On Friday April 12, 2013 a Congressional briefing was held in Washington DC regarding the current trends in research regarding autism and the government appropriations in funding.  The recent publication of the CDC's prevalence data, which announced 1:50 children born between the years 1994 to 2005 are now diagnosed with autism is astonishing.  The news of the current understanding in prevalence did not motivate the majority of our representatives to attend this forum.  Without an understanding of the disorder is it difficult to draft appropriate legislation to aide in the health and well being of so many affected patients and their families.

Here is a summary...

The Speakers

Scott Bono.  Board Member of SafeMinds and facilitator of this autism educational forum.  powerpoint

Richard Deth PhD.  Neuropharmacology. Professor of Pharmacology, Northeastern University and Autism Researcher.  powerpoint ~ video ~ video

Irva Hertz-Picciotto PhD M.P.H..  Professor of Epidemiology and Chief, Division of Environmental and Occupational health, Director, Northern California Collaborative Center for the national Children's Study, Deputy Director, UC Davis Children's Center for Environmental Health, Director, Program in Environmental Epidemiology of Autism.  powerpoint ~ video ~ video

Lyn Redwood RN, MSN.  Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC); Vice-President & Co-Chair of Research Committee, SafeMinds.  powerpoint ~ video

The Attending Congressional/Senate Representation

Diana DeGette - (D) Colorado, Chief Deputy Whip for the Subcommitte on Oversight and Investigations, Ranking Member
Tammy Duckworth - (D) Illinois
Jim Gerlach - (R) Pennsylvania
Jim Himes - (D) Connecticut
Eddie Bernice Johnson - (D) Texas
Doug LaMalfa - (R) California
Leonard Lance - (R) New Jersey
Nita Lowey - (D) New York
Jim McDermott - (D) Washington State
Luke Messer - (R) Indiana
Rick Nolan - (D) Minnesota
Charles Rangel - (D) Charles Rangel
Jon Runyan - (R) New Jersey
Aaron Schock - (R) Illinois
Chris Smith - (D) New Jersey
Joe Wilson - (R) South Carolina
Frank Wolf - (R) Virginia
Robert Casey - (D) Pennsylvania
Richard Durbin - (D) Illinois
Patty Murray - (D) Washington State
Charles Schumer - (D) New York
Tim Scott - (R) South Carolina
Roger Wicker - (R) Mississippi

The Current Knowledge Discussed

Autism is a biological condition that is caused by toxic environmental loading in genetically susceptible patients.  The increase is real and the affects of this conditions can be devastating to the patients/family/society.

The Current Problem

The research continues to be highly skewed toward the discovery of the sole genetic contribution, even though that population makes up a small percentage of autism diagnosis.

Move From Awareness to Action & Accountability

1.  Action

• Appropriations Language for specific research initiatives.
• Request NIH create targeted RFAs with funding set aside for environmental research
• Utilize other Federal agencies such as EPA and DOD
• Get involved by conducting hearings (Oversight, Energy & Commerce, Appropriations, & Science, etc.)
• Engage with Parent Advocates & Families on Development of Legislation. (No one group speaks for the entire community).

2.  Accountability

• Combating Autism Act up for re-authorization in 2014.  Mandate annual accountability of SMART research objectives and progress toward research goals.
• White House level coordination of all ASD activities.  IACC has no authority to set policy and is part-time committee
• Create an Office of ASD Research modeled after the Office for AIDS Research (Autism is not a mental health disorder)
• Hold herings on vaccine safety.  Why are some children injured and what is being done to prevent these injuries?

If your representative attended this briefing please reach out to them and thank them.  If they did not please take the time to summarize the findings and outline a plan going forward. 

March 20, 2013 before April's Autism Awareness month the CDC updates their prevalence data and announces that autism now affects 1:50 children born between the years 1994 to 2005.  Even in the face of souring autism rates the CDC, and NIH refuse to announce that there is an epidemic.  The social networks are abuzz with chatter and yes the vaccine debate continues in its momentum to bring awareness that many children are succumbing to regressive autism after being vaccinated.

March 6, 2013 another CDC study that refutes the vaccine/autism link is published in the Journal of Pediatrics.  The CDC gave a press release of this study on Good Friday.  The news showed up on March 29 in Medscape Today, and Medpage Today along with other medical electronic publications.

