Strollerderby : autism

Can Autism Be Diagnosed in Infancy?

KeriF — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:01:00 GMT

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, doctors should begin screening for autism by 18 months. Now some researchers are suggesting that signs of autism can be seen as early as 12 months.

Early warning signs include: not responding to one's name, not sharing interests through pointing and eye gaze, lack of joyful expression, an absence of babbling, difficulty establishing eye contact, and staring too long at inanimate objects. Researchers compiled this list by studying home videos of children with autism and their younger siblings, who have high rates of autism.

At the Yale Child Study Center, researchers measure when toddlers stop blinking while watching a video; typical children will do so at scenes of emotion, while a child with autism will fixate on the opening and closing of a door. At Vanderbilt University, babys are shown a sealed jar of cookies, their reactions recorded and evaluated; typical children will seek the assistance of a caregiver through eye contact and gestures; a child with autism will repeatedly place the caregiver's hand on the jar but never make eye contact

These studies, along with others, were presented at a conference at Columbia University's Teachers College. The goal: to identify autism as early as possible so that intervention and assistance can begin as early as possible.

Investigators stress that no one test or behavior alone is indicative of autism, and the goal is not to officially diagnose these children but rather to identify them as "at risk" and get them assistance as soon as possible.

"The environment in the early years has an active role in shaping the brain," says Geraldine Dawson, chief scientific officier of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. "What we see in autism may be partly the result of not engaging with the social environment. So if you engage the baby through an intervention, you might prevent or at least reduce the development of autism symptoms."

Some studies aim to help children as young as eight months, such as one at the University of Washington funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dawson explains, "What we are doing is teaching the parents how to structure interactions to promote eye contact and babbling." The goal, she says, is to "begin before the full autism syndrome is present and prevent it from emerging."

Of course, not every baby that is slow to babble has autism. Which begs the question: does identifying these early warning signs truly help children? Or does it simply fuel parents' fears?

They Say: Another Reason to Vaccinate Your Kid

JeanneSager — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:28:00 GMT

The no-vax movement got more bad news this week with a report in Pediatrics that confirms herd immunity does not keep the non-vaccinated safe.

The study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determines kids whose parents opt out on vaccines are twenty three times more likely to develop pertussis than their vaccinated peers.

More commonly known as whooping cough, the incidence of pertussis was rapidly declining in the U.S. from the 1940s through the late nineties thanks to vaccinations. But with parents forgoing the vaccines, the numbers are back up - big time. In 2005 alone, more than twenty-five thousand cases were reported (for comparison check out the numbers in 1976 - only one thousand ten cases in the entire U.S.).

Those numbers should have proven the importance (and efficacy) of the vaccine, but parents have been skipping the vaccine in increasing numbers, or delaying it as part of the system touted by Dr. Robert Sears, a much revered pediatrician by the middle-of-the pack vax crowd. The study at Kaiser found that eleven percent of the kids who contracted pertussis were kids whose parents actually refused the vaccine (which makes a difference - these weren't kids whose parents opted out because of a medical issue that kept them from getting the vaccine).

What a fair number of anti-vaccine parents fail to realize is the problem isn't just the other kids their kids are coming in contact with. Even if the majority of American kids get the vaccine, adults age out of their immunity. Which means unless they head to the doctor for a booster, they're susceptible to the disease, and carriers who could be passing it on to your kids (studies indicate at least one third of pertussis cases were transmitted by mother to child).

And pertussis is not a silly, laugh it off disease. It can kill, particularly infants.

So if herd immunity isn't protecting your kids from pertussis, what else isn't it protecting them from?

Image: LA Times

Mom Tells State Don't Make Me Vaccinate

JeanneSager — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:04:00 GMT

It's one of only two states that won't allow parents to use religion as an excuse to avoid vaccinating their kids, and now West Virginia is facing a lawsuit from a mom who says she doesn't want her six-year-old daughter to receive the shots.

Jennifer Workman says it's a "sacrilege" to expect her to vaccinate her daughter. But wouldn't you know, this so-called religious excuse is coming from a mom who claims vaccines cause autism.

I say so-called religion in this case because it sounds awfully convenient. Workman describes herself as "bapticostal," a mix of Baptist and Pentecostal religions, and she's asked a federal judge to overturn the state's demands that her daughter be immunized before attending public school based on religious freedom.

But her real problem? Her elder daughter, teenaged Susanna, has autism. And she's afraid of vaccinating Madison because she believes the vaccines are to blame. Never mind the long line of studies that have discredited that theory. That's only a small portion of the problem here - because Workman isn't presenting this as a medical case.

She's clearly using religion to push through her agenda. And she's not alone. Two years ago, Babble reported on a hike in religious dispensations being requested by parents who didn't want to vaccinate.

But where our forefathers were talking the right to assemble and pray to your own God (or G-d or Allah . . .), to circumcise your kids, to not eat pork, to string a cross around your neck, they were also talking about personal rights as they affect one person. They weren't, however, talking about excuses couched in religious belief that void the social contract. Just as ritualistic killings can not fall under the guise of religion because it's an express harm to others, an unvaccinated child walking into a school building is a public health risk. Allowing these types of dispensations only increases that risk.

Should kids in West Virginia be forced to bow to a mother's attempts to skirt the law?

