This post is in memory of Isaac. This little boy died on Saturday when his heart finally gave out. He was waiting for his third heart surgery, which would have taken place in September. Unfortunately, the strep and staph infections in his blood were too much for him to fight off and the attack of multiple infections was ovewhelming.
I met Isaac and his parents only once; it was a few months ago when they came to Cady Wellness Institute to meet with a colleague. Because Isaac was a child who had received an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis, I was asked if I had time to talk with the parents about what might be done to help improve their son's overall state of wellness by implementing biomedical interventions. As best I can recall, I spent about an hour with Isaac and his parents. This was not an official appointment and they were not charged anything, since they were not patients and we were simply having a "chat." While I talked with his mom and dad, Isaac played on the rug in my office. Like many of the children I see, he liked the cars best and like many of the children I see, he especially liked lining them up in rows. Isaac was similar in other ways to the children I see professionally, in that he was a beautiful little boy. He was small for his age, with very blonde hair and extraordinary eyes that were the bluest of blue.
I talked with Isaac's parents about biomedical interventions for autism, and made several recommendations regarding steps they could take on their own, to improve his body's ability to fight off the multiple environmental and immune system assaults that are common in children on the spectrum. Unfortunately this family, like so many others, did not have the funds to pay out-of-pocket for biomedical treatment in the tri-state, and they were also unable to travel to one of the larger clinics around the country.
Because Isacc's parents were not able to have their son seen on an official basis due to the financial strain of doing so, much of what I am writing in this post is speculation. However, it is speculation based on experience. I have seen and spoken with MANY parents and families in the last four years whose children clearly needed biomedical help, but who simply could not afford it. (I have also seen families whose children clearly needed biomedical help, and they COULD afford it but believed it was too expensive and not worth dedicating the resources.)
There are many children - no, there are MANY children on the spectrum (including kids diagnosed with autism, Asperger's, ADHD, PDD, Bipolar disorder, OCD, and ODD) that have underlying medical problems that are never diagnosed and treated. One of the MOST frequent of those problems is Strep infection. When a child has a strep infection that is untreated, it can damage the heart. I don't KNOW that this is what happened with Isaac. All I know is he died because his heart gave out while waiting for his third heart surgery, AND he had Strep and Staph infections in his blood. I cannot recall the exact conversation I had with Isaac's parents, but based on the conversations I have had with EVERY parent of a child with ASD who has sought my help, I would bet the farm that I brought up the importance of checking his Strep titer. This is something I routinely recommend for ALL kids I see, and for ALL kids on the spectrum, especially those with anger outbursts and OCD tendencies. The reason is because PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus) can be treated! And it is often EASY to treat with antibiotics. That is, if you can get your pediatrician or family practice doctor to run the test and give the monthly shots of bicillin. There have been many cases when I have talked with families who could not afford to have their child seen at my former place of employment, and for whom I have recommended they ask their primary care physician about running a strep titer, and for whom the response has been, "That's experimental. There's no proof. I'm not going to do it." For those physicians who think obtaining a blood test to check for strep is "experimental," I take this opportunity to say, "Shame on you." I wonder how many other children with autism have died from heart problems, simply because their physicians refused to check their strep titers - or because they never thought to do so.
Children with autism are not hopeless and they do not deserve to be ignored by the medical professionals simply because they have received an autism diagnosis. These children are medically sick and if we do not care enough about them to do the tests that are necessary and to treat the infections that are wracking their bodies, then WE are responsible when something like this happens.
To Isaac...and to all the other children who currently cannot afford to get the treatment you so desperately need and deserve: I am so sorry. I pray you will have an eternal life in heaven that is completely joyous and free from pain. God knows you deserve it, especially after the way we have failed you on earth. Eternal blessings to you, Isaac.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A Tale of Autistic Blood - Article from Age of Autism, by Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
There is a very interesting article on the Age of Autism website, entitled "A Tale of Autistic Blood." The article contains a link to a fascinating video and slide show that compares the blood of six autistic children. I highly recommend you watch this and read the article (Click the title to go to the Age of Autism site and read the entire article). My comments about the article and video are posted below.
A Tale of Autistic Blood
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
This may be the most important article about autism I’ve ever written. But first I need you to do a little work. I need you to go to this site (HERE) and watch the approximately five minute long video comparing the blood of six autistic children put together by Mark Squibb.
Marci's Response:
IMO, I believe this is another physiological marker of the multiple factors involved in autism and pretty much all of the comments posted are on track.
Stress will cause aggregation in preparation for clotting in case of injury. Think "fight or flight" - when you are preparing for battle or to run away, there is a significant chance you may get hurt. When the the balance of stress hormones is disrupted (shifted) due to high anxiety or panic, the body doesn't differentiate between real or perceived danger and prepares to clot. So thats ONE factor at work.
Heavy metals like lead and mercury (and aluminum which is not technically a "heavy" metal) also damage the circulatory system and lead to problems like Raynaud's Syndrome, atherosclerosis, hypertension, stroke, and aneurysm.
Metals and other toxins have something else in common - a single valence electron in their outermost ring. This makes them very attractive to each other - they don't like to be alone but like to travel in pairs so they will "hook up" with other toxins. This is one reason (along with impaired detoxification due to depletion of metallothionein) why our kids, once shot up (pun intended) with aluminum or thimerosal (flu vaccine, rhogam, etc.) become like magnets for other toxins. It's also why when chelating, mercury does not come out until after aluminum, antimony, and lead. The magnets (our children) hold onto the metals because their electrical charges have been altered. This was for me, probably the most fascinating thing about the video by Mark Squibb - he actually points out the alteration in electrical fields in the blood patterns of autistic children.
The comment about babesia (a bacteria associated with Lyme disease) is also correct, which is why adults with chronic Lyme exhibit many of the same behavioral and neurological issues as do children with "autism."
Infections in the blood (from systemic yeast, viruses, strep, staph, etc) will also cause clumping, as what is left of the immune system tries to kick in and fight off the infection. Remember that one of the first things the immune system does is to send extra blood (and oxygen) to the sight of injury or infection. This is part of the healing process and is why we get the swelling, heat, and itching when we get a minor cut or scrape. That's the body's attempt to heal.
The problem is, in our children there are so many different things to fight that their bodies become confused and shift over into autoimmunity. The analogy I use is like the old Space Invaders game where you start of shooting at one bad guy and it's relatively easy, but as things speed up, there are too many bad guys to shoot at accurately and you end up crashing and burning.
Finally, the genetic link is (again, IMO) often associated with metals (especially lead) that is passed from mother to child. In the family histories of my patients I frequently see higher than expected occurrance of things like stroke, blood clots, hypertension, bipolar disorder, heart-valve problems, and heavy bleeding/clotting with menses. All of these things, (and autoimmune thyroiditis) are associated with lead poisoning. When I check further, these parents and grandparents grew up with coal-burning stoves, lived near or worked in coal mines, or in some cases owned gas stations (before gasoline was unleaded.)
Very interesting article and video - thanks so much to the folks at Age of Autism for your wonderful work, and to my friend Lori for bringing this article to my attention!
Marci
A Tale of Autistic Blood
By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.
This may be the most important article about autism I’ve ever written. But first I need you to do a little work. I need you to go to this site (HERE) and watch the approximately five minute long video comparing the blood of six autistic children put together by Mark Squibb.
Marci's Response:
IMO, I believe this is another physiological marker of the multiple factors involved in autism and pretty much all of the comments posted are on track.
Stress will cause aggregation in preparation for clotting in case of injury. Think "fight or flight" - when you are preparing for battle or to run away, there is a significant chance you may get hurt. When the the balance of stress hormones is disrupted (shifted) due to high anxiety or panic, the body doesn't differentiate between real or perceived danger and prepares to clot. So thats ONE factor at work.
Heavy metals like lead and mercury (and aluminum which is not technically a "heavy" metal) also damage the circulatory system and lead to problems like Raynaud's Syndrome, atherosclerosis, hypertension, stroke, and aneurysm.
Metals and other toxins have something else in common - a single valence electron in their outermost ring. This makes them very attractive to each other - they don't like to be alone but like to travel in pairs so they will "hook up" with other toxins. This is one reason (along with impaired detoxification due to depletion of metallothionein) why our kids, once shot up (pun intended) with aluminum or thimerosal (flu vaccine, rhogam, etc.) become like magnets for other toxins. It's also why when chelating, mercury does not come out until after aluminum, antimony, and lead. The magnets (our children) hold onto the metals because their electrical charges have been altered. This was for me, probably the most fascinating thing about the video by Mark Squibb - he actually points out the alteration in electrical fields in the blood patterns of autistic children.
The comment about babesia (a bacteria associated with Lyme disease) is also correct, which is why adults with chronic Lyme exhibit many of the same behavioral and neurological issues as do children with "autism."