This well timed study was authored by Frank DeStefano, MD, MPH, of the CDC's Immunization Safety Office in Atlanta.  I immediately recognized his name because he seems to be the go to guy in producing studies of this nature.  He also was on the roll call at the Simpsonwood Retreat Center, Norcross Georgia Jun 7-8, 2000 where they reviewed the finding of Dr. Thomas Verstraeten et al.   At this meeting they described a "signal" that is "linear and statically significant" with thimerosal exposure causing a myriad of neurological outcomes.  They also talked about this information being "embargoed" and fear that it will be captured by the public.  I wrote a complete review of that meeting in 2011.  So, DeStefano produces another study even though he is on record for attaining knowledge that vaccines are causal in negative neurological diagnosis.

What are the critiques of this DeStefano study?  Brian Hooker PhD, PE and Associate Professor of Biology at Simpson University in Redding California does a good job breaking down the subjects in his review. 

To summarize...

1.  The data in the DeStefano study is a replay of earlier work produced by the CDC in 2010.  This is just a repackaged flawed study made to look new to shape public perception.

2.  One of the major glaring flaws in the study was regarding the control group.  On one hand the study claims the controls are neuro-typical, then in the the study outlines that;

"Of the remaining 752 controls including in the analysis, 186 had an SCQ (Social Communication Questionnaire) score <16 but had indications of speech delay or language delay, learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention deficit disorder, or tics, or had an individual education plan."

WOW!  That certainly does not sound like a neuro-typical control group, but according to the CDC they qualify.  Then they took this group and compared it with the vaccinated group and decided there was no difference in neuro-development or autism by comparison. 

3.  According to the graphical table in the DeStefano study the description of "antigen" is a fuzzy number.  The true antigen's amount was never applied, instead they grouped all the quantifiable data into a one count summary.  And they never comment on the neurotoxic adjuvants used to strengthen the antigen such as aluminum.

4.  Selection Bias...  This is interesting, there was a high refusal rate in the subject population.  So the groups that were originally studied by the CDC back in 2010 did not wish to participate (65%) in the lasted DeStefano research.  That weakens the data and I also question why there was such a high refusal by the subject population.  Is there a diminished lack of trust in the CDC's outcome?

5.  Overmatching Statistical Error...  This error in statistics occurs when a study is trying to find differences but match out the subjects case-by-case.  Dr. Hooker gives a good analogy in his review saying; "This would be akin to analyzing radiation workers that got the same dosage of gamma radiation within cases and control groups to determine the relationship between gamma radiation and cancer incidence."

These are the five main points regarding the flaws from the CDC's latest research.  Yet another disappointing publication by those who are documented in knowing there is negative neurological consequence in the CDC's vaccine schedule.  It is equally disappointing to see the medical and scientific community headlines regarding this latest publication.  It is as if they have not taken the time to review the data or read the study critically.  It does appear this is agenda driven, which in no way is beneficial to our pediatric population.

Viral Encephalopathy In Autism

It is well established that vaccines can cause encephalopathy, that fact is made clear by the tabled injury by the Health and Human Services (HRSA).  A slow viral encephalopathy is also demonstrated by the evaluation of of the cerebral spinal fluid in children who regressed into autism after the MMR vaccine.  The patented measles virus was found in the fluid along with an uptake of proinflammatory cytokines, which demonstrate the condition. 

Excerpt from the study:  "Autistic encephalopathy is a complex disorder in which there is clearly more than one potential mechanism for regression.  Cofactors including genetic predisposition are likely to influence the presentation and timing of symptom development.  The potential mechanisms of AE (adverse events) in these children include, but are not limited to, some or all of the following:  a toxic gut-brain interaction such as occurs in hepatic encephalopathy; immunological disruption of central nervous system functions; and direct viral invasion of the brain" (Bradstreet et al, 2004).

Mitochondriopathy Cause Or Effect From Vaccination

The "dysfunctional mitochondria" can cause autism as they are producing more damaging free radicals than normal mitochondria.  Mitochondria made toxic by chemical compounds like heavy metals (ethylmercury) would do the same thing as the tightest binding site in mercury in the body is in the "iron sulfur centers" (Fe-S) of the electron transport chain that carries the 'electron' used normally to produce the mitochondrial pH gradient that makes energy in the form of ATP.  Heavy metals blocking of this polypeptide chain leads to the production of hydroxyl free radicals by release of the electron to react with water.  This causes oxidative stress and low reduction glutathione levels as observed in autism and many neurological illnesses.  A recent cadaver study of autistic brains in comparison with non-autistic brains shows this decrease in glutathione, increase in brain inflammation (encephalopathy), and oxidative damage in patients with autism.

