Light It Up Blue? No, Thank You!

Tomorrow, April 1st, Autism Speaks will kick off their 2nd annual Light It Up Blue campaign to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day. Thousands, and possibly millions, of individuals and businesses will take part in the campaign to shine the light on autism and awareness of its growing prevalence in children. Participants will get involved in a variety of ways that include wearing blue clothing, changing Facebook profile pics to the "Light It Up Blue" banner, downloading an iPhone app, and many other ways. The most obvious and likely the most popular route to shed a blue light on autism awareness will be by doing just that - displaying blue lights.

Sounds like a really noble cause, right?

Well, before you head out to the local Home Depot (or anywhere else) and plunk down a few bucks for those blue lightbulbs, let's take a look at the organization behind the Light It Up Blue campaign.

The motto for Autism Speaks is "Autism Speaks. It's time to listen." They are correct - at a rate of 1 in 110 (according to the Centers for Disease Control's average - although many research organizations will quote the rate being more frequent than that) children being diagnosed, with boys being four times as likely as girls to be diagnosed, yes, it is indeed time for someone to start listening. But for whom is Autism Speaks speaking? And to who is Autism Speaks listening? Is it those who are affected by autism? Or to those who line their seemingly very deep pockets?

Autism Speaks raises millions and millions of dollars per year - to the tune of around forty-five million dollars in 2009. But where exactly does all that money go?

Charity Navigator is a non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate intelligent charitable contributions by providing factual, unbiased information on charities based on their financial efficiency. Charitable organizations found on Charity Navigator are evaluated based on the IRS Statistics of Income. In other words, the information found on the Charity Navigator website is based in large part on a charity's IRS reportings.

With that said, one can compare how Autism Speaks rates in comparison to other large, well-known charities. Let's start with location.

Autism Speaks has chosen some prime real estate for their New York City office, but in order to hide the fact that their main office is located on Park Avenue, they apparently rely on those of us outside of New York City to be unfamiliar with which streets intersect others. On their website, Autism Speaks lists their main office address as 1 East 33rd Street. The Charity Navigator website lists the Autism Speaks address as 2 Park Avenue. Someone obviously has their information incorrect here. Or do they? According to Google maps, guess which street intersects at 1 East 33rd Street? Park Avenue! Call it 33rd Street if you want, but that is Park Avenue, baby!

A charitable organization on Park Avenue? Really? Autism Speaks couldn't find a suitable office space in a less expensive location than one that rubs shoulders with the likes of HSBC Bank (one of the world's largest banks with assets close to 200 billion dollars) and credit card giant Chase Bank?

Let's talk revenue versus expenses. As I mentioned earlier, in 2009, Autism Speaks reported revenues of roughly forty-five million dollars. Their expenses were over forty-three million dollars. Those incredibly poor financial statistics earned them an overall rating of one out of a possible four stars by Charity Navigator for their Efficiency Rating.

Even not-for-profit organizations have to pay their employees and executives. We cannot expect people to be so giving to go out and perform a highly stressful job without compensating them, but how does Autism Speaks rate? How much does the average executive working at a non-profit organization make per year?

Since it wouldn't be fair to compare salaries alone due to factors such as an organization's location and cost of living for that location, it is better to compare the differences in relation to what percentage of an organization a particular executive's salary takes up, as does the Charity Navigator website.

To compare the salaries of the two executives listed by Autism Speaks on the Charity Navigator website to other non-profit executives, I picked three charities certainly everyone has heard of: American Red Cross, American Heart Association, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Even the salary of American Heart Association's former executive director and CEO who weighed in with the highest salary (again, based on percentage of the organization's expenses) of the three organizations - a salary equal to 0.17% of the organization's yearly expenses - does not come close to the 0.93% of expenses Autism Speaks paid out to Dr. Geri Dawson, Chief Science Officer. American Red Cross paid their execs salaries equal to an average of 0.01% of their expenses and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's highest paid listed executive made just 0.08% of their overall expenses.

If I could just go off on a tangent here (because it just wouldn't be right for me to bring up the name of someone involved in the science behind autism without mentioning vaccines), Dr. Dawson seems a bit confused, herself, on the vaccine stance that Autism Speaks has notably taken over the years. Autism Speaks has held strongly to the belief that vaccines and autism cannot possibly have any link to one another, yet, Dr. Dawson contradicts herself in an interview conducted with her in 2009.

A few snippets from the interview: She stated, "It remains scientifically plausible that the challenge to the immune system resulting from a vaccine (or other immunological challenges) could, in susceptible individuals, have adverse consequences for the developing brain."

She goes on further to say, "Evidence does not support the theory that vaccines are causing an autism epidemic. However, it is plausible that specific genetic or medical factors that are present in a small minority of individuals might lead to an adverse response to a vaccine and trigger the onset of autism symptoms."

I'm sorry, but isn't admitting that individuals who experience an adverse response to a vaccine that triggers the onset of autism symptoms very similar to saying that, had those individuals not received vaccines, they would not have had the adverse response that ultimately triggered the autism symptoms?

So where else does all that money go that Autism Speaks raises every year? It does not go to individuals or families affected by autism and they have no problem admitting to that fact. In their own words, Autism Speaks states "Autism Speaks does not award grants to individuals or fund an individual or family for participation in personal programs."

So again, I ask, to whom is Autism Speaks listening? It sure isn't my family. If they were listening to me, they would practice some common sense frugality by moving their offices to somewhere with less notoriety than an address that probably 90% of the world's population has heard of. If they were listening to me, they would pay their executives less money and get someone in there who can work out a better ratio of revenue to expenses. But most importantly, if they were listening to me, they would put families first. If one of their main objectives is to bring awareness to autism, why not expand that awareness to the devastating financial effects autism has on families and assist them in a more direct financial way?

As far as Autism Speaks speaking, they certainly do not speak for my family either as they have done nothing for my son. Sure, they bring awareness to autism but at a very obviously high pricetag. And who needs awareness at a price? My family is very aware of autism on a daily basis....for FREE!

Callous Disregard for our children - Children in PAIN not autism !

