SchaferAutismReport: Pediatricians, ABC and Censorship: Facts Are Scarier Than Fiction

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Monday, January 27, 2008

Reader Supported Vol. 12 No. 17P In This Issue: • MEDIAPediatricians, ABC and Censorship: Facts Are Scarier Than Fiction • Commentary: Heated Rhetoric Aimed at Pediatricians • Parade: What Do We Know About Autism? • Time To Rain On The Media Parade • PUBLIC

HEALTHResearcher Links Asthma, Early Vaccinations • PEOPLEChild Dies After Wandering Off From Care Facility • • TREATMENTPsychoanalysis Helps Kids With Autism Researchers Say PsychoanalysisEDUCATIONDisabled Students Win $11M Upgrade • Charter School Proposed For Autistic Children on Staten IslandSend your LETTER The Autism Calendar or here: tinyurl.com/283dpa DO SOMETHINGDO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW SUBSCRIBE. . . ! . . . Read, then Forward the Schafer Autism Report.$35 for 1 year - 200 issues, or No Cost Review

Sub. 100% Reader Supported through subscription donationswww.sarnet.org Political Discussion Forum Heats Up As Vaccine Link To Autism Question SpreadsAn email discussion list has been created in response to the growing interest in the environmental causes of autism -- now more than 2,000 subscribers. Here is where to join: SAR Back Issues AUTISM IS TREATABLE Check here Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription readers. - THANK YOU - MEDIAPediatricians, ABC and Censorship:Facts Are Scarier Than Fiction By Kirby on the huffingtonpost.com tinyurl.com/2775wu On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics will release the contents of a foreboding letter sent last week to ABC/Disney executives, demanding they cancel the January 31 premiere of a new legal drama series, Eli Stone, because it features a family attorney who successfully argues in court that mercury-containing flu vaccine caused autism in one child. The letter, signed by AAP President , borders on near-hysteria over a fictional television

entertainment. It ominously warns that ABC "will bear responsibility for the needless suffering and potential deaths of children from parents' decisions not to immunize based on the content of the episode." Dr. calls on ABC to cancel the episode but, anticipating a refusal, urges executives to run a disclaimer that "no scientific link exists between vaccines and autism," if the offending network "persists" in airing the show. I share the AAP's concern that parents should not be driven away from protecting their children from dangerous, even deadly diseases. But parents are far too smart to base such an important decision as immunization on the "content of the episode" of a single drama on broadcast television. In fact, if I were Dr. , I would be far more concerned about real news happening in the real world -- events that not only suggest the possibility of

some sort of link between mercury, vaccines and autism, but might alarm parents more than any fictional account written for ratings-grabbing mass entertainment. If I were Dr. , instead of fretting over a fake family engaged in a mock trial held in a make-believe court on some LA soundstage, I would be up at night wondering why the Federal Government recently conceded a real vaccine-autism lawsuit in a real court and will soon pay a real (taxpayer-funded) settlement to a real American family and a very real child with autism. I would want to know why the Department of Justice agreed that mercury-containing vaccines "severely aggravated" the autism symptoms in at least one child, and I would wonder if research into what triggered that severe aggravation might provide at least some clues into the perpetual mysteries of the disorder and its causes. And, if I were Dr.

, rather than wringing my hands and trying to censor a TV-show verdict, I would truly worry about what will happen when parents realize that the Federal Government has sealed the facts of that vaccine-autism case -- preventing the public (and future plaintiffs) from viewing what could only be described as "evidence of harm." I would be nervous that this secretive action in an actual court (itself reminiscent of science fiction) might drive parents away from vaccination far more effectively than any scripted drama. Furthermore, if I were the top pediatrician in America, I would not be asking television networks to make sweeping statements such as, "No scientific link exists" between autism and mercury or vaccines, when highly respected publications continue to publish new (and very real) data that roundly debunk what has now become, frankly, a tired piece of misinformation. If I were the AAP, or ABC

for that matter, I would feel downright silly stating that "no scientific link exists," so soon after the Journal of Child Neurology published a study titled, "Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set." I would also worry about parental reaction to learning that researchers had done due diligence and reanalyzed data from a prior, hugely influential study that (erroneously) found zero connection between mercury levels and autism. Instead of trying to silence the fictional words of "Eli Stone" co-creators Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, I would pay closer attention to the real words of Journal authors M. DeSoto and Hitlan, who found a major flaw in the original study that found no link. In fact, they concluded, "a significant relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder," and that "hair sample analysis results

offer some support for the idea that persons with autism may be less efficient... at eliminating mercury from the blood," something that proponents of the mercury-autism hypothesis have long contended. And, I would heed this rather wise warning from the authors: "If there is any link between autism and mercury, it is absolutely crucial that the first reports of the question are not falsely stating that no link occurs."+ Read more: tinyurl.com/2775wuFor rest of today's SAR click here:www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar2.htm Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription readers. - THANK YOU - $35 for 1 year - or free!www.sarnet.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. Lenny Schafer editor@... The Schafer Autism Report is a non-profit corporation Unsubscribe here: www.sarnet.org/frm/unsub2.htm_______________________________________________SARnets mailing listSARnets@...http://lists.igc.org/mailman/listinfo/sarnetsYou can unsubscribe send email:http://www.sarnet.org/frm/unsub2.htm-- You are subscribed as: deniseslist@...

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