Dr. Jeff Bradstreet: In Memoriam
Like you, we read of Dr. Jeff Bradstreet's death and were struck silent. A stalwart leader in treating autism, really helping families, his loss is huge in our community. Dan Olmsted interviewed Dr. Bradstreet 10 years ago for his The Age of Autism series with UPI. Here is the interview; the study he was calling for has finally been done and the results are awaited, a testament to his foresight and persistence. Our condolences to the Bradstreet family and the autism community who relied on his compassion and care.
WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Where are the unvaccinated homeschooled children with autism? Nowhere to be found, says a doctor who treats autistic children and is knowledgeable about the homeschooled world.
"It's largely nonexistent," Dr. Jeff Bradstreet told UPI's Age of Autism. "It's an extremely rare event.
Bradstreet treats autistic children at his medical practice in Palm Bay, Fla. He has a son whose autism he attributes to a vaccine reaction at 15 months. His daughter has been homeschooled, he describes himself as a "Christian family physician," and he knows many of the leaders in the homeschool movement.
"There was this whole subculture of folks who went into homeschooling so they would never have to vaccinate their kids," he said. "There's this whole cadre who were never vaccinated for religious reasons."
In that subset, he said, "unless they were massively exposed to mercury through lots of amalgams (mercury dental fillings in the mother) and/or big-time fish eating, I've not had a single case."
Bradstreet said his views do not constitute a persuasive argument that low vaccination rates are associated with low rates of autism, but it is worth studying.
"That's not yet science," he said. "It doesn't rise to the level of a powerful observation. It's a place to say, OK, well that's interesting, what does that tell us?"
About 2 million children are being homeschooled in the United States. The number of those unvaccinated is unclear, but judging by the school opt-out rates in some parts of the country where there is more concern about vaccinations, it could be 3 percent or more. For example, in Oregon's Lane County roughly 2,000 students out of a total of 51,000 have exemptions, about 4 percent.
Applying that ratio to the U.S. homeschooled population would equal 80,000 children. At the current autism rate of one in 166 children, several hundred would be expected to have autism.
Bradstreet said he has tried to persuade epidemiologists to study that subset of the homeschooled population, but they expressed doubts the results would apply to broader groups.
"I said I know I can tap into this community and find you large numbers of unvaccinated homeschooled, and we can do simple prevalence and incidence studies in them, and my gut reaction is that you're going to see no autism in this group."
He said every researcher he contacted refused to investigate, "because it would not have any power to change people's opinion -- you could never apply it to the next population." He said critics could assert that homeschoolers are a unique group and that parents might choose to homeschool a child "because they knew he was different," although neither would explain the lower autism prevalence.
He also said he thinks homeschoolers would be a better population to examine than a genetically and culturally isolated community such as the Amish.
"The purists would say that's too odd of a group," Bradstreet said, and added that he agrees. "You can't draw conclusions from that kind of population."
His comments referred to the series of reports in The Age of Autism on an apparent low prevalence of the condition among the Amish, most of whom are unvaccinated.
Monday, this column reported that a top official of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told parents he will consider whether to launch a study of autism rates among the Amish or other unvaccinated populations. Such a study apparently has never been done.
Bradstreet said he thinks that no matter what unvaccinated population researchers study, "it would be a rare event" to find autism. His views fall into the distinct minority among scientists and medical experts, who say a link between vaccines and autism has been discredited. A panel of the prestigious Institute of Medicine -- part of the National Academy of Sciences -- said last year that research should now go to "promising" areas.
The vaccine theory centers on the hypothesis that a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal, used in an increasing number of childhood vaccinations in the 1990s, triggered a huge spike in diagnoses.
Bradstreet's linking of autism to mercury in fish and maternal dental fillings is also rejected by mainstream medical experts. The comments do, however, echo one aspect of UPI's reporting on the Amish.
A doctor in Virginia said he was treating six unvaccinated Amish children, four of whom had high levels of mercury in their bodies that he thinks triggered their autism. He suspects the exposure came from coal-fired power plants, which emit mercury as a byproduct.
Bradstreet said he realizes his views on vaccines, and his own son's autism, expose him to charges he is seeing what he wishes to see, but he argues that government researchers harbor a bigger conflict of interest because the government mandates vaccinations and vouches for their safety.