Mom Gives 9-Year-Old Marijuana

Madeline Holler — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:31:00 GMT

Writer Marie Myung-Ok Lee pushes marijuana on her 9-year-old son. She mixes it in cookies and teas. She offers him hits from a bong-like vaporizer -- whatever it takes to get him high. But she's not some kind of hard-partying "if it feels good, do it" hippie mom.

Lee is trying to help her autistic son, who spends large parts of his days and nights in pain from an inflammatory bowel condition and the results of an operation on his spinal cord. And also from aggression that is symptomatic of his autism.

Does it work? Mmmm kind of. Is it illegal? Sort of but not really.

Lee lives in Rhode Island, one of 13 states that has legalized the use of marijuana for medical reasons. Her son's doctor signed off on it. The benefit to her son is better sleep, less aggression and a way to avoid "sedating, antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal."

Writing for Double X, an excellent new smarty pants women-focused Web site that launched yesterday, Lee explains how she settled on pot, how she gets it an, so far, whether it's working.

But since we started him on his "special tea," J’s little face, which is sometimes a mask of pain, has softened. He smiles more. For the last year, his individual education plan at his special-needs school was full of blanks, recording “no progress” because he spent his whole day an irritated, frustrated mess. Now, April’s report shows real progress, including “two community outings with the absence of aggressions.

Anybody else out there medicating with pot? What do you think of this mom's solution? What about the criminalization of marijuana in the first place?

Should You Take Your Bump on a Date?

Mother-to-Be: Save The Baby's Life, Not Mine

They Say: Episiotomy Rate ... Cut!

A Really Graphic Homebirth

The Orphan Trade and International Adoption

Photo: DoubleX

Kid Flies Across Country And No One Notices

JeanneSager — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:25:00 GMT

If it sounds like a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan flick that's popular on date night, you're not far off. A boy used his father's credit card, hopped a plane and was across the country before anyone had missed him.

Only this kid wasn't looking for a lady love for dad. And he went in the opposite direction (East Coast to West rather than Seattle to New York). Oh yeah, and this wasn't a movie.

The thirteen-year-old was a real live boy who stole Dad's car during the night (while he was sleeping), drove thirty miles to an airport and THEN boarded a plane for parts unknown.

Kenton Weaver flew from Florida, where he lives with his father, to California, where his mother lives. But no one one the flight said a word. It wasn't until Weaver was at a ticket counter in California that the boy (who reportedly falls somewhere on the autism spectrum - making this all the more incredible) was found by some sort of authority.

His mom, Kim Casey, says Kenton is extremely bright but his Asperger's means he lacks common sense and inhibitions that would probably have kept other kids from pulling off this kind of feat. But that's another reason the boy's father, Dale Weaver, is shocked no one noticed a thirteen-year-old on a cross-continental flight. Not only did he not have ID, but Dale said his son can be a handful.

Kenton is OK - that's the best part of this story. And apparently has dreams of being a pilot, so a ride in an airplane was probably the highlight of his day, week, month. . .

But how does this make you feel about so-called airport security? Are they so focused on making us take our shoes off and trashing our tweezers that they're missing the big picture? Like thirteen-year-old kids with no ID getting on planes alone?

Image: eFitness

OctoMom's Kid - Bite Mark And Black Eye

Brett Singer — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:30:00 GMT

This is disturbing.

Social Services paid a visit to Nadya Suleman's home the other day. Surprisingly, this isn't a regular occurrence. They were there to investigate because one of the OctoMom's children, Aidan, had gone to school with a black eye and a bite mark on his back. After a 45 minute interview, investigators left without taking action.

Orange County Child and Family Services and La Habra police did not comment because, you know, things like this are supposed to be confidential. Nadya, however, did an interview with her exclusive outlet, RadarOnline. (Remember when Radar was this hip and cool magazine? Yeah, not anymore.)

In the interview, she managed to make me question her parenting skills even more than I might have previously, which is impressive if you think about it. She tells the interviewer that the social services visit was her fault, because she didn't see the note that Aidan's teacher had pinned to his backpack asking about the injuries. To be fair, I've missed notes as well, but they weren't asking me if my children were participating in after-school cage fights. The scariest line to me is that Aidan's black eye is from "falling down," something he does because he has autism. There's a moment where Nadya says the black eye is from his meltdowns, and "in the process of throwing him... throwing himself on the floor..." I know, it's just a slip, but it's creepy.

As for the bite mark, Nadya says it's from one of his siblings. (To borrow a line from Robin Quivers on the Howard Stern Show, "They're eating each other!")

In the video, you get to see Ms. Suleman attempt to discipline one her kids as he first hits his sibling, then hits the camera. "We're just starting time outs," she says. Seems to be working great. She also tells us that the officials told her they were impressed with how well the family was doing, and "how well-organized her home was." Wow. I don't believe that statement one bit.

I know. It's not fair to criticize parenting skills. Right? Except that she's making these videos on putting them online. Mostly I just feel bad for the kids. There's no way they could possible be getting anything resembing a decent amount of attention from their mother.

Source: AP via Yahoo and RadarOnline

Suleman Cashing In - Trademarks Term Octomom

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10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Dad Drives Drunk With Kids In Car

Man Slaps Baby -- But There's More To It

Amy Kuras — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:30:00 GMT

We’ve all had the experience of walking in somewhere with our baby and people looking at us as if we’ve brought in a rabid dingo – but this story is something else.

Crystal Shunatona was at Wal-Mart in Witchita, Kansas with her baby and her two older kids when she saw a 30-ish man, Bruce Jones. swearing and throwing things in the aisles. She tried to avoid him – until he ended up in the checkout lane right behind her.

