashing/
Posted by: Carol | June 11, 2013 at 12:49 PM
I really look forward to seeing the movie The United States of Autism! Thanks to everyone involved and to Dan for reviewing it!
Posted by: Twyla | June 11, 2013 at 11:30 AM
@Politicalguineapig
I'm no fan of Michele Bachman. But what she said about Gardasil is true. Maybe "mental retardation" was not quite the right phrase - maybe "cognitive impairment" would be more fitting, since "mental retardation" tends to imply something that was present since childhood and involves an IQ tested at below a certain level.
But Bachman was honestly repeating what was told to her by a mother. And this report is consistent with many other reports of post-gardasil vaccine injury. Here are some excerpts from these reports:
"memory loss"
"I am unable to concentrate for any length of time."
"I am no longer able to perform my job the way I used to. Before Gardasil, I was enrolled in college with a 4.0 and now I cannot even finish a book I am just trying to enjoy."
"brain fog"
"finds it difficult to concentrate and retain information"
"She’s stayed in College, though her grades fell from the Dean’s List prior to the vaccine."
"dizziness and brain fog (complaints of dyslexia)"
"She has struggled to get good grades over the past two years... She was constantly concerned she would lose her college scholarship. I had to let her know it was OK to get a C or even a D if she could just get through to the end of the school year."
"She went from being an Academically Gifted student to one who struggled to complete her 8th grade year of school. She was placed on a modified school plan by her principal who fully backed her because she was an excellent student who had been in the North Carolina Academically Gifted Program since 2nd grade."
"staring or blank episodes… memory loss, confusion, brain fog"
"Her concentration levels are poor and Kelly cannot sit down and read a book, which she always used to enjoy."
"She was an A/B student but was now failing her 10th grade year. She did fail and is now having to re-take the 10th grade."
"My daughter had a 3.8 GPA without even trying and she has failed all her classes since having this vaccination… she has brain fog and from once being the brightest kid on the block, a walking encyclopaedia she has often been called, she has great difficulty in remembering things, in concentrating for any length of time and is not the young academic she once was before Gardasil. Something has damaged my daughter and her school records would confirm her scholastic skills before being vaccinated."
"Memory Loss, Poor Concentration"
"brain fog, short term memory or confusion"
"trouble with short term memory"
"She went from being… Honor roll and straight “A”s her entire life… She is making the first “C”s of her life…"
"unable to concentrate or retain anything she learned in school"
Michelle Bachman was right, and it's amazing how she has been slapped down by a united chorus of politicians and media. Even seemingly good people don't look behind the hype.
The Truth About Gardasil
http://truthaboutgardasil.org/
Judicial Watch reports on Gardasil adverse reactions
http://www.judicialwatch.org/bulletins/gardasilhpv-vaccination-investigation/
GLOBAL CONCERNS ABOUT HPV VACCINES
http://sanevax.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/03.27.11-HPV-Vaccine-Fact-Sheet121.pdf
An Interview with Dr. Diane M. Harper, HPV Expert
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcia-g-yerman/an-interview-with-dr-dian_b_405472.html
Are the HPV vaccines harmless for some people? Will some people be protected from cancer due to the Gardasil and Cervarix vaccines? I don't know, but I do know that it is reprehensible to deny these serious adverse reactions without adequate study. Most of these families are unable to find helpful medical treatments because the conditions are so poorly understood. And it is a travesty that some of these girls showed escalating signs of adverse reactions but continued to get the full series because it didn't occur to anyone that their symptoms (headaches, dizziness, pain, tingling, and more) were vaccine-induced. That is not informed consent.
A routine autopsy would not show what was found here:
http://www.greatergoodmovie.org/TGG/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Death-after-quadrivalent-human-papillomavirus-vaccination-full-paper.pdf
Posted by: Twyla | June 11, 2013 at 11:28 AM
re: “These ASD kids used to die,” I was told, “but now they don’t. That’s why there’s so many more of them.”
This is pure fiction, an invention with no basis in fact or research.
re: "(Everts went to Washington because he had appointments to see several movers and shakers, all of whom canceled. So let's not hear any whining from the "experts" about who he talked to and who he didn't.)"
Madvocate, I think he means that if some so-called "experts" claim the film is unbalanced, they should keep in mind that the filmmaker tried to interview some govt-med establishment people but they canceled their appointments, refused to be involved.
Posted by: Twyla | June 11, 2013 at 11:09 AM
I heard Temple Grandin speak on the topic of prescriptions drugs for behavior and other issues. She said before trying drugs for behavioral issues you should try the GFCF diet. She said it's not hard - just eat meat, potatoes, rice, vegetables, fruits, and legumes for a few months and see if there's a change. She said based on her many conversations over the years with people all over the country this is worth trying. I was happy to hear her say that.
