The Autistic Me

My wife and I like to take walks along the main street (actually, Third Street) of the nearby township. It is something out of a movie — even the park gazebo was donated to the community after a film wrapped. My wife said last night that the village across the way looks like something built for a model railroad layout. We live in Middle America, Hollywood-version. And so, walking past the large, sky-blue puzzle pieces taped to store windows, the blue ribbons, the flyers, all these signs of "Autism Awareness" neither surprises nor pleases me. If anything, it annoys me to have "Autism" plastered all over cars, stores, and various products. I want to shout, "Stop it!" (Want to know more about the autism puzzle and the perspective of autistic adults? See:  http://theautisticme.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-on-autism-puzzle-piece-logos.html ) Personally, I hate stickers and magnets on cars. Bumper stickers? How can you put a sticker on a huge investment, r...

Right on the heels of my complaints about the anti-vax conspiracy radicals, who are so focused they often overlook issues of concern to all families and individuals with autism and related disorders, comes this twist. Certain to anger the anti-vax movement in the U.K., the National Health Service is considering changing the vaccine schedule. There are also discussions of what can or should be mandated . One-off 'six inoculation' jabs to be introduced to one-year-olds Last updated at 5:05 PM on 21st November 2010 Read More The decision to immunise all the diseases at once, including MMR will create concern with some parents about the risk of side effects with the added possibility that families will not allow their babies to be inoculated in this way. The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation who advised the government to combine the jabs said research found no safety issues with families 'expected to increase take-up' of inoculations. It does make me wonder ...

On many Web forums dedicated autism, no matter the topic there is an increasing likelihood that a discussion will be hijacked by the anti-vaccine, "curebie," anti-establishment, conspiracy theorists. They are led by "journalists" and celebrities given prominence by the Huffington Post, DailyKos, Age of Autism, and other websites. They admire discredited men and women, individuals reprimanded in legal proceedings, sanctioned by medical review boards, and disavowed by universities. Yes, to many of us with science and quantitative backgrounds, the science is firmly established — as firmly as one can expect within medical science. And what annoys us is that self-proclaimed watchdogs and anti-vaccine hooligans, and they are hooligans, point to "journal articles" and demand other articles in response. Of course, the "journals" publishing the Geiers and most others are vanity journals, foreign publications, or minor journals of no standing — but that do...

I won't delve too deeply in this, but I am familiar with the stupidity of people trying to prove I am someone else or the paid shill of this group or that. The basic story is that a blogger at "Age of Autism" (a website I do despise intensely), is trying to "prove" that Sullivan over at "Left Brain / Right Brain" is actually not the father of an autistic child, but is instead… well, I'm not even going to give it more credibility than that. It's stupidity and evidence of how conspiracy minded the extremists are. Sadly, these extremists seem to come from one side of the debate. They've sent people like me hateful e-mails, even threats. These are not people interested in learning or discussing -- they are like religious zealots. It is ironic that these zealots are often aligned with "progressive" politics. They find standing on Daily Kos, Huffington Post, and other forums. Let's get this straight, the political community gene...

On another online site, a parent of a "recovering" child with autism pointedly claimed that those of us who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders as adults are somehow not genuine. Among the comments posted to Left Brain/Right Brain ( http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/ ): How does it just dawn on somebody they are on the spectrum??? How do others that are older decide they are on the spectrum??? Schools won't even take real diagnostics so none of the self made Adult Asperger's have any real claim to anything but a way to put down what helped my child to not be on the list of who you're searching for. The thread, both on LB/RB and as carried on elsewhere, is appalling. A parent actually had the gall to message me that I was not actually disabled, but was instead hiding behind the cover of autism to shill for the government and big medicine. This person argues that anyone speaking, traveling, blogging, and conducting research can't possibly have a "s...

Let the record show that on February 12, 2009, the "vaccine court" created to tackle an issue that scares congressional leaders, issued a finding that gives politicians some cover. Sure, there will be some anti-vaccine politicians who use this to play to particular audiences, but others can say the scientific consensus has been reached and the subject is settled. (I could make an argument that the vaccine debate is like global warming: consensus settles nothing for some people.) Court says measles vaccine not to blame for autism By KEVIN FREKING – WASHINGTON (AP) A special vaccine court ruled against parents with autistic children Thursday, saying that vaccines are not to blame for their children's neurological disorder. The judges in the cases said the evidence was overwhelmingly contrary to the parents' claims — and backed years of science that found no risk. "It was abundantly clear that petitioners' theories of causation were speculative and unpersuasive,...

Why in the world CNN and many other media outlets decided to give "equal time" to various autism experts like Jenny McCarthy is beyond me. This is like giving equal time to the Flat Earth Society when discussing El Niño and ocean currents. McCarthy, Kirby, and others are using Autism Awareness Day to promote misinformation, speculation, and conspiracy theories. I was going to rant and rave, but I know the anti-vaccine mob will never be convinced of anything. We could present a thousand reports on genetic predisposition, genetic triggers, and alternative environmental factors... it would not matter. Some, like myself, believe there are environmental triggers, but the popular media can't write a story without mentioning MMR vaccines. Autism clusters in California overlap specific agricultural crops. This points to anything from soil contamination to the residual pesticides wafting in the local air. Who knows? I certainly would be curious to map asthma and autism,...

Apparently, contrary to urban legends, the unvaccinated Amish do get seizure disorders and autism: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/Autism/tb/2954 Of course, why trust the New England Journal of Medicine when there are so many "experts" pushing their theories on the Web? I am now accustomed to the anti-vaccination crowd claiming that any research that points to a genetic cause, with minimal environmental triggers, is research bought and paid for by "Big Pharma" or some other conspiracy is at work. It is ironic that the stories of autism-free Amish appear on thousands of Web sites, while serious research is largely ignored. People want easy answers. Triggers are not causes. Are there triggers for underlying conditions? Probably. But I wonder if we are asking for trouble as more and more parents avoid vaccines? Hence, recent stories in the New York Times about measles outbreaks. According to the Times, several outbreaks of nearly-eradicated diseases have recent...