from National Autism Association
The Austin American Statesman, the only daily newspaper in Austin, has run a disparaging story on Dr. Wakefield in yesterday’s paper.
“Austin Autism Researcher is Investigated: Man behind discredited study on autism and vaccines now runs Austin center for autistic children”
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/17/0717wakefield.html
This is another in a long line of attacks that ignores the facts and relies on recycled propaganda. We want to send a message to the Statesman that this is a poor attempt at telling this complicated story and they owe their readership and the autism community something more. This story is full of inflammatory language, misquotes and mistakes and clearly calls in to question the nature, quality, and validity of the work we do here at Thoughtful House. It is vital to our efforts that this publication be told the truth and set the record straight.
Please send a brief email to the reporter and her editor letting her know your thoughts.
Send your email to:
maroser@statesman.com; dharmon@statesman.com; roppel@statesman.com
You can include any/all of the following:
• A brief version of your child’s story
• It is incorrect to say that that Dr. Wakefield’s first study was discredited and renounced. The only retraction was a retraction of the interpretation that the press made following the release of the study. It had nothing to do with the facts in the paper.
• Dr. Wakefield’s work has been replicated and supported by subsequent, peer-reviewed publications by other researchers
• A statement about what Dr. Wakefield’s work means to you and your family
• A request for a retraction or an article clarifying these inflammatory remarks
OR if you do not have time but would still like to support Dr. Wakefield, you may fill in, cut and paste and send the following message:
To Mary Ann Roser
My name is ______ and I have a _________ year old child that has been diagnosed with ____________. Your story regarding Dr. Wakefield was full of inaccuracies and innuendos that are an injustice to the families affected by autism spectrum disorders. There is a significant amount of peer-reviewed, published literature that supports his work. Many of the inaccuracies you reported are recycled, inaccurate facts that have been perpetuated through a long line of regurgitated stories. Trust and responsibility are crucial in journalism, something that seems to have been lost here. You owe the community you report for to tell an honest story, even if it is a complicated one.
Organizations that care for children with ASD, particularly those that actually listen and address real medical concerns, should be applauded. Dr. Wakefield, and all of his colleagues at Thoughtful House, should be given credit for taking care of children that others left to languish in pain.
If you are going to write a story, you should at least take the time to understand what you are saying.
Sincerely,
Your name
child-autism-parent-cafe.com
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Show Support for Dr. Andrew Wakefield – Sign The Nigel Thomas Petition: Autism: Stop The Deceit: Start The Treatment
Our autistic loved one received a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at age 15-months in 1993. He became ill with a fever, and would later develop a rash. He then began having chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and slowly over time became autistic, which grew worse after a second MMR shot at age 4.11. At this time, he had another autistic regression. No doctor would listen to our concerns, try to diagnosis or treat his symptoms. We were told to give him Imodium AD everyday to control diarrhea. He went on to develop a failure to thrive condition since he could no longer gain or maintain weight properly.
At age 5 we sought help from the late Dr. Bernard Rimland, of the Autism Reseach Institute, who referred us to a Defeat Autism Now! (DAN) physician in our area. Remarkable improvements were seen on the very first day of treatment, e.g. he regained his sense of smell, and the diarrhea would end for some time. Within a few weeks he began to speak spontaneously. Once we could no longer afford to continue with certain biomedical treatments, the chronic gastrointestinal symptoms returned.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield would soon publish a study in The Lancet about a bowel condition affecting a small subgroup of children with autism. This study gave our family hope, and offered validity to our loved one's medical history. A new DAN doctor referred him to a pediatric gastrointerologist who would finally listen to our story and concerns. In March, 2002 our loved one underwent a colonoscopy and endoscopy. After biopsy, he was found by an independent hospital pathologist to be moderately affected by a bowel condition, commonly known as "autistic enterocolitis." After eight years of suffering, treatment for our family member finally began. child-autism-parent-cafe
Excerpts from Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:
Andrew Wakefield, M.D., will be defending himself against charges of professional misconduct lodged against him by British physicians running the General Medical Council of England. At the heart of the matter is the medical establishment's fury at Dr. Wakefield for daring to publish an hypothesis in the Lancet in 1998 that provided clinical evidence for an association between MMR vaccine, intestinal bowel disease and autism. Subsequently, Dr. Wakefield suggested that some genetically vulnerable children might be unable to handle being injected with three live attenuated viral vaccines at once, pointing out that children rarely are simultaneously infected with wild type measles, mumps and rubella infections in nature.
