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October 2013

How American Vaccine Court Works (For Pharma and Govt, Not Victims)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S1-LgYyjQg

Why is there still a vaccine/autism controversy? Because families have been blocked from getting Canary squareinto a REAL court to prove that vaccines have caused their child's autism.

The Canary Party (with the voice of Rob Schneider) presents this video on the corrupt Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to show how the federal government and pharmaceutical companies continue to get away with claiming that vaccines don't cause autism in the face of mounting evidence that they are doing just that in a growing number of children.

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All Puckered Up

Pucker Up
By Cathy Jameson


This week was more tiring than previous ones.  We’ve returned to a more structured routine with the start of Ronan’s new school year.  As busy as I know we’ll be, I couldn’t wait for school to begin.  I didn’t realize how much I needed structure until we didn’t have it over the summer.  Ronan needed it, too and has done well transitioning back with his dedicated team.  Every day, Ronan’s come home happy and with good reports.  He’s been in good shape each afternoon and even surprised me with how alert and active he was as we neared the weekend.  I, on the other hand, have been worn out. 

By the time my kids come home from school I’m ready to for bed.  I haven’t gotten used to setting the alarm each morning, and unfortunately, I wake up cranky wearing the face of a sourpuss.  Mornings and I don’t do well.  Afternoons suddenly don’t agree with me either.  It now takes an extra cup of coffee during the day to feel like I’m able to function among the living.  Midweek I snuck in a nap (alright, two naps) hoping to get a bit of rest to survive the entire week.  I didn’t realize how much energy it was going to take for me to get back into the swing of things.  Ronan has made it look so easy! 

Ronan didn’t slow down at all, and in fact, was keeping up with all of his therapy and school demands.  When Friday came along, even though Ronan looked alert and showed no signs of distress, I knew not to push him too hard.  One too many activities can throw him over the edge.  Not this week though.  And, on Friday afternoon, just as we were wrapping up his last bit of an after-school therapy appointment, I thought Ronan’s full and physically taxing schedule would finally catch up with him.  It didn’t.  Instead, he showed me a new skill.  It was so big and wonderful that it took my breath away. 

Ronan finished his session early and walked over to where I was in the hallway.  He signed, ‘Mom, Wii bowling please yes’ with the goofiest grin.  Ronan had worked incredibly hard all week and deserved some extra time to chill out.  I looked at him and said, “Sure, Buddy! Let’s say goodbye first.” 

Ronan and I sat on the steps near the front door and waited for his therapist to pack up his things.  Tucking his arms in so I could cuddle him, Ronan sat in my lap and snuggled.  We sat quietly together for one minute, two minutes…three.  I loved that he slowed down enough to want to be held.  As we sat, Ronan gazed into my eyes.  Ronan can make eye contact but doesn’t always sustain it.  This stare was different and felt like it was going to last forever.  It also felt like Ronan was about to say something.  Not wanting to lose contact, I said, “What a love you are!  You are so snuggly today.  Mommy is really proud of you.” 

Continue reading "All Puckered Up" »


The Write and Wrong of Autism in the Media

Mia Writing Sample

By Kim Stagliano

What if you did not know me  and you saw that photo above,  what would you think?  That I have a nice 4 year old, perhaps? Would you smile if you had no idea that I am a Mother Warrior with three daughters on the spectrum? Not just on the spectrum, but on the "wrong side of the tracks" of the spectrum.  Huh? Wrong side? Hell yes. We're seeing the full assault on low verbal, behavior-intense boys, girls, teens, young adults with autism right now in the Alex Spourdalakis story.  We couldn't get the attention of a single media outlet while he was in the hospital. Now, after his gruesome murder, the PR machine has slipped into gear and roared out of the gate to make sure that somehow, anyhow, the non-genetics segment of the autism populations would be tinged, no make that engulfed from head to toe, in guilt.  Especially anyone associated with gut injury, and you know who that means, dear AofA reader.

(BTW, I've never apologized for a single parent who has murdered his or her child - with or without autism. And I continue to make no excuses. We have a moral obligation to our kids to keep them safe - even if that means safe from ourselves.  My chapter "Mother Superior" in my memoir is all about the string of murders in our community including a mother in England who poured Drano into her son's throat, none of which have been used/covered like Alex's.)

The photo above is the fridge worthy type of art most parents of preschoolers display with pride. Except that it is the 12th grade work of my 18 year old daughter. Oh. Insert awkward pause here.

