Unlocking Autism's stance . . .

[Guest guest]

Apologies if this has already been posted to EOH list . . . this was forwarded to me just now:

Unlocking Autism is committed to supporting the Combating Autism Act. We were supportive of it in it's original format. We are even more enthusiastically supportive of the "renovations."And this is why.....We are asking the United States Government to take $1 BILLION out of the budget of the United States and direct it specifically toward children and adults affected by autism. $1 BILLION!!!We can certainly understand the apprehension on the part of anyone who feels that the government has frittered away funding in the past, focused on ineffective research or spent countless hours and money counting our kids only to be able to say, "Jeez...there are a lot of these kids with autism out there, aren't there?" However, those stepping stones are the very foundation that have put our community in the position that it is in today to even be able to ASK them to do something else. They did all that, now it is time for them to do more, especially since they have gotten so good at counting and realize how many more kids have blossomed in the meantime.Everyone needs to sit back and think about is that we are asking for $1 BILLION. For those with concerns about how the money will be spent on the specific things you think it should be spent on...i.e. mercury research, which is giving you pause, consider this: If we even get .5% (just one-half of one percent) of $1 BILLION going towards mercury research, or to research the role that vaccines potentially play in the development of autism, that is $5 Million. How much do we have being spent on vaccine research now - components or otherwise? How hard are we working to raise money out the in the community to fund this research? We are selling brownies at conferences and holding car washes. How many brownies do we have to sell at 50 cents each or cars must we wash for $5 to equal $5 Million? For those who aren’t great at math, (like me, I had to actually figure this out on my calculator) that is 10 million brownies and 1 million cars.ly, Congress is going to be spending that $1 Billion on something. They apparently have it available even in this economy and with our country at war. So, rather than spend it on $700 hammers for the Department of Defense, $2500 on a screwdriver for the Space Shuttle, subsidize gas prices or God forbid even give it to Mayor Ray Nagin down here to rebuild the little Banana Republic that I live in and "repair" our levees, UA wants it spent on these kids. SOMETHING good will come out of spending $1 BILLION on kids with autism. Unlocking Autism will always continue to advance the front for vaccine research and to increase the safety of existing and future vaccines. We have been in that fight for over 9 years now and will continue to fight for it long after CAA passes. Supporting this bill does not make UA turncoats on that issue. Supporting this bill leaves us in the game to live to fight another day to work with the agencies that will direct the use of those funds.At some point though, our community does have to have faith to get the ball rolling. This is an incredible ask of Congress. Once we ask it, should it be granted, we don't all get to run off to the Cayman's to sip on drinks with umbrellas...we have to keep pushing. We have to stay on them to see that the "outline" in this bill is carried through by the agencies that receive the money. When our community focuses on this bill and passes a practically unprecedented and historic piece of disease specific legislation, our political clout with regard to other issues will increase exponentially. If the autism community doesn't want want that, I am sure the Alzheimer's, Leukemia, Breast Cancer, Colon Cancer, Lupus, Diabetes, Celiacs, "You Name The Ailment" group, would like to take their crack at $1 BILLION.Everyone needs to step back and look at the whole picture and the future over the next 5-10 years.We have over 1.5 million kids and adults with autism now, today. Mercury research is important. There is enough evidence to show that something is very wrong. But it isn't the magic bullet that is going to solve the autism epidemic. Mercury just happens to be the lowest hanging fruit because it KILLS everything it comes in contact with. It is stupid to give it to children. But then again, so is antifreeze, it kills cats and they put that in vaccines, too. OR Formaldehyde, they embalm dead people with that, why in the WORLD would they think that was good for kids? OR Lead, why are they still putting that in vaccines when anyone on God's green earth knows it is so bad we needed to take it out of pencils, paint and gasoline....but we don't seem to be fussing about that. It just as stupid for us to believe that solving that one piece of the puzzle will clear up the whole disorder. It won't. Even without mercury in vaccines, children are still going to develop autism. These kids have way more going on with them...and as noble as it is for us to strive to prevent this from happening to other children and other families, we have to consider the children and adults that are currently affected. We cannot let them go down with the ship as we fight for the children in the future.My son, Liam hasn't received one vaccine since he was 22 months old. He will never get one again if I have anything to do with it, whether or not it contains mercury. He is 10 now. Eight years post diagnosis and he is still has autism...better, but has autism all the same. He will most likely have some degree of autism his whole life. While my hopes are the same as any parent that he will one day be able to manage his symptoms and be on his own, go to college, get married and be able to be successfully self-sufficient, it is my duty as his mother to work to make his world the best that it can be.We also need to remember, as a community, that politics and law are two very separate circles in a Venn diagram that intersect. In fact the moment at which they intersect is actually seconds when the bill is sitting on the desk of the Executive Branch for as long as it takes Bush to sign his name. That is it. Anything can happen with this bill between now and then for better or for worse.If we can't come to an agreement on the mercury issue here in this bill as it pertains to children with autism, it seems to me that anyone interested in working on that issue could draft a bill separate from a specific tie in with the autism community (make it more generic to include a wider population), get a couple of sponsors and work to get that bill to secure funding separately. Mercury isn't good for kids with a predisposition to develop autism, but it isn't good for any kid. So with that broader base, maybe if we can't secure that language here, in this bill, it can be secured in another bill, that would focus specifically on how mercury, ingested through fish consumption or injected into little thighs, affects the development of children. But that doesn't mean, if we miss that language on this bill that we should pick up our ball on the CAA and go home OR more importantly, impede the progress on this battle front. The concern that continues to be expressed that we won't be able to go back and ask for more money as an autism community if they give us $1 Billilon now, won't really matter because we will be asking for it for research on how mercury affects children's development, not autism necessarily.With all that said, barring any ridiculous amendments to this bill as it stands that would do something that would obviously cause us to withdraw our support, i.e. making Goat Worship the national religion, requiring mandatory vaccinations for all children regardless of their philosophical, religious beliefs or medical issues, exempt Pharma from liability for the havoc that I believe down to the very last cell on my pinky toe they have wreaked on these children, Unlocking Autism will not only support, but will actively encourage the support of this legislation.To walk away from securing $1 Billion from the US Congress for my kid is the craziest thing I can think of. To walk away from the clout that passing this bill will establish for our community is the second craziest thing I can think of. To walk away from future bills that Members of Congress will support because they now see us as a unified community that they can work with is the third craziest thing that I can think of. UA will remain committed because when this bill does pass, not if...when, we want to stay in the game to be able to go to the table when it is time and "oversee" the way this money gets spent. Once it passes, we will continue to fight to make sure the NIH and other agencies are spending those dollars in the spirit in which it was intended. We will hold those agencies accountable for their actions. ReynoldsUA