APRIL UPDATE:

ID State Journal

Utica (NY) Observer Dispatch

Mason City (IA) Globe Gazette

Already April Autism Month is in the news.  This would be wonderful if it actually addressed what autism is doing to our children, if there were calls for action and answers, if health officials were made to account for millions of research dollars with no definite findings about autism. What should be AUTISM ALARM MONTH is instead, AUTISM AWARENESS, ACCOMMODATION, AND ACCEPTANCE MONTH.

Liberty Voice 

To uncover the truth, it is important to track the rumor to its source. According to a CNN report, the case against vaccination began as early as 1998, when an article in the British medical journal The Lancet reported that a vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) might be the cause of autism-like symptoms. The article, written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist, and his colleagues kicked off a firestorm. The article cited a study of eight children who had received an MMR vaccine and showed autistic symptoms. While Wakefield admitted that he could not be certain that the vaccine was the cause of autism in the eight children, the damage had been done. . . .

Suddenly, the answer was not so clear. It left many parents asking questions such as: Is Jenny McCarthy blame vaccines as the cause of autism? . . .

With stories from both sides, people still ask if Jenny McCarthy should blame vaccines as the cause of autism. The preponderance of evidence seems to point to the answer being no.

April must be getting closer, they're stepping up the blame on Jenny McCarthy and Andy Wakefield.  The concern over vaccines is never matched by any real alarm over the autism numbers.

I posted comments.  Only one remains up.

OregonLive.com

In a feat that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago, the anti-vaccine movement has managed to breathe life into nearly vanquished childhood diseases. . . .

Not if Jenny McCarthy has anything to say about it. The former Playboy model and current co-host of "The View" is a leading light of the anti-vaccine movement. She has a boy with autism-like symptoms that she is convinced were caused by the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). You can credit her passion for her child, sympathize with her heartbreak -- and still cringe at her wholly irrational cause.

So, McCarthy's son didn't really have autism--just "autism-like symptoms."  I think the writer got Hannah Poling mixed up with Jenny McCarthy's son.  No matter, autism is never important. 

I posted eight comments.

Wales ITV

An ITV Cymru Wales investigation has revealed major inconsistencies across Wales in the provisions of Special Educational Needs. A Wales This Week Freedom of Information request asked all 22 local authorities for statistics surrounding Special Educational Needs assessments and exclusions. Only 13 replied but, the results clearly revealed that data collection, terminology and provision are all inconsistent across Wales.

Nearly one in four Welsh children have Special Educational Needs yet parents have told Wales This Week that meeting those needs is no easier now than it was in the 1980s.

I know this is Wales and we surely have terrible news right here in the U.S., but. . . it's really hard to move on after reading, "nearly one in four Welsh children have Special Education Needs."

Why? Where were they thirty years ago? Why isn't anyone alarmed over 25 percent of kids with special needs?

The Dachel Media Update is sponsored by Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy and their OurKidsASD brand.  Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy is one of the largest and most respected compounding pharmacies in the country. They use only the finest quality chemicals and equipment to prepare our patients’ compounded medications and nutritional supplements. Customizing medication and nutritional supplements for our customers allows them to achieve their unique health goals.