Excerpt from study:  "Together, these results indicate that decreased GSH/GSSG redox/antioxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress in the autism brain may have functional consequence in terms of chronic inflammatory response, increased mitochondrial superoxide production, and oxidative protein and DNA damage" (Rose et al, 2012).

Another vaccine ingredient, aluminum adjutants has also demonstrated negative impacts on the mitochondria.

Excerpt from study:  "While the [Al3+] is vanishingly low at neutral pH, the trihydroxide is the major form and should be considered as an important candidate for aluminum-induced cellular effects" (Zhang et al, 1989).

In further reading about AL you will find the same interplay between the iron sulfur centers (FE-S) as seen with mercury.

Excerpt from study:  "And Complex I and III might be the source of Al-induced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) through interaction between Al and iron-sulfur (Fe-S) protein" (Li Z et al, 2010).

The case of Hannah Poling where her underlying mitochondrial disorder exacerbated by a vaccine induced fever cascaded into the diagnosis of autism is a well-established consequence.  But this mitochondriopathy process could also be caused by the vaccines and or other toxins themselves.  An interesting scientific publication demonstrates that autistics with mitochondrial dysfunction (MD) do not have the genetic mutation to explain the MD.  Again in this study we find interplays with glutathione, and fatty-acid oxidation pathways etc being biomarkers in the pathophysiology of autism.

Excerpt from study:  "Acquired MD has been demonstrated in a rodent ASD model in which propionic acid (PPA), an enteric bacterial fermentation product of ASD-associated gut bacteria, is infused intracerebroventricularly.  This animal model shows validity as it demonstrates many behavioral, metabolic, neuropathologic and neurophysiologic abnormalities associated with ASD" (Frye et al, 2013).

The toxic environmental exposures found in organophosphates, heavy metals, and yes even ingredients found in vaccinations can either exacerbate an underlying MD or cause said disorder leading to the symptomology of autism spectrum disorder or other negative neurological condition.  We do know from a recent study that children with autism have higher levels of toxic compounds in their blood.  This is a clear indicator that this subpopulation has a difficult time excreting these exposures than in the neuro-typical population.

Excerpt from study:  "Overall, children with autism have higher average levels of several toxic metals, and levels of several toxic metals are strongly associated with variations in the severity of autism for all three of the autism severity scales investigated" (Adams et al, 2013).

Majority Of Vaccinated Seeming No Acute Harm

In other words the dose make the poison.  This is true in some circumstances but when you have a subpopulation that is genetically susceptible to inadequate toxicity excretion, which thereby disrupts cellular function leading to a whole host of neuro/immunological disorders the cascade of injury is plausible.  I would never claim that vaccines are the only contributor to autism but the accessibility, mechanism, ingredients, and disorder occurrence in time make them a likely contributor to at least some autism diagnosis.  I would also like to say the long term affects of vaccination is largely unknown.  I have read multiple studies and surveys looking at the health of patients who are vaccinated vs those not vaccinated.  The population not vaccinated is much healthier in all categories.  In another study looking at the trends of mortality and hospitalizations when comparing vaccine status you find the more vaccines a child received the more likely they will be hospitalized or die.

Excerpt from study: "Our finding show a positive correlation between the number of vaccine doses administered and the percentage of hospitalizations and deaths" (Goldman et al, 2012).

So I question the idea of waving away the idea of acute, and long-term harm by vaccination simply because the majority seemingly are spared injury.

Hepatotoxicity or Neuroexcitotoxicity

If the exposure to vaccine chemical agents disrupts cellular function in the brain as demonstrated above it would not necessary create hepatotoxicity.  This is well known in the study of cellular pathology regarding direct and indirect toxic exposure.  Various drugs affect various organs, the clinical presentations vary considerably.  As shown in the study, which showed "children with autism have higher average levels of several toxic metals...." were not suffering from hepatotoxicity (Adams et al, 2013).  So to simply write off any association of vaccine toxic exposure because there is a lack of evidence in liver toxicity is a fallacy.  You are in the same occurrence thereby writing off any environmental toxin because the liver is more or less unaffected.  We do know that there is a toxic environmental contribution so the argument falls apart.

