Archive | July, 2006

Progress/No Progress

22 Jul

It’s fascinating to me how things seem to go in circles, an idea is challenged, is rejected, you think you’ve moved on and then you find that same idea being used as a strawman argument against you.

In recent days following the massively successful petition regarding the ‘Autism Every Day’ video and the flurry of blog posts regarding the murder of William Lash IV I’ve seen a remarkable return of an idea I thought long dead from the mercury militia – the ‘my problems are worse than yours’ gambit.

Numerous people have tried to insinuate that everyone who has either signed the petition or denounced the murder of William Lash IV are people who’s kids must be ‘high functioning’ and that therefore we cannot have any real understanding of how difficult it is to parent a ‘low functioning’ child.

This is fallacious for numerous reasons. Mostly though its fallacious as its simply untrue. From speaking with a lot of the parents who these people are referring to its clear that they do not have ‘high functioning’ kids. Like my own child, they are considered ‘low functioning’. These are kids who used to smear faeces on walls, run into traffic, have meltdowns at excess noise/smells/tastes/light quality, bang their head against the wall, not communicate, not be toilet trained etc etc. The only difference between ‘them’ and ‘us’ is what we chose to do to move forward. In terms of the challenges, pitfalls, low points and stress we know _exactly_ where ‘they’ are coming from. Parenting a special needs kid is bloody hard work.

The goals for us as parents for _all_ our three kids are as follows: that they are happy, confident and respectful of others. That’s it. If they are happy, confident, respectful of others and rich then that’s great. If they are happy, confident, respectful of others and using a keyboard to communicate then that’s great too.

So how do we do that? I believe that a happy child is a child that is loved unconditionally, that _knows_ it is loved, that _knows_ it is valued exactly as they are. That is engaged first and foremost as a child. I don’t believe you can do that – honestly and totally do that – unless you can genuinely accept that child. That is _not_ to say that some parents don’t love their kids. I believe Erik loves his daughter. I believe JB loves his son. But it seems to me that they see their kids first and foremost as a medical puzzle to solve. No child should be the battleground for their parents hurt and anger.

So – acceptance – that’s the same as doing nothing right? Hardly. Acceptance (to me) means accepting that one’s child has a) a way of perceiving the world that necessitates a parent to alter their teaching and parenting methods and b) that that different perception is equally as valid a state of existence as any other. It seems obvious to me that an inability to see one’s child existence as valid can only result in a child not feeling valued or confident.

Acceptance is just the start. The child still requires teaching and parenting. That means they can be cute, naughty, rude, hilarious, moody, loving and silly. All these states require handling as a parent but for us the approach we take stems from the concept of acceptance.

But I am not suggesting it is not hard work and depressingly difficult sometimes. Of course it is. My objection to the ‘Autism Every Day’ video was not that it showed the bad things. Its that it _only_ showed the bad things and it had to stage manage the situations in order to show those bad things. Nothing good can come from dishonesty.

Sorry but I’ve removed some bits of this post dealing specifically with my daughter. Upon reflection I guess I’m still not comfortable putting out things about her to the whole internet.

Autism Diva: Kelloggs Just Trying To Help

22 Jul

_The following is taken word for work from Autism Diva’s blog. I’ve turned off comments here and strongly encourage you to comment at Diva’s place._

If you follow autism news and/or gossip you may have heard that Autism Speaks is working with the Kellogg’s cereal folks to promote Autism Speaks as a mainstream authority in matters autistic and to alert parents of young children to early signs of autism. Of course, anything coming from Autism Speaks will be agitprop slanted toward invoking fears of the faux-epidemic of family-destroying body-snatched-children. Autism Speaks both promotes and denies the faux-epidemic out of alternating sides of it’s corporate mouth. The Kellogg’s cereal folks are doing their part by donating space on the sides of their cereal boxes to an Autism Speaks ad.

The ad reads:

Do you know what autism is? Autism is a neurological disorder that impairs communication, behavior, and social skills. It’s the nation’s fatest growing serious developmental disorder, with a new case diagnosed every 20 minutes.

(Apparently they left out this part: We here at Autism Speaks are hoping to get that number up to one every 10 minutes so we are alerting parents to the early signs of autism since many autistic children are really not obviously autistic so that they don’t get diagnosed until after they enter first grade … so much for the unmissable “train wrecks” hype.)

More from the cereal box ad:

Do you know the early signs? No big smiles or joyful expressions by 6 months. No babbling by 12 months. No back and forth gestures, such as pointing and waving by 12 months. No words by 16 months. Any loss of speech or babbling at any age. These are just a few of the possible early signs. If you have any concerns, speak to your doctor about screening your child. Please…Don’t wait.

And then there is some stuff about tax deductible donations, trademarks belonging to Autism Speaks and Copyright (c) 2006″ and the website’s address again.

(This is a screenshot of the homepage after the introductory flash animation thing–accompanied by some sorrowful nursery-like music–where you can read about how their orgnization presumes to speak for autistics who can’t)

It’s a frightening thought that people will read those possible early signs of autism and the ominous sounding statement of how autism is such rapidly growing phenomenon on the side of a cereal box and actually go to the Autism Speaks website and there be terrorized by that disgusting video “Autism Every Day,” among other negative propaganda.