Andrew Wakefield has steadfastly resisted pressure from government, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry to halt his research into autistic enterocolitis and the possible links between childhood vaccinations, intestinal inflammation and autism. That refusal to stop investigating the potential biological mechanisms for vaccine-induced autistic enterocolitis has made him a target for those determined to make an example out of him. Like individuals who are persecuted for holding different ideological, religious or political beliefs from those in power, Dr. Wakefield is being persecuted for taking a scientific position that does not conform with the majority of those operating or profiting from the global mass vaccination system.
Many parents of vaccine injured children - regardless of which biological mechanism was involved in their children's vaccine-associated regression into autism - support the pioneering work of Andrew Wakefield and his right to pursue his scientific investigation without being persecuted.
Please show support for Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Sign the Nigel Thomas Petition: Autism: Stop The Deceit: Start The Treatment.
At age 5 we sought help from the late Dr. Bernard Rimland, of the Autism Reseach Institute, who referred us to a Defeat Autism Now! (DAN) physician in our area. Remarkable improvements were seen on the very first day of treatment, e.g. he regained his sense of smell, and the diarrhea would end for some time. Within a few weeks he began to speak spontaneously. Once we could no longer afford to continue with certain biomedical treatments, the chronic gastrointestinal symptoms returned.
Dr. Andrew Wakefield would soon publish a study in The Lancet about a bowel condition affecting a small subgroup of children with autism. This study gave our family hope, and offered validity to our loved one's medical history. A new DAN doctor referred him to a pediatric gastrointerologist who would finally listen to our story and concerns. In March, 2002 our loved one underwent a colonoscopy and endoscopy. After biopsy, he was found by an independent hospital pathologist to be moderately affected by a bowel condition, commonly known as "autistic enterocolitis." After eight years of suffering, treatment for our family member finally began. child-autism-parent-cafe
Excerpts from Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:
Andrew Wakefield, M.D., will be defending himself against charges of professional misconduct lodged against him by British physicians running the General Medical Council of England. At the heart of the matter is the medical establishment's fury at Dr. Wakefield for daring to publish an hypothesis in the Lancet in 1998 that provided clinical evidence for an association between MMR vaccine, intestinal bowel disease and autism. Subsequently, Dr. Wakefield suggested that some genetically vulnerable children might be unable to handle being injected with three live attenuated viral vaccines at once, pointing out that children rarely are simultaneously infected with wild type measles, mumps and rubella infections in nature.
Andrew Wakefield has steadfastly resisted pressure from government, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry to halt his research into autistic enterocolitis and the possible links between childhood vaccinations, intestinal inflammation and autism. That refusal to stop investigating the potential biological mechanisms for vaccine-induced autistic enterocolitis has made him a target for those determined to make an example out of him. Like individuals who are persecuted for holding different ideological, religious or political beliefs from those in power, Dr. Wakefield is being persecuted for taking a scientific position that does not conform with the majority of those operating or profiting from the global mass vaccination system.
Many parents of vaccine injured children - regardless of which biological mechanism was involved in their children's vaccine-associated regression into autism - support the pioneering work of Andrew Wakefield and his right to pursue his scientific investigation without being persecuted.
Please show support for Dr. Andrew Wakefield. Sign the Nigel Thomas Petition: Autism: Stop The Deceit: Start The Treatment.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Parent Advocacy Brief: Preschool Services Under IDEA
The National Center for Learning Disabilities has created a new Parent Advocacy Brief, to help parents understand their children's education rights. child-autism-parent-cafe.com
Click here to download the Parent Advocacy Brief.
