SchaferAutismReport: Leading Autism Activist Killed.

[Guest guest]

SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT " Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

________________________________________________________________

Friday, December 30, 2005 EXTRA EDITION Vol. 9 No. 205

SPECIAL

* Leading Autism Activist Killed

* Never Forget: Birt

* Liz Birt, Down To The Wire

TREATMENT

* The Age of Autism: Gold Standards

COMMENTARY

* Autism: An Epidemic Is Finally Acknowledged

EVENTS

* Autism One Radio Schedule Jan 1 – Jan 6

Leading Autism Activist Killed

By Monifa

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-fatal30.html

A Wilmette lawyer and autism activist has died in a car crash in

Aspen, Colo.

Birt, 49, was one of two passengers in a Ford Taurus that

was struck by a pickup truck about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after the car

allegedly ran a red light, the Aspen Times and the Aspen Daily News

reported.

The driver of the Taurus, D. Felt, also of Wilmette, and his

13-year-old son, , were injured.

Felt, 52, was cited for careless driving causing serious bodily

injury, careless driving causing death and no proof of insurance, the Times

reported.

Ms. Birt, who died at Aspen Valley Hospital, owned investment property

in the resort town and was there for a ski vacation, according to Joan

Lebow, managing partner of Lebow & Malecki LLC of Chicago. Ms. Birt had been

a health-care attorney at the firm for two years.

" She was a beautiful person, and her clients are devastated, " Lebow

said Thursday. " We're all devastated. "

Son diagnosed in '96

As the mother of an autistic son named , Ms. Birt also was a

tireless activist for those affected by the disorder. She founded Medical

Interventions for Autism, a nonprofit organization to fund medical research

into the causes and potential treatments for autism.

Since was diagnosed in 1996, it wasn't unusual for Ms. Birt to

spend 60 hours a week or more researching autism or lobbying for more

resources to fight this and other developmental disabilities.

Ms. Birt is survived by two other children, and ; her

father, and her brothers.

Ms. Birt graduated from De University School of Law in 1992 and

worked for years as an insurance underwriter.

She started her legal career as an assistant general counsel to

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, where she specialized in

health-care tax litigation and contract disputes.

'A hero' to autism community Ms. Birt also served as an attorney for

the Committee on Government Reform in the U.S. House of Representatives and

co-authored a 2003 congressional report titled " Mercury in Medicines: Are We

Taking Unnecessary Risks? "

Lebow described her friend and colleague as a consummate professional

who was equally dedicated to her family.

By Thursday night, dozens of friends and associates had posted

remembrances of Ms. Birt on the National Autism Association's Web site.

" Liz is a hero to all of us in the autism community, a tireless

champion for her own child and for ours, " one poster wrote. " She was a

wonderful combination of brilliant and goofy, fierce and gentle, and so full

of love for everyone around her. "

• • •

Never Forget: Birt

By Kirby, author of Evidence of Harm, a book which includes a

description of the advocacy of Birt and of her family. From the Evidence of

Harm list.

It’s been a full day since I received news of Liz Birt’s terrible

passing, and it has been hard to put my thoughts into words.

I first met Liz on a frosty January morning, in Washington, in 2003.

She was there to join the deafening protest to the so-called Lilly Rider –

and it was my very first encounter with the mercury moms and dads of

America.

It was very cold and Liz was very busy. I asked her what she thought

needed to be done, in terms of proving the case against thimerosal. “We need

to get our hands on the raw VSD data, right away,” she said. “I won’t stop

fighting until we do! "

I had no idea at the time what “raw VSD data” meant, but it sure did

sound important. And I realized at that moment that Liz was one of the

toughest, smartest, most dogged mothers I had ever met.

What I didn’t realize, just yet, however, was how sweet, pure, true

and generous Liz Birt was. That would come a bit later, when I traveled to

spend time with her and her family outside Chicago, when she traveled to the

east cost, just to be interviewed for the book, and when she would call me

late at night, while I was writing, just to make sure I was ok, and to tell

me that one day, the book would be finished, and it would have an impact.

There would be no book without Liz, perhaps no thimerosal controversy

at all, or certainly not the level of debate that we see today.

When I last saw Liz, not long ago, she looked and seemed so happy. She

told me she was happier than she had felt in a long time. She had the

confident look of someone who anticipates nothing less than full victory,

and unquestioned vindication.