Wakefield Once Again

It is so tiring to constantly correct the events surrounding this physicians research.  His work has little consequence to the mountain of data that implicates vaccines today.  Wakefield a charlatan?  Not proven...  Did Wakefield say vaccines cause autism?  No...  Did The Lancet retract the publication because Wakefield said vaccines cause autism?  No...

According to The Lancet they retracted the paper because of two factors.  "..the claims in the original paper that children were 'consecutively referred' and that investigations were 'approved' by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false" (The Lancet, 2010).  In an appeal to the UK High Court both of these charges by the British Medical Council were overturned.  Mr. Justice Mitting criticized the U.K. General Medical Council, stating its judgment had been "based on inadequate and superficial reasoning" (High Court Of Justice, 2010).  Wakefield's colleague Professor John Walder-Smith who had his medical credentials reinstated and name cleared filed the appeal.  The charges and repercussions of Walker-Smith and Wakefield were identical.  The claims of the BMC were deemed false to which they did not appeal this decision. 

If you would bother to read the wrongly retracted paper you would find that Wakefield never claimed vaccines caused autism.  He only mentioned that there were parental accounts that the children regressed after the MMR vaccine.  He also encouraged the use of vaccination.  His paper (not study) showed through pathology that the measles virus was demonstrated upon biopsy of ulcerate bowl tissue samples.  This is not contested, or proven false.  Here is the exonerated Dr. Walker Smith explaining the findings;

"We haven't done anything to demonstrate that the measles virus is causing autism or even causing bowel disease.  We have simply shown that there is measles virus in the guts of a large number of children who have regressive autism" (Mahoney, 2006).

References

Adams et al. (2013). Toxicological status of children with autism vs. neurotypical children and the association with autism severity. Biological Trace Element Research.  Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12011-012-9551-1

Bradstreet et al. (2004). Detection of Measles Virus Genomic RNA in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children with Regressive Autism:  A Report of Three Cases. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.  Retrieved from http://www.jpands.org/vol9no2/bradstreet.pdf

Frye et al. (2013). Unique acyl-carnitine profiles are potential biomarkers for acquired mitochondrial disease in autism spectrum disorder. Translational Psychiatry. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v3/n1/full/tp2012143a.html

Goldman et al. (2012). Relative trends in hospitalizations and mortality among infants by the number of vaccine doses and age, based on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), 1990-2010). Human & Experimental Toxicology. Retrieved from http://het.sagepub.com/content/31/10/1012.full

High Court Of Justice. (2010). Professor John Walker-Smith and General Medical Council. Royal Courts of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2012/503.html

Li Z et al. (2010). Mitochondrial pathway leading to programmed cell death induced by aluminum phytotoxicity in Arabidopsis.  Plant Signal Behav. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21512328

Mahoney, D. (2006). Data linking autism, measles virus in intestines viewed as preliminary. Clinical Psychiatry News. Retrieved from http://www.clinicalpsychiatrynews.com/news/childadolescent-psychiatry/single-article/data-linking-autism-measles-virus-in-intestines-viewed-as-preliminary/aaf5651a48.html

Rose et al. (2012). Evidence of oxidative damage and inflammation associated with low glutathione redox status in the autism brain. Translational Psychiatry. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v2/n7/full/tp201261a.html

The Lancet. (2010). Retraction-IIeal0lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2960175-4/fulltext

Zhang et al. (1989). Inhibition by aluminum hydroxide of the voltage-dependent closure of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC. Biochim Biophys Acta. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2469483

The Build Up

Having a child with autism can be extraordinary isolating due to the intense hands on rehabilitation.  For many years I have watched important hearings, conferences, and meeting pass by while I was submerged in the fight to bring my son back from vaccine injury.  Not this time!  Fortunately, due to my son’s progression and the support of my husband I was able to attend the 2nd Congressional Oversight Hearing regarding autism and it’s affiliated environmental triggers.  As I attended and testified to whoever would listen I felt the love and support of all those that could not make it.  Our growing community is well connected by the common struggle and overwhelming frustration of government inaction.  It is a rare to have the NIH and CDC under oath, and have the ability to ask direct questions regarding autism and vaccine injury.