Yesterday the PBS kids show Arthur was on, and they aired the episode about Asperger's. It was done fairly well. The child  with AS had a meltdown during a playdate and his typical peer felt confused and scared.  After the meltdown the typical child talked to a friend who told him his uncle had Asperger's.  They proceeded to show a framed newspaper article about the uncle's Nobel prize in science as a local professor.

Take a look at the photo above.

Autism in the media looks very little like what my three daughters have - very litte indeed. Ari Ne'eman speaking for my girls as an expert?  A farce.  Even Temple Grandin, a female herself, looks nothing like my girls who actually have far more emotion, facial expression and ability to be physically loving compared to what I have seen in Dr. Grandin over the years.

How many times have you said (like I have) "when you meet one person with autism, you've met one person with autism."   My girls matter. And their autism is a valid and real, even if rarely acknowledged in the media portrayals.   Your child too.

Write?

House of Cards 200 pixelsKim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism. Her novel,  House of Cards; A All I Can Handle 50 pixel Kat Cavicchio romantic suspense is available from Amazon in all e-formats now. Her memoir, All I Can Handle I'm No Mother Teresa is available in hardcover, paperback and e-book.

 






 

 


Dachel Media Review: Playground, New School, Baby Expo

Online newsBy Anne Dachel

Read Anne's comments after the jump.


Sept 6, 2013, NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA: Playground at Virginia Institute of Autism a Success

Sept 5, 2013, CBS Philly: New School In Montgomery County Caters To Kids With Autism

Sept 5, 2013, Long Beach Post: Natural and Holistic Baby Expo Brings Alternatives to Long Beach Parents

Continue reading "Dachel Media Review: Playground, New School, Baby Expo" »


The Continued Weirdness of Emily Willingham

WillinghamBy Anne Dachel

Emily Willingham wrote the story, 10 Weirdest Things Linked To Autism, on Sept 4, 2013.

She wrote,

"9. Vaccines. It's dead, Jim. Stop flogging the poor, dead hypothesis. Let's just bury it in a simple, private ceremony.

"10. Mothers. Not that mothers are necessarily strange, but everything we do seems to be linked to autism: Having children close together, having them in a certain order, being a certain age, having antibodies, having children in summer, having wombs and gestating embryonic and fetal humans in them, using Clomid, IVF, terbutaline, or labor induction, being pregnant near freeways, donating bad mitochondria to offspring, partnering with older fathers, passing genes to our children, eating, treating depression, getting an infection during pregnancy, including the flu, not getting an infection, being depressed, or behaving like refrigerators."

I posted comments reminding her that all the studies linking autism to everything imaginable are reported by the mainstream press, including Forbes, as legitimate science.  Most of the research is from grant money and tax dollars.  Millions and millions have gone into this dead-end stuff.  I said that the vaccine studies from the government have a direct trail to pharma.  (I see that comment isn't up.)  I also said that officials and mainstream medicine have never called autism A CRISIS.
She wrote a comment in response: "...I'm looking at my boy right now, and I don't think 'crisis.' Your mileage may vary."

I posted back about the parents who lead lives of quiet desperate dealing with a severely autistic child.   I brought up the tragic death of Alex Spourdalakis and the coverage by CBS  and the Daily Mail (UK).

She wrote back and slammed those who would cover Alex's mother sympathetically.  And this led to her writing a whole piece today on the death of Alex where she described his mother as killing him in "cold blood" and blamed the autism community for the false idea that he had "a gut condition." 

In her world, autism is never a real problem, (even though she's a parent herself).  Parents linking it to vaccines and other health conditions like gut issues and seizures are simply wrong. 

Continue reading "The Continued Weirdness of Emily Willingham" »


Contact CBS: Support its Strong Reporting on Alex Spourdalakis

SharylBy Dan Olmsted

CBS feedback line 212-975-3247 to support Sharyl.  Click CBS Feedback HERE to send message.  Tweet @cbsnews and @cbsthismorning.

The death of Alex Spourdalakis is really freaking out the pharma-phunded shills, vaccine injury apologists and self-appointed advocates for themselves, who have mounted what seems like a coordinated effort to discredit Sharyl Attkisson's strong reporting on the tragedy.