Posted by: Twyla | June 11, 2013 at 11:01 AM
John Stone says, "but then they'll just say anything now, won't they?"
So true, so frustrating, and when these statements are repeated often enough people believe them without questioning.
Posted by: Twyla | June 11, 2013 at 10:55 AM
Samaxtics
However McGill University has dealt with the many ethical challenges of the divine Eric, it is worth noting that he has removed to Oregon Health & Science University.
Fombonne's vile and loathsome career in autism is partly recounted by Ed Yazbak in a number of articles:
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/tale-two-cities-flawed-epidemiology
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/double-standards-f-edward-yazbak-part-1-3-0
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/translation-court-F-edward-yazbak-part-3-3
Posted by: John Stone | June 11, 2013 at 10:28 AM
@aline,
I had read that McGill was investigating Eric Fombonne. Are you aware of any progress in this matter? There has been zero mention of it in the English papers.
Posted by: samaxtics | June 11, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Politicalguineapig complains about mudslinging!
Posted by: John Stone | June 11, 2013 at 07:00 AM
Guys, Bachmann is a stone-cold liar.
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/michele-bachmann/statements/
3 pages, they've been compiling statements since 2009, which doesn't even take into account her time as a state representative. Heck, before her Congress run, she was well-known for her outrageous behavior, lying, and mud-slinging. If she said the sky was blue, I'd need ten confirmations.
What makes you think she could possibly be telling the truth about HPV? Even IF the case actually happened, it's irrevocably tainted by the messenger.(Who would confide in a snake like her anyway?)
Jenny: I never said I thought mitochondrial disorders are natural, nor do I think victims suffering the adverse results of man's scientific tinkering over the past 150 years should be left to suffer pain and misery.
But you don't see anything wrong with the 'pain and misery' quite a few once-common diseases inflicted? Or in subjecting autistic kids to unneccessary procedures like lumbar punctures? Not to mention all the 'cures' I keep hearing about..
Posted by: Politicalguineapig | June 10, 2013 at 11:20 PM
Dr Éric Fombonne!...Dans la destruction des enfants au Québec pris dans les griffes des services à l’enfance DPJ, de gros joueurs, certains psychiatres qui par allégeance, ou considérations partisanes à maintenir des standards artificiels pour la publication et l’obtention de fonds de recherche n’hésiteront pas à délivrer des « maladies à la carte, sur mandat du DPJ», sait-on jamais cela pourrait toujours servir la science!…: «c’est comment ça que ça marche au QG du Dr Éric Fombonne du MCH» : Le parent escorté d’une intervenante du DPJ se rend dans un immeuble désaffecté, rue Ste Catherine qui donne froid au dos. A l’entrée de l’immeuble se trouve un appariteur assis à une table dans l’obscurité, le parent est invité à décliner son identité et remplir un billet comme dans les régimes soviétiques, après approbation d’un organe de contrôle contacté au téléphone, le parent toujours escorté de l’intervenante du DPJ monte à l’étage supérieur, dans ce lugubre édifice, pas âme qui vive en dehors du Dr Fombonne, fin prêt au sacrifice d’enfants sur mandat express du DPJ, l’intervenante du DPJ est entendue en premier sans la présence du parent protecteur , lors de l’examen clinique aucune information fournie par le parent, (je précise protecteur) n’est prise en considération, le diagnostic tombe sans appel à la première rencontre, le parent est invité à signer un papier d’une subvention de 160$/mois pour étiqueter l’enfant à la Régie des Rentes, des références pour bilans ultérieurs qui ne verront jamais le jour sont remises au parent, La job terminée, une lettre est adressée par le Dr Fombonne au parent ciblé, l’invitant à s’adresser désormais au médecin traitant de l’enfant qui se trouve être «un médecin de pédiatrie sociale»,Le jour de l’audience à la chambre jeunesse, Dr Fombonne témoin expert du DPJ qui n’a jamais revu l’enfant viendra témoigner à la place de l’intervenante du DPJ pour retirer la garde au parent aimant protecteur et de ce fait même le DPJ qui a le fardeau de la preuve va se soustraire au témoignage et le tour est joué , le DPJ va tenter de faire signer une entente au parent ciblé : «de reconnaitre le diagnostic émis par le Dr Fombonne, de s’’engager à ne faire aucune autre évaluation pour confirmer le diagnostic du Dr Fombonne et de consentir au droits de garde fixés par le DPJ» L’enfant pris en otage, commence alors la descente aux enfers du parent aimant, protecteur , l’enfant quant à lui va sombrer dans les dédales du DPJ, médication forcée avec de puissants psychotropes,’’Risperdal’’ séparation d’avec la figure d’attachement, l’enfant va dépérir au fils du temps, Dr Fombonne quant à lui disparaitra dans la nature , l’enfant ira rejoindre le rang des orphelins de Duplessis..