When your child rocks, screams, shouts, writhes in pain do you see it as pain or do you just see what you believe is autism? So many physical problems go unnoticed, misrepresented or ignored in children who have autism, particularly those who have suffered regressive autism due to toxic vaccines like this little girl in the short video : http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/07/new-research-shows-link-between-mmr-vaccine-and-autism.aspx



Even though this child does not have language she is saying loud and clear what torment she is going through. Every doctor in the land should be made to watch this 3 minute video and be asked to diagnose this child (minus telling them she is autistic). Any doctor worth his salt would have to admit this child is suffering.

How many of you have children who present like this? How many of your children have gastro intestinal problems like this little girl - problems that are continually ignored by doctors? This kind of pain is suffered by so many children on the autistic spectrum - imagine trying to learn in school when you are in so much pain. Notice the little girl's hands with her wrists bent backwards. Clear signs of severe pain. Look at her face, twisted in pain.

If an animal acted like the girl in this video you would take it to a vet. Yet, so many parents believe doctors when they say that their child is autistic and there is nothing they can do - it's just autism.

Please watch - this little girl may be just like your child. Please watch and never believe what doctors may tell you that autism can't be treated.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzYREX0jrY4

or here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/07/new-research-shows-link-between-mmr-vaccine-and-autism.aspx

(http://www.cryshame.org/)

Give the Gift of Mercury!

Since today is my birthday and all, naturally, I had to do some shopping! At Walgreens, of all places.

Actually, my trip to Walgreens was not for a gift at all but rather, I was on a mission for flushable wipes, since we seem to have an increased need for them around here with all the potty-training taking place. However, while I was in there, I found that rare but commonly sought after gift: the really unique kind of gift that not just anyone will buy and give to a friend or loved one.

If you have been wanting to give someone the gift of mercury but are finding it difficult to come by (except, of course, to those who are employed in a position where a HAZMAT suit is required) or if you simply desire to give the kind of gift that keeps on giving (and giving and giving and giving - oh yeah, this stuff will not be leaving the body anytime soon!), Walgreens now makes it easy for you with the Walgreens Flu Shot Gift Card!

Brilliant, right?

And the best part? It is the gift of mercury....with no HAZMAT suit required!

This card has flexibility too! According to the Walgreens website, "this card can be redeemed only for administration of (1) Seasonal Flu Vaccination or (1) Preservative-Free Seasonal Flu Vaccination." So you can trade mercury (thimerosal) for any number of other things such as formaldehyde, neomycin (an antibiotic), chick kidney cells, or monosodium glutamate - depending upon the availability of various flu shot brands at your particular Walgreens, of course.

You can look for these gift cards in your local Walgreens stores now or link directly to them above and pre-order online with free shipping! Online availability is limited to their release date in September though.

Pick up a few on your next trip to Walgreens - and don't forget those babies on your gift lists. That mercury injection flu shot given to Mommy and Daddy is the same one given to their six-month old baby. After all, one size fits all!

Still in doubt about the ingredients in vaccines? Click HERE for the United States' Centers for Disease Control's list of vaccine ingredients.

How Many Are Out There?

This may sound like an unhealthy bit of curiosity but sometimes I cannot help but wonder how many parents out there are on the verge of having a child diagnosed with autism. Some people claim to have gay-dar, which I do not have, nor do I care to have. Whether you play for the girls' team or the boys' team makes no difference to me. However, I do sometimes think I have A-dar and can spot a child with autism in a crowd or in a playgroup or while we are in the library in the children's section.

Before anyone criticizes me though, I only think I possess this ability to pick up on an autism frequency because I have been exposed to so many children with autism other than my own.

I wonder how many people - parents of children with autism, people who have worked around children with autism, or simply individuals who have had exposure to autism - pinned my child with autism using their own A-dar. Were they friends of mine who were trying to tell me something before I ever had a clue what was going on with my child? Did they know but did not want to say anything for fear of my reaction? I really wish I knew.

I wish I knew what the right thing is to say or not to say to the three friends of mine with children whom I suspect have autism. How would they react if I suggested they have their child evaluated? Has it ever crossed their minds that their child has more going on than just a cranky nature and delayed speech? Have they ever wondered why their child throws tantrums over seemingly nothing? Or that the constant diarrhea never seems to go away? Do they think it is normal for a child to have some kind of illness at all times and that medicating and medicating over and over is the key to good health? Has anyone ever even given them a list of signs of autism? Probably not. Many pediatricians know little or nothing about autism themselves, much less would they know how to educate the parents of their wee patients.

Then there is the child of another friend of mine whose developmental fate is unfolding right before my eyes every day on Facebook. This particular friend is a person with whom I am primarily Facebook friends with and only know as an acquaintance in "real life" - in other words, someone who I would not dare suggest an inkling of a notion of autism regarding her child. I have to wonder why she never makes the connection between her child's vaccination schedule and the following days of non-stop crying, fevers, and illnesses. She is one who posts often and with great detail regarding her family's goings-on - which, by the way, I am not criticizing by any means. Most of the time, I rather enjoy her posts. Her family is very active and helpful to others in need and that is probably why it is all the more heartbreaking when one day she posts something along the lines of "_____ was so brave today at the pediatrician's office while getting all his shots." and then the very next day her posts may go something like, "_____ was up all night last night with a fever. He's sleeping now. I hope he just had a rough night."

And then perhaps later that day, "_____ has been crying all day long. I can't wait for these phases he goes through to be done." Or, "Ends up _____ is sick with a fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. Back to the doctor.....again."

I have watched this poor mom's Facebook posts go on like this following every round of shots her child has received since his birth not so long ago. I want to reach out to her and tell her what I have noticed. I want to tell her that only she can make an educated decision whether or not to have her child vaccinated BUT this correlation between his vaccines and his poor health is unmistakably and undeniably not a coincidence.

If I had it all to do over again, I would hope that if someone's A-dar was going off with Reiss when he was younger, that person would have said something to me. At the same time though, I think I know why no one ever said anything to me. They were probably in the same boat I currently find myself in. They were afraid of how their suggestion would be received.

And now I wonder which of my Facebook friends will ask, "Are you talking about my child?"

Our Kids Are NOT Collateral Damage

But that is the response our governments are providing to many parents regarding the vaccine injuries their children have sustained. "Collateral damage" is the first thing that came to mind when I saw Eric Prine's story.