What to do? Let CBS know they shouldn't listen to a half a dozen hacks who turn up like worms after a thunderstorm to try to deflect attention from the real issue -- the lack of proper medical care for children suffering -- yes, suffering -- from autism. That suffering surely includes, in many cases as in Alex's, the kind of acute GI damage that Sharyl's report showed last Friday.

You don't hear any of the shills worrying about that. Rather, they trot out the usual key words -- quack, crank, discredited, etc. -- to shut down conversation.

Maybe these geniuses could show us what a healthy gut looks like and we can compare it to Alex's.

Unlikely. Instead, these guys make it sound like the report excused Alex's death -- "his murder," as Sharyl labeled it several times -- by his mother and caregiver ("his killers," Sharyl said).

Say what?

As more vaccine court cases linked to autism emerge, the CDC starts talking about vague "environmental" causes (yes, your vaccines!) and parents (wisely) pick and choose their kids' vaccine schedule, this sad, desperate effort to shut down good reporting that veers too close to the truth gets louder.

Here's how Sharyl's straightforward reporting gets twisted. During the segment, Sharyl introduces an interview with Ari Ne'eman: "He says lack of help is no excuse for murder."

Pretty clear, eh?

But over at Left Brain Right Brain, Matt Carey chose to ignore Sharyl's words and quote the accompanying CBS Web site report: "The written article states,  'But some in the autism advocacy community take issue with the idea that lack of help is an excuse for murder.'”

Not idea wording -- all, not some, in the autism advocacy community, and every decent person everywhere, takes issue with anything as an "excuse" for murder. (Probably written by an intern after watching Sharyl's segment.) But hey, it's fodder for making Sharyl look insensitive. Carey writes: "Really? Only some? And is this somehow limited to the autism community? Ms. Attkisson, what is your position? Is a lack of support an excuse for murder?"

Hey Matt, murder is illegal. Hey Ari, this comment you made to Sharyl is the definition of a straw-man argument: "I think an ideology, a dangerous ideology that preaches that people are better off dead than disabled is what led to Alex Spourdalakis' murder."

What ideology, preached by whom?

Sharyl is up for three Emmy Awards this year, including ground-breaking work on the Benghazi attack. This after her reporting on Fast and Furious that shook things up in the Justice Department. But now, on this issue alone, she's gone completely off the rails?

I don't buy it.

So call CBS at 212-975-3247 and support Sharyl.  Click CBS Feedback HERE to use their message form.

Tweet @cbsnews and @cbsthismorning, and thank the Tiffany network for not bowing to pharma's special interest errand boys, and for taking not just the death, but the life of Alex Spourdalakis seriously.

--

Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.

 


Science As Social Control

ObeyExcerpted from the SafeMinds website:

By Lyn Redwood

For years now I have been trying to understand why the huge focus and investment on genetics in autism research when to date the findings have been dismal. I also could not understand why promising research investigating environmental factors have been dismissed or worse yet, conducted in a manner to purposefully manipulate significant finding away from their connection to certain risk factors (like mercury or vaccines). Then I came across this article, Science as Social Control Political Paralysis and the Genetics Agenda, which explained perfectly what I instinctively knew, science is being used as a means of exonerating industry and/or government for culpability by blaming the individual for having the poor luck of bad genetics.

The author of the article reviews recent publication in the prestigious journal Science which investigated whether variations in individual “educational attainment” (essentially, whether students complete high school or college) could be attributed to inherited genetic differences. According to the research, fully 98% of all variation in educational attainment is accounted for by factors other than a person’s simple genetic makeup.  But nowhere in the title of the paper, the accompanying press release or in the summary was this important fact even mentioned!  The focus was on the identification of three gene variants that each contributed 0.02% to the variation in educational attainment.  And instead of calling for effective ways to help all children to reach their full potential, the 200 plus authors called for more genetic research to follow-up on these “promising candidate SNPs”.  Read the full post at the SafeMinds site.

Dachel Media Review: Brit Boys, ER Lessons As Epidemic Ages

Online newsBy Anne Dachel

Read Anne's comments on the mainstream news reports after the jump.