If the cereal box reading parents do go to the website and watch that video, they will learn that in time their now lovable (if odd or silent) toddler wil become someone who along with thousands of others just like them have the potential to destroy the very fabric of society, not to mention the mom’s status as owner of a perfect star of a child. Ladies-who-lunch will learn that they should forget those days in the upscale neighborhood coffee shops wherein they can brag about how smart, gorgeous and advanced their child is. Other moms who never had that as a goal, they should forget about everything sweet and good related to having a child period. To elaborate on David Kirby’s fave expression, Autism Speak’s message is: “Moms (and dads)! Welcome to the ‘hell that is autism’.” Is that really the introduction to autism that parents of young children not yet diagnosed, that may not even be autistic need?

The website has links to “resources” available on the web for parents, even a page with links to blogs: here. Unfortunately for the parents none of them are Autism Hub blogs where the bloggers tacitly announce that they “don’t need no stinking cure” for themselves or their children, but they do want understanding and support for the complex problems that often surround autism. One of the three blogs linked to on the Autism Speaks site, one run by a serious mercury mom, has been inactive for quite a while.

Of course, in the view of mercury grand-dad Bob Wright and his mercury daughter the site would be remiss if it didn’t give some space to promoting the USVICTMS (Ultra Sneaky Vast International Conspiracy to Thimerosal Manufacturers Shield) and they do so by linking to various thinly veiled antivaccine organizations and other spreaders of conspiracy theories, such as “Coalition for SAFE MINDS.” Autism Diva believes that it’s the Mr. Wright’s mercury daughter on the video who implies that there was something evil and preventable that “stole” something from her child. Please check Kevin Leitch’s recent article on conspiracy theories and the mercury parent paranoid worldview.

One of the pages on the Autism Speaks site has a button that says, “Email us your thoughts.” It’s a link to an email address: editors@autism speaks.org. Feel free to email them your thoughts. Short clear, respectfully worded thoughts will probably have the greatest effect.

A group of autistic advocates and calling themselves the Autistic Social Action Committee would like you to consider writing to the the Kellogg’s folks. Autism Diva is not a member of the committee, but is placing their request here.

If you would like to tell the Kellogg’s people that you think they’ve made an error in linking themselves to Autism Speaks and it’s openly negative and thinly veiled paranoic view of autism and it’s causes–that could do great harm to many people, autistic or not–you could write to:

Kellogg Co.
One Kellogg Square
PO Box 3599
Battle Creek, MI, 49016-3599

A representative of Kellogg’s has politely answered a question from an autistic advocate regarding the cereal boxes. That representative said that the boxes have already been printed.

Autism Diva found the following name and address that might be useful to those who wish to register disappointment at Kellogg’s association with Bob Wright and his badly misnamed organization as well as its close ties to antivax conspiracy mongers.

Tim Knowlton, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility
Phone: (269) 961-3799
E-mail:media.hotline@kellogg.com

Please, if you call, email or write to Autism Speaks or Kellogg’s, use your polite “voice” and present your concerns with dignity and show that you are interested in ethical and accurate representations of autistics, young and old.

Stalling For Time, Mainstream Death, Underground Immortality

21 Jul

A few days ago I posted about how bad a time the autism = mercury poisoning via thiomersal/vaccines believers were having of late. There was the Fombonne study which revealed yet more lack of correlation between vaccines and autism, then there was the first legal try-out of the quality of the science and the scientific experts accumulated to demonstrate the relationship between thiomersal and autism which was dismissed due to the terrible quality of both. This was followed by the state of Hawaii refusing to ban thiomersal as there was no scientifically sound reason to do it and just as a nasty kick in the teeth, the latest quarterly reports of autism cases in California reported that there was still no drop in the figures despite the long term removal of thiomersal from mainstream vaccines.

Possibly then its no coincidence that on the 18th July, the Petitioners in the Autism/Vaccine Omnibus court cases filed a request to delay the deadline for submitting their case for general causation. The deadline (which has already been adjusted for petitioners several times before) was the end of 2006. Petitioners now want it extended to June 2007. They say this is to ensure the expert academics don’t have to curtail their teaching duties and also (because its in the summer holidays) allow families to attend.

Well, that’s one opinion. My personal opinion is that the RhoGAM case was a pretty large wake-up call and people suddenly realised that the ‘expert’ witnesses were _far_ from expert and that the body of science was shoddy in the extreme.

The petitioners also make some amusing requests regarding how this case is followed. Firstly, they want the court to allow for all 5000 families to attend in a central location such as Houston or Chicago. Maybe a resident of one of these cities can suggest a legal arena with a 5000 seat capacity?

They also suggest that the whole thing is played out via live web casts for those unable to attend in person. Strikes me that these requests are simply there to provide argument and thus stall for more time. In short, petitioners legal team are actively trying to turn this into a media circus, not a trial.

Most tellingly of all, petitioners want to _limit_ the amount of time each expert can be cross examined for. I wonder why. Well, no, I don’t. If I had Haley or the Geier’s in my corner I’d want to limit the amount of time they can speak too.

