SchaferAutismReport: Drink and Drive for Autism? Colorado Bill Would Help Autistic Kids* Can Strep Throat Cause Behavior Disorder?

[Guest guest]

-SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT " Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

________________________________________________________________

Wednesday, December 31, 2003 Vol. 7 No. 258

ADVOCACY

* Drink and Drive for Autism? Colorado Bill Would Help Autistic Kids

RESEARCH

* Can Strep Throat Cause Behavior Disorder?

TREATMENT

* New Therapy Surfaces In The Treatment Of Autism, Brain Injuries

* Hi-Tech Music Based Learning Applications Developed for Very Young

CARE

* A Special Garden Grows in Arizona

* Wisconsin Expands Special Needs Services

EDUCATION

* Charter Elem School for Autistic Up for Vote: 2 PA School Dists

PUBLIC HEALTH

* Scientists, Consumer Grps Debate Individual Disasters, General Good

LETTERS

* On " The Politics of Autism. Lawsuits and emotion vs. science and

childhood vaccines, " WSJ December 29, 2003

* Sensory Integration, GFCF Diets and Secretin Junk

* Time For The Truth

ADVOCACY

Drink and Drive for Autism? Colorado Bill Would Help Autistic Kids

Proposal would tack surcharge on fines for drunken driving

[by J. Sanko, Rocky Mountain News.]

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_2539400

,00.html

Motorists caught driving drunk in Colorado could help fund programs

for hundreds of autistic children.

Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, said Monday he intends to introduce

legislation to impose a $20 surcharge on fines levied against drivers

convicted of driving while drunk or impaired.

That's on top of an existing $20 surcharge for the Brain Injury Trust

Fund.

Gordon estimates that a new surcharge would raise about $1.5 million

in the first year. With matching federal Medicaid money, it could fund early

treatment for autistic children, he said.

Autism is a neurological disorder that occurs in as many as six of

every 1,000 children, although it's four times more prevalent in boys than

girls, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and its JFK Center

for Developmental Disabilities estimate there are 700 children born every

year in Colorado who will be diagnosed with autism by two.

Autistic children often have difficulty in verbal communication,

social interaction and play activities, according to the Autism Society of

America.

Early treatment can save millions by slashing the cost of special

education for the children in schools and helping many lead productive adult

lives, Gordon said.

But because of the cost, which ranges between $20,000 and $60,000 a

year per child, many receive little or no treatment.

“It just makes sense,” said Betty Lehman, executive director of the

Autism Society of Colorado. “This kind of early treatment cuts lifetime

costs of care by over two-thirds. And for every $1 in early intervention, it

saves $6 in special education costs.

“Some legislators scream, 'Oh, no, our budget is being consumed by

Medicaid,' but when you look at these figures, it's really one of the best

ways to spend our money.”

Recent economic cutbacks have been tough on families with autistic

children. The Rocky Mountain Autism Center in Denver was forced to close in

August.

A bill in the 2000 session that would have started a small pilot

Medicaid program for 25 autistic children was vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens

because of its potential cost.

Gordon, Lehman and others have been working to win the

administration's support for the legislation, which will be introduced when

the 2004 session starts next month.

“The governor certainly will be interested in seeing what this

proposal is,” said Owens' spokesman, Dan Hopkins.

Despite the governor's veto of the bill in 2000, Hopkins noted that

Owens has supported increased funding for all developmentally disabled,

including those with autism.

Colorado expects to spend about $283 million in the current fiscal

year to serve more than 7,000 children with developmental disabilities,

including some with autism.

“The governor has clearly been concerned about developmentally

disabled and has steadily increased funding to help them,” Hopkins said.

“We'll look closely at what they're proposing.”

Lehman said an estimated 520 children would be eligible for the

proposed Medicaid waiver program in any given year. Some 130 are eligible

for Medicaid because of poverty and disability.

The money raised under the new program would help an estimated 120 to

150 youngsters a year get therapy, with a $25,000 annual cap. The age limit

would be 8.

Children would be eligible for benefits for three years, with a

possible one-year extension.

“The general public has not realized that autism is treatable,” said

Lehman, who has a 15-year-old with autism.