Sept 3, 2013, UK Daily Mail: Five-year-old children arrive in primary school still in NAPPIES and unable to speak or recognise their own name

Sept 2, 2013, Pittsburgh Tribune: Autism experts help ease ER trips

Continue reading "Dachel Media Review: Brit Boys, ER Lessons As Epidemic Ages" »


Maurine Meleck: One Courageous Autism Grandmother

Maurine PodiumBy Anne Dachel
 
The one undeniable fact about the autism epidemic is that it's grossly under-reported in the media. Oh sure, news stories about autism are everywhere, but they seem to be saying the same thing: the U.S. is adjusting well to having hundreds of thousands of disabled children everywhere. Articles almost never call autism a crisis. Reporters seem to be more interested in pretending that an epidemic of children on the spectrum is nothing to worry about. Two decades of health officials and medical experts with no answers is acceptable. Coverage of the controversy over vaccines and autism is hopelessly one-sided and phony. But the public hasn't been convinced by all the misinformation. Too many people are talking about THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. One of these folks is my friend, Maurine Meleck, who lives in North Augusta, SC. She has cared for her 16 year old autistic grandson, Joshua, for over 10 years. She's worked to recover him through biomedical treatments and supplements. She also an incredible advocate for the truth.
 
For thirteen years she's worn lots of T-shirts that she's gotten at conferences and rallies. She said she's actually thinking of sewing them into one big blanket.
 
Some of the messages on the shirts are very subtle, others not so much. Her first shirt was from Unlocking Autism back in 2000. This year, after attending Autism One in Chicago and seeing hundreds of parents, Maurine got the idea of making her own T-shirt to start a conversation about the link to vaccines.

Continue reading "Maurine Meleck: One Courageous Autism Grandmother" »


Join Jacqueline & Chris Laurita at the National Autism Association VaConference

Nac banner

Summer has ended and it's time to launch into Fall (insert HUGE cheer here.)  That means it's time to start planning your vaconference with National Autism Association. If vaconference isn't a word, it should be, because that's what NAA has created for attendees.

Held each November at the family owned Trade Winds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, the NAC is the perfect mix of beach vacation for you and your child(ren) and chock a block informative autism conference.   The cost is only $150 and scholarships are available.

Learn more and register HERE.


Join us in beautiful St. Pete Beach for this family-friendly event featuring the country's leading experts on Autism Spectrum Disorders.

NAC cabana chairs

TradeWinds Island Resorts are two resorts, just steps away from one another on the white sands of St. Pete Beach, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. With 14 dining and entertainment options, 7 pools, full service salon and spa, activities center for the kids and more, TradeWinds is the perfect location for a relaxing and fun getaway.


In November of 2010, TradeWinds Island Resorts was designated an Autism Friendly business by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (C.A.R.D.). TradeWinds employees underwent C.A.R.D.’s training program, which taught employees how to better meet the needs of guests who have autism and their families. Employees who have been through the training are easily identified by the puzzle piece pin on their nametags.

At TradeWinds, you can rest assured that they will take all your needs into consideration so you can “just let go”.

During your visit you can request a “Safety Kit” available for your room, which includes a hanging door alarm, corner cushions for tables and outlet covers.

For those with special diets, they have gluten free offerings available in our dining outlets. As a special treat they also have our Snack Attack amenity available, which includes a TradeWinds lunch bag and gluten free snacks.

For children, the KONK (Kids Only No Kidding) has special sensory activities available as well as selected drop-off programs for kids. Please call KONK at 727-363-2294 in advance to speak with a counselor about your child’s needs and so they can staff appropriately.

Call 800-808-9834 today to speak to one of their friendly reservation agents about how they can best accommodate you and your family during your stay.

Review and print the TradeWinds Social Stories Book to fully anticipate the resort’s offerings before your visit.

Dachel Media Update: Autism Friendly Lion King, Measles in TX

Online newsBy Anne Dachel

Read Anne's comments after the jump.

Sept 2, 2013, Vaccine Liberation Army: (VIDEO) Dr. Russell Blaylock, Neurosurgeon: How Vaccines Harm Child Brains


Sept 1, 2013, Washington Post: Worrying - unnecessarily - about vaccinating your child 
 
Sept 1 2013, Peoria (IL) Journal Star: Measles cases put Texas megachurch under scrutiny


Sept 1, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh is among first cities to present autism-friendly 'Lion King'

Sept 1, 2013, Nampa (ID) Post-Tribune: Specialists, teachers discuss approaches to children with autism

August 31, 2013, Longview (TX) News-Journal: Again, online information often misleads

August 31, 2013, Fox 2 Detroit: Measles cases put Texas megachurch under scrutiny

August 29, 2013, Dallas Morning News: Anti-vaccine superstition endangers us all The Dallas Morning News

Continue reading "Dachel Media Update: Autism Friendly Lion King, Measles in TX" »


Dachel Video Q&A with Dr. Ken Stoller: Does DC Care About Our Kids' Health?

