Suzanne Wright Speaks. Does Autism Speaks Listen?
On May 1, 2006, Suzanne Wright, founder of Autism Speaks promised me that Autism Speaks would study whether mercury and vaccines are part of the cause of the autism epidemic. Here's the video [Quicktime required].
Mrs. Wright made this promise at the Children Making Strides/Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation event in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she and David Kirby were the keynote speakers. Mr. Kirby is the author of Evidence of Harm, the book that discusses the mercury and autism connection. Both Mrs. Wright and Mr. Kirby were well received. And here's the Autism Speaks webpage showing Mrs. Wright with Doug Flutie.
I'd like to know why, in fifteen months and with tens of millions of research dollars, numerous "Walks" and fundraisers, I can see no progress toward answering my question. I mean Mrs. Wright no ill will. But if you're going to wear the crown of the founder, you have to expect the serfs to pick up a pitch fork every so often when their hunger (in my case, for answers) becomes overwhelming. I have three daughters with autism. Call me crazy, but I'd like some answers for my children.
If you've ever seen Mrs. Wright on Larry King or The Today Show or in person, I think you'll you agree with me that her passion to help her grandson Christian and my girls and the thousands of kids with an autism diagnosis is genuine. As is her grief. If she's acting, someone had better tell Meryl Streep that she's got some serious competition.
I'd like to know who (if anyone) is stopping Suzanne Wright from making good on her word. Is it Alison Singer? Is it Dr. Eric London? Is it pressure from pharmaceutical lobbyists? Is it the pharmaceutical companies themselves who've spent a fortune advertising on Bob Wright's NBC? (I realize he is no longer in that position.) Is it the US government who mandated the vaccines in the first place? What about The American Academy of Pediatrics who have steadfastly denied any link, even as they added a flu vaccine with 25 micrograms of mercury to the childhood schedule?
I suppose that I sound like I'm writing an X-Files episode. Well, it feels that way sometimes. "The truth is out there." was the show's motto after all.
Did Mrs. Wright suddenly change her mind? I don't think so. She is media savvy. She could have easily hemmed and hawed and said just enough to keep me from foaming at the mouth without making the firm promises you'll hear on this clip. I think she spoke from her heart and gut. I'll let you be the judge.
The clip is only two and half minutes long. I'm the shaky voiced gal who asks the second question. You'll hear Mrs. Wright say, "My new friend, Kim." Although that ship might have sailed after this post.
I'd like to thank these folks at Autism Media for providing the technical work for me.
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Kim--don't let the naysayers get you down--I firmly believe the adage "where there's smoke, there's fire." It's simply too hard to imagine there isn't a connection, and what exactly would keep this angle from being further pursued but for the ultra-powerful pharma industry putting the squeeze on a broadcasting network who needs their advertising dollars.
I'm with ya, girl!
I was there with my binder in hand to prove it to them; they were not interested. Therein lies the problem.
After my son's regression into autism, I took his medical records out and sat down and made a chronology of his growth and included his doctors vists, his immunization record; and the number of times he was put on antibiotics.
My son, born at 7 lbs. 3 oz., doubled his weight in 2 months; at which time he received 4 more immunizations. During the next 4 months he received 7 more shots. At one year old he received the MMR, Polio, HIB and Varivax. Later that day he suffered head swelling, had a fever was lethargic and was screaming at the top of his lungs. I took him back to the doctors and they put him on antibiotics. Three months later, he received his DPT; and again, he had the same reaction as before. Terribly lethargic, suffered head swelling and severe pain.
My mother's intution told me it was the immunizations. Danny's doctor, who that day gave me a paper listing adverse reactions (which Danny exhibited), told me "Oh no, it must be an ear infection". This was no ear infection. (I have 4 other children and I knew ear infections). Once again, his doctor prescribed antibiotics. As a matter of fact he was on antibiotics 5 more times during the next 3 months for unexplained skin eruptions.
My son gained only five pounds in one year. He started to loose his language ~ the nightmare was just begining. His then Pedi was never concerned about Danny's progress until this time. He was a part time pedi and part time Director of Developmental Evaluation at Children's Hospital who evaluated autistic children.
I have solid proof as to what happened to my son. Being a Rhogam Mom, my Danny had an even higher exposure to thimerosal than others.
Yes, I most certainly can prove it; people just have to stop blabbering and start listening.
Jean Whelan
There is plenty of science out there proving a causal link. The following websites, among others, have such published studies online. Go to National Autism Association, SafeMinds, Generation Rescue, Autism.com, among others.
The issue here is that you have to actually read these studies, instead of merely listening to others who claim:"there is no science, there is no epidemic". Last year I had my son's IEP meeting with 6 of his non-believing teachers. We debated about the mercury issue and they told me there was no science. I pulled out my huge binder full of science and Danny's test results, excretion tests, etc. and not one teacher was interested in looking at it. It's a shame that so many of our childrens' teachers are uninterested in the science. They tell me there is none and I say "prove it".
Keep up the excellent work, Kim! You are doing an outstanding job!
Even if vaccines did cause autism, and there's no reason to believe they do, what did you expect the teachers to do with your huge binder? Saying "prove it" doesn't work, since you are asking someone to prove a negative. If you are the one making the extraordinary claim, then it is your duty to provide the extraordinary proof. That's not a rule I just made up - it's Philosophy 101.
Is it true that one of her autistic daughters didn't get vaccines?
That's what she claims.
No, there is not. The only epidemiology that exists finding a posistive correlation comes from Geier & Geier. There is a lot of other epidemiology from different researchers in different countries, but they find no correlation. There are many reasons why the Geier & Geier epidemiology is worthless.
Other related studies are not epidemiological. They just look at proposed mechanisms and things of that nature, which really don't serve much of a purpose unless there's a real epidemiological link.
Geier told a judge in 2004 that he could not cite a single study that conclusively demonstrated a link between thimerosal and autism, or even mercury and autism. When Dr. Geier is not under oath, he tells his patients something else.
When Red, Kim, Dataman and the rest talk about supporting science, they are talking about Geier & Geier.
This epidemic of autism is the greatest crisis which has devastated the lives of young children in modern history. To continually search for the illusive autism gene is a futile act!
It is like looking for the lung cancer gene while ignoring the obvious environmental effects of nicotine in cigarette smoking.
Our government “health” agencies are looking silly these days as they cling to the illusive autism gene theory while ignoring the constellation of illnesses our toxic “autistic” children are suffering from.
In January 2004, The CDC put out an “Autism Alarm” ( I guess they are admitting they are “alarmed” about the fast rising numbers of this epidemic). In the Autism Alarm http://tin
While the government is throwing millions down the drain looking for the autism gene, our population of healthy, typical bright boys is quickly becoming extinct!
Suzanne Wright we need your voice now more than ever! Please help those who are positioned to do research into the environmental causes, most importantly neuro-toxins such as aluminum, mercury and the toxic compound thimerosal. We know these children had massive exposure via injection in utero and as infants.
Kim, Keep up the great work and Soldier On, my friend,
LaniersMom
Suzanne Wright is no advocate for research on mercury. She tried to publicly humuliate her daughter Katie when she went responsibly public (see http://aut
with her concerns over Autism Speaks' total lack of effort on thimerosal. See, e.g.:
http://www
Suzanne and her husband posted the following on the Autism Speaks website:
"Katie Wright is not a spokesperson for Autism Speaks. Our daughter's personal views differ from ours and do not represent or reflect the ongoing mission of Autism Speaks. Her appearance with David Kirby was done without the knowledge or consent of Autism Speaks."
As to research on any other environmental triggers, including non-vaccine mercury, Autism Speaks' record speaks for itself, as disclosed in their recently-funded 52 research projects.
Autism Speaks’ funded research – continued -
"Identification of UBE3A substrates using proteomic profiling in Drosophila" - $120,000 for 2 years.
“Mutations in the UBE3A gene cause a mental retardation disorder known as Angelman syndrome. This project will use the genetic power of fruit flies to identify genes regulated at the protein level by E6-AP. Several techniques will be used to generate artificially high levels fly Dube3a protein in fly heads. The investigators will then use protein sequencing (proteomics) to identify those proteins affected by changes in the levels of Dube3a protein.”
-- Fruit fly heads!? And Angelman’s, caused by a specific maternal gene deletion and characterized by severe mental retardation, unsteady movements, and a sociable disposition, is not autism! Yes, it does appear that the medical-re
So this is what gets funded, to the exclusion of efforts examining the “array of neurotoxic environmental exposures,” “identifying individuals with increased mercury susceptibility,” and “distinguishing autism subgroups with distinct [biochemical] etiologies” that they purport to believe merits investigation in their “official” mercury policy statement.
