World Autism Awareness Day: A Call to Action

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. The United Nations established this day in 2007 (Resolution 62/139) to annually raise awareness of autism as a global health crisis with particular emphasis on early diagnosis and early intervention. This is also a day to celebrate the unique talents and accomplishments of individuals living with autism in each of our communities worldwide. To commemorate the event, prominent buildings and icons in the United States and around the world -- including the Empire State Building in New York City --will turn their outer lights blue on April 1 and 2.

With 1 out of 110 children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States today (a new case is diagnosed almost every 15 minutes) parents and professionals must strive to identify those children at risk as soon as possible. New research following newborns who have a sibling with ASD suggests that an infant who is later diagnosed with ASD shows evidence of developmental delays in social interaction and communication by 6-12 months of age. Early identification allows treatment to begin immediately for these children, offering the greatest potential for them to live a full and meaningful life.

In the U.S. today also begins Autism Awareness Month -- a time to recognize all of the needs of those living with ASD. Beyond early diagnosis and treatment these children encounter numerous obstacles throughout their lifetimes. One of the many challenges families encounter is obtaining appropriate medical care for their child with ASD. Individuals living with autism experience a myriad of medical issues many of which go undetected and untreated.

Since autism affects a child's ability to relate and communicate, a child may be aware of pain but may be unable to express it, resulting in no or inappropriate treatment. On the other hand a child with ASD who has difficulty with sensory processing may not even be aware that he is sick or in pain. Consequently, he may not respond in a way we might expect a child with a sore throat or an earache to respond. Instead he could become more irritable, have increased repetitive routines, inattention, self absorption, even aggression or self injurious behavior.

Medical professionals often attribute this change in the child's behavior to the "autism." While that could be the case, when the child is unaware or unable to express his pain with words, his behavior is often a means of communicating that message. When a child with ASD shows increased "autistic" behaviors, we must consider the possibility for a medical issue underlying the behavioral change.

As a pediatrician caring for children with ASD over the past 20 years I have learned to be ever vigilant when trying to detect underlying medical issues. Research shows that children with ASD have, in addition to the expected childhood illnesses, even greater rates of gastrointestinal, sleep, immunologic and seizure disorders than their typical peers. Increased anxiety from living under such stress and most recently depression has been found to occur much more frequently in this group than previously recognized.

Left untreated it's no wonder that children with ASD can have uncontrolled behavioral symptoms. As the current generation of children with ASD ages, we do not yet know what other health problems may arise but we do know the medical field is underprepared to meet the needs of the growing population of individuals living with ASD.

The bottom line is that a healthy child with ASD is better equipped to concentrate, relate, communicate, think and learn than one who has unmet medical needs. Given the amount of time a child can spend in a therapeutic program and the costs associated, it is imperative that he or she be fully present in the treatment. Therefore on this World Autism Awareness Day, physicians and medical personnel must commit to early detection and intervention of infants at risk and also recognize and treat their medical issues.

It is fitting that Autism Speaks, one of the sponsors of World Autism Awareness Day, has recently announced an expansion of the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) to 17 cities across the U.S. and Canada. ATN medical treatment centers are multidisciplinary in that they bring together the expertise of physicians, nurses, specialized therapists, and clinical researchers to address the medical challenges of children with ASD. The goal of these centers is to develop and disseminate novel treatments, practice guidelines and clinical tools for all professionals. Medical professionals from communities are invited to use the ATN center resources for referral and consultation.

Children and families living with autism have suffered with untreated medical conditions far too long. Parents know when something is not right with their child. It is time for the medical community to listen and do what we do best -- provide help and hope to those in need.

 

 

 

Comments

[patrons99]

11:05 AM on 05/08/2011

“Infant mortality rates regressed against number of vaccine doses routinely given: Is there a biochemical or synergistic toxicity?” by Neil Z. Miller and Gary S. Goldman

http://thinktwice.com/HET_study.pdf

“All nations—rich and poor, advanced and developing—have an obligation to determine whether their immunization schedules are achieving their desired goals.”

Amen to that! We can handle the truth.