At which time the man smacked her baby on the back of the head. (!!)

Who would do such a thing to a little six month old?

But, of course, there are mitigating factors. Jones has autism, and told the responding police officer he’s done this before because he doesn’t like and is irritated by babies. His mother was shopping with him but had lost track of his whereabouts. She said she saw the baby, and was afraid her son would hurt him.

The baby, according to Shunatona, has some bruising but appears okay, but she’s angry because the police did nothing. While she agreed Jones probably should not have been arrested, she said she thought he should have at least been taken to a hospital.

Bruce’s mom said her son had never gotten much help for his autism, but she’d accept some now. "What am I supposed to do? Lock him up? Shoot him? I would just like society to tell me what to do," she said.

I’d like to hear from parents of kids with autism on this one – on the one hand, I don’t think this guy should have been allowed to smack a baby pretty hard and just walk away. On the other, I know people with autism have sensory issues and a place like Wal-Mart can overstimulate them to the point of major agitation. And I think his mother should have kept a stricter watch on him if she knew he’s been violent before.

What’s the solution?

From Playboy to Medical School: Jenny McCarthy Now a Doctor

JeanneSager — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:01:00 GMT

Love her or hate her, former Playboy Bunny and Singled Out host Jenny McCarthy is donning a white coat for her new role: doctor. Her voice for the fight to cure autism has earned McCarthy her medical degree from Harvard Med.

The announcement comes just as McCarthy's fifth book, co-authored with autism specialist Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, hits shelves. The work behind Healing and Preventing Autism and McCarthy's extensive research of the subject was subject of a face-off with science editor Jeffrey Kluger this week in TIME Magazine.

But it's that work that has earned McCarthy the attention of Harvard Med, one of the most respected institutions in America. They've decided to grant McCarthy the degree not as an honorary title but with full credentials. She will still have to pass the boards in order to actually practice medicine.

Does the Harvard Med. seal of approval change your opinions of McCarthy?

Image: Amazon

Spiderman Rescues Autistic Boy

Brett Singer — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

To be fair it was really "a Bangkok firefighter in a Spiderman suit." But to the kid, it was probably Spiderman. So I prefer my original phrasing.

The BBC reports that a Thai fireman named Somchai Yoosabai put on a Spidey suit in order to coax an eight-year-old autistic boy down from a ledge. It was his first day at school. The boy's mother told Somchai that her son had a "passion for comic superheroes," which prompted the costume change.

In case you, like me, were wondering why a firefighter keeps a Spiderman outfit handy, it's to "liven up fire drills in schools." Good idea. If someone had done that when I was in school, I might have joined the force.

Source: BBC via Wired

Baby Born in Penn Station During Rush Hour

Open Letter To The Woman Who Pushed Me While I Was Picking Up My Kid

Finish Line - Our Week In Review

Brett Singer — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:30:00 GMT

Back with a vengeance -- and the best of intentions -- we proudly bring you Finish Line, a weekly round-up of what we've writen the past week here on StrollerDerby.

Jeanne told us about a baby whose lack of a biological mother hasn't prevented him from being breastfed. By six different women, no less.
Amy got people talking when she asked "What Advice Did You Ignore?"
Shannon says that parents who help with homework might be no help at all. (It's more complicated than that, read her post to see why.)
Mike gets all serious when he tells us about "Autism and Links to Violence, a True Story".
Abortion! Now that I've got your attention, read Kate's post about a doctor on trial for performing the late-term variety.
Cole spills the beans on all of the stuff they don't tell you about becoming a parent. (Spoiler alert: the fact that kids are cute and sometimes stinky is not on the list. Cuz everybody knows that.)
And I pointed out that Baby Einstein doesn't just want your money -- they want you to feel good about giving it to them.

More next week -- have a great weekend everyone.

What Explains High Autism Rates Among Somali Immigrants?

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:01:00 GMT

A medical mystery is brewing in Minnesota, where thirty to sixty thousand Somali refugees and their families have settled and where, increasingly, that community's children are experiencing high rates of autism. According to an article in the New York Times, while about 6% of the Minneapolis public school population is Somali, they represented 25% of the students enrolled in special preschool classes for children with autism. And a Somali father is quoted as saying he knows ten other dads, all from Somalia and living in the US, who have autistic kids. What can explain this alarming and sad development?

Nobody is quite sure, just as nobody knows for certain that it even is a meaningful cluster; public health officials are trying to determine whether Somali communities in other cities are experiencing the same rates of autism. But if the number of Somali kids with autism in Minneapolis means anything, it's too early yet for anyone to determine that meaning, much less to figure out whether there's anything to be done to lower it. Clusters of non-contagious disease can indicate environmental causes, such as mesothelioma among people working near asbestos, and then that cause can be attacked. But so far no environmental cause has been found -- and health workers are concerned that anti-vaccine crusaders are now taking their message to the Somali community, a population that often travels back to the home country, where measles remains rampant. It's probably only a matter of time before an outbreak affects any un-vaccinated Somali kids.

A disease without a known cause appears to be rampaging through a community that has already weathered much hardship. Let's hope someone can help solve the mystery and bring them some much-needed help.

Photo: Allen Brisson-Smith for The New York Times

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Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Help Autistic Kids?

