American Academy of Pediatrics

[Guest guest]

-- this one's for you.... (smile)

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From the American Academy of Pediatrics:

As part of our ongoing response to media stories regarding autism and

vaccines, the AAP communications department is compiling a list of parents who

support the AAP and are available for interviews. We are looking for two types

of parents who could serve as spokespersons:

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders who support immunization and

who do not believe there is any link between their child's vaccines and his or

her autism.

Parents of children who suffered a vaccine-preventable illness. This could be a

parent who declined immunization, whose child became ill before a vaccine was

available, or whose child was ineligible for immunization.

We are asking for your help identifying parents who would be good spokespersons.

They do not need to be expert public speakers. They just need to be open with

their story and interested in speaking out on the issue. We will contact

candidates in advance to conduct pre-nterviews, to offer guidance on talking to

reporters and to obtain a signed waiver giving us permission to release their

name.

If a parent were placed on our list, we would offer their name and contact

information to select media. We hope to build a list of parents from a wide

range of geographical areas.

As the McCarthy and " Eli Stone " stories illustrate, this issue is likely

to recur in the national and local media. The AAP is committed to doing all we

can to counter such erroneous reports with factual information supported by

scientific evidence and AAP

recommendations.

The anti-vaccine groups often have emotional family stories on their side. The

ability to offer a reporter an interview with a similarly compelling parent who

is sympathetic to the AAP's goals is a powerful tool for our media relations

program.

Please contact me if you have any questions or to suggest a parent to interview.

Thank you,

s

Director, Division of Media Relations

American Academy of Pediatrics

M. Guppy

My autism journey isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning

to dance in the rain.... Texas Autism Advocacy: www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

" There are some aspects of a person's life that we have no right to

compromise. We cannot negotiate the size of an institution. No one should live

in one. We cannot debate who should get an inclusive education. Everyone

should. We cannot determine who does and who does not get the right to make

their own choices and forge their own futures. All must. "