"The problem for them is even more than the problem for us," he said. "Many of us who are concerned about vaccines and the role they're playing in the immune system and autism are traditionally trained physicians who vaccinated our kids and are only reluctantly being forced, when it was thrown in our face, to say there's got to be something wrong with vaccines if it did this to my kid.
"So in that situation, even though we would be accused of being more biased, we are probably more objective because we were believers."
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A hero. Horridly maligned in the press after his apparent murder. No medical man would blast himself in the breast with a handgun as a method of suicide. He would opt for something less painful. No family man would leave his body unaccounted for in a river. He would at least leave a note of goodbye to his family and friends and patients and if he were fraudulent, he would apologize there. But, he was not. He was honest and his posts on his blog before his death show how he continued to study and planned to live a long time and was totally genuine. He was murdered and the press conspired in covering it up. The family should receive not only a criminal investigation into his death...even if it has to prosecute the FDA in the process, but also a million dollar libel and slander damages suit for the way the press treated him and his work.
Posted by: Brooke Kramer | January 05, 2017 at 05:42 PM
Scary stuff Carol.
Scary that there have been other strange deaths too; some in the same area.
Posted by: Benedetta | July 15, 2015 at 04:48 PM
Remember in 2004 when Dr. David Graham, Associate Director of FDA's Office of Drug Safety, testified before the Senate Finance Committee that the FDA was actually a tool of the pharmaceutical industry? Nothing has changed, has it?
This is a great article about what's wrong with the FDA--and how things got that way: http://www.emord.com/Read-FDA-Violation-of-the-Rule-of-Law.html
Posted by: Carol | July 15, 2015 at 01:37 PM
"We can perceive abuses whenever agency actions sacrifice fundamental rights to life, liberty, and property to yield outcomes favorable to a preferred regulatee. At FDA, the agency's Commissioner has repeatedly approved drugs that the agency's own medical reviewers have deemed too unsafe to enter the market, thus favoring the pharmaceutical company proponent of the drug over the American public. The results have been catastrophic, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and injuries. Likewise, FDA maintains a pervasive censorship over therapeutic claims for foods and dietary supplements to ensure the drug industry enjoys a federally enforced monopoly on the right to communicate treatment information."
From The Rise of Tyranny by Jonathan Emord
Posted by: Carol | July 15, 2015 at 09:51 AM
terribly saddening... this world is getting really scary and disgusting.
He was clearly murdered by a crazy soul, immensely sad, infinite loss.
Rest in peace, because we celebrate you Dr Bradstreet.
Ines, mom of a fully recovered son, now 13 years old. (diagnosed at 24 months as severely autistic and mental retarded, and has no sign at all anymore)
Posted by: Ines Ligron | July 14, 2015 at 07:54 AM
I wish to send my condolences. I had not heard of Dr. Bradstreet, but this issue is close to my heart. I am so thankful for knowing there was a medical professional out there who chose to use his power for good. I pray that through the Holy Spirit, his work can be multiplied even greater through this loss. I have a feeling that there may have been something that happened that was "meant for bad", but I sincerely pray that with God, He can make it into something good. My prayers and sorrows are with his friends, patients, and family.
Posted by: Jessica | July 05, 2015 at 08:54 PM
The author of this poem, died in 1595.
I'm sending it for the line "All hell doth at His presence quake..."
NEW HEAVEN, NEW WAR.
By Robert Southwell
Come to your heaven, you heavenly quires!
Earth hath the heaven of your desires;
Remove your dwelling to your God,
A stall is now His best abode;
Sith men their homage do deny,
Come, angels, all their faults supply.
His chilling cold doth heat require,
Come, seraphim, in lieu of fire;
This little ark no cover hath,
Let cherubs' wings his body swathe;
Come, Raphael, this babe must eat,
Provide our little Toby meat.
Let Gabriel be now His groom,
That first took up His earthly room;
Let Michael stand in His defence,
Whom love hath link'd to feeble sense;
Let graces rock when He doth cry,
And angels sing this lullaby.
The same you saw in heavenly seat,
Is He that now sucks Mary's teat;
Agnize your King a mortal wight,
His borrow'd weed lets not your sight;
Come, kiss the manger where He lies;
That is your bliss above the skies.