KeriF — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:32:00 GMT

A new study shows that hyperbaric oxygen treatment can help lessen the outward symptoms of autism. Dr. Daniel A. Rossignol of the international Child Development Resource Center in Melbourne, Fla., conducted the blind study of 62 children ranging in ages from two to seven.

After 40 one-hour treatments spanning four weeks, the group that received treatment showed improvements in receptive language, social interaction, and eye contact.

According to the article in HealthNews, Dr. Rossignol and the other participating physicians offer this kind of treatment in their practices. Dr. Rossignol is also father to two autistic children. All this leads me to believe that these doctors might be looking for a connection where there might not be one.

Not that I blame Dr. Rossignol. Autism is devastating, and any kind of treatment that offers hope of a reduction of symptoms seems worth trying, no matter how small the chance of real change. That's why my sister just completed a series of treatments for her 10-year-old son, who's autistic. Unfortunately, we didn't see any change in Jonah. (Though my sister's skin did look nice after sitting through the sessions with him.)

The doctors do mention their possible conflict of interest in the study, along with the hope that further research and testing will be done to find out if this treatment has any further potential for autistic kids.

I'm Not a Brat, I'm Autistic

I'm Not a Brat, I'm Autistic

KeriF — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:33:00 GMT

My 10-year-old nephew is autistic. Not in a "quirky," "neurodiverse" kind of way, but in a typical, sometimes agressive kind of way. When our families go out together, as we often do, I like to pretend that people are looking at us because of the eight adorable children trailing us, but I know what they're really looking at is Jonah: Jonah biting his hand in agitation, hitting his head in anger, or just spinning, spinning, spinning in complete and utter joy. At those times, it's fairly obvious that Jonah is autistic.

But sometimes it isn't so obvious. That's why I could relate to the essay, "A Tale of Two Mothers" by "Mary P. Jones" (a pseudonym) in The New York Times Motherlode column. She writes about a typical excursion to the grocery store with her autistic son, told through the eyes of another shopper, then told through her own eyes. When her son gets agitated because the line is so long, the other shopper sees a poorly behaved boy and his overindulgent mother. When her son gets upset because the cashier botches the transaction and the boy cannot enter his mother's PIN number as he had planned, the shopper sees a boy who needs limits.

I am always impressed by my sister's poise on these outings; she never seems upset, never apologizes for Jonah. I think that's part of the reason Mary P. Jones' fellow shoppers look at her and her son so askance--because Mary herself stays so calm and collected, never criticizing her son for behaviors she knows he can't control.

I was once out with my sister and we saw a teenaged boy wearing a shirt that said something to the effect of, "I'm autistic." I asked my sister if she ever considered having Jonah wear a similar shirt. She grimaced, and told me Jonah's condition was enough of a stigma, she didn't need to draw attention to it. I commented on how the shirt might make it easier to explain when Jonah had a bad behavior in public. She shrugged. I suppose parents of autistic kids just don't have the time to worry about what other people think, they're too focused on getting their children through the day.

Last year my sister took her family to an amusement park. Because of Jonah's disability, he gets a handicap pass so he doesn't have to wait in line. On one ride, as the family skipped the line and boarded immediately, a young man smirked and said, "How do I get a pass like that?" My sister, composed as ever, turned to him and said, "You have an autistic kid. But trust me, it's not worth it."

Bad Science: How The Autism Vaccine Scare Snowballed

Kate Tuttle — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:31:00 GMT

Jenny McCarthy as an activist, "Green Vaccines," death threats against pro-vaccine doctors, deadly measles outbreaks: all sprang from one source, a flawed medical study with a tiny sample size, a lead author willing to fudge the facts, and a story the media found too fascinating to fully examine.

Writing in this week's Newsweek magazine, Sharon Begley lays out the timeline of what would become one of the biggest medical fairy tales of the past decade -- a narrative of corrupt pharamaceutical companies, poisoned children, and devoted parents. Too bad it wasn't, you know, true.

As is now clear, the study published in the Lancet medical journal back in 1998 linking the MMR vaccine to autism (via intestinal problems) was just plain bad science. The study looked at only twelve children, for one thing. Worse yet, the lead doctor, Andrew Wakefield, fudged the facts. A decade later, ten of the twelve co-authors have disavowed the research they published, but as Begley's story made clear, at the time the media and public found Wakefield and his findings not only trustworthy, but revolutionary. And he wasn't alone; in 2000 U.S. Representative Dan Burton chaired a congressional hearing to look into the connection, and TV's 60 Minutes gave it the old expose treatment. It wasn't hard to paint parents as heroes (because so frequently they are, even when their facts are wrong), nor to deride the drug companies as villains (because, again, they often are). A story so delicious has a tendency to rob the media of its hallowed skepticism -- how else to explain the major coverage of a study of 12 kids, when subsequent studies (such as one at Boston University that looked at two million children) showed zero relationship between the MMR and autism.

The story rode a wave of parental anxiety and media hype so big that it caused actual changes in behavior around vaccination -- and here's where, I think, Wakefield and his ilk bear some major culpability. As vaccination rates went down and outbreaks broke out, children died of easily preventable diseases. And despite the frequent exhortation from anti-vaccine crusaders to "follow the money" in looking at relationships between doctors and pharmaceutical companies, I'd love to see more digging into Wakefield's financial stake in the autism industry (he was officially sanctioned for misconduct in having hidden the financial support he had received from parents of children with autism before undertaking the 1998 study, and now makes his living running a center that claims to cure autism).

