Since the video was made, Kirby wrote about Wright's perspective in his blog on the Huffington Post. In the blog, he cites Katie as saying:
"I believe that Christian's regression and subsequent autism was the result of receiving 6 vaccines during 1 office visit at 2 months of age," she wrote. "He screamed for 12 hours and had a 104 degree fever nearly the entire time. His vaccines contained thimerosal," the mercury-based preservative. "It is devastating," she added, "because so much of this is preventable."This statement flies in the face of much of the research conducted with funding from Autism Speaks, which is focused largely on genetics. And, according to Kirby, "Many in the upper echelons of Autism Speaks have rejected any environmental hypothesis and insisted that autism is purely a genetic disorder..."
After Katie's appearances, blog posts and other public statements, her parents apparently became concerned at the very political nature of Katie's perspective. To help manage the situation, they posted this statement on the Autism Speaks website:
Katie Wright is not a spokesperson for Autism Speaks. She is our daughter and we love her very much. Many of Katie's personal views differ from ours and do not represent or reflect the ongoing mission of Autism Speaks. Her appearance with David Kirby was done without the knowledge or consent of Autism Speaks.Judging from the responses to Kirby's post, and to the many articles flying around the Internet, Katie Wright's statements have added a good deal of fuel to the vaccines vs. genetics debate. It seems a tremendous shame that the debate over causes of autism has split the autism community so absolutely - especially since it seems self-evident that all of us have similar needs and goals, particularly in the areas of education, financial support, and employment opportunities. Still, the split is very real - and you may have a strong perspective.Autism Speaks is committed to finding the causes of and a cure for autism. We are proud of our scientifically based research programs, including those established by NAAR and CAN, and will continue to pursue them. The members of our scientific advisory teams have impeccable credentials and we fully support them. There is no question that genetics plays the leading role in autism and that environmental triggers are key issues for many children. These areas, as well as biomedical treatments, need huge research support.
Autism Speaks merged with NAAR because it believes in and supports its scientific mission, methods, and advisory board. We are proud of the accomplishments of NAAR and grateful to the families and volunteers who created it. They are a tremendously valued part of Autism Speaks. We welcome input from volunteers and parents/guardians of children with autism of all ages, including adults with autism. We apologize to our valued volunteers who were led to believe otherwise by our daughter's statement.
Have you been following the vaccines versus genetics debate? What's your take on Katie Wright, David Kirby, and Autism Speaks?
Well, Katie was there representing herself as a parent, that is what she said. When questions went towards autism speaks, she shouldn’t have answered. Although they are her parents, she should not had spoken her opinion nor speak for Autism Speaks. she is not a co-founder nor a board member. They did apologize for asking such questions, after the fact. the interview should never had gone in that direction and Katie was suckered right into it. Previously within the interview, special treatment was given to Katie for who her dad was at a hospital (my son had that same test done without any special treatment or begging) but once that special treatment was mentioned, when Katie stated she wished all fund raisers were for environmental (vaccine related) causes, one wonders about that special treatment and Autism Speaks. Katie spoke her personal opinions while on the topic of research through Autism Speak. Autism Speaks had to make a statement. We wouldn’t want to think special treatment is family-wide, and I’ll be waiting for that soon-to-be statement Katie mentioned her dad was to make. I also think this interview was to counter act the Oprah Show not allowing Kirby to speak. Katie was about jumping out of her chair during that show. this whole interview was to cover things Oprah left out.
Interestingly, the culprit vaccines were given at 2 months old to Katie’s child, other than a vaccine reaction for 12 hours, (and 2 ice baths for a 2 month old baby?) there was no over night regression she mentioned. Katie didn’t notice a change until her son was two years old. I find this a very interesting statement. she made many very interesting comments, especially as to how well her son is doing today.
There may not be one single cause for autism, and no one including Autism Speak or Katie Wright should close those doors for all causes and research for all, nor dictate which and what those researches should be..
But for the most part, let the Wright family duke it out amongst themselves. I think interviews with Katie should be about over now.
Sandy,
It’s quite obvious you haven’t done your homework. The amount of evidence linking autism to vaccines is overwhelming. Katie’s baby’s reaction is a huge red flag and for you to balk at it just proves your ignorance to the rest of us who know better.
Wendy
I am glad Katie spoke up. For those of us who are getting those weird stares when we mention that we beleive based on all the signs and symptoms that many of us like Katie experienced that it was the vaccines that did this to our beuatiful healthy children. My son experinced the same side effects after having his 4 shots one day. Screaming for 12 hrs jamming his fist in his throat, egg white looking bowel movements, and 105 fever. Do these things really sound as if they are all a coincidence? I have a son now with PDD and Apraxia. He was speaking at age one and now cannot. Non beleviers may have children with classic autism that was not brought on by injecting their children with a neurotoxin but my son was poisoned. Thanks for lostening Alice in CT.
