Newsday

"Parents are much less likely to resist these immunizations, the study found, if a doctor uses language that presumes the parent will accept the vaccines, such as 'We have to do some shots,' instead of language that suggests that vaccinations need to be discussed and then decided on, such as 'What do you want to do about shots?'"

This is the response of the medical community to parents who question vaccines. We're all just supposed to believe they carry no serious risks. Vaccinating your child according to the "recommended" schedule is a must. (They seriously have to stop using that word. The CDC may recommend, but the states are ordering.)

IF doctors really wanted to put parental fears aside, they'd be demanding that someone conduct a thorough and independent study comparing fully vaccinated and never vaccinated kids. Then they'd have this great research to put aside all the concerns parents have today. They'd show us the ONE IN 50 NEVER VAXED KIDS WITH AUTISM. They'd have the stats on all the unvaccinated children with soaring rates of diabetes, seizures, learning problems, and bowel disease.

They could end this controversy overnight. BUT THEY DON'T. We all need to ask why. The people with no liability don't want parents to have any other options.
 
The Virginian-Pilot

"The number of children diagnosed with autism is rising - about 1 in 50 children, according to a study released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Autism is a range of disorders characterized by social and communication problems. Some children will not respond to instructions or even their own names.

"That can lead to issues for police. In February, an off-duty officer in New Jersey shot a 21-year-old autistic man after he ran toward the officer's home and banged on his door. Last year, Chicago-area police fatally shot a 15-year-old autistic boy wielding a knife.

"For those reasons, police in recent years have made autism training a priority. About seven years ago, Sgt. Shannon Wichtendahl of the Virginia Beach police joined with the Autism Society of Tidewater to start Respite Nights in her city."

There is nothing scarier than reading this sentence in this community interest piece about training police officers to deal with autism:

"The number of children diagnosed with autism is rising - about 1 in 50 children, according to a study released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

And that's it. There's no reason given for the rise in a disorder that we keep hearing more and more about. NONE! One in 50 sounds shocking. How can the person writing this just move on with no explanation? I just don't understand, but reporters do it everyday.

In other words, the message is this: "Your child has autism? That's too bad. Looks like there's nothing they can do about it. It's just something that happens to more and more kids. Hope they find a cure someday."
 
New York Times

"I sent my daughter and her grandmother to the car, but I couldn't get Michael to budge. He had the strength of a child twice his size. My leg ached from where he had kicked me. He screamed. He cried. He bizarrely demanded a haircut. I had experienced his misbehavior before but not to this extreme. I kept telling myself that he was suffering more than I was, but part of me wasn't buying it. I felt out of ideas and, even worse, out of compassion. It felt exactly like being stuck in an abusive relationship. . .
 
"The overwhelming reality is that my son is autistic, he does not like change, and this outcome might have been the same regardless. While at my conference I had dutifully attended every lecture and taken endless audio and handwritten notes, to ensure that my money and time away from my family were well spent. But what I had learned there was blown away by the lesson my 4-year-old son taught me when I got home. Michael is smart, intelligent and at times one of the most compassionate children I've ever known. It's no surprise that he would be the one to teach me that nothing is more important, in life and in love, than keeping your promises. But I also know that for Michael, even keeping my promises may not be enough."
 
This autism coverage is in the "Style" section at the Times. The heading is "Adventures in Parenting."
 
This mother describes her son's full-blown meltdown in a store. He's four and has autism.
Violent outbursts with screaming, hitting and kicking are just part of autism.  Autism sucks, learn the signs.
 
NewsOK

"Doctors can diagnose autism by 18 months, although the average age of diagnosis in Oklahoma is 4 years or older. There is a gap between science and what's in practice."
 
"A gap"? Try admitting that there is NO CREDIBLE SCIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO AUTISM.
How long are we supposed to put up with this passive acceptance of autism in our children? This piece doesn't even mention the cause or the rate. I guess having a child with autism is just the way it is. Learn to live with it. I posted a comment.
 
CBS Philly 
 
"Around 15,000 people turned out for the 11th annual Philadelphia Walk Now for Autism Speaks Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

"The program was emceed by CBS3 anchors Chris May and Jessica Dean.

"Cynthia Day, with Walk Now for Autism Speaks, says fun events like this make it possible for families to get the help they need. . . .

"With the help of this event, the group hopes to raise more than $8,000 by the end of the year.
"One in 88 children have autism."

15,000 people join in a "fun event" for a disorder that was practically unknown 25 years ago.
I can't believe this can be happening and no one asks why---especially CBS Philly.
 
MedPageToday

"Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) incidence was significantly higher in babies who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit, versus the general population, and was often accompanied by comorbidities, researchers said here.

"Out of 180 full-term babies admitted to the NICU, 6.7% were later diagnosed with ASD, a rate 16 to 67 times higher than that among the general population. In addition, 75% of them also had global developmental delays (GDD), epilepsy, and/or cerebral palsy, reported Michael Israel Shevell, MD, of McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues at the annual meeting of the Child Neurology Society.

