BS: Important re AUTISTIC children

Subject: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:08 PM

Important article.

This has been kept very quiet. It was sent to me by a friend. If you have children who are autistic, suffer autistic-like spectrum disorders (speech-language delay, attention disorder) then PLEAS read the article for which the link is provided above.

Bruce Murdoch

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:10 PM

If for some reason the above link fails or is not accessible from your computer, please Google

Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in children's vaccines, may


That will take you to many sites that contain the same information.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:12 PM

It doesn't detail what the vaccines are for? Or I may have missed it.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:18 PM

http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n17/when1.htm

Good eye, GUEST. Here is a link that gives the recommended and generally followed course of vaccinations in US and Canada. (I am guessing at Canada, but it looks familiar.)

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:20 PM

It is used as a preservative in some vaccines, and seems to be being phased out over concerns of toxicity.

I am wary over scaremongering about autism causation, since the MMR scare which has almost no real scientific credibility, but scared a lot of parents into not immunising their kids. There is a very real danger that this contributes to outbreaks of disease which can kill and disable children.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:21 PM

I did not mean to imply that the link at the top is secret information. However, it isn't being talked about that much in main-stream press or TV that I have seen. Ergo, it has been kept below the horizon IMO.

My daughter who has severe speech delay (and who fits two of the three indicators of autism) falls in the time frame exactly.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:22 PM

The article deals with the MERCURY in the vaccine, NOT the vaccines.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: LilyFestre
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:25 PM

This was a discussion topic in one of my classes lately. It seems the suspension material in question is used strictly because it keeps the cost of the immunizations down. Parents now have the option of selecting which suspension material to have used however not all insurance companies will pay the difference for the more expensive immunization (due to the suspension material). Scary, isn't it? There is quite a bit of material available to substantiate mercury (which remains in the body forever...unless medically removed....incredibly painful and traumatic for the child) is linked to autism. For those who have had the mercury removed, the sypmtoms of autism have decreased a great deal.

Very important subject. Thanks for bringing it up Brucie.

ML

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:32 PM

Thank you for the kind words, LF (ML).

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:33 PM

mercury and alzheimers disease link too.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:35 PM

Ive worked with autistic kids for several years.
at the time (18years ago) there was little knowledge as to the cause.
(although boys are almost twice as likely to be affected than girls)

lets face it the almighty bucks the bottom line.
something like 500,000 Americans die each year from tobacco related diseases.
or 3000 each month from shootings.
Compare the reaction to 9/11 and imagine if we had a WAR on Tobacco,
or War on Guns..

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:38 PM

A link between mercury and autism has been established at least enough to cause the drug companies to stop using it as the stabilizer for the vaccines. Doesn't that say something?

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:52 PM

Here's a summary of a study in denmark looking at autism rates in those who recieved vaccinations before and after thiomersal (british spelling).

http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band118/b118-5.html

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 07:59 PM

I wonder if it was largely undiagnosed as autism before the figures show the increase. Which could mean that it was always around, but the children were not being labelled as autistic. Which would also fall in line with mercury in vaccines not being the cause?

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:00 PM

Interesting. There are many studies that show NO association between thiomersal and autism. However, in the initial post (link to article) the drug manufacturers found a statistically significant association to cause them to reduce the mercury IN their vaccines.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:08 PM

Yes agreed brucie. But it could still link to a sudden increase in the diagnosing of autism. There are numerous studies that will show 'proof' both ways. The parents face the dilemma and act as best they can.

In uk the increase in autism was/is being put down to the triple mmr vaccine. So far no studies show conclusively one way or the other. The gp's will only offer the triple vaccine. It is cheaper. We have to go to private doctors to get single vaccines. However the single vaccines have not been tested to the same standard that drugs authorised by our gp's have been, or so we are told.

If I had sons instead of daughters, I would not hesitate to pay for the single vaccines.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:12 PM

Analysis of the Danish Autism Registry Data Base in Response to ...