I feel sorry for the Special Master here. If he lets them have the extra time then he knows he’s setting a precedent. These petitioners have had ample time to prepare their case. If he refuses the request then he’ll be savaged and no doubt be painted as a Big Pharma Shill.

So is this the rag tag end of the thiomersal hypothesis? Yes and no. In scientific terms there’s still no evidence whatsoever to indicate a causative link between thiomersal/MMR/vaccines and autism. This aspect never really got off the ground at all. When we turn to epidemiology (is there a positive numerical correlation between thiomersal and autism?) then what we hear, as Holmes once famously explained to Watson, is the sound of no dogs barking.

Every quarter for the past two or three years, Rick Rollens has compiled the quarterly data from the CDDS without fail. David Kirby describes it as ‘the gold standard’ of numbers relating to autism. Every quarter, as caseload (as defiend by Rollens) grew it was trumpeted as proof that the thiomersal in vaccines caused an increase in autism…..except for the first time I can remember, Rollens has not compiled these stats this quarter. Kirby has not announced them on the Huffington Post blog. Schafer has not mentioned them in the SAR. No dogs bark this quarter. Why? Because thiomersal use is almost gone in vaccines and yet still the autism numbers rise.

Lenny Schafer recently said:

Myself and other autism activists believe there is enough evidence to support a causative relationship between mercury and autism in a court of law, in front of a jury, where standards of evidence are different than that of the narrow focus of scientific findings. And if you can convince a jury, you can convince the public.

He’s, of course, wrong as the recent RhoGAM hearing indicates. The standard of determination for scientific hypothesis’ is still, and always will be, science. I’ll close this first part of this post with a quote from one of my favourite poets – Yeats.

_Turning and turning in the widening gyre_
_The falcon cannot hear the falconer;_
_Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;_
_Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,_
_The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere_
_The ceremony of innocence is drowned;_
_The best lack all conviction, while the worst_
_Are full of passionate intensity._

*~Second Coming.*

I’ve long been fascinated by conspiracy theories. How they grow, how they operate etc. The autism/vaccine hypothesis has mutated into a conspiracy theory now as it fulfils many – if not all – of the sociological and psychological requirements to be deemed as such.

When conspiracy theories combine logical fallacies with lack of evidence, the result is a world view known as conspiracism. Conspiracism is a world view that sees major historic events and trends as the result of secret conspiracies. Academic interest in conspiracy theories and conspiracism has identified a set of familiar structural features by which membership of the genre may be established, and has presented a range of hypotheses on the basis of studying the genre. Among the leading scholars of conspiracism are: Hofstadter, Popper, Barkun, Goldberg, Pipes, Fenster, Mintz, Sagan, Johnson, and Posner, from whom the following list is synthesized.

Wikipedia.

Let’s work through some of ‘diagnostic criteria’ for conspiracies:

  1. Initiated on the basis of limited, partial or circumstantial evidence; – TRUE Began after FDA asked for review of mercury in ’97..
  2. Addresses an event or process that has broad historical or emotional impact. – TRUE ‘Poisoning’ children is a highly emotive subject. Appeals to emotion are constantly made.
  3. Reduces morally complex social phenomena to simple, immoral actions – TRUE Instead of seeing institutions as error-capable they are painted as evil
  4. Personifies complex social phenomena as powerful individual conspirators; – TRUE Continued belief that those ‘in power’ at the CDC/FDA/AAP ‘know’ whats going on
  5. Allots superhuman talents or resources to conspirators;
  6. Key steps in argument rely on inductive, not deductive reasoning;
  7. Appeals to ‘common sense’ – TRUE Lacking science, the fallback position is common sense.
  8. Exhibits well-established logical and methodological fallacies; – TRUE One word – Geier.
  9. Is produced and circulated by ‘outsiders’, often anonymous, and generally lacking peer review – TRUE Not sure about anonymous outsiders but definitely lacks peer review
  10. Is upheld by persons with demonstrably false conceptions of relevant science; – TRUE Geier, Kirbys, Olmsted, Handley, Bernard, Schafer….etc etc etc
  11. Enjoys zero credibility in expert communities; – TRUE
  12. Rebuttals provided by experts are ignored or accommodated through elaborate new twists in the narrative;
  13. The conspiracy is claimed to involve just about anybody; – TRUE FDA/CDC/me/George Bush/Every doctor on the planet
  14. The conspiracy centers on the “usual suspects”; – TRUE Big organisations. CDC etc.

So we can see that the autism/thiomersal/vaccine hypothesis more than qualifies as a conspiracy theory. The believers also fit the descriptions perfectly. Many autism/vaccines believers also believe in other related conspiracy theories. As an example, Kathleen recently posted another in her ongoing fascinating series of posts on the Geier’s where they were interviewed on radio. The host said:

Why are these things going on? Well, if you’d like to know why they’re going on, you need to get my talk on planned population reduction… And ladies and gentlemen, I hate to say this, but there really are people who want to hurt children… And if you doubt that, you need to get my book, Brotherhood of Darkness… Our government is poisoning us.