“Can you imagine the impact on a family to know their child has a

condition that's treatable and they can't afford it? “This program is not

like signing up for life. The child gets the benefit of intensive

intervention at an early age and then it's over. Then a child is able to

learn in school. And then school can be so much more effective.”

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* * *

RESEARCH

Can Strep Throat Cause Behavior Disorder?

Some say more research needed, but others say problem is rare but real.

[by Ann Roser for the American-Statesman.]

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/tuesday/met

ro_state_f31f32b13469127b00c1.html

A child gets strep throat and soon after -- overnight, in some

cases -- is consumed with hand washing, checking light switches or some

other repetitive behavior.

Panicked parents who witness this bizarre marriage of events are left

to wonder: Did the strep infection cause their once-healthy child to

suddenly develop a life-changing disorder? It's the subject of intense

medical research and makes some parents shudder as sore-throat season bears

down.

Dr. Kaplan, a pediatrician at the University of Minnesota

Medical School in Minneapolis and a streptococcal infection expert, thinks

that more study is needed to determine a link between strep and

obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“Nobody is saying no,” said Kaplan, who is involved in a national

research study on the rare disorder. “What thoughtful people are trying to

say is, 'We need data.' “

Others in the medical community say the evidence they've seen --

including in their own patients -- confirms the link.

“There's no doubt in my mind,” said Bruce Mansbridge, director of the

Austin Center for the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. “Sore

throats need to be taken more seriously than they are.”

Austin pediatric psychiatrist Streusand said that he hasn't

seen children with strep-induced obsessive-compulsive disorder in his

practice but that he doesn't doubt the connection. Some of those patients

could be predisposed genetically to obsessive-compulsive disorder, he

suggested.

“We just don't know what to make of it yet,” Streusand said. “I would

predict we're going to know a lot more down the road about it.”

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, by itself, is a puzzle.

Those who have it are obsessed with thoughts or worries that are

exaggerated or senseless. Some worry about contamination; others have

nagging doubts about whether doors were locked or appliances shut off. Some

fear they'll harm others. The worries lead to compulsions, or repetitive

checking, rituals and other behaviors that the person feels powerless to

stop, even when he believes the worries are irrational, Mansbridge said.

National experts estimate that 1 percent to 3 percent of the

population has obsessive-compulsive disorder. No one knows what causes it,

but strep was singled out more than a decade ago by Swedo and her

associates at the National Institute of Mental Health. The disorder was

named PANDAS, or Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated

with Streptococcus.

No one knows how many children with strep infections will develop the

strep-related disorder, Mansbridge said: “That's the $64 question.”

The National Institutes of Health says that although strep is common,

PANDAS is rare.

It is characterized by a sudden onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder

after a strep infection. The child gradually improves, and the behavior

disorder fades. But with another infection, the compulsive symptoms come

back.

“Sometimes, the obsessive-compulsive symptoms occur several months

after the initial infection,” Mansbridge said, which makes the disorder all

the more puzzling.

Researchers think the strep infection triggers the behavioral disorder

when antibodies the body makes to attack the strep get confused. The

confusion occurs because part of strep cells look like human tissue. The

antibodies attack these look-alike cells deep within the brain, mistaking

them for foreign strep germs and causing the disorder to emerge.

Mansbridge said that regardless of the cause of the compulsive

behavior, his treatment is the same. He uses cognitive behavior therapy.

Sometimes, medication also is required.

“With children, there's a bit more reluctance to prescribe drugs,”

Mansbridge said.

He urged parents to seek quick treatment for strep throat and isolate

the child from other youngsters for 24 hours after starting the antibiotics.

Kaplan said the parents he sees are beside themselves.

“It's not uncommon for parents to show up with a pile of papers off

the Internet,” he said, adding that some people have associated strep

infections with autism, attention deficit disorder and eating disorders. “My

approach is to sit down with the parents and explain to them in 45 minutes

to an hour . . . what we know, what we don't know and what the questions

are.”

In some severe cases, children with the disorder have been treated

with a plasma exchange to remove strep antibodies from the blood. Another

treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin, which neutralizes the antibodies,

Mansbridge said.