Click here to download the Parent Advocacy Brief.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
NYS - VESID New Amendment to Part 100 Regulations
The Regulations of the Commissioner of Education have been amended to conform to IDEA 2004 and the final federal regulations to implement IDEA 2004. The Commissioner*s regulations, which were approved as an emergency action by the Board of Regents at their June 2007 meeting, are effective July 1, 2007. Public comment will be accepted until August 17, 2007. child-autism-parent-cafe.com
Click here for info
Click here for info
Monday, July 02, 2007
Autistic Brains Can Be Trained To Recognize Visual And Vocal Cues
Individuals with often miss the subtle meanings conveyed by a person's face and tone of voice, and have trouble determining the communicative intent of others. Neuroimaging show individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) show reduced activity in the regions of the brain that respond to such cues. In a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry and currently online, UCLA researchers providing ASD children with explicit instructions to pay more attention to facial expressions and tone of voice elicited an increased response in the medial prefrontal cortex, part of the brain's network for understanding the intentions of others. "That's significant. The fact that you can 'normalize' activity in this region in the ASD group by directing their attention to these important social cues clearly indicates there's nothing intrinsically wrong with this region in the autistic brain," said Mirella Dapretto, co-authored the study with her former graduate student Ting Wang, a postdoctoral fellow at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "This is a very positive thing," Dapretto said, "because these findings have implications for future interventions" they suggest that you could train the autistic brain to make use of the information conveyed by the human face and voice to successfully navigate social interactions. child-autism-parent-cafe.com
Read full article
Read full article
Thursday, June 14, 2007
National Autism Association Letter to NBC Television
Mr. Steve Capus, President
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
June 13, 2007
Dear Mr. Capus:
The undersigned organizations are writing to you regarding the concerns among families of vaccine-injured children across the country over NBC’s recent coverage of the Autism Omnibus proceedings. In particular, we take issue with the comments Dr. Nancy Snyderman made during yesterday’s Today show. While one would hope a "First do no harm” philosophy would have some bearing on the information Dr. Snyderman provides to viewers, clearly it does not.
Dr. Snyderman's ties to Johnson & Johnson, defendants in vaccine injury litigation, are obviously dictating the agenda in her appearances on your network at the risk of the safety of our children. This conflict of interest calls into serious question your journalistic integrity and credibility.
NBC’s viewers were exposed to a blatant falsehood yesterday as Dr. Snyderman claimed that vaccines no longer contain mercury. This is not the case, and this misinformation has unfortunately given America's parents a false sense of security that vaccines are now mercury-free. This false claim puts all of America's children and the unborn at risk of great harm.
The mercury-based preservative thimerosal has never been fully removed from childhood vaccines as Dr. Snyderman vehemently claimed. A simple check on the FDA's website would have confirmed this: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t1. Mercury is still in most flu, tetanus, and diphtheria/tetanus vaccines--and an array of vaccines still contain "trace" amounts. (The term "trace" must be used loosely as this aspect of vaccine production is not being regulated and there is some variation on what constitutes a trace amount. As children often receive multiple "trace" amounts of mercury in one sitting, cumulative amounts and potential adverse effects are as yet unknown.)
While no reputable medical practitioner in this country would allow even "trace" amounts of lead to be injected through vaccines given its known neurotoxicity, physicians continue to allow mercury, which exceeds the toxicity of lead by more than 100-fold, to be routinely injected into humans.
As a physician representing NBC, Dr. Snyderman has failed to tell the truth about mercury-containing vaccines and the known dangers associated with them. There is simply no excuse for such careless and false reporting while this country is in the throes of a childhood epidemic of neurological disorders.
During Monday’s NBC Nightly News Dr. Snyderman stated, “there really is no science” behind the autism/mercury link. Vaccines and the mercury-based preservative thimerosal have not been ruled out as a cause of autism. To the contrary, there are literally thousands of scientific, peer-reviewed studies supporting the extreme neurotoxicity of mercury and the relationship between mercury exposure and neurological injury. The following link provides a copious amount of research which contradicts what Dr. Snyderman told the American public: http://www.generationrescue.org/studies.html
The CDC's own study conducted in 2000 clearly shows the agency knew that injuries were occurring to children from mercury-containing vaccines, yet the data was manipulated to obscure the link. Lead researcher Dr. Thomas Verstraeten had this to say regarding the CDC's thimerosal findings:
“...we have found statistically significant relationships between the exposure and outcomes for these different exposures and outcomes. First, for two months of age, an unspecified developmental delay, which has its own specific ICD9 code. Exposure at three months of age, tics. Exposure at six months of age, an attention deficit disorder. Exposures at one, three, and six months of age, language and speech delays which are two separate ICD9 codes. Exposures at one, three, and six months of age, an entire category of neurodevelopmental delays, which includes all of these plus a number of other disorders.” (Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, page 40, Simpsonwood meeting transcript)
The full transcript of this secret, closed-door meeting held by the CDC at the United Methodist Retreat Center, Simpsonwood, can be read at NoMercury.org or PutChildrenFirst.org.