To see Eric's story, click here:

For a chance to win this beautiful painting, donate $10 to HAPI and one ticket will go into the drawing with your name. This 18x24 acrylic painting was hand painted and framed by Ronnie Prine, in Morrison, CO. Ronnie is the father of Eric Prine, 17, who was severely damaged by his DPT vaccine.

Eric is the size of a 5 year old and continues to have seizures every day of his life. He is Ronnie's angel on earth and requires 24/7 care which Ronnie and his wife, an RN, provide. Ronnie likes to paint away his pain by creating beautiful scenes.

The drawing for this painting will take place on Sunday, June 6th at the People's Fair booth in Denver, CO at 3:00pm. Need not be present to win. All proceeds will go to support HAPI in their continued efforts to provide information to parents regarding the risks of vaccinations and parents' rights.

Use hapi.vaxinfo@gmail.com for PayPal donations, use "painting ticket" for the memo, or send a check made out to HAPI to PO Box 7068, Gunnison, CO 81230 and write "painting ticket" in the memo line.

Donations are tax deductible. www.hapihealth.com

She Always Says Exactly What I'm Thinking...

And I like how she comes right out and says she is not telling people what to do with their own children and vaccines because that is the same thing I tell others.

Vaccinate or don't vaccinate - it is each parent's choice. All I ask is that people do not make the same mistake I did and blindly trust their pediatricians. Educate yourselves, people!

Do not count on your doctor being informed about vaccines. Ask your doctor how much time was spent in medical school learning about vaccines. You will be surprised. My child's doctor actually told me vaccines do not contain any of the toxins that I now know very well are contained in them.

Just last week, I informed the wife of a pharmaceutical company employee about toxins in vaccines that she said she was told were not in them. If a doctor and a pharmaceutical employee - one who works for a company that does manufacture vaccines - don't even know aluminum, thimerosal, and formaldehyde are in vaccines, then I suspect the average person doesn't know it either or simply chooses not to believe it. And in that case, I invite you to visit the CDC's website and see for yourself what kinds of ingredients are indeed in vaccines.

Part 1.....



Part 2.....

Merck, Re: Gardasil - "Safer Than Most Vaccines"

Really?????



If you watch the entire clip above, you will see where Merck (manufacturer of the Gardasil vaccine) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) are quoted as stating Gardasil "appears safer than most vaccines."

Really? Seriously?

I wonder if these idiots understand how much more they are implicating themselves simply by attempting to defend their position and their (Merck's) product. Because here's what I'm thinking....

Besides Gardasil, Merck also manufactures several other vaccines, including a few different vaccines for Hepatitis A and B and their MMR vaccines, which are some of the world's most widely distributed vaccines. So when Merck states their Gardasil vaccine is "safer than most vaccines" are they also stating that the Gardasil vax is safer than their own vaccines meant to prevent diseases other than HPV?

And who wants a vaccine that is "safer than most vaccines?" I want vaccines that are safe. Period. However, since such a thing does not exist that is safe for everyone, quit trying to defend yourself, Merck. Admit that you could possibly be at fault in vaccine injuries.

Oh wait, you already admitted it. You did it when you said your Gardasil vaccine is "safer than most vaccines."

(Thank you, You-know-who, for posting this to your facebook page!)

Oh, To Be A Doctor.....

A funny thing happened Thursday morning. At precisely 9:30 a.m. the doorbell rang. Not expecting anyone, I didn't answer it. About a minute later, it rang again. This time I looked out the window but did not recognize the car in the driveway. Unless you are a really persistent door-to-door salesperson - in which case, you shouldn't be ringing my doorbell anyway, due to the "No Soliciting" sign posted directly next to the button - or some creepy stalker who can't get a clue to leave, two rings is usually the limit for any normal person. That is the norm, right? Or am I just ignorant and rules of etiquette proclaim one ring to be the proper number?

But no, the doorbell rang a third time.

This time I actually walked to the door to find our service coordinator, Tracy, with First Steps (This is the organization through which Milla receives speech therapy and in other parts of the country it is called Early Intervention), standing there waiting for me to let her in for our quarterly appointment we scheduled weeks ago. Yes, it was in my planner. Yes, I kept reminding myself all week long, but apparently only up until the day before the appointment and then it somehow escaped my thought process never to be recovered again because, by around 9:34 Thursday morning, I was about to wail on someone for ringing my doorbell so many times and not leaving me alone.

Embarassed and apologizing all over the place, I opened the door and poor Tracy came in.

This post isn't about my lovely fifteen minute appointment (nearly five minutes of which was taken up by my avoiding the doorbell ringing) with Tracy and all the paperwork we ran through in that short period of time, but rather, what followed afterwards. However, it was a bit humorous and worth mentioning the thought that I had an unexpected arrival of a serial killer or serial salesperson or serial stalker and how I was avoiding opening the door to such a person when, all along, I should have remembered it was the person who was clearly marked in pen on my planner for that morning at that specific time.

That said, I do need to mention one piece of paperwork that is pertinent to this story. One of the items Tracy brought was a diagnosis sheet that I needed to sign off on that would then be sent to our family doctor for him to confirm that yes, Milla has developmental delays and her need for speech therapy services is warranted.

Now I need to backtrack a little bit here because this is the part where I thought it was odd that Milla's doctor needed to sign off saying he had diagnosed her with these delays because 1)He had never diagnosed her in the first place when we began getting speech services several months ago and 2)Her need for services was first determined and is determined by the speech and occupational therapists who serve as evaluators for First Steps.

Are you confused yet? Basically, when we first started to notice Milla was not talking at a level as a typical child her age, we contacted First Steps. They sent two evaluators (whose degrees are in speech pathology and occupational sciences) out who sat down with Milla and I for around two hours and determined that Milla did indeed show some weaknesses and delays in enough areas to qualify her for services. Our family doctor was never involved in the process.

BUT - there is always a "but"....

But despite the fact that the two evaluators felt she needed services, in order for Milla to receive services, our doctor had to sign off on this one sheet I am talking about. Apparently, around six months ago, our doctor did so with no questions asked.

Fast forward to this week and the phone call I received yesterday from Tracy telling me that she had been notified by Admin Girl at Milla's doctor's office that our doctor would not sign off on the form because he had not seen her in over a year. Hmmmm.....he had no problem with not seeing her six months ago and confirming her diagnosis as "developmental delays." But now six months later, he needs to see her in order to sign off???