Infections in the blood (from systemic yeast, viruses, strep, staph, etc) will also cause clumping, as what is left of the immune system tries to kick in and fight off the infection. Remember that one of the first things the immune system does is to send extra blood (and oxygen) to the sight of injury or infection. This is part of the healing process and is why we get the swelling, heat, and itching when we get a minor cut or scrape. That's the body's attempt to heal.
The problem is, in our children there are so many different things to fight that their bodies become confused and shift over into autoimmunity. The analogy I use is like the old Space Invaders game where you start of shooting at one bad guy and it's relatively easy, but as things speed up, there are too many bad guys to shoot at accurately and you end up crashing and burning.
Finally, the genetic link is (again, IMO) often associated with metals (especially lead) that is passed from mother to child. In the family histories of my patients I frequently see higher than expected occurrance of things like stroke, blood clots, hypertension, bipolar disorder, heart-valve problems, and heavy bleeding/clotting with menses. All of these things, (and autoimmune thyroiditis) are associated with lead poisoning. When I check further, these parents and grandparents grew up with coal-burning stoves, lived near or worked in coal mines, or in some cases owned gas stations (before gasoline was unleaded.)
Very interesting article and video - thanks so much to the folks at Age of Autism for your wonderful work, and to my friend Lori for bringing this article to my attention!
Marci
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
NIH Study Shows Anti-Depressants Don't Work for Autism
Below is an article from today's Los Angeles Times, reporting on the results of a recent NIH study looking at the effectiveness of Celexa in Autism. What a waste of money that could have (and should have) been spent researching treatments that really work - like those aimed at healing the gastrointestinal tract.
(Thanks Lori for posting this on C.A.R.E. Keep 'em coming!)
My response to the article, which follows:
This is not surprising at all. Look at the money involved - between 2 & 3 billion per year for drugs that have not been tested on children with autism, and whose side effects are 2-3x worse in kids with ASD. Interesting that the pharmaceutical companies who make the drugs to "treat" the symptoms are also the ones who make the vaccines that contribute to autism in the first place - the perfect storm. Before you pay big bucks for a pyschiatrist to "treat" your child with drugs that don't work, please consider looking deeper to heal the underlying problems.
SSRIs don't work because 95% of serotonin is in the gastrointestinal tract. If the gut is injured then serotonin will not be produced in the first place, so it cannot be utilized in the brain.
SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor - meaning that what it does is keep Serotonin in the synapse (the gap between two neurons) longer so it can work longer before being taken back up by the neuron that released it. If there is no serotonin for an SSRI to work on (because the gut is injured and it's not being produced) all you are going to get is side-effects from the fillers and dyes used in the capsules.
DUH. I wonder how much money was wasted on this study?
(Click the title to read the article in its entirety)
Study Finds Antidepressant Doesn't Help Autistic Children
Nationwide research finds that citalopram is no more effective than a placebo and that its side effects are twice as bad. About a third of autistic kids take the drug, known as Celexa in the U.S.
By Karen Kaplan June 2, 2009
An antidepressant commonly prescribed to help autistic children control their repetitive behaviors is actually no better than a placebo, according to a report published today.Roughly a third of all children diagnosed with autism in the U.S. now take citalopram, the antidepressant examined in the study, or others that are closely related. The results of the nationwide trial, published in Archives of General Psychiatry, have some experts reconsidering the appropriateness of antidepressants and other mind-altering drugs used to treat children with autism spectrum disorders.
(Thanks Lori for posting this on C.A.R.E. Keep 'em coming!)
My response to the article, which follows:
This is not surprising at all. Look at the money involved - between 2 & 3 billion per year for drugs that have not been tested on children with autism, and whose side effects are 2-3x worse in kids with ASD. Interesting that the pharmaceutical companies who make the drugs to "treat" the symptoms are also the ones who make the vaccines that contribute to autism in the first place - the perfect storm. Before you pay big bucks for a pyschiatrist to "treat" your child with drugs that don't work, please consider looking deeper to heal the underlying problems.
SSRIs don't work because 95% of serotonin is in the gastrointestinal tract. If the gut is injured then serotonin will not be produced in the first place, so it cannot be utilized in the brain.
SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor - meaning that what it does is keep Serotonin in the synapse (the gap between two neurons) longer so it can work longer before being taken back up by the neuron that released it. If there is no serotonin for an SSRI to work on (because the gut is injured and it's not being produced) all you are going to get is side-effects from the fillers and dyes used in the capsules.
DUH. I wonder how much money was wasted on this study?
(Click the title to read the article in its entirety)
Study Finds Antidepressant Doesn't Help Autistic Children
Nationwide research finds that citalopram is no more effective than a placebo and that its side effects are twice as bad. About a third of autistic kids take the drug, known as Celexa in the U.S.
By Karen Kaplan June 2, 2009
An antidepressant commonly prescribed to help autistic children control their repetitive behaviors is actually no better than a placebo, according to a report published today.Roughly a third of all children diagnosed with autism in the U.S. now take citalopram, the antidepressant examined in the study, or others that are closely related. The results of the nationwide trial, published in Archives of General Psychiatry, have some experts reconsidering the appropriateness of antidepressants and other mind-altering drugs used to treat children with autism spectrum disorders.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Memorial Day: Remembering the Children of War, Political and Private
The front page of today's Courier & Press newspaper is a tribute to Kalab Lay, the three year-old boy who was beaten to death by his parents after being failed by the system that was supposed to protect him. Kalab's parents, like many in the Tri-State and beyond, were involved with methamphetamine. Click the link below to read the article in its entirety (please click the "back" button to return to this article).
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/may/23/a-life-tainted-by-meth/
It is fitting that Kalab's face adorns the front page of the C&P today, the Sunday before Memorial Day. We most often think about soldiers at this time, especially those who lose their lives while fighting to protect our freedoms. However, there is a large portion of our society whose lives are also impacted by war, and whose traumas most often go unrecognized: The children of veterans serving in Iraq and Afganistan. With the numbers of veterans returning after sometimes multiple tours of duty, and many of them not receiving assistance for their own traumas, the numbers of children who are abused by their military parents continues to grow.
A while back I wrote an article about the effect of PTSD on military families, and given the timing, I believe it is worth reposting. This is the bulk of today's post. Resources for more information about PTSD and military families are posted at the end of this artcle.
The Effect of PTSD on the Family:
One of the scariest things for someone suffering from PTSD is when something in the present happens that "triggers" memories of the past. This is the same thing that happens when a Viet-Nam veteran suddenly drops to the ground, covering his head or assuming the fetal position when a car backfires (or when the "pop" and "flash" of exploding fireworks catches him off- guard). While we are probably all aware of the difficulties suffered by combat veterans, I have come to realize that as a society we are very unaware of the impact trauma has on adult survivors of child abuse. This needs to change. To illustrate my point, I will use an analogy, as I often do when working with clients in therapy. For the purpose of this example, I will refer to Viet-Nam veterans, as it was only after that war that PTSD was officially recognized. (Before Viet Nam soldiers suffered the same devastating symptoms, but it was referred to as "Shell Shock.")
Imagine yourself as a combat soldier in Viet Nam. You and your buddies are hunkered down, rifles at the ready, creeping through thick jungle foliage. Your body is tense. All your senses are on high alert for any sign of danger. Suddenly a bullet whizzes by you so fast you can feel the breeze on your face as it slices through the air. Then another one flies by. And another. You call on your heightened senses, frantically trying to figure out where the bullets are coming from but the jungle is so thick you can't see your attacker. Another bullet zings by and hits your best buddy. He falls, bleeding from his belly and writhing in pain. You go to him, kneeling, trying to help stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, the onslaught of bullets continues and you have to make a decision to stay and help your friend or retreat and try to keep from becoming another war statistic. As you are trying to figure out what to do, your friend dies in your arms. You are still under attack. You do not have time to think about your friend or to experience the painful emotions of losing him. You refocus your attention on the situation at hand and do what you can to avoid being killed.
Now imagine that this scenario repeats itself over and over again for several months or even years on end. It is easy for us to see how the lives of combat veterans would be impacted, with the ongoing traumas they face. Not only are they facing horrendous conditions and repetitive traumas, they can't get away from it. They can't just say, "I've had enough. I'm outta’ here." They are, in effect, trapped.