This little babe so few days old,
Is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at His presence quake,
Though He Himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmèd wise
The gates of hell He will surprise.
With tears He fights and wins the field,
His naked breast stands for a shield,
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows, looks of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns, cold and need,
And feeble flesh His warrior's steed.
His camp is pitchèd in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall,
The crib His trench, hay-stalks His stakes,
Of shepherds He His muster makes;
And thus, as sure His foe to wound,
The angels' trumps alarum sound.
My soul, with Christ join thou in fight;
Stick to the tents that He hath pight;
Within His crib is surest ward,
This little babe will be thy guard;
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
Posted by: mary w maxwell | June 28, 2015 at 08:17 AM
Dan Olmsted wrote or approved the June 27, 2015 memoriam on behalf of Dr Jeff Bradstreet's '...the study he was calling for has finally been done and the results are awaited...'.
What is the name of that study Dr Bradstreet was calling for and who did the study?
Posted by: Phil Segrave | June 27, 2015 at 11:23 AM
One of the donators on his GoFundMe page was a patient of his and had interactions with him within the past week, and they describe him as being enthusiastic and energetic as ever.
Something very bad is going on. Too many whistleblowers/journalists meeting unfortunate ends.
Posted by: Joy B | June 25, 2015 at 02:19 PM
To hear that one of our great autism doctors has left us is difficult to hear. May he guide us from heaven. I do not believe that any person who gives himself so selflessly to the autistic kids would commit suicide, without a very very good reason, such as terminal illness.
Re the topic of mercury from coal burning causing autism, I had an interesting experience at my school. A woman came to see me who had heard that I believed autism to be caused by mercury. She listened to me and then said that she thought it was hereditary in the case of her child, because her husband had some similar traits. I imm ediately said that he would have had vaccines too. To my surprise she said that this was impossible because her husband was brought up in a small village in a tiny hut with many siblings and none were vaccinated. I was puzzled, but then had the presence of mind to ask her where her husband was from. I thought he might be from a fish-eating part of India. No- She said- He was fromJharkand. I said , "Do you think he had exposure to coal burning?" Coal is mined in Jharkand and burning coal liberates mercury in the air. She verbally stumbled a bit and said "His relatives were dealing in coal...."
This conversation was unforgettable for me- I hope I can meet her again some day to learn more. It would be the first time that I knew of someone affected by mercury through coal burning- and perhaps it would have been in their drinking water too. This knowledge is important for us in the U.S. because there is a great deal of mercury pumped in the air from coal burning in many areas of America.
Posted by: Cherry Sperlin Misra | June 25, 2015 at 01:02 PM
Sudden death. Sort of like Aaron Schwartz. Very troubling.
Posted by: For Georg | June 25, 2015 at 12:02 PM
The circumstances surrounding Dr. Bradstreet's death are extremely suspicious.
Posted by: Linda1 | June 25, 2015 at 10:36 AM
We are so shocked and saddened to hear this news of the loss of this wonderful Doctor who worked to help our autistic children.
Our most beloved son Harry, whose autism was caused by the Pluserix MMR jab received in London UK in 1990 aged one, was treated by Dr. Bradstreet to whom we sent bio-samples from Harry. Dr.Bradstreet did all he could to help Harry. Harry died most tragically aged 20 from medical negligence. He was given a toxic combination of psychotropic drugs by his UK doctors without our knowledge or consent.
Dr. Bradstreet told us in our great grief that ''Harry is now with the angels''. You too Dr.Bradstreet,wondeful friend to our children.
Sincerest condolences to the Doctor's family.RIP Jeff.
In love
Jennifer, barrister and Keith, architect, parents of Harry.
Posted by: Jennifer Horne-Roberts and Keith Roberts, parents of our most beloved Harry. | June 25, 2015 at 04:13 AM
http://www.fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/famous-autism-researcher-dr-jeff-bradstreet-found-in-river-suicide-by-gunshot-to-chest/136012
’m sad to say that two prominent doctors in the “alternative medicine” world have died in the past few days. The first is the accomplished, well known and much loved Dr. Jeffrey Bradstreet, who formerly lived here on the East Coast of Florida. He then moved to our neighboring state, Georgia. Fox Carolina is reporting that his body was found in a river in North Carolina and that he died of an apparent “self inflicted gunshot wound to the chest“.
