Remembering, Giving Thanks and Enjoying What We Have Today

This morning I remembered, in the comfort of my home, the sacrifices of those who have risked, and in too many cases given, their lives for our freedom. I am thankful and I am grateful for all that they have given and for all that they continue to give so that Canadians and other people can enjoy fundamental freedoms.

We often think of freedom in grand social, political or legal terms. The freedom to express oneself, to have a say in choosing those who will govern us, to try and influence the decisions of those who govern us. In my case the autism advocacy that I, and other parents, have been engaged in for the past 11 years would not be happening without the sacrifices of those that we pause to remember each year on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

This afternoon I remembered their sacrifices in a different way by enjoying the freedom that I sometimes take for granted, the freedom to walk with my son Conor and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us here in Fredericton. And I did think of those young men and women who never enjoyed these simple freedoms and pleasures that I enjoyed this afternoon. The young people who have given their lives would not be able to enjoy the sight of their son or daughter stopping at a local video store for a gumball treat as I did today with my buddy Conor; or see them run excitedly across the store parking lot to the trail back home.

To all of those who risked, or made, the ultimate sacrifices, to all those who continue to put yourselves in harm's way so that we can all be free, I remember and I say thank you.

FEAT BC Autism Rally Update Friday, November 13

Parents of autistic children and their supporters will rally outside Premier Gordon Campbell’s constituency office this Friday, November the 13th at noon to protest the provincial government’s attempt to begin to dismantle individualized treatment funding and to mark the 5th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Auton decision.

FEAT of BC (Families for Early Autism Treatment of BC) is a not-for-profit volunteer organization of parents and professionals working towards universal access to effective, science-based treatment for all Canadians diagnosed with autism.

Louise Witt, board member and spokesperson for FEAT of BC states that “The recent tragic deaths of two Canadian children with autism, killed at the hands of their own parents, are a wake up call. The status quo is putting the health of children and their very lives in jeopardy. At present, no mandate exists to deliver healthcare to children with autism or to enshrine their right to this medically necessary treatment.”

“It’s been five years since the Auton decision was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada and kids with autism are still being denied their treatment” says Bev Sharpe, one of the founding members of FEAT of BC. “How many more children have to die? It’s long past time for the government to do the morally right and economically sensible thing, which is to provide treatment to these vulnerable children.”

For more information, contact Louise Witt at 778-999-0971 or www.featbc.org

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Neurodiversity's Extremist Autism Cure Opponents - By What Right Do They Object?

The declaration has been made by celebrity "autists"or "autistics" like Michelle Dawson, Amanda Baggs, Ari Ne'eman and various Neurodiversity bloggers that ""We", persons with autism spectrum disorders, do not want to be cured".

These persons with mild autism spectrum disorders, including Aspergers, routinely declare that "autistics" do not want to be cured, should not be cured, and in fact can never be cured. Their implied claim to omniscience aside, by what right do these people purport to speak on behalf of other people's children, on behalf of people much more severely affected by autism disorders than they with whom they have little in common, and even on behalf of higher functioning autistic persons who oppose their ideological opposition to curing autism?

The same people who object to Autism Speaks, who turn out in massive droves of 5, 6 and even 7 people to protest at large Autism Speaks rallies of thousands of parents and autistic people, and who dwell in the lavish attention of CNN, the NYT, CBC, the New Yorker and other mainstream media outlets, demand the right to impose their ideological opposition to autism cure on my severely autistic son and the children of other people with autistic children. On what grounds do they claim this right?

Do I have the right to demand that Ari Ne'eman seek a cure for his very high functioning Aspergers? Do I have the right to tell Michelle Dawson who excelled in the challenging work environment at Canada Post, appeared as an "autistic" in the Supreme Court of Canada and before a Canadian Senate committee to oppose ABA for autistic children in Canada that she must seek a cure for her unspecified autism spectrum disorder? Do I have the right to tell Amanda Baggs, the author of many very sophisticated disability essays on autism and other medical conditions and the producer of videos depicting what she considers autistic stimming, that she must seek a cure for her autism spectrum disorder?