Imagine you are the child of a combat veteran returning from the war. You have missed your daddy terribly and have spent many hours dreaming of the day he would come home again. You remember how he used to play catch with you in the yard or crawl around on the floor with you on his back squealing with delight, shouting, "Yee-haw! Giddy-up!" As a child, you expect things to return to the way they were and life will continue as it was before Daddy left. But Daddy is not the same. He doesn't laugh. He hardly even talks to you. When he does, he sounds angry or annoyed. You try to figure out why he's mad at you and you work hard to be good so maybe, you can make him happy. Maybe you can make him smile. Time goes by and Daddy doesn't smile. He is even more quiet than before and gets angry over the littlest things. Unlike before, when Daddy gets upset, he yells. Sometimes he throws things. Sometimes he hurts you. Or Mommy. Sometimes he storms out of the house and drives away in his car with the tires squealing, and you cry because you're afraid he won't come back. Or you cry because you're afraid he will. The man who came home looks like Daddy but it isn't Daddy. Like the combat soldier, you are living in a war zone. Like the combat soldier, you don't know when the attack will come, what will set it off, or how bad the damage will be. You just know it will happen and you have to be ready for it when it does. Like the combat soldier your body goes on high-alert, always watching out for signs of danger. You can't sleep and when you do you have nightmares but you can't wake up Mommy and Daddy to tell them because Daddy might get angry. So you keep it to yourself. It's hard for you to concentrate on your schoolwork and your grades start falling. You are afraid of what will happen when Daddy sees your report card. Like the combat soldier, bad things are happening all around you. Like the combat soldier, you are trapped. Because you are a child, you can't just say, "I've had enough. I'm outta’ here."
The human brain is a wonderful thing. It has the ability to go on autopilot when necessary, shielding us from awareness when things get too overwhelming. This is what we call a "defense mechanism" and it is a very important coping skill that allows us to survive even the most terrifying of experiences. As we all know, many veterans of the Viet-Nam War basically accomplished the same thing through self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, which allowed them to "zone-out" and escape the pain, if only for a while. Others did not turn to substance abuse, but became sullen, withdrawn, and unable to interact with others or hold a job. Many families were split and the suicide rate among veterans skyrocketed. If there is anyone who does not see parallels between Viet Nam and Iraq, at least in this regard, he or she has simply not been paying attention.
Many people, even those who have little faith in the necessity or effectiveness of mental health based interventions, can and do accept that the lives of our veterans are often immeasurably changed as a result of their experiences. Tragically, we as a society do not afford the same compassion for adults, who as children experienced their own terrifying battles, in many cases continuing for several years without any end to the conflict. For many adult survivors of child abuse (war-related or not), their "tours of duty" extended far beyond anything this nation would require of even the strongest, most well trained adult soldier. For many survivors of child abuse, the consequences of their experience have never been acknowledged. Not even by themselves. If there is any hope of changing the cycle and helping today’s military children, we must learn from the past.
There are many good sources of information on the web. A few very relevant websites are listed here, in case you wish to read further.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/565407
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/165/10/1199
http://coalitionforveterans.org/2009/01/invisible-wounds/
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/facts/specific/fs_children_veterans.html
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/index.html
http://www.ptsdalliance.org/
http://www.sidran.org/
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/may/23/a-life-tainted-by-meth/
It is fitting that Kalab's face adorns the front page of the C&P today, the Sunday before Memorial Day. We most often think about soldiers at this time, especially those who lose their lives while fighting to protect our freedoms. However, there is a large portion of our society whose lives are also impacted by war, and whose traumas most often go unrecognized: The children of veterans serving in Iraq and Afganistan. With the numbers of veterans returning after sometimes multiple tours of duty, and many of them not receiving assistance for their own traumas, the numbers of children who are abused by their military parents continues to grow.
A while back I wrote an article about the effect of PTSD on military families, and given the timing, I believe it is worth reposting. This is the bulk of today's post. Resources for more information about PTSD and military families are posted at the end of this artcle.
The Effect of PTSD on the Family:
One of the scariest things for someone suffering from PTSD is when something in the present happens that "triggers" memories of the past. This is the same thing that happens when a Viet-Nam veteran suddenly drops to the ground, covering his head or assuming the fetal position when a car backfires (or when the "pop" and "flash" of exploding fireworks catches him off- guard). While we are probably all aware of the difficulties suffered by combat veterans, I have come to realize that as a society we are very unaware of the impact trauma has on adult survivors of child abuse. This needs to change. To illustrate my point, I will use an analogy, as I often do when working with clients in therapy. For the purpose of this example, I will refer to Viet-Nam veterans, as it was only after that war that PTSD was officially recognized. (Before Viet Nam soldiers suffered the same devastating symptoms, but it was referred to as "Shell Shock.")
Imagine yourself as a combat soldier in Viet Nam. You and your buddies are hunkered down, rifles at the ready, creeping through thick jungle foliage. Your body is tense. All your senses are on high alert for any sign of danger. Suddenly a bullet whizzes by you so fast you can feel the breeze on your face as it slices through the air. Then another one flies by. And another. You call on your heightened senses, frantically trying to figure out where the bullets are coming from but the jungle is so thick you can't see your attacker. Another bullet zings by and hits your best buddy. He falls, bleeding from his belly and writhing in pain. You go to him, kneeling, trying to help stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, the onslaught of bullets continues and you have to make a decision to stay and help your friend or retreat and try to keep from becoming another war statistic. As you are trying to figure out what to do, your friend dies in your arms. You are still under attack. You do not have time to think about your friend or to experience the painful emotions of losing him. You refocus your attention on the situation at hand and do what you can to avoid being killed.
Now imagine that this scenario repeats itself over and over again for several months or even years on end. It is easy for us to see how the lives of combat veterans would be impacted, with the ongoing traumas they face. Not only are they facing horrendous conditions and repetitive traumas, they can't get away from it. They can't just say, "I've had enough. I'm outta’ here." They are, in effect, trapped.
Imagine you are the child of a combat veteran returning from the war. You have missed your daddy terribly and have spent many hours dreaming of the day he would come home again. You remember how he used to play catch with you in the yard or crawl around on the floor with you on his back squealing with delight, shouting, "Yee-haw! Giddy-up!" As a child, you expect things to return to the way they were and life will continue as it was before Daddy left. But Daddy is not the same. He doesn't laugh. He hardly even talks to you. When he does, he sounds angry or annoyed. You try to figure out why he's mad at you and you work hard to be good so maybe, you can make him happy. Maybe you can make him smile. Time goes by and Daddy doesn't smile. He is even more quiet than before and gets angry over the littlest things. Unlike before, when Daddy gets upset, he yells. Sometimes he throws things. Sometimes he hurts you. Or Mommy. Sometimes he storms out of the house and drives away in his car with the tires squealing, and you cry because you're afraid he won't come back. Or you cry because you're afraid he will. The man who came home looks like Daddy but it isn't Daddy. Like the combat soldier, you are living in a war zone. Like the combat soldier, you don't know when the attack will come, what will set it off, or how bad the damage will be. You just know it will happen and you have to be ready for it when it does. Like the combat soldier your body goes on high-alert, always watching out for signs of danger. You can't sleep and when you do you have nightmares but you can't wake up Mommy and Daddy to tell them because Daddy might get angry. So you keep it to yourself. It's hard for you to concentrate on your schoolwork and your grades start falling. You are afraid of what will happen when Daddy sees your report card. Like the combat soldier, bad things are happening all around you. Like the combat soldier, you are trapped. Because you are a child, you can't just say, "I've had enough. I'm outta’ here."
The human brain is a wonderful thing. It has the ability to go on autopilot when necessary, shielding us from awareness when things get too overwhelming. This is what we call a "defense mechanism" and it is a very important coping skill that allows us to survive even the most terrifying of experiences. As we all know, many veterans of the Viet-Nam War basically accomplished the same thing through self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, which allowed them to "zone-out" and escape the pain, if only for a while. Others did not turn to substance abuse, but became sullen, withdrawn, and unable to interact with others or hold a job. Many families were split and the suicide rate among veterans skyrocketed. If there is anyone who does not see parallels between Viet Nam and Iraq, at least in this regard, he or she has simply not been paying attention.
Many people, even those who have little faith in the necessity or effectiveness of mental health based interventions, can and do accept that the lives of our veterans are often immeasurably changed as a result of their experiences. Tragically, we as a society do not afford the same compassion for adults, who as children experienced their own terrifying battles, in many cases continuing for several years without any end to the conflict. For many adult survivors of child abuse (war-related or not), their "tours of duty" extended far beyond anything this nation would require of even the strongest, most well trained adult soldier. For many survivors of child abuse, the consequences of their experience have never been acknowledged. Not even by themselves. If there is any hope of changing the cycle and helping today’s military children, we must learn from the past.
There are many good sources of information on the web. A few very relevant websites are listed here, in case you wish to read further.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/565407
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/165/10/1199
http://coalitionforveterans.org/2009/01/invisible-wounds/
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/facts/specific/fs_children_veterans.html
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/index.html
http://www.ptsdalliance.org/
http://www.sidran.org/
Monday, April 27, 2009
Swine Flu - Why Mexico City? It's Evansville in July
I have been working nonstop this month doing a series of presentations about biomedical interventions for autism. So far, I've finished and presented seven different talks, which presented information about immune disregulation, gastrointestinal illness, labs, diets, supplements, and the association of environmental toxins in the epidemic of autism. Tomorrow night I will be talking about vaccines. In preparation for tomorrow night's talk, I have been learning about why things like aluminum and mercury are put into the vaccines in the first place. It has to do with their effects on preserving and enhancing viral activity. This worries me, because I also know from my research and presentations, that there are several other toxins, including heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and cadmium, that also change the way the body handles viruses. This is what has been bothering me all day today.