Posted by: aline | June 10, 2013 at 01:59 PM
I believe Bachmann was repeating what the mother of a Gardasil-injured daughter told her regarding her child's brain injuries.
Why would the term "mental retardation" be the cause of such hilarity? It could be an appropriate description--at least as far as DSM-III-R is concerned:
"DSM-III-R places ‘Mental Retardation’ in the category of ‘Disorders Usually First Evident in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence’. Its essential features are given as
(1) Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning; an IQ of 70 or below on an individually administered general intelligence test (for infants, a clinical judgement of significantly subaverage general functioning, since available IQ tests do not yield numerical IQ values).
(2) Concurrent deficits or impairments in adaptive functioning...
(3) Onset before the age of 18.(DSM-III-R, p. 31)"
Posted by: Carol | June 10, 2013 at 01:35 PM
Politicalguineapig,
It may have been a bad choice of word on the part of Bachman but if you look up the case of Zada Pingel you'll see that she has severe intellectual disability.
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/8550607-417/jerry-davich-new-government-recommendation-offers-shot-of-controversy.html
One case like this is one too many from a vaccine that has not proven to protect a single person from cervical cancer.
The definition of intellectual disability (mental retardation) fits very well her condition.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001523.htm
If you think what happened to her is an acceptable side effect than there is something wrong with you.
Posted by: Cassandra | June 10, 2013 at 01:32 PM
Ooooo, sizzle sizzle burn . . . tssssss - thumb on butt.
I never said I thought mitochondrial disorders are natural, nor do I think victims suffering the adverse results of man's scientific tinkering over the past 150 years should be left to suffer pain and misery.
Quite frankly, I think if the chemical industry (and by extension their clients, the big ag & pharmaceutical industries) decided to quit "discovering" new chemical compounds that they then need to find a "use" for, they would still make unfathomable amounts of money just trying to safely deconstruct and neutralize everything they've put on the market up to now. It could take centuries to untangle their own mess - think of the money!
If they play their cards right, they'd even end up the heroes without the majority of the country catching on that they were the villains to begin with. Kind of like money laundering.
Posted by: Jenny | June 10, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Politicalguineapig
I don't know what Bachman said but certainly vaccines can cause encephalopathies resulting in learning difficulties as well as autism - many autistic people also have learning difficulties. Maybe Bachman was being vague but it certainly is not a ridiculous claim.
Your remark to Jenny is really offensive. Unlike vaccine culture apologists we are mostly not dogmatists.
Posted by: John Stone | June 10, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Ottoschnaut: Nope, sorry, Bachmann's on record. I'm from her state, and it was all over the news. She totally believed it too.
Jenny: I thought your movement was all about 'letting nature take it's course.'
Posted by: Politicalguineapig | June 10, 2013 at 11:13 AM
"ASD kids used to die"? When? In the 70s?
Posted by: Carol | June 10, 2013 at 09:54 AM
I understand the words, but I hope the implication is not that they should have died, or that we should let nature take its course so that doctors do not have to be "bothered" with handling such complex cases. The numbers keep going up and they need to learn how to treat.
Here we see that some mitochondrial disorders, which we've heard somewhere could be exacerbated by vaccines, could be very underdetected, but that there is new technology to uncover them, and those numbers may be as high as 7% of the population!
"Rare Mitochondrial Mutations – Maybe Not So Rare? Comprehensive Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Will Aid Early Diagnosis"
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=131840&CultureCode=en
And so it looks like we also need to see how ALL the chemicals in things like roundup affect "underlying" mito disorders, too.
Not such a far fetched idea that vaccines and certain pesticides affect the same pathways. Infinite number of manmade toxic combinations, and a not infinite number of human body systems.
Posted by: Jenny | June 10, 2013 at 08:01 AM
I picked up Temple Grandin's new book at Costco, went to the index under "vaccines." Read the page, and when she said that Wakefield's findings have never been reproduced, I decided not to buy it. I was disappointed.
Posted by: Cynthia Cournoyer | June 10, 2013 at 01:05 AM
Thank you, Dan Olmsted! I was so pleased that you, Cat and Steve took time out to go and see the film for yourselves. Honestly, I am proud as proud can be! We feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of Richard and Sugey's vision. They are good people with great vision for the autism movement. And.....to have you not only view the film but review it as well. I am so fortunate and truly blessed. Thank you.