I watched the interview with David Kirby and was pleasantly surprised to see Katie acknowledge the elephant standing in the room—vaccines and the possible harm they are causing our children. The real truth is that we don’t know whether the vaccines are safe when given to all children, in multiple combinations at such an early age. We need the research dollars to go toward investigating the biological impact at the cellular level and then we will finally have the answers we all need. Right now, the FDA and CDC want us to believe they are safe, without having conducted the safety studies which should have already been done. Sound familiar? How many drug treatments are we later finding out are not safe only after many people are injured or die? Vioxx for example.
Finally, if what Katie said is true, that Autism Speaks will be funding environmental reasearch, I will be in full support of their efforts. Autism Speaks should speak for ALL of us in the autism community.
I am a mom of three boys, my oldest and youngest being autistic. I can say that I receive “stares” from other autism parents when I state that I don’t think my kids’ autism was caused by their vaccines. Now, I do believe that we have to do further testing and research into vaccines and their safety, however, we cannot overlook the role of genetics in autism. We participated in Cure Autism Now’s Genetic Research Exchange, and I hope our family’s informaition will be valuable in their research.
As far as my kids, they were showing signs very early, before they received the bulk of their vaccines. With my second and third sons (my second one being “neuro-typical” and my third being autistic), I separated out and even delayed their vaccines so they would not receive large doeses in one visit. None of my children had reactions to any of their vaccines. My autistic kids were not “normal” and then “fell off a cliff” – they had strange speech and play patterns very early. And, I knew very early that my middle son was not autistic, with the same vaccines and enviornment.
I know that most autism parents will think I’m nuts and it’s all about the vaccines, and sometimes I feel I am the only one out there in my situation.
The fact that I have three autistic children and both my siblings have one autistic child each; the genetic link
seems very real to me. My niece received no vaccinations and yet is autistic. However, I do think there is a very strong environmental cause, along with genetics, given the timing of this epidemic.
# 2- I don’t generally call names on any forum or when asked for ‘your thoughts’. That’s why these topics get so out of control. It’s very disrespectful. Just because my opinion doesn’t match yours completely doesn’t make me ignorant.
I have researched extensively this topic along with many other’s (this is not the only claim of causes) and if what I find interesting doesn’t also interest another, then feel free to share your own interest’s and not speak on top of some one else’s. I could share all the very interesting things Katie Wright said during her interview, and I could reference the research that makes what she said so interesting, but I’m not here to push. Any of it is easily found and the public statement from her parents says a lot.
Evidence linking autism to vaccines and evidence not linking vaccines to autism works both ways. I am not at all stating or feel vaccines do not play a part. However Mercury generally doesn’t have a time released side affect, in any form. the damage is immediate. No amount of it is safe, but seems to be safe for some and not others.
I hope everyone has a good day
Isn’t Katie’s father the president of NBC?
Notice how we are getting bombarded these days by commmercials from pharmaceutical companies?
Who makes vaccines? Pharmaceutical companies.
Just one point: Autism Speaks does, indeed, support research on environmental factors that could be a factor in autism (http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/programs/environmental_factors.php). But – they do not take a stand on vaccinations per se.
As more than one person has said, the evidence is strong on both sides of the vaccination question – and there is no doubt that the practice of giving multiple vaccines to a newborn is questionable, whether or not the practice leads to autism. It’s also important to note that both the MMR (live virus) AND thimerosal (mercury) have been singled out as potential causes of autism – and these are two very different issues. Wright seemed to be most concerned about infant vaccinations and thimerosal, but many parents point to the MMR as a possible culprit.
I applaud Katie for being a stand for what she believes in, despite a lack of support from the organization her son inspired. I personally believe that politics (including the politics of pharma lobbying efforts and financial support) are behind the Autism Speaks research agenda. They are treading carefully so as not to make waves. This epidemic requires boldness and an in-your-face effort that should not take into consideration who will be upset if they find that they or their company contributed to the cause. All you have to do is attend one DAN or Autism One conference to see what “bold” means. Thanks, Katie, for taking a stand for what you believe is true. I’m with you…as are so many tens of thousands of others.
I think Autism Speaks is going overboard in the following statement:
“There is no question that genetics plays the leading role in autism and that environmental triggers are key issues for many children.”
I am the parent of 2 autistic little boys. Absolutely, I believe with my kids, their autism was caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors, the environmental including vaccines and my own amalgams, one of which broke in my 1st trimester w/my 2nd child. My husband’s entire male side of his family have very strong autism/asperger’s traits. However, none of them are sick like my kids, all of them speak and all of them are responsible adults who hold down good jobs and support themselves and their families.
However, to say that there is no question that genetics plays the leading role is simply bunk.