Today, instead of preparing for tomorrow night's talk, I am consumed with the breaking news about the Swine Flu. As of the afternoon there are 40 confirmed cases in the United States. Apparently the largest cluster is among a group of students in New York, who had traveled to Mexico for Spring Break. There has been much commentary on the news about the fact that the cases in the U.S. (thus far) have been mild compared to the spectrum of illness that is currently ravaging Mexico City. This begs the question, "Why is it so bad in Mexico City?" We need to figure out the answer to that question if we are to predict where the pandemic will be most severe in other parts of the world, including here in the U.S.
As I have been pondering (obsessing about) this question today, I keep getting a sinking feeling in my gut. The reason is because I know too much. That's not a compliment to myself, it's a statement that explains why I have so much trouble sleeping some nights. I have an incessant need to know "why" things happen. In this case, you will have to judge if this is a good thing.
The sinking feeling in my stomach is related to something I remember from the second Defeat Autism Now! Conference I attended (April 2007). There was a presentation given by Dr. William Rea, from the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas. The presentation was entitled, "The Environmental Aspects of ASD; The Early Mechanisms of Chronic Degenerative Disease and Hypersensitivity." I know, that's a long title. Much of the presentation was about the impact of toxins (heavy metals, pesticides, organophosphates, etc.) on the immune system and the subsequent link to autism. This will not sound like Greek to anyone who has researched the issue of thimerosal (mercury) or aluminum in vaccines and their effects on viruses.
Anyway, the main thing I remember from Dr. Rea's presentation was a photograph of Mexico City and the smog there. When I got home this afternoon, I pulled out my binder from that Conference and looked up Dr. Rea's presentation. I found the photo of Mexico City, and written above it, in my handwriting, is "Evansville in July."
So, I googled "Mexico City" and "Air Pollution." Here is what I found:
Mexico City ranks at the top of the list of "Most Polluted Megacities" in the world, according to Maricela Yip and Pierre Madl, authors of an interesting paper, completed while they were students at the University of Salzburg in Austria. It appears the paper was published under the direction of Dr. W. Hofmann, and the Department of Biophysics, "in Cooperation with the Afro-Asian Institute (Salzburg, Austria) and International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at QUT (Australia)."
I honestly don't know how impressed I should be by these authors or whether or not the source is a "valid" one. However, when I read the article (actually skimmed it, due to time constraints), several bells went off. Why is this relevant to Southwestern Indiana?
The article talks about the specific toxins that are ranked "severe" and "heavy" in Mexico City: Sulfur Dioxide, Particulate Matter, Lead, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Ozone. These are some of the same toxins that cause Southwestern Indiana to have more PPM and Ozone Alert days in the summer than they have in Los Angeles. If you think I'm joking, check out the EPA website for yourself. And, like Mexico City, we live in a valley, so the toxins get trapped here. If you have ever read this blog before, you have probably read some of my "rantings" about these toxins and the health effects of living in the "Coal Burning Power Plant Capital of the World."
I am not going to reprise my rants here, but if you would like to learn about what's in our environment and how it relates to this discussion and your children's health, please read the previous posts: It's In the Air In Southwestern Indiana and Environmental Toxins and Autism. (click on the title to go to the original post.)
To learn about how the air pollution in Mexico City may be contributing to the high levels of deaths from the Swine Flu, please read the article, Air Pollution in Mexico City by Maricela Yip and Pierre Madl.
If there really is a connection here, we need to take steps now to beef up our immune systems by taking antioxidants and natural anti-virals like grapefruit seed extract and olive leaf extract. This will be especially important for groups whose immune systems are already compromised by persistent viral infections (herpes, HIV, Epstein-Barr, etc.). This includes children with autism, ADHD, asthma, and allergies. It also includes adults with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.
Don't panic, but now is the time to prepare. If there is a connection between the air pollution and the flu virus, places like Southwestern Indiana may have a lot more to deal with in the near future than high rates of autism, cancer, and suicide.
I hope I'm wrong.
Marci
Today, instead of preparing for tomorrow night's talk, I am consumed with the breaking news about the Swine Flu. As of the afternoon there are 40 confirmed cases in the United States. Apparently the largest cluster is among a group of students in New York, who had traveled to Mexico for Spring Break. There has been much commentary on the news about the fact that the cases in the U.S. (thus far) have been mild compared to the spectrum of illness that is currently ravaging Mexico City. This begs the question, "Why is it so bad in Mexico City?" We need to figure out the answer to that question if we are to predict where the pandemic will be most severe in other parts of the world, including here in the U.S.
As I have been pondering (obsessing about) this question today, I keep getting a sinking feeling in my gut. The reason is because I know too much. That's not a compliment to myself, it's a statement that explains why I have so much trouble sleeping some nights. I have an incessant need to know "why" things happen. In this case, you will have to judge if this is a good thing.
The sinking feeling in my stomach is related to something I remember from the second Defeat Autism Now! Conference I attended (April 2007). There was a presentation given by Dr. William Rea, from the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas. The presentation was entitled, "The Environmental Aspects of ASD; The Early Mechanisms of Chronic Degenerative Disease and Hypersensitivity." I know, that's a long title. Much of the presentation was about the impact of toxins (heavy metals, pesticides, organophosphates, etc.) on the immune system and the subsequent link to autism. This will not sound like Greek to anyone who has researched the issue of thimerosal (mercury) or aluminum in vaccines and their effects on viruses.
Anyway, the main thing I remember from Dr. Rea's presentation was a photograph of Mexico City and the smog there. When I got home this afternoon, I pulled out my binder from that Conference and looked up Dr. Rea's presentation. I found the photo of Mexico City, and written above it, in my handwriting, is "Evansville in July."
So, I googled "Mexico City" and "Air Pollution." Here is what I found:
Mexico City ranks at the top of the list of "Most Polluted Megacities" in the world, according to Maricela Yip and Pierre Madl, authors of an interesting paper, completed while they were students at the University of Salzburg in Austria. It appears the paper was published under the direction of Dr. W. Hofmann, and the Department of Biophysics, "in Cooperation with the Afro-Asian Institute (Salzburg, Austria) and International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at QUT (Australia)."
I honestly don't know how impressed I should be by these authors or whether or not the source is a "valid" one. However, when I read the article (actually skimmed it, due to time constraints), several bells went off. Why is this relevant to Southwestern Indiana?
The article talks about the specific toxins that are ranked "severe" and "heavy" in Mexico City: Sulfur Dioxide, Particulate Matter, Lead, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Ozone. These are some of the same toxins that cause Southwestern Indiana to have more PPM and Ozone Alert days in the summer than they have in Los Angeles. If you think I'm joking, check out the EPA website for yourself. And, like Mexico City, we live in a valley, so the toxins get trapped here. If you have ever read this blog before, you have probably read some of my "rantings" about these toxins and the health effects of living in the "Coal Burning Power Plant Capital of the World."
I am not going to reprise my rants here, but if you would like to learn about what's in our environment and how it relates to this discussion and your children's health, please read the previous posts: It's In the Air In Southwestern Indiana and Environmental Toxins and Autism. (click on the title to go to the original post.)
To learn about how the air pollution in Mexico City may be contributing to the high levels of deaths from the Swine Flu, please read the article, Air Pollution in Mexico City by Maricela Yip and Pierre Madl.
If there really is a connection here, we need to take steps now to beef up our immune systems by taking antioxidants and natural anti-virals like grapefruit seed extract and olive leaf extract. This will be especially important for groups whose immune systems are already compromised by persistent viral infections (herpes, HIV, Epstein-Barr, etc.). This includes children with autism, ADHD, asthma, and allergies. It also includes adults with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.
Don't panic, but now is the time to prepare. If there is a connection between the air pollution and the flu virus, places like Southwestern Indiana may have a lot more to deal with in the near future than high rates of autism, cancer, and suicide.
I hope I'm wrong.
Marci
Friday, March 6, 2009
Preparing Your Body for Pregnancy; Preparing Your Child for Vaccination
If you have read much about biomedical interventions and recovery from autism, you may be familiar with the analogy of being hit by a bus. As Stan Kurtz writes, “You cannot be cured of being hit by a bus, but you can recover from it. You might even be able to recover enough that you do not need to park in special parking spaces when you go shopping. If you are fortunate enough you might recover well enough that you gain back so much of your functioning such that no one would know you were ever in an accident.” This is a great analogy, especially for those children who have already received a diagnosis of autism. In many cases, while we may not be able to “cure” the autism, if we address the underlying conditions through appropriated testing and treatment, we may be able to recover the child to the point where he or she no longer meets the diagnostic criteria for autism. In many cases, no one would ever guess the child had been “hit by the bus” in the first place.
But wait…
What if we could prevent your child from being hit by the bus in the first place?