Many European countries have banned the use of thimerosal/mercury in vaccines for many years. Seven states have passed legislation banning the use of thimerosal/mercury in vaccines and similar legislation is pending in over 30 additional states. If there was no science to back up the dangers of using mercury in vaccines, we wouldn’t be seeing such legislative efforts to ban its use.
In her most recent NBC appearance, Dr. Snyderman was asked why parents were filing claims on behalf of their vaccine-injured children, to which she answered matter-of-factly, “money.” This cavalier statement alone goes far beyond contempt and displays an appalling ignorance of the emotional and financial devastation faced by families of vaccine-injured children. This must be addressed by an immediate apology from NBC to all the parents of children suffering from vaccine-induced illnesses.
We urge you to speak with the growing number of scientists who have published research supporting a causal link between mercury in vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders, and can provide you contact information for these researchers.
Reporting false information is a disservice to the American people. When it comes to the children and the unborn in this country, we should err on the side of safety, regardless of personal belief, conviction, or backing from the pharmaceutical industry.
Based on the misinformation presented by Dr. Snyderman, and the potential for harm this has brought to bear upon children, we ask for her resignation. We will accept nothing less than a full and public retraction of her false statements, along with an apology from your network.
We expect an immediate response to our request. We can be contacted at 828-776-0082 or amy@momsagainstmercury.org.
Respectfully,
Advocates for Children’s Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning (ACHAMP)
Autism Recovery Resources of Washington (ARROW)
Autism Society of Oregon – Lane County Chapter
Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs (CoMeD)
David A. Geier, Vice-President Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc.
Developmental Delay Resources (DDR)
Dr. Boyd Haley, Bio-Chemist, Chemistry Department University of Kentucky
Educate Before You Vaccinate
Foundation For Autism Information and Research
Foundation for Mercury Injured Children
Generation Rescue
John Wilson, MD Great Smokies Medical Center
K Paul Stoller, MD, President, International Hyperbaric Medical Association
KindTree Productions, Inc
Mark R. Geier, MD, Ph.D., FABMG, President Genetic Centers of America
Maryland Autism Recovery Coalition
Mercury Free Maryland
Moms Against Mercury
Moms of Hope
National Autism Association
No Mercury
SOAR! Salem Oregon Autism Resources
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA)
TN4SaferVaccines
Treating Autism in the UK
UnInformed Consent
US Autism and Asperger Association
World Mercury Project
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
June 13, 2007
Dear Mr. Capus:
The undersigned organizations are writing to you regarding the concerns among families of vaccine-injured children across the country over NBC’s recent coverage of the Autism Omnibus proceedings. In particular, we take issue with the comments Dr. Nancy Snyderman made during yesterday’s Today show. While one would hope a "First do no harm” philosophy would have some bearing on the information Dr. Snyderman provides to viewers, clearly it does not.
Dr. Snyderman's ties to Johnson & Johnson, defendants in vaccine injury litigation, are obviously dictating the agenda in her appearances on your network at the risk of the safety of our children. This conflict of interest calls into serious question your journalistic integrity and credibility.
NBC’s viewers were exposed to a blatant falsehood yesterday as Dr. Snyderman claimed that vaccines no longer contain mercury. This is not the case, and this misinformation has unfortunately given America's parents a false sense of security that vaccines are now mercury-free. This false claim puts all of America's children and the unborn at risk of great harm.
The mercury-based preservative thimerosal has never been fully removed from childhood vaccines as Dr. Snyderman vehemently claimed. A simple check on the FDA's website would have confirmed this: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t1. Mercury is still in most flu, tetanus, and diphtheria/tetanus vaccines--and an array of vaccines still contain "trace" amounts. (The term "trace" must be used loosely as this aspect of vaccine production is not being regulated and there is some variation on what constitutes a trace amount. As children often receive multiple "trace" amounts of mercury in one sitting, cumulative amounts and potential adverse effects are as yet unknown.)