Please Google the above. I cannot make a link. It calls the Danish study into question. Not arguing, jus' sayin'.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: LilyFestre
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:31 PM

I think it's interesting how when the mercury has been removed from the bodies of children diagnosed with Autism, their behaviors and physical symptoms lessen a great deal. Logical deduction says that the mercury has a hand in a good deal of it.

I am wondering if Guest has a child with Autism or works with children who are Autistic or who have PPD?

Since mercury has been studied with so many results pointing in the direction of having something to do with autism and there are alternatives out there, why not choose the alternative if possible?

ML

PS. Brucie, does your daughter speak, sign or both?

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:34 PM

Lily those who can afford it do choose the alternative if they feel the studies sway towards a link.
It costs about £600 UK pounds for two doses of the three vaccines (6 jabs in all.)

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:38 PM

That is robbery, GUEST.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:39 PM

I will answer via message, LF.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 08:40 PM

Yes it is brucie. It also explains why not everyone can choose the alternative.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 09:18 PM

Gotcha. How the hell are people supposed to be able to afford that? Pardon me for asking, but that is unconscionable. These damn drug companies seem to be doing QUITE well, aren't they?

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: LilyFestre
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 10:01 PM

I have no idea of the cost of the shots in the US. My friend recently had twins and we were discussing the vaccinations not long ago. I'll have to ask her what choices she was given and the costs involved.

I have worked with young children who are autistic....sometimes I am amazed at what they know and how fast they learn it...but I am ALWAYS amazed at the incredible individuals that each of them truly are and at what they have to teach me.

I once had a preschool child client who was non-verbal. We were at the park on that particular day and there was a woman with a baby in a stroller. My young friend went over the stroller and took his index fingers and moved them in a sideways motion near his face, pointing towards the sky. The mother didn't like this and quickly walked away. Later that day I asked his mother about that particular sign. It meant stars. The baby's stroller was navy blue and covered with gold stars. So, I learned something new that day and was completely in awe of the details that this young child was taking in.

Later I learned how I could be manipulated by the same 4 year old....and watched him manipulate others like a master....he had us all trained to not expect him to hit high expectations...fooled every single one of us.

ML

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Bobert
Date: 18 Apr 05 - 10:12 PM

Ummmm, sorry to get here late but has anyone linked this to either:

A.) Bush's push for tort reform or...

B.) the huge campaign contibutions to Bush from the drug lobby?

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 09:30 AM

Makes for some interesting reading....http://www.healing-arts.org/children/holmes.htm

ML

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 09:35 AM

http://www.safeminds.org/
An EXCELLENT site with lots of information about mercury and autism as well as reports on how Merck continued to use mercury in their vaccines after publizing that they no longer used mercury....interesting site and some very scary information.

ML

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 06:27 PM

There has been a 250% increase in the incidence of autism in the last 10 years. This is not the result of "better diagnosis." Anybody who spends two minutes with my son knows instantly that he's very weird. My daughter has ADD. These things do not run in the family on either side. Our neighbors have a kid who is both severely autistic and hyperactive. A guy I work with has an autistic son--very high-functioning, but if you talk to him a while, it's clear he's not exactly all there. I know these people just because they happen to live or work near me. Now think about it, all you middle-aged boomers--how many autistic people did you know while growing up? For me, the answer is "none," but now they are part of my casual environment, not to mention the ones I've met because my son is in special programs. Something is going on, probably something environmental.

The mercury thing has been very controversial, because the kids who are vaccinated don't usually show the recognized signs of classic mercury poisoning, but to my mind, that doesn't eliminate it as a possible cause.

Several years ago, on the advice of my acupuncturist, I had all my mercury-amalgam dental fillings removed and replaced. Prior to that, I was literally sick all the time--I would get a cold about every two weeks that would last for two weeks, then the whole thing would start over again. The least little thing would send me into screaming hyterical fits. After the dental work, I very seldom get sick, even when the rest of the family does. When my husband questioned whether there had been any effect on my mental state, our next-door neighbor said, "Tell him I've noticed--I don't hear the screaming any more."

