SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT "Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet"

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Thursday, January 23, 2003

>>> NOTE DEADLINE TO PROMOTE YOUR AUTISM MEETING, CONFERENCE: JAN 25

This Saturday, for THE AUTISM CALENDAR FEBRUARY UPDATE:

AWARENESS

* Americans Want Action on Autism: Call for More Research, Funding, Info.

RESEARCH

(Abstracts – contains technical language.)

* Vaccines, Viruses, And Voodoo

* Parent-Mediated Early Intervention for Young Children with ASD

* Synaptic Activity, Transcription Regulation and Rett Syndrome

(News items)

* Bone Marrow Generates New Neurons In Human Brains

* Link Pinpointed Between Diabetes And Nervous System Autoimmunity

* Study Ranks La. Near Top In Toxic Chemical Emissions

CARE

* Texas School District Defends Action In 3 Lawsuits

LETTERS

* On "Looking For Controversy? Missing Links" Commentary

* Fetal Activity, Autism Research

* On Breaking The Silence: 60 Minutes II

AWARENESS

Americans Want Action on Autism: Call for More Research, Funding, Information

[From a NAAR press announcement.]

Americans want much more information and a far greater research commitment focusing on the causes and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, according to a new poll conducted by the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR).

Results of the NAAR poll indicate that 87 percent of Americans feel that autism is a serious problem, and 71 percent of Americans want to learn more about the developmental disorder, which affects an estimated one million Americans. Recent epidemiology studies indicate the prevalence of autism is ten times higher than it was ten years ago.

In addition, almost a fifth of the U.S. population knows someone affected by an autism spectrum disorder. The poll also shows that Americans strongly support an increase in research, funding for research and information sharing that enables the U.S. medical community to address autism at the level it deserves.

“The findings of this poll call to mind the hunger for information that I felt when my son was first diagnosed,” said Karen London, who founded

NAAR in 1994 with her husband, Eric. “You don’t have to be a parent to see

that autism is something about which we all need to be better informed.”

The poll uncovered a sense of urgency that Americans feel regarding

autism:

Sixty-two percent of Americans are aware of the rising autism prevalence level 69 percent of Americans worry about autism going undiagnosed because there is no reliable (biological) test to diagnose the disorder

Early intervention, which is the key to the treatments that do exist, is very difficult without a biologically-based diagnostic tool. Typically, autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in children between two or three years of age.

Autism is a complex brain disorder that often impairs a person’s ability to communicate, respond to surroundings, or form relationships with others. No two cases of autism are the same, and it affects people of every racial, ethnic, and socio-economic background. Currently, the causes of autism are unknown, and there are no specific medical treatments or cure.

When asked about research funding to find treatments and a cure for autism, 89 percent of Americans support an increase in the amount spent. A majority of Americans (53%) think the Federal government should play a major role in ensuring that this increase occurs, and a large majority of Americans (81%) would like private corporations, including pharmaceutical companies, to play a larger role in autism research funding. Autism research currently has very little commitment from private corporations, and is the 50th lowest area of medical research out of 60 areas funded by the National Institutes of Health.

While Americans are familiar with the lack of preventative measures and the possible causes, they are largely unfamiliar with some other basic facts about autism.

Even though they feel there is a growing problem, 77 percent of Americans undercount the number of people in the U.S. who have autism. Recent studies suggest that over one million people in the U.S. have autism spectrum disorders, which occur in an estimated one out of every 250 births – making autism the second most common developmental disorder, second only to mental retardation.

The survey found other common misperceptions:

55 percent of Americans are not sure or think there is a clinical test for autism 69 percent of Americans do not know that autism is more prevalent in boys than girls

Currently, there is no way to biologically diagnose autism. A variety of symptoms and warning signs are used to determine whether a child has autism, particularly a delay in developing language skills. Autism is approximately four times as prevalent in boys than girls.

The poll showed that 36 percent of Americans understand the role that heredity and genes are thought to play in the cause of autism, and 43 percent believe that genes and heredity play the largest role. The belief that vaccines cause autism was cited at a much lower rate (5%). Americans have digested the information available on the possible causes of autism, and the levels of concern echo the findings of the latest scientific studies.