And now she has been stolen away like a precious, bejeweled necklace,

before the final fruits of her extraordinary labor were fully realized.

Everyone who knew Liz is left in shock, mourning, and disbelief. It doesn’t

make any sense that someone who was so very alive is no longer alive at all.

It is crushingly cruel and unspeakably sad. Her children, especially,

deserve our love and support.

I will always miss Liz. She was unlike anyone I have ever met – an

inexhaustible fighter in an very taxing battle. If there is a direct line

from Heaven to the US Congress, you can bet that Liz will be on the line,

constantly.

I am trying to contact the publisher to see if there is time to pay

tribute to her in the paperback edition, though I fear it may be too late.

My heart goes out to Liz Birt’s family, and to everyone who knew and loved

her.

Peace on Earth for 2006

Kirby

Memorial Service for Liz Birt

There will be a receiving of friends on Wednesday evening, January 4,

2006 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Newcomers, Steine and McClure Funeral Home

located at 3235 Gilham Plaza in Kansas City, MO. (at the corner Linwood and

Gilham)

Liz’s funeral will be held Thursday morning, January 5, 2006 at 11:30

a.m. at St. s Catholic Church, 6415 Holmes (at the corner of Meyer

Blvd. and Holmes) in Kansas City, MO.

The Ann Birt Memorial Fund for Truth and Love has been set

up to fund on-going research for the cause and cure of autism and to help

the many families who have unmet financial needs for care and treatment of

their affected children. Contributions can be sent to Thoughtful House in

care of the Ann Birt Memorial Fund for Truth and Love. More

details to follow.

Please respond to Bono at ldbono@... if you will be

attending the services so that we can set up a block of rooms nearby.

• • •

Liz Birt, Down To The Wire

This is a snap shot of what this woman was doing for us and our

children down to the wire to the end of her life. Here she is, a few weeks

ago, pleading the cause of autism in her home state. – ed.

November 17, 2005

Illinois General Assembly

KidCare, Human Services Subcommittee 94th General Assembly

Testimony of Birt

Thank you for convening this hearing today regarding the issues facing

Illinois families with autistic children. Because of the need for full

disclosure and transparency regarding all issues before the Illinois General

Assembly and the grave importance of this matter and its implications for

public policy I would like to start off my stating that I have no financial

conflicts of issue regarding autism, other than as the parent of a severely

affected child, and that I receive no benefit directly or indirectly from

pharmaceutical companies. I strongly urge that you require all individuals

providing testimony to your subcommittee including those present today and

those who have testified in the past to fully disclose all conflicts of

interest.

I am the parent of an 11 year old child who was developmentally normal

until he received two vaccinations, a thimerosal containing Hib and an MMR

at approximately 15 months of age. Prior to his receipt of these

vaccinations, my son could count to ten and said many words such as “mamma”,

“daddy”, “ball”, “go”, Sasaa for his sister’s name; he pointed at objects of

interests and played games like peek a boo and hide and seek. He loved to

be held and had excellent eye contact. He had a history of ear infections

but no serious medical problems. After the receipt of these immunizations,

he ran a high fever. I gave him Tylenol as directed by his pediatrician.

After the vaccination, he developed a rash on the trunk of his body. I

didn’t think that anything was seriously wrong and believed that all was

normal with my adorable little boy. Within a few weeks of these

immunizations my son developed chronic diarrhea; at first I believed it was

the babysitter’s fault for giving him too much juice. As the weeks and

months went by his gastrointestinal problems worsened. He also stopped

acquiring language and insidiously he slipped away from me. We initially

thought that he had hearing problems and had tubes inserted into his ears.

We waited and watched and hoped. My son’s condition only worsened. He

started screaming uncontrollably and rubbing his stomach. It was like

watching a fire die out ember by ember and there was no professional who

could tell me how my child who had been so full of life and interactive was

now in a world of his own.

Eventually my son received a diagnosis of PDD/NOS from a physician at

Rush. The physician assured me that because my son still had skills left

like stacking blocks that he would be “fine” and recommended speech therapy.