I have been very adamant that my children do not receive mercury-amalgam dental fillings. I only wish I had known about the mercury in vaccines before my son was vaccinated.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: number 6
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 06:35 PM

Thanks for this Bruce. A close friend of ours grandson has just been diagnosed as autistic. Extremely difficult, heartbreaking situation for the whole family.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 19 Apr 05 - 07:08 PM

sIx,

There is no greater heartbreak for a parent than to receive that type of news. I will message you my e-mail address and you could pass it on to your friends. If they wish to get in touch, I may be able to give some advice that would be of help to them.

There are other Mudcatters who have autistic children or autism-spectrum children. I am sure they will offer their support also. Please pass to your friends that anything we talk about will stay between us.

Bruce Murdoch

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 03:50 AM

Brucie, I'm sorry, but the mercury theory just does not hold water. I'm a developmental pediatrician and I've been working with autistic children and their families for over 25 years, more intensively in the last 3 years. One simple reason for mercury in vaccines not being the problem is that the brains of children with autism are probably abnormal from the time of birth, before they've had any vaccines. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics (sorry, I don't have time to look up the reference at the moment, but I can later) showed that the incidence of autism increased after thimerosal had been removed from vaccines. It's very easy to see conspiracies everywhere (I see them all the time in the Bush-Cheney cabal!) but most of the assertions in that article can be fairly readily refuted.

So what does cause autism? The hypothesis that makes the most sense to me is that it's a two-step process. First there are genetic factors that predispose you to autism, and second, there are prenatal triggers that affect a fetus that has one of those genetic predispositions. Note the plurals: there is clearly no one cause, no one cure, and no one single condition. Autism is almost certainly a cluster of abnormalities of the brain resulting from a number of different causes.   Some genetic syndromes, such as velocardiofacial syndrome, or homocystinuria, have a high incidence of associated autism. (My first article in Discover Magazine, November 2001, was about such a child.) But most cases are probably due to the combination of genetic predisposition and prenatal triggers. It's possible that some environmental pollutants or toxins could be among the triggers (the incidence of autism is very high in Brick Township, NJ, a Superfund site), but there would have to be prenatal exposure, not in vaccines.

One of the problems is that autism is often not diagnosed until sometime in the second or third year of life, and some children with autism start talking at a year and then stop talking by 18 months, so people assume it must be something that happened after the first birthday. But it's clear that the children were different very early on. (All these statements should include "in most cases", since there is so much variability.)

I too have a great deal of compassion for children with autism. Fortunately, in the last few years, we've found that it's no longer a "developmental death sentence." For many children, early intervention programs that start before age 3 or 4 can produce great gains in the ability of a child to communicate and socialize. And some children, especially those with normal nonverbal intelligence, simply get better on their own, no matter what we do...which is the reason so many autism "cures" have such passionate adherents.

Gotta run now, but I'd be happy to discuss this later.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 06:45 AM

Turned out the Bush Cheney administraton did not need tort reform regarding vaccines.

Congressman Dick Army secretly added a provision protecting drug companies from being sued for big money by parents of autistic children.

At 3 AM he added the protective clause for the drug companies to a bill that was to voted on the following morning.
No one re read the bill prior to voting so it is now law.

Dick Army was never censured for his undemocratic fraud perpetuated on Congress and the people.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: LilyFestre
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 09:12 AM

It's interesting to hear the MD's and PhD's who both have read various research journals having incredibly different points of view. I wonder why Merck took the mercury out of their vaccines (albeit 6 months after they told everyone they had) if there is no danger from the mercury in the vaccination?

ML

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: just john
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 09:22 AM

One of my favorite sites, Ratbags.com , covers the ongoing shenanigans of anti-vaccination scamsters.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 07:14 PM

It's clear to me that the mercury-amalgam fillings were affecting me adversely (I'm sorry, placebo effect just doesn't cover it), so it certainly could have resulted in prenatal exposure for my children. My son, who is almost 17, is still considered "undiagnosed."