“Genetics may play an important role in our understanding of the cause of autism and could help us develop methods to make a much earlier diagnosis,” said Andy Shih, Ph.D., director of Research and Programs at NAAR. “The cause is possibly the result of gene-environment interplay, and NAAR supports and funds a wide range of research focusing on all potential causes, including immunology, the neurosciences, biology and genetics.”

The poll determined that 86 percent of the American public is excited about the role genetics play in the treatment and curing of diseases in general and the role it may be able to play in autism.

While Americans are generally proving themselves to be savvy consumers of medical information, there still exist major misperceptions about autism, which may be rooted in the sources of information about the disorder. According to the poll, 35 percent of Americans receive information about autism from television programs, while just three percent receive information from their doctors.

The findings of this poll reinforce NAAR’s mission, further stressing the need to fund, support and accelerate autism research.

Established in 1994, the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) is the first national non-governmental organization in the country dedicated to funding and accelerating biomedical research for autism spectrum disorders. The organization was established by parents of children with autism concerned about the limited amount of funding for autism research. To date, NAAR has committed more than $10 million in grants for biomedical research projects worldwide that seek to find the causes, prevention, effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for autism spectrum disorders. Walk F.A.R. for NAAR is the organization’s signature fundraising and autism awareness event, which is held annually in numerous communities across the United States. Additionally, NAAR was instrumental in establishing the Autism Tissue Program, a parent-led brain tissue donation program for autism research.

This poll was a comprehensive, nationally representative telephone study among 500 Americans 18 years of age and older and was conducted by Global Strategy Group in conjunction with Widmeyer Communications for the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR). The margin of error for the study is +/- 4.4% at the 95th percent confidence interval level.

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RESEARCH

Vaccines, Viruses, And Voodoo

ds=12530114&dopt=Abstract

Borchers AT, Keen CL, Shoenfeld Y, Silva J Jr, Gershwin ME. Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA.

Vaccinations are invaluable in protection from a wide variety of diseases that can cause substantial morbidity and mortality.

Although a rare complication of vaccination, autoimmune disorders represent one of these morbidities.

Recently, widespread public concern has arisen from case reports suggesting that--similar to what has been observed after natural viral infections--there might be an association between specific immunizations and autoimmune diseases.

Herein we address the biological plausibility of such a connection, focusing particularly on the examples of hepatitis B, rubella, and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccinations, and the autoimmune diseases they are potentially associated with.

Our review of the available data suggests that, for the general population, the risk: benefit ratio is overwhelmingly in favor of vaccinations.

However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that, in genetically susceptible individuals, vaccination can result in the unmasking of an autoimmune disease triggered by the immunization.

We also critically examine the existing data suggesting a link between immunization against MMR and autism, and briefly discuss the controversial evidence pointing to a possible relationship between mercury exposure from vaccines and autistic disorders.

There is a continued urgent need for rigorously designed and executed studies addressing these potential associations, although the use of vaccinations remains a critical public health tool for protection against infectious disease.

PMID: 12530114 [PubMed - in process]

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Parent-Mediated Early Intervention for Young Children with ASD (Cochrane Review).

ds=12535477&dopt=Abstract

Diggle T, McConachie HR, Randle VR.

Department of Child Health, The University of Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, NE2 4AE.T.J.Diggle@newcastle.ac.uk

BACKGROUND: Recent estimates concerning the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder are much higher than those reported 30 years ago, with at least 1 in 400 children affected.

This group of children and families have important service needs.

The involvement of parents in implementing intervention strategies designed to help their autistic children has long been accepted as helpful.

The potential benefits are increased skills and reduced stress for parents as well as children.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to determine the extent to which parent-mediated early intervention has been shown to be effective in the treatment of children aged 1 year to 6 years 11 months with autistic spectrum disorder.

In particular, it aimed to assess the effectiveness of such interventions in terms of the benefits for both children and their parents.

SEARCH STRATEGY: A range of psychological, educational and biomedical databases were searched.

Bibliographies and reference lists of key articles were searched, field experts were contacted and key journals were hand searched.

SELECTION CRITERIA: Only randomised or quasi-randomised studies were included.

Study interventions had a significant focus on parent-implemented early intervention, compared to a group of children who received no treatment, a waiting list group or a different form of intervention.