The answer, of course, is NO. And Ari, Michelle, Amanda and other ideological opponents of curing autism have no right to oppose or interfere with attempts by families, governments and society to cure their own autistic children or to cure those autistic adults like Jake Crosby and Jonathan Mitchell who seek cures for themselves.

I have a message for Ari, Amanda and Michelle: I do not seek to cure you of your Aspergers or high functioning autism disorders. Do not claim the right to speak on behalf of my severely autistic son. You have no right to interfere with efforts by me, or other parents, seeking to help or cure our autistic children. None at all.

Someday, hopefully, even if you do not, the dilettante autism journalists at the NYT, the CBC and other MSM outlets will come to understand that you are interfering with the basic rights of families and parents to help their own children.

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FEAT BC Autism Rally At Premier Campbell's Office Friday November 13 at 12 Noon

FEAT Rally

Friday, November 13^th, 2009

12:00 Noon

Premier Gordon Campbell’s Constituency Office

3615 West 4^th Ave

Vancouver, BC

Why should you attend?

• The recent tragic deaths of two Canadian children with autism, killed at the hands of their own parents, is a wake up call! The status quo is putting the health of children and their very lives in jeopardy.

• September’s announcement by the Ministry of Children and Family Development has shown that our government is not concerned about the rights and needs of some of its most vulnerable citizens.

• No legislation or mandate exists to deliver health care to children with autism or to protect and enshrine their right to their medically necessary treatment. What little individualized funding being provided now is in jeopardy of being taken away.

• Autism is an epidemic! According to the Center for Disease Control, it now affects one in every 100 children in North America.

• It is time for our provincial government to recognize its responsibility to act and to demonstrate leadership for the rest of Canada!

Who should attend?

-parents, grandparents, friends, consultants, therapists, anyone who is concerned about this injustice to our children. We urge you all to attend this rally!

Featured Speakers will include:

Jean Lewis – Vancouver parent, board member, Medicare for Autism Now!

Bev Sharpe – Vancouver parent, board member, Families for Early Autism Treatment

Louise Witt – Surrey parent, spokesperson, Families for Early Autism Treatment

(To RSVP or for more information email abarocks@gmail.com )

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End the Vaccine-Autism War Now: Do The Comparative Study and Quit Demeaning the Parents Who Actually Care for Autistic Children

The vaccine-autism war has continued unabated, primarily because of the actions of Dr. Paul Offit, Dr. Thomas Insel and the IACC. It will continue until a credible observational study comparing autism rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations is done.

The IACC ventured near a possible end to the war when it contemplated doing an observational study comparing autism rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Instead, under Dr. Insel's direction, it engaged in procedural shenanigans to take the option off the table, aggravating hostility and suspicion amongst those who observed the onset of autism symptoms in their children after vaccination.

Dr. Insel added to the mess by informing Senator Harkin's committee that such a study could not be done. Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the NIH, and Dr. Julie Gerberding, formerly of the CDC, have both stated that the observational autism study could and should be done. Dr. Duane Alexander has also stated that such a study could be done.

Dr. Paul Offit signaled that it was OK for the media to heap scorn on vaccine concerned parents when he painted himself as a martyr and began a crusade to silence any criticism or questioning of vaccines. Now mainstream media and bloggers, including alleged science bloggers , routinely demean and admonish the people who are actually helping autistic children ... their parents. In doing so they are hurting those same autistic children and elevating hostilities in the vaccine-autism war.

It is parents, not Dr. Paul Offit, who actually do the day to day caring for autistic children and who represent their children's interests. In telling these parents to sit down and shut up, in mocking these parents, the "vaccines above all else crowd" are in fact signaling their contempt for the role of the family, the role of parents, in caring for and raising children.