There really are people like Judy (sic) Gerberding and others at the CDC, who know exactly what they are doing, and they are evil. I’ve been to the CDC, I’ve met many of these people when I was back there, and of course, not the same people, I’m sure those people have gone on and probably been richly rewarded working for the drug companies or working elsewhere now, very prosperous after doing all the harm… We’re up against organized evil. We’re in a battle for the souls of men, and the survival of Christian civilization.

This is a vocalisation of the ‘human farming’ conspiracy theory. The host believes that:

some of our leaders have dedicated their lives to destroying our nation (US)

<source .

I have also heard conspiracy theories that state that (somehow) the 11/9 WTC attacks are (somehow) part of the autism/vaccine theory and that autism is a ‘disease’ constructed with the sole purpose of selling more pills.

Evidence of Harm also has a new member – John Scudamore of whale.to who’s site is a haven for conspiracy theories such as The Illuminati, Depopulation control, Big Brother, Black Ops. Charmingly, John has an entire section devoted to rubbishing medical charities:

the purpose of cancer research is not to find a cure for cancer but to perpetuate the cancer industry consisting mostly of research and chemotherapy

Another supporter of the theory (and in particular Generation Rescue) is David Icke who once declared himself as the Son of God and who believes that we are controlled by all powerful lizards.

It’s almost a necessity that the thiomersal/autism hypothesis becomes a conspiracy theory – it ensures its life beyond the point when the rest of the world has moved on (and we are very close to that point now) and gives people a reason to explain what they perceive as the bad in their life. Maybe these people are more to be pitied than argued with but their conspiracy theories affect my kids life directly. They still need challenging lest they sink into the same murky excuses for genocide that the recent re-painting of the holocaust as an event that never occurred occurs here too.

Bill Welsh – Autism Treatment Trust ‘s Bewildering Conclusions

21 Jul

Bill Welsh, ex head of the now defunct ‘Action Against Autism’ and current big cheese at the ‘Autism Treatment Trust’ recently responded to a new study in The Lancet that suggested a prevalence rate for autism in the UK of 1 in 100. His response was published in The Herald and I reproduce it in full here.

It will come as no surprise to parents throughout Scotland that there has been a “sharp increase in autism” (July 14). The diagnosis of this devastating childhood developmental condition has increased to such an extent since 1990 that many, many families are now affected. It is very worrying that it has taken well over 10 years for the authorities at last to recognise that an autism epidemic has been sweeping the UK.

Psychiatrists and psychologists and those within the traditional autism support and services organisations must bear some responsibility for this sad state of affairs, as it is they who have continually denied that what we have been witnessing with our own eyes was actually happening. An estimated 12-fold increase in autism was apparently a mirage!

By sustaining this irrational stance these interest groups have hampered clinical examination, and likely condemned seriously ill children to years of unnecessary pain and distress. The psychobabble “experts” must now be informed that we have not been experiencing the world’s first genetic epidemic!

Importantly, there is much to learn from this latest Lancet paper. What it tells us is that (1) autism is not solely genetic in origin, (2) environmental factors play a far greater role than was previously understood, and as a result, (3) autism may be a treatable condition for some.

Supported by parents, Autism Treatment Trust opened an autism consultation and treatment centre in Edinburgh in April this year and to date we have comprehensively tested more than 60 autistic children. It is early days, but the results so far are very revealing.

For example, heavy-metal toxicity is a common feature, with significantly high levels of lead, aluminium, tin and antimony present in autistic kids, in comparison to typical children. Inflammation, particularly of the bowel, is often identified. Immune dysfunction is a recurring theme.

If these problems were addressed how would it affect the child’s autistic behaviours? Watch this space!
If the medical establishment continues to abandon these children, without addressing their underlying problems, this will rightly be interpreted, by every decent person with an ounce of compassion, as scandalous.

I read this response with a mixture of amusement and eye-rolling. It’s apparent that Mr Welsh has not read the paper in question. My response is below:

In his letter dated 17-07-06, Bill Welsh makes several errors regarding the interpretation of a recent study published in the Lancet regarding the prevalence rate of autism. This leads him to make misleading claims regarding autism and its treatment.

Mr Welsh first states that there has been a sharp increase in autism but this is not the finding of the Lancet paper. Baird et al state that that prevalence rate of autism is greater than was previously recognised. This is not the same as saying there has been a sharp increase in autism. Indeed, it may be a more accurate interpretation to say that autism has historically been under-diagnosed. However, the authors content themselves with stating that the reason for the increase is unknown which is the responsible thing to do as this question falls outside the remit of this study.

Subsequently Mr Welsh implies that this paper is proof of an ‘autism epidemic’. This is also a statment not based on the reality of current science. A study published in 2005 by Chakrabarti and Fombonne compared prevalence rates across a decade of autistic children in Staffordshire, England and found the prevalence rate stable. Indeed, Baird et al cite Fombonne in their study.

Mr Welsh goes on to point an accusatory finger at psychiatrists and psychologists for refusing to recognise Mr Welsh’s ‘epidemic’ and further paints them as condemning seriously ill children to years of pain and distress. These two scenarios do not tally. The diagnostic criteria for autism do not list any of the issues Mr Welsh cites.