If you are a parent of a child w/autism, you know that no two children are the same. They present w/many different signs and symptoms including sensory issues, GI problems, speech, no speech, sleep, no sleep, etc., etc.
Isn’t it all together possible that some kids who have autism have NO genetic factors and all environmental and others have all genetic/no environmental and finally a combination of some genetic/some environmental?
I was thrilled that Katie spoke her mind. There are so many of us who feel just like she did that by doing the ‘right thing’ as parent by following the vaccine schedule exactly, we now carry with us the guilt and second-guessing that what we did actually hurt our children. Deep inside, we all know that 6 vaccines in one day is absurd, even down right careless, but the medical establishment is so intimidating to parents that we cast aside our intuition, sign the forms saying our child could die, and shot away.
My child had the same reaction after his MMR shot. At the time, we were told it was a ‘normal’ response. Nothing is ‘normal’ about a baby’s immune system encountering measles, mumps and rubella on the same day. NOTHING is ‘normal’ about a child having a high fever, uncontrollable crying and developing a curious disability in the months following.
While some children change overnight, some do not. Slipping into autism is usually a gradual process. The part of the brain that is affected sometimes doesn’t reveal itself until months or years later when the child goes to use those neurons and they fail. We are unable to see the connections that are not being made until it’s too late.
I started vaccinating my second son when, in 1999, I learned about the potential connection between vaccine & autism – I stopped vaccinating. He was starting to show signs of illness & sensory problems by age 6 mos, then within 1.5 years, he cleared up and has developed into a healthy, neurotypical boy. Our doctor told us we ’saved’ him from the same fate as brother – we believe so too.
While Katie isn’t a spokesperson for Autism Speaks, she has every right to talk about her family and, yes, her parents. I have been wondering why A.S. hasn’t pursued the environmental trigger more aggressively. It was my hope that A.S. wouldn’t be another organization bound to silence by the CDC or NIH like others have been. Autism Speaks has too much potential and influence to be a closed-minded ‘puppet’ and aide to the coverup that has gone on far too long. Our children deserve better – they deserve the adults in this world to find out what has caused this epidemic and quickly find a cure and/or prevention.
We need answers today!
I am the mother of three boys, the older two, ages 12 and 15, were fully vaccinated and are on the autism spectrum. My youngest is 6 years old, has never received a single vaccination, and is a normal developing boy. My oldest son had a terrible reaction to his shots at 4 months with screaming, rigid body, and a high fever for 18 hours. After his 12 month appointment, he lost his words. As a parent, the connection is very clear to me because I saw it with my own eyes. Is my family genetically susceptible? Absolutely, and there should be tests available that determine for whom the risks outweigh the benefits of vaccination. Preserving vaccinations with mercury is completely irresponsible and single dose, thimerasol free shots should have always been the only option available. Dental amalgams that are 50% mercury and leach into the body are also irresponsible and another piece of the puzzle. There is a toxic tipping point and we have clearly reached it.
Katie Wright should continue to speak her mind regardless of who her parents are and the organization that they have founded. She is the parent and she know what she witnessed. There are many of us who witnessed the same thing.
You go Katie! I have 4 children. My girls were fine, but when my first son received his MMR, everything went wrong.
Within 24 hours the bright, talkative little boy I knew was GONE. He screamed incessantly, started head banging, biting himself all over, and MASSIVE diarrhea. There is no way that is coincedence! I might add I was also pregnant at that time with my youngest son. At first I thought it couldn’t be possible that something like this could happen, so when my son was born I went ahead and vaccinated him. Once my older son was diagnosed with autism, and I started talking to parents with the exact same stories, I knew that was what caused my child’s autism. I immediately stopped vaccinating his younger brother at 4 months. His brother does have a significant developmental delay and speech difficulties, but he is rapidly catching up. My older son is doing really well now too, and we expect he will lose his autism diagnosis in the next year or so. We consider ourselves lucky that we caught it early. I will tell you this though. I will NEVER vaccinate ANY of my children ever again!
After 7 years of biomed. treatments, my son (age 11) is now nearly “recovered” from autism (no diagnosis, just a few quirks), but his immune system is still a mess. It has been a long, hard, uphill battle and we’re not finished yet. I don’t bother to argue w/anyone about whether or not toxins (mainly mercury) cause autism–each person has to do their own research and make their own decisions. But for me, the definitive answer came when we removed the toxins from my son’s body and he recovered from autism.
Everyone is arguing that it’s EITHER genetic or environmental, but nobody has pointed out that our genetics often pre-determine our reactions to our environment, including our adverse reactions to environmental toxins such as mercury.
My son also exhibited autistic behaviors from birth and never received ANY vaccines until 7 mos. of age. But he was exposed to all sorts of toxins in-utero (as are all children), including mercury from my amalgam fillings and fish I ate, etc. I also have many relatives who exhibit ASD traits, including one w/severe autism (no biomed. interventions) and one w/Asperger’s, and my husband has nephews whose sons have Asperger’s, so it seems obvious that there is a huge genetic component to my son’s autism. But my personal belief is that if we could have limited his exposure (both pre- and post-natal) to mercury and other toxins, he wouldn’t have been autistic.