The IACC can continue to sit by and hope that the current Offit inspired media offensive against parents of autistic children who question whether vaccines caused or triggered their child's autism will silence those parents. It is a false and futile hope. Not because these parents are inherently stubborn but because they require more than condescension , flawed, conflicted, statistical massages, and trite cliches (correlation does not imply causation) before they will be persuaded.

If the IACC wants to end the vaccine-autism war it will recommend funding to do the comparative study called for by Dr. Healy and Dr. Gerberding and have it done by credible, conflict free, research authorities. The more the IACC resists calls for such a study the more it will appear it has something to hide. If it wants the vaccine-autism war to continue it will refuse to conduct the study.

It's that simple.

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Autism Is Rising And We Still Don't Know Why

“What bothers us is that we really don’t know why it [autism] is increasing"

Dr. Alexis Reyes, November, 2009

The above quote by Dr. Alexis Reyes, President of the Philippine Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, is taken from an article in the Manila Bulletin, Help sought as autism cases rise. Dr. Reyes discusses the rise in US autism statistics from 0.4 to 0.5 per 1,000 in population in the 1960's to 0.71 to 1.1 per 1,000 in 1990 to 1 in 150 a few years ago to current estimates of 1 in 91.

Dr. Reyes' honesty in admitting candidly that autism experts really can't explain the startling increases in autism is unusual and refreshing. Many experts point to the DSM and ICD diagnostic changes in the early 1990's to explain increased reports of autism and couple that with increased social awareness and diagnostic substitution. But the truth is that while it seems obvious that a substantial increase in reported cases of autism would result from such factors, particularly the diagnostic manual changes, it does not seem obvious that those factors explain all of the increase. In particular, no one can honestly say that autism figures are still being revised upwards every two years solely because of social factors and diagnostic changes made 15 years ago.

The truth is exactly as stated by Dr. Reyes, autism is increasing and we don't know why. What Dr. Reyes doesn't state is the reason we don't know why autism is increasing: funding authorities have refused to back research into non genetic causes of factors involved in autism over the past two decades.

Teresa Binstock reported in 1997 that the "it's gotta be genetic" official model of funding autism research precluded research involving environmental factors in autism. Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Researcher, stated in 2009 that even today "about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones".

Hopefully Dr. Thomas Insel of the IACC and other "experts" charged with recommending which autism research projects get funded and which do not will finally have an awakening, will come to their senses and start funding environmental autism research.

Maybe someday years from now, after the necessary research is finally done, we will begin to truly understand why autism is rising and what we can do to treat and cure the autism disorders that restrict the lives of so many. Maybe ... hopefully.

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CARD Study Finds Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Ineffective Treatment for Children with Autism

CARD, the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc., has conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled trial which found that HBOT, consisting of 24% oxygen delivered at 1.3 atmospheres of pressure, does not have a significant effect on symptoms of autism. The study is summarized on the CARD blog.

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Respectful Insolence Is A "Science" Blog?

Respectful Insolence is reportedly a "science" blog. Orac the blog author is a medical doctor, a surgeon who uses the internet to do nothing more than trash and smear anyone who disagrees with his "scientific" views or whom he disapproves of for any reason. Most of his blog comments are unsupported by anything other than childish name calling. His 1o most recent blogs starting with November 6, 2009:

1. Desiree Jennings "cured" of her "vaccine-induced dystonia"? November 6, 2009

Despite the comment title Orac actually spends the first few paragraphs attacking Suzanne Somers before moving on to smear Desiree Jennings. When he does get around to attacking Ms Jennings, the beautiful cheerleader who developed dystonia after receiving a seasonal flu vaccine shot, he challenges her medical diagnosis, apparently without ever actually meeting her himself. The failure to actually meet the person whose diagnosis he ridicules does not stop the pompous Orac from insinuating that whatever is wrong with Ms Jennings it is all in her head. Of course the doctor who actually did see and treat Ms Jennings is called incompetent. In Orac world incompetent doctors actually see the patient they are diagnosing and treating. Competent doctors/surgeons simply read things on the internet and mock the individual from the certainty and clarity of their keyboard. I guess medical practices are different in the US of A than what we are used to here in Canada.