Mr Welsh lists three things he has learnt from the Lancet paper. First, that autism is not solely genetic. This is not mentioned in the Lancet paper at all so I’m puzzled as to how Mr Welsh learnt that fact from this paper, but it does tally with mainstream thinking – most people believe autism is a mix of genetics and environment. Secondly, Mr Welsh has learnt that environmental factors play a greater role than first thought. Again, this is not discussed anywhere in the Lancet paper except as a brief mention in the conclusion which states:

Although a number of putative environmental factors might have contributed to the higher prevalence rates reported in studies published this decade, none has so far been empirically supported.

Thirdly, Mr Welsh says he has learnt that autism may be a treatable condition for some. Once again, this is not mentioned in any part of the Lancet paper and one must assumes stems from Mr Welsh’s fringe theories regarding heavy metal toxicity and autism which he later expounds on. Interestingly, a recent court case in America where a couple attempted to sue the maufacturers of RhoGAM as they claimed the mercury in it (used as a preservative) caused their childs autism had their case dismissed solely due to the poor standard of science used to support their case.

Mr Welsh closes by pointing another accusatory finger in the direction of the medical establishment stating that they have ‘abandoned’ autistic children. As parent to an autistic child I can say that I have never felt abandoned by our Health Authority and that I find Mr Welsh’s accusations and assertions without foundation and his tone troubling.

Another Disabled Child Murdered

19 Jul

In what is becoming a very uneasy chain of events, yet another disabled child, WIlliam H Lash IV, has died at the hands of a parent:

A former Bush administration official, after arguing violently with his wife Thursday night, shot and killed his 12-year-old son inside their McLean home, then turned a shotgun on himself and committed suicide, Fairfax County police said.

Washington Post.

This follows the murder of Ryan Davies (aged 12) at the hands of his mum, Alison Davies in April this year, the murder of Katie McCarron in May, the attempted (thankfully unsuccessful) murder of Lexus Fuller, the murder of Christopher Degroot in May this year and countless others over time.

Every time the mind attempts to adjust to the shocking reality of another murder it seems like another one emerges.

Friends and neighbors described Lash as devoted to his only child, William H. Lash IV, who was autistic.

Sounds familiar, right? Exactly the same sentiments expressed as those expressed by friends of all the above victim’s parents. Devoted. Selfless.

He loved his son so much. He really loved his son . . . and he did everything for him

This is such a difficult thing to comprehend. Can it _truly_ be that there are levels of love where murdering the target of that love is acceptable? And that that love can be used as an excuse or a vindication? Why do we always hear more about the killer than the victim? To be brutally frank, William H Lash III is a murdering scumbag. I don’t care about his CV. Why can’t we hear about his child?

Yet again, we come around to ‘that video‘. That video where a mum talks about killing her disabled child whilst that child is in the room with her, taking it all in. As Mike McCarron, Katie’s grandad says:

I found the film offensive, an exercise in narcissism. It paints the picture that at least one of these children would be better off dead. I deeply resent that

Incredible as it may seem, Autism Diva found a comment in reaction to the petition I set up stating:

Wow, I actually think this is disrespectful to the makers of the movie.

What can one _say_ in response to such arrant ego? We’re talking about a film that attempts to put a face on acceptable murder of children. An attitude about which the film’s Producer says:

If most mothers of autistic children…..look hard enough within themselves they will find that they have played out a similar scenario in their minds.

And here’s someone who thinks the petition is disrespectful. I guess what that mother was talking about in front of her autistic child wasn’t disrespectful at all. Amazing.

People have tried to make ‘the best’ out of these situations and try and highlight the lack of services or the struggles parents face. These things are both true. It is a struggle parenting a disabled child. Its damned hard. There is an appalling lack of service in a wide range of areas. However, we cannot and should not (in my opinion) use the murders of children to highlight these points. This detracts from the horrifying reality of what was done to these children and also serves as a backhanded excuse to their murdering parents – they never would’ve done it if there were more services. That can never ever be used as an explanation for a murderous act. That’s the ‘take home’ message from ‘Autism Every Day’ and I reject it utterly.

Please remember William. A twelve year old boy first and foremost. I have a fourteen year old son and much as he hates it, I’ll be giving him a big hug. He’ll be going fishing soon. In a week he breaks up for summer and he’ll be off with his mates, playing footy, bike riding, fishing. William won’t. We have to find a way of utterly rejecting the idea of murdering disabled children as in any way acceptable, understandable or an act of compassion. It’s not.

Erik Nanstiel And FAIR Autism Media

17 Jul

Earlier today I posted a link to an online petition that I’d created where those who disagreed with Autism Speaks recent propaganda piece ‘Autism Every Day’ and its messages that its acceptable to excuse murder, that most parents of autistic kids harbour thoughts of murder and that the reality of parenting autistic kids is never ending misery. I invited people to sign it if they agreed with it.

Upon checking the signatures submitted so far, I found an entry signed by ‘Raymond Babbit’. For those unaware of the reference Raymon Babbit was the autistic character portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rainman. Someone obviously thinks its amusing to lampoon autistic people.