The funeral is in Shelby, North Carolina. Shelby is a small town of 20k people, and the same town where they just apprehended the Charleston South Carolina mass church killer Dylann Roof around the time of Dr. Bradstreet’s death. Some doctors are reading this tonight and writing me that they find it suspicious and are concerned. I too am concerned, as my other half is a prominent controversial doctor as well. I suspect we’ll know more as the investigation continues.
Another doctor (whose name I cannot yet disclose) died suddenly on Father’s Day here on Florida’s East Coast. He was healthy and fit with a thriving practice, had an additional PhD in Nutrition from Harvard. We are saddened by the sudden death of both doctors. Someone already set up a memorial page for Dr. Bradstreet on Facebook. He has people posting from the around the world who obviously loved him are thanking him for all he did during his amazing career. I didn’t post this article there, nor did I notice any mention of the details I have found in the news.
Posted by: Georg Elser | June 25, 2015 at 02:50 AM
Dr. Jeff Bradstreet was a wonderful Christian and will be missed by countless people. I was shocked and saddened to hear of his death. Dr. Bradstreet knew of my situation as a single mother and treated my son with autism 'as a ministry' and never charged me a dime in 10 years and I will be eternally grateful. He prayed with my son as he treated him, which immediately calmed him. My prayers and condolences go out to his family, including his extended family of co-workers. God bless you all, and may the peace of Christ that passes all understanding be with you in this very difficult time. Godspeed Dr. Jeff, rest in Jesus' arms.
Posted by: Lindy Schultz | June 24, 2015 at 10:43 PM
When our son was a baby, we had our first consult with Dr. Bradstreet. We were searching for the right doctor for quite some time and really wanted God to direct us as to who to see. Finally, we chose Dr. Bradstreet. When we had our consult, I told Dr. Bradstreet how we felt grateful and led by the Lord to allow him to care for our son's health. The consult was expensive and we were expecting an expensive bill. Finally, the bill came and it showed a $400.00 consult fee. The bill also showed a ministry fee that deducted $400.00 on the bill. Therefore, the balance on the bill was $0. Dr. Bradstreet was a wonderful, God-loving man. He will always be remembered in a positive way and is now with the Lord and no doubt, has a big mansion. Thank you Dr. Bradstreet for being someone we could actually trust among so many that have sold-out for the good of greed.
Posted by: Sheryl Melling | June 24, 2015 at 09:46 PM
RIP, Dr. Bradstreet.
Posted by: Gary Fryer | June 24, 2015 at 06:10 PM
Sorry my post should say "now getting flu vaccines", many pregnant women are now getting these.
Posted by: Jan Martin | June 24, 2015 at 04:49 PM
Dr. Bradstreet knew what many parents know. However unpopular this opinion is, it's what parents like myself have seen time and again. Healthy baby gets 5 or 6 vaccines and that's the end of healthy or normal. Same child has a toxic hair test, chelates and starts getting better. Most women have amalgams in the U.S, and many of them are not getting flu vaccines during pregnancy. It's just a shame that there profit is interfering with saving children and figuring out a safer way to prevent disease in this country.
We are truly grateful for all Dr. Bradstreet has done.
Posted by: Jan Martin | June 24, 2015 at 04:48 PM
Dr. Bradstreet brought an academic's rigor to the field of the medical treatment of autism. He was innovative, hard working, disciplined. His lectures were always excellent, well-organized, well-presented, and witty. Such a blow to our family and to the community.
Posted by: beth johnson | June 24, 2015 at 04:40 PM
I'm grateful for all that Dr. Bradstreet has done to restore the health of our children.
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | June 24, 2015 at 01:16 PM
I'm in that subset of non vaxed, homeschooled kid with autism. But I did have a massive amount of amalgam fillings while pregnant and breast feeding (13). I've always known that this was the source of my son's autism. I actually have 2 on the spectrum, born 18 years apart. My oldest son was vaccinated, according to the 1985 schedule. But I had fewer amalgams and did not breast feed him. My 2 sons level of impairment is virtually identical and they don't share the same father.
Posted by: Kim Davis | June 24, 2015 at 01:00 PM
My condolences to Dr Bradstreet's family, his coworkers, and our community for this loss.
Posted by: Deb S | June 24, 2015 at 11:26 AM