The recent ruling by a special court that declared no connection between autism and vaccines has settled the legal question, for now. As for what happens in the court of public opinion, it's clear that's a far more complicated matter. The anguish felt by parens of autistic kids is real, as is the desire of every parent to protect her child. Let's hope that getting past the vaccine witch-hunt will free up more energy toward finding causes, cures and treatments for peope with autism.

Resercher Fabricated Autism Link in Vaccine

Florida Dad Pushing to Ban All Thimerosal in Vaccines

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Florida Dad Pushing To Ban ALL Thimerosal in Vaccines

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:01:00 GMT

I'm already prepared for what "Dr. Gary" is going to say to this post.

Because the chiropractor friend of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and father of two autistic children isn't listening to anyone in his bid to have the state ban all vaccines that contain thimerosal.

All of them. Even those not administered to kids.

The proposal by Dr. Gary Kompothecras would be the strictest in the nation, and doctors say it would keep vaccines like the one that prevents the flu, from saving people most at risk of dying. Kompothecras's response? He calls everyone who dares disagree with them "dirt bags."

The argument over vaccines and autism is at an all-time fervor of late, spurred by last week's revelation by the London Times that the "study" that started all the hubub about autism and thimerosal back in the nineties was bogus. As in fabricated. Made up. Nonsense. Then came the report from a special court here in the states that says the measles vaccine didn't cause three children's autism. All of that was preceded by another study, this one in Italy, that determined thimerosal itself is safe.

What's concerned me most in the responses here on Babble to each reporting of these incidents is not that parents are concerned about autism or concerned about vaccines. That's natural. Autism is real. Autism is terrifying. And there is still a lot about vaccinations that we don't know.

It's the all-consuming nature of the focus on vaccinations. It's the refusal to home in on anything else. It's the assumption that disagreement means another parent doesn't care about your plight. We have written dozens of stories here on the 'Derby about other studies that have been linked to autism. The environment. Aged parents. Prematurity.

But there are still parents like Kompothecras who are blind to any other suggestions. Dare disagree with him, and he calls you a "dirt bag." The trouble is, they are not only doing a disservice to their own kids, but a disservice to other people. In Kompothecras' case, his proposed ban of the flu vaccine would put the thousands of Florida residents who are at highest risk for the flu - ie. the elderly, the asthmatic - at permanent risk. People die from the flu. But he doesn't care.

He is doing this because, as he told the Herald Tribune, "If I can do this, my son won't go down for nothing."

How can you argue with that? How can you argue with the parent of an autistic child who only wants an answer? Because I do believe autism is real. And I do believe that the parents of autistic children need an answer. The fact that I am pro-vaccination because I've seen it save lives does not mean I am unfeeling or that I refuse to see the forest for the trees. Autism diagnoses are up, and there are children in trouble. Somewhere, some scientist has to break this code.

But I don't see how taking the flu vaccine out of the hands of people who need it, people who choose to use it, is going to help the parents of autistic children. I don't see how ignoring existing science and accusing parents who are "pro-vax" of being "dirt bags" or "not caring," is going to provide an answer.

Might there be something else in a vaccination that might lead to autism? Maybe. There might also be a link in the environment. In aged parents. In prematurity.

So let's get started on those. Thimerosal is a dead horse. It doesn't deserve another beating.

Image: Herald Tribune

Special Court Says Vaccines Don't Cause Autism

Brett Singer — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:15:00 GMT

In a decision that will infuriate many parents (including readers of this web site), a special court has ruled that the MMR vaccine did not cause autism in three children.

Special Master George Hastings of the Department of Justice wrote that, "The evidence does not support the general proposition that thimerosal-containing vaccines can damage infants' immune systems." The ruling comes from The Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceeding. (Aside: "Special Master"? "Omnibus"? It sounds like a comic book.)

Addressing one of the children whose parents say became autistic after receiving the MMR vaccine, Hastings said, "I further conclude that while Michelle Cedillo has tragically suffered from autism and other severe conditions, the petitioners have also failed to demonstrate that her vaccinations played any role at all in causing those problems."

There have been over 5,000 cases filed by parents seeking compensation from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a $2.5 billion fund that was created through a "75-cent-per-dose tax on vaccines," according to Reuters.

Everyone's least favorite vaccine guy Dr. Paul Offit hailed the decision, saying, "it's a great day for America's children when the court rules in favor of science." I think there are a few parents out there who will disagree with him.

Does this put the issue to rest? I doubt it. I myself am highly skeptical of the notion that vaccines "cause" autism, mostly because so far the studies that I have read about can't find a link between the vaccines and autism. Of course, it doesn't help the anti-vaccine movement's case that the doctor who conducted a landmark study on the matter faked his data.

I know that many of you have strong feelings on this issue. Does this court ruling change your opinion at all?

Source: Reuters

Image: USA Today via Babble

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Researcher Fabricated Autism Link in Vaccine

JeanneSager — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:01:00 GMT

The man who launched a decade's-long fear for parents heading to have their children vaccinated has been proven a forgery.

The Sunday Times revealed the results of an investigation today showing Andrew Wakefield, the man who posited that the MMR vaccine was at the root of the increased autism diagnoses, fabricated his research.

Published in 1998 in The Lancet, the study claimed eight out of twelve children vaccinated with the MMR innoculation began showing symptoms that fall somewhere on the autism spectrum within days of getting the shot. It was performed at the same time as another study, for which Wakefield was paid, that was supposed to help parents who believed there was a link between the two put up a legal case. Some of the kids were used in both studies, and Wakefield has often been accused of crossing a clear ethical boundary in performing both studies.