Why has she not seen him in over a year, you ask? Well, after we began determining that Reiss has autism and that we felt his vaccines played a part in it, we stopped taking Milla to the doctor. If she was not sick, why bother? We didn't want her shot up with the same bunch of crap. And she has never been sick (aside from a spell where she kept vomiting but we were pretty certain that was an intolerance to a particular food and the problematic food has since been eliminated). If you're taking a child to a Well Baby appointment and not getting her/him vaccinated, then what is the purpose?

So this morning I called the doctor's office and told Admin Girl, who answered the phone, my situation and why Milla has not been seen in over a year in their office. I asked if there was any way we could just come in for an appointment and have Milla seen so that the doc could sign off on the form. Without it, we cannot get speech services. And I made sure to include that in my plea.

Admin Girl told me that even if we are no longer vaccinating Milla, she still needs to be seen for Well Child visits so that the doctor can determine whether she is meeting her developmental milestones or has developmental delays present.

I wanted to say, "Um.....excuse me? Do you mean the same developmental milestones that I kept bringing to the doctor's attention every three months when I thought that my son was not hitting them? The same milestones that the doctor reassured me that children reach at different periods and it didn't matter that my son wasn't right on target? The same milestones that we persistently kept bringing to the doctor's attention that we were extremely concerned about and he told us not to worry? Do you mean the same milestones that, when missed, can indicate developmental delays and even autism? Do you mean the same milestones that six months ago, without seeing Milla in person, the doctor signed a form stating she had missed them and had developmental delays present? Those? Are those the same ones? Because, if those are the same ones you're referring to, the doctor missed them altogether with our son and dismissed our concerns and it was only after we began talking to parents of other autistic children that we found that there was concern there all along."

But, of course, I didn't say that.

I politely accepted an offer of an appointment for next week and we'll get our little signature and things in our world will be righty tighty again. And all because of a bunch of bureaucratic paperwork that requires a scribble from a doctor who missed it all the first time around with child number one.

The irony makes me want to vomit.

Join Me on Facebook for Biomedical Discussions!

This is just a quick heads up to all my bloggie world friends that a few friends and I have created a facebook group called DAN!/Biomedical Parents. If you are interested in joining, the aforementioned boldface words are the exact words you will want to search for when on facebook.

The intent of the group is for those who are using the DAN! protocol or those who are interested in learning more about it to discuss issues relating to the protocol and other biomedical treatment methods used in treating individuals with ASD's.

Here is the fine print, per se. And I hate to have to say it but unfortunately, as my friends and I have found in the past, it is necessary: Currently, the group is set as "open," making it available for any facebook member anywhere in the world to join. If problems should arise with any member or members causing trouble (bashing, criticizing treatment choices of other members, etc.), said members will be booted from the group and the group will be reset as "secret." In the event that the group is changed to secret mode, it will not be searchable on facebook and membership will be by invitation only.

Come join us on facebook and give us an introduction! I look forward to "meeting" all of you!

Swine Flu Vax Is A Moral Obligation???

Really? Seriously?
Read what I'm talking about here.....

Swine Flu Vax 'A Moral Obligation'

I am speechless, yet totally outraged at the same time, by the audacity of these people who are supposed to be "religious leaders" for their labelling the H1N1 vaccination 'a moral obligation.'

Um, no, I don't think so! Plain and simple. Who the you-know-what do they think they are, anyway???

And because I refuse to get off on a tangent and get any madder at these ignorant souls today, this concludes my post for the day, folks!

Enjoy! And don't shoot me....I'm just the messenger.

Let's Just Get Something Straight Here....

People, you do have rights regarding your child and vaccinations. Yes, Americans do still have a right to refuse to vaccinate their children....for now, anyway.....and they can still go to school! Although I would love to be a homeschool parent myself, becoming one is not a requirement if a person chooses not to vaccinate their child. Amazing!

I know this comes as a surprise to many people because, not only was I unaware until early last year when we began looking into not vaccinating our own children any further, but I was once again reminded just this morning when not a single one of the mothers who came to a playgroup I hosted were aware of the laws either in regard to vaccinating children and admission to school.

Let the CDC, the FDA, and the American Academy of Pediatrics be damned for their part in convincing unknowing new (as well as not-so-new!) parents that vaccinating their days old infants is the law and the only way to go. And shame on people like myself for blindly believing our doctors without looking into things further! If I knew four years ago what I know now....but hindsight is twenty-twenty. At least now maybe I can inform other individuals who may have otherwise gone ahead and let medical personnel shoot up their infant every few weeks with all sorts of harmful and unnecessary chemicals.

On numerous occasions, people have asked me, "Well, if you have stopped vaccinating your children, how are they going to attend school? The school requires vaccination records."

Oh.....the "requirement." Yeah, well, it's not a requirement and I wish the schools and doctors and everyone who is so darn pro-vaccine would stop referring to it as such. Yes, it is indeed a requirement that parents provide vaccination records in order for their children to attend school. However (and here is where the confusion comes in), showing the records is what is required - not getting the vaccinations.

So exactly how do we plan to have our children attend school without having all their vaccinations? It's very simple, really. It's this wonderful thing called a waiver. There are three different types of waivers - medical, religious, and philosophical - and all fifty states have at least one type that people can claim, with most states offering two or all three of them.

If you are interested in seeing which types of waivers your state allows, please visit the National Vaccine Information Center.

Please be informed of your rights and what you are putting into your child. Do it for your child and for yourself and do it for those of us who wish we had done so ourselves.....before our children became autistic.

Somebody, Please Put "M.D." by My Name!

Last night, I opened my email inbox to find a wonderful and most unexpected message. After a spectacularly craptastic weekend endured waiting for Reiss to dislodge seven days worth of waste, I was on the verge of coming on here to let it all out and write a tale of my woes. But before doing so, I checked to see if I had any new email messages.

A little background.....

A few weeks back, my husband was listening to a local radio station on his way to work when they were discussing the swine flu vaccination and taking caller comments. Several people on both sides of the argument - to get the vax or not to get the vax - were calling in, many of whom were doctors and professionals working in the medical industry.

