The autism epidemic cometh

[Deetee]

There has been a lot of activity recently about autism/vaccination issues. First there was the rally rather strangely called "Green our vaccines", as though the protection of our nearest and dearest somehow comes hand in hand with a massive carbon footprint and environmental devastation. This rally in Washington was led by a movie comedian and his ex-porn star/model partner, who have/don't have (seems like it's quite debatable) a child with autism. What isn't debatable is their grasp of medicine and science - That seems to be nonexistent. Several hundred people turned up, which was an order of magnitude less than the number of antivaccine blogs trumpeting the triumphal procession to the Whitehouse.

At the same time, there was David Kirby trying to do the rounds in the UK greasing palms and promoting his rather odd views on autism/vaccines. Seems like this was a total damp squib - the idea was to hold a public meeting to pronounce the death knell of vaccines, but it looks like no-one informed the press, who were conspicuous by their absence. More likely is the theory they were informed, but were so bored with the idea they didn't bother to show. He did arrange an interview with the BBC apparently, and had an article ready to go to print in the Daily Wail, but again nothing happened. Already there are cries of conspiracy about the media silence. I am sure I saw a black helicopter over Tower bridge the other day, which is not so many miles from fleet street, so this must be true. Kirby also tried to set up a meeting at the Houses of Parliament to try and influence MPs and peers. Seems like only 1 MP and 3 peers were in attendance. That includes those who were "sponsoring" this exercise in stupidity. He has now returned to the States to lick his wounds.

Meanwhile, this piece in the Times caught my eye.
The autism epidemic cometh, by Mark Henderson.

It is (as usual) a sensible article explaining how autism diagnoses have risen in recent years. This has been covered in blogs/sites quite thoroughly elsewhere, but this time it seems a parent of an autistic child has done his own work and published his own story, "Unstrange Minds".
I'll be putting it on my reading list. It's too much to hope that the rabid antivaxers will do the same.

[JoeEllison]

To be fair, Jenny McCarthy has never been a "porn star", and Jim Carrey isn't the father of her kid.

[ectoplasm]

One of the many interesting paragraphs from the article:

Quote:

Altered parental perceptions have made a difference, too. As autism has been diagnosed more often, it has become less frightening and more socially acceptable. Indeed, much less stigma is attached to this disorder than to mental retardation: many parents of atypical children now want them to be labelled autistic. Grinker's assessment of autism in non-Western cultures adds to his case that complex cultural factors cause the same symptoms to be interpreted differently.

I can hardly wait to see what the Jabbers say about this article.

[Scazon]

A friend moved mountains to get her son diagnosed as autistic. He is decidedly what we used to call ESN- he has tuberous sclerosis, and despite being close to the top end of expected functionality for that condition, is a very slow learner. He was in a normal school, and being given hell by other kids- you know, dummy, muppet, that sort of thing. The diagnosis of autism allowed him to be moved to a special school, where he has flourished. He probably won't get anything in the way of exams, but he almost certainly wouldn't have in the other school, and he's happy now.

That's a fairly extreme case, but I suspect that diagnosis of various conditions (autistic spectrum, dyslexia, ADHD etc.) relieves kids of at least some of the almost overwhelming pressure to succeed in school (at least UK), and just as crucially to conform with other kids' norms. I've got a note, I'm allowed to be different.

Just as the MMR vaccine problem was partly stoked by government intransigence- they wanted the money saving over three jabs as much as any health benefits, and tried to bully parents into taking them up- parents' reactions could be a response to a sausage- machine system. Not a rational one, but one which contains a grain of sense.

[Deetee]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

To be fair, Jenny McCarthy has never been a "porn star", and Jim Carrey isn't the father of her kid.

Hmm..... Fair enough. I stand corrected. Wiki is my friend.
Evan's father is John Asher, whom she divorced in 2005. She was a centrefold model, not a pornstar, although she got together with one (Jenna Jameson).

[fuelair]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

To be fair, Jenny McCarthy has never been a "porn star", and Jim Carrey isn't the father of her kid.

Well done!! two statements both of which are correct!!! I knew it was possible - I had faith in you!! Well done!!

[Ivor the Engineer]

What I got from the article was that there are substantial incentives to mis-diagnose children as being autistic.

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally Posted by JoeEllison

To be fair, Jenny McCarthy has never been a "porn star", and Jim Carrey isn't the father of her kid.

She is stupid though. Her beloved doc is an HIV quack too.

http://www.drjaygordon.com/developme...native/hiv.asp

Yep, this guy tells her that autism is caused by vaccines, and she swallows it. I'm sure she must know of his other "theories" that aren't remotely true. She doesn't care, or believes those too? I wonder what she'd do if she came up HIV positive and started exhibiting full blown AIDS symptoms?

[Chris Haynes]

Originally Posted by Deetee

...It is (as usual) a sensible article explaining how autism diagnoses have risen in recent years. This has been covered in blogs/sites quite thoroughly elsewhere, but this time it seems a parent of an autistic child has done his own work and published his own story, "Unstrange Minds".
I'll be putting it on my reading list. It's too much to hope that the rabid antivaxers will do the same.

It is an excellent book.

The author was interviewed today, watch it here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5417131

His website:
http://www.unstrange.com/ , which has a very nice page on the changes in diagnostic standards: http://www.unstrange.com/dsm1.html

[Soapy Sam]

Just went online to see if it's available here. UK edition released in June.
My local Borders don't have it, but the one in Glasgow does, so I'll get a copy later this week I think.
Also found Borders web site map had their Glasgow stores positioned 30 miles north of their actual location. The world is full of surprises.

[whatthebutlersaw]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the Vitamin D theory? Is it worth my effort to dig up material to learn more, or is it well known to be bunk already?

[dustbunny]

We have three children, their ages are nearly 20, 17 and 8. All of them are boys and two of them suffer from very different degrees of autism. The oldest one, for all intent and purpose, fits into society like most young adults do, it's only after getting to know him that you can see the traits that are connected to autism.

On the other hand, our youngest son as a baby was very bright and forward. He tried to talk at five months old and there was no sign of any difficulty until he reached being a year to eighteen months old. His autism is far more profound, gradually his learning, speech and understanding slowed down. There has been a vast change in how children are diagnosed with autism and learning difficulties from our oldest child to the youngest.

Thankfully, he was diagnosed at about five years old. This meant that he could start at another school with a resource base for autistic children. He's come on in leaps and bounds and we're highly impressed with his progression. There's still far too much stigma attached to autism and schools don't educate their pupils enough on difficulties suffered by another child, no matter what it may be.

Our children were vaccinated with the MMR, it's a vicious circle. Parents end up feeling guilty whatever they decide. If the MMR was found to be responsible it would cause absolute chaos. I don't think any government would allow us, the public, to know that.

[Ivor the Engineer]

Originally Posted by dustbunny

<snip>

Our children were vaccinated with the MMR, it's a vicious circle. Parents end up feeling guilty whatever they decide. If the MMR was found to be responsible it would cause absolute chaos. I don't think any government would allow us, the public, to know that.

How could the governments of the world stop the public knowing if the MMR vaccination is causally linked with autism?

The government must be flattered by your belief in their high level of competence to suppress information.

[Deetee]

Originally Posted by Soapy Sam

Just went online to see if it's available here. UK edition released in June.
My local Borders don't have it, but the one in Glasgow does, so I'll get a copy later this week I think.
Also found Borders web site map had their Glasgow stores positioned 30 miles north of their actual location. The world is full of surprises.

I ordered thru WHSmith - free delivery , £9.99.

[dustbunny]

Originally Posted by Ivor the Engineer

How could the governments of the world stop the public knowing if the MMR vaccination is causally linked with autism?

The government must be flattered by your belief in their high level of competence to suppress information.

(I roll around hysterically, competence, they think it's when you've got good bladder control )

Seriously though I meant if it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the MMR vaccination was to blame for autism there would be uproar. If I'm correct Tony Blair (blah!) secretly took his youngest child, whose near enough the same age as our little one, to France and had him innoculated separately. Do as I say not as I do springs to mind.

I am humbled for my error With missing data discs and documents left on trains you don't need a computer hacker.

[Empress]

Originally Posted by Eos of the Eons

She is stupid though.

That's putting it mildly. Before she decided that her child was autistic, he was apparently an indigo/crystal child. She used to have a whole website devoted to crystal children. She seems to have dropped it though, and moved on to the "OMG vax hurt my baby!" routine.

[Chris Haynes]

Originally Posted by dustbunny

...Our children were vaccinated with the MMR, it's a vicious circle. Parents end up feeling guilty whatever they decide. If the MMR was found to be responsible it would cause absolute chaos. I don't think any government would allow us, the public, to know that.

Would it help you to know that the MMR that has been used in the UK since at least from 1990 is the same as the one that was approved in the USA in 1971? It is the one with the Jeryl Lynn mumps strain, as opposed to the Urabe mumps strain (the Urabe strain being one that caused problems).

There does not seem to have been any issues with autism that started in 1971. Also, the fuss only started after after a lawyer paid a "researcher" to provide a study to support a lawsuit, and even provided most of the dozen children as "subjects". The MMR-autism link has been studied in multiple countries, including Japan where they completely stopped using their version of the MMR (it had the Urabe mumps strain) and autism still went up, with the added "benefit" of measles returning with a vengeance.

Though, really, definitely read Richard Grinker's book.

[dustbunny]

Originally Posted by Hydrogen Cyanide

Would it help you to know that the MMR that has been used in the UK since at least from 1990 is the same as the one that was approved in the USA in 1971? It is the one with the Jeryl Lynn mumps strain, as opposed to the Urabe mumps strain (the Urabe strain being one that caused problems).

There does not seem to have been any issues with autism that started in 1971. Also, the fuss only started after after a lawyer paid a "researcher" to provide a study to support a lawsuit, and even provided most of the dozen children as "subjects". The MMR-autism link has been studied in multiple countries, including Japan where they completely stopped using their version of the MMR (it had the Urabe mumps strain) and autism still went up, with the added "benefit" of measles returning with a vengeance.

Though, really, definitely read Richard Grinker's book.

I didn't know that, thanks. Our oldest child was vaccinated in 1988 but the outcry about MMR was minimal compared to today. There's so many things that could cause autism and sadly I don't think they're anywhere near the answer.

It does make things harder dealing with autism communication and behaviour wise especially but we deal with it. The governments put so much fear into parents. I wonder if Richard Grinker's book could help them get a grip with reality. Maybe the scientists and doctors, etc, should take a good look at the results from Japan and other countries. If the MMR vaccination was stopped there was obviously something else causing it.

[Chris Haynes]

Originally Posted by dustbunny

I ... Maybe the scientists and doctors, etc, should take a good look at the results from Japan and other countries. If the MMR vaccination was stopped there was obviously something else causing it.

Most of the real scientists and doctors already know this stuff (like DeeTee). The only ones who are pushing the "MMR causes autism" are usually those who are trying to make a buck off of scaremongering. Check out The Great Autism Rip-Off (it is actually a Daily Mail article!).

Here is a comparison of some of the studies that have been done:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4026.pdf

[Eos of the Eons]

Clues to autism, and the genetic factors involved, are being unraveled better than most of the public has been led to believe by antivax fanatics. And, the information is actually quite easy to find too.

Brain development has crucial stages, and autistic children are born with brains that start out somewhat differently, and then change quickly to end quite differently. No surprise that there are lasting effects.

An autistic child ends up with a bigger brain, but with less of the important development that other children end up with. Something causes the brain to go haywire at a crucial developmental stage.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-paren...in-development

Quote:

it appears that those random mutations may mess up the wiring at a critical time when experience helps shape the developing brain.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/543482

Quote:

"We've discovered that very young children with autism have larger brains that are less mature than children with typical [brain] development with respect to cortical gray matter," principal investigator Stephen Dager, MD, told Medscape.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/j...TRY=1&SRETRY=0

Quote:

Recent studies have now shown that abnormal brain overgrowth occurs during the first 2 years of life in children with autism. By 2-4 years of age, the most deviant overgrowth is in cerebral, cerebellar, and limbic structures that underlie higher-order cognitive, social, emotional, and language functions. Excessive growth is followed by abnormally slow or arrested growth. Deviant brain growth in autism occurs at the very time when the formation of cerebral circuitry is at its most exuberant and vulnerable stage, and it may signal disruption of this process of circuit formation

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...lth&id=5740053

Quote:

By understanding, which brain connections are missing or malfunctioning in autism, doctors hope to develop better therapies in the future.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/ne...elopment-genes

http://cujo.clemson.edu/manuscript.p...uscript_ID=100


The best thing to do is learn about actual causes of autism, and what are the results of the actual causes, and understanding how to deal with the areas of the brain that are changed by the abnormal development. Actual causes include genes that control brain development.

It is a shame that research dollars can be wasted by quack claims that put parents in a flurry. Chelation will not address real causes of autism, and it is dangerous. Too bad those dollars can't be spent on helping autistic persons to hear better and process information to help them in the long run. The media is no help, because quacks go to media and make a hype over their unfounded ideas. Real research is done over time and only goes to the public domain in trickles, since researchers have nothing to gain by flirting with the media the way quacks do. However, researchers need to realize the consequences of not utilizing the media to get the real messages across to the public who are now influencing what research now gets the most attention.

[geni]

Originally Posted by Eos of the Eons

It is a shame that research dollars can be wasted by quack claims that put parents in a flurry. Chelation will not address real causes of autism, and it is dangerous.

However the cost compared to real research is pretty low.

Quote:

Too bad those dollars can't be spent on helping autistic persons to hear better and process information to help them in the long run. The media is no help, because quacks go to media and make a hype over their unfounded ideas. Real research is done over time and only goes to the public domain in trickles, since researchers have nothing to gain by flirting with the media the way quacks do.

I've seen quite a spectrum of researches trying to do science by press release.

Quote:

However, researchers need to realize the consequences of not utilizing the media to get the real messages across to the public who are now influencing what research now gets the most attention.

Researchers are not PR people. In adition "we think we've made some slight progress" is not going to be able to compete with "Death drug killed my sister and lowered house prices". Of course various pharmaceutical companies do have PR departments that do their best but well how much do you trust them?


Consider NASA they are exploreing mars are produceing nice photos and have real PR people. Tend not to get tabloid front pages and even with broadsheets only get onto the front page if they manage to time a new pretty picture on a slow news day and that is where you have easy to understand science that has historicaly managed to capture the public imagination. The public tends to be less interested in brain devlopment pathways.

[Eos of the Eons]

Quote:

In adition "we think we've made some slight progress" is not going to be able to compete with "Death drug killed my sister and lowered house prices".

NOt only that, but mix in all the lies about science not making ANY progress on the cause of autism, and you have the public believing that vaccines are the only possible cause (even though autism rates still go up when vaccination uptake decreases).

Then the media omits information to highlight other information, like in the
Hannah Poling case. She would have been more injured by the actual disease, but since the vaccine did what the disease would have done her, then the media downplays the actual cause-which was the disorder she had to begin with. If she didn't have the mitochondrial disorder, then the vaccine nor the disease would have been such a threat.

So, the public is miseducated in so many ways by idiot journalists. We have generations of people who will have no clue what to really think of all this, and outraged at the wrong people. Fun.

[dustbunny]

Originally Posted by Hydrogen Cyanide

Most of the real scientists and doctors already know this stuff (like DeeTee). The only ones who are pushing the "MMR causes autism" are usually those who are trying to make a buck off of scaremongering. Check out The Great Autism Rip-Off (it is actually a Daily Mail article!).

Here is a comparison of some of the studies that have been done:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4026.pdf

Thanks. From a parents point of view you really do get sick and tired of the scaremongering. While ever we have those who are reaping in the benefits for their "MMR causes autism" theory the true cause of autism gets lost amidst the feuding over it. We're grateful for any helpful information but not for scaremongering.