This therapy was not covered by his father’s insurance company so we picked

up the cost personally. My son then stopped sleeping through the night. He

would awaken every night at around 3:00 A.M. screaming, smearing feces over

himself, the carpet and walls. It was in one simple word “hell”. My

husband and I took him to see a physician, Dr. Leventhal at

University of Chicago who diagnosed him as autistic. I will never forget

that day. I had my son’s medical records with me from Dr. Chez a

neurologist, and asked him why his IGA was so low. IGA is the first line of

defense in a person’s gastrointestinal and mucosal tract. I was told point

blank that it wasn’t important. I asked him about my son’s behavioral

issues such as rubbing his stomach, lying on the floor with his hands

pressed against his stomach, and night time screaming. He didn’t say

anything except it was perhaps a part of his autism-in other words his

behavior was a psychotic result of his autism. I left the appointment

feeling a sense of doom and that there was nothing that could be done for my

son except to put him into an institution. It was one of the worst days of

my life.

My son’s condition began to deteriorate further; he developed

shingles, was chronically sick, had “shiners” under his eyes. Exasperated

by the lack of medical care I set out on a journey to find out what exactly

was wrong with my child. This journey led to the only treatment

available for his chronic diarrhea. The care and compassion of a physician

at the Royal Free Hospital in London, England by the name of Dr.

Wakefield. His group had identified in a small study published in The

Lancet in 1998 a group of 12 children who had been referred to the Royal

Free Hospital by their local pediatricians. Much has been made of this

study and of Dr. Wakefield’s work. You should know that Leo Kanner, the

individual who first identified autism relied only on 11 case reports. I

have included Dr. Wakefield’s CV with your handouts; he has published 133

peer reviewed studies. This is not the work of a “mad scientist”; this is

the work of a dedicated researcher who trusted parents when they told him

the story of their child’s illness.

To my astonishment, the children in Dr. Wakefield’s original study had

a history of normal development and then lost language, social skills and

had chronic intestinal problems following the receipt of an MMR vaccination.

For me, it was the only path I could follow to find relief for my child. I

took him to London and there he was actually worked up clinically for his

gastrointestinal disease. He was seen by seven doctors including Dr.

- who is regarded as the foremost pediatric gastroenterologist at

that time in the world. Using a simple xray which could have been ordered

at any hospital in this country, the doctors found that my son was

completely constipated. The mass in his colon was the size of a small

cantaloupe. He was scoped and found to have inflammatory bowel disease and

put on appropriate medication for his physical condition. Immediately he

started sleeping through the night. His non stop diarrhea abated and he was

a much happier child.

Unfortunately, for his gastrointestinal disease has worsened

and he is now on immunosuppressive treatment because he developed lesions in

his esophagus. He has had several grand mal seizures. He has documented

measles virus infection in his intestine and cerebral spinal fluid that

matches the vaccine strain. In addition, his body is unable to detoxify.

He has antibodies to myelin basic protein which acts as a conductor for

nerves in his brain. His immune system is dysregulated; he has high levels

of inflammatory cytokines. He is currently being evaluated for kidney

stones. In short, his body is a train wreck.

, given all of these physical problems is a sweet little boy;

he is affectionate and likes to be with other children. He is mischevious;

he knows the rules in the house likes to push them. He is not mentally

retarded; he understands everything that is said to him; he can not however,

communicate verbally and relies on his caregivers, sign language and

guttural sounds to get by. He has learned how to snow ski through a program

offered by Challenge Aspen and has participated in a camp for autistic

children founded by myself and another parent in Colorado called Extreme

Sports Camp. At this camp has learned to rock climb, ice skate, and

loves white water rafting. To see his smile at camp is worth a million

dollars.

What children and parents of autistic children need is enormous.

There is no respite care; no medical care; and the insurance companies pay

nothing for services unless you are clever in coding the claims. Our

children have behavioral issues that must be managed but they are also

chronically ill. We don’t even know how many children and their families

desperately need services not just for today but for the future. The cost

of lifetime care for an autistic child in unknown but some estimates peg the

national cost to be 7 TRILLION DOLLARS. There are no group homes to put

these children in when their parents can not care for them at home. My fear

as parents age they will take the life of their child and their own. This

has already happened in England.

I am here today not just for my son but for every family in Illinois

who has been affected by the devastating disorder. I worked for over two

years investigating the relationship between autism and neurodevelopmental

disorders as an attorney for the House Committee on Government Reform. My

job was to review thousands of pages of subpoenaed documents from our

federal health agencies and pharmaceutical companies. The sad story is laid

out in a book called “Evidence of Harm” by Kirby; I urge everyone to

read this book.