2. An Age of Autism commenter destroys yet another irony meter November 6, 2009

This one touches on "science" only in the sense that playground tough guy Orac brags about a writer at the Age of Autism " it's just J.B. spewing the same pseudoscientific nonsense that I've slapped down over and over." Oooooh. Lots of science there Orac.

3. The 123rd Congregation of the Skeptics' Circle... November 5, 2009

Orac coasted on this one, simply directing readers to another blog which, like Respectful Insolence, confuses schoolyard name calling for skepticism.

4. The anti-vaccine movement, cranks, and "pseudo-expertise" November 5, 2009

The title says it all here. Orac's science consists of calling anyone who asks questions about vaccine safety quacks and pseudo-experts. But there is more Orac style "science":

cranks, staring down the barrel, if you will, of a crank shotgun, one barrel being the anti-vaccine movement in general, ... unreason, conspiracy mongering, and pseudoscience ... the arrogance of ignorance ... endanger public health .. J.B. Handley's misogyny/

5. Has Desiree Jennings' VAERS report been found? November 5, 2009

This is the first Orac post in which he speculates about Desiree Jennings medical condition without having actually met with her. In this he offers the following speculation about this woman that he has never met, based on records the he thinks MIGHT be hers:

If it is, it's seeming more and more likely that Jennings probably doesn't have a "true" dystonia, but rather one with a significant psychogenic overlay.

There it is. The scientist/surgeon/blogger speculates that Ms Jennings condition is all in her head, without having met her and without even being sure that records he is relying on are hers or that they represent her complete medical file.

6. Holocaust Denial on Trial podcast November 4, 2009

In this comment Orac refers readers to some outside sources dealing with Holocaust Denial. The Holocaust is indisputable historical fact and the deniers of the Holocaust deserve to be called out for denying the atrocities of the Holocaust but it is not science and Orac acknowledges that.

7. Another celebrity anti-vaccine moron: Billy Corgan November 4, 2009

The name calling in the title is repeated and throughout the comment with some intellectual analysis Orac style thrown in for good measure: "Bullshit, Billy. Bullshit."

8. Blogging Suzanne Somers Knockout, part 1: How cancer testimonials mislead , November 3, 2009

In this one Orac spreads his usual litany of insults rambling away from the Somers book to attack anyone who dares question the safety of vaccines. The usual unsubstantiated ranting takes place:. quackery and medical pseudoscience, empty-brained celebrities, the bubble of woo-friendly southern California, celebrity woo promotion.

9. On why misogynists shouldn't mess with the Goddess... November 2, 2009

In this one Orac, who suggests that Desiree Jennings difficulties following vaccination were psychogenic without meeting her, and without being sure the documentation he examined was actually hers, takes JB Handley to task over his criticisms of Amy Wallace of Wired. He then goes on to indicate, without substantiation, that the entire anti-vaccination movement is misogynist.

10. Data weeps: Does Brent Spiner have anti-vaccine proclivities? October 29, 2009

I skipped a few because they were covered in the first posts on this page dealing with Desiree Jennings or self congratulatory bragging from Orac. In the Brent Spiner post he mocks Spiner and insults him with his usual insults: Malibu-inspired woo, ... Brent Spiner appeared on the surface to have drunk deeply of the anti-vaccine Kool Aid. But was it just on the surface, or is Spiner really an anti-vaccinationist? Let's see if we can figure it out. I waded into the Twitter exchange that followed--and was appalled.