As the debate over the disorder ensues, doctors recommend treating all

strep infections with antibiotics and completing the prescribed course. Most

of the time, Mansbridge said, strep throat is no huge deal. Once in a while,

it is.

* * *

TREATMENT

New Therapy Surfaces In The Treatment Of Autism, Brain Injuries

'Unlimited Potential' program offers hope

[The treatment described below is chiropractic in nature. There is no

mention whether the described regimen has been tested for efficacy and

safety. This news clipping is presented for our readers’ information only

and is not a suggestion for treatment. By Barbara Rolek for Times Online of

North West Indiana.]

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/12/30/news/top_news/7fc52c35f293

5e2a86256e0c00119cbe.txt

Harvey is a little preoccupied and logical to the point of

irritation.

A typical gifted child.

In truth, the 10-year-old Munster boy has Asperger's disorder. Many

cases of this syndrome go undiagnosed because it is assumed that a child

with a high IQ is bound to act differently.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Asperger's is one

of five disorders that fit under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental

Disorders (PDDs). Others include autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative

disorder and Rett's disorder.

While the association classifies Asperger's as a separate disorder

from autism, many professionals still consider it to be a less severe form

of autism.

“People with PDDs have an imbalance in the brain; they missed a step

in their development and some connections are incomplete. Through

examination, we determine which side of the brain is damaged and begin to

build connections between the neurons,” said Dr. Dalynn Brummett, a

board-certified chiropractic neurologist who practices in Highland and

Valparaiso.

Brummett has introduced a new therapy to Northwest Indiana, called the

Unlimited Potentials Program, for people of all ages and a spectrum of

diseases, including PDDs, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stroke,

Tourette's, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, behavioral disorders

and brain trauma.

“Unlimited Potentials is a drugless therapy that creates permanent

change in the brain,” Brummett said.

Therapy usually consists of two to three one-hour sessions that

include chiropractic adjustments, light, sound and aroma stimuli, use of the

Interactive Metronome -- a computer-based tool that addresses attention,

learning and cognitive problems -- and musculoskeletal, balance and aerobic

exercises.

Harvey is one of her patients.

At an early age, Harvey noticed he lacked reciprocal

conversation. When he was stressed, he would spin, walk on tiptoes, tap,

sing or hum. He was eccentric and spoke like a robot.

“The other kids got annoyed and thought he was just weird,” she said.

Harvey knew it was something else. Because her 15-year-old son also

has Asperger's, she knew the signs. Her 17-year-old daughter does not have a

PDD.

has been on Brummett's program for the last two months and Harvey

said she sees a noticeable difference. also is seeing a change.

“Kids at school like me more. I'm better at volleyball and basketball,

I'm sleeping better and I'm behaving better at home now,” said , who is

a fifth-grader at Eads Elementary School in Munster.

+ Article continues:

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/12/30/news/top_news/7fc52c35f293

5e2a86256e0c00119cbe.txt <- - address ends here.

* * *

Hi-Tech Music Based Learning Applications to be Developed for Very Young

[From a company announcement on Business Wire by Xybernaut Corp.,

Fairfax Binko, mbinko@....]

http://www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=XYBR & newsid=2079960

Xybernaut Corporation and Horace Hopper's Musical Adventures today

announced they will collaborate to develop applications in early learning

that utilize advanced computer based programs which are effective in both

normal and special needs child populations.

Under terms of the agreement Xybernaut and Horace Hopper will combine

the mobile/wearable technologies of Xybernaut with the research driven

educational software developed by Horace Hopper's Musical Adventures.

Xybernaut has been involved with early education, especially with the

special needs children, through their XyberKids assistive technology system.

For the past year, Xybernaut and Horace Hopper have discussed ways to

collaborate in developing new products in this area.

Horace Hopper uses music to increase language and other cognitive

skills for children from ages 2-10. The company has won five national awards

and their products are used in hundreds of schools across the United States.

In a study published last year by Dr. Christee Jenlink, Chair of the

department of Educational Foundations and Leadership at Northeastern

University in Oklahoma, there was a 48% increase in math development among

four-year-old children and a 23.5% increase in verbal skills in

three-year-old children when using the Horace Hopper program.