In 2004 the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that there

was no credible evidence of a link between neurodevelopmental disorders,

including autism, and vaccines AND THAT NO FURTHER RESEARCH SHOULD BE

CONDUCTED. This study has been highly criticized because it relied solely

upon epidemiological studies that were questionable. The committee did not

include the studies of researchers including Dr. Mady Hornig at Columbia

University whose work on mice with autoimmune problems found that these mice

exhibited obsessive compulsive disorders and had brain abnormalities similar

to autistic individuals after the administration of thimerosal containing

vaccines. It did not examine the presence of measles virus in the cerebral

spinal fluid and not in healthy controls by Dr. Wakefield. It did not

consider the work of Dr. Deth of Northeastern University and Dr.

Jill of University of Arkansas demonstrating the ability of thimerosal

at low levels to disrupt important metabolic pathways in cells nor the

observation of these abnormalities in autistic children. In fact, none of

these researchers were invited to present their findings.

One study in Denmark the IOM relied on reported an increase in the

number of individuals diagnosed with autism following the removal of

thimerosal containing vaccines from the vaccination schedule. What was not

stated in the press and report is that the reason for the increase is that

the Danish switched methods of counting autistic individuals to include both

outpatient and inpatient cases. The famous CDC study authored by

Verstraeten went through at least 5 “generations” of data manipulation. The

author himself wrote in Pediatrics in April of 2004 that his study “does not

state that we found evidence of an association, as a negative study would.

It does state, on the contrary, that additional study is recommended, which

the conclusion to which a neutral study must come.” The raw data from this

study has apparently been destroyed and the CDC has denied access to the VSD

database to independent researchers. I have personally as counsel to

SAFEMINDS and for the Committee on Government Reform sought access with

appropriate patient confidentiality safeguards to the database since 2001.

The debate recently reached the floor of the United States Senate where

Senators Lieberman and Harkin called for access to the data. In addition,

this year an independent panel convened by the Institute of Medicine issued

a report entitled “Vaccine Safety Research Data Access and Public Trust”.

This report criticizes the CDC’s handling of this data which was bought by

the taxpayers and questions why the data was moved to an independent non

governmental entity in 2001 which would not only coincide with the removal

of thimerosal containing vaccines from routine immunization schedules but

remove it from FOIA. Many in Congress as well as respected scientists from

all parts of this nation are urging that further research in this area

continue; those scientists include two former heads of the National

Institute of Enviornmental Health.

The “good” news is that despite this pronouncement by the IOM research

is ongoing. Dr. Burbacker’s research demostrating that thimerosal in

the brains of primates converted to inorganic mercury at a much greater rate

than methylmercury (fish mercury) is in Phase II of funding despite the

efforts of the federal government to stop this research. Phase I of this

study concluded that “Knowledge of the toxicokinetics and developmental

toxicity of thimerosal is needed to afford a meaningful assessment of the

developmental effects of thimerosal-containing vaccines.” This study was

published in Enviornmental Health Perspectives, an NIH peer reviewed

publication in August of 2005. The IOM had full access to Dr. Burbaker’s

research during the time they wrote their report. They never asked him to

present his research.

Studies have been recently published demonstrating a breakdown of

myelin in children with developmental disorders and just how toxic

thimerosal is at minute quantities. I have included them in your handouts.

As these studies are released the CDC is recommending that every pregnant

woman and every child at 6 and 23 months receive a flu vaccine knowing that

there is not enough manufacturing capacity to provide this vulnerable

population with a thimerosal free vaccine. This action is at best

negligent; to me it is immoral.

So how does my statement impact your committee? You have a lot of

work to do to understand the scope of this problem and be assured that if

vaccines are implicated that no one will help you pay for it. Today, there

are ten bills before the Congress which would give blanket immunity to drug

companies for vaccine injuries if the Secretary of HHS declares that the

drug is necessary for a pandemic or epidemic. Further, if a citizen is

injured they may not be able to access the Vaccine Compensation Act, as

broken as it is, unless the Secretary of HHS allows them to do so. All

meetings on vaccine matters will not be subject to FACA or FOIA; in other

words all of this will be in complete secrecy.