"'There were no specific risk factors that were attributed to the development of autism, but generally speaking, the children had quite a rough time early in life,' study co-author Alexander Winkler-Schwartz, a medical student at McGill, told MedPage Today.

"'For kids that are coming out of the NICU, there's something either about the insults or the circumstances that put them there, that makes them more at risk for developing autism than the general population,' he added.

"The researchers looked at the charts of 180 full-term births, 37 weeks of gestation or longer, born from 1992 to 2007 that had been in the NICU at Montreal Children's Hospital.
"Among the patients, 40% were deemed normal, 43% were later diagnosed with GDD, 29% developed cerebral palsy, 26% had epilepsy, and 6.7% were diagnosed with ASD.

"Of the 12 patients with ASD, nine also had at least one of the other disorders: 75% had GDD, 30% had epilepsy, and 30% had cerebral palsy. Only three of the patients with ASD were girls."
More of the mystery. Autism is now blamed on so many things: older moms, older dads, moms who smoke, drink, eat too much, take anti-depressants, don't take folic acid, have babies too close together, moms with thyroid problems, moms with lupus, moms who have bad antibodies or bad genes, live too close to freeways, and now have babies in distress. No one is ever really sure why there's another new association; it's just more of the mystery.

If you add up all these things, it probably accounts for every autistic child out there. I guess we can all stay home now.
 
Canadian TV
 
"It's a medical mystery. Why are children all around the world developing severe narcolepsy -- a rare sleeping disorder with no known cure? . . .
 
"Pediatric sleep medicine specialist Dr. Manisha Witmans told W5 she has seen a baffling spike in cases among patients at her clinic, the Synergy Wellness Centre in Edmonton. Narcolepsy is a rare condition, and Witmans usually treats only two cases annually. In the last year and a half, however, she has diagnosed 10 pediatric cases, with four to five more awaiting definitive tests.
 
"'I was shocked,' said Witmans. 'I noticed that the cases were more severe and in that most of the children that I see now have cataplexy and that can be unusual in children.'
 
"Witmans told W5 that she's not alone in seeing a sudden surge, as colleagues in Toronto, Seattle, Washington and Philadelphia are reporting similar increases in this rare brain disorder. She is now collecting data and hopes to make her report public in the coming months. . . .

"Blood tests suggest those who develop narcolepsy have a genetic susceptibility. But doctors know that narcolepsy needs an environmental trigger -- a virus or infection that destroys cells that regulate the wake sleep cycle.

"Makenna's parents now wonder about two events in her childhood. She was vaccinated against the H1N1 virus during the pandemic flu outbreak in 2009. Over a year later she developed a severe flu-like infection. Her symptoms began four weeks later. . . .

"In 2009, new vaccines had been introduced at the height of H1N1 pandemic when world health officials feared that the swine virus could sicken and kill millions. By 2010, researchers from Sweden and Finland were reporting a link between narcolepsy and a H1N1 flu vaccine named Pandemrix - a vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and used in 47 countries.

"By 2013, there were 800 children with narcolepsy who had been linked to vaccination against the flu across Europe, with doctors reporting more cases emerging in adults. The Scandinavian studies were supported by research from France, Norway, Ireland and the UK with some scientists reporting a seven to 13-times higher risk of narcolepsy after vaccination. . . .

"That's why Makenna's family came forward with their story hoping to connect with other affected Meantime, Dr. Mignot wants the public to understand that the increase in narcolepsy cases seems to be the result of a perfect medical storm -- a powerful flu virus, narcolepsy and a vaccine that set out to protect millions around the world, but which may have produced collateral damage.
"Dr. Mignot worries the cases may raise unfounded fears about all vaccines. He remains a staunch supporter of childhood vaccines for whooping cough, measles and mumps as well as the annual flu vaccination which he stresses save lives and remain very safe."

It's more of the mystery.  Sick children no one can explain.

LA Times

"Two days after the California Department of Public Health released its new form requiring parents who want to exempt their kids from required vaccinations to speak with a doctor, an association of public health officers is voicing concern over an option on the form that allows parents to easily bypass the requirement.

"A box parents can check allows them to skip talking to their doctor if they vouch that they're "a member of a religion that prohibits me from seeking medical advice or treatment from authorized healthcare practitioners." . . .

"In a statement released Friday, Bruce Pomer, executive director of the Health Officers Assn. of California, said his group's members would help implement the law, providing education and tracking vaccine use in months to come.

"But, he added, they would also keep a close eye on vaccination rates.

"'If monitoring demonstrates that personal belief exemption rates are not declining and religious exemption is being used frequently, then we intend to ask the governor to revise the form,' Pomer said.

"He added that the health officers association was "extremely disturbed" by language in a news release from the California Department of Public Health that mentioned 'protection of constitutional rights,' which he called 'inappropriate to the conversation about this law.'"

My favorite part was right at the end.

I guess we'll have none of that 'protection of constitutional rights' talk when it comes parental vaccine choice!!