Laura

Thank you!

John

Laura

This was my letter in BMJ Rapid Responses a few weeks ago:-

https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3596/rr-0

What about autism?

This is a version of a response I just sent to Richard Smith's opinion column [1].

With or without Andrew Wakefield - not to mention using him as a scapegoat to defend the entire ever expanding vaccine schedule - we have a massive problem with autism that no one in the medical profession will pay attention to [2,3].

Thus, according to National Statistics in 1999 the rate of Pervasive Development Disorder (the widest category of autism) was 1 in 500 for those born between 1984 and 1988 but already 1 in 250 for younger children despite diagnosis being incomplete for that group. By 2004 the data was hovering round 1% for both secondary and primary groups - that was when National Statistics and the Department of Health stopped collecting data. In 2018 we had the first school census by a UK health body since 2004 (the Northern Ireland Department of of Health) which found a rate of 1 in 35 across the province, and 1 in 21 in Belfast, while 60% were in the most disabled category (Stage 5).

If we are playing the mortality game autistic people have a vastly lower life expectancy, are in danger from wandering, etc. We also find that across the UK school disability services are breaking down - all this without any plausible explanation of why or how it is happening. The National Autistic Society project 700,000 cases across the UK, though I doubt whether they could identify on quarter, but if the new figures are normal there should be another 1.2m cases in the general population on top of that (1.9m in all), all but a few living normal lives apparently.

Irrespective of Wakefield the medical profession and the British establishment have dumped on the British people in the most disgraceful way and created a vast and insoluble problem, much worse than measles (and vaccination cannot eradicate measles anyway). We are not talking about a child being ill for a week or two, we are talking about people who are going to be dependent for the whole of their lives.

No one wants to see a single child die, but I do not believe the totemistic promotion of the vaccine programme is scientific, ethical or safe. Andrew Wakefield posed by implication two awkward questions to the government and the medical profession in 1998: what would happen if doctors started listening to parents over adverse vaccine events, and what happens if industrial plans to expand the vaccine schedule were sabotaged? According to a statement by Euro MPs the cost of vaccinating a single child went up by 68 times between 2001 and 2014, so frankly a lot money hung on it in 1998 and beyond [4].

I don't think we have greatly better health than in 1998, but I do know that autism is a much bigger problem than measles and everyone is averting their gaze.

[1] Richard Smith: A baby dies of measles, 21 August 2018 https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/08/21/richard-smith-a-baby-dies-of-measles/

[2] Responses to Zwaigenbaum and Penner, 'Autism spectrum disorder: advances in diagnosis and evaluation' https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1674/rapid-responses

[3] Responses to Viner RM, 'NHS must prioritise health of children and young people', https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k1116/rapid-responses

[4] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20180319IPR00021/health-committee-meps-warn-against-dropping-vaccination-rates

These numbers probably do not say it all. I work independently with kids who have individual needs. I have not seen ONE child correctly assessed in over 10 years. So many kids who are diagnosed with ADHD actually have Autism. Although these days doctors and professionals make more money if a child gets diagnosed as having "ADHD/Autism" they are simply different in nature. The ADHD child is hyperactive, has difficulty planning out the steps for a project, problems with executive functions, is unorganized, often messy but can be extremely social. The Autistic child sees the world with a different texture-might rock back and forth, some cannot speak and for those who do speak have low social skills. Some require shadows or aids throughout their education or life. Going out into their world on their own (For the day) brings a host of problems whether it is a problem with food, transportation, too hot, too cold, what they heard someone say-the issues are endless. For the high functioning youth, I can only hope that they meet a circle of friends as the Autistic Dr Sheldon Cooper did in the make-believe show,"The Big Bang Theory." In reality, most of them are sitting by themselves up in their room and wishing for a friend someday.

Thank you very much, John.

The autism epidemic is exactly that and the various "autism experts" say they don't know why it keeps increasing but they "know" it isn't due to vaccines and autoimmunity. Anybody with common sense know that these "experts" make no sense at all and that they have faulty logic. Very Sad.

They said the same thing back in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Nothing has changed. Again Very Sad.