A new Horace Hopper CD-ROM program using 500 MB of audio samples and

graphics designed to define and strengthen the link between critical

listening and verbal responsiveness is now at the end of an eight-month

evaluation study in the Oklahoma City school system. It was tested among

students diagnosed with autism and Aspergers disorder in one school and

those with profound developmental delay caused by cerebral palsy, mental

retardation, Downs Syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome and environmental

deprivation in the second school. Early results show increases in verbal

skills and in the ability of some children to appropriately respond to their

environment.

The heart of the new CD-ROM program, according to Dr. Max Fomitchev, a

specialist in computer engineering and consultant to Horace Hopper Inc., is

an interactive library of 430 essential words (audio samples) that are sung

in the program by the computer and 860 graphic displays of the words.

Children learn to sing pitches in four languages to develop critical

listening. Painting with music, spelling with notes, learning rhythmic

patterns are all designed to stimulate the area of the brain that performs

much of the cognitive functions in language and math.

Tash Manufacturing in Canada has provided a USB click switch, the

'Hopper Bopper,'that has been incorporated into the interactive design. This

5-inch diameter button is used to trigger responses in pitch recognition,

tonal memory, melodic timing, spelling with musical notes, painting with

music, drum sounds, and the interactive library.

Lonnie Liggitt, president of Horace Hopper, states; 'With the

Xybernaut team we believe we can accelerate and organize the learning

patterns of the very young. We believe we can reach the hundreds of

thousands of children in our schools and homes who have difficulty learning

because of disease, genetic eccentricity, or physical trauma and live lives

of isolation and deprivation. We use music as a delivery system because it

works. It breaks through the learning filters found in these young children.

One child in ten thousand has perfect pitch--one in twenty autistic children

have it. We start from there. With advanced voice recognition and the right

programming, we hope to build computers that will be capable of nurturing a

transference relationship with the child and use music and other tools to

build paths to the outside world.' About Xybernaut Xybernaut Corporation is

the leading provider of wearable/mobile computing hardware, software and

services, bringing communications and full-function computing power in a

hands-free design to people when and where they need it. Headquartered in

Fairfax, Virginia, Xybernaut has offices and subsidiaries in Europe

(Germany) and Asia (Japan). Visit Xybernaut on the Web at www.xybernaut.com.

More information about Horace Hopper's Musical Adventures can be found

on the Internet at www.preschoolmusic.com.

* * *

CARE

A Special Garden Grows in Arizona

Landscape geared to special needs

[by Anne Ryman for The Arizona Republic.]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1230negarden30.html

sdale - When special-needs students at Coronado High School

return from winter break, they will have a new handicapped-accessible

garden, thanks to the contributions of a Coronado graduate.

Terry Letterly, a 1967 graduate of Coronado, has donated his

landscaping skills to transform an 1,800-square-foot plot of dead grass into

a usable space for students. Students will use the garden to plant flowers

and vegetables.

“We're thrilled, absolutely elated,” teacher Robin Keim said.

Letterly, who owns Stone Creek Landscape, decided to get involved

after reading on the school Web site that Coronado was looking for donations

for a garden.

“It just kind of blossomed from there,” said Letterly, who lives in

sdale.

What they were looking for, Keim said, were a few bags of soil and

maybe some plants.

What they will get, thank to Letterly, is a garden with stabilized

granite paths that accommodate wheelchairs. Shrubs, a tree and park benches

are all being installed in coming days. Five round planters are raised from

the ground so students in wheelchairs can reach them easily. On Monday, a

crew of six workers installed the planters.

Letterly and his crew are doing the work. The project also received

donations of materials from Ewing Irrigation, Phoenix Precast Products and

JAH Associates.

Coronado High School, near and Oak streets, is one of the

oldest high schools in the sdale Unified School District. It was built

in 1961. The garden site is on the northern side of the campus just outside

classrooms.

The garden's benefits extend beyond just making the campus nicer.

Students will be exposed to job skills related to nursery work, and

autistic students will benefit from the sounds and sights the garden will

provide, Keim said. Students can work on their listening skills and learn to

follow directions by planting flowers and seeds.