Let’s think about pregnancy. When a fetus is growing in the womb, it is incubating. We have been told for some time now that pregnant women should not smoke and should not drink alcohol, because these behaviors are known to be damaging to a developing fetus. The peer-reviewed medical literature is bursting at the seams with paper after paper, documenting the research findings about the teratologic effects of tobacco and alcohol.
Teratologic: the scientific study of visible conditions caused by the interruption or alteration of normal development
Marci’s note: Teratological effects may well include effects that are not “visible” and which may not become known for a long time after the exposure that caused the damage. Examples:
But wait…
What if we could prevent your child from being hit by the bus in the first place?
Let’s think about pregnancy. When a fetus is growing in the womb, it is incubating. We have been told for some time now that pregnant women should not smoke and should not drink alcohol, because these behaviors are known to be damaging to a developing fetus. The peer-reviewed medical literature is bursting at the seams with paper after paper, documenting the research findings about the teratologic effects of tobacco and alcohol.
Teratologic: the scientific study of visible conditions caused by the interruption or alteration of normal development
Marci’s note: Teratological effects may well include effects that are not “visible” and which may not become known for a long time after the exposure that caused the damage. Examples:
- Babies who were fed soy formula. Soy is a source of estrogen. When fed as the sole source of nutrition, the amount of estrogen taken in can disrupt the balance between hormones, and may contribute to the early onset of puberty in girls, and delayed onset of puberty in boys.
- Terbutaline administration. Terbutaline is a medication given to women to stop preterm labor. It has been linked to later onset of learning disabilities and social deficits in children whose mothers took the drug during pregnancy.
By now, everyone has heard that there is an epidemic of autism in this country. There are some people who still want to deny this fact, but the evidence is overwhelming, and it is real. It’s not just because of more inclusive diagnostic criteria. It’s also not purely genetic. There is no such thing as a genetic epidemic. So what’s going on? And why can’t the researchers figure out the cause of autism?
The clue is in the previous question. As long as researchers are looking for “the cause” of autism, they are not going to find it. Why? Because multiple factors working together synergistically is the source of the epidemic. There is no single “smoking gun.” If you are not familiar with the concept of synergism, you need to understand this key concept. Here is the definition:
Synergism: the phenomenon in which the combined action of two things such as drugs or muscles is greater than the sum of their effects individually. In the case of drugs, the result may be dangerous to the patient.
Marci’s note: in the case of toxins (heavy metals, toxic chemicals, pesticides, organophosphates, food additives), the combined action of two (or more) things is greater than the sum of their effects individually. The result may be dangerous to the patient. Alternatively, the synergistic effect of a genetic predisposition and an environmental exposure (to metals, pesticides, medications, etc…) will be more damaging than the effects of either situation (genetic or environmental) alone. The result may be dangerous to the patient. (Remember that in this case, the patient is the infant in the incubator.)
Synergy is an extremely important concept when it comes to autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. The concept of synergy is precisely why families who have sought relief through “The Vaccine Court” have not been successful in establishing that their children’s regressive autism was caused by the combination of thimerosal (mercury) and the MMR vaccine. (Note: the basic premise of the argument is that the child’s immune system is compromised by mercury (a heavy metal, which damages multiple systems in the body, including the enzymatic processes, and detoxification pathways), predisposing the child to be more vulnerable to the effects of the MMR vaccine (a vaccination which simultaneously injects three separate viruses into the blood stream, bypassing the body’s primary immune defense mechanisms (gastrointestinal and respiratory), ultimately resulting in a situation which overwhelms the body’s defenses and leads to chronic illness (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, ear infections, respiratory infections, chronic tonsillitis, strep, bronchitis, allergies, asthma, & seizures), which later results in the behavioral and cognitive symptoms that lead to an “autism spectrum disorder” diagnosis.
Please remember that the fever, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, seizures, etc… tend to occur prior to the behaviors that lead, ultimately, to the “autism” diagnosis. This is an important piece of information, especially since most parents I have spoken with report that the “experts” who diagnosed their children with “autism” often state (with considerable authority) that the physical symptoms (diarrhea, constipation, vomiting) the parents are reporting are “just part of autism.” The physical symptoms are therefore ignored. This is PRECISELY why professionals who do not look further than the obvious behavioral and cognitive presentations, can and do state (with considerable authority), that “Autism is a lifelong condition and there is nothing you can do about it.” From where I sit, it looks like the authorities have it backwards. The physical symptoms happen first and the behavioral and cognitive symptoms happen as a result of the physical symptoms. Therefore, the lack of eye-contact, reduced awareness of the environment, inattention, aggression, and poor social skills are “just part of the gastro-intestinal disease” and if we do something to fix the GI problems, the symptoms associated with the child’s “autism” diagnosis will improve. If this sounds like voodoo science to you, let me phrase it differently.
Consider, for a moment, symptoms that you yourself might have had. Have you ever had a migraine? Have you ever had a “stomach virus” with nausea, pain in your gut, diarrhea, constipation, achy joints, headache and ‘brain-fog?’ If you have, please try to recall at this moment what it felt like. Now, imagine you are in a room full of four year-olds – a preschool environment. Do you feel “social?” Can you concentrate? Are you likely to learn and “achieve on par with your potential?”
If you only consider “autism” – which is a behavioral and cognitive-based diagnosis – and do not look further, the professionals who tell you with so much authority, “There is nothing you can do” are probably correct. If you don’t look beyond the behaviors and the label, it is likely that you are facing a lifelong diagnosis, for which you will not see significant improvement. In other words, your child will most likely never get married or have children, will probably not be able to live independently, will most likely not be able to support himself or herself, and will require full-time support from you until the day you die – which will probably happen prematurely due to all the stress you will endure in the interim. And your marriage? Statistics indicate that the divorce rate among couples with autistic children is 85%. Is this a good time to talk about the economy and the difficulties of single parents raising a child with autism?
I realize I am being brutal. I apologize for that, but not for the need to be honest. Grab a tissue, have a good cry, and suck it up because this discussion is relevant to your life. It is especially relevant if you are considering having children in the future.
“Current Events” time!
On February 12, 2009, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (Vaccine Court) Special Masters ruled against three families of autistic children, whose histories were chosen as “test cases” in the plaintiffs’ efforts to legally establish causality between thimerosal, MMR, and the children’s regression into autistic symptoms, which happened to occur shortly after receiving the vaccinations.
It was reported that one factor which helped sway the decision against the families is that they claimed their children were “developing normally” prior to the administration of the MMR vaccine. The Masters, upon review of photographs, videos, and medical records of the children in question, concluded that the parents’ claim that their children were “developing normally” was untrue. As I recall, the opinion of the special masters cited things like videos and photographs showing inconsistent eye-contact prior to the MMR administration. This concept of “normal development” hit me like a ton of bricks when I read it.
What does this statement mean, “Developing Normally?”
When I think about this question, the first thing that comes to mind is how shocked I have been and continue to be, when I ask parents the following question, “Did your child have a lot of ear infections during the first four years of life?”
The answer I frequently receive is, “Not a lot. No more than any other children.”
My response: “How many ear infections does your child typically have in a year?”
Typical response: “Three or four.”
What is important about the conversation, as reported above, is that most parents I interview report that their child is having three or four ear infections per year (which are treated with antibiotics) and the parents are also reporting that their child is no different from other children who are “developing normally.”
This is a problem.
Another area where I see a problem involves constipation. My developmental history form specifically asks about constipation and the majority of children I see have had significant problems with the frequency of bowel movements. Several have had to go to the hospital multiple times because their bowels have become impacted. Many parents have told me that they have expressed concerns to their pediatricians or family doctors, regarding their children’s infrequent bowel movements (often once a week or less), only to be told by their trusted physician, “In some children, that’s normal.”
Bowel movements are the body’s way of clearing toxins. (The body also clears toxins through urination and sweating.) Some toxins will ONLY clear the body through bowel movements. If you have toxins building up in the body and the half-life of that toxin is, let’s say 3 days, and the child in question is only having a bowel movement every 7 days, then if that toxin is taken into the body (perhaps through vaccination) and the child does not have a bowel movement for four or five days after taking the toxin it, where do you suppose the toxin goes? It gets stored in the body. Some of it goes into the soft tissues like kidneys and bone marrow. Some of it goes into the brain. Once it’s stored, it’s hard to get it out.
The gist of this is that our children are NOT developing normally if they are having chronic constipation (or diarrhea), or if they are having chronic bacterial and viral infections, upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, tonsillitis, strep, allergies, and asthma. We have an entire generation of children who are more prone to illness than children who are truly “developing normally.” The problem is, we have become so accustomed to this that we now accept this situation as “normal.” This needs to change. (Note: The generation of children who are so prone to infections and gastrointestinal problems coincides with the administration of the Hepatitis B vaccination at birth. For more on this topic, please read the post Vaccines and Autism - Your Child vs. The Greater Good.)
So, going back to the concept of teratology – things that disrupt normal development … In order to prevent more children from being “hit by the bus,” we need to pay closer attention to the things that may disrupt “normal development,” starting before conception even occurs. We need to prepare the incubator. For those children who are already here, we need to assess the status of their overall health and development BEFORE we inject them with multiple viruses simultaneously, and BEFORE we allow anyone to inject them with substances (thimerosal, aluminum, formaldehyde, etc.) that are KNOWN to have teratologic effects. Remember, the first rule of vaccinations is “do not vaccinate a sick child.” The problem is that when we view children with chronic conditions (viruses, bacterial infections, etc.) as “normal,” our perception of what constitutes “a sick child” has been skewed. Those are the children who are being “thrown in front of the bus.” My point: If we identify (accurately) those children who ARE sick, and get them healthy BEFORE administering vaccinations, we are likely to decrease the numbers of children who subsequently regress and end up receiving an autism diagnosis.
Back to the main question at hand – what do you need to do to increase your chances of having a healthy baby – one who stays healthy and does not become part of the estimated 1 in 67 American children with an autism spectrum disorder?
- Don’t wait until you are pregnant to start preparing your body. Remember, you are the incubator. Imagine for a moment that you have just delivered a baby that was born premature, and had to be placed in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) of the hospital. When your precious infant is taken from your womb and placed in the incubator in the NICU, you expect that the incubator will be a healthy environment for your fragile infant. By healthy, I mean, you expect that the incubator is free from bacteria (strep, staph, clostridia), viruses (Herpes, Measles, Varicella [Chickenpox], Human Papilloma Virus, Epstein-Barr, Cytomegalovirus), yeast (candida albicans and others), and parasites. You also expect that the incubator your infant is placed in will not be contaminated with heavy metals (lead, mercury, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum [not technically a ‘heavy metal’]), and that the incubator will not be sprayed with pesticides or contaminated with organophosphates. In essence, what you expect, is that your precious baby will be placed in a pristine environment, in which he or she will be able to develop, to his or her full potential.
If you expect strangers to care for your baby this way, shouldn’t you do everything you can to care for your future child with the same concern?
This entire thought process should start at least one to two years before you become pregnant.
If you live in the Tri-state (Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois), you should know that you live in the coal-burning power plant capitol of the world. If you have lived here for any length of time, you have been exposed to heavy metals (from coal-burning power plants), pesticides and organophosphates (from farming). If you get annual flu shots and have not specified that you want thimerosal-free flu shots, you have had a yearly dose of mercury injected directly into your bloodstream.
If you live in an area where you are regularly exposed to heavy metals and other environmental toxins, you owe it to your future children to find out what toxins have built up in your system, before you make it an incubator for your future child. You would not want your child to be placed in a hospital incubator contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and toxins (metals, pesticides, organophosphates), so why would you allow your child to spend the most important growing stage in just such an environment. If you do not pursue primary intervention that assesses your own body stores of these toxins, that is exactly what you are doing. The incubator is contaminated.
Clean it up before you trust it with the future of your precious baby.
2. If you are the parent of a young child and you are concerned about whether or not to vaccinate him or her, you need to become informed about your options as a parent. One of those options I would encourage is to have your child evaluated first to determine if there are physical problems that should be addressed, prior to vaccination. This may be especially important if your child has gastrointestinal problems, or recurrent viral and/or bacterial infections.
To learn more about assessment for genetic vulnerability and toxic exposures before you get pregnant, or before vaccinating your child, contact Marcella Piper-Terry, M.S.; Biomedical Consultant; marcellaterry@hotmail.com
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Rappoport Raises Important Questions About Vaccines
First, let me say that prior to today, I have never heard of Jon Rappoport.
I have been catching up on emails, which have been sorely neglected during the Christmas break. This evening I clicked on a post from one of the groups I shadow, and followed the link to this, which is said to be an interview of a former vaccine researcher, who does not want to use his own identity because of the consequences of doing so. (If this is true, his decision is completely understandable.)
If this is not true, I still believe it is worth posting, as there are many questions that need to be asked, which may come from more interested people having access to the dialogue (scripted or not).
I encourage parents to research the vaccine issue and make informed decisions before injecting anything into their child's body. Make your own decisions.
Marci
http://avropa.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5F6877002CEECEB3!1964.entry
I have been catching up on emails, which have been sorely neglected during the Christmas break. This evening I clicked on a post from one of the groups I shadow, and followed the link to this, which is said to be an interview of a former vaccine researcher, who does not want to use his own identity because of the consequences of doing so. (If this is true, his decision is completely understandable.)
If this is not true, I still believe it is worth posting, as there are many questions that need to be asked, which may come from more interested people having access to the dialogue (scripted or not).
I encourage parents to research the vaccine issue and make informed decisions before injecting anything into their child's body. Make your own decisions.
Marci
http://avropa.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5F6877002CEECEB3!1964.entry
Monday, December 15, 2008
O'Bama: Please Change Government Stance on Autism!
Hello All:
There is currently a forum on Change.org - which will allow you to submit or vote for ideas that you believe President-elect O'Bama needs to address for change when his administration is ushered into power. Please go to the following link and vote for change for our children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/bodies_in_rebellion
And visit the Bodies in Rebellion site to learn more:
http://www.bodiesinrebellion.com/
Here is one of the latests posts on the Change. org site: (Lots of information well worth your time to investigate.)
Blessings.
Marci
For all those that want to understand the realtionship between mercury and autism read the article "Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set.
http://bodiesinrebellion.com/BloodLevelsofMercuryRelatedtoAutism1.pdf
The symptoms of mercury toxicity and autism are almost identical: Thimerosal and autism? A plausible hypothesis that should not be dismissed . Medical Hypotheses , Volume 62 , Issue 5 , Pages 788 - 794 M .
Blaxillhttp://www.nomercury.org/science/documents/Med_Hypoth_Blaxill_Redwood_Bernard.pdfFor
Those that do not understand how serious a problem autism is... just read all these comments parents and relatives are making. Do a search for Dr. Boyd Haley, University of Kentucky, Dr. Mady Hornig, Columbia University, Dr. Thomas Burbacher, University of Washington; Dr. Mark Geier, President of The Genetic Centers of America and David Geier, Vice President of The Institute of Chronic Illnesses, and Dr. Jill James, University of Arkansas. They're just a few of the independent scientists whose findings link unsafe vaccines to neurological damage in our children. Research on vaccines can also be found on this link:
http://www.generationrescue.org/studies.html
The National Autism Association has said that while officials continue to claim that there is no science linking vaccines to autism, many peer-reviewed published studies confirm the connection between vaccinations and neurological injuries.
http://www.national%20autismassociatio%20n.org/library.%20php
Look at what the former head of the NIH has to say:
CBS News Exclusive: Former Head Of NIH Says Government Too Quick To Dismiss Possible LinkSEE VIDEO
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/12/cbsnews_investigates/main4086809.shtml
Healy said that officials have been too quick to dismiss a link between vaccines and autism without ever studying the group that got sick. There never have been studies done on the kids that developed symptoms of autism within a few weeks of being vaccinated. She furthermore pointed out that the Institute of Medicine which produced the cumulative study on vaccines and autism in 2004 refused to 'pursue susceptibility groups.' In other words, they didn't want to find any evidence that linked vaccines to autism. She left us with the haunting statement: 'The question has not been answered.'
In the current issue of U.S. News and World Report, A Government Call for Vaccine Research, Dr. Healy again calls for more research into vaccine safety. This ad ran in USA Today on Feb 12 and 29: Green our vaccines. And administer them with greater care.
http://www.generationrescue.org/pdf/080212.pdf .
It shows what happened to the vaccine schedule since 1983 and it lists the toxic ingredients like mercury, aluminum, MSG, ether, formaldehyde, and anti-freeze commonly found in vaccines. The soaring increase in autism directly coincided with the dramatic escalation of the number of vaccines. It's important to note that there has never been a study done on the cumulative effect of so many vaccines with toxic ingredients so soon on the health of a baby. This is also the time period in which autism went from one in 10,000 children to one in every 150 on average in the U.S. The official autism rate is one in 150 children. In the 1970s, the rate was one in every 10,000 kids. The CDC gave us the figure of one in 150 in Feb. 2007, but it was based on studies of eight year olds done back in 2002 and 2000. Those children are now 14 and 16 years old. This can hardly be considered a true picture of the autism disaster. In Minnesota, the recognized rate is one in every 81 kids. Others put the national average rate at one in every 67 children. Among the Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, the autism rate for American-born Somali children is one in every 28 kids. And these children are ones with classic autism. They could hardly have been misdiagnosed. One in every six schoolchildren now has a diagnosis of a learning disability.