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,nutty
Date: 20 Apr 05 - 07:52 PM

Many years ago in the 1920's and 30's Mercury was used in babies teething powders. This caused a reaction in so many children that it was banned, firstly in America and later in Britain.

I was born in 1944 and contracted PINKS DISEASE from (so my mother was told ) a batch of teething powders that should have been removed from the shelf of the village shop. I was lucky to survive.

There is plenty of info on the net about this condition and the dangers to children. So much , in fact , that I am suprised that Mercury is still being used.

I recently refused to have a Pneumonia Jab because of the presence of mercury in it.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,brucie
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 12:13 AM

Shame on Canada--from a Canadian.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,nutty
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 01:25 AM

Pinks Disease is only one name for this condition .... Acrodynia being just one of many other names.....

Acrodynia

Feer Disease; Pink Disease; Swift Disease; Acrodynic Erythema; Chronic Childhood Mercurialism; Feer's Disease; Swift' s Disease; Childhood Mercurialism, Chronic;

A condition seen primarily in childhood, most often resulting from chronic exposure to MERCURY COMPOUNDS which may result in ENCEPHALOPATHY and POLYNEUROPATHY. Clinical features include pain, swelling and pinkish discoloration of the fingers and toes, weakness in the extremities, extreme irritability, HYPERESTHESIA, and alterations in level of consciousness. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child
Neurology, 5th ed, p603)

I know that I've come into this debate later than most but to me, to know that for over 40 years the medical profession and goverments have been aware that Mercury can seriously affect some young children and yet to still be using it (on the grounds of making cheaper vaccines) seems to be extremely negligent.

And Mark , I'm sorry but I just can't believe that you (as a pediatrician) did not know of this connection.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 01:45 PM

The data are not in on this very interesting theory. The main question in my mind is why is Autism so rare compared to the numbers of children being vaccinated?

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Peace
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 02:39 PM

And then why has the incidence of autism increased so much over the past five decades?

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 03:07 PM

This story appeared in the Oakland Tribune this morning. I will try to make a link; if it doesn't work, just type in the address. Very interesting.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_2677972

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 03:18 PM

Because nowadays children that are 'different' to their peers, in whatever way, are labelled with one syndrome or another. In the past they would have been called other names( good and bad) perhaps to mark the difference, or maybe the difference would have just been accepted as part of their personality. Doubtless some of these children were autistic.

I can remember an aunt, who's behaviour would nowadays fall into a spectrum of one kind or another. She lived her life with the support of her family and no medical diagnosis/supervision.

There were killer childhood diseases then and adults lived shorter. Treating physical illness was more pressing than investigating behavioral/mental illnesses. Hence the asylums being places where the poor souls lived their days in 'secure' surroundings. Medical breakthroughs have brought us cures to some physical illnesses that in days before were time consuming in the nursing of.

The extra time/money can be spent thankfully on researching many areas within medicine. And the result being we now have stats to show the numbers of people with autism, motor neurones, parkinsons etc etc etc. To assume they didnt exist before they were recognised and named I find hard to believe.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Rasener
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 04:53 PM

Try this website from Sunderland University. Paul Shattock who is a director and has spent many years of research, is outspoken. I have been to one of his lectures and he is an amazing bloke. Well worth looking at what he has researched.

http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/autism/

My one daughter is diagnosed on the Autistic Spectrum. We beleive that vaccinations were not the cause of her Autism. We bel;eive she had it when born. We had it diagnosed by the age of 3 and have managed to work intensively with her and at 9 she is in mainstream with 1 to 1 support. It is so important to catch it early.
Too many people are jumping on the bandwagon of vaccination, instead of looking back to signs from birth.
Our other daughter is ADHD

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: shepherdlass
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 05:42 PM

The son of one of my closest friends is profoundly autistic. He's 11 and is unlikely to ever be able to speak. He was developing perfectly normally and hitting all the appropriate milestones (including shared perspective) until he had the MMR jab. All the pre-verbal things that were happening suddenly stopped. My friend wanted this to be noted and asked several members of the medical profession to register her disquiet that the MMR vaccine might be the cause. She was told that without video evidence (they don't own a video camera) this would not be counted as permissible evidence in any court case, and she felt her opinion was not taken seriously. Now, whenever I hear claims that the statistics do not bear out the original study which raised concerns about the vaccine, I wonder how many "missing" statistics (like my friend's son) exist.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 05:43 PM

