my latest research paper addressing autism

[Guest guest]

Here's my research paper I just turned in about health care

mishandling autism for critical thinking class. Please, please if you

find a mistake don't tell me! I won't get my grade til Saturday, I'm

already afraid he'll butcher it to pieces!

Debi

Autism. Each day we read and hear more about this mysterious condition

affecting a new child every twenty minutes (Autism, 2008). What most

people don’t know is that more children in 2008 will be diagnosed with

autism spectrum disorder than pediatric AIDS, juvenile diabetes, or

pediatric cancer combined (Autism, 2008). But unlike AIDS, diabetes,

or cancer, health care for those with autism remains virtually

impossible to find. Autism remains an untreated health problem because

of mishandling from the health care community.

Autism has been historically diagnosed as a mental health disorder.

From the 1940’s to the late 1970’s autism was believed to be the

result of bad parenting, called “refrigerator mother syndrome†(Rudy,

2006). From this idea of a behavioral disorder, psychologists and

psychiatrists used the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders,†or DSM-IV to render an autism diagnosis. The DSM-IV lists

at least two behaviors each impacting social, stereotypical, and

language as criteria for autism.

In the 1970’s emerging proof of autism as a biological condition

ended this cold parenting idea but the treatment of autism as

behavioral has continued to this day. Health care leaders such as the

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are still approving of this

classification for autism (CDC, 2007). But if one looks deeper it

becomes apparent that significant, multiple health issues contribute

to this disorder.

Autism has multiple medical associations. Gastrointestinal dysfunction

is perhaps one of the most frequent problems plaguing those with

autism, including ileo-colonic lymphoid nodular hyperplasia

(Wakefield, 2005), entercolitis (Krigsman, 2007), chronic measles

infection (Wakefield, 2002), and other conditions (Krigsman, 2007).

Over 61% of those with autism tested have multiple signs of oxidative

stress (, 2007) as well as around 55% with autism having

increased MTHFR mutations compared with 35% of controls (Boris et al,

2004). Newer research continues to show immunological issues of

autism in the body and the brain (Pessah et al, 2008). Increasing

evidence shows neuroglial activation, suggesting an active

neuroinflammatory state in the brain that impacts the cerebral cortex,

white matter, and cerebellum (Vargas et al, 2005). There are multiple

other physical issues associated with autism, but the point is clear:

autism is largely a medical condition.

Vaccines also remain a big issue in autism. Some parents have insisted

for decades that their children were typical until getting vaccines,

when they seemingly drifted away. The 2008 Hannah Poling case of

vaccines having caused her autism was conceded by the United States

Department of Health and Human Services and as a result granted

financial compensation to the family; it created an entirely new round

of vaccine-autism flurry (Young, 2008). In Hannah’s case the argument

was vaccines caused “features of autism spectrum disorder†because of

an underlying mitochondrial disorder. There is no difference between

behaviors of autism and autism itself (Young, 2008). The vast

majority of children born never receive any type of mitochondrial

testing prior to their twenty-four hour-old vaccine, their two

month-old vaccines, or any other vaccines. For these reasons, there is

no data to support or deny just how many people with autism have

similar situations as Hannah.

A recent admission from former National Institutes of Health Director

Dr. Bernadine Healy revealed autism-vaccine study researchers were

directed to not find susceptible groups (Attkisson, 2008). Indeed,

there is still a significant question of vaccines and autism. Dr.

Healy was clear in her interview that vaccines have not been cleared

from a link or cause to autism, and that government officials

deliberately skewed study data in a 2004 report because the government

feared damage to the vaccine program (Attkisson, 2008).

The issue of vaccines and autism often begins at the pediatrician’s

office. Vaccines are frequently administered by the pediatrician, who

is also the first line of health care for a child who may develop or

already have autism. Far too many times pediatricians have nothing to

give for autism treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

has instructed its members to look for brain abnormalities (by a

neurologist), test for lead poisoning, test for seizures (by a

neurologist), and to test for a handful of genetic conditions (by a

geneticist) (American, 2001). Beyond that there is nothing. No

checking for gastrointestinal problems, no blood work for aberrant

amino acids or oxidative stress, no immunological panels or hormonal

testing, no organic acids testing for possible mitochondrial

disorders. Nothing.

Some argue that while a handful of unusually sick kids with autism may

have issues, the vast majority of those with autism are otherwise

healthy. Some argue there is no data showing an overwhelming health

crisis in autism. Because of the good health, autism cannot be a

medical condition and that it is the behaviors that are the issue of

one with autism. If there is nothing to treat, there is nothing to treat.

This argument is bad on several fronts. It is somewhat circular to

argue there is no crisis because of any data and no data, therefore no

crisis. It is unknown how many of those with autism do and do not

receive proper testing. The only reliable data available shows

significant health problems in those with autism. Because the data

shows health problems and because the AAP does not support medical

testing, there is no treatment of autism-associated medical conditions.

Attend any large-scale autism conference or local autism support group

meeting and one is likely to find parents perservating on the topic of

health treatments for their child with autism. In the seven years

since my own child’s autism diagnosis I have yet to attend a single

autism meeting where health treatments do not emerge as the

predominant topic. It is clear in the autism community that there are

a significant number of children with autism who are not getting the

health care they need from the health care community.

Others argue that there is a large body of scientific evidence that

has disproven the vaccine-autism connection, so vaccines are not an

issue. Some argue that even if vaccines did cause autism the autism

rates are around 1 in 150 and that far more children would have autism

if vaccines truly caused it. There are studies promoted every few

months in the news as finally disproving the vaccine-autism link.

Therefore there is no vaccine-provoked autism.