While no reputable medical practitioner in this country would allow even "trace" amounts of lead to be injected through vaccines given its known neurotoxicity, physicians continue to allow mercury, which exceeds the toxicity of lead by more than 100-fold, to be routinely injected into humans.
As a physician representing NBC, Dr. Snyderman has failed to tell the truth about mercury-containing vaccines and the known dangers associated with them. There is simply no excuse for such careless and false reporting while this country is in the throes of a childhood epidemic of neurological disorders.
During Monday’s NBC Nightly News Dr. Snyderman stated, “there really is no science” behind the autism/mercury link. Vaccines and the mercury-based preservative thimerosal have not been ruled out as a cause of autism. To the contrary, there are literally thousands of scientific, peer-reviewed studies supporting the extreme neurotoxicity of mercury and the relationship between mercury exposure and neurological injury. The following link provides a copious amount of research which contradicts what Dr. Snyderman told the American public: http://www.generationrescue.org/studies.html
The CDC's own study conducted in 2000 clearly shows the agency knew that injuries were occurring to children from mercury-containing vaccines, yet the data was manipulated to obscure the link. Lead researcher Dr. Thomas Verstraeten had this to say regarding the CDC's thimerosal findings:
“...we have found statistically significant relationships between the exposure and outcomes for these different exposures and outcomes. First, for two months of age, an unspecified developmental delay, which has its own specific ICD9 code. Exposure at three months of age, tics. Exposure at six months of age, an attention deficit disorder. Exposures at one, three, and six months of age, language and speech delays which are two separate ICD9 codes. Exposures at one, three, and six months of age, an entire category of neurodevelopmental delays, which includes all of these plus a number of other disorders.” (Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, page 40, Simpsonwood meeting transcript)
The full transcript of this secret, closed-door meeting held by the CDC at the United Methodist Retreat Center, Simpsonwood, can be read at NoMercury.org or PutChildrenFirst.org.
Many European countries have banned the use of thimerosal/mercury in vaccines for many years. Seven states have passed legislation banning the use of thimerosal/mercury in vaccines and similar legislation is pending in over 30 additional states. If there was no science to back up the dangers of using mercury in vaccines, we wouldn’t be seeing such legislative efforts to ban its use.
In her most recent NBC appearance, Dr. Snyderman was asked why parents were filing claims on behalf of their vaccine-injured children, to which she answered matter-of-factly, “money.” This cavalier statement alone goes far beyond contempt and displays an appalling ignorance of the emotional and financial devastation faced by families of vaccine-injured children. This must be addressed by an immediate apology from NBC to all the parents of children suffering from vaccine-induced illnesses.
We urge you to speak with the growing number of scientists who have published research supporting a causal link between mercury in vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders, and can provide you contact information for these researchers.
Reporting false information is a disservice to the American people. When it comes to the children and the unborn in this country, we should err on the side of safety, regardless of personal belief, conviction, or backing from the pharmaceutical industry.
Based on the misinformation presented by Dr. Snyderman, and the potential for harm this has brought to bear upon children, we ask for her resignation. We will accept nothing less than a full and public retraction of her false statements, along with an apology from your network.
We expect an immediate response to our request. We can be contacted at 828-776-0082 or amy@momsagainstmercury.org.
Respectfully,
Advocates for Children’s Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning (ACHAMP)
Autism Recovery Resources of Washington (ARROW)
Autism Society of Oregon – Lane County Chapter
Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs (CoMeD)
David A. Geier, Vice-President Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc.
Developmental Delay Resources (DDR)
Dr. Boyd Haley, Bio-Chemist, Chemistry Department University of Kentucky
Educate Before You Vaccinate
Foundation For Autism Information and Research
Foundation for Mercury Injured Children
Generation Rescue
John Wilson, MD Great Smokies Medical Center
K Paul Stoller, MD, President, International Hyperbaric Medical Association
KindTree Productions, Inc
Mark R. Geier, MD, Ph.D., FABMG, President Genetic Centers of America
Maryland Autism Recovery Coalition
Mercury Free Maryland
Moms Against Mercury
Moms of Hope
National Autism Association
No Mercury
SOAR! Salem Oregon Autism Resources
Talk About Curing Autism (TACA)
TN4SaferVaccines
Treating Autism in the UK
UnInformed Consent
US Autism and Asperger Association
World Mercury Project
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