One of the reasons that this legislation is being urged is the spin

that liability issues have forced the manufacturers out of business. This

is simply not the case and has been refuted in published reports. In fact,

last year during the presidential election, Dr. Tony Faucci of the NIAID was

quoted by the AP as stating “But that is only a very small part of the

problem (liability for manufacturers)…More significant, are the low-profit

margin vaccines provide, unpredictable demand and the complexity of the

manufacturing process… The fragility of the vaccine enterprise is an issue

that has been present for decades”. So now why is it all of a sudden a

problem for the manufacturers? The answer is money and the more that the

manufacturers can close off the liability exposure for products then the

better. The only remaining hope for families of children who were lucky

enough to know of the Vaccine Compensation Act’s three year statute of

limitations from date of first symptoms limitation is to opt out. There are

thousands of cases pending in Vaccine Court that will probably not be heard

in my lifetime. The only chance they have is our trial system and a state

court.

I believe in the concept of herd immunity; I support a vaccine program

that is grounded in credible science; I believed in that system when I

vaccinated my children; after 8 years I do not believe that this is the

case. There are too many unanswered questions and so many injured children.

I urge this subcommittee to recommend that autism is a public health

emergency in Illinois and to ask the Governor to declare it so. I urge

Attorney General Madigan to utilize the talents of her staff to gain

full access to the VSD. I urge this subcommittee to develop a comprehensive

plan to identify affected children, provide meaningful support to their

families; and to sit down with parents at the table and strategize on the

best possible living arrangements for the children who are severely

affected.

There is hope; I have included in your handouts an article recently

published in the San Francisco Chronicle about a child who received

appropriate medical and educational intervention for his “autism”; he has

recovered and no longer has this diagnosis. Researchers at UC Mind

Institute, Mass General and other prestigious institutions are taking note

and starting clinical studies to determine whether these treatments are

effective. It may be that we have a constellation of “autisms” caused by

not one gene but complex gene and environmental influences, including but

not limited to vaccines.

We as a civilized society have an obligation to care for these

children. If a portion of them were injured due to negligence on the part

of federal health officials and pharmaceutical companies then so be it;

what I have personally witnessed over the past eight years has been

horrifying. I believe in our country and in the strength of its

determination to overcome adversity. We must work together to solve this

problem; I stand ready to help in any manner with the work of this

committee.

Respectfully,

Birt

Founder, Medical Interventions for Autism Founder, SAFEMINDS Board Member

A-CHAMP Board Member NAA

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• • •

TREATMENT

The Age of Autism: Gold Standards

By Dan Olmsted for UPI http://tinyurl.com/dpz56

A published scientific paper suggests gold salts -- the treatment that

may have prompted improvement in the first child ever diagnosed with autism

-- can affect mental conditions.

" Although there is very little modern research on these applications

for gold, historically one notable use of gold was as a 'nervine,' a

substance that could revitalize people suffering from nervous conditions, a

term we would today call neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as

epilepsy and depression, " according to the paper, " Gold and its relationship

to neurological/glandular conditions. "

The paper appeared in 2002 in the International Journal of

Neuroscience, co-authored by four researchers at the Meridian Institute, a

Virginia-based non-profit group. It is online at

meridianinstitute.com/ceu/ceu25gol.html.

" Neither the causes of the disorders nor the mechanism of gold is

known, yet there are reports pointing to a possible involvement of

naturally-occurring gold in the nervous and glandular systems, and evidence

from historical sources of a possible efficacy of gold in therapy for

neurological disorders, " write authors G. s, L.

McMillin, A. Mein and Carl D. .

The paper, which we've alluded to before, is getting renewed attention

among activists who believe that most cases of autism are caused by a

mercury preservative used in childhood immunizations. While medical groups

and federal health authorities discount any link, these researchers and

parents say a huge rise in autism diagnoses beginning in the 1990s can be

tied to the increasing number of vaccines containing the preservative,

called thimerosal, which is about 50 percent ethyl mercury by weight.

The earliest year for which we could find evidence of thimerosal being

used in vaccines was 1931. In August, Age of Autism reported that the first

child ever diagnosed with autism -- T., who was born in 1933 in

Mississippi -- was treated with gold salts for an acute attack of juvenile

rheumatoid arthritis at age 12. His autism symptoms also showed significant

improvement following the two-to-three-month gold-salts treatment at a

clinic in Memphis, according to his brother, who we interviewed in the small

Mississippi town where both still live.

That caught the attention of Boyd Haley, a chemistry professor at the

University of Kentucky and a leading proponent of the mercury-autism theory.

In our last column we reported the results of a test he conducted to see

whether gold salts would pull mercury off a chemical compound.

