TA DAAA....Vaccines are now everywhere in the news.  We need to mandate that every child be vaccinated as a requirement for school and state legislatures across the U.S. are attempting to do this.  We've had a constant barrage of news stories promoting vaccines as safe, necessary and effective.  To the ordinary mom or dad, the message is clear: If you're a good parent, you vaccinate--you don't have a right to question anything about it.

Here's a quick look at the last few days.

May 5, 2015, Another study finds no link between vaccines and autism NorthJersey.com

The vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella does not pose an increased risk of autism, according to a new study of more than 95,000 children.

The team of researchers examined the records of 95,727 children in an 11-year window. They studied the risk of developing autism in children who received the MMR vaccine compared with those who didn't.

May 5, 2015, Five really good reasons to hate Millennials Washington Post

Millennials are twice as likely as seniors to say that parents should be able to opt out of giving their kids childhood vaccines. And they are seven times as likely as seniors to believe in the unequivocally discredited link between vaccines and autism.

May 4, 2015,A horrifying reminder of what life without vaccines was really like Washington Post

Polio was one of the most feared diseases of the 20th Century, crippling more than 35,000 people in the U.S. each year on average between the late 1940s and the early 1950s. As polio vaccinations became more common in the 1950s, polio gradually disappeared, and the iron lung went along with it.

Earlier this year, the happiest place on Earth became ground zero for an outbreak of measles. Between Dec. 28, 2014 to April 3, 2015, 147 people from seven states had contracted measles, and the outbreak was traced back to exposure at Disneyland, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

9. A Dose of Reason: Pediatric Specialists Advocate for Vaccines KOMO Seattle

And in the 1990s, the focus turned to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR). A British doctor, who has since been denied the right to practice in England, published a report that MMR vaccine might be linked to autism and bowel disease. Celebrities like Jenny McCarthy went public with their concerns, linking autism and vaccines. And there are many websites devoted to making similar points, notes Caines.

Despite numerous studies, no association has ever been made between autism and vaccines. One need only look at the reduced infection and mortality rates of diseases like measles and whooping cough to see the value of vaccination, says Caines, whose research interest is health literacy related to vaccinations to increase on-time immunization coverage.

May 3, 2015. Vaccines are a victim of their own success azcentral.com

Repeated scientific studies demonstrate there is no link between vaccines or vaccine ingredients and autism. Simply put: vaccines do not cause autism.

May 1, 2015, Getting the facts on vaccination Kokomo (IN) Tribune

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000. So how did so many people become sickened? 

Fear, area experts say.

Many parents have begun refusing to vaccinate their children out of fear they may develop autism.

April 29, 2015, Rubella Has Been Eliminated From the Americas, Health Officials Say New York Times

Rubella, a disease with terrible consequences for unborn children, has finally been eliminated from the Americas, a scientific panel set up by global health authorities announced Wednesday. . .

Measles cases in the United States have surged recently because some parents who believe, contrary to scientific evidence, that the measles vaccine causes autism do not let their children receive the shot.

Endemic measles was eliminated from the hemisphere in 2002, but imported cases can surge in pockets of unvaccinated children, as happened last year in an outbreak that began at Disneyland in California.

This is but a sample of what's out there.  Not only are we reminded of the horrors of polio, but we're reassured that vaccines are eliminating diseases, as long as the parents keep on vaccinating.  Only a discredited doctor and celebrities have anything bad to say about vaccines.

And autism, that mystery disorder we blame on bad genetics and we celebrate for a whole month each April, is nothing to worry about.

On May 5, 2015, The Daily Beast had a physician with the pseudonym, Dr. Russell Saunders, and the story, What If There Is No Autism Epidemic? http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/05/more-autistic-people-or-more-diagnoses.html

Swedish researchers suggest that outside factors, from diagnosis to socioeconomics, may have inflated reports that suggest rates of autism are spiking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's March 2014 report showing a 30 percent rise in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) over the span of a few years triggered widespread concern over one simple question: what is the cause?

A new study in the BMJ suggests the answer may have less do with the actual number of autistic children and more with the nature of how we diagnose them.

All those kids everywhere who can't speak, can't behave, have to be watched constantly and who were once healthy normally developing toddlers but suddenly and inexplicably lost it all and ended up with autism---THEY'RE NOTHING NEW!

Not only does the science show NO LINK once again, but research shows autism HASN'T really increased.

Looking at this data, the authors conclude that something other than an actual increase in the number of children showing signs of autism is responsible for the increased prevalence of the diagnosis. The correct explanation may, at least in part, be related to something other than the actual number of autistic children at all.

The Swedish researchers "caution against devoting too many resources to trying to uncover the source of the perceived rise, or of focusing too narrowly on the one diagnosis to the detriment of investigating and providing services for others that may get overshadowed. Those with intellectual or developmental disabilities may lose out if attention and resources are disproportionately allotted."

In other words, there is only a "perceived rise" in autism and looking for answers as to the cause of the disorder only takes money away from helping other disabled people.

The phony Dr. Saunders attributes much of the rise in autism to changes in the diagnostic code. Changes in the definition of autism may cause the rate to now drop (DSM 5), but we should still help the disabled.

It is likely that factors such as these have been responsible for much of the rise in ASD diagnoses, even as the syndrome itself has remained relatively stable. If predictions are correct and the prevalence does fall as a result of the new criteria, it may appear reassuring to those concerned about an explained risk in children with these disorders. But however symptoms are classified and defined, it will be no less important for those with special needs to get the services to help them.

The claim that all the autism is simple diagnostic substitution/broader definition has been around for a long time. It resurfaces every time the rate goes up to reassure the public that autism is nothing to worry about, and the media loves to repeat it.  The glaring omission here is that "Dr. Saunders" can't give us real proof that disproves an autism epidemic is happening--HE CAN'T SHOW US ONE IN EVERY 68 MIDDLE AGED AND ELDERLY IN AMERICA WITH AUTISM.

And I mean REAL AUTISM---the kind you can't miss in public.  Where are the hand-flapping, spinning, non-verbal adults?  The ones in diapers with echolalia.  The ones who rock constantly and moan?  Please show them to us, Daily Beast. 

Unless and until this hidden horde is uncovered, we, as a country, have a lot to worry about.  The preview of what's to come is out there right now with the continuous report in the news about nothing after high school for autistic young adults.  "Dr. Saunders" should take this up in his next Daily Beast column.

 
The Dachel Media Update is sponsored by Lee Silsby Compounding Pharmacy and OurKidsASD.  Lee Silsby is one of the most respected compounding pharmacies in the country and is committed to serving the needs of the Autism community. OurkidsASD is an online retailer for nutritional supplements for patients with special needs. OurkidsASD carries thousands of products from more than 60 brands and offers free ground shipping on all orders.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism and author of  The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public, which is on sale now from Skyhorse Publishing.