If the IMRs are regressing against the number of vaccine doses routinely given, does this not fly in the face of the myth of so-called “vaccine-preventable” diseases? Are the IMRs regressing linearly? The closer that we get to the cumulative or composite LD50 for all of the scheduled vaccinations, for the combination of all so-called “excipients” in the scheduled inoculations, the greater the likelihood that the rate of increase will be exponential. This is what would be expected, if there is biochemical or synergistic toxicity. The scheduled vaccinations are cumulatively and synergistically toxic. We need to wake up to this reality, soon, because there are literally hundreds of “innovative” new biologicals, especially vaccines, in the pipeline. Because new vaccines keep being added to the schedules, it soon won’t matter if they are dosed singly, one jab at a time, or multiply, because their biological effects will increasingly overlap.

[patrons99]

10:20 PM on 04/30/2011

Bravo for the Belgian Court! I pray that our SCOTUS takes note.

“Belgian Court Rules AGAINST Compulsory Vaccination” by Catherine J. Frompovich on April 28th, 2011.

http://vactruth.com/2011/04/28/belgian-court-rules-against-compulsory-vaccination/

Mandated vaccinations violate both the Declaration of Helinski and the Nuremberg Code. These are crimes against humanity.

http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/helsinki.html
http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/nuremberg.html

We are being "prepped" and used as Guinea pigs, without our knowledge or our consent, for gene therapy and nanoparticulate drug delivery systems.

Re: vaccines as nanoparticulate drug delivery systems

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11251246

http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/data/48/4/662/DC1/13

Re: vaccines as gene therapy delivery systems

http://www.scienceasia.org/2008.34.n2/scias34_179.pdf

[patrons99]

09:08 AM on 05/02/2011

How in God's Creation did non-human DNA, simian virus 40, end up in humans? Just who is Dr Maurice Hilleman?

http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2011/02/18/60-lab-studies-now-confirm-cancer-link-to-a-vaccine-you-probably-had-as-a-child/

"Extracellular simian virus 40 transmits a signal that promotes virus enclosure within caveolae."
Chen Y, Norkin LC.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9882517

"Bound simian virus 40 translocates to caveolin-enriched membrane domains, and its entry is inhibited by drugs that selectively disrupt caveolae."
H A Anderson, Y Chen, and L C Norkin

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC276029/

Biologic recombinants in vaccines are not being rigorously screened. Biologically-active “adventitious presence” of substances in vaccines is not being rigorously screened. Here’s a recent example:

“Mad Cow Disease Connection to Polio Vaccine

Apparently, nvCJD, a new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease [mad cow disease], was suspected as being connected to the polio vaccine in five males in Southampton, UK. Notices went out to the medical profession and the polio vaccine was withdrawn. Word about that problem spread throughout the European Union and parents became concerned about getting their children vaccinated against polio.”

See the excellent article by Catherine Frompovich, titled "Belgian Court Rules AGAINST Compulsory Vaccination" on April 28, 2011.

http://vactruth.com/2011/04/28/belgian-court-rules-against-compulsory-vaccination/

END VACCINE MANDATES NOW
END MEDICAL FASCISM NOW
MEDICAL FREEDOM NOW

[patrons99]

11:03 AM on 04/30/2011

Injunctive relief by the Courts should be sought by parents to stop this barbaric practice - mandated inoculation/transfection. Mandated vaccinations pose an avoidably unsafe, clear and present danger, and imminent risk of harm to every citizen. The State has usurped basic parental rights (Parental Liberty Doctrine), Constitutional rights (First, Fifth, Fourteenth, and Ninth Amendments), and God-given rights (right to medical freedom, right to privacy, liberty interest in bodily integrity).

http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/02/this-will-only-hurt-for-evercompulsory-vaccine-laws-injured-children-and-no-redress-kimberly-j-garde-i-introduction.html

Of course, families have the various state vaccine exemptions available to them, but pharma is regularly seeking to overturn these exemptions. The public is still very much in harms way. The Precautionary Principle and Informed Consent have been ignored by pharma and government. This is unconscionable in preventive health and invasive medical procedures. Public safety should not depend on vaccine exemptions. The public safety should depend on something more fundamental, the God-given inalienable right to medical freedom, right to privacy, and our liberty interest in bodily integrity. The H1N1 pandemic flu fraud and hysteria of 2009 is a case in point. Forced detention and inoculation of the entire population, ostensibly for the "greater good", will not be prevented by the current patchwork of state vaccine exemptions.

Disclaimer: I'm not an attorney. My comment is solely my opinion and is not intended nor should it be construed to represent medical or legal advice.