9:30AM Private Meeting with Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)

I was privileged to have a 20-minute conversation with Senator Barrasso M.D. at the Dirksen Senate Office.  I explained my five immediate Federal actions that could help facilitate understanding of the epidemic and ways to fix some of the issues.  These are:

1. Join the Autism Caucus in Washington.
2. Hold ongoing hearings of this nature.
3. Overhaul the 1983 National Vaccine Safety Act.
4. Open up the books on the NVIC and see how many children are compensated for their autism.
5. Establish a new oversight committee akin to the National Transportation Safety in Aviation.

He seemed to understand my frustration and my plea to have in place better pre-screening protocols prior to vaccine injection(s).  We did a little brain storming on that particular issue but mostly he just listened to my respectful requests.  He did not seem to have any knowledge of the basic issues surrounding this topic, particularly regarding the bloat of the schedule and the simultaneous injections.  Dr. Barrasso seemed to understand the brain injury pattern that my son was afflicted with post vaccination that resulted in his autism.  He expressed a desire to meet my son one day. 

I gained a contact with Senator John Barrasso’s Legislative Assistant, Jay Eberle. 

10:30AM Private Meeting with Congressman Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)

Representative Lummis was cordial and polite.  She listened patiently while I outlined my 5-action initiative.  I described my personal experience with vaccine injury in my son, which seemed to spark some surprise regarding the simultaneous injections that he received.  She did not seem to fully understand how the schedule had changed through the years and the lack of research regarding the safety of the recommended schedule.  I also feel she was equally surprised by the cronyism regarding vaccine oversight.  Her legislative assistant who was present did as well, and they both asked further questions regarding those two issues.  I provided them with nearly 30 pages of essay style research with references for further review.  They both seemed extremely interested in my work, and complimented my efforts. 

I gained a contact with Representative Cynthia Lummis’s Senior Legislative Assistant, Landon Stropko.

2:00PM Congressional Hearing

It was a surreal experience being surrounded by individuals whose work I read in the blogosphere.  National advocacy groups were there like the Canary Party, SafeMinds, Autism Speaks, EBCALA and the Thinking Moms Revolution.  For hours we stood outside room 2154 in the Rayburn House waiting for our chance to be heard.  During that time we all got to know each other a little better, and some of us gave interviews for an Autism Speaks documentary. 

The Hearing was standing room only just like we had hoped.  There were a lot of autistic kids and adults in the room as well, many severe.  They did cause a bit of a disruption, which I did not mind because it was good for Congress to see the disability and know how complex it is to manage.  The Hearing started with the government panel, which included a representative from the NIH Dr. Guttmacher, and Coleen Boyle PhD from the CDC.  The government officials were grilled for hours by the Committee, some of the questions were not fully answered.  Just like the Hearing a decade earlier the CDC was ambivalent on autism causation and vaccine injury for total populations, which again cast doubts on their policy.  Dr. Boyle’s take home message was vaccines have been ruled out as causal for the majority of the population.  She can say this because only large-population based epidemiological science has been used to produce the negative studies.  The scientific methods are inept at finding causation in subsets of the population just like autism cohorts.  The government panel was followed up with a public panel that included Bob Wright Co-Founder of Autism Speaks, Scott Badesch of the Autism Society, Dr. Mark Blaxill Chair of SafeMinds, Bradley McGarry Coordinator of the Asperger Initiative at Mercyhurst University, Michael Carley Executive Director of GRASP, and Ari Ne’eman President of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.  Their statements in some situations were opposing, like the idea that autism was an epidemic, could be cured, and that the condition is devastating for the impacted families.  One message came through clearly from the entire panel, which was the lack of services available to the diagnosed and their families. 

The Controversy

1. CDC blunders on Poul Thorsen’s contribution to negative vaccine autism science, which led to misleading and false statements.  Coleen Boyle PhD under oath stated the fugitive Poul Thorsen only contributed to two research articles out of the 24 studies the government uses to refute vaccine autism causation.  Documentation was submitted to the Hearing, which revealed Thorsen’s involvement in 21 of those 24 studies.  Dr. Poul Thorsen is listed by the Office of Inspector General as “Most Wanted” and is a leading scientific contributor to CDC vaccine/autism science (OIG, n.d.).
   