“It's going to hold a lot of possibilities,” teacher Joe Schmidt said.

* * *

Wisconsin Expands Special Needs Services

[by Madden for the Wausau Daily Herald.]

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/280221059604871.shtml

Parents of children with special needs might notice small changes in

assistance next year, but a big change will help groups not currently

covered by state programs.

“There won't be noticeable changes, just additional services for

parents,” said Weitz, Portage County supervisor for Developmental

Disability Services. “There's waiver money for people who didn't have it in

the past.”

To get more federal money to help children with physical,

developmental and emotional disabilities, the state applied for waivers

under federal programs. The federal government recently approved the waivers

and the state must move quickly to take advantage of the new funding that

begins Thursday, said Dave Bast, Wood County Unified Services director.

Some parents will notice a difference in how programs are managed in

Wood County, Bast said. While the Social Services Department is managing

physical and mental health programs for children, Unified Services will

handle the program dealing with developmental disabilities.

Although the same funding will be there for children covered under

programs in the past, parents might need to go through a different office to

get financial assistance, Bast said. In Portage County, all the programs are

covered by the Human Services Department. Parents will deal with the same

people they were working with when the funding came from the state, Weitz

said.

Those who will see the greatest change are parents of autistic

children, Bast said. The counties will have access to additional funding for

intensive services for children with forms of autism not previously covered.

“There's some target groups that weren't served in the past that will

be served now,” Weitz said.

Children with emotional or physical disabilities will be targeted by

the new waivers, Weitz said. Some types of autism cause emotional

disabilities, and those were not covered in the past. Children with autism

can fall into a wide spectrum of the illness.

Children with autism tend to shut down and not connect with their

environment, Bast said. Studies have shown that if they receive help early,

they can make progress.

Because the state had to move quickly to put the new programs in

place, it asked counties to make a commitment to administer the programs

with little notice, Bast said. The verbal commitment can be opted out of

later, he said. About 80 percent of the counties in the state have notified

the state they will administer the program, Bast said. In counties that did

not commit, the programs will be administered by an independent agency

contracted by the state.

* * *

EDUCATION

Charter Elem. School For Autistic Up for Vote With 2 PA School Districts

executive director and director of the Network for Behavior Change, a group

psychological practice.

The school boards are expected to vote on the charter school in

February or March.

The Spectrum Charter School in Allegheny County is the only school in

Pennsylvania specifically for autistic students. Its students are between

the ages of 13 and 21

* * *

PUBLIC HEALTH

Scientists, Consumer Groups Debate Individual Disasters, General Good

Such considerations as mercury's problems and the risks of autism and

allergies come to fore.

[Public health officials increasingly find vaccine safety a matter on

the public table for debate. By Kathleen O'Dell for the News-Leader.]

Public health officials say the benefits of childhood vaccines

outweigh the risks.

During the second half of the 20th century, immunizations helped

eradicate smallpox and polio and have almost eliminated tetanus, diphtheria,

mumps and the congenital rubella syndrome. They have also reduced the

incidence of measles, pertussis and meningitis.

Consumer groups raising concerns about the risks say they are not

anti-vaccine. But they want federal health officials to use what they know

to make vaccines safer. Many scientists, doctors and parents believe that

states' overzealous vaccination policies have contributed to dramatic

increases in asthma, allergies, learning disabilities, autism,

attention-deficit disorder, diabetes and other chronic neuroimmune

illnesses.

Their call for change in vaccines has prompted a fractious debate

within medical and research communities. Here are some of the health issues:

Mercury dangers

The biggest debate now is whether mercury toxicity from multiple

vaccines causes childhood autism.

A mercury-based preservative called thimerosal is used to kill any

live contaminants in childhood vaccines. It usually is added to a vaccine

stored in a multidose vial. In rare instances, researchers say it causes

allergic reactions.

At much higher doses, mercury is a known cause of irreversible nerve

and brain damage, especially before birth and in the first six months of

life. The World Health Organization says there are no safe levels of

mercury.

In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration disclosed that the

amount of mercury in vaccines exceeded EPA safety guidelines. Manufacturers

were asked to remove thimerosal, although existing stocks were left on the

shelves, said Sally Bernard, executive director of the consumer advocacy

group Safe Minds.