[patrons99]

10:43 AM on 04/30/2011

The breadth and depth of fraud and corruption in the vaccine industry is now being spotlighted by DOJ. Bravo! It’s long overdue. We have been defrauded by CDC. Physicians in this country are either unwitting dupes or knowing accomplices.

We are being assaulted - maimed and disabled - by mandated inoculation/transfections of the scheduled inoculations, without informed consent. This violates the Nuremberg Code and Declaration of Helinski. Informed consent was violated by various Nazis in World War II. In many respects, history is repeating itself. God-fearing people of conscience and humility of all denominations should rally to overturn and outlaw all mandated inoculations. This barbaric practice must come to an end. We all have a God-given inalienable right to opt-out from vaccine "madness".

“CDC vaccine scientist who downplayed links to autism indicted by DOJ in alleged fraud scheme”

http://www.naturalnews.com/z032216_Thorsen_fraud.html

“Anti-Vaccine-Safety Blogs Desperate Over Thorsen/US CDC Autism Research Fraud”

http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/anti-vaccine-safety-blogs-desperate-over-thorsenus-cdc-autism-research-fraud/

“US Prosecutors Seek Extradition of Madsen MMR/Autism Denmark Study Author for US$1m MMR & Mercury Autism Research Fraud”

http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/poul-thorsen-us1m-mmr-fraud/

[patrons99]

08:59 AM on 05/03/2011

“The Childhood Immunization Support Program is a cooperative agreement grant between the CDC and AAP.”

“Partners - These materials have been developed by CDC and our partners:
* American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)External Web Site Policy
* American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)External Web Site Policy ”

Hmmmmm. “Cooperative agreement grant” “Partners” What’s that all about?

Help me understand!

“Reducing Vaccine Liability Strategies for Pediatricians”

http://www.aap.org/immunization/pediatricians/pdf/ReducingVaccineLiability.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/central-figure-in-cdc-vac_b_494303.html
http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/04/22/autism-and-vaccines-researcher-for-cdc-indicted-for-fraud-and-money-laundering/
http://vactruth.com/2011/04/19/u-s-taxpayers-screwed-in-vaccine-research/
http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/04/poul-thorsen-the-cdc-finances-writes-and-helps-publish-danish-research.html
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/conversations.htm

[Independent1969]

05:25 PM on 04/21/2011

Bottom line is that kids are being harmed by vaccines and this has to end immediately. Those responsible will be brought to justice. There is an growing army of parents of vaccine injured kids who will make sure of this. Expect it because it is coming.

[kozmo9]

01:28 PM on 04/25/2011

Vaccines? This article had nothing to do with vaccines.

[Heather XW]

10:51 AM on 04/17/2011

The Poul Thorsen Indictment is Out!

For those of you who don't know Poul Thorsen, he is an autism researcher. His research is used to refute the claims that the MMR and thimerosal causes ASDs.

Some commentary on the indictment from an attorney who is reviewing the documents:

"The maximum is 20 years on most of the counts but such extreme sentences are rarely imposed, unless severe aggravating circumstances exist (like "scientific" fraud affecting the safey of vaccines and global vaccine policy)."

"The indictment suggests that Thorsen promoted himself to obtain the CDC grants but this does not seem realistic to me, given all the background information we have, including the CDC-WHO-Brighton_GAVI emails and other documents showing how aggressively vaccine authorities were seeking epidemiology to exonerate vaccines of any role in causing NDD's or autism."

"There is a warrant for Thorsen's arrest but bringing him to the US from Denmark may take some time. Denmark and the US does have an extradition treaty."

Thorsen is currently living in Atlanta, Georgia the headquarters for the CDC.

http://adventuresinautism.com/ThorsenIndictment.pdf
http://adventuresinautism.com/Thorseninformationsheet.pdf
http://adventuresinautism.com/ThorsenPraecipe.pdf

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2011/04/poul-thorsen-indictment-is-out.html?spref=fb

[Heather XW]

12:17 PM on 04/17/2011

Typo:

Thorsen currently has a home in Atlanta, Georgia the headquarters for the CDC.