Each child is unique, and whether their exposure to mercury (and other toxins) is miniscule or huge, they might have the same severe reaction. It depends on their level of sensitivity, and that is very likely a result of their unique genetic makeup.
I understand that people are upset and rightfully so. If and when we find out for sure what has caused this pandemic of Autism I am sure people will still disagree. People are always going to have their own perspective. That is human nature. It is a frustrating thing but nontheless the way it is. There are right fighters everywhere. All I can say as a parent of an 18 year old with Autism is I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. We have faced so much adversity through the years since our son’s diagnosis it is a miracle that I am not on SSI myself! Everywhere I turn I have angry faces staring back at me, from school districts refusing much needed services (Actually I see that school districts do not offer what our kids need and there needs to be other options for them other than a school campus setting)to denial request for therapies from my insurance company. My dentist was angry that I requested mercury free fillings to be on the safe side. People that don’t have a child with Autism don’t have a clue what we go through. Just the fact that these children don’t sleep normally is dispruptive enough. You can’t think straight, you become depressed. You feel crazy. It is tortuous. Mind, body and soul. (my son used to peel my eyelids open when ever I would doze off…I guess he wanted me to stay awake 24/7 too!) Are there people out there who are sympathetic? Sure, but I haven’t run across very many in my experience. Our family is split on this issues because my husband’s brother’s son who is Autistic is higher functioning than mine,(so they say)and they don’t hesitate to say so. And they do not believe that mercury caused the autism. My mother inlaw sides with the folks who is going to take care of her when she gets old. This is not us, for many reasons and this is not due to our lack of compassion in any way. My 16 year old son has terrible depression and says he wants to die.
I recently worked as a job coach for disabled kids betweent the ages of 18-22. I was let go because I wasn’t a “good fit”. They were right. I don’t like working for the dark side where the kids have no chance of gaining skills. I took that job so I could help these kids. I sure got an eye full. How disapointing it was because they claim to have been “The best”. It was a lifeskill program that prides themselves on giving these kids gainful employment opportunities and training. I didn’t see that happening. The school site had rats! Yes, feses everywhere! Rats running through the plastic plants and on the chairs and tables! It is a discusting situation and the general public has no clue what these kids are exposed to it, let alone the parents that send them there everyday. I spoke up and spoke my mind and so yes, I was not a good fit for that school district. I find it absolutley frustrating out there in our world. My son has been bullied everyday since the start of the year by 15 boys as he walks to his algebra class. They tell him to run for their enjoyment and push him and trip him. The school has done nothing to prevent this from happening. I actually video taped this. Then it happened last Friday and my son blew a gasket. Yes, “he” was suspended for three days. He reacted (as I hoped to prevent)to the teasing and had a melt down. I did file a report with the campus police against the kids though. I had to have my son do it since he is now 18. It is unfortuate to have this come up but a very important life skill I believe. So, when we talk about what our beliefs are concerning causes of Autism, you are speaking to parents who have faced enormous adversity everyday of their lives. Their are clueless people out there who say things like “get over It”. This my friend is bigger than any other illness or desease. It is our life turned upside down and inside out and stomped on. Nerves are shot and we see no relief in sight. I feel for Katie on this subject. I also know that when you are too emotional it works against you in many cases and you are labled as “out of control”. Katie’s parents are probably just tring to be politically correct and sometimes you have to read between the lines of what people say. I am very up front and matter of fact and it makes people uncomforable at times. Well I have been uncomfortable for years! I guess you know what runs downhill. I must admit that my intolerance for mean people is zero. I can’t change the world and I need to save my energy for my family and myself. I need to be kinder to myself and pick and choose my battles. I believe though that you have to stand up for what you believe in. You are your childs advocate and know your kids better than anyone in the whole wide world. Better than grandparents too. You are the parent and what you says goes. It feels lonely alot and friends are few and far inbetween but I have some. That is all I need is a few. This whole mercury/autism thing is huge. When I read David Kirby’s book Evidence of Harm” it was like reading my biography. Katie is simply a mom telling her truth. The Wrights are the grandparents who have to be politically correct and not be offending. They can’t be biased where they sit. Not if they want to get anything done anyway. This goes beyond the kids. It is about money and power now. There are some big mean greedy people out there and our government and pharma’s are powerful but we, together are too. I don’t see thsi debate dying out when you have so many parents who are devestated over this. No one is going to sleep now. We have to let the courts handle this and we need to take one step at a time. Persevere and love your babies. Hopefully this new court case will prove to be helpful.