The study has borne numerous attacks over the years - in part because it included just twelve children - but it is the most-often quoted piece of evidence by parents who point a finger at pro-vax parents as risking their kids' lives (this despite studies published in the time period since that have debunked his story). The investigation by the Times is just another nail in the coffin for that line of thinking. The investigation revealed that in most of the twelve cases, the ailments described in Wakefield's published reports were different from their hospital and general practitioner records.

From the Times: "Although the research paper claimed that problems came on within days of the jab, in only one case did medical records suggest this was true, and in many of the cases medical concerns had been raised before the children were vaccinated."

I feel for parents of autistic children who are searching for a reason. Autism is very real and equally terrifying, but as a parent who has vaccinated her child, I have always bristled at the inference that I am a bad parent for making that choice - with so little evidence to support their claims.

Image: USA Today

Premature Babies at Greater Risk for Autism?

KeriF — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:55:00 GMT

Researchers in Boston have found that babies born very prematurely--earlier than 28 weeks--are more likely to show signs of autism. So does being born so prematurely lead to autism? Or can autism lead to a premature birth?

Neither, according to researchers. "They may share a common risk that leads to both," says lead author Dr. Karl Kuban, chief of pediatric neurology at Boston Medical Center. "But it's not that one causes the other."

In the study, the children, 16 to 30 months old, were evaluated against an autism screening checklist that looks for early signs of autism. Children in the general population show a positive rate of 5.7 percent. Those in the study showed a 21 percent positive rate. When children with disabilities were removed, the positive rate was 16 percent.

Further research is needed, says Kuban, to find out if any of these children end up being diagnosed with autism.

Hopefully this study will help parents and doctors of very premature babies look for signs of autism in the hopes of detecting it early, since doctors and researchers have long noted that early intervention is key.

Georgia Family Has Everything They Own Up on eBay

JeanneSager — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:59:00 GMT

I could make all sorts of jokes about throwing in the kitchen sink. But I won't.

Because there's nothing funny about the circumstances that forced Gregg and Brittiny Peters to put every single item in their household up on eBay. That means the washing machine, the beds, even the family car.

Gregg, a tennis instructor, and Brittiny, a stay-at-home mom, have three kids. Seven-year-old Ayla has a rare and debilitating form of arthritis while two-year-old Noah is autistic. The medical bills have crippled the family, and the economic downturn hasn't helped.

So they put everything up - first on eBay where they have set the opening bid at $20,000, the exact amount of medical debt hanging over their head. Then, someone launched a Website dedicated to their cause, www.everythingweown.org. The title page says it all - Everything We Own, Except the House and Kids.

It wasn't the Peterses creating the site - it was art gallery owners Don Weir and Andrea Chandler, who say the Peterses weren't asking for anyone to give them money. But people wanted to give. So Weir and Chandler threw up the site, which tells the Peterses' heartbreaking story:

"We are just 2 average people who became 1 above-average "team" when we met and fell in love almost 9 years ago. We both agree that neither one of us would be "whole" or "complete" without each other! Our incredible love for one another has ALWAYS pulled us through even the most difficult times we have faced together."

Reading up on the Peterses' blog, Brittiny breaks down their medical issues - she has a blood clotting disorder that's made it hard to obtain health insurance, while Gregg is self-employed and thus doesn't have an employer-sponsored health plan. They have Medicaid, but it falls short on covering a lot of the kids' bills, and does nothing to cover the loss of income when Gregg has to stay home to help out with the kids or the travel expenses of seeing out-of-town specialists. Since 2001, the couple has suffered through losing a baby at three months and watching another come into the world stillborn. Their three surviving children are their "blessings," despite the maladies that have put the Peters' in such dire straits.

"Nothing's more precious than the kids, not a sofa, not a TV. It is as simple as that," said Gregg Peters in an interview with the Daily News.

So far, there have been no bids on eBay. The family is selling it all as a lot - from the kids' swingset to Mom's jogging stroller. The latter site has brought in $10,000 in donations so far - and if the eBay site doesn't get any hits, they're going to break it all down and sell things off item by item.

A part of me would love to see the donations mount so high they never have to come to that point, but an even bigger part of me says good for you to the Peters. As Brittiny says on the family's blog, Gregg worked hard for everything they owned - and they bought nice things BEFORE the children's diagnoses put a financial strain on the family. Now they're acting responsibly and selling the "nice things" off one by one.

It's sad that it has to come to that. But here's a family who has taken the words "fiscal responsibility" to heart. Their kids are lucky to have them.

They Say: Vaccines are Safe - Take That Jenny McCarthy

JeanneSager — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:31:00 GMT

In yet another round of good news for those of us who vaccinate, the February issue of Pediatrics features a study out of Italy that says . . . wait for it . . . vaccines are good for kids!

In a month when I've written first about the meningitis vaccine working (yay!) and the death of a child from a disease his parents refused to vaccinate against (bad), I'm starting to feel like I'm beating the non-vaccinators out there over the head with all this pro-vaccine talk.

And then, there's more good news!

The study in Pediatrics comes out of Italy, and it's centered on the whole "thimerosal causes autism" debate. Children in Italy were given two different sets of shots in the early 1990s. According to the AP: Ten years later, 1,403 of those children took a battery of brain function tests. Researchers found small differences in only two of 24 measurements and those "might be attributable to chance."