Autism has certainly always existed, but I believe it was first described in the 20th century (though not sure about that). My kid is certainly "different" from his peers--at almost 17, he has difficulty both speaking and understanding spoken language, and uses the syntax of a two-year-old. He reads at somewhere between a first and second grade level, and does math about the same. At the same time, he is clearly not mentally retarded, but apparently quite bright. He is very visually oriented, and learns a lot from watching TV. His favorite shows are things like "Nova" (science show) and "Globetrekker" (travel). At age 6, he could find Lithuania on the globe and use a computer better than some adults, but was not toilet-trained. He knows all sorts of strange, unexpected information that suddenly comes out. He originally had seizures, but was cured by the ketogenic diet (that's another discussion). He makes a lot more attempt to communicate verbally than he used to, but is often frustrated by not being able to find the right words. He is actually rather friendly and outgoing, in a self-centered kind of way--unlike classically autistic kids, he loves new experiences. He will also sit down in any corner and start rocking back and forth--usually with a big grin, enjoying himself. Needless to say, it looks rather weird when he does this in the grocery store, but the neighbors know him and generally like him.

He developed normally for his first three months, but did not meet motor goals within the normal range. There may have been some lack of oxygen at birth, but three MRI's have not shown any lesions that would account for his condition. He was first vaccinated at 2 months. He has been in special programs since age 2.

The thing that makes me wonder is that fact that everything that is wrong with him is present in his older sister to a very tiny degree, but she is within the range of normal. Her ADD was not diagnosed until shortly after she graduated from high school.

As for avoiding vaccinations, that's probably not a good idea either. A family I know had a child who had seizures after a whooping cough vaccination, so the doctor suggested that the younger childern should not be vaccinated. One of them contracted whooping cough and spent 6 months in bed. I know an adult who had it at age 2 and suffered permanent brain damage from lack of oxygen caused by the coughing. She is in a special program for retarded adults.

The thing that is annoying is that the mercury compounds were apparently added as a money-saving move on the part of the drug companies. I think I would have rather paid a lot more for the vaccinations, even if I had to borrow the money. Of course, I have no actual idea why my kids are the way they are, but it's really a shame to have to wonder if it was from a preventable cause.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Chris Green
Date: 21 Apr 05 - 06:17 PM

For some reason I misread this as Important re AUTISTIC chicken.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: dianavan
Date: 22 Apr 05 - 02:42 AM

Here is my take on it:

In the old days we called it retardation or minimal brain dysfuntion or brain damage or ... and we cared for them at home (if possible) or they were institutionalized. As time passed we became even more sophisticated in our ability to diagnose those who were 'different'.

Now that most institutions and special programs have been eliminated, we have been given the term autism to cover a wide range of disorders. We are told he/she is on the high end or the low end of the autistic spectrum and mainstream them into public education facilities with very little support due to budget restraints.

I think it is counter-productive to continually try to find the 'cause'. We know that there are many causes but this doesn't help to solve the problem of caring and educating these children. I think you have to accept them as they are and do the best you can. That means advocating for their unique educational needs and support as they grow older.

Hats off to those of you who have 'autistic' children. They are a challenge but are very interesting people capable of learning. What we really need is to find ways of paying for the professionals who are able to work with these kids. It makes a difference!

Its also important that parents of autistic kids be given the funding that is necessary to provide respite care. Its a big job! All parents need a break but the parents of autistic kids need regular breaks so that, they too, can live a 'normal' life.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 22 Apr 05 - 04:07 AM

Nutty, I daresay you've taken aspirin or acetaminophen (paracetamol) for a headache. And you are probably also aware that if you swallowed a bottle of the stuff, you'd die. If you swallowed a large quantity of sodium cyanide, you'd die. If on the other hand, you ingested a tiny amount of cyanide--say, less than the amount that's in one cigarette (you do know that cigarette smoke contains cyanide, right?)--you wouldn't die, or even get sick. At least, not from the cyanide.

