Got Audacity? Yes, PETA is now involved....

What does PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have to do with autism? Up until recently, very little.

However, they've come up with a little advertising campaign which I believe is just as bad as those darned Ransom Notes from NSU! I know this is old (September 29, 2008), but it still needs to be addressed.

Remember the "Got Milk?" advertisements? Well, PETA has made their own little ad, except it's titled "Got Autism?" http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/09/got_autism.php

I am posting the blog entry here. It is in the public domain and I have provided the link above - I want the whole thing to be published here so one cannot say I was picking only the pieces I found offensive:

Parents, heads up. Recent studies have suggested a link between dairy consumption and autism. Since many people don't know this, PETA is planning to run a billboard in Newark, New Jersey. Even though it won't please the billion-dollar dairy industry, parents have a right to know the truth about milk.

In a study at the University of Rome, researchers noticed a "marked improvement" in the behavior of autistic children who were taken off dairy products, but how dairy might worsen or cause autism is still unclear. Some suspect that casein (a component of cow's milk) harms the brain, while others suggest that stomach problems that are often caused by dairy products cause distress and thus worsen behavior in autistic children.

Not so surprising, considering that milk has already been strongly linked to Crohn's disease, certain types of cancer, and other serious health problems. But I digress.

Thankfully, there is hope. Testimonials suggest that some people with this devastating disease may be able to find relief by simply removing milk from their diet.

There's a whole world of information out there for parents and for women who are pregnant or nursing about how to raise their kids dairy-free. Be an informed consumer and check it out!

*The Newark area had the highest rates of autism occurrence among 14 states studied in one report.

Does anyone else find this as offensive as I do?

My primary and usual reason for offense: this is just another negative advertising campaign against autism which does not do those of us on the autism spectrum any favours. It just adds more fuel to the negativity fire that is burning out there which I believe is the cause of some of the problems within families. If you're always told that your autistic child or family member is such a bad person by societies and such, you begin to believe it... and that cannot be a good thing for you, your autistic family member or anyone else for that matter!

The phrase "devastating disease" was enough to raise my blood pressure a few degrees. Can we please stop referring to autism as a devastating disease already???

I am autistic and I can think of many "devastating diseases" that I do not want (Cancer being a big one). Autism is not one of them. All in all, autism doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for me! The way it is portrayed is.

My second reason is that they only quote one case study. It's hardly what I'd call decent empirical evidence to support their claim at all. It is fallacious to just quote one anecdotal study as proof of a theory. I'd need to see more credible references than that.

I will give it credit for being slightly better than one person who once tried to convince me that mercury was the cause of autism by referencing an article in Rolling Stone magazine!

My last entry advised that we should choose our battles wisely. PETA has always carried a reputation for being extreme and somewhat offensive in their past campaigns and I usually just ignore them, but this one struck me personally.

Being the person I am, I wrote a letter of complaint and left it on their blog's comment board. It has to be approved by the moderator, so I doubt it will actually be published. But published it shall be - right here on my blog!

As a person on the autism spectrum, I find this ad to be in very poor taste and offensive. My reason? There is too much negative press out there about autism without this sort of advertising campaign. Does PETA really need to lower themselves to this level to promote going vegan?

I cannot drink milk because I am lactose intolerant (I'm vegetarian too because I cannot digest meat either). Many non-autistic people are lactose intolerant too!

Does the self-esteem of many autistic people need to be further lowered by this sort of advertising? It's bad enough that the autism societies do it!

It's bad enough that we're commonly associated with terror levels, tragedies, bird-flu (yes, I have seen this association), and being soul sucking family-destroyers. We have to live with negative stigma like this every day of our lives.

Does this sort of thing help those of us who work and try to make a daily living with co-workers who only see negative press about autism? I have to hide the fact that I am autistic thanks to this sort of thing.

I'm not against decent research or finding ways to make our lives easier. This, however, does not make being autistic any easier.

I respectfully ask that you please stop contributing to this problem of negative press against autistic people by taking us off your target list. Thank you.

Choose your battles Wisely, Folks

This just in:

(My apologies for the all-caps in the following press release, folks... I did not write this and I didn't feel like retyping it either, so I've put it in small font. Please also forgive the title of Denis Leary's book being incorrectly typed.)