Autism, once a rare disorder, is now so common that everyone knows someone with an autistic child and no one can reasonability tell us why. When we read about autism, it's always about kids with autism. Where are the 30, 50, and 70 year olds with autism like we see in our children? We should all be worried about what will happen when hundreds of thousands of children with autism age out into the welfare system. They'll become the responsibility of the taxpayers. We do not currently have a significant adult population with autism, but that will soon be changing and the cost of their support and care will be massive. Findings by Michael Ganz at Harvard make a chilling prediction of the future cost to our society. Ganz projects that it will cost about $3.2 million to take care of ONE autistic person over his or her lifetime. His findings are felt by others to be a gross underestimate of the eventual autism price tag.
Autism Has High Costs to U.S. Society, press release of Tuesday ...
The words of Laura Bono of the National Autism Association are a grim forecast for the future: "As those children reach adulthood, the U.S. is ill-equipped to care for them. Not only do we not have enough services for adults now, the light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Frankly, we don't know what we're going to do."
Click the link below to view this discussion.
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/bodies_in_rebellion
There is currently a forum on Change.org - which will allow you to submit or vote for ideas that you believe President-elect O'Bama needs to address for change when his administration is ushered into power. Please go to the following link and vote for change for our children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/bodies_in_rebellion
And visit the Bodies in Rebellion site to learn more:
http://www.bodiesinrebellion.com/
Here is one of the latests posts on the Change. org site: (Lots of information well worth your time to investigate.)
Blessings.
Marci
For all those that want to understand the realtionship between mercury and autism read the article "Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set.
http://bodiesinrebellion.com/BloodLevelsofMercuryRelatedtoAutism1.pdf
The symptoms of mercury toxicity and autism are almost identical: Thimerosal and autism? A plausible hypothesis that should not be dismissed . Medical Hypotheses , Volume 62 , Issue 5 , Pages 788 - 794 M .
Blaxillhttp://www.nomercury.org/science/documents/Med_Hypoth_Blaxill_Redwood_Bernard.pdfFor
Those that do not understand how serious a problem autism is... just read all these comments parents and relatives are making. Do a search for Dr. Boyd Haley, University of Kentucky, Dr. Mady Hornig, Columbia University, Dr. Thomas Burbacher, University of Washington; Dr. Mark Geier, President of The Genetic Centers of America and David Geier, Vice President of The Institute of Chronic Illnesses, and Dr. Jill James, University of Arkansas. They're just a few of the independent scientists whose findings link unsafe vaccines to neurological damage in our children. Research on vaccines can also be found on this link:
http://www.generationrescue.org/studies.html
The National Autism Association has said that while officials continue to claim that there is no science linking vaccines to autism, many peer-reviewed published studies confirm the connection between vaccinations and neurological injuries.
http://www.national%20autismassociatio%20n.org/library.%20php
Look at what the former head of the NIH has to say:
CBS News Exclusive: Former Head Of NIH Says Government Too Quick To Dismiss Possible LinkSEE VIDEO
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/12/cbsnews_investigates/main4086809.shtml
Healy said that officials have been too quick to dismiss a link between vaccines and autism without ever studying the group that got sick. There never have been studies done on the kids that developed symptoms of autism within a few weeks of being vaccinated. She furthermore pointed out that the Institute of Medicine which produced the cumulative study on vaccines and autism in 2004 refused to 'pursue susceptibility groups.' In other words, they didn't want to find any evidence that linked vaccines to autism. She left us with the haunting statement: 'The question has not been answered.'
In the current issue of U.S. News and World Report, A Government Call for Vaccine Research, Dr. Healy again calls for more research into vaccine safety. This ad ran in USA Today on Feb 12 and 29: Green our vaccines. And administer them with greater care.
http://www.generationrescue.org/pdf/080212.pdf .
It shows what happened to the vaccine schedule since 1983 and it lists the toxic ingredients like mercury, aluminum, MSG, ether, formaldehyde, and anti-freeze commonly found in vaccines. The soaring increase in autism directly coincided with the dramatic escalation of the number of vaccines. It's important to note that there has never been a study done on the cumulative effect of so many vaccines with toxic ingredients so soon on the health of a baby. This is also the time period in which autism went from one in 10,000 children to one in every 150 on average in the U.S. The official autism rate is one in 150 children. In the 1970s, the rate was one in every 10,000 kids. The CDC gave us the figure of one in 150 in Feb. 2007, but it was based on studies of eight year olds done back in 2002 and 2000. Those children are now 14 and 16 years old. This can hardly be considered a true picture of the autism disaster. In Minnesota, the recognized rate is one in every 81 kids. Others put the national average rate at one in every 67 children. Among the Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, the autism rate for American-born Somali children is one in every 28 kids. And these children are ones with classic autism. They could hardly have been misdiagnosed. One in every six schoolchildren now has a diagnosis of a learning disability.
Autism, once a rare disorder, is now so common that everyone knows someone with an autistic child and no one can reasonability tell us why. When we read about autism, it's always about kids with autism. Where are the 30, 50, and 70 year olds with autism like we see in our children? We should all be worried about what will happen when hundreds of thousands of children with autism age out into the welfare system. They'll become the responsibility of the taxpayers. We do not currently have a significant adult population with autism, but that will soon be changing and the cost of their support and care will be massive. Findings by Michael Ganz at Harvard make a chilling prediction of the future cost to our society. Ganz projects that it will cost about $3.2 million to take care of ONE autistic person over his or her lifetime. His findings are felt by others to be a gross underestimate of the eventual autism price tag.
Autism Has High Costs to U.S. Society, press release of Tuesday ...
The words of Laura Bono of the National Autism Association are a grim forecast for the future: "As those children reach adulthood, the U.S. is ill-equipped to care for them. Not only do we not have enough services for adults now, the light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Frankly, we don't know what we're going to do."
Click the link below to view this discussion.
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/bodies_in_rebellion
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Lead in Wild Game, Venison, Be Careful What You Eat!
The following article is important, especially for those of us with sick children, who also live in areas of the country where wild game consumption is part of how families get by.
The take-home message is: Think about every aspect of your life, especially if you have a child with autism or other developmental disability. Also, please remember that lead only shows up in blood for a short period of time after exposure. It is stored in soft tissues, including bone marrow and the brain, for decades after initial exposure, and the effect is cumulative. In other words, it adds up. Just because it doesn't show up in blood doesn't mean it's not in your body (or your child's body).
Lead is also passed from mother to child in utero and through breast milk, so if you have eaten a considerable amount of wild game in your life and are thinking about getting pregnant, you may want to have a hair analysis and urine provocation test prior to conception. Get the lead out before you pass it on to the next generation.
Take care.
Marci
Study links lead in blood to wild game consumption
By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writer James Macpherson, Associated Press Writer – Wed Nov 5, 8:58 pm ET
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota health officials are recommending that pregnant women and young children avoid eating meat from wild game killed with lead bullets.
The recommendation is based on a study released Wednesday that examined the lead levels in the blood of more than 700 state residents. Those who ate wild game killed with lead bullets appeared to have higher lead levels than those who ate little or no wild game.
The elevated lead levels were not considered dangerous, but North Dakota says pregnant women and children younger than 6 should avoid eating venison harvested using lead bullets.
Those groups are considered most at risk from lead poisoning, which can cause learning problems and convulsions, and in severe cases can lead to brain damage and death.
The study, conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state health department, is the first to connect lead traces in game with higher lead levels in the blood of game eaters, said Dr. Stephen Pickard, a CDC epidemiolgist who works with the state health department.
A separate study by Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources previously found that fragments from lead bullets spread as far as 18 inches away from the wound.
"Nobody was in trouble from the lead levels," Pickard said. However, "the effect was small but large enough to be a concern," he said.
Pickard said the study found "the more recent the consumption of wild game harvested with lead bullets, the higher the level of lead in the blood."
Officials in North Dakota and other states have warned about eating venison killed with lead ammunition since the spring, when a physician conducting tests using a CT scanner found lead in samples of donated deer meat.
The findings led North Dakota's health department to order food pantries to throw out donated venison. Some groups that organize venison donations have called such actions premature and unsupported by science.
The take-home message is: Think about every aspect of your life, especially if you have a child with autism or other developmental disability. Also, please remember that lead only shows up in blood for a short period of time after exposure. It is stored in soft tissues, including bone marrow and the brain, for decades after initial exposure, and the effect is cumulative. In other words, it adds up. Just because it doesn't show up in blood doesn't mean it's not in your body (or your child's body).
Lead is also passed from mother to child in utero and through breast milk, so if you have eaten a considerable amount of wild game in your life and are thinking about getting pregnant, you may want to have a hair analysis and urine provocation test prior to conception. Get the lead out before you pass it on to the next generation.
Take care.
Marci
Study links lead in blood to wild game consumption
By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writer James Macpherson, Associated Press Writer – Wed Nov 5, 8:58 pm ET
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota health officials are recommending that pregnant women and young children avoid eating meat from wild game killed with lead bullets.
The recommendation is based on a study released Wednesday that examined the lead levels in the blood of more than 700 state residents. Those who ate wild game killed with lead bullets appeared to have higher lead levels than those who ate little or no wild game.