That and other groups say medical research links mercury toxicity to

childhood autism and related disorders. In particular, pediatric neurologist

Bernard writes that the increase in autism rates coincides with the addition

in the early 1990s of two new thimerosal vaccines to the infant immunization

schedule.

Her group and others say the symptoms of mercury poisoning match the

abnormalities they see in their autistic children.

Allergic reactions

The 2000 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases said allergic

reactions to vaccine ingredients are rare.

The most common difficulties tend to happen in people with

hypersensitivities to chicken or eggs, mercury, certain antibiotics or

gelatin.

Diabetes link

Some consumer groups believe, based on medical research, that the

effect of a vaccine on insulin-dependent diabetes may exceed the effect of a

vaccine on an infectious complication. One research study appearing on

various Internet sites shows that even a small rise in insulin-dependent

diabetes after immunization — such as 200 cases per 100,000 individuals —

can result in a large number of children developing diabetes.

For parents, confidence in their doctor is one of the best tools when

facing vaccination decisions.

Springfield attorney Stacie Bil-yeu and her husband, Jody, have had

their son , 4, and daughter Ruby, 2, immunized. She changed doctors

because the first pediatrician was impatient with her questions.

“It's day and night when you trust your doctor,” Bilyeu says. “You

read about the problems, but when you read about what happens if they get

polio or something, that's bad, too.”

Her bottom line: “The odds of them having some sort of reaction to the

vaccine is much less than the dangers of not having it.”

Most parents in Springfield pediatrician 's practice opt for

the vaccinations. “I sit down with them at each visit when I'm giving the

vaccines and say what they'll get and what side effects there might be and

why they're important,” says.

She's confident in the recommendations of the Centers for Disease

Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Adverse events

Between 12,000 and 14,000 hospitalizations, injuries and deaths after

vaccinations are reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting

System each year.

But those are just self-reported incidents and don't necessarily mean

that many adverse reactions are caused by vaccines.

The system is a national vaccine safety surveillance program

co-sponsored by the FDA and the CDC.

VAERS accepts all reports of adverse effects; not all are caused by

vaccines. Some events may occur coincidentally. A variety of factors are

considered by the program to determine whether the adverse reaction is

related to a vaccination. Among those other factors: medical history and

other medications given near the time of the vaccination.

_______________________________________________________

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* * *

LETTERS

On " The Politics of Autism. Lawsuits and emotion vs. science and childhood

vaccines, " WSJ December 29, 2003.

WSJ editor Gigot minimizes the manifestations of autism. Autism

has greater negative physiological consequences than impeding social

interaction. Children with [profound] autism: cannot talk; cannot learn as

other children; have immune system damage; have damage to multiple bodily

systems, which can cause organ damage; experience daily pain such as to the

head and gastrointestinal system; cannot play productively; cannot eat as

other children; cannot communicate needs or pain effectively; are trapped in

a private maze of multiple sensory deficits, anomalies, confusion and fear;

lack liberty, independence, self-empowerment, and decision-making

capabilities; are prey to institutionalization and sexual abuse, etc.

Parents neither want nor need a scapegoat for what has befallen their

children -- parents need Reality -- a greater reality than that which was

provided them in the offices of pediatricians who had gross misinformation

trickled down to them. A greater reality than that which the current

Republican administration is willing to provide. A reality that will admit

to the true root of the condition, and, therefore, foster legitimate and

effective treatments to alleviate their children's pervasive suffering.

Representive Dick Armey and Senator Frist conspired to

surreptitiously insert legislation into the Homeland Security Bill a year

ago that protected wealthy pharmaceutical interests, which make large

political campaign contributions. They slipped in the rider at the " 11th

hour, " when other legislators voting on the Homeland Security Bill would not

have time to read the full legislation on which they were voting. And so,

that is why an agreement was made to take it out until a full airing of the

issue could be accomplished. Senators Snowe, , and Chaffee

courageously protected American children and the integrity of the judicial

system by their taking a stand against a stealthy legislative move motivated

by self-interest.