For Immediate Release............. contact Sid Schwartz 212-564-4692
NATIONWIDE AUTISM PROTEST AGAINST DENNIS LEARY BY NYC GROUP

NEW YORK NY. EVELYN AIN PRESIDENT OF AUTISM UNITED , A NATIONAL ADVOCACY GROUP REPRESENTING OVER 5,000 PARENTS WITH CHILDREN EFFECTED WITH AUTISM IS CALLING FOR A RALLY AND PROTEST AGAINST DENNIS LEARY. WHEN HE APPEARS AT COMICS COME HOME 14, IN BOSTON AT THE AGGANIS ARENA. THE GROUP PLANS TO HAVE HUNDREDS OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN PICKETING THE CONCERT. IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST COMEDY EVENTS IN THE USA.

THE PROTEST IS IN RESPONSE TO UPCOMING BOOK "WE SUCK"" WHICH DESCRIBES KIDS WITH AUTISM BOTH STUPID AND LAZY. THE GROUP IS CALLING FOR A BOOK BOYCOTT AND ASKING COMPANIES LIKES BARNES AND NOBLE, AMAZON, AND ANY OTHER STORE NOT TO CARRY IT AS ITS HURTFUL TO FAMILIES NATIONWIDE. ONE OUT OF 150 CHILDREN NATIONWIDE ARE DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM.

ACCORDING TO MS. AIN '' THE AUTISM COMMUNITY IS NOT TAKING THIS AS A JOKE, IF DENNIS LEARY FEELS BY PUTTING THESE SHOCKLEY COMMENTS IN BOOK IS GOING TO CREATE HYPE, WERE GOING TO HAVE AUTISM FAMILIES FROM COAST TO COAST PROTESTING HIS APPEARANCES, SHOWING THE JOKE IS REALLY ON HIM''

AUTISM UNITED
www.autismunited.org
CONTACT SID SCHWARTZ
646-896-1128

Looking at this press release and the autism lists lately, it seems that Denis Leary has said something offensive...

"OMG!! Denis Leary?? Say something offensive about something?? Not Denis! Naaaahhhh, he's a paragon of decency! A proud upholder of diplomatic virtue! The man who could charm the robe off of Ghandi for Pete's sake!!"

Get real, folks. This is Denis Leary, the man who has built a very lucrative career on insulting many, many people, groups and concepts over the years!

What the heck am I talking about, you may ask?

Denis Leary wrote a comedy book called "Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid,"... where he insults just about everyone on the planet. (You know... I'm truly surprised the Catholic Church hasn't put up larger protests against him since he rails against Catholicism a *lot*! And he's really nasty about it too...)

This must be the book he referred to in No Cure for Cancer when he said he's going to write a book called "Shut the F*** Up: A revolutionary new form of therapy" by "Dr. Denis Leary".

The problem is: He happened to insult the boom in autism diagnoses... and parents and shrinks along with it.

"There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you - yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both."

Apparently "Autism Schmautism" (the title of the chapter) is one of his favourites according to the Vanity Fair interview which you can read here: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/11/wayne_leary200811

Granted, I'm not fond of the notion that autistics are just lazy or stupid. Most of us on the spectrum are not even close to stupid! Quite the opposite in fact... yet so many of us are treated that way because of common opinion (provided by professionals and agencies) which only serve to drive opinions like Leary's!

You know what's kind of funny about all of this?

The same thing was being said about ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in the 90's. Remember all the kids being put on ritalin back then? Folks back then said those ADD kids were just lazy, stupid and undisciplined by inattentive parents! Remember that?

But how many really had ADD? Seriously?

If the kids were misbehaving, it was ADD, according to the professionals and doctors who stood to make a little money on the sales of ritalin. Not the fact that schools were dumbed down, that authority over children was taken away from parents and teachers because their kids could sue, the fact that video games and TV shows seem to accommodate a shorter attention span, or because parenting seems to have entered a new dimension in lack of discipline and proper upbringing because of bleeding heart shrinks that think that self-esteem is more important than actual performance or behaviour. (They don't fail kids in school anymore... did you know that? 'Tis bad for the self-esteem, apparently!)

I asked myself how many kids in the 90's really had ADD or ADHD? Granted, some did. Some really did! Some still really do (my husband being one with ADD and it made his life hell until it was diagnosed when he was 43).

The same goes for autism. I ask that same question now about autism.

Is autism really on the rise or is it the "ADD of the 21st Century"? I've met a number of parents whose kids were incorrectly diagnosed with autism and treated for it when it was really PTSD or some other type of issue.

