A vocal few blame autism on vaccine-Kathleen Seidel

[Guest guest]

http://tinyurl.com/klno8 A vocal few blame autism on vaccine, KATHLEEN SEIDEL, borough - Letter February 20. 2006 8:00AM With her recent articles about autism, Chelsea Conaboy joins a multitude of reporters who have conveyed viewpoints of parents courting the media without acknowledging that families

respond uniquely to disability. Those attributing their children's autism to vaccine injury are a vocal minority. The Nadeaus' anger is regrettable. Expanded diagnostic criteria and awareness of autism have swelled the number of families with newly diagnosed children. Trial lawyers and campaigners cultivate parents' desire for retaliation and downplay non-actionable theories of autism causation. Chelation-provoked testing yields artificially elevated mercury levels, needlessly encouraging parents to suspect reckless damage. History abounds with mavericks willing to offer novel treatments justified by testimonials but with minimal peer-reviewed research or clinical trials conducted with informed consent. Parents employing such treatments, especially those who proselytize other parents, commonly attribute to them their children's every developmental gain. Mrs. Nadeau suggests that "regulating testosterone levels"might "help" autistic

children. This involves administering Lupron, a potent hormonal suppressant. The "researchers" promoting this hypothesis, Mark and Geier, have made a career out of persuading parents to file lawsuits alleging vaccine injury. Dr. Mark Geier's "expertise"has been rejected by numerous judges; one characterized his testimony as "intellectually dishonest."Disturbingly, newsgroup posts (onibasu.com) reveal that Mrs. Nadeau advised one mother to disregard a doctor's conclusion that her son's testosterone levels were normal and encouraged that mother to contact the Geiers, who offer telephone consultations to New Hampshire clients. How valid is the "encyclopedic knowledge" upon which Nadeau bases her dismissal of a physician's judgment in endocrinological matters? Where's the Institutional Review Board overseeing experimental studies of the use of Lupron on autistic children? Are parents' eagerness to "help"

their children and willingness to test a litigation team's ideas sufficient rationale for manipulating hormones in those not experiencing precocious puberty? KATHLEEN SEIDEL borough

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