Giving up on DAN. A personal story.

The recent discussions on the series in the Chicago Tribune have been therapeutic for me.

My 16 year-old child is severely effected by autism. Xe is self-injurious, destructive and aggressive. Xyr language has never developed past that of a 2 year-old. Outside of the behaviors that come from OCDs, xe is a happy child and a loved child.

Jeff Bradstreet was xyr doctor when we lived in Florida. When I first met Jeff he was on disability and selling vitamins from a small back office in his wife’s dental clinic. He was not yet one of the DAN! leading acts. Secretin was yet to come to the forefront and make the DAN! docs rich.

Jeff Bradstreet was a very nice man and generous with his time. He and I disagreed often with his approach to my child’s treatment. I still trusted the neurologists and the immunologists more than the DAN! docs. When all went the direction of chelation, I took my child away from DAN!, and I never looked back.

I believed my child was injured by xyr vaccinations when xe was 12 months old. I never thought there was a “measles infection in xyr gut” condition nor a mercury toxicity situation. I just thought xe had an autoimmine reaction. I reported xyr vaccines to the FDA in 1996, and I filed a lawsuit as an individual in 199#. Jeff Bradstreet asked me why he was not asked to submit any evidence in xyr lawsuit. I did not want his name on my child’s case.

I appreciate the time and energy you take to expose what should be obvious.

I worked very hard for what I thought would benefit my child. I travelled all over the US with xyr to see doctors and have medical tests done. I brought in experts to evaluate xyr. I hired attorneys for xyr IEPs. I quit my job and focused on xyr and xyr health and education. Part of that was research that led me to walk away from DAN! and all that it offers. I chose not to chelate xyr. I chose no IVIG treatments.

My child is still severely autistic.

So I am offended at comments about parents leading their children down a path to institutionalization. I am offended that parents believe they rescued their children from a life of head-banging and middle of the night laughter. Because as parents and grandparents of autistic children, they should be more sensitive to children who are autistic and display these behaviors. Do not all autistic children deserve to be valued? Are they telling me that my child is less because xe was not “saved”?

“Real children’s lives are consumed” was the battle cry this weekend from Mark Blaxill. What hypocracy. DAN! doctors are experimenting on autistic children everyday.

I don’t post to your website because I don’t write well. But, here is a final comment.

In 1995 my child at age 2 started at a pre-school for autistic children. After a few months, xe was transferred to another classroom because xe was not making the progress of the other children. Those boys were succeeding at picture exchange, following one-step commands, showing skill in expressive language.

The DAN! protocol wasn’t around in 1995. How did those boys make that progress?

Here in the US there is a British writer for The Atlantic – Andrew Sullivan – who has made it his quest to expose Sarah Palin for the absurd fraud that she is. Right now, that is how I feel about Kim Stagliano.

Many years ago I was on the front lines of the anti-vaxers. I would go to DAN! conferences and hang out with Mark Blaxill, Jane El-Dahr, Holly Bortfeld et-al. I called the vaccination program “government mandated child abuse”. Okay, I was excited at the time. But Kevin, I do think the assembly line approach to immunizing children has gotten out of hand. When I lived in Florida, the pediatrician and I agreed after serious consideration that my now 13 year-old child could go without immunizations. He signed all waivers. That was a medical decision between me and a physician. Why does it have to be so regulated and administered by school districts and health departments? (Note this was also 2 years before the hysteria of Wakefield’s paper).

I did believe then, and at times I still believe that my child had a reaction to xyr vaccinations when xe was 12 months old. I have a report dated 1998 from Michael Chez MD stating he is impressed with xyr reaction to the MMR because it could have cause an autoimmune reaction and breakdown of the blood brain barrier. I have always been interested in more research into the autoimmune reaction of vaccination – like that being done by Dr Bonnie Dunbar in Houston. But her work was overshadowed by the discovery of thimerosal in vaccines.

I never believed my child had measles in xyr gut. I never thought xe had mercury in xyr brain.

I met a lot up parents up to 1999 that said their child regressed post MMR. In 1999, I saw a lot of their stories change to meet symptoms of mercury toxicity from Hep B. I saw a lot of parents that did not believe there was a vaccine injury become convinced that there was a vaccine injury.

I heard a lot of parents swear that it was child abuse to give your kids gluten. I read the science that showed the opioid excess theory is total and complete BS.

I’ve had enough of all things DAN!

The Chicago Tribune writes a responsible piece saying that there is no scientific evidence that IVIG works on neuroinflammation. Instead of providing scientific evidence that IVIG works on neuroinflammation the DAN! zealots attack in every direction they can.