You have to separate the vaccine topic or it get’s very confusing. Katie Wright and David Kirby is mainly speaking about Thimerosal in the vaccines. The MMR vaccine never ever contained Thimerosal and is a completely different theory within the vaccine theory. And there are many studies on either side of the MMR theory as well. Dental amalgams is also a different theory topic, and studies go either way on that.
Besides the Thimerosal, there are many there ingredients in vaccines that could be the cause or added to the cause or have nothing to do with it at all.
All babies at birth should start to be tested for many things, including immune disorders for if they suffer from this, much more than vaccines could and would contribute. Since this is not done at birth, it is assumed the issue presented only after vaccines but there is no way then to know that to be true. An infant who was untreated for Celiac Disease until the age of 2 very much looked to have an autism disorder and because left undiagnosed and untreated for so long, had cognitive delays and delays all around. His brain and body was starved of nutrients. Very many things can be known and prevented and treated if they tested for more health issues at birth, than wait for signs to present.
And on another note: the statement came from Autism Speaks came directly from Bob and Suzanne Wright, they made a clear bold statement at that and one wonder exactly of what Katie Wright had to say in that interview prompted her parents to make that statement.
#5- Betsy and #6 Laura, I was wondering what the incidence of autism was like in previous generations of both of your families? I have three children ages 18,and 15 (boys) and 11(girl). My younger son and daughter both have autism. Both were developing normally in all areas until 18 and 24 months old. There is no autism/Asberger’s in previous generations on either side of our families. But in our generation,my husband’s only sibling has a son with ADHD, repeated ear infections, language delay, and learning issues. My sister has a son with ADHD.In my close circle of friends, all with children about the same age,one friend has one out of two children with severe asthma,another friend has two boys, one with ADHD and the other with a reading disability, and a third friend has a son with learning and spatial disabilities and food allergies. We are all bright healthy women from bop-along regular bright healthy families. We grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and this is not what was going on. Something(s) in the environment changed and uncovered a population of children with a particular make up that caused them to react. What is an across the board difference that happened to children in this generation from Kansas to Manhatten? – more vaccines and combined. It is scientifically THE MOST LOGICAL place to look in, I believe, most cases. It is also an incredibly inconvient truth. Yes genes play a role, ultimately they always do. But looking for the genes responsible for autism is like looking for the genes responsible for light skin people getting more skin cancer. There are too many genes involved and it isn’t as useful as focusing on the environmental damage from UV light.
My child was damaged by mercury a known neurotoxin that was included in his baby vaccines and was never proven to be safe.
Richard
Along with my 2 autistic sons, I have two first cousins with sons on the spectrum, and my husband (an attorney) exhibits several “aspie” traits. He began reading at a very young age (I used to think my in-laws were making that up until my 2 aspie boys began reading at age 3), and also has extraordinary ways with numbers and figures (don’t play poker with him!). I now know that this is called Hyperlexia, also on the autism spectrum. My husband has been misunderstood as shy and unresponsive, and has had to work on his social skills much throughout his life. He has a sister who is developmentally disabled and has Epilepsy, and we have a history of depression and obsession-compulsion on both sides of the family.
I do not want to rule out enviornment in our case (or anyone’s case), but I don’t think anyone can deny the strong genetic link in our families.
I have been researching the effects of prenatal ultrasound on fetuses and discovered evidence that the little-known thermal effcts of ultrasound can cause neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. In my research, I discovered that high fevers in young children also pose a threat to brain development, which may be the key factor in children who experience high fevers following immunizations.
Increases in temperature interfere with key enzyme reactions, which can reasonably result in DNA “glitches” that are then copied over and over again, sometimes resulting in improper wiring of the brain or other defects such as immunological or metabolic disorders, to name just two.
I have written “Questions about Prenatal Ultrasound and the Alarming Increase in Autism” which is available online at midwiferytoday.com. My article, although theoretical in nature, is solidly supported by dozens of scientific citations.
Could it be that we are all right? Thimerosol and vaccines cause some cases of autism, or tip the genetic predisposition? I think part of the issue is that we haven’t yet developed a differential diagnosis for a variety of different disorders that affect the same area of the brain and thus functioning. For example, a person can acquire autistic behaviors through contact with encepalitis. In that case, there is no genetic involvement at all, just injury to the brain. So perhaps we are looking at many disorders for which our current science is unable to differentiate. We are working from symptoms that may have a variety of different etiologies.
encepalitis is like from West Nile virus, and that also has a death statistic. Encephalitis and meningitis is something different. I’m not sure which you’re referring to. but along those same thoughts, my brother in law had a heart attack and lack of oxygen. resulted in brain damage non reversible. his behavior however is noted by all to be like my son, and he acquired sensory issues as well. his cognitive skills, verbal skills, staying on topic, repetitive behaviors. non social and lacks social awareness…. he could fit the autism criteria today. same with my nephew, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) same as the BIL in skills and sensory issues. there is no getting better for my BIL or my nephew and the causes are known and known side effects, but kids with autism, there is no clear cause to for sure say that’s it like those with TBI, lack of oxygen or a virus that attacked the brain.