Luckily, I’d written the script to record signers IP addresses. This was to help me auto detect and delete duplicate entries and also, as I state to deter abusive entries. I am aware, as most of us are who either are autistic or who parent autistic kids or who work closely with autistic people that there is a certain breed of person, like ‘Raymond Babbit’ who see autistic people as fair game – people to be targeted and made a laughing stock of.

So I checked out ‘Raymond Babbit’s’ IP address (an IP address by the way is a unique string of numbers – also called a ‘dotted quad’ due to its appearance e.g. 127.0.0.1 – that is unique to one computer or network). This IP address started 209.* which I found interesting as it sounded very familiar to me.

So I ran that number through my blog admin comment search tool and got a set of results. All coming from comments made by one person – Erik Nanstiel, President of FAIR Autism Media.

Erik is the President of FAIR Autism Media, an organisation about which he says:

FAIR Autism Media is a collaborative project that really belongs to all of us in the autism community

June 28, 2006 at 7:48 AM
Subject: Re: New “Treating G.I. Problems” Video
On: chelatingkids2@yahoogroups.com

which is odd statement because after accusing me of attempting to hijack the murder of autistic children, Erik stated that:

FAIR’s website content is decided by the board of directors. We decided long ago that we would focus on collecting expert testimony on primarily biomedical & political issues concerning the autism community.

Source.

Which seems a bit of a pair of mismatched statements. Despite his claim that FAIR Autism Media is a project that belongs to the entire autism community, his project made no public condemnation of the murders of autistic children, preferring instead to attempt to excuse the murderer in question. His accusations toward myself and others of attempting to hijack the killing of autistic children to further our own agenda is strange coming from someone who has admitted to befriending and advising at least one killer of an autistic child and who’s co-director at FAIR Autism Media, Medical Directory Doctor David Ayoub has also admitted to regularly having phone conversations with the killers of autistic children in newspaper stories attempting to explain the viewpoints of people who are members of and support FAIR Autism Media.

As we can see from today’s behaviour, the belittling of attempts at protesting the murder of autistic children and the use of a name calculated to deliberately attack autistic people is maybe no real surprise. This is especially true when one considers the behaviour of some of Erik’s friends.

Like Erik, a man who used to post under the name of ‘srinath’ on the Autism Web forum is currently subjecting his daughter to the Lupron protocol overseen by the Geier’s. There are often heated debates on this forum but lately poster ‘srinath’ received a ban when he was questioned by an autistic member posting under the nom-de-plume ‘KaliDOW’ regarding the treatment of his child.

Srinath’s response was indicative of the type of person that undergoes the kind of treatment options pioneered by the Geier’s. His response is captured in a screenshot. Please be warned that it is very graphic. When he was remonstrated with by other forum members and subsequently banned he returned under a new identity and insulted the autistic member again. Please be warned that this screenshot is equally offensive. This is also not the first time that groups Erik is intimate with have attacked autistic people. It’s something of a recurring theme.

As it is, Erik’s offensive and deeply immature entry on the petition will stand. I will not delete it. It will serve as an enduring testament to the mindset and attitudes of FAIR Autism Media.

Autism Speaks: Don’t Speak For Me

17 Jul

Following on from the furore created by the very misleading Autism Every Day film, I’ve set up a petition to make sure that the film-makers realise that not all parents of autistic people, or autistic people themselves, or professionals who work with autistic people are harbouring thoughts of murder. Neither do we appreciate our lives being intentionally misleadingly portrayed in order to gain a pressure group a bit more money.

Signatories will be stating that they:

Utterly repudiate the notion of murder being an acceptable response to disability.

Vehemently deny that most parents of autistic – or otherwise disabled – children harbour thoughts of murder

Testify that the false ‘reality’ concocted by Autism Speaks film ‘Autism Every Day’ is not a true reflection of the reality of parenting an autistic child.

Call for a public apology from Lauren Thierry for increasing ignorance regarding autism.

Please sign the petition.

Bad Week For Thiomersal/Autism Hypothesis

15 Jul

It’s really not been such a good week or so to believe the thiomersal/autism hypothesis.

Firstly, there was the latest Canadian study that concluded:

The prevalence of pervasive developmental disorder in Montreal was high, increasing in recent birth cohorts as found in most countries. Factors accounting for the increase include a broadening of diagnostic concepts and criteria, increased awareness and, therefore, better identification of children with pervasive developmental disorders in communities and epidemiologic surveys, and improved access to services. The findings ruled out an association between pervasive developmental disorder
and either high levels of ethylmercury exposure comparable with those experienced in the United States in the 1990s or 1- or 2-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations.