The elevated lead levels were not considered dangerous, but North Dakota says pregnant women and children younger than 6 should avoid eating venison harvested using lead bullets.
Those groups are considered most at risk from lead poisoning, which can cause learning problems and convulsions, and in severe cases can lead to brain damage and death.
The study, conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state health department, is the first to connect lead traces in game with higher lead levels in the blood of game eaters, said Dr. Stephen Pickard, a CDC epidemiolgist who works with the state health department.
A separate study by Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources previously found that fragments from lead bullets spread as far as 18 inches away from the wound.
"Nobody was in trouble from the lead levels," Pickard said. However, "the effect was small but large enough to be a concern," he said.
Pickard said the study found "the more recent the consumption of wild game harvested with lead bullets, the higher the level of lead in the blood."
Officials in North Dakota and other states have warned about eating venison killed with lead ammunition since the spring, when a physician conducting tests using a CT scanner found lead in samples of donated deer meat.
The findings led North Dakota's health department to order food pantries to throw out donated venison. Some groups that organize venison donations have called such actions premature and unsupported by science.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., Winner of the Noble Prize
With yesterday's announcement of this year's winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, I think it is appropriate to honor the man who, sadly, will never see the full effects of his lifetime commitment to individuals and families impacted by autism. This man worked tirelessly and passionately in his quest for the true causes and effective treatments of autism to be accepted and widely applied so that more children could live free from constant pain and become independent, contributing members of society.
Today's post is dedicated to Bernard Rimland, Ph.D (1928 – 2006). The bulk of this post is a reprint of Dr. Rimland's testimony in 2000, before the House Committee on Government Reform. Given the current state of our economy and the recent 700 billion dollar buyout, I believe the timing of this post is especially relevant.
Here's to you, Bernie. Thank-you. You did not live long enough to receive the Nobel Prize, but if they gave one for being a Noble Man, you would have no competition whatsoever.
Testimony of Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. Before House Committee on Government Reform
April 6, 2000
The Autism Increase: Research Needed on the Vaccine Connection
Today's post is dedicated to Bernard Rimland, Ph.D (1928 – 2006). The bulk of this post is a reprint of Dr. Rimland's testimony in 2000, before the House Committee on Government Reform. Given the current state of our economy and the recent 700 billion dollar buyout, I believe the timing of this post is especially relevant.
Here's to you, Bernie. Thank-you. You did not live long enough to receive the Nobel Prize, but if they gave one for being a Noble Man, you would have no competition whatsoever.
Testimony of Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. Before House Committee on Government Reform
April 6, 2000
The Autism Increase: Research Needed on the Vaccine ConnectionMy name is Bernard Rimland. I am a research psychologist (Ph.D.). and am Director Of the Autism Research Institute, which I founded in 1967. I am also the founder of the Autism Society of America (1965), and the editor of the Autism Research Review International. My book, Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implication for a Neural Theory of Behavior (1964) is widely credited with changing the field of psychiatry from its claim that autism is an emotional illness, caused by destructive mothers, to its current recognition that autism is a biological disorder. I have lectured on autism and related problems throughout the world, and am author of numerous publications. I served as primary technical advisor on autism for the film Rain Man.
My son Mark was born in 1956. It was obvious from birth that this perfectly normal-looking infant had something drastically wrong with him. I had earned my Ph.D in experimental psychology 3 years earlier and had never encountered the word autism. Our pediatrician, with 35 years of experience, had never heard of autism either. Autism was extremely rare then - it is extremely common now.
Some supposed experts will tell you that the increase reflects only greater awareness. That is nonsense. Any pediatrician, teacher or school official with 20 or more years experience will confirm what the studies tell us: there is a real increase in autism and the numbers are huge and growing. The epidemic is serious and world-wide.
Soon after my textbook on autism was published in 1964, I began to hear from other parents. Many parents told me that their children were normal until getting a triple vaccine - the DPT shot. In 1965 I began systematically collecting data on the symptoms and possible causes of autism: In 1967—33 years ago—I began querying the parents, specifically about the child's response to the DPT shot. Many had reported marked deterioration.
During the past few years the Autism Research Institute has been flooded with an upsurge in pleas for help from parents throughout the world - from wherever the World Health Organization vaccine guidelines are followed. The majority of these parents say their children were normal until getting the MMR - another triple vaccine.
Let me dispel several myths promoted by those who deny the autism-vaccine connection:
- They claim the vaccines are safe, but physicians are indoctrinated to disbelieve claims of harm and are not trained to recognize nor required to report any adverse reactions. From 90% to 99% of the adverse reactions reported to doctors are never reported by those doctors to the government's extremely lax Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, known as the VAERS.
- They say that the suspected linkage between the MMR vaccination and autism has been disproved by a study conducted by Brent Taylor and his colleagues in London, and published last year in The Lancet. The Taylor study is seriously flawed in many ways, as had been noted in a number of letters to the editor of The Lancet and in a number of additional letters on the subject which have been posted on the internet. It was subject to strong attack at a recent meeting of the British Statistical Society. I have been a full-time researcher my entire professional life, for almost 50 years, and I respectfully asked Dr. Taylor for a copy of the data so that I could reanalyze them. He refused this ordinary professional courtesy, and I have subsequently written to the editor of The Lancet requesting that an impartial committee be asked to reexamine Dr. Taylor's statistical methods. If he refuses again, I urged The Lancet to retract his paper.
- They say that autism has a large genetic component, and therefore vaccines must play a minimal, if any, role in the causation of autism. My book Infantile Autism, published in 1964, was the first systematic attempt to marshal the evidence for genetics as a contributing cause of autism, so I am certainly not hostile to that idea. However, genes do not begin to account for the huge increase in the incidence of autism, ranging from 250% to 500% in various places. I might add that we have just reviewed all of the recent genetic studies for the next issue of the Autism Research Review International, which I edit. The results are spectacularly inconsistent. The best guess is that there are at least 20 different genes involved in the causation of autism. Gene therapy is decades off, and may be infeasible.
- They claim that autism naturally occurs at about 18 months, when the MMR is routinely given, so the association is merely coincidental and not causal. But the onset of autism at 18 months is a recent development. Autism starting at 18 months rose very sharply in the mid-1980s, when the MMR vaccine came into wide use. A coincidence? Hardly! See the graph below.
Autism is not the only severe chronic illness which has reached epidemic proportions as the number of (profitable) vaccines has rapidly increased. Children now receive 33 vaccines before they enter school - a huge increase. The vaccines contain not only live viruses but also very significant amounts of highly toxic substances such as mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde. Could this be the reason for the upsurge in autism, ADHD, asthma, arthritis, Crohn's disease, lupus and other chronic disorders?
As a parent and as a full-time professional researcher, I am bitterly disappointed with the medical establishment's dismal record with regard to autism over the past 60 years. The medical schools, as well as the governmental agencies, have consistently supported outmoded, unproven and even disproven theories from the very beginning, and have actively opposed the most promising approaches for the treatment of autism. They supported the psychoanalytically-based theories which held the mother responsible for causing autism through her supposedly hostile attitude toward the child. They opposed the use of behavior modification, the most uniformly beneficial treatment for autism, by claiming that it neglected the deep-seated emotional blocks that were supposedly at the root of autism. They have ignored, and continue to ignore, the long series of studies conducted both in the U. S. and Europe showing that the elimination of foods containing gluten and casein from the diet brings about marked improvement in many autistic children. They have consistently ignored the series of 18 consecutive studies, conducted by researchers in 6 countries, which showed that almost half of all autistic children and adults respond favorably to high doses of vitamin B6 and magnesium., with no adverse effects. Eleven of these studies were double-blind placebo-crossover experiments. There is no drug that comes close to B6/magnesium in terms of safety, efficacy and positive research findings.
Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on non-productive lines of research, while virtually no money at all has been given to research on the methods of alternative medicine, which are far more promising in terms of both safety and efficacy.
The most interesting questions are not being asked: Why does the majority of the population survive such epidemics as autism, the bubonic plague, Legionnaires' disease, polio and AIDS, while relatively few succumb?
The answer is that the survivors have a healthy, effective immune system. Would enhancing the immune system decrease the likelihood of adverse reactions to vaccines (including the anthrax vaccine - DOD please note!)? Very probably. It is well known that the immune system must be adequately supplied with many nutrients if it is to function properly, including especially vitamins A, C, E, B6 and a number of minerals, including zinc, magnesium, and selenium. Nutritional levels of these substances are not only harmless, they are essential to good health. Since people do not change their diets readily, I believe that foods should be fortified with these nutrients - especially foods that will be consumed by infants and children. Research along these lines - as well as on the safety of the vaccines - is desperately needed.
As a parent and a researcher, I believe there should be a marked redirection of effort and funding, along the lines suggested above.
Committee on Government Reform
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5074
Reprinted from:http://www.house.gov/reform/hearings/healthcare/00.06.04/rimland.htm
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