Out of more than one thousand kids, only one case of autism was found - and that child received the lower level of thimerosal in his or her vaccine. Overall, the kids tested all scored - on average - within normal ranges on mental acuity tests.

The significance in this study is in the varying amounts of thimerosal, and its affects. If thimerosal causes autism, scientists who worked on the Italian study say it would stand to reason that increased dosages would show marked effect on kids. Yet the only autistic child in the randomized study to fall on the autism spectrum received a lower dose. The kids exposed to more thimerosal (which breaks down as ethyl mercury, hence some advocates' claims that mercury poisoning causes autism) should have been at higher risk if the theories held true.

"Put together with the evidence of all the other studies, this tells us there is no reason to worry about the effect of thimerosal in vaccines," said the new study's lead author, Dr. Alberto Tozzi of Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome.

So, is it time those who don't vaccinate their kids stop looking cross-eyed at those of us who do?

Image: USA Today

AAP: Delayed Vaccines Too Risky for Kids

Kid Dies After Parents Said No to Hib Vaccine

School Has Autistic Child Arrested

Kid Dies After Parents Said No to Hib Vaccine

JeanneSager — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:31:00 GMT

It's a disease entirely preventable, but a sudden burst in diagnoses of Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B) in Minnesota kids has led to the death of one seven-month-old. His parents, along with those of two other infected children were in the growing group who have opted out on vaccinating their kids.

The fourth child infected was in the middle of the three-part vaccination process, while the fifth had an immune deficiency.

Despite the low number of infections, the CDC has gotten involved, concerned that parents choosing not to vaccinate their kids are putting other children at risk. Five kids, they say, is the highest number of cases in one area since 1992, when vaccinating against Hib became common practice in pediatricians' offices.

"The situation is of concern," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease at the CDC, told CNN. "It could be happening elsewhere, and of course it's tragic that one of the children actually died from a preventable disease."

Since vaccinating against Hib became the norm for American children in the early 1990s, the CDC has seen a ninety nine percent drop in reported cases (from as much as twenty thousand before vaccinations).The disease primarily strikes kids under five, and it kills one in twenty. Of those who survive, ten to twenty percent end up with brain damage, many more go deaf.

What's troubling to me are the children infected despite their parents proper attempts to vaccinate - because other parents refusal to do so has allowed the disease to once again flourish. It's something very few people in the anti-vaccine community focus on - what happens to everyone else's kids. They argue that they are protecting their children from supposed toxins in the immunizations. But as a recent study proving the efficacy of the meningitis vaccine points out, the "herd immunity" provided by immunizing children protects the community as a whole.

By refusing to immunize their kids, these parents are putting society as a whole at risk - including the fourth and fifth kid in Minnesota, who were at special risks.

Image: CNN

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School Has Autistic Child Arrested

JeanneSager — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:08:00 GMT

Charges of battery against an eight-year-old with Asperger's syndrome have been dropped, and her parents are now pursuing legal action against the Idaho school district that called law enforcement.

What's wrong with this picture?

Evelyn Towry was told she couldn't wear her special jacket in class last week, prompting the little girl (whose diagnosis of Asperger's falls on the autism spectrum) to become resistent and act out in the classroom. But instead of telling the child she could just wear her jacket, school officials said they called the cops, alleging she assaulted school staff during the incident.

She's eight. And autistic.

Shouldn't school officials, of all people, understand that?

While Asperger's syndrome falls on the milder end of the autism spectrum, its symptoms are akin to what many people identify with autism - a need for structure, difficulty identifying and expressing feelings. It's also classified as a disability, allowing children who have been diagnosed to qualify for special services from their local school district, including special consideration for their special needs.

So why should a jacket on a child with Asperger's syndrome become an issue? Even if this child were to have become violent, the details of the case would indicate that school officials set this child - who they knew had a difficulty expressing feelings - off. They caused the problem. That would seem a direct violation of civil rights section 504, which protects kids in schools from discrimination for their developmental disabilities.

Should autistic child bear some responsibility for their actions? By calling the cops and pressing battery charges, that's what the school district was suggesting - that Evelyn Towry was responsible for battery. But who's to blame? Should a school district be held liable for the action that caused the equal and opposite reaction?

Image: salem news

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They Say: Meningitis Vaccine Actually Works

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They Say: Meningitis Vaccine Actually Works

JeanneSager — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:24:00 GMT

We hear a lot of bad news these days about vaccines. Aack, autism. Aaack, superbugs.

Finally, some good news: the meningitis vaccine is working.

Since pushing the Prevnar plunger into the thighs of babies two months to two years began in 2000, rates of pneumococcal meningits have dropped sixty-four percent in kids under age two.

That’s based on studies in kids in 1998-99 to 2004-05 published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The numbers are dipping for bigger kids (and the biggest kids of all - us) too, dropping thirty percent in the same time frame. In people over sixty-five, the rates dropped by more than fifty percent.

The study notes that vaccinating children is as important if not more than getting to the rest of the population, because fewer sick kids means fewer germs spread around.

When kids are sick, they not only fail to cover their mouths and practice the type of hygiene adults (should) practice, but they’re also a sector of the population that can’t be isolated when sick. We as adults can stay home from work and hide on the couch, kick everyone out of the room (well, unless we’re parents, in which case we just try to hide from our kids and spray a lot of Lysol).