There was at least one objective, child related outcome measure.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Appraisal of the methodological quality of included studies was carried out independently by two reviewers.

Differences between the included studies in terms of the type of intervention, the comparison groups used and the outcome measures were too great to allow for direct comparison.

MAIN RESULTS: The results of this review are based on data from two studies.

Two significant results were found to favour parent training in one

study: child language and maternal knowledge of autism.

In the other, intensive intervention (involving parents, but primarily delivered by professionals) was associated with better child outcomes on direct measurement than were found for parent-mediated early intervention, but no differences were found in relation to measures of parent and teacher perceptions of skills and behaviours.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: This review has little to offer in the way of implications for practice: there were only two studies, the numbers of participants included were small, and the two studies could not be compared directly to one another.

In terms of research, randomised controlled trials involving large samples need to be carried out, involving both short and long-term outcome information and full economic evaluations.

Research in this area is hampered by barriers to randomisation, such as availability of equivalent services.

PMID: 12535477 [PubMed - in process]

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Synaptic Activity, Transcription Regulation and Rett Syndrome 'Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 is localized in the postsynaptic compartment: an immunochemical study of subcellular fractions.'

ds=12535940&dopt=Abstract

Aber KM, Nori P, MacDonald SM, Bibat G, Jarrar MH, Kaufmann WE. Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 North Broadway, 21205, Baltimore, MD, USA

Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 is a characteristic member of the methyl-CpG-binding protein family of transcription regulators.

In conjunction with Sin3, MeCP2 recruits class I histone deacetylases to methyl-CpG regions to suppress transcription.

Rett syndrome, a disorder characterized by mental retardation and autistic features, is associated in a majority of cases with mutations within the coding region of the MeCP2 gene.

Considering that defective MeCP2 has mainly been related to Rett syndrome and other neurologic manifestations, we examined methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 cellular and subcellular compartmentalization in normal brain by immunochemical methods.

Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 immunoreactivity is present mainly in neurons; while the few immunostained glia show label confined to nuclei, many neurons also show slight perikaryal staining.

Using well-characterized tissue fractions, we found that methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 but not Sin3 is found in both nuclear and postsynaptic compartments.

This novel extranuclear localization is not unique to methyl-CpG-binding protein 2, since it has been previously reported for other transcription regulators such as c-Fos.

These findings support the concept that methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 may link synaptic activity and transcriptional regulation in neurons.

PMID: 12535940 [PubMed - in process]

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A new study strongly suggests that some cells from bone marrow can enter the human brain and generate new neurons and other types of brain cells. If researchers can find a way to control these cells and direct them to damaged areas of the brain, this finding may lead to new treatments for stroke, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological disorders. "This study shows that some kind of cell in bone marrow, most likely a stem cell, has the capacity to enter the brain and form neurons," says Eva Mezey, M.D., Ph.D., from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), who led the study.

Earlier work by Dr. Mezey and others has shown that bone marrow cells can enter the mouse brain and produce new neurons. However, the new study is the first to show that this phenomenon can occur in the human brain. The study was supported in part by the NINDS and appears in the January 20, 2003, online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences.* The NINDS is a component of the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In the study, Dr. Mezey and colleagues examined brain tissue taken at autopsy from four female patients – two adults and two children – who had received bone marrow transplants from male donors. The bone marrow transplants had been performed to treat leukemia and other non-neurological diseases, and the patients survived from 1 to 9 months after their transplants. The investigators searched the autopsied brain tissue for male cells, which contain a Y chromosome. The Y chromosomes in these cells served as a useful way of distinguishing donor-derived cells from those of the female transplant recipients. The researchers found cells with Y chromosomes in brain tissue from all four of the patients.

Most of the bone marrow-derived cells in the brain tissue were glia (support cells) and other non-neuronal cells. However, a small number of neurons from each brain also contained Y chromosomes, showing that those cells had developed from the transplanted male bone marrow. Most of these neurons were found in the cerebral cortex – the outer layer of the brain, which is responsible for conscious thought – and in the hippocampus, a region that helps with memory and other functions.

