Over the last decade, autism has gone from a rare and misunderstood condition to a disorder that may affect as many as 1.5 million Americans. Without a clear explanation in sight, parents and doctors have worked tirelessly to pinpoint the cause of autism, but the answer remains elusive. Are vaccines the missing link?
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'Stunning Increase' In What?
- From Kev Leitch
By Kevin Leitch - Parent and Autism Activist
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There are still studies ongoing
The recent study on MMR and autism in children who regressed and have GI symptoms show that this is not entirely closed. There is at least one more study on thimerosal and autism which is due out this month (Sept. 08). As more data comes in, the hypotheses mutate. Now it's "too many, too soon" (without any substantiation). When can this be called finished?
Seriously. If the autism communities do not accept good science, we are only hurting ourselves.
- Sullivan September 5, 2008 5:45PM
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Maybe you are not old enough
When I grew up we had never heard of autism. I was twenty eight when I first saw an autistic child on a news program . My son is twenty one. There had not been any autistic children in his elementary school when his sister enrolled four years before. Suddenly there were two and another just down the street who did not attend the elementary school. We sent my son to the Day Treatment Center here in Denver, Colorado, enrolling him when there was room, just before the calls came in that overwhelmed it.
The woman who ran the program knew autism. The people who came to see about getting their children enrolled in the program had autistic children. She watched the bow wave come in and overwhelm the system. Back then the CDC said that there is no epidemic. She knew better and said so.
There is an epidemic. The peer review system is run by medical people who rightly are pro-vax. I do not expect them to say that there is a stunning increase in autism because that would say that there is an epidemic. An epidemic by definition involves environmental causes. The pro-vaxers do not have any environmental causes to propose. I do not wonder that they say that there is no epidemic to deflect such unwanted attention from vaccines.
Your mantra "Show me the peer reviewed study" does not work when that system is run by medical personnel who are rightly pro-vax.
In the fourth grade, my son lost the ability to hold a pencil right after vaccination with the Hep-B shot. This raises my eyebrows, even my hackles, but I am still rational. I know that the timing does not prove that his loss was caused by the shot.
I expect that there will never be a "peer reviewed" study on this. But I was there. I watched the bow wave start coming in before any thought was given to a change in diagnostics. There is an epidemic.
- EdR77203
September 15, 2008 6:47PM
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There's ghosts because your eyes can't see them...
There were autistic people back in the fifties', but Ed wouldn't hear about them cuz the severely disabled was stuck in institutions and the ones who would today get diagnoses like Asperger syndrome would mainly be considered weird, maybe with a lack of responsibility or something.
You appear to focus on children, not all know what to look for in children if autism is their concern - and I bet you didn't aswell back in the days.
- Ivar T
November 5, 2008 4:12AM
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Do you have an autistic child?
Cause if you do then you know that you have to find out what is going on. That is just as true in the fifties as it is now.
When the studies were done that showed the autism rate climbing when mercury was taken out, it left the unanswered question "Why is it still climbing?" The speculation that it is a change in diagnostics hit the air and the pro-vax side ran away with it, doing so without any experiments to support it.
But that would be junk science wouldn't it.
- EdR77203
November 14, 2008 9:25PM
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I've been an autistic kid
... and my parents have certainly taken the way I am for granted.
There has been studies supporting it. It has been revealed that people who had been picked up for having e.g. speech difficulties a few decades ago are often fit for an autism spectrum diagnosis today, but they wouldn't get any because few ever knew of autism back then.
- Ivar T
November 15, 2008 2:37AM
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Re" I've been an autistic kid.
Your speech would indicate that you fit into the asperger's spectrum. The ones who fit into the "classically autistic" spectrum would not and could not be ignored. The number of these cases have risen and the "change in diagnostics" does not explain the rise.
- EdR77203
November 15, 2008 8:17AM
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whatever title
Something tells me that you've your own lil set of definitions of what is what when you say Asperger's 'spectrum', instead of the more common name, syndrome.
My bad grammar should first and foremost indicate that I English is not my native language. Asperger syndrome is indeed the diagnosis I've been given, but my behavior was "more severe" when I was younger as with many others diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Many who get a diagnosis of Kanner's autism as a kid are more fit for Asperger syndrome when they grow older.
You appear to imply that you have yourself a kid on the spectrum. In what age group is xe? As you already have put some kind of Ad Hominem attack in my direction I would like to point out that, at least in my experience, parents of older children have a lot more perspective. While parents of younger ones often tend to be emotional with irrational reasoning, not fully accepting of how their child turned out.
- Ivar T
November 15, 2008 9:58AM
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My son's progress
Your English is very good.
My son is 21 and he was diagnosed as classicly autistic. He is doing much better than I would ever have expected overcoming aphasia (inability to talk), hypersensitivity to sound, repetitive behaviors, eye contact issues, skill losses and other issues. Today he is a sophomore studying engineering. I would never have predicted this outcome for him.
BTW, the reason I am uncommitted is because the statistical test to determine if there is a relationship between vaccines and autism is to compare the autism rate among the vaccinated population to the vaccination rate among the unvaccinated population. This experiment has never been done.
- EdR77203
November 15, 2008 10:27AM
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