   
2. The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network representative Ari Ne’eman misled the panel with the UK Adult prevalence autism rate data.  Ari claimed that the adult autism population is equal to childhood autism (1%) thereby denying a surge in diagnosis, or epidemic.     
   
   Here is the publication he was speaking about:    
   
   Brugha T. McManus S. Meltzer H. Smith J. Scott FJ. Purdon S. Harris J. Bankart J. (2009). Autism Spectrum Disorders in adults living in households throughout England Report from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. NHS.
   
   This was a 50 question telephone survey and interviews of 7,461 individuals who  were able to live independently operate, and interact on the telephone.  To make comparisons with the U.S. ADDM statistics is an extreme leap.  Ari Ne’eman will use any publication to deny there is an autism epidemic without considering the weight of the data.   
   
   The major conflicts in his evidence was the U.S. ADDM statistics utilized educational, and medical documents to establish confirmed diagnosis.  Secondly the majority of patients afflicted with this condition are non communicative thereby could not participate in a telephone survey.  I would encourage everyone to read the questions posed to these adults who were 16 years and above to judge the validity of this publication.
   
   Further Critiques
   
   
3. Congressman Issa's refusal to allow Dr. Brian Hooker to testify about CDC’s emails obtained by the FOIA, which showed CDC knowledge that vaccines are causal for autism.  Dr. Hooker's testimony was submitted in writing and I would encourage everyone to read the important documentation he uncovered.  His testimony would have been a powerful addition to the Hearing.

The Needs That Were Discussed

1. Housing
2. Employment
3. Support Services (adult & Child)
4. Children’s Medicaid Coverage (written submission)
5. Despite the large research dollars Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) will not explore treatments and therapies that families have been successfully using for autism rehabilitation. 
6. Make ABA therapy an essential benefit of the “Affordable Care Act” (written submission)
7. More research like a vaccinated verses unvaccinated study.

Autism Speaks and their turnaround. 

For the first time Autism Speaks described vaccines as being a facilitator for autism.  I applaud this move by Bob Wright.  This admittance will hopefully further validate the parental and scientific evidence that vaccines are a contributing factor to autism.

The NeuroDiversity Movement

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network among other groups is sparking a new movement in our community.  The neurodiversity movement sometimes called the autism rights movement is trying to establish equality for the afflicted patients.  The majority of their platform is inline with the thinking of the old parental movement except for a few key issues.  They do not think there is an autism epidemic, and they do no not believe vaccination or any environmental trigger is contributing to the disorder.  The affected adult individuals want society to embrace their differences, which is what we all want in the community but they refuse to entertain the thought that some supportive measures like exclusionary diets are beneficial to the disability.  The neurodiversity movement does not want a cure, they only want acceptance.  They quote and misrepresent data to support their ideology, which is what I take issue with.  Ari Ne’eman gave a clear example of that fact during the hearing.  He speaks for a very small population in the autism community.  Most of the affected have real biological conditions that need addressing, something about which he is in complete denial.  The Thinking Moms' Revolution made a video of the autism most of us know. 

According to a recent study autistic patients have higher incidences in bowl disease, schizophrenia, epilepsy, CNS, and diabetes mellitus type 1.  These are just a few co-morbidity burden’s described by the authors of this peer-review (Kohane et al, 2012).  Another important fact to embrace is that autism recovery is possible.  According to researcher Deborah Fein, PhD 10% or 20% of the autism population is able to move off the spectrum with the help of early supportive therapies (Doheny, 2009).  To ignore this data and subsequent evidence of the explosion of incidence of autism is a major part of their denial.

What really bothers me is the platform Ari Ne’eman and Carley received.  The Hearing would have been better served if Dr. Brian Hooker were allowed to testify.  For instance Carley who has Asperger’s resents being lumped in with “those other people” meaning the children and adults who have to wear diapers and are self-injurious that make up the majority of the spectrum (Autism Jabberwacky, 2010).

Who Wanted To Be At The Hearing But Couldn’t

SafeMinds gathered testimonies of caregiver, and disabled individuals that were not able to attend the Hearing.  On my flight from Washington DC to Wyoming I was able to read the hundreds of absentee testimonies. I strongly encourage everyone to carefully absorb their moving statements.   It was difficult for me to read the personal accounts, and dedication of so many.  Those of us in the struggle know how pervasive this disability is, and how invisible we become to society because we are completely dedicated to our children.  Our population’s silence should be an indicator of the disability devastation that now affects 1:88. 