+ Article continues:

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Link Pinpointed Between Diabetes And Nervous System Autoimmunity Sick Kids researchers pinpoint link between diabetes and nervous system autoimmunity, resulting in new therapeutic and diagnostic targets

Toronto - Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) and the University of Toronto (U of T) have extended their earlier discovery of an unsuspected link between Type 1 diabetes and nervous system autoimmunity, such as that found in multiple sclerosis (MS). This research has identified new therapeutic targets for diabetes prevention, and a strategy for diagnostic tests for early detection of diabetes risk. The research is described in the February issue of the scientific journal Nature Medicine, available online on January 21, 2003.

The research group of HSC's Dr. Michael Dosch traced the link between Type 1 diabetes and nervous system autoimmunity to nervous tissue surrounding insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. They unexpectedly found that it is these nervous system structures that are first destroyed in the earliest stages of diabetes, with autoimmunity subsequently veering off to attack insulin-producing cells. Modification of the early nervous tissue attack prevented subsequent diabetes in the major animal model for the disease.

+ Article continues at:

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Study Ranks La. Near Top In Toxic Chemical Emissions

Group seeks system to monitor diseases

Louisiana ranked among the top 10 states in 2000 in releases of toxic chemicals linked to three types of health risks, according to a study released Wednesday by a national environmental group.

The study called for a national program to track chronic diseases linked to environmental pollutants, and it pressed industries to continue efforts to reduce the release of the toxic chemicals. The study was done by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, based in Washington.

"Polluters in Louisiana discharge millions of pounds of toxic pollution while the people of Louisiana have no knowledge of how it is affecting their health," said Aaron Viles, director of the organization's New Orleans office. "We need to be committed to getting ourselves off those lists, both for the health of the state's citizens and to improve the image of Louisiana as a place to work and live."

The study used data given voluntarily by industrial plants to state environmental agencies and the federal Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Toxics Release Inventory.

Researchers went through a list of hundreds of chemical substances and assigned them to several categories, based on their health effects: those known to cause cancer; those known to cause developmental problems such as birth defects, learning disabilities or reproductive disorders; those suspected of causing neurological disorders; and those suspected of causing respiratory problems.

They also tracked emissions of dioxin, one of the most toxic substances known.

Louisiana ranked second nationwide in dioxin pollution, third in pollution linked to neurological disorders, seventh in substances known to cause reproductive or developmental problems, and ninth in those known to cause cancer, according to the report.

Meghan Purvis, one of the study's authors, said not enough is being done to understand the potential connection between pollutants and illness.

"Most states don't accurately track chronic diseases and exposures to toxic substances that may be linked to those diseases," she said. "We know that dioxin can have multiple serious health effects, but we don't know exactly what it means to be living there where the dioxin is released."

Purvis said the health tracking system should have four goals:

-- Go beyond the present tracking of cancer cases to include a listing of birth defects, autism, Alzheimer's disease and asthma.

-- Monitor human exposure to toxic chemicals to better determine how people may be affected by long-term low-level doses.

-- Develop an early warning system to alert communities to immediate crises, such as a misuse of pesticides or the accidental release of toxic chemicals.

-- Provide additional resources to state and local health agencies to let them develop rapid-response systems to evaluate clusters of diseases.

Not all news in the report is bad, Purvis said.

"When we did our historical analysis, we found that overall releases have been decreasing, which points to the success of the Toxics Release Inventory program," she said. That program requires a plant to publicize its pollution, but it does not require reductions. Public pressure, as well as recognition by corporate executives that redesigned chemical plants can save money and reduce emissions, are largely responsible for that drop, she said.

Officials from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Dallas regional office of the EPA said they were not familiar enough with the 78-page study to comment.

A spokeswoman for the Louisiana Chemical Association, which represents more than 65 chemical plants in the state, said the association's members already have cut their emissions by 88 percent since the Toxics Release Inventory was created in 1987 and are committed to even greater reductions.

Tia Edwards also said her organization would support the health-tracking proposal in the study, but it would be concerned about how it would be financed.

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CARE

Texas School District Defends Action In 3 Lawsuits

The Klein school district is defending its handling of special needs students in three federal lawsuits, the latest involving a youngster whom district officials restrained in handcuffs.

Lisa Calvin, who filed the lawsuit against the district last month, said she was called to Haude Elementary in November, where she found her autistic son Adam, then 8, on the floor, school officials surrounding him and a Klein school police officer holding him down and cuffing him.