No wonder the medical-in
And now that the medical-re
Looks like Katie Wright was right about the hijacking of Autism Speaks’ horde.
Why such fear of research on mercury, sulfhydryl-reactive metals, and cellular oxidative-stress?
What a shame.
Funded research – continued -
"Multisensory Processing in Autism" - $434,622 for 3 years.
“In this study, Dr. Essik will use psychophysical techniques to study sensory processing both within a sensory system (the system for touch) and between the touch and visual systems. He will assess sensory sensitivity in groups of adults with and without autism for several types of stimuli [and utilize] functional magnetic resonance imaging.”
-- Talk about “touchy-feely” research! How is this going to rationally aid either the prevention or the treatment of autism?
"NrCAM, a Candidate Susceptibility Gene for Visual Processing Deficits in Autism" - $450,000 for 3 years.
“Abnormal visual processing may be causally related to ASD deficits of eye gaze and interpretation of facial expression. Dr. Maness will study mutant mice lacking NrCAM to investigate the hypothesis that NrCAM mediates formation of the precise connections between the axons from the retina and their targets in the brain.”
-- Retinal connection genes as the cause of autism? Also, from the results of Psychiatr Genet. 2006 Dec, 16(6):251-7 : “We found no association between single nucleotide polymorphisms of NrCAM and autism in our large cohort…”
"Genomic Resources for Identifying Genes Regulating Social Behavior" - $120,000 for two years
“One species, the prairie vole, forms strong social bonds, while the other, meadow voles, does not. Previous research has suggested that the difference in this social behavior may be due to a “microsatellite” region of genetic material that is located outside the area which transcribes the gene for the peptide hormone receptor avpr1. [R]esearchers will create markers for these microsatellites as well as establish different strains of voles which show differing levels of social behaviors.
-- Are they willing to throw their hard-earned research money at any genetic proposals – to the exclusion of anything related to mercury or biochemical biomarkers?
Sorry Kim, don’t hold your breath.
Autism Speaks recently announced new funding for 52 new “biomedical” research projects at a total value of over $15.2 million. See: http://www
Not a single one of those 52 newly-announced research projects has anything to do with examining a possible role of mercury/heavy metals in autism - or even of attempting to disprove any role. Not a single one. They didn't even throw you a bone.
Instead, nearly all the funding went to make-work projects of the traditional medical-re
Here is a sampling of the research that Autism Speaks chose to fund:
"Neural Correlates of Social Exchange and Valuation in Autism" -
$450,000 for 3 years.
“Hyperscan functional magnetic resonance imaging (h-fMRI) i.e. the simultaneous measurement of brain activity in two socially interacting people, is an important development for autism research. Specifically, a social exchange task called an iterated Trust game and h-fMRI will be used to characterize neural and behavioral responses to social signals in individuals with autism as they participate in dynamic social exchanges with a human partner.”
-- Let’s spend half-a-mil
"Automated Measurement of Facial Expression in Autism: Deficits in Facial Nerve Function?" -$450,000 for 3 years.
“This project will utilize automated facial analysis software to compare how, when, and to what extent 20 four- to six year-old children with autistic disorder, 20 children with developmental disabilities, and 20 typically developing children produce facial expression
-- Do autistics produce facial expressions differently than normal kids? Now that is a burning question that will lead to prevention or effective treatments, won’t it? I will bet that pregnant women and parents struggling with autistic kids just can’t wait for the results of that one.
Glad to see Autism Speaks has finally come to its senses. The scientific evidence against the vaccine/autism link is overwhelming. Did you follow the omnibus hearings in DC? The resondents called real scientists as witnesses, and they presented credible, well researched evidence. The plaintiffs didn't do so well. In fact, it was kind of embarrassing.
My advice: stop looking for quick answers. The longer you fight reality, the worse off it will be for you and your kiddo.
Autism Speaks "finally come to its senses"? Shows what you know. They have never embraced mercury.
The omnibus hearings? The plaintiffs theory of the case was MMR and only tangentially thimerosal. Again, shows your cognitive dissonance. And mercury/su
Finally, genetics alone is the "quick answer." Gene-envir
I agree. There are so many studies that have looked at thimerosal and autism already. But more importantly, there's less thimerosal in vaccines nowadays than in the 1950s. Why hasn't autism gone away or been drastically reduced if thimerosal is a significant cause of autism?
It would obviously be a humongous waste of resources to continue to look at this made-up connection between thimerosal and autism.
Thanks Kim for posting your concerns regarding AS. You are brave as I see by many of these posts, the attack is on. The genetic piece of the autism puzzle is irrelevant. The environmental trigger(s) should be the focus as a way to stop the increasing numbers, understand the course of the disease, and develop more treatments that are individualized for the particular biological malfunctions. Knowing 100 genes or mutations can occur tells us nothing at this point and will do nothing to prevent or help those already affected.
Those here who continue to waste my time and yours with their ridiculous genetic tales are either unable to read the scientific literature regarding toxic exposure or do not understand the autism that we are even discussing. The metals/Hg, bacteria, viruses, and inflammation within the children speak louder than them or Suzanne Wright.
Teresa
And you know this how, Red?
"The metals/Hg, bacteria, viruses, and inflammation within the children speak louder than them or Suzanne Wright."
I wonder how "ConcernedParent1" can make statements as irresponsible as she did above, yet call him/herself a "concerned parent." Does this person not read? (obviously "it" does as Kim's blog was not only viewed but responded to.)The headlines are everywhere
So, in your opinion, if you have a kid with Down's Syndrome, there must be an environmental cause, because no one else in your family has Down's?
The mom can be a carrier. The genetic problem could have originated in HER mother. But it has been known for years that the parents of autistic kids are not normal. They have higher rates of mental illness like OCD and bipolar and "rigid thinking". Yes, there lots of irony there. The parents are also frequently found to be on the spectrum, lots of times mom does all the talking and tries to distract attention from the fact that dad doesn't make eye contact and didn't start talking until he was 2 1/2 and has a large collection of train time tables. Sometimes mom is a scientist or professor. This is old news to autism researchers. Autism runs in families and sometimes it pops up. Now they are finding how that happens. Maybe if Kim got a full genome screen they'd find that she's a carrier mom.
I hate to burst your bubble, but Dad and I are both gregarious sales people. Sociable to a fault, full of eye contact, blah blah. No mental illness. No prescription drugs. Healthy. Happy. Hell,we can barely add 2+ 2 so we don't meet the engineer/math genious criteria either.
My Mom is also a social butterfly. Healthy, happy As was my Grandma Yoli (a doll, God rest her soul.) My Dad was a dentist and handled (drumroll for effect please) MERCURY. (Hello? Is this mike on?) I spent the first five years of my life in the house where his office was located. I was born in and lived in a town that was founded on jewelry companies. Jewelry = metal. And a mile from my house from age 6 - 22? A metals Englehard plant now closed down and every house across the street RAZED to the groud. Same property as the Drive In, where, as a pretty teenager, given my "sociability", I spent some time smooching boys while watching "Kentucky Fried Movie." (I'd buy THAT for a dollar!)
I am full of mercury...
For me it's not a problem. I can speak, write etc. For my precious children..
I might have a Ninja or two in the house, but i guanrantee you, Concerned parent, that I have no autistic genetic mutation. You are snapping at the wrong turtle.
PS Autism is not a mental disorder. You must be back in the 50's. It is first and foremost an autoimmune disorder affecting the gut. Do read the recent article in Discover magazine so you can be well informed.
A non-mutant grandma in South Carolina
There's no evidence that there's been a real increase in autism. No increase, no reason to blame thimerosal. I realize that sounds awful to those who have made up their minds that thimerosal and other vaccine ingredients cause autism, but it's true. What I found amazing was that Kim seemed to say in the video that all three of her girls were made autistic by thimerosal and yet one of them is unvaccinated. Autism is the most heritable of all mental/develpmental disorders, and can appear from a denovo mutation occuring in the grandma. Some parents and grandparents, just can not deal with that.
No increase in Autism? Why don't you tell that to the now newly overburdened school systems. I'm really tired of this ridicules argument. You are saying that over 100 different mutated genes are all of a sudden resulting in the same set of symptoms. Doesn't make any sense.
My son did not have autism at birth. Vaccinations took away his ability to communicate with me. He is sick, his stomach is in constant extreme distress and it correlates entirely with how his behaviors, attention and connection will be on any given day. How do you explain how sick these kids are? How toxic they are? Predisposition coming from environmental toxins and changing genetic make up, maybe yes. We should clean up the environment that lead us to predisposition but thimerosal is what took my son away. It is why he is sick.
