“Eli Stone” Vaccine/Autism story line airs TODAY

Action Alert from National Autism Association:

Please take a couple of minutes to call ABC and thank them for not bowing to pressure from drug companies and the American Academy of Pediatrics to cancel “Eli Stone,” scheduled to air tomorrow, January 31 at 10:00 Eastern. This network needs to hear from parents of vaccine-injured children, whose stories have been successfully swept under the rug by Big Pharma for years. This is an important step in getting the truth about vaccine-injured children into the mainstream where it belongs.

We heard from an ABC employee yesterday who commented that so far, the overwhelming majority of comments the network had received were from the medical community—on both sides of the issue. When asked her thoughts after viewing the “Eli Stone” episode this same employee stated, “I had no idea about this issue. My eyes got watery.” We need to let the people at the network know of the profound effect vaccine injuries have had upon families, and now is our chance to do just that.

WHO TO CALL:
Ms. Hope Hartman, ABC Network Vice President of Media Relations 818.460.6360.
We’ve been told that Ms. Hartman has input on which resources are offered to viewers after the episode airs and upon any follow-up programming as well.

WHEN TO CALL:
Today: January 31

POINTS TO MAKE:
-ABC needs to hear a big “thank you” from our community
-Ask that the National Autism Association (nationalautism.org) and other advocacy organizations be included with resources following the show. They are going to provide the CDC’s website -- parents exposed to this topic for the first time need alternate resources that can help their children
-Ask for a follow-up to the show on ABC’s Nightline, including experts on recovering children through autism medical treatments
-Please tell them about your family and why the vaccine-injury story line is important to you
-There’s not much time, so please give ABC a call ASAP and let them know the significance of addressing the vaccine/autism connection through “Eli Stone.”

Together, we can make a difference.

Autism Cluster In New Jersey School

Dr. Lawrence Rosen, medical adviser at the Deirdre ImusEnvironmental Center for Pediatric Oncology, said there appears to be an autism cluster at St. Anthony's school in Northvale, which serves children with autism and suspects it's because of an environmental problem and that the center, which started the inquiry, wants tests of air, water and soil at the school. child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Click here for full article

New Vitamin/Mineral Supplement for Children and Adults with Autism

Participate in a 12-week trial of a new vitamin/mineral supplement for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a new vitamin/mineral supplement by evaluating symptoms at the beginning and end of the study. This study has been approved by the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board at Arizona State University.child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Hillary Clinton's Autism Plan

Hillary Clinton unveiled her plan to help children and families affected by autism, vowing to dramatically boost research funding and support services for families caring for an autistic loved one.

As President, Hillary Clinton will provide approximately $700 million a year to address autism through the following initiatives:

•Expanding research to identify causes of autism and monitoring its impact across the country
•Creating an Autism Task Force charged with investigating evidence-based treatments, interventions, and services
•Providing planning and demonstration grants for services for adults
•Improving access to post-diagnosis care
•Providing teacher training
•Creating a National Technical Assistance Center
•Guaranteeing quality, affordable health care

Read what Autism Organizations are saying about Hillary’s Plan

For information on autism visit child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Toy Containing 'Date-Rape' Drug Pulled

Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the toy Aqua Dots, a popular holiday toy distributed by Spin Master Toys. Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death. The toy beads are sold in general merchandise stores and over the Internet for use in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused together when sprayed with water. child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Read full article here.

Adolescence And Autism: A Difficult, But Not Hopeless Combination

The challenges autistic patients face become more pronounced during adolescence, when many kinds of social behaviours are developed these individuals can become more aware of their relationship difficulties.

"This study shows that the social and interpersonal skills of autistic adolescents can be improved, and we established that our method is efficient and does not require significant resources," said Dr. Fombonne, Head of Child Psychiatry at McGill University Health Centre.

They wanted to address the needs of autistic adolescents who had no major delay in their language development or who were not cognitively challenged (high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome). The major component of the sessions is role play, which allows the patients to simulate different social situations and create new friendships with other members of the group.

The study results definitely back up this conclusion, as there was increase in patients' social skills over the course of the sessions, an improvement that was maintained outside the training groups. This last point proves that behaviour improvement in these patients is not solely tied to the hospital environment. The training has also helped some of the adolescents reduce problems with excessive irritability or sensitivity.

McGill University Health Centre (2007, November 3). Adolescence And Autism: A Difficult, But Not Hopeless Combination.

For more information on adolescence and autism visit: child-autism-parent-cafe.com