"He was crying and soaked in his own urine and sweat and the officer was saying, `When you calm down, I'll take these (handcuffs) off,' " she said of the Nov. 11 confrontation.

Calvin's lawsuit is seeking $10 million in actual and punitive damages for constitutional and civil rights violations.

This case is at least the third federal lawsuit filed within a year against Klein by parents suing on behalf of their handicapped or special education needs child, court records showed.

Another filed last May involved a special education student who was in Adam's class. The boy in that case has Down syndrome and the parents wanted the school to allow their son to attend both mainstream and special education classes.

Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit agency that investigates complaints of abuse and neglect for people with disabilities, is reviewing these two cases, regional staff lawyer Chanita Chantaplin-McClelland said.

A third case, brought by parents of an autistic middle school student, was filed in August. The case, alleging the district's violation of civil rights and academics of a handicapped child, is in the process of being settled confidentially, the family's lawyer, Elaine Roberts, said Wednesday.

She could speak in general terms about the case.

"The main problem is a lack of an individualized program for special needs, especially autistic children. They need a lot of work with socialization," Roberts said.

Autism is a neurological disorder that affects children in varying degrees, including social withdrawal and language skill problems.

Klein ISD agreed to discuss Adam's ongoing case, but declined to discuss the other two.

Klein school officials said Calvin's son attacked the assistant principal and others who tried to quiet the boy after an angry outburst.

District Superintendent Jim Surratt said the child was handcuffed for "only about two minutes" when he could not be restrained otherwise. Surratt said the child had already bitten and scratched teachers and aides and had knocked down equipment when district police were called.

Adam has not returned to school for the past 2 1/2 months because Klein ISD officials said they could not promise never to use handcuffs on him again, the mother said.

"When I drive by the school, Adam panics and if he spots a police officer, he unbuckles his safety belt and dives to the floorboard," she said.

Surratt admitted that he could not promise that handcuffs would never be used.

"If police are called in for those types of situations, it would be unusual for us to tell them not to use handcuffs. But we're not advocating the use of handcuffs," he said.

Klein ISD lawyer Jeffrey Rogers said Calvin has failed to follow protocol and file for an administrative hearing through the Texas Education Agency before filing a lawsuit.

He requested that the suit be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. He said other special education lawsuits against Klein should not be compared.

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LETTERS

On "Looking For Controversy? Missing Links" Commentary

I read Mr. Lowe's commentary with interest. While I agree in part with his comments I believe a lot of important clues to this "mystery" of autism, vaccines, mercury and thimerisol have been overlooked. The prevailing questions everyone seems to want answered are, "Does the mercury exposure obtained from thimerisol contribute to the development of autism?" and "Does the MMR vaccine contribute to the development of autism?" We have the government, drug manufacturers and most medical professionals on one side saying there is no connection; on the other side, angry, desparate parents and a few very concerned researchers saying there definitely is a connection. In the middle are a bunch of money grubbing attorneys anxious for a jackpot. In the balance hang the lives of hundreds of thousands of autistic children and adults with few resources and dim hope for a normal future.

There must be something else to tip the scales in one direction or another. Perhaps something more insidious is at work.

Should you read work by Dr. Paul Ewald, an evolutionary biologist, who believes that many of the incurable diseases and conditions such as cancers, lupus, autism, etc. are caused by bacteria and/or viruses. It begins to come together somewhat. Much like stomach ulcers were once treated with only surgery, antacids and dietary modifications and are now many times known to be caused by a bacterial infection, these other conditions may well in the long run be found to be disease entities easily treated with medication.

Even if the above were well known to be true, this does not entirely erode the argument that mercury in thimerisol and environmental exposures may contribute to the development of autism. Nor does it make the drug manufacturers, CDC and FDA entirely free of guilt for the continued use of these substances. In fact, if Dr. Martin is to be believed, the FDA was informed repeatedly many years ago of the contamination of the vaccines by these viral agents and those responsible for reporting it were eventually removed from their positions. Never was anything done about it. It is feasible to believe that the drug manufacturers and CDC also knew but refused to do anything about it. Perhaps this is something they fear more than the thimerisol debacle.