“He allegedly used the money to buy a house in Atlanta (headquarters of the CDC), a Harley Davidson motorcycle, an Audi and a Honda, along with allegedly cashing several cashiers checks. The indictment requires him to give up the motorcycle, house and cars.”

http://tucker.patch.com/articles/autism-researcher-indicted-for-stealing-grant-money-from-cdc-2

[Taximom5]

12:24 PM on 04/17/2011

This obviously calls the validity of his research into question. And www.fourteenstudies.org has already pointed out the obvious flaws of the "Danish Study," as well as the conflicts of interest. Now that Thorsen, the lead researcher has been shown to be a thief, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The pharmaceutical companies are already pressuring the media not to print anything about this, even though Thorsen's crimes are FAR worse than what Wakefield was accused of. Thanks to the internet, it's simply not going to be possible for them to cover this up.

They're trying, though--they're publicizing how generous they are to donate vaccines to poor countries---vaccines like the flu shot, that nobody in developed countries wants any more, because of all the severe adverse effects that have been reported.

[Heather XW]

12:47 PM on 04/17/2011

I would say it does. How can a researcher conduct research when he spends the earmarked grants on homes and vehicles?

Thank you internet!

[Josephius]

07:08 PM on 04/05/2011

It's odd that this link needed to be reposted.

http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/mp201110a.html

[Alison Rose Levy]

06:03 PM on 04/05/2011

This is a terrific blog which inspired me to write this blog about why we need treatments until scientific research catches up: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-rose-levy/connecting-the-dots-autis_b_844090.html

[cable1977]

06:10 PM on 04/05/2011

One hopes you aren't referring to untested treatments that have far more potential for harm than any plausible hope for good (like chelation).

[Heather XW]

10:39 AM on 04/17/2011

Hold Up!

Chelation is an FDA approved treatment Cable.

The FDA considers DMSA as a viable pharmaceutical agent for the treatment of lead poisoning why wouldn’t they consider it viable for the removal of heavy metals and other toxins in ASD suffers?

If the NIH is funding studies regarding chelation then isn’t it a viable area to look to for application in the removal of toxins in ASD suffers?

“Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16835878

Chelation is a viable FDA approved treatment for toxic radiation exposure (Chernobyl) and lead-poisoning sufferers, why isn’t it an acceptable treatment for ASDs. Especially when the science (74%) has shown there is a link between heavy metals and ASDs.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20628440

[Sprout Org]

12:34 PM on 04/04/2011

Dear Friends and Families of Autism,
Sprout, a non profit working in the field of developmental disabilities is holding the 9th edition of its Annual Sprout Film Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, from Friday April 29th to Sunday May 1st.
We are screening 50 movies/documentaries/music clips, from 16 different countries! we have a large selection of movies related to autism: please visit www.sproutfilmfestival.org

Be well, and please spread the word during World Autism Awareness Day!!

[ruskie44]

10:01 AM on 04/04/2011

i just remembered something.. about 6 years ago i was teaching at a preschool and a boy came that had autism. he was adopted and his biological father was in prison for shaking him and beating him severely as a baby. his autism was basically brain damage. are there not people that claim autism is not at all related to brain damage? that they are two completely different things? if so.. please explain why i was told the reason this boy was autistic was bc he had brain damage from being beaten. there is more than one way to damage the brain, you know.. so no, it is not all genetics..

[Heather XW]

03:00 PM on 04/04/2011

Here are some peer reviewed research articles I think you will find interesting.

Helen V. Ratajczak, “Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes—A review”, Journal of Immunotoxicology, 2011; 8(1): 68–79,

“Autism could result from more than one cause, with different manifestations in different individuals that share common symptoms. Documented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis following vaccination. Therefore, autism is the result of genetic defects and/or inflammation of the brain. The inflammation could be caused by a defective placenta, immature blood-brain barrier, the immune response of the mother to infection while pregnant, a premature birth, encephalitis in the child after birth, or a toxic environment.”

http://www.rescuepost.com/files/theoretical-aspects-of-autism-causes-a-review1.pdf

*

Landrigan PJ. “What causes autism? Exploring the environmental contribution.” Current Opinion in Pediatrics . April 2010; 22(2): 219-225.

http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/20087­185

In this article Dr. Landrigan clearly states the genetic contribution is very small. He goes on to list 8 known chemicals that cause autism among other environmental triggers like prenatal exposure to the rubella virus.

Continued

[cable1977]

04:39 PM on 04/05/2011

Did you actually read Landrigan's article or just the abstract?

"In this article Dr. Landrigan clearly states the genetic contribution is very small. "

No, he clearly states that the genetic contribution currently accounts for a small number of cases of autism, implying that the etiology of the rest of autism is unknown currently. However, he also states that this fraction of genetic contribution is likely to RISE as we better understand the genetics and molecular mechanisms of autism.