Dr. Ken StollerBy Anne Dachel
 
A while ago I made up my mind to report on doctors who aren't afraid to speak out about what's happening to our children. There really are people like this out there. They're ethical men and women who don't buy the pretend science surrounding autism and vaccines and they're not afraid to say so. They know autism is a serious medical condition affecting a generation of children at an epidemic rate while health officials and most doctors show only a passing interest.
 
Ken Stoller, MD. is one such doctor. He practices medicine at the Amen Clinic in South San Francisco. He completed his training at UCLA Medical School and has thirty years experience working in New Mexico and in California. He was also a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico from 2002 to 2005.
 
Stoller has seen autism become an epidemic. "When I went into private practice straight out of residency in the mid 1980's, I had never seen a child with autism--never. When I saw my first child with regressive apraxia, I don't think I even said the word autism to his family. [This was before they introduced the HepB at birth.] Here was a four year old boy who was trying so hard to say something that could be understood. All that would come out of his mouth were grunts and growls. The more he wanted to be heard, the more frustrated he became. It was like an old time switchboard operator plugging in all the wrong phone cords in all the wrong holes."
 
After being a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics for over twenty years, Stoller felt he had to resign because "of their hypocrisy and refusal to honor their commitment to remove mercury from vaccines."
 
Stoller has always practiced what is known as complimentary and alternative medicine. As a pediatrician, he's worked with children who have serious developmental problems and he's firmly convinced that our vaccination schedule is making our kids sick. As President of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association, he's seen firsthand what bio-medical intervention can do for a disabled child.
 
As far as autism is concerned, Dr. Stoller has some very strong opinions. According to him, autism is not a mystery, but a treatable condition. "Autism is an umbrella term that covers a constellation of symptoms, but the label doesn't tell you what is going on in that child's brain, how it happened or how to treat it." He refers to autism as an "environmentally triggered mitochondrial mediated gastro-immune encephalitic syndrome."
 
Stoller believes that treatments that address inappropriate diet, toxicity, multiple systemic infections (when present), allergies almost always allow affected children to make significant gains in functionality, and hyperbaric oxygen can dramatically alter the clinical course of this encephalitic syndrome.
 
He knows his treatments work. "I have never treated a child with HBOT [hyperbaric oxygen therapy] that did not improve, be that cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury or encephalitic syndrome [autism]."
 
Dr. Stoller does more than just address the health of children he sees as a doctor. He's been a very public voice advocating for national attention for autism and effective interventions. In 2004, he was invited to Washington to testify about autism treatments before the House Government Reform Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness, chaired by Rep Dan Burton of Indiana.  The invitation he received asked him to speak about "hyperbaric treatment for brain injured children."
 
The title of the hearing was, "Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Update of Federal Government Initiatives and Revolutionary New Treatment of Neuro-Development Diseases."
Rep Burton opened the meeting saying:
 
During my tenure as chairman of the full Committee on
Government Reform, and as the current Chair of this
subcommittee, I have convened 20 hearings on the topics of
autism, vaccine safety, and the detrimental health effects of
mercury-containing medical products.
 
We've been successful in getting mercury out of almost all
children's vaccines except, I think--what--three. The problem
is that, still on the shelves, are vaccines that are being
given to children that contain mercury that are no longer being
produced. We need to have a recall on those, but so far HHS and
CDC has not chosen to do that. But we're working on them.
During these investigations, numerous scientists from
around the globe have testified before the committee and have
presented credible peer-reviewed research studies that
indicated a direct link between the exposure of mercury, a
widely known neurotoxin, and the increasing instances of
autism. Because autistic individuals typically have a high
concentration of mercury stored in their bodies, many doctors
are concerned with how exactly they can safely remove these
toxins from their patients without exposing them to greater
medical risks...

Continue reading "Dachel Video Q&A with Dr. Ken Stoller: Does DC Care About Our Kids' Health?" »


Contest! Finding Lina by Helena Hjalmarsson: A Mother's Journey from Autism to Hope

Finding Lina 9781620875957We have a new book from Skyhorse Publishing for our readers. Leave a comment to enter the contest.