A few doctors (as in, with M.D. beside their last names) actually called in to say that much of the general population was misinformed about the vaccine and that it does not contain thimerosal (that's big pharma speak for mercury, folks!). While there will be a thimerosal-free version, to say that is does not contain thimerosal is far from telling the entire truth and is most certainly a disservice to any listeners who most likely will not do their own research - a.k.a. the vast majority of people. The reality of the swine flu vaccine situation is that anyone in the general population receiving the vaccine will get a thimerosal-containing version unless he or she specifically asks to receive the thimerosal-free version. Such exclusion of details by these "professionals" just seems to be another example of the extreme ignorance being displayed in the medical field way too often these days. It serves only one purpose - in my opinion - to make me question what other more important things are doctors not entirely educated in? Things that more directly affect me other than just vaccines?

A few other professionals, were calling in to argue that we, as a population, are over-vaccinating. One particular individual, a naturopathic doctor, I contacted myself, and we had a lengthy conversation - one that left me feeling more informed when we hung up and about which I think she felt the same. Interestingly, she has been practicing natural recovery for children with ADHD and autism for several years but had never heard of DAN! until I made mention of it to her. I strongly encouraged her to become DAN! certified, as Indiana could definitely use more providers practicing this treatment protocol.

Aghast as I was when my husband informed me of the comments of the very misinformed doctors, I knew I had to write to the radio show hosts. I tried to sound as informed and diplomatic as possible, yet passionate and knowledgeable as I provided proof of my argument. A few weeks past and then last night I received an invitation to be an in-studio guest in the near future to discuss vaccines. As of now, I do not have a date but am eagerly, excitedly, and nervously looking forward to this opportunity.

As for the information I provided regarding the vaccines, it can be found on Age of Autism and on the ABC News websites.

Hmmmm....Our doctors are saying there is no mercury in this H1N1 swine flu vax. Surely they can't be wrong....can they? Really? Isn't it strange that thiomersal (known as "thimerosal" in the United States) is listed right there on the bottle???

Seriously, it gets old being more informed about vaccines than the doctors doling them out (and making way more money than my family to do so!).........

It's Progress, I Suppose

This morning Dr. Harvey Karp, also known (at least, according to his profile) as "America's most read pediatrician," posted "Cracking the Autism Riddle...." over on The Huffington Post.

Although I don't claim to speak for anyone other than myself, much less the entire autism community, I am certain there are several thousand parents with children on the autism spectrum out there who will agree with me when I say it is very difficult to give any measured amount of credibility to a medical professional such as Dr. Harvey Karp, who has a history of adamant denial of the existence of a link between vaccines and autism. It never ceases to amaze me how so many of these "professionals," who have not done their own laboratory studies, nor have they ever been witness to watching one of their own children regress into himself after receiving a round of vaccines, can sit back and so unbudgingly deny what seems so apparent to many of us who experience the effects of autism in our children on a daily basis.

And don't even get me started on Dr. Karp's fellowship in the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What's that? You don't understand why being a member of the AAP is a bad thing? Well, let's just say that I am sick and tired of the pediatric medical community in this country being fed the same information regarding vaccines that any average Joe is capable of finding if he or she does their homework, yet so many of these overpaid imbeciles swear up and down that vaccines play no part in autism. Many of these pediatricians have this problem that I like to refer to as not knowing what they don't know - a.k.a. Ignorance. I've even had the privilege (that's sarcasm, folks!) of being told by one pediatrician that there are no longer any vaccines that contain thimerosal (and that's mercury, folks!). Hmmm....that's news to me - and apparently to the FDA (see Tables 1 and 3) as well. And the FDA can call it a "trace" all they want, but when we're talking about one of the Earth's most dangerous and volatile substances, it's no comfort to me that it's only a "trace" amount when someone is standing over me or my child's body, ready to take aim with a needle syringe. Seriously....

Until concrete evidence of the cause of autism is found, I'm going with what I've seen in my own child and no doctor will ever be able to convince me otherwise. In the meantime, Karp's article provides a trace amount of hope for me that perhaps some of the allopathic medical community may be coming around to admit that autism indeed is on the rise and not just being better recognized.

D*#@ the CDC!!!

Thanks to Ginger, writer of Adventures In Autism, I found an interesting article regarding autism, the medical community, and health insurance providers. You can read the full article HERE. For Ginger's blog and her take on the article, go HERE.

The article itself is likely an eye-opener for anyone who is unaffected by autism in some way and/or is unfamiliar with the red tape families who are affected by autism must wade through when it comes to insurance companies and their policy coverage for autism-related treatments and therapies.

That said, what struck me most about the article was not the ridiculous stance insurance companies take regarding coverage (or lack thereof) for autism-related charges, as this comes as no shock to me having incurred way more out-of-pocket medical expenses than any family should ever have to face. No, the slap in the face I felt was a result of two statements contained within the article that were made by Catherine Rice, Director of the CDC's National Center for Birth Defects:

"Studies have linked autism to air pollutants, pesticides, pet medications and even drugs used in the birthing process, such as Pitosin."

“It could be anything from the exposures in our physical surroundings — chemicals around us in homes, clothes, products, medications we take and food we eat”

Rice is quoted in the article admitting to studies having linked autism to birthing drugs and then goes on further to say that it (the cause) could be linked to anything - including medications we take.

Besides myself, does anyone see the complete irony here? Autism can be caused by birthing drugs or even something as simple as medications we take....yet, it is such a stretch for the CDC to admit that vaccines could play a role in the onset of autism as well.

GRRRRRR!!!! This angers me so intensely...Seriously. I could have gone without reading that article today. Nonetheless, thank you, Ginger for all your digging in order to help keep our community of autism-affected families well-informed.

Thankful for Three Things Thursday

My new washer's wash tub

The control panel


The front view

Yes, it's that time of the week again when I tell the world - you're right, I'm not fooling anyone so perhaps I should say my very small, very special following of readers - of the things for which I am most thankful right now.

1) While I am indeed very thankful for our washer, just like the new refrigerator we purchased a few days before Easter, it is not something I wanted to buy at this time. Actually, if I don't have to spend any more money on appliances in the next year or so (knock on wood!), it will be too soon.

Having said all that, I am very thankful for our new washer but I'm not terribly sure that it is new and not just new to us. We purchased it from the scratch and dent outlet and one assumes the items are there because they were somehow damaged in transit but I keep seeing little details - a knick here, a chip there, and even what looks like a small splotch of paint dribble on it - that have me skeptical of my own previous belief that our home is the only one in which it has resided. Regardless, it works very nicely and should anything go bad on it, we did something we never do: we bought the extended warranty that covers everything.