However, the large body of scientific evidence is only part of the

vaccine-autism picture. Some of this mantra of constant disproving the

connection is promoted by the news media. Most of those studies have

had questionable data collection, manipulation of statistical

findings, and even the wrong data sets (Kirby, 2005). It is impossible

for studies that violate basic scientific methodology to

prove/disprove vaccines as having a role in autism. There is a

significant body of evidence showing vaccine-induced symptoms of

autism, as well as some data showing a lower rate of autism in

non-immunized children. (Olmsted, 2007; Blaxill, 2008). As Dr. Healy

suggested, science should not refuse to look clearly at the issue

because we are afraid of what we may find (Attkisson, 2008).

Another argument against a medical diagnosis and treatment model for

autism is that there isn’t an autism lab test. Because you cannot take

a child who has the behaviors of autism into a laboratory and

diagnosis autism blindly from a positive or negative specimen, a

behavioral model from behavioral sciences is the best way to define

those with autism and that it will actually help speed up the

behavioral therapies that have been found to benefit. In recent

decades the focus of an autism treatment model remains speech/language

therapy for communication deficits, occupational/physical therapy for

motor issues, and applied behavioral analysis for learning (ABA)

(Autism, 2008).

Behavioral interventions definitely have a place in autism treatment.

But because behavioral interventions are helpful, it does not dismiss

the profound suffering from untreated medical conditions or the need

for medical treatment. The common cold, autoimmune conditions, and

multiple other disease states do not have 100% laboratory diagnoses

either, but it does not prevent the clinician from medically treating

the patient with the best possible resources. Treating the physiology

and rehabilitation, as is done with many conditions, provides the best

possible outcomes.

A growing field of autism using a medical model has emerged. This

method of treating autism medically is called Defeat Autism Now!

(DAN!) and there are new DAN! clinicians popping up across the

country. DAN! uses scientific understanding and research to provide

the safest, most cutting edge treatment protocols for the patient with

autism (Pangborn, 2005). The DAN! protocols suggest multiple

laboratory tests early on to define any underlying metabolic disorders

or other problems such as autoinflammatory or nutritional deficits.

The laboratory findings are then used to develop a child-specific

program of healing that may include special diets, vitamin/mineral

supplementation, as well as medications to manage gastrointestinal

issues, inflammatory states, and neurotransmitter/hormonal imbalances.

It is bias and prejudice that the health care community refuses to

acknowledge in treating autism. It is time for health care providers

to stop putting up glass walls when they see or hear the autism label

and begin looking beyond outdated diagnostic methods to begin helping

these children. Until they do, the health care community will continue

to allow a generation of unnecessary suffering within the autism

population.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. The Pediatrician’s Role in the

Diagnosis and Management of Autistic Spectrum Disorder in Children.

Policy Statement. Pediatrics. 107(5), 1221-1226.

Attkisson Sharyl. Leading Dr.: Vaccines-Autism Worth Study. CBS News.

Retrieved August 25, 2008,

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/12/cbsnews_investigates/main4086809.shtml\

..

Autism Speaks. “Facts about Autism.†Retrieved August 14, 2008.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/facts.php

Autism Speaks. “Treatments for Autism.†Retrieved September 1, 2008,

http://www.autismspeaks.org/whattodo/index.php?WT.svl=Top_Nav

Blaxill Mark. Olmsted. The Amish and Autism. Age of Autism. May 14,

2008. Retrieved September 2, 2008,

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/05/olsted-the-amis.html.

Boris Marvin, Goldblatt Allan, Galanko ph, Jill. Association

of MTHFR Gene Variants with Autism. Journal of American Physicians and

Surgeons, 9(4):106-108.

Centers for Disease Control. Autism Information Center. July 3, 2007,

Retrieved September 1, 2008,

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/overview_diagnostic_criteria.htm.

, Jill. Oxidative Stress and the Metabolic Pathology of Autism.

National Autism Association Conference 2007 Presentation.

Kirby . Evidence of Harm. St. ’s Press. 2005.

Olmsted Dan. The Age of Autism: Study sees vaccine risk. 2007.

Retrieved September 3, 2008,

http://www.generationrescue.org/olmstead.html.

Pangborn Jon, Baker Sidney, Rimland, Bernard. Autism: Effective

Biomedical Treatments. Autism Research Institute. 2nd Edition,

September 2005.

Pessah IN, Seegal RF, Lein PJ, LaSalle J, Yee BK, Van De Water J,

Berman RF. Immunologic and neurodevelopmental susceptibilities of

autism. Neurotoxicology, 2008,

May;29(3):532-45.

Rudy, Jo. Refrigerator Mothers. About.com 2006. Retrieved

September 1, 2008,

http://autism.about.com/od/causesofautism/p/refrigerator.htm

Uhlmann V, CM, Sheils O, Pilkington L, Silva I, Killalea A,

Murch SB, Young Alison. Georgia girl helps link autism to childhood

vaccines. Atlanta-Journal Constitution. March 6, 2008.

Vargas DL, Nascimbene C, Krishnan C, Zimmerman AW, Pardo CA.

Neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation in the brain of patients

with autism. ls of Neurology. 2005 Feb; 57(2):304.

- J, Thomson M, Wakefield AJ, O'Leary JJ. Potential viral

pathogenic mechanism for new variant inflammatory bowel disease.

Molecular Pathology. 2002 Apr;55(2):84-90. Retrieved August 25, 2008,

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11950955?ordinalpos=14 & itool=EntrezSystem2.PE\

ntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum.

Wakefield AJ, Ashwood P, Limb K, A. The significance of

ileo-colonic lymphoid nodular hyperplasia in children with autistic

spectrum disorder. European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

2005: 17. Retrieved August 25, 2008,

http://www.thoughtfulhouse.org/pub_06.htm.

..