Posted by: Lin Wessels | June 09, 2013 at 11:33 PM
I was a little reluctant to have a film crew come into our home, but Richard and his film crew were terrific.
We really appreciated the opportunity to be a part of the movie. 2 days after filming, we had movers come in and pack up and headed north to Minnesota from Oklahoma.
Posted by: Wayne Rohde | June 08, 2013 at 09:25 PM
I have heard Temple Grandin speak, and when someone asked her about vaccines she said that she has heard many parents mention that their child's issues seemed to start with a vaccination, so it was something that we should look into. In other words, she was open minded and supportive.
Posted by: Carolyn Flannery | June 08, 2013 at 08:56 PM
I heard Temple grandin speak once and that was enuf times for me. Good person, good mother, but rather wishy washy on the subject of increase. She's been fine over the years for promoting "awareness" but I hope we're beyond that now. She also represents such a small portion of our kids. I doubt good manners would get my grandson through college. She's also wishy washy on the subject of environmental triggers.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | June 08, 2013 at 05:39 PM
In her latest book, "The Autistic Brain," and in an interview with the New York Times, Temple Grandin acknowledged that the MMR might cause autism:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/magazine/temple-grandin-on-autism-death-celibacy-and-cows.html?_r=0
Of course she got slammed for that and is now backpedaling. And we all know the classic definition of a gaffe: when you momentarily forget yourself and make the mistake of telling the truth.
Posted by: JerseyGuy | June 08, 2013 at 05:16 PM
Vickie;
My example of my two are just the opposite. Born perfect - passed the baby test - real high (I was so proud).
No problems untill the very first vaccine.
Oh yeah I had a double second cousin that died of scarlett fever. She reacted to the antibiotic shot the doctor gave her. Yeap she came all the way to our little town out of the back water creek to get an antibiotic shot and did not make it back to the doc before dying.
Posted by: Benedetta | June 08, 2013 at 01:50 PM
Great to hear. Thanks, Pepsi! We consumers really do pay attention to these kinds of things. Just the other day I was looking for sports drinks (it sure was hard to find ones without aspartame or dye but I did and those were the ones I bought). Even the store clerk said that consumers are demanding less of that aspartame crap. L for love, Rumsfeld!
Posted by: Jen | June 08, 2013 at 01:28 PM
Can't wait to see it! Do we have a day yet for Chicago?
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | June 08, 2013 at 01:17 PM
Thank You... tears
Posted by: TannersDad Tim | June 08, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Dan (Burns)
I recall being told at a consultation meeting of our local authority c. 1999 that there were two distinct groups who were placing a new burden on our special needs budget. One was autistic children, and the other was children born with birth defects who would not previously have survived. No room for confusion, I think, between the two - but then they'll just say anything now, won't they? Any kind of commonsense explanation is well past (or a truthful one).
John
Posted by: John Stone | June 08, 2013 at 09:30 AM
Re : SE Cupp- while denigrating Bachman, I turned off MSNBC after the ignorant host (Alex Wagner?)ridiculed Bachman for her "vaccines cause mental retardation"comment- which, of course, never happened.
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | June 08, 2013 at 09:00 AM
For some, Dan Burns, that pediatric neurologist might not be completely off-base. My son had a very odd immune system from birth. Mononucleosis at 13 months, tested positive for TB at age 7 (NO idea where he picked that up), scarlet fever at age 8, countless ear infections and strep infections...in an age before modern medicine, it is quite likely that he would have died as a young child.
So I think what that pediatric neurologist was saying was that infants and toddlers with weak immune systems - the very types more likely to develop ASD today - might not have lived long in a former age. That has nothing to do with the issue of what causes autism; rather, it just means that we may have more children today who have a higher propensity for autism due to living with a weak immune system.
Posted by: Vicki Hill | June 08, 2013 at 08:45 AM
A psychiatrist well know for his treatment and work with people with autism - told me as- we were suppose to come back to his office and watch of films - of Grandin - that he did not believe she had autism.
So there you are better diagnosis????
Meanwhile; Did you all know that people all grown up - with this - this -- autism - has panic attacks?
Sounds like a really good movie, I would love to see it someday.
Posted by: Benedetta | June 08, 2013 at 08:39 AM
“These ASD kids used to die,” I was told, “but now they don’t. That’s why there’s so many more of them.” This startling insight from a pediatric neurologist.
“What did they die of?” I thought to myself. “Did their parents kill them?” Wish I’d asked, but the conversation needed to move on.
Posted by: Dan E. Burns | June 08, 2013 at 08:09 AM