After being without a washer for three days when the transmission konked out on our old one, a time in which we are potty-training no less, I consider myself fortunate to now be able to spend some time doing the labors of laundry. Although I take pride in my laundry organization system that consists of two three-bin laundry sorters and only requires that I do one load per day most days, laundry is not exactly something I miss when not doing it. Factor in several pairs of toddler underwear that have either been wet or soiled, and it's a recipe for making me want to be a laundry goddess.

2) This week we had our first DAN! appointment. It wasn't as productive or as informative as I had hoped but we did get some lab tests and additional supplements added into Reiss's already wide-ranging regimen. I am thankful for the appointment because otherwise we would have had to wait until October to see another DAN! provider in our state, as there are only five and they all have schedules that are booked up right now a year in advance. The provider we saw yesterday has only recently become DAN! certified (October 2008) so his schedule isn't quite so full yet.

We have been doing a lot of research on our own regarding the DAN! protocol and the biomedical approach to autism and, as a result, we are already doing many of the practices (GFCF diet and supplements) covered in the initial appointment. I think the doctor we saw is either used to or was expecting to see a family who is totally lost in the world of autism and hasn't done any research or he's just so new to this himself that he wasn't sure which route to take with Reiss. That's not to say we thought he is incompetent, I just don't think he was prepared to see someone who has done their homework as much as we have done ours.

3) Lastly, I am thankful because of all the awesome behavior Reiss has exhibited this week. He's not been an angel by any means but he has had a very good week as far as having fewer tantrums than usual, being more compliant to change and transitioning during the days' activities, and his overall good mood just seems atypical for him in comparison to what we are used to dealing with on a daily basis. Maybe it's the diminishing cold weather and the coming of Spring that has him on the upswing...whatever it is, I'm definitely not complaining and I hope it sticks around.

Oh, Really...???

Thanks to Chrissy for posting the link to this wonderful article written by Jim Carrey on The Huffington Post:

The Judgment on Vaccines Is In??

The great thing about this article is the way Jim comes across as simply asking people to at least consider the possibility of vaccinations being linked to autism...because really, I don't care what anyone out there thinks they know about autism, NONE of us will ever know the real cause until more testing is done. And that will never happen as long as there are people like Dr. Paul (Pr)Offitt and others like him out there running the show.

Nothing frustrates me more than a doctor, medical professional, or parent of a typical child who has not done their homework regarding vaccines, yet is dead-set in the belief that vaccinations play absolutely no role in the cause of autism. So many times I have had to bite my tongue and not tell them, "Don't share your opinion with me because you're not living with autism like my family is doing every single waking moment." While those people can shelter themselves with ignorance and hold their stance all day long, I don't want to hear it - I have done my homework!

A Spectrum Mom's Commentary on "Unlocking Autism"

Considering a slight feeling of disappointment I had in response to watching Unlocking Autism on Discovery Health this past Monday evening, I have been dreading writing this post. However, when I first posted about the program in an attempt to encourage others to watch, I made a commitment to come back and give my thoughts on it.

To be totally honest, I did not see or hear every minute of the show because, as is always the case in our home, the volume level in our house is incredibly high. And I don't mean the tv. DVR'ing shows is not something we do for one very simple reason: The show would never get watched. We are exhausted by the end of the day and whereas most people put their children to bed and then watch tv or do other things that need to be done, we do not. When the kids' heads hit the beds, so do ours.

From what I did see, I got the impression the show was made more for people in general, not parents of children on the autism spectrum. While this may sound disappointing to me, really, it's not. I am all for any type of educational programming dealing with autism, no matter who it aims to have as the intended target audience.

One thing I was impressed by was the choice of the child who was the main focus of the program. Although I think the narrator mentioned the child had moderate to severe autism, the boy who the narrator spoke of for the majority of the program did not exhibit the stereotypical symptoms of autism that I think a lot of people think of when they hear the word "autistic." He was not running around flapping his arms and acting all haywire. He wasn't out of control. He simply had some problems with being non-verbal, a tad sensitive to noises and things out of his control, and some other things. It is really important to me for people to understand that not all children on the spectrum exhibit Rain Man-like symptoms. As a matter of fact, most spectrum parents are flat out offended by the mere mention of such a disaster of a film. While some people with autism are savants, like the main character of Rain Man, the majority are not. I do not have any numbers in front of me at the moment, but I recall reading something awhile back that said that less than one percent of autistic people are savants.

The aspect of the show that I found most disappointing was its negligence in providing a broad perspective on treatment options for autism. There was one doctor the producers interviewed and his opinions were the only ones offered. Although I do not recall his name, he practices at the MIND Institute, mentioned in this article. The article makes a reference to gluten-free, casein-free diets and that research has "found that many children on the restricted diets become nutritionally deprived." To which, I would reply is most likely a result of the parents of those children not doing their "homework" per se, and not following the diet properly and in the manner it was intended. The doctor interviewed in the show did not go into any great detail mentioning the diet, but I wonder if he feels the same way about the diet as others at the MIND Institute do.

My family and I have been on a gluten-free and casein-free diet for months now and I dare any doctor to declare my children as nutritionally deprived when we feed them healthy servings of meat and poultry, vegetables, and fruits every single day. I would even go so far as to say my children are better off nutritionally than probably the vast majority of American children. When, or perhaps I should say if, the medical community in this country finally realize what doctors in many other first-world countries already know - that dairy products are not a human dietary necessity and that grain products did not play a role in the diets of ancient mankind - I think there are going to be a lot of extremely embarassed "well-educated" professionals out there. But that's an entirely separate rant post.....

Why It REALLY Is So Difficult...

Like most children with autism, when in a group of children, Reiss is indistinguishable from other typical* children. One would not know Reiss has autism simply by looking at him. I don't know what people expect to see but you would be surprised how many times I've heard the comment, "Well, he doesn't look autistic." To which, I want to reply, "What does autistic look like?" But, of course, I don't.

In recent weeks and months, I have had several conversations with different individuals regarding the aspects surrounding Reiss' autism and the things that make him different from other children. Usually when people find out out his diagnosis, they have a lot of questions. Having others be inquisitive is preferable to them being judgmental any day of the week. I even tell people that I would rather they ask me questions and admit to their ignorance than to judge me and look stupid. Often this gets a little laugh out of them and loosens them up to not feeling so awkward while asking me their questions.