Stop making excuses for no epidemic, no connection to a neurotoxin for a decline in a child's neurological abilities. If you are a "parent" of a child with autism and are happy with your answers, good for you. Throw yourself a party for your ability to have your peace. But please don't attack those who are searching for answers for their sick kids.
My child cannot have a conversation with me and he shows me every day that he is physically ill. Autism for MY son is a Whole Body Autism stemming from his toxic vaccines. I know him, Kim knows her kids, we fight for them how We choose as parental advocates.
Kim has 3 children with ASD and she deserves some respect and admiration for her daily fight and search for answers. Not insults directed at her grandmother of whom you have never met. And I just had lunch with my 86 year old perfectly healthy Grandmother who still tends to her garden, has ladie's lunch on Tuesdays and other than a few vitamins only takes 1 medicine for blood pressure. She blows everyone away with her winning personality and stories of history. Blaming Grandma is the biggest joke yet.
"Why don't you tell that to the now newly overburdened school systems."
The total number of children in special education, relative to the whole population of children, has not changed significantly over time in the US, particularly if you look at somewhat older cohorts (so that early diagnosis is not a factor).
Whaaa! whaaa! You broke my mercury-va
Whoa...you mean one of her girls was NOT vaccinated and still has autism????
Kim is this true?
Boggles the mind, doesn't it?
Autism is quite common among the unvaccinated apparently. Just ask Brad Handley. He did a phone survey on it.
Thank you Kim for this honest post. I, for one, understand where you are coming from. So many of us are looking for the answers for our children and grandchildren. We know that so many aspects of research have been and are being pursued by AS and other organizations with the exception of environmental-and vaccines in particular. Suzanne's promise needs to be kept and I am glad you have asked it.
Did I hear that correctly? Did she say that YOUR voice was too loud to be ignored?
I don't know enough about Suzanne's household set up, but anyone closely involved with autism knows that 'time' or rather 'free time' is a very precious commodity.
If we're all patient, then before too long there will be another study published that will tell us that more research is needed.
In the meantime, I'm going to try and use my time wisely.
Best wishes
Genetic codes are being messed with by known toxins. This is not an easy truth for any of us. Facing an epidemic thata we have caused by listening to the thousands of families with victims requires humility beyond an open mind necessary for traditional scientific methods.
If this is not possible (and I HAVE to believe it will be eventually), I am pleading with anyone who has input as to where autism funds are channeled. Please directly help with supports in the home and school. Families and public school systems are already stripped bare of resources and stretched beyond the point of being effective. When the ease of the burden is lifted even a bit, it surely feels a whole lot better!
Great post Kim!!
For those of you that weren't there the entire day was filled with information on mercury toxicity, thimerosal, and what it does to the body. If none of you has actually read studies on WHAT THIMEROSAL DOES TO THE BODY you will continue to be uninformed and swallow whatever mainstream media, pharma and government feeds you.
Gene mutations can be caused by mercury and gene mutations have been happening for generations. Gene mutations can NOT explain the rise and current national health crisis of autism. It can only explain predisposition. My son had reactions to every vaccine, the components of the vaccine took away the child he was born as and brought about an extremely toxic sick child.
ABA does not help unless I am helping his immune system at the same time. Then ABA or other therapies are essential to help him catch up. These children are sick and they need to be treated for their physical ailements. Bouncing off the walls after a child eats something like cheese puffs it is obvious that the cheese puffs were the trigger. Why the heck aren't these kids automatically tested for their allergies, mercury toxicity through porphryn enzyme testing, gut diabosis, etc., etc. when so much evidence is pointed to a whole body autism.
We are wasting time and endless amounts of money to look at only genes and educational services. Without proper medical help for these kids our society will be full of a generation of children with Autism who grew to be adults who cannot take care of themselves. We have the chance to change the outcome by putting monies into medical therapies that are already helping thousands of children. AS needs to contact ARI and DAN, Dr. Amy Yasko, Dr. Andy Cutler, Homeopaths, and naturalpaths and find out every avenue that is working for some children with Autism and put money towards those treatments. And legislators need to remove mercury entirely from all vaccines and set a safer schedule. Then and only then will we be doing anything that is worthwile for these kids.
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