Kids, on the other hand, need to have someone in close proximity caring for them - and that someone can easily pick up their germs. The disease cycle doesn’t stop when you’re dealing with kids – it just gets passed over to Mom and Dad. But with immunized kids, researchers say they're able to create a "herd immunity."

It doesn’t solve the autism debate or the superbug debate, but this is the kind of news that puts a little wind back into the sails of Moms like me who have vaccinated their kids. At least some of them are working.

Image/Source: USA Today

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Cops End Search for Baby Thrown in Hospital Trash

New to Birth Certificate: Does Mom Have Chlamydia?

New Pro Vaccine Book Author Getting Death Threats

What Does a Smile Mean? Teaching Emotions to Autistic Children

SunnyChanel — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

There are countless things that I take for granted. Knowing what a smile means, is one of them. But this seemingly simple connection between facial expressions and their emotional meaning is one that is a struggle for autistic children to make. But Simon Baron-Cohen (who just happens to be Ali-G aka Borat aka Sasha Baron Cohen’s cousin) is out to change that.

Baron-Cohen is the director of the Autism Research Center at Cambridge University and has developed a DVD for autistic children called The Transporters which will be released in the United States this week.

The video is in a ‘autistic-friendly’ format making the information being conveyed digestible by using track based vehicles as the main characters (autistic kids are drawn to things that move on tracks like trains) that features human faces illustrating various emotions.

And it looks like it works.

“In a small study of 20 autistic children between ages 4 and 7, Baron-Cohen and colleagues found that autistic children who watched the video for at least 15 minutes a day for one month had caught up with normal children in their ability to identify emotions.” But Baron-Cohen does warn that it may not change their behavior but there can be improvement. There have been other DVD targeting these issues but this one has been, reportedly, more successful in keeping kid’s attention.

The DVD cost $57.50, with a chunk of the profits going to autism charities and research, and it is available (along with more information) here.

Source

New Pro Vaccine Book Author Getting Death Threats

Brett Singer — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

A lot of parents feel very strongly that vaccines cause autism. And they are very vocal about their feelings. So Dr. Paul A. Offit, author of "Autism’s False Prophets", probably expected a certain amount of resistance to a book that posits a different theory.

What he might not have anticipated are death threats.

According to the New York Times, Dr. Offit has in fact received death threats. Some members of the antivaccine movement dispute this, however. One of them is J. B. Handley, the founder of Generation Rescue (although a Google search calls it "Jenny McCarthy's Autism Organization"). Handley told the Times: "We have hundreds of fully recovered children. I’m very frustrated that Dr. Offit, who’s never treated an autistic child, is spending his time trying to refute the reality of biomedical recovery."

Offit is called "Dr. Proffit" because he created a vaccine himself and receives "millions in royalties" from it.

I have no idea if the vaccine that Dr. Offit helped create is one that is given to all children, or how much money he makes from it. If Generation Rescue's members believe that Offit's book is just self-promotion, they have a right to question his motives.

It's the fervor that I find disturbing. When you attack anyone who disagrees with you with name-calling and insults, it becomes difficult to convert anyone to your way of thinking. Numerous scientists and doctors feel that autism is a genetic condition, and there is evidence to back this up. It's not possible that there is a similar body of evidence to support the notion that vaccines are a cause of autism simply because the concept hasn't been around long enough to be studied as much as genetic causes. That isn't to say that it's impossible, or that the antivaccine crusaders are wrong. I'm only pointing out that the body of evidence isn't there.

Another reason could be the conspiracy theory version – that vaccine makers work to keep such studies from happening. Personally, I'm more inclined to believe that than I am to believe that vaccines cause autism. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but our dependence on foreign oil is partly fueled (no pun intended) by an automobile industry that doesn't want to make electric cars. (That's an oversimplification; my point is that sometimes even the weirdest-sounding conspiracy theories can be at least partly true.)

There was a time when doctors told us that smoking was healthy. Or that eating lots and lots of red meat was a great idea. So yes, sometimes doctors and the entire medical industry make mistakes. And Dr. Offit does sound a tad smarmy in the Times article: "I’ll speak at a conference, say, to nurses. But I wouldn’t go into a bookstore and sign books. It can get nasty. There are parents who really believe that vaccines hurt their children, and to them, I’m incredibly evil. They hate me." And, referring to the vaccine he helped create: "When Jonas Salk invented polio vaccine, he was a hero — and I’m a terrorist?" he jokes, referring to a placard denouncing him at a recent demonstration by antivaccine activists outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Well, polio was a bigger disease. Also, you're not funny. But maybe that's doctor humor.

I suppose its possible that Dr. Offit is lying about the death threats, but I doubt it. As Dr. Gregory A. Poland, chief of vaccine research at the Mayo Clinic, says in the Times piece, "a few years ago this ceased to be a civil scientific discourse and became about crucifying individuals." The key word there is "civil". Parents can get very emotional when their children are involved; I know I can get a little crazy when anyone is doing something that I feel is harmful to my kid. But I've learned that I get better results when I calm down and try to figure out the best way to solve whatever the problem is. It's not about expressing my anger or frustration. It's about getting something done. If someone really and truly feels that vaccines, which are given to millions of babies every single day, are a cause of autism, that is a very serious charge. It should be taken seriously by those making the claim. If you want to convince someone that what you believe is true, calling them names and making threats is not a good way to do it.

Source: NY Times

Image: Amazon