Respectful insolence is not a science blog. It is, for the most part, simply a forum for attacking anyone who asks any questions about vaccines. Silly insults are a staple at RI, insults hurled by a medical doctor who questions the diagnosis of a woman he has never met, using records which he is not sure are hers. It is a vaccine cult blog where all vaccines are assumed to be safe and effective and where anyone who dares question a vaccine is mocked with childish schoolyard insults. But you will have to look long and hard to find any actual science. And there is nothing respectful about his insolence, nothing at all.

autism

Up All Day and Night - Severe Autism Self Injurious Behavior Video From CDFoakley

The following video from CDFoakley is not easy to watch. The severely autistic youth featured is engaged in serious self injurious behavior. Those who love and care for him pay a huge price. The video talks of families struggling alone and government agencies that just don't help.

Maybe if the media would stop promoting the self indulgent agendas of the barely autistic and started focusing on the harsh realities of the severely autistic governments would get the message.Maybe they would understand the truth about severe autism realities and stop focusing on real autism issues.

Maybe media and government should watch this and other videos by CDFoakley and learn the truth about severe autism disorders.

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Autism Priorities and the DSM V: Media Ignores Invisible, Severely Autistic in DSM V Discussions

The invisible autistics, the severely autistic, those with Autistic Disorder, profound developmental delays, cognitive and intellectual deficits, those who can not live independently, who live on hospital wards and in large, antiquated psychiatric institutions do not make regular appearances in the New York Times and its junior Canadian cousin the Globe and Mail. Nor do they appear regularly on the various CBC television and radio shows that have fawned over Michelle Dawson, Amanda Baggs and more recently Ari Ne'eman.

In the big, mainstream media discussions, and opinions about the proposed changes to the developmental disorders section in the DSM V nothing has changed. Ari Ne'eman and other barely autistic, very high functioning persons with Asperger's Disorder continue to receive all the considered attention of the big media while the severely autistic remain, as always, invisible. There is scant mention in any of the mainstream media commentaries of those whose lives are most severely restricted by autism disorders. The Globe and Mail breathes hot air about "a culturally rich autism" while ignoring those severely autistic persons living in institutional care throughout Canada.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

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H1N1 Vaccine, Cure or Cause? Moncton Wildcats Hockey Players Contract H1N1 AFTER Receiving H1N1 Vaccine

Since getting the shot, 17 Wildcats have caught mild cases of the flu. Two have confirmed cases of H1N1, and the other 15 suspected. All the sick players are quarantined, and several games have been cancelled.

The Globe and Mail, Nov 4, 2009

So how effective IS the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine? Seventeen athletic teenagers whose health would be monitored closely by their hockey team contract H1N1 immediately after receiving the vaccine? Did the vaccine actually cause them to contract H1N1?

Hopefully cases where healthy individuals contract H1N1 immediately after receiving the vaccine will be investigated to see if the vaccine itself is causing them to contract the H1N1 Swine flu.

autism

Autism Awareness - Ari Ne'eman Confesses

"My identity is attached to being on the autism spectrum"

Ari Ne'eman, New York Times, Nov 3, 2009

If you ever wondered why some autism self advocacy groups like ASAN, and some self advocacy leaders, like Ari Ne'eman, protest and exert pressure to prevent discussion of the harsher realities faced by low functioning persons with autistic disorder, particularly those with Intellectual Disabilities, you now have the answer.

Ari Ne'eman and some other autism spectrum self advocacy groups who protest realistic depictions of persons with low functioning autistic disorder like to identify with autism but not with those who live in institutional care or otherwise lack their own considerable intellectual, communication, social .... and ... self promotion skills. Parents talking about the harsh realities of their own children's severe autistic disorders just isn't a feel good experience for the very high functioning Ari Ne'eman and other "autism spectrum self advocates".

Fortunately for Ari and company the New York Times, the New Yorker, CBC and other mainstream media are happy to indulge their whims as the NYT almost confessed in A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis :

Asperger’s has exploded into popular culture through books and films depicting it as the realm of brilliant nerds and savantlike geniuses.