It did. Gold salts " can reverse the binding " of mercury to molecules,

Haley said, adding, " This does lend support to the possible removal of

mercury from biological proteins in individuals treated with gold salts. "

The article by the Meridian Institute authors does not discuss whether

gold might improve neurological conditions triggered by a toxic exposure

such as mercury, and it does not mention autism. But it does provide a

context for understanding why the compound might improve mental functioning

and alleviate neurological disorders.

Intriguingly, the authors write that 19th-century scientists realized

gold could help them explore the nervous system.

" The affinity of gold for the nervous system and the implications of

this for the treatment of nervous disorders was remarked by (Dr. E.)

Keeley (1897): 'The use of gold ... to develop microscopical nerves may,

perhaps, be said to indicate that nerve fiber has a peculiar affinity for

that metal. The application of it in solutions brings out nerves which

otherwise would be invisible.

+ Full article here: http://tinyurl.com/dpz56

• • •

COMMENTARY

Autism: An Epidemic Is Finally Acknowledged

Government agency takes first step to protect our children

By Ottar Grundvig. Special to The Epoch Times

http://www.theepochtimes.com/tools/printer.asp?id=36349

The year 2005 will be a year to remember in the autism epidemic: The

debate came to a head between parents of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)

children and the federal government, which has long denied an autism

epidemic exists.

The ebb and flow has turned in the favor of these long-neglected

children, who today number well over one million in the United States alone.

Governmental agencies in charge of children's health and the

pediatric-psychiatry-pharmaceutical axis had erected a wall to protect their

errant policies regarding baby vaccinations. In 2005 that wall began to

shows signs of cracking.

Turning Points

The turning point came not as a single event, but a timely confluence

of several streams. In April, New York Times contributing writer,

Kirby, came out with the book " Evidence of Harm " that tied the increase in

vaccines to the rise in autism. Others, like F. Kennedy, Jr. and

radio show host Don Imus drove the vaccines-mercury-autism debate home last

summer. The efforts of these high-profile individuals combined with those of

autism not-for-profit organizations and parents like myself—who have filed a

deluge of vaccine-injury cases on behalf of their children in the " vaccine

court " created in 1986 by Congress—to help remove the shadow of ignorance

from autism. The prevailing hypothesis that autism is a psychological

disease rooted solely in genetics was debunked.

In 2005 Iowa and California became the first states to ban thimerosal,

the mercury-based preservative used in many baby vaccines. For a long time,

most parents of ASD kids have suspected that thimerosal was the major

culprit in the sharp rise of autism cases, particularly the regressive form

of the disorder. New York State jumped into the act by passing a law that

will ban thimerosal from vaccines. The only problem: the law won't go into

affect until 2009. Better late than never. I suspect those states, which

will undoubtedly be followed by others in the coming years, realized that

with the spike in autism comes a spike in costs for special education and

healthcare that has placed an enormous burden on the tax coffers. Yet none

of those states' actions against thimerosal would have been necessary if the

federal government, namely the CDC and FDA, had acted in 1999.

Where Has the Federal Government Been?

Seven years ago, those agencies were warned, informed, and had ample

opportunity to ban the known neurological toxin, but failed to do so.

Because of their inaction, tens of thousands of babies born since 2000,

including my son, won a most unfortunate lottery. America's ASD children

were given vaccines with just enough thimerosal to shutdown their ability to

filter out heavy metals, while simultaneously poisoning their brains and

central nervous systems.

Instead, the CDC suggested to the pharmaceutical companies, like Merck

(maker of the hepatitis B " birth dose " vaccine) and Eli Lilly (grandfather

of thimerosal, invented in the 1920s), to remove gradually this known toxin

from vaccines. Of course, Merck & Co.'s suppression of the bad reports on

the painkiller Vioxx, and subsequent attempts to keep Vioxx out of the

courts and the press, provides an example of how Big Pharma can't be

trusted. And the CDC's actions on thimerosal suggested the government might

be too close sometimes to that industry.

So it came as a shock this December to learn that ASD children were

receiving an early holiday present, gift wrapped by the National Institute

of Mental Health (NIMH). Although barely covered in the news, the NIMH

finally admitted that autism is an epidemic. And genetics alone can't cause

epidemics, since genes only mutate from one generation to the next. The

cause for the epidemic might still be an issue, but such a revelation in the

wake of all those denials is the jump-start that is needed to make other

guardians of our healthcare system look at the very least foolish, and at

the worst promoters of terrible propaganda.

An Opportunity for Change

How should the Pediatric Association of America, which continues to

state that vaccines are safe, take this news? And what about the legions of

psychiatrists and psychologists who have long sold the mantra that there

wasn't an epidemic, only people who were not properly trained in the past to

diagnose autism in children? What do I think? They should be ashamed of

themselves for choosing to protect vaccines over the health of children.

I grew up in a small town in Westchester County, north of New York

City. In the 1960s, there were no children on the spectrum there, and that

was for kindergarten through 12th grade. In the past year I learned that

beside myself, three other students within two grades of my own (the average

grade size was 120 kids per class) have ASD children. For me, nothing has

been more powerful than that fact. All the denials, disinformation, and

twisting of numbers of the amount of thimerosal in a given vaccine couldn't

cloud the truth. Autism is an epidemic.

For the New Year, there will still be people, companies and agencies

that deny there is an epidemic, let alone one caused by the over-use of

vaccinations. Some are ignorant; while many will do anything to protect the

status quo, due to the financial windfall that the twenty-plus vaccines

given to each newborn baby within its first two years brings to the

vaccine-makers.

Now is time for the CDC, FDA, the White House, and our congressmen and

senators to join the NIMH and admit that autism is an epidemic. It is time

for the news media, which have too often under-reported this plague of the

twenty-first century, to do the same. Then maybe the frontline defenders of

children—pediatricians and child psychologist—can come clean and join in

chorus with the parents. That would be an enormous first step in defeating

autism.

Until that day, there will be an epidemic. And it's not going away

until those in charge of the American healthcare system admit they have

crisis on its hand.

Its name is autism.

Ottar Grundvig lives and works in New York City. He is the

father of an autistic child.

• • •

EVENTS

Autism One Radio Schedule Jan 1 – Jan 6 A Worldwide, Web-Based Radio Station

for the Care, Treatment, and Recovery of Children with Autism

http://www.autismone.org/radio

Sunday, January 1st:

8:00 pm – 8:30 ET S. Lemer, M.Ed., NCC, MS Bus: After the

Diagnosis, Then What? Topic: The Year in Review: What DDR accomplished and

past show highlights. Visit Developmental Delay Resources at

www.devdelay.org

9:00 pm – 9:30 ET Lang, MFA: Pathways of Recovery

Monday, January 2nd:

11:00 am - 11:30 ET Cellini: Parent Activist

12:00 pm - 12:30 ET C. DeMio, MD: First Monday of the Month at

Noon: Biomedical Treatments for the Spectrum. Topic: Treating the Spectrum:

You are not too young to start.

Tuesday, January 3rd:

10:00 am – 11:30 ET Teri Small: Autism: Help, Hope, and Healing Guest:

Tami Giles, who has been moving her son forward on the road towards

recovery. Tami has interesting and important information to share about

special diets and school lunches.

12:00 pm – 1:00 ET Betsy Hicks: Path to Wellness. Guest Gail Borgard

of MedicClaim and Betsy will discuss how listeners can make an appeal with

their insurance company. Encore presentation from July 19th.

Special: Live with Lenny- CANCELLED TO BE RE-RESCHEDULED

1:30 pm – 2:15 ET Chantal Sicile-Kira: To be announced.

Wednesday, January 4th:

11:30 am – 12:00 ET Seth D. Pearl, DC, CCN, CNS: The Health and

Wellness Hour with Dr. Seth Pearl

9:00 pm – 9:30 ET Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, LCSW, DHANP and

Ullman, ND, DHANP: A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and

Autism

Thursday, January 5th:

10:00 pm – 10:30 ET Alyson Beytien: Family to Family

Friday, January 6th:

9:00 pm – 9:30 ET Suzanne Messina: ASIA Café: Addressing Special

Education Issues in Autism

10:00 pm – 10:30 ET Hicks, MD, FAAP: Integrative Medical Approach

to Autism. Topic: Neurotransmitters

Public Service Announcement to the Reader:

AUTISM IS TREATABLE. Consult these sources:

. Autism Research Institute

http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/index.htm

. Generation Rescue http://www.generationrescue.org

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The above items are copyright protected. They are for our

readers' personal education or research purposes only and provided at their

request. Articles may not be further reprinted or used commercially without

consent from the copyright holders. To find the copyright holders, follow

the referenced website link provided at the beginning of each item.

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Lenny Schafer, Editor edit at doitnow.com Conrick Decelie

Miles

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