Before anyone slams me for being insensitive, here are some more questions to ponder which may examine the prevalence in autism today:

• Perhaps autism has always been somewhat prevalent but never diagnosed because not enough was known about it? If the adults who attend my monthly meetup are any indication, there are a lot of adults out there who are on the spectrum but were never diagnosed, but are seeking that diagnosis now! Every month someone comes in asking where they can pursue a diagnosis. The problem is, no one wants to diagnose adults with this.
  
• I look at Leo Kanner's original paper on autism and see how he mentions that the parents of his subjects were very brilliant but aloof and a little odd. Could it be that those parents were on the spectrum too?
• Could society have been more accommodating of these differences at one point but the vast changes in societal expectations have changed enough that these "different" characteristics are now abnormalities? Perhaps even disabilities?
• Is autism really so common? Has it always been?

These questions must be asked, in my opinion.

Back to Denis Leary for a moment: He also used to make jokes about all of those whiners who are unhappy because their lives didn't turn out the way they wanted them to. Remember "Life sucks, get a f***ing helmet!" from No Cure for Cancer? (Stemming again from trends in the "Neurotic Nineties")

Just so you know... autism isn't the only thing being slammed in the book. Obama, Renee Zellweger, nuns... they're all being insulted here! He also says that “we need to take Rush Limbaugh’s head and make a bong out of it”"

Wow. That's pretty deep, man...

"Why We Suck" - kind of gives you a preview of what type of book we're looking at, folks, doesn't it? This is not exactly influential, ground-breaking, PhD material we're looking at. I don't really see this as being something that is going to change the way the world thinks about things.

Not like the failed NYU "Ransom Letters" Campaign, or the demeaning comments made about autism by societies and parents in the media every single day.

For instance, Autism Ontario has a new campaign out called "Forgotten" where they're putting out the message that "Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism". (Kind of like "baby rats become big, adult, disease carrying rats" in my mind) I have my own opinion on this negative slant of trying to draw attention to autistic adults who need services. I'm much more in line with the National Autistic Society's "Think Differently About Autism" campaign in the UK...it's positive, something North American autism societies could really stand to learn from! There's even a video called The Most Beautiful Child which tries hard to be positive at first, but gets nice and negative by the end...

Now we ASD adults get to deal with that stigma too. Looks like I'll still be hiding the fact that I'm on the spectrum from employers or some time yet!

These are things that deserve protests by advocates in my opinions.

Why don't we protest to stop people like Denis Leary from making such nasty comments about autism by stopping the gloom-and-doom rhetoric spewed out by "authorities" on the subject?

Where are all those mad dog protesters?

Where are those so-called "advocates"?

Come on, people... let's advocate *for autistic people* already and get this doom and gloom stopped once and for all! Let's stop making autstics look like an evil blight on society already...

Oh wait... they're the ones who tend to be making those statements! Whoops! My bad. Sorry about that...

I believe that if these folks were to put their amazingly high amounts of energy into accepting their children and learning how to actually communicate with and benefit their children in the long term, their kids might be better off. So might they. Perhaps autism in their lives wouldn't have to be this horrible thing that they have to keep fighting against but something they could be working with to create a brighter and more positive future for their children.

How is mad-dog protesting against offensive comedians (or even radio talk show hosts) *really* helping their kids?

Let's go a little deeper, shall we?

If we want to pick bones about offensive comments against autistics in books, I found Jerry Kartzinel's comments in Jenny McCarthy's book pretty offensive, actually.

You might remember this phrase: "autism steals the soul from a child; then, if allowed, relentlessly sucks life’s marrow out of the family members, one by one" in the intro). I ranted about that already in this blog, so I'll keep this short.

That, to me, was way more offensive than anything Dennis Leary could joke about in a book where he openly insults lots of groups and people for laughs!

Choose your battles wisely, folks.

That's all I'm saying here.

Just my thoughts, of course...

The latest in the "Emotionally scarred for life at school" department...

"You never know just how you look through other people's eyes..."

~ From the song "Pepper" by the Butthole Surfers

One thing I have always wanted to do is know exactly how other people see me. What am I to them? How do they feel about me...really? Looking at the story below, I'm wondering if it's actually a good thing that I don't know this.

Five-year-old Alex Barton of Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA got a rather harsh chance to see himself through the eyes of others last week when his teacher got all of the students in her classroom to tell Alex what they didn't like about him and then they all got to vote on whether he could stay in the class or not. He was voted out by a margin of 14 to 2. Some of the words used to describe him by the other kids were "disgusting" and "annoying". He spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office waiting for his mother to come and pick him up from the school. He won't go back there without screaming and fighting now. He is appearently reliving the incident, according to his mother; a sign of PTSD. Alex is currently in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.