Called, Finding Lina A Mother's Journey from Autism to Hope, the book is a memoir that AofA readers will relate to from the opening pages to the loving and upbeat afterword.   It's a story of challenges, seeking answers, how a family copes and evolves (not always in a fairytale fashion) and most of all - love. 

Lina's Dad is Skyhorse Publisher Tony Lyons. This is important for a few reasons. His life and love for Lina spurred him to create a home for autism books within the Skyhorse Parenting category  that might otherwise never see the light of day from traditional publishing.  That's so important to our community.   Books like Callous Disregard from Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism by Ken Siri and Tony Lyons and All I Can Handle I'm No Mother Teresa by Kim Stagliano.

Lina was a precocious toddler—charming, chatty, joyful. At the age of three, in the aftermath of her second MMR vaccine, first came a seizure, and then, to her parents’ horror, the loss of Lina’s ability to play, use language, and control her impulses. Over the next few years they continued to lose Lina. She communicated her acute discomfort by biting, screaming, hitting, laughing maniacally, and throwing violent tantrums. As a single mother, with the help of her ex-husband, Helena Hjalmarsson tirelessly pursued every possible avenue to find a diagnosis, and more importantly a treatment, for her daughter, and the search continues to this day. Lina is nine.

Special schools, restrictive diets, sensory stimulation, relationship-based therapy, gastrointestinal links, homeopathy, and allergy treatment are all explored in detail. Hjalmarsson finds out what helps Lina and what doesn’t. She introduces sign language to Lina. She engages in lengthy daily intensive one-on-one sessions. With the help of her ex, angelic babysitters, Lina’s exceptionally empathetic younger sister, and supportive friends, Hjalmarsson manages to create a meaningful life for Lina, and for herself—a life of love and transcendence.

Lina, for all her challenges, has much to teach, and Hjalmarsson is a receptive student: finding joy in moments of connection, learning to live in the present, taking nothing for granted, accepting what others find unbearable, and finding a strength and spiritual base for inspiration and healing.

Unflinchingly honest and courageous, Finding Lina will open the eyes and hearts and minds of all parents, whether they have a child with autism or not.

Please leave a comment to enter the contest to win a copy.

Support Aof A and James Frye - Artist with Autism

James FryeIn 2011 we introduced readers to James Frye, then a 16 year old artist.

Imagine our pleasure when  we learned that James and his family wanted to donate part of the proceeds from the sale of  original ceramic art to Age of Autism as a way of thanking us for pur continued work on behalf of the autism community. My girls have an original James Frye work of art in their bedroom. I admire it every time I walk into their room - and am reminded that all of our children have talents and marketable skills to celebrate.

From the artist:  James Frye is  a 19 year old with autism from Spokane, Washington. He finds working with ceramics relaxing and soothing and has made this ceramic tennis shoe in support of The Autism Trust and Age of Autism.

You can purchase his art at Autism Trust USA.

Frye art
Pieces available for sale to support AofA.


James Frye pottery
The artist at work.

 



Autism Mom and Cover Girl! Autism File Goes Digital.

AF CJWe're happy to report that you can now download Autism File Magazine free.  Simply click THIS LINK to start your subscription. 

The Autism File, the first magazine ever published devoted exclusively to Autism Spectrum Disorders, announced today that the upcoming August/September issue will mark the magazine’s entry into the world of digital publishing.

Since the first issue of the magazine appeared in 1999, the Autism File has been described by readers as a “lifeline”.  “Thanks to the most knowledgeable experts and experienced parents from around the world, we’re able to present cutting-edge content and critically needed support to families affected by autism,” said the magazine’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, Polly Tommey.  “The new digital format will allow parents and professionals—no matter where they live—to have immediate access to the crucial information provided by our contributors.”

In addition to the magazine’s bi-monthly publication, which will be available as a free download six times per year, the Autism File’s team of editors and writers will provide a weekly update focusing on relevant topics including nutrition, biomedical treatments, sensory issues, advocacy, and safety.  “There is an overwhelming number of concerns that autism families face each and every day, and often on incredibly tight budgets,” said Polly.  “Our readers will now have the latest innovations and strategies for all aspects of living with autism right at their fingertips, and at no cost.”

Our own Cathy Jameson is this issue's cover girl - along with her handsome son Ronan.  once you have subscribed, (see link above) you can read Cathy's article titled Navigating the System to learn about the IEP process.

Continue reading "Autism Mom and Cover Girl! Autism File Goes Digital." »