The question remains what can be done about it. Apparently one pediatrician is taking a proactive stance on treating autism as a disease entity, rather than a developmental disability. Dr. Michael Goldberg

practice that autism may well be caused by viral infections that cause the temporal lobes to shut down and cease functioning. This could easily be the case according to the information set forth above. He is treating each child with a combination of anti-viral medications to fight the viral infection, anti-fungal medications for overgrowth of candida albicans in the gut, SSRI's in low doses to stimulate reactivation of the temporal lobe function and has had some degree of success in improving their condition.

Many questions remain to be answered and a consortium of researchers persuing a more productive path needs to be established. The attorneys should be thrown out of the equation. The drug manufacturers and government agencies should be forthcoming with useful information and stop covering their own backsides at the expense of sick children. Money should not be thrown into proving or disproving the thimerisol link, but into establishing how these children got sick in the first place and what can be done to alleviate their illness.

Could our children have been infected in utero by a stealth virus or retro virus passed on from their parents to the child? Could the parents have been infected when they were vaccinated? Could the children have been re-infected upon vaccination? Could it be that the combination of a Metallothionein deficiency and exposure to environmental heavy metals caused a deterioration of the immune system, allowing the latent virus to become active and shut down the temporal lobes? There are many pressing questions to be answered, but few if any seem to be being addressed by researchers currently.

Tashia Berman Mother

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Fetal Activity, Autism Research

[From Gerda McCarthy, Director, The International Autistic Research Organisation, United Kingdom.]

We have been in existence since 1981 and in March, 1984, we undertook a short survey. At first, we intended to study foetal activity. This study was only based on the mother’s reports whose children with Autism were born well before any scan investigations were in use. The majority of mothers had very weak foetal activity. This study also lead us to note reactions of Pyrexia following Infections and Inoculations. Some mothers reported the incidence of a very high temperature following inoculation. Reactions occurred following Measles, Whooping Cough and in one case Cholera. One case became very ill after the triple vaccine of Whooping Cough, Tetanus and Diphtheria. Accompanied by a raging temperature and episodes of vomiting, his entire body was exceedingly flushed and swollen. The mother reported that he looked twice his size and that he showed great distress by indicating a continuous groaning type of sound. This reaction lasted three full days and occurred at the age of four months, subsequently he seemed different to his parents. At 10 months old he was diagnosed Autistic. Another case had a continuous high temperature, 39C rectally, from the age of one to two years and became more withdrawn. Both these cases showed weak foetal activity.

In 1984, our minds were not focused on thymorosal or mercury, but viruses whether contracted by either cross infection or inoculation. We question ourselves whether the children who showed weak foetal activity, an indicator that something may not be quite right, will not tolerate mercury/viruses/vaccine may give rise to the inability to combat viral influence in Autistic children, thus resulting to possible brain insult, may be a worth while follow up study, especially in cases where viral infection with pyrexia have been reported, many of who subsequently seemed to have become Autistic.

We wonder whether further foetal activity studies may be worth while, so that we may possibly pin point the cases that should keep away from vaccines.

- Gerda McCarthy

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There are many of us out here who do NOT believe their son's autism was caused by the MMR or any vaccine. We do not know what caused it, or we'd be millionaires. Parents like us want more research into other possible causes.

-Laurie Mirda

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On Breaking The Silence: 60 Minutes II

Great story, though not exactly a "new breakthrough".

My Autistic son Alex started typing at 3, started talking at 6 and at 15 expresses himself better on paper than verbally. He is in grade 10, fully integrated in the regular school system, with a teachers aide, taking academic courses and doing well.

Facilitated Communication, whether the support is at the wrist or, as we saw with Dov, the shoulder or leg, or with Tito, his mother's presence in the room, is NOT new.

Oddly enough it's not a "cure" either, coming from CAN (Cure Autism Now). FC (Facilitated Communication) is something it seems to me more often practiced by those of us on the other side of the fence - the ones who have accepted Autism and Autistics and aim to understand them as individuals and have as priorities not to "rid the world of their kind" but to give them a communication system so that we may better understand each other and all be happier.

Oh, and by the way, we prefer not to be called "sufferers" (From your Web Page: Notable Sufferers: Among those who are thought to have exhibited traits related to autism or Asperger's Syndrome (a milder version of the

disease) are inventor Thomas Edison, novelist Jane Austen, and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.)

-jypsy (janet norman-bain)

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