Autism Rate Data

Another document presented to the Committee, which was organized by SafeMinds used the data from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) showed the growth in autism by state.  Massachusetts had the highest annual increase at 29.0%.  Iowa had the smallest yearly increase at 1.2%.  Wyoming the state in which I reside came in at number 10 out of all the 51 states.  Coleen Boyle PhD from the CDC could not give any insight as to the disparity of the numbers across the United States.  Yet another disappointing factor regarding the ability for our government to provide adequate information to the autism community.

Conclusion

The testimony from the NIH and CDC was typical.  They did a good job at their back patting.  Dr. Guttmacher from the NIH and also a Chair member of IACC proclaimed their dedication by the number of meetings (17) they hold each year, which is above the outlined recommendations.  He was very complementary of his efforts regarding the open public comments at the meetings.  He left out his complete rejection of statements made at these public forums.  Even though he proclaimed his appreciation for parental testimonies he high tailed it out of the Capital after the gavel fell, which excused his panel.  So hearing parental and advocacy groups in the second panel account the laundry list of needs didn't seem so important after all.  Their direction of research is more inline with the neurodiversity groups, which hold a very small percentage of the autism community.  They completely ignore how we, the parents have been helping our children to recover with a mix of efforts that are both conventional and biomedical.  One would think these parental efforts would be further explored based on the progress that is seen in our recovering children.  IACC has wasted precious financial resources that could have gone into viable treatments.  Coleen Boyle PhD from the CDC was a complete waste of space.  She kept reiterating that she was not a vaccine expert but commented as though she was.  She gave misleading testimony, which I felt was not entirely her fault because she is completely uneducated regarding the issue.  I question the motive of the CDC having her participate on the panel.  I am sure the very important issues discussed during the Hearing will continue to ring with the Committee members who were visibly moved by the audience who remained verbal and emotional throughout the testimony.  I gained worthwhile contacts with my representatives and have a clearer outline in how to proceed with my activism.  It was wonderful to see Congress participate in this very important issue and give us in the community a voice once again.  I cannot wait for the next opportunity!

In 1984 the Department of Health and Human Services along with the Food and Drug Administration ruled,

“…any possible doubts, whether or not well founded, about the safety of the vaccine cannot be allowed to exist in view of the need to assure that the vaccine will continue to be used to the maximum extent consistent with the nation’s public health objectives” (HHS, 1984).

This statement by our health authority clearly indicates they are biased, and driven by a utilitarian philosophy.

Government Official, HHS Director Kathleen Sebelius caught putting a gag order on the press.

"There are groups out there that insist that vaccines are responsible for a variety of problems despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. We have reached out to media outlets to try to get them to not give the view of these people equal weight in their reporting to what science has shown and continues to show about the safety of vaccines."

Here are the transcripts to the IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee Meeting (2001).  

On Page 97 Committee Chairman Marie McCormick states, "we are not ever going to come down that it [vaccines and autism] is a true side effect".

She goes on to express concerns of a public health impact if government officials concur there is a relationship.  Clearly the IOM is more concerned with the presumed greater good impact and ignoring vaccine injury.

Findings by the World Health Organization, “Corruption in the pharmaceutical sector occurs throughout all stages of the medicine chain, from research and development to dispensing and promotion” (WHO, 2009).

Here the Cochrane Collaboration is criticizing the CDC by giving the wrong impression to the public regarding flu vaccines.

"The CDC authors clearly do not weight interpretation by quality of the evidence, but quote anything that supports their theory."

Jefferson, T. DiPietrantonj, C. Rivetti, A. Bawazeer, G. Al-Ansary, L. Ferroni, E. (2010). Vaccines fro preventing influenza in healthy adults. The Cochrane Library. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001269.pub4.

Here the Cochrane Collaboration are criticizing the ACIP by giving the wrong impression to the public regarding flu vaccines.

"Recent examples of misquotes of this review come from page 11 of the 2009 ACIP document."

Jefferson, T. DiPietrantonj, C. Rivetti, A. Bawazeer, G. Al-Ansary, L. Ferroni, E. (2010). Vaccines fro preventing influenza in healthy adults. The Cochrane Library. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001269.pub4.