The school district is investigating this and the State Attorney's office has dropped the case stating this doesn't meet the criteria for emotional child abuse. Where I come from, this behaviour is most definitely abusive. What does one have to do to meet the criteria for emotional child abuse in Florida? A heck of a lot worse than what this woman did, apparently. Police are also no longer investigating this.

Unfortunately, the damage is done. As any child who has ever been bullied can tell you, this is something that will be with him for the rest of his life. Perhaps some astute therapist will be able to dig this out and help him work through it when he hits adulthood.

This ordeal was put upon him as a punishment by the teacher since he has some disciplinary problems due to being on the autistic spectrum. If a child of any sort is disruptive in class, is this the appropriate way for a teacher (read: university trained professional) to handle it? I'd think not.

Many of the parents I talk to say they put their autistic children into school because they feel that school is the best place to learn social skills.

Really? Social skills seems to be a big priority for people when it comes to educating autistic kids. Are these the kind of social skills that NT's have that are so needed by autistic children? Is this what they need to learn?

That's why my parents sent me to regular school. I got basically the same education as many of us on the spectrum get in conventional schools: that people are pack animals, that they are cruel and will always try to destroy that which is different from the accepted "norm".

Not many of us on the spectrum leave the school system with the silly notions that people are inherently good, that we have a positive place in the world and that we are deserving of love, happiness, success and friendship. (Yes, I am being sarcastic)

What has young Alex learned about social skills here? What has he learned about people? How do you think he might interpret this little "lesson in appropriate social skills"? How might this incident influence his future behaviour? Things learned at the age of 5 last for a long time!

Worse still: What have all of the NT children in that classroom learned from this??? That it is OK to behave this way against someone who has less of an advantage because he is different? That it is ok to emotionally tear a person apart like this when he has no one to stand up for him? How is this going to influence their behaviour in the future. Things learned at the age of 5 last for a long time!

They are learning to be bullies is what they are learning. My third grade teacher taught the kids in my classhow to bully me by calling me insulting names in front of everyone. People still called me those names well into high school.

I tried to leave a comment, but my PC at work is not java enabled, so I cannot post to the site:

I'm a 33 year old woman on the autistic spectrum (Diagnosed at 2) who went to mainstream school in Canada and got treated like this by teachers and other students on a regular basis. I recall my thrid grade teacher calling me all sorts of names in front of the other kids - names which followed me all through my school years, right up into high school. You see, these children learned that it was ok to call me these things. After all, the teacher (authority figure) did it, right?

I was held down and spit on for 30 minutes by these same kids when I was in 3rd grade. I was beaten over the head with a stick by a group of these same kids in 10th grade. This was my life every day at school.

For the first 3 years of school, I was struggling to adjust to fitting in and had my moments. This type of bullying did not help me learn how to behave nicely - it only taught me how to survive and how to fight. Disruption on my part was not common at school unless I was severely distressed. (It did happen once in awhile - I was not perfect!) Usually, I was able to save my meltdowns for when I got home and got to my room. Now, I'm happily married, I own my own house, drive, have been working since I was 13 and am pursuing a degree in psychology. I pay my dues to society every day through my paid work and my volunteer work.

For those who think autistics are retarded, I could read far better than any of the other children (I was reading novels at 3) and have an IQ of 134. (Mental retardation is loosely defined as being an IQ under 75) This is not to say that *all* autistics have IQ's this high or have the abilities that I do. I'm pretty lucky in that respect.

This sort of thing, when it happens, is a strong influence which affects the future behaviour of *all* children involved: the special needs child and all of the others in that classroom. Teachers have a spacial level of influence as authority figures.

My point: No child, of any level of ability, should ever have to be treated like this at school or anywhere else. No child learns anything positive from situations like this.

This teacher (read: university trained professional) handled this situation unprofessionally and inappropriately in my opinion and I believe she should be reprimanded for that. There are many more appropriate ways to petition to the school board to have an unruly child removed from a classroom.

Just my thoughts...

Here is a page from theschool that features the teachers and their email addresses: http://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/mse/staff/kindergarten.html

In case they remove the emails, Wendy Portillo's is: portillow@stlucie.k12.fl.us

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flpkindergart...
http://tinyurl.com/68ggjn

Mom Says Teacher Let Classmates Vote Son Out of Class

PORT ST. LUCIE - Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex -- who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism -- out of the class.

Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said. Port St. Lucie Police no longer are investigating, but police officials are documenting the complaint, she said.

Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.

Portillo could not be reached for comment Friday.

Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal's office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.
Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully.

Children diagnosed with Asperger's often exhibit social isolation and eccentric behavior..
Alex has had disciplinary issues because of his disability, Barton said. After the family moved into the area and Alex and his sibling arrived at the school in January, Alex spent much of the time in the principal's office, she said.

He also had problems at his last school, but he did not have issues during his two years of preschool, Barton said.

School and district officials have met with Barton and her son to create an individual education plan to address his difficulties, she said. Portillo attended these meetings, Barton said.
Barton said after the vote, Portillo asked Alex how he felt.

"He said, 'I feel sad,' " Barton said.

Alex left the classroom and spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office, she said.
Barton said when she came to pick up her son at the school Wednesday, he was leaving the nurse's office.

"He was shaken up," she said.

Barton said the nurse told her to talk with Portillo, who told her what happened.
Alex hasn't been back to school since then, and Barton said he won't be returning. He starts screaming when she brings him with her to drop off his sibling at school.

Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special" over and over.

Barton said Alex is reliving the incident.

The other students said he was "disgusting" and "annoying," Barton said.

"He was incredibly upset," Barton said. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."

St. Lucie School's spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment.

Vern Melvin, Department of Children and Families circuit administrator, confirmed the agency is investigating an allegation of abuse at Morningside but said he could not elaborate.

Here's a link to the school's web page:
http://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/mse/staff/kindergarten.html

Where's the real "Evidence of Harm"?

Over the past few days, I've been learning some very interesting lessons. In my psych course, we're looking at the scientific method and critical/empirical thinking. I got chided on one list (TMOB) for supposedly "supporting" bad science because I defended an organization who had a conference and someone spoke about some stuff that was not as scientifically sound as would have been preferred. It was a slap in the face and it hurt, but the person was right.

That aside, I now see a bunch of posts on another usenet group (ASA) about vaccines, mercury and such. The poster (person posting, not a sign on a wall) is using Rolling Stone and Natural Health magazines as her sources. Rolling stone. Not too scientific in my opinion.

Anyway, the debate ensued and I finally just got mad and wrote a rant - one that reinforces to me *why* I got a slap on the face on the other list for supposedly supporting bad science. The person on that list said it was not about opinions but about the bad science done in the name of autism and the harm it can cause. I think I see what she means now. Thank you to everyone for putting that into persoective for me!

Anyway...here's my rant:

For the record, I'm in agreement that the modern medical profession has done a lot of damage to people, particularly with the overmedicating of people that seems to happen. I'll be the first to admit it - I saw it first hand when I worked in doctors' offices!

The poster on the usenet group (ASA) had said that the medical profession and big pharma do a lot of harm. She's talking about mercury in vaccines and I'm talking about everything else like antipsychotics and such.

Here is my little twist on the evidence of harm. As we all know...there are few roads to hell paved heavier with good intentions than the one paved in the name of autism!

However, as an autistic person, I am so very tired of seeing autism demonized on a constant basis by the media. I am also tired of seeing the quack "therapies" and treatments that have caused harm in the name of "curing", "defeating" (and other demeaning words) autism. A lot of the harm done to autistic children comes from the hype. When a parent hears of the diagnosis and sees all of this stuff, is it any wonder they feel devastated? It's ok to "celebrate being" with Down Syndrome (That is from the Canadian Down Syndrome society's latest advertisements) but autism must be "stamped out" and "cured now!"

There seems to be such a rush to save children from the "horrible kidnapping-soul-sucking-epidemic-tragedy-worse-then-bird-flu" that is autism. Honestly...do these people think that attitude is helping their very aware autistic children? (Yes, even your non verbal ones are aware of what you say and what feelings are being directed at them - "non verbal" does not equal "stupid")

Do they not think their children know what is being said about them? Would a child *want* to progress in a world that sees him as evil and the bane of his family's existence? Why would he or she want to? People are just going to discriminate against and hate him or her anyway.
That's the lesson we learn at a very young age...that people *hate* what we are. It's called love, but it is perceived very differently.

People are willing to treat autistics with electroshocks, restraints, beatings, chelation, drugs, remedies that have not been scientifically proven (and have killed autistic children)....for what? All in the name of saving their "lost child" from autism, despite the fact that most prisons would not be allowed to treat their prisoners that way because it's "inhumane", "cruel and unusual punishment". There are people willing to kill their children all in the name of ridding autism from their lives.