Of course mercury is a toxin. The amount of mercury that used to be in a dose of vaccine, though, is vanishingly small compared to the amount that causes acrodynia. In addition, thimerosal is a salt of ethyl mercury, which is metabolized and excreted by the body much more easily than methyl mercury (the one that caused Minamata disease). Check this site for more info.

Brucie, the answer to the question, "Why is autism becoming so much more common," is complex, and most of it is still simply unknown. I don't know why I'm making a new diagnosis of autism in two or three children every week. I wish I did. Some of it is clearly that we are recognizing that a child who makes eye contact with you, and hugs his parents, and plays with other children, and doesn't rock back and forth or scream all the time, can still be on the autistic spectrum. In another 5 or 10 years, we'll probably be smarter at sorting out and classifying all the children we're now lumping under the umbrella term of autism. But not all of the increase is due to changes in diagnosis. It's clearly becoming more common. And this increase has continued AFTER thimerosal was removed from vaccines. My belief is that some of the prenatal triggers for autism--which will only cause the condition in someone who is genetically susceptible--include viruses (which may be spreading) and also some of the thousands of chemicals and pesticides that now infest our food supply.

The most important news, though, is that early intervention works. More autistic children are going to improve with intensive early intervention services than without.

The confounding fact is that some autistic children will improve no matter what we do. Few people, and few doctors, are aware that after Kanner published his original description of nine autistic patients in 1943, he went back and looked at them again seven years later, and two or three of them had improved, with no treatment whatsoever. What that means is that many people are convinced that they know what "cures" autism, because "they saw it work with their own eyes" with their child, or a neighbor's child, or several children in their clinic. And no one can convince them that their child might have been one of those who would have gotten better on his or her own.

I have nothing but compassion and respect for parents of children with this puzzling and often heartbreaking condition, and for those who work with the children day after day, teaching them by slow painful repetition the things that their friends learn automatically: how to respond when somebody waves and says "hello," how to understand the meaning of a smile or a frown, how to ask for something to drink, what to do when the teacher tells you to get out your book and read page 25.   

I agree with Dianavan: especially her plea to compensate adequately those who work with these children "in the trenches."

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: Rasener
Date: 22 Apr 05 - 04:39 AM

>>Its also important that parents of autistic kids be given the funding that is necessary to provide respite care. Its a big job! All parents need a break but the parents of autistic kids need regular breaks so that, they too, can live a 'normal' life. <<

That would be really nice. However, our daughter would be very unhappy to be offloaded on other people. We adopt inclusion and take the rough with the smooth and get on with life. Nobody else will do it for us. As parents, it is our responsibilty. We brought them into the world. We gave up a long time ago trying to get respite care, becuase there is always someone else worse off. Basically there are not enough resources to go round.

May I also add that we love our daughter very much and woudn't be without her.

She is nine, and said to us the other day that she didn't know or understand what was expected of her when somebody is angry, so she justs smiles. How about that for wrong vibes.

Subject: RE: BS: Important re AUTISTIC children
From: nutty
Date: 22 Apr 05 - 08:41 AM

Thank you for the link Mark. I read the article but was not impressed.
I would have thought that to be able to reach any conclusions on the effects of Thimerosal on young children, the research needed to be carried out on far more than 60. I would have been more convinced if 600 children had been involved and 6000 would have been even better.

In my own household my brother and sister had no problems with the teething powders. I was the only child, not just in our village but in the whole of the area covered by the local GP, to have such an adverse reaction.

Why did I have such a sensitivity??

We, as individuals, are all different and even as small children react differently to different substances and situations.

Until more substantial research is carried out I cannot be convinced, as you appear to be, that this substance is not detrimental to some children.

I believe that in some children a reaction against such a substance being injected into them at a very young age could cause enough disturbance in brain function as to change behaviour.