I say almost confessed because while the NYT points out that Asperger's has exploded into popular culture through books and films it does not mention that media organizations like the NYT, the New Yorker and CBC, also dote on the Asperger's and High Functioning Autism end of the spectrum while ignoring the harsh realities of those with severe Autistic Disorder. The result, with organizations like Autism Speaks bowing to pressure from groups like ASAN, is that the most severely autistic persons remain hidden from public view in institutions or in their parents' homes ... they remain the Invisible Autistics. Meanwhile Mr. Ne'eman, barely autistic, revels in the media spotlight ... his identification with his own self defined autism spectrum intact.

autism

New York Times Examines Autism and the DSM V, From an Aspie Perspective, Of Course

Perhaps the New York Times is about to shock me and publish an article discussing potential changes to the "autism spectrum" of disorders in the DSM V from the perspective of the impact such changes might have on the lives of those with severe autism, from the perspective of low functioning persons with Autistic Disorder, like my son, Conor Doherty. For now though, like almost every mainstream media article or opinion piece discussing the "autism spectrum" it has done so from the perspective of those on the High Functioning end of the spectrum. The NYT mentions, but does not explore, the impact on the more severely affected of proposed changes to the "Autism Spectrum" of disorders in the DSM V.

In A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis the NYT focuses on the possible loss of the "Aspergers" label by inclusion of Aspies in an autism spectrum divided by levels of severity without reference to the Aspergers label. Ari Ne'eman is referenced talking about the importance to him of being on the Autism Spectrum:

"My identity is attached to being on the autism spectrum, not some superior Asperger’s identity. I think the consolidation to one category of autism spectrum diagnosis will lead to better services."

The NYT has, once again, found it within itself to discuss autism in terms of the most fortunate amongst the "autistic", those for whom one of the most serious issues is a question of identification with one label as opposed to another. The NYT, as it and the mainstream media at large, almost invariably do, provides little comment on the lives of the most severely affected by autism disorders, the many persons with Autistic Disorder who are low functioning, some with Intellectual Disabilities, some who do not understand the world in which we live on anything but the simplest level, some with very limited comprehension of language ... some of whom live out their lives in residential and institutional care.

The New York Times did mention that the proposed changes to the DSM will possibly include express description of various conditions which often accompany autism disorders, such as "anxiety, attention disorders, gastrointestinal problems, seizures and sensory differences like extreme sensitivity to noise". The Times studiously avoids any express reference to the persons with Autistic Disorder and Intellectual Disorder. A sure sign of the success of the High Functioning Autism and Aspergers groups efforts to prevent any discussion of autism in connection with intellectual deficits.

The NYT quotes Dr. Temple Grandin on the dominance of the Aspergers advocacy groups in dominating public discussion of autism: The Asperger community is a big vocal community, "a reason in itself” to leave the diagnosis in place. For many parents and family members of severely autistic children Dr. Grandin's comments are not news.

This NYT piece itself reflects the domination of autism in the public mind by Aspergers and High Functioning Autism and the exclusion of the Low Functioning, Intellectually Disabled and severely autistic persons with Autistic Disorder.

Organizations such as Autism Speaks are routinely targeted by the big vocal Asperger community for realistically and honestly depicting the life challenges faced by the severely autistic. An even bigger indication of Asperger community dominance occurred when Autism Speaks "kow towed" to this community and pulled its "I Am Autism" video from its web site.

For the NYT, and for Autism Speaks, it is now far more important to talk about Ari Ne'eman's sense of identity than to talk about the severely autistic children who go missing or those who live their lives dependent on the care of others.

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Fall is Fair in Fredericton for Conor and Dad

We didn't have the best of summers this year but fall, my favorite season anyway, was fair this year with lots of chances to get out and walk the excellent trails in Fredericton. I love getting outdoors on the trails; especially when my buddy Conor walks with me.


















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