One need look no farther than the Bush Administration to see how many

members have had ties with Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical manufacturer that

held the patent for Thimerosal -- even Bush, Senior. Perhaps this is

a reason why the Administration does not take a stand to protect American

children. Perhaps large campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical

industry is another reason that the Republican administration does not take

a stand.

The science implicating Thimerosal stands. There are approximately

5000 articles in the National Library of Medicine raising red flags with

regard to the use of mercury products. There are current studies published

in peer-reviewed journals. Warnings, which also were raised with the patent

holder of the vaccine preservative, go back decades - prior to the autism

epidemic. Better diagnosis has been ruled out. There has been a true

autism epidemic. And there has NEVER been a recorded genetic epidemic.

When additional vaccines were added to the childhood vaccine schedule, care

was NOT taken to ensure that FDA guidelines for mercury were followed.

Consequently, alarming excesses of mercury were injected into

immunologically and neurologically vulnerable infants - an environmental

trigger bypassing the normal defenses of the body - causing neurological

harm and a set-up for further immunological harm.

If mercury were not culpable with regard to the autism epidemic, then

children would not experience recovery attributable to removing the mercury

from their bodies. That just makes sense.

If mercury were not a health hazard, then legislators and others would

not warn the public about power plant emissions and consuming fish. That

just makes sense.

Maybe Frist and his wealthy corporate cronies should try to make sense

while they're trying to take dollars.

As for the parents of children with autism, they would gladly give up

all of the dollars, lawyers, and lawsuits in the world just to have a

healthy child.

- Mrs. Teri Small

Sensory Integration, GFCF Diets and Secretin Junk

[The WSJ editorial] is a very straightforward opinion piece bolstered

by references to real science. The National Autism Association’s response

[is] both internally and externally inconsistent.

Positions taken contradict themselves in one article ('rebuttal') and

contradict other materials. To be convincing, it is important to have a

clear, viable position. NAA has none such, only " There is something

terribly wrong with my child and someone must be responsible for it. "

I suggest working with your children directly, using the best

available science (applied behavior analysis) and rejecting junk such as

sensory integration, GFCF diets, secretin, and at least 100 other examples

of flat out foolishness. The time spent pursuing vaccines or thimerosal as

a cause, editorializing, testifying, communicating/commiserating with each

other, publishing newsletters, etc. would be much better spent directly

helping children and adults.

That's what we do.

- J Marone, PhD., San Francisco

[Editor’s response: “That’s what we do.” - except when you’re writing

one of dozens of letters to this newsletter.]

Time For The Truth

Just this year there have been three epidemiological studies published

in peer-reviewed technical journals assessing the relationship of thimerosal

in vaccines to autism in American children. The correlation is clear, more

mercury in childhood vaccines means more childhood neurological disorders,

including autism.

Instead of citing these independent analysis of American children, the

WSJ editor chooses to cite a Danish study written by an employee of the

largest Danish vaccine manufacturer. You also cite the " Rochester study " -a

study which conjectures wildly from a small, mostly irrelevant, data set.

The Rochester Study's author, Pichichero also has clear ties with the

vaccine industry.

Yes, I am the father of a child with autism. No, I am not a

driveling, emotional simpleton looking for someone to blame. Nor do I have

a lawsuit filed against the vaccine manufacturers. On the contrary, I have

long supported vaccine programs thinking they were best for our children.

But, since my first allegiance is to the safety of my children, I can not

accept the fact that this issue is not being dealt with directly.

Thimerosal is clearly a risk which has never been proven safe. Not even

close. And the Wall Street Journal runs opinion pieces which read like PR

releases for the pharmaceutical industry.

These are dark days for public health. Our overly-aggressive

vaccination policy may have caused more damage to American families than

Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Ladin combined. It is time to find out the

truth.

- Ben Price, Lawrence, Kansas

More letters and responses, next edition. -Editor.

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In the Largest, Widest Read " The Autism Calendar " tm

NOTE CALENDAR DEADLINE JAN 24 FOR FEBRUARY UPDATE

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Lenny Schafer, Editor mailto:edit@...

Decelie Debbie Hosseini Miles Ron Sleith Kay Stammers

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