There are parents who say they would rather their autistic child have cancer because at least he or she would just die but still 'love their parents'. This autistic child is going to live in a "soulless body" for his or her whole life. This child "died" at the age of two because of vaccines...or just the fact that autism always manifests at that age, vaccines or not.

Is that what it's all about? The autistic kid isn't affectionate the way parents want him to be? He didn't live up to their expectations? That was Karen McCarron's reason for killing her daughter. She didn't want people seeing that her kid was "slow".

I have yet to see a lot of NT (Neurotypical) kids be everything their parents wished them to be. Children are individual human beings and they are going to be different in some way or another.
This is the reality, folks. There is the true "evidence of harm". People can blame vaccines and such all they want, but there are a lot of us who did not get vaccines, did not get exposed to heavy metals (other than the musical variety) and who are one of other folks in the family who are on the autism spectrum. There is a lot of harm, worse harm, being done to children that is worse than anything a vaccine could ever do.

Folks say that vaccine additives are harmful. Does that excuse the other harmful things that are done to autistic children every day? In fact, that was brought up when I mentioned that chelation can be harmful - the answer was "Do you think thimerosal is harmful?"

Does that justify the deaths of autistics at the hands of those who want to see it stamped out of their lives?

Re: [poster's] commment -"because you deny that thimerosal causes autism" That's what it's all about, isn't it? "Thimerosal causes autism and that's it" in your little world? What about those of us who have never been injected with thimerosal yet are still autistic? Can you please explain that? What about the removal of thimerosal from vaccines in 2001?

We have a lot of little 6 years old and younger kids who are autistic who never got thimerosal because it was removed in from vaccines in 2001. How do you explain that?

If thimerosal is the *only* cause, then that position has a very big hole.

It may aggravate symptoms, it may be *one possible* cause, but there are enough autistic people who have never had thimerosal who are still very much autistic. How can one explain that?

[getting off the mercury thing for a minute]

What is it about autism that justifies abuse?

Why is it ok to test crack theories on autistic children?

Why is it ok to torture them, restrain them and force them to endure hours of therapy equal to an adult's work week?

Is it because autism is still relatively unknown?

Is it because humans are pack animals that do whatever they can to destroy or conform "differences" in the pack?

Is it because society's standards have changed?

Is it because many of the non-verbal autistic people out there cannot *say* anything?

Why? That is what I want to know.

Point taken, MD from TMOB,...loud and clear. Thank you for challenging me. That is greatest lesson I could have learned and I appreciate your vigilance and hope that your pojnt gets across to everyone out there...even if we don't always agree on everything.

Autism Speaks has a problem when Autism really does speak...against them

(This is a ranty post, so I apologize for the negativity...)

I just heard about Autism Speaks' latest shennanigan: suing an autistic teenager for creating a parody of the Autism Speaks website.

Main story here:
http://autisticbfh.blogspot.com/2008/01/autism-speaks-silences-autistic-child.html (Autism Speaks Silences Autistic Child)

It seems that a 14 year old autistic who goes by the screen name "Kelly" started up a website called NT Speaks, which was a parody of the Autism Speaks website. It suggested that certain annoying NT behaviours might need treatment.

Autism Speaks, who claim to be working toward helping autistic people communicate and be independent, responded by having their lawyers threaten Kelly with a lawsuit! http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=11704

They wanted $90,000.00 for "funds lost". Once they found out that Kelly is 14, they rescinded that but put some new restrictions on the site: it would have to be hosted by Autism Speaks http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=11706

One 14 year old proves he or she has good communication skills and has enough independent (not to mention creative) thought to create a website that speaks against Autism Speaks. I guess they don't like independence and communication if said autistic person is not 100% supportive of them.

More can be found here: http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3344313

I for one wish I could have seen this website and think it is a shame that this happened. But...hope is not lost: Someone put a graphic of the site's homepage here http://www.ntspeaks.com/ and here http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/ntspeaks/

(Here's another interesting graphic: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymJEYjnfWcmR6_sFuHdvU-Ha8OaeSxTQDrRGrDD7S7mq_pkKw5Ca6c4DTqXxQUm-xCY9kwO1O9jg713ELV69BkkZCGHNmBKOoRCMnJ8iHaaTl-iqMO97UVsOqlWHPgvE0DHiLsmspJg/s1600-h/IG+SPEAKS.bmp) http://aspergersquare8.blogspot.com/2007/04/adbusters-style-promotion.html

I'll be interested to see how long it takes Autism Speaks to sue...