encepalitis , encephalitis, meningitis and lack of oxygen may or may not be autism but those are causes with known side effects, that are similar to autism but is not. it could very well be a virus infected a child, attacked the brain and have nothing to do with environmental’s at all. or it could. generally speaking, way back when kids actually contracted measles, mumps or rubella, they didn’t survive and end up with autism-like symptom’s. German measles caused babies born to be mentally retardation, blind and deaf. if one was to look at what each childhood disease caused health-wise and the side effects and survival rate, and that it mainly affected the infant-toddler-young child population, one can only assume it’s not the actual virus given in vaccines, but something else maybe with in them. or something else altogether.
I think Marie is right. In many cases, autism seems to run in families. In other cases, an immune system problem, tipped off by environmental stress (such as vaccines) seems to be the culprit. In other cases, as Marie says, damage to the same part of the brain responsible for autistic behaviors leads to autism. I feel my son was a victim of two and three. We don’t have any autistic-like relatives, but he had a traumatic birth, inability to keep his body temperature up after that birth, followed by the Hepatitis B shot just hours later. I don’t think his system was strong enough for the shot, and that is caused serious damage — for nothing. The likelihood of his getting Hepatitis B shot with a Hepatitis-free and illegal drug free family was nil. Makes me angry still.
There have been studies that focus on two parts of the brain but not sufficient evidence to be conclusive to those parts of the brain or the causes there of. It’s also known that area’s of the brain can take over performing tasks when the other side is damaged, and this can be done more so when they’re kids than adults. I wonder why this is never true of our kids if it really is a portion of the brain that is damaged by injury (I am not defining injury either, it’s a broad term).
If there was a immune system disorder, I wonder then did that child meet the vaccines first before any other environmental’s? Does the immune disorder get better with age and then there is no risk factor as time goes on? And for those which were never vaccinated, did they meet up with another environmental exposure which was the trigger? Or is it maybe like schizophrenia where the child seems healthy and then wham, puberty comes and chemical reactions within the body go haywire for no apparent reason and there’s no clue to where schizophrenia came from.
I might be the only one who thinks out loud about these things.
My 2 year old son has just been diagnosed as having PDD. We’re fortunate in that his autism is on the mild end of the scale. I was always leary of vaccines ever since about 10 years ago when I met a co-worker who’s beautiful 5 year old son was brain damaged from a vaccine shot. I have not kept in touch with her, so her son should be around 15 now. But at that time she told me that he had a bad reaction to a vaccine (I can’t remember which one). She told me he would never learn beyond the function of a 1 year old. Now, after my son has been diagnosed, I can say without a doubt that if I have any more children they will not be vaccinated before they are 2 years old, then I will make sure they receive the vaccines one at at time, instead of a vaccine cocktail, like they do now. I’m sorry, but if doctors tell us not to apply sunscreen to infants before 6 months old, but pump them full of vaccines, something is defintely wrong!
Hi, all. This message came to me, regarding the focus of Autism Speaks. It goes beyond the vaccine debate, but it may help to explain their limited perspective. I found it interesting. It was forwarded to me by a colleague who is in the University of New Hampshire’s Autism Doctorate program. (He has a brother and I have a son and husband with ASDs.) For what it’s worth…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46LYd4Xe63Y
Description: You won’t find Jason McElwain’s story on the
Autism Speaks website. You won’t find any videos of autistic children
unless they further Autism Speaks hopelessness and pity message.
You won’t find anything written by an autistic person, save a
very controversial letter written by a member of Grasp.
You won’t find any autistic employees among the 130 employees
of Autism Speaks. There aren’t any autistic board members. Unlike other
charities such as The National Down’s Syndrome Society, Autism Speaks
will not allow autistic people to serve in any capacity, not that we
would want to, but it might be a nice gesture to be invited.
You won’t find any autistic speakers at Autism Speaks rallies. I
know for a fact that autistic people have offered to speak at rallies
and events. But, we have been summarily rejected and told that the
rallies and events are not a proper “venue” for us to speak at.
You also won’t find Bob Wright, Suzanne Wright or Katie Wright,
seeking any type of input or even enlightenment from autistic adults.
You see, we are invisible to them.
You won’t find Autism Speaks spending a dime on helping change
the laws of medical insurance, worker accommodation, employment, or
devices that could help improve the lives of autistic people.
! What Autism Speaks will offer you is hopelessness, pity, and
research to find a cure for future generations of autistic people so we
won’t exist anymore. If you believe Autism Speaks will help your child
right now, you are wrong.
Autism Speaks is governed by a board made up mainly of the
“Super Rich”. You know, the people who have wedding announcements in
Town & Country magazine. The people who purchase exotic cars like the
Ferrari P4/5 so they can demoralize their neighbors with their personal
extravagance.
You’ll also find two board members whom have stated to the
public that they have wished their child were dead.
If you feel generous, please give to the National Down’s
Syndrome Society. The NDSS has board members with down’s syndrome and
the society actively encourages positive images of DS people. The
Society also fights for the civil rights and dignity of people with DS.
Until Autism Speaks changes its message and includes autistic
people on their Executive Committee and Board, ! please do not give to
them.
Sandy, I’m thinking the damage is more subtle (at this point) to scientists that a whole side of the brain being damaged. The damage may not be something that is visibile, but may be a more complex damage that makes it harder for other parts of the brain to “take over.”
I certainly believe my son’s brain is damaged. It is obvious when he struggles to do things and just cannot do them. He’s 13 and can’t do many things an average 3-year-old can do. And he knows it, and it bothers him.
I tell him I love him every day and tell him I’m lucky to have him. He gets a great deal of love and attention in this family — his siblings are wonderful. But that doesn’t just make up for all the frustration he feels in not being able to do things he sees his brother doing, and he doesn’t have the cognitive capacity to rationalize things by thinking about what he CAN do instead of what he can’t.
His behaviors are much better, but still he struggles — and I still think the vaccine has a lot to do with it. He just wasn’t strong enough to withstand the vaccine on top of the traumatic birth, lack of oxygen, etc.
And again, I firmly believe what we call autism is really several different syndromes, with different causes. Some is genetic, some could be due to a spontaneous new genetic mutation, some because of older sperm or eggs, some because of vaccine reaction, some lack of oxygen, and some a combination of factors.
Hello,
I have a healthy very alert 4.5 month old boy. I’m 49. I live in California. Vaccines are due this week.
Would you vaccinate? Wait to vaccinate? Spread out the vaccines?
And if you don’t vaccinate – what about the diseases?
I see that overall statistics must in some way not incriminate vaccines, but I wonder if some kids are vulnerable based on their genetics?
Thanks.
Depending on who you listen to, the children “coming down” with Autism is 1 in 166 or 1 in 150. Presuming that 1 in 150 is correct, this is a fatalistic way of stating that 0.6% of children are developing autism.
Given that the definition of autistic has expanded over time (to include things that were once labled “retardation”), and that 0.6% is a small – albeit tragic – percentage of the population to develop a disability, there is a statistical weight against the idea that vaccines cause autism. If they did, then the percentage of the population affected would be far higher. After all, everyone on this list was vaccinated. So was every child I’ve known in my life.
A far more believable scenario -and one that should be studied – is that the magnetic/radio wave bombardment we now live with is affecting our brain development at an early age. Cell phones, TVs, computers, wireless networks, et al., have combined to make the ambient electromagnetic fields in industrialized nations BILLIONS of times higher than they should be. Our skulls, at an early age, are unable to defend against this the way adult skulls are.
Further, studies should be done concerning ultrasound — some women get it a lot, some very little. Is there a correlation between bombarding a developing fetus with high-intensity sonar waves? That’s even more likely than vaccines.
In short, many on this list will likely villify my “cold” opinions. But the fact remains, the smoking gun you are looking for is, at worst, a very unlikely candidate.
John M
vaccines have always carried health risks and side effects. it’s a parents personal choice to vaccinate or not and each parent should research this on their own than to seek opinions that may not be as important to one as it is to another. it is uncommon but not too unheard of, a child getting vaccines at age 4 on up and had the onset of autism. it is in fact rare to hear of onset after the age of 4. no one person can decide this for other’s, but really only offer what we or I may have chosen to do.
as for statistics, it is always interesting to know where they’re obtained from and in the past, most if not all have solely been from school districts special ed departments and not a medical facility. there is some merit to the accuracy of those autism stats. and those stats only reflect cases of autism, not causes.
The only purpose of pointing out the (very low) statistic — which I have heard from a number of Autism groups themselves, and/or ad campaigns from non-profit groups advocating for the autistic — is to illustrate the following:
1. Since “everyone” gets vaccinated, statistically speaking the rate of autism, if caused specifically by vaccines, should be far higher. Someone on this board used the term “pandemic” – which is applicable if you are talking about something that affects a much larger percentage of the population.
2. “1 in 150″ is a far scarier number than “0.6%”. 1 in 150 sounds like everyone will have the problem.
3. People looking for a smoking gun need to consider the fact that there are probably many factors in causing autism, not the least of which is a genetic predisposition. With the shift of definitions to include previous conditions now as autistic, this accounts for the statistical “surge” as well.
It’s not that the definition of autism was ‘expanded’, a better term would be ‘added’. At the time people were labeled Mentally Retarded, that generally at the time was the only option of a diagnoses to give them, and in fact many times was a misdiagnoses. Many doctors didn’t and still don’t take enough time in order to do a accurate diagnoses. Many kids today with autism have both diagnoses so which one is counted? Only one or both to makes those statistics?
Now an interesting statistic in this would be of which labeled autism have a doctors diagnoses or only an educational IEP. Of which of that 0.6 % had scheduled vaccines and which did not. The surge for a long time and still is considered and coincides with the date the Department of Education added autism to IDEA. That’s actually when the counting really started. Right at about that same time a couple more vaccines were added, so to define where the cause is would be difficult without a more in depth study per each person holding a diagnoses along with the families full history to include all they places they lived to date, not just the 0.6 % of total population which really tells you nothing. Higher levels of children in one state or area could mean environmental’s, or it could mean more people moved after knowing services and schools were better there. For years people have been asking where is the best place to live and they still ask this. Without a more accurate study, no one will know. The term pandemic is used quite frequently when speaking about the autism rates no matter where you gain the information from be it here or else where. To me it is an eye-catching statement and that’s why it’s used, to get attention. A few years back there was also a ‘pandemic’ of ADHD diagnoses as well that started in the 1970’s. All those kids probably were misdiagnosed too.
As for that smoking gun, you know, we may not see it today. I believe there are many factors when it comes to autism and we shouldn’t close doors to searching into all aspects and idea’s.
my child had her first dpt, went home had a fever of 102, had focal stares, quit breathing, was ridgid . ran her back to the doctor, they put her on ice to get the temp down ,said she either had a reaction to the dpt or febrial seziers. well 21 years later , the problem was dehydration. she has cystic fibrosis which has just been found her sweat test are positive however the gentic mutations are not the delta508. my point is gentics are the reason why we have what we have . families also have an” autoimmune ” GENE . perhaps one thing may trigger it to react but the gene is there. you are predipossed to it. maybe the baby shots could be the trigger or later in life food posion or a bite from a wasp could trigger an auto immune reaction. however the gene must be there for the reaction. if cystic fibrosis can have 1400 mutations so can autisum. i carry hemophilia. i know it is mild moderate and severe. it comes in 3 forms not 1400. so research the genes as cystic fibrosis. fight to get dna studies and find the gentic patterns . it could be ressiv e and take two parents to carry it.
The Inconvenient Truth is that we are all contaminated. Be it vaccines, UV-B, dioxins, antibiotic soaps and sprays, cigarette smoke, herbicides, chlorine, fluoride, depleted uranium and each other’s breath. As long as the chemical and drug corporations own the media, the lobbyists, the senators and representatives, we will never know the real truth. All the above contaminates affect our immune systems, at any age. Do you spray your lawn for weeds? Do you let your child play on the grass? Do you spray for bugs, work in a chemical factory or live in a town next to one? Do you eat fish and meat contaminated with heavy metals and dioxins, and vegetables sprayed with fungicides? Dioxins are man-made and have spread all over the world. Pity the poor Vietnamese and our troops who got sprayed with it in the form of Agent Orange. Dioxins may not show up immediately. They lie in wait in the fatty tissue, in the food chain, in mother’s milk!
As long as ‘tort reform’ stops the people from suing for damages, we will never get justice. One more thing, the ozone hole is larger than ever and when the northern one opens, which will happen soon, it will be much worse. Without the ozone layer to shield us, UV-B unfiltered will lowers our immune systems. All life on earth will die without an ozone layer. All the above contaminates destroy the ozone layer. For now, just be thankful you can even have children.
Is it possible that autism could be caused by certain prenatal vitamins? Although prenatal care is important, if they contain ingredients that are imported or tainted how could this be ignored as a contributor. Many women in third world countries also don’t receive prenatal vitamins and do not have the rate of autistic births that americans do.
Katie said that her son started screaming when he had his vaccines at 2 months. Everything I have read and heard about says that usually the MMR vaccines given at 18 months seems to cause changes in childrens behavior. Can anyone tell me about the vaccines given at 2 months? I would really appriciate it.
I don’t know a lot about autism, but I am doing a research project for school to find out about the connection between vaccinations and autism. I would love some information if anyone has any time. My email is serraberra@comcast.net. Thanks
Yo,
I am Mark, soon 39 old, I teach sports in high school
best regards ,
Mark, my little blog moto
Just watched video on You Tube posted by a mother of a severely autistic boy who says epidemic gone crazy, and people USING and abusing the autism label…the videos(there are two) are titled “autism spectrum seems out of control” and “autism epidemic out of control?” So, if its genetic, it would be nice to have a test so the spectrum could weed out those who aren’t really autistic, so question is, is autism acquired or genetic? The mom in video says one her relatives is Aspergers and her son is autistic so right there you see the possiblity of a genetic link, no?