He writes:

"At the present time, genetic factors are thought to account for 7–8% of autism cases, but this fraction will likely increase as genetic research advances and additional genetic causes are discovered."

You are misinterpreting his intent in order to confirm your own biased views. Although this probably wouldn't completely qualify as "cherry picking", it certainly qualifies as presenting Landrigan's opinions as different that what his writing actually shows.

[cable1977]

04:53 PM on 04/05/2011

"He goes on to list 8 known chemicals that cause autism"

Again, no. That isn't what he did. Landrigan wrote the following:

"A growing list of chemicals is now implicated in causation of neurodevelopmental disabilities, including:

1. Lead
2. Methylmercury
3. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
4. Arsenic
5. Manganese
6. Organophosphate insecticides
7. DDT
8. Ethyl alcohol "

He listed eight chemicals that have been shown to be "implicated in the causation of neurodevelopmental disabilities". That is NOT synonymous with "cause autism", no matter how much you would like to spin it.

He does, however, list 5 agents for which there is direct evidence of a correlation between autism and the agent. One is thalidomide, already known for its ability to cause developmental problems. The second is misoprostol, a drug to treat gastric ulcers, that is also used to induce abortion. Third is valproic acid, an anticonvulsant known to cause multiple types of birth defects. Fourth is maternal rubella infection. And last is an insecticide. Another key point is that all of these exposures have to occur prenatally, very early in the 1st trimester.

Finally, one other quotation you appear to have skipped on reporting:

"Taken together, this extensive series of high-quality, peer-reviewed studies has failed to show any association between autism and childhood immunization. Fear of autism does not justify failure to vaccinate children against life-threatening diseases"

[Heather XW]

03:00 PM on 04/04/2011

These environmental events are causing the brian to become inflamed. This breaks down the connectivity of the brain among other things. An inflamed brain can be caused by many factors chemical and traumatic like you describe. I oversimplified this statement and hope you will read Blaylock's article for the in-depth description.

*

Immunoexcitotoxicity

R.L. Blaylock/Medical Veritas 5 (2008) 1742–1747 Vaccines, depression, and neurodegeneration after age 50 years:
another reason to avoid the recommended vaccines Russell L. Blaylock, MD, CCN
Website: www.russellblaylockmd.com

http://web.mac.com/rblaylock/Russell_Blaylock_M.D./Published_Papers_files/vaccines%20and%20depression%20after%20age%2050.pdf

[cable1977]

05:43 PM on 04/05/2011

I hope you aren't attempting to imply that Medical Veritas is a peer-reviewed journal on par with something like Pediatrics, Nature, or Science. It is not listed in PubMed and is known as being a fringe journal filled with conspiracy theories and bad science. A brief perusal of it's contents shows a predilection towards anti-vaccine articles with many authors being vociferous members of the anti-vaccine movement with no scientific credentials whatsoever (i.e. Sandy Gottstein, John Stone).

[Josephius]

06:39 PM on 04/05/2011

That is hilarious! Medical Veritas? Seriously?

[Indalo]

12:15 AM on 04/04/2011

Great that there is a World Day for this. We need to raise awareness everyday on mental illness in hope that we can remove the stigma associated with all afflictions. Please see the National Alliance of Mental Illness website for more info. http://www.nami.org/

[bkerensa]

11:57 PM on 04/03/2011

People with Autism Spectrum Disorders need help and sharing this article with friends will help advocate for Autistic people!

[merlinspinoza]

08:26 PM on 04/03/2011

whatever else is done or not done add Transcendental meditation to it

ADHD students in school e.g. Chelsea school in washnington, at age 10 were able to learn TM in a study with ADHD kids

some doctors at doctorsonTM.org probably know that autistic kids can learn TM

just in case pollution [ toxic heavy metals ? ] are part of the cause people with money can have panchkarma treatment done at maharishi ayur veda clinic/spas

some aspects of maharishi ayur veda and TM is accepted as category 1 CME credits for MDs

[Gildersleeve]

05:00 PM on 04/03/2011

the Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates read it and live it please anyone who know someone with autism! love Gildersleeve

[tcz74]

12:58 PM on 04/03/2011

remember the health consequences from smoking? we totally licked that; this is much simpler so i suspect we will really knock this one out of the park as well.