Honestly, why are societies so surprised that many autistics don't agree with them? Why are they so hell-bent on ensuring autistics do not have any part of their operations? (Many societies will not allow autistics on their governing boards)

Would the logical solution not be to actually listen to what autistics are saying and perhaps change their approach and make it more beneficial to autistic people? (I thought autistics were the only ones that were supposed to be resistant to change, according to these experts and professionals...I'm seeing a lot more evidence toward the contrary as of late)

Perhaps that would just make too much sense? Is that the problem?

One has to ask "Just who are these societies really helping?" "Who are their target clients?"

I work in a client-centered position: my job is to help people who use the content management application that I administer. Part of my job is to provide ways to make this application easier for users by writing manuals or explaining the program to them.

Another part is forwarding client concerns and suggestions to our developers. Not all of the requests can be accommodated due to the limitations in the program, but if they can be accommodated, they are as soon as possible.

We know who our clients are. We are here to address and respond to our clients' needs in any way possible. We have client user groups who meet regularly and let us know what they like and don't like. We respond by doing what we can to make things better.

Now...looking at what these "societies" are saying, their target clients are supposed to be autistic people. They want to help autistic people be independent. They want to help autistic people communicate. They want to make life better for autistic people.

They want to help autistic people...or so they say.

So...when autistic people - their supposed target clients - communicate and show independence...these societies stop listening! Why is that?

Autistic people are pretty articulate in writing, if not in speech. They're pretty straightforward when telling people what they want, how they experience the world and what would really work well for them.

What's the problem here?

Where is the communication breakdown?

The requests and comments given by autistic people are in plain English.

Why are these people neglecting their so-called duty? Why don't they seem to get it?

If I stopped listening to my clients or did not accommodate their needs and requests, I'd be fired on the spot. I'm autistic and I understand that.

Now I hear this from parents and societies:

"My kid or client is not like these high functioning people who speak against the societies" -

Sorry...what's the difference between your kid and other autistic people? Yours smears feces? So do some of these people who type these messages. Yours doesn't talk? Some of these people don't talk either. Yours depends on others for support? So do some of these folks. Yours has trouble with social skills? Join the club!

Yes, we all have differing levels of ability, etc.

Oh, I see what the problem is...these people are adults who have opinions and actually type them out as opposed to a small child who is.... well ....a small child! How many little children can articulate this stuff?

I say this: Wait a few years, teach your kid to type and let him or her get online with other autistics. Let's see what they have to say as the years go by. You'll be surprised.

Until then, folks, why not actually put your egos aside and perhaps listen to what autistics have to say? They might have some ideas that you haven't thought of that might actually help your kid.

"But they're so angry!" you say.

Well ... wouldn't you be?

Imagine having something like diabetes and being told that you're worthless, you must be eradicated and then the professionals don't treat your diabetes appropriately? You're just forced to "act like a normal person".

Imagine being forced to deny your needs and be something you are not...just to pacify your parents who get frustrated because you are different.

Imagine being compared to cancer or having loved ones like youer parents say they'd rather you have cancer so that you would just die instead of them having to live with you being different.

Imagine constantly hearing how horrible you are on the news or the internet just because of a medical condition.

Imagine your family always treating you like you are a constant pain in their ass.

Imagine being talked about like you were not there, or having people assume that can't think or feel because you do not respond the same as everyone else.

Would you be happy?

Here's a line my ABA therapists used to use on me all the time: "How would you like it if people did that to you?"

How would you like it?

Why must we be silenced?

Who are these people really helping?

Not us apparently...

On May 13, 2006 a light was extinguished in the name of curing autism

Anyone following this story knows that Karen McCarron, the doctor who killed her 3 year old autistic daughter with a trash bag on May 13th, 2006, is currently on trial for the crime. She testified on Friday and said that she knew what she did was criminal (Her words: "I have enough education to know that").

What I found interesting were some of her reasons:

• She felt guilty that she had caused Katie's autism because she had gotten her vaccinated
• Katie did not interact with her very well
• She felt like a failure
• She hoped that Katie would be "fixed" and "complete" in heaven

Some notes on how she killed Katie (from her testimony at court) can be found here: http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/23442.asp

So, how severe was Katie? What support did she have?