Between the conversations I've had and some of the looks I get from people when we are out, it has made me want to do a post like this for quite some time now. It is not meant to make people feel sorry for us or to make others feel badly for asking questions. It is meant solely to provide a better understanding of why it really is so much more difficult for parents of children with autism. This is also not meant to be directed at any one individual. If you are reading this and thinking I'm writing it because of a recent conversation you and I have had, please understand that this is something I have wanted to do for months - even before I began blogging.

It has been on my mind for a long time to sit down and write out the things that frustrate me and why I feel autism is so misunderstood and underestimated. It's almost like a longing to want to have a piece of paper - a crib sheet, per se - to give to people so they can see that when you simply look at Reiss and see a sweet little boy, that there is actually much more behind that little face and why parenting has been such a long road and difficult journey for my husband, me, and many other parents of autistic children.

With that, let me start at the beginning, back nearly four years ago...

Reiss was born in the summer of 2005. Other than being delivered by c-section because he was in a nearly-impossible-to-turn breech position, his birth was pretty normal. I didn't know what it meant at the time, but in the hospital at only a few hours old, the nurses informed - or perhaps I should say warned - my husband and me that "This one's gonna be a handful."

After leaving the hospital, like all babies, Reiss always wanted to get up to feed several times per night. At a few months old, we tried the "Babywise" method of getting him on a schedule of eating and sleeping. Not being one to tolerate letting a baby cry it out and eventually coming to the conclusion that it's not the method God intended, we ditched the Babywise method and never looked back. These days I warn any new mother against this method but all new parents have to do what works for them, I suppose. Personally, I believe it's about what's best for the baby and not me, but maybe that's just me.

At eight months old, Reiss had still never slept through the night and was literally waking up some nights as often as every 15 - 45 minutes. When I say it's not about what's best for me, I sincerely mean it, but by this time I thought I was either going to die from lack of sleep, go crazy, go on a shooting spree to let out some frustration, or all three. Something had to be done and that is when we decided to let Reiss co-sleep with us.

Other than the sleeping issues, Reiss seemed to be developing fine. He crawled at around eight months, walked at thirteen months, had several words in his vocabulary, ate a varied diet, and was pretty well on target with his milestones. The only thing that stood out - and only to his doctor, not us - was that he was only in the 5-10 percentile on his weight. The lactation consultants at the hospital where I attended a weekly breastfeeding support group assured me that he was fine on his weight. They went on further to add that most doctors get their baby growth charts as promotional items from baby formula consultants visiting their offices and that formula-fed babies generally tend to gain more quickly than breastfed babies. Either way, we didn't mind. He was gaining weight regularly so we didn't think it was a big deal.

At just before thirteen months, Reiss received his one-year vaccinations. Not long after that, we began to see some changes. Reiss seemed to be developing at a much slower pace than before. He started losing some of the words he had previously said. He used to do the cutest thing where he would excitedly say "awesome" and do a little fist pump into the air. He stopped doing it. He stopped dancing whenever he heard music. He didn't seem as coordinated as he once had been. As time went on, we kept noticing things here and there that just didn't seem right but parents of older children assured us that children develop at their own pace and Reiss seemed "normal." Unfortunately, we didn't listen to the one and only person who told us that we should call First Steps if we had concerns. After all, why should we have? Everyone else assured us Reiss was just like other children.

Fast forward to last year around this time. Reiss was closing in on three years old and by then, we were pretty sure Reiss had some developmental, behavioral, and speech delays so I called First Steps. Although I had read a lot about autism and knew Reiss exhibited some of the symptoms, it was the farthest thing from our minds. After all, a lot of typical children do many things that are categorized as symptoms of autism but they don't have autism - they're just doing things children do.

Because Reiss was so close to turning three and First Steps only deals with children up to the age of three, we were told to call the public school system. We did. In the meantime, we began seeking help on the medical front and I am not even going to explain all that but suffice it to say that Reiss was diagnosed with only one appointment. That was in December and the demand for help with autistic children on the medical front is so high that Reiss doesn't even have his second appointment until May! Seriously....no wonder parents of autistic children are so frustrated. Back to the public school system...misplaced paperwork, Summer Break, refiling the paperwork, jumping through an uncountable number of hoops, and having an evaluation later, Reiss was finally placed in developmental preschool in January of this year.

We have also begun using DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) protocol in seeking medical help and Reiss has his first appointment with a DAN! provider this month! Because there are only five DAN! providers in the entire state of Indiana, we were going to have to wait until October to see one of the other providers whose schedule is booked up nearly a year in advance. However, the appointment we have is with a doctor who is new to the DAN! approach to autism and his schedule is - thank God! - not yet booked for months in advance.

That is pretty much the story of how we came to where we are now. As for addressing the issue of why things are so difficult, here is a list of things we face on a daily basis:

Reiss will be four years old in about three months. In his nearly four years of life, he has never technically slept through the night. If you count the medical definition of "sleeping through the night," which is (last time I checked) sleeping for six hours straight without waking, Reiss has done that less than a handful of times.

Imagine a child who not only does not respond to traditional disciplinary methods, but in many ways, does not even understand that the method is meant to be discipline or that he has done something wrong. That is Reiss. Timeouts have never been an effective means of discipline for Reiss. Taking things away rarely means anything to him because autistic children typically don't place a value on objects or others' feelings.

Reiss has severe impulse control issues. He cannot resist doing things even in the occasional instance when he knows what he is about to do is wrong.

Watching television is not something Reiss does. No parent wants their child to obsess over watching tv but having the freedom to plop a child down to watch an Elmo video for even five minutes would be nice. I don't have that freedom or that luxury. Reiss simply does not watch tv.

Self-entertaining is a challenge, to say the least, for Reiss. It's not that he never does it, it's just very rare. My days - when Reiss is not napping like right now - and my husband's evenings are consumed almost entirely with taking care of Reiss, keeping him entertained, and making sure he is not hurting his sister...which brings me to the next thing.

Along the lines of Reiss having impulse control issues, he is obsessed with trying to hurt his sister. There are many times when he plays very nicely with her. However, there are many more times when he cannot be left in a room with her without hearing her scream and my husband or I returning to the room to see him lying on top of Milla, pulling her hair, stepping on her arm, squeezing her head, or a variety of other things he likes to do.

Reiss is very fortunate in the speech department as far as autistic children go, in that he now has a very wide vocabulary. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to use it properly in a lot of situations. He cannot carry on a simple conversation that a typical child his age could. Yes/No questions are usually met with a blank stare or repeating the question (echolalia) back to us. He cannot express simple wants and needs to us many times. It is only in recent months that he has - and not regularly - begun to tell us when he is hungry.

Reiss lacks social skills. If a group of children are playing, most often he is off to the side doing something entirely different. He would never walk up to another child and ask if they want to play because he not only lacks the social knowledge to do so, he couldn't care less the other child is even present.

Tantrums....oh, where do I begin? Let's just say everything is met with a tantrum. Since beginning all our diet restrictions, we have noticed a difference in the number of tantrums but Reiss still has way more tantrums than a typical child his age. His tantrums originate over literally anything. One might be over the color of shirt I've decided to wear on a particular day. Another may evolve because his food was cut up and we can't "put it back together." He has always had an obsession with his shoes to a point where he even wore them to bed for a long time. Asking him to take off his shoes is quite often met with a meltdown. The tantrum we face most often is when he starts crying and his face gets wet from the tears. He doesn't like his face being wet so he wipes it on his shirt...then his shirt is wet and then more crying because he doesn't like that either. And it's a vicious circle that's like chasing your tail because he doesn't grasp the concept that if he would stop crying, there would be nothing to get his face and shirt wet.

Reiss lacks coordination. We can show him the simplest of moves and he cannot duplicate them a lot of times...things that Milla can.

Sitting still is non-existant for Reiss. Besides eating such a strict diet, this is another reason why it is next to impossible to take Reiss to a restaurant. It is also nearly impossible to take Reiss places on my own without help from my husband because Reiss runs away and is gone in a flash. Putting him in the stroller doesn't solve the problem because he knows how to get out of the seatbelt. Putting the "leash" on him no longer works because he has a never-ending meltdown at the mention of it. Disciplining him for running doesn't work because, again, traditional discipline does not work with him and we have yet to find the magic method that not only works for him, but makes him learn not to do whatever he is being punished for again in the future.

Things have to be "just so" for Reiss. I will give credit where credit is due. Reiss has gotten much better at handling things that change but it used to be that if he was playing with say, the blue truck, and had left it and came back to find it moved - even a fraction of an inch - it was cause for an all-out meltdown.

Now I know a lot of these things sound like typical four-year-old behavior. And I've even had people tell me, in not so many words, that I should try to keep my frustrations at bay a little better because whatever Reiss is doing at that very moment is just him being a four-year-old. However, what those people don't see is that I have not only had to deal with whatever is going on at that moment, but all the other stuff that goes on constantly. When I have to "put out a fire" practically every waking moment of every waking day of my life, when sitting down for more than thirty seconds at a stretch is a complete luxury, when I feel trapped because I love my child so much but just wish he would be "normal," when I have to worry that my child may never have friends (this is the absolute worst and breaks my heart), when I hear other parents complaining about how poorly their children does this or that and know that my child may NEVER do it at all, ever....it grates on me. And that is why it really is so difficult having a child with autism.



*I have explained this on many occasions but feel it necessary to repeat: "Typical" is the politically correct term used for referring to children who do not have autism or other disabilities. It is not meant to be derogatory and I am not the one who declared it to be the term to use. This term is used in every piece of autism-related piece of literature I have come across.

What Are They Doing That I'm Not???

Just like my son's autism doesn't rule our lives fulltime, writing only about it on my blog is not going to happen either. With that said, I am full of wonder these days.

For instance, I was just sitting down with Milla on my lap nursing and flipped the TV on to see an episode of Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee. It never ceases to amaze me how thin some of the Food TV women are, especially when I see the foods that she or Giada De Laurentiis make on their shows. I have to wonder what these women are doing that I'm not. Sure, they are in the tv business but still, they make these incredible foods on their shows and taste it. I know they can't only be eating those one little tastes that are shown on camera! Do they just eat small portions, as in, bird-size portions? Oh, I don't know....the only thing that seems to work for me is low-carb eating and lots of water and exercise.

Another thing I have been pondering quite often lately - and welcome any comments from anyone but especially those who do NOT agree with my opinion - is how people can argue that vaccines do not play a part in at least some cases of autism. For those who think vaccines play no part at all, how do you explain your opinion to people like my husband and me who have a child who seemed to be developing just fine and then started regressing soon after his one year shots? Or worse, how do you explain vaccines playing no part in autism in children who are fine and then have a particular vaccine and immediately regress? As in, the same or next day. And although my own son's regression was not quite as quick as that, yes, I do know of people who noticed such drastic changes in their children as having things happen within hours or a day or two of being given vaccines. How do you explain that? How do you explain how vaccines could not have done such a thing? Seriously, I want to know.

And to those who do not think vaccines play a part, I encourage you to take a look at the results of my latest poll at the bottom of this page. Although it was not a scientific poll, I do think the results say a lot about vaccines and public opinion.

On to other things.....
If you are reading this and you know anything about me at all, you know I have a bit of an obsession with large families. I love, love, LOVE large families! I love the Duggar family and watch their show that is now called 18 Kids and Counting. I "follow" the blogs of several very large families. I was a bit interested in the newest octuplet story......until I couldn't take being ticked off at the mother any longer and had to count her out. I just love hearing about all the adventures and fun times that large families have. If it weren't for my husband and I starting out so late and then facing infertility issues, I think I would have loved to have had a very large family....ah, I'm speaking like it's out of the question now. Who knows....there may be several more children in our future.

So where was I going with this? Why is it people will sit around and criticize the parents of large families and argue that the older children are raising the younger ones? But then, those same people with only one, two, or three children will admit to having lots of debt and not being "able to afford (fill in the blank)." So basically, these people think it's okay to carry a ton of debt and teach their children about life with debt and not being able to afford things, but it's wrong to have a large family (and in a lot of cases, little or no debt) and teach the older children life skills by having them help out with the younger ones?

Seriously, I don't get people....but alas, I digress. We have things to do and not much weekend left to do them.