Next up was the legal and scientific smackdown which examined the scientific credentials of both the body of evidence amassed thus far in support of the thiomersal/autism connection _and_ two of its leading expert – Boyd Haley and Mark Geier:

The court…finds that Dr. Haley’s report does not state an expert opinion that thimerosal causes autism, rather just that he has a theory about how such a thing could happen. At best, he expressed “strong belief” that the cause of “neurodevelopmental disorders in infants” is exposure to an organic-mercury compound such as thimerosal……the disconnected literature he presents does not add up to the opinion and conclusion that Dr. Geier is offering. Accordingly, the Court finds that Dr. Geier’s literature review, in this instance, does not meet the Daubert standard of being both derived by the scientific method and relevant to the “task at hand…..the Court notes that Dr. Geier is not a pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist. In fact, testimony was presented to the Court that Dr. Geier was not even successful in sitting for his Medical Board examination in the specific field of pediatric genetics….the Court finds that Dr. Geier was not specifically qualified to perform a differential diagnosis of a pediatric neurological disorder, and, that he did not properly perform the differential diagnosis

Thirdly, despite a long drawn out letter writing campaign featuring other named expert witness Richard Deth, Hawaii decided to veto a bill banning thimerosal containing vaccines because:

This bill is objectionable because it restricts the use of FDA-approved vaccines for no scientifically sound reason…….This bill ignores the body of current scientific evidence on thimerosal-containing vaccines.

Bad enough, but just to really kick the thiomersal/autism hypothesis in the teeth, CDDS released their quarterly autism figures. Joseph looked at the figures and sure enough – they’re still rising. Let’s recall that David Kirby has said that:

If the total number of 3-5 year olds in the California DDS system has not declined by 2007, that would deal a severe blow to the autism-thimerosal hypothesis. He [Kirby] also conceded that total cases among 3-5 year olds, not changes in the rate of increase is the right measure

Guess what? We’re two quarters away from 2007. The total number of 3 – 5 year olds in the CDDS has _not_ declined.

3 – 5 cohort caseload over the last 16 quarters as compiled by Dad of Cameron.

Lauren Thierry, Autism Every Day, Why Lie?

14 Jul

Via Kristina and Ballastexistenz I found out a few more facts about the ‘Autism Every Day’ film.

I, amongst others, was highly critical of the film for two reasons. Firstly, its highly provocative title claims that it shows the daily reality of living with an autistic person. Secondly, the jaw dropping bleating of a mother who told how she contemplated murder/suicide because of her life with the hell of autism.

Now, an interview with the filmmaker, one Lauren Thierry, has revealed the calculatedly misleading nature of the film and the lengths Thierry went to ensure the film got the ‘harrowing’ footage needed.

The party line is supposed to be that anything that raises awareness you’re supposed to be happy about. That notion is 10 years old. At this point we need to be showing the world what the vast reality truly is.” She says that reality includes images of kids not sleeping through the night, banging their heads against the wall or running into traffic — not images of kids setting basketball records or passionately playing the violin.

This is not accuracy. This is a calculated agenda. Of _course_ kids not sleeping through the night or banging their heads against walls, or running into traffic are realities. No one disputes that. But Autism Every Day (and Thierry) in the above quote are explicitly excluding images of kids setting basketball records or playing the violin. Those are _also_ realities. I showed another reality at the end of my original post – that of my beautiful daughter grinning from ear to ear as she bounced on her trampoline.

You are not ‘showing the world what the reality truly is’ Mr/Ms Thierry. You are, by your own admission, deliberately excluding anything not capable of inducing pity.

And what about the events that the filmmakers _did_ record? If you’re going to deliberately, consciously exclude the varied reality of autistic life then surely it behooves you to at least present the material you _do_ choose to show accurately?

Thierry told her subjects not to do their hair, vacuum or bring in the therapists. She showed up with her crew at their homes sight unseen and kept the cameras rolling as a mom literally wrestled with her son to get him to brush his teeth, as a 9-year-old had a public meltdown, as a 5-year-old had his diaper changed. And, as moms revealed dark and uncomfortable truths about living with autism. The result is a window into an exhausting world of interminable work.

Yet again, this is _not_ accuracy, this is a premeditated attempt to wilfully misrepresent people. As Ballastexistenz says in her post:

This was, as expected, not really a “slice of everyday life” from these parents’ lives, but a deliberately engineered take on the worst they could make things look.

You have to wonder at the motives. Why would someone who claims to be an autism advocate deliberately create and release a deliberately inaccurate film?

But it gets worse.

The majority of the harsh criticism surrounding the film is directed at Alison Tepper Singer, a mom featured in the film and a staff member of Autism Speaks. About midway through the film, Singer discusses her reaction to inadequate classrooms. “I remember that was a scary moment for me when I realized I had sat in the car for about 15 minutes and actually contemplated putting Jody in the car and driving off the George Washington Bridge. That would be preferable to having to put her in one of these schools.” It was only because of her other child, she said, that she didn’t do it.

Both autistic and typical families have reacted with outrage and disgust to Singer’s statement — calling for her children to be removed from her custody and even drawing a connection between her and Karen McCarron. Thierry responds by calling Singer “gutsy and courageous.” She was expecting a call from Singer asking that the footage not be used. But that call never came. “You don’t say stuff like that — camera rolling — unless you are truly ready to play ball with the entire world,” Thierry says.

If most mothers of autistic children, Thierry responds, look hard enough within themselves they will find that they have played out a similar scenario in their minds. “If this is not your reality, then God bless you,” she says.

What in God’s name is going _on_ here? How can someone be described as gutsy and courageous for contemplating murdering their disabled child and then being stopped by the thought of their non-disabled child? Memo to Thierry: that’s not courage or guts. For you to paint it as such is frighteningly irresponsible. If anyone who parents both a disabled and non-disabled child feels it _is_ gutsy then do the same thing – get both kids in a room, tell someone you were thinking of killing the disabled one but because of your other child you won’t. If you feel gutsy or courageous after telling your disabled child its OK to kill them but its not OK to kill their non disabled child then God bless you. Because you need it.

Traces Of Desperation

11 Jul

A new trend is developing amongst the mercury militia. This new trend might even lead me to have to abandon the term ‘mercury militia’ completely.

What seems to be happening in the last couple of months is the downplaying of the role of thiomersal/mercury in ‘causing’ autism and the fomentation of a more generalist position of ‘somethings’ (including thiomersal) causing autism.

This is easy to sympathise with. In recent days a large-scale study has come out that (yet again) indicates no causative link between thiomersal (or MMR) and autism and the body of ‘science’ accumulated thus far by the miltia’s scientists was utterly demolished in both scientific and legal terms. These are people who’s position is becoming desperate. Essentially, in terms of legal success they have less than six months for a scientific paper to establish the possibility of a causative link between autism and thiomersal. I think its fairly obvious that’s not going to happen. When one examines the CDDS data (data David Kirby refers to as ‘the gold standard’) in the 3 – 5 year old cohort (the cohort Kirby agree’s is the only important one to examine) the rate of autism is not falling. It is still climbing. What we see are quarterly fluctuations (both ways) in the rate of increase (which Kirby agree’s is not the right measure).

Therefore, we have a still climbing autism rate according to CDDS data despite the fact that the amount of thiomersal in vaccines has very dramatically gone down and the amount of vaccines containing thiomersal has drastically reduced.

To look at it another way, in order for the autism rate to continue to be climbing in the way it is and for the thiomersal hypothesis to be correct, the US would need to be maintaining the same amount of thiomersal containing vaccines with the same amount of thiomersal in each.

So for a variety of reasons thiomersal’s role is altering to fit the new agenda.

Thiomersal’s role is subtly altering in the mercury militia’s mindset. It’s now altering from an absolutist ‘autism = mercury poisoning’ role to a more subtle role where thiomersal is one amongst many elements that cause autism. As an interesting aside, one has to wonder what the role of Generation Rescue will be in this brave new world.

Now, lets be kind here and forget that for months, years even, those of us who’ve consistently opposed such an absolutist position have tried to explain just why it couldn’t simply ‘be’ thiomersal. We have to remember that those who believe it _is_ thiomersal and solely thiomersal lack the capacity of rational thought in many cases. John Best Jr is a case in point.

The idea that thiomersal is simply ‘one amongst many’ that may cause autism is more valid from a standpoint of basic (dare I say it?) Common Sense, and yet from a science point of view it brings the group of people we should now refer to as the ex-mercury militia (all alternative aliterations accepted) to a standpoint of working from the ground up about how a whole _multitude_ of elements may cause autism. Good luck with that one.

And yet, the ghost of the thiomersal, much like another unquiet corpse, rests uneasily in its grave. It is now suggested, despite the massive drop in the available amount of thiomersal (from a compulsory 187 ug Hg to an optional 25 ug Hg in the US)and the apparent continued rise in rates of autism that the reason the autism rate may continue to be rising may be the ‘trace’ amounts of thiomersal used in the vaccine manufacturing process. This trace amount is in DTaP-HepB-IPV, DTaP, Hepatitis B and one flu vaccine.

Here’s a commenter on a recent WebMD thread:

First, it must be recognized that thimerosal, although not generally used as a “preservative,” is still used in the manufacturing process, resulting in “trace” amounts remaining in various quantities. Also, thimerosal is still used as a preservative in many, if not most, flu vaccines which are highly recommended for administration to pregnant women and young children. There is no denying that the exposure to thimerosal has been greatly diminished, but it has not disappeared altogether.

So lets examine what the word ‘trace’ might mean. I offer as evidence a bottle of cranberry flavoured water from the Leitch fridge. Look closely at the nutritional list where fat – saturated fat even – is descibed as being in trace amounts (click for bigger picture):

Now, I can’t speak for America but over here we don’t have an epidemic of cranberry flavoured water induced obesity. However, by law, manufacturers are required to state what the _exact_ constituent makeup of their product is. It seems daft and rather nanny-stateish to me but thats besides the point. The trace of saturated fat in bottled water can’t make anyone overweight. The trace of thiomersal levels now in vaccines can’t make anyone autistic.

The commenter on WebMD went on to say:

Finally, it is worth noting that thimerosal’s reduction in most vaccines has coincided with an increase in the use of aluminum. Although I know of no published studies yet bearing on the impact of aluminum one way or the other, I understand that this is a question that we shall see more of in the future. If aluminum has an impact that is similar to mercury, the numbers would remain largely unchanged.

Fascinating bit of strawman logic. And one I take pleasure in saying ‘I told you so’ about.

14 months ago in May 2005 I said

the next big boogeyman (which will apparently be Aluminium)

when referring to a review of Evidence of Harm. This either makes me really smart or the ex-mercury militia very, very predictable.

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