Well, for starters Karen was not poor by any stretch. Katie had a team of therapists who worked with her 40 hours a week. (You known my opinions on that, so I'll spare you) She went to a special school. She had family members who were more than willing to help...and they did. She had support a-plenty, she was not going broke, and according to Paul McCarron, Katie's father and Karen's husband, she really wasn't too severe.

From this article, http://www.pekintimes.com/articles/2008/01/10/news/news4.txt -
Paul said that Karen had been seeing a psychiatrist but had stopped taking her antidepressants a month before the murder. He also said that Karen had suggested that they put her up for adoption, to which he always replied "No way in hell. She's my daughter."

"Paul McCarron also said Katie's autism was not severe; she wasn't prone to kicking, screaming, biting or behavior sometimes associated with more severe autism cases." "

"Katie was always a well-behaved little girl," he said, adding that she was developmentally behind for her age but learned the alphabet, knew shapes and colors, and recognized various animals."

"The family had a large support group that consisted of both sets of Katie's grandparents and two hired in-home helpers who were scheduled to be with the child nearly 40 hours a week, Paul McCarron testified."

Wow. She wasn't badly behaved, had in-home support, she knew the alphabet, colours and such at the age of three - I know a lot of non-autistic, supposedly normal children who cannot do that at the age of three! She was just a bit "slower" than her peers.

Apparently, this was worth killing for!

I was like that at the age of three and I turned out ok. I'm married, live in a nice house (that we own), have a job in the IT industry, am attending university and doing all of those things that autistic people are not supposed to be able to do according to popular theory.

Now, I've read a lot of cases where parents have killed their autistic children. Why am I bothered by this one??

What bothers me so much about this case is that Katie seemed to be a lot like I was at that age. Perhaps she could be doing just as well as me, if not better, when she's 32.

The only difference was that I did not have the MMR vaccine. I was still autistic. Karen, the MMR vaccine did not make your daughter autistic. I never got it, yet I am autistic. Your daughter was autistic anyway.

You did not cause autism! A vaccine did not cause autism!

I might be dead right now too if my mother had felt this way against me and wanted to kill me.

Fortunately, my mother recognized that there are worse things out there. She also came from the UK and knew a lot more about autism. She knew that I would likely not be as "responsive" to her as my brother was. It must have hurt her to see how well I got along with my dad - I hugged him, talked to him and related to him better. My brother was more close to my mother than I was. Perhaps his love for her helped. Plus she had the support of family, just like Karen McCarron did.

I'll also add that my mother wasn't too keen on having a disabled child of any sort and confessed to me that she didn't think she could handle it. (Actually, she originally wasn't too keen on having kids at all, but she did well)

She did handle it, though. She handled it very well! Look how I turned out!

At Christmas time, my mother said something to me that I'll never forget (and I still get misty-eyed about!): "I'm so proud of you."

I asked if she was proud of the dinner I had made for the family?

"No...for everything you've done and for everything you do."

Wow. I didn't know what to do or say. I said "Aw, thanks. I owe it to you and dad, really." My mother, knowing I get a little awkward at these moments, helped me get dessert ready and we completed a nice family dinner.

Perhaps Karen McCarron might have been having a family dinner like this 29 years from now and saying the exact same words to Katie, but she cannot. She killed that chance on May 13, 2006.

Rest in peace, Katie. May you be accepted, loved and be happy wherever you are now.

The latest news story and link can be found below.





http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gzi4G83F97PxaZn6ctuLeZ9l5tkwD8U453JG0

Mom Confesses She Killed Autistic Child

1 day ago

PEKIN, Ill. (AP) — A woman accused of killing her autistic daughter testified Friday that she attempted to suffocate the 3-year-old with a pillow three days before she succeeded with a plastic garbage bag.

Karen McCarron said she couldn't go through with it using the pillow. When prosecutor Kevin Johnson asked her how long she held the bag over the toddler's head soon after, she replied about two minutes — until little Katie stopped struggling.

In a videotaped confession played in court Thursday, McCarron said she began having thoughts of hurting her daughter a year before the May 2006 slaying but put them out of her mind. On the day of the killing, though, the thoughts were stronger than ever.

"They were so intense," McCarron said.

McCarron, 39, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murder, obstructing justice and concealment of a homicidal death. She was found mentally fit to stand trial, but a medical expert hired by her attorneys has said she was insane at the time of the killing.

The trial resumes Monday.

McCarron, a former pathologist, testified she felt responsible for Katie's autism because she allowed the child to get vaccinated. Some people believe autism is caused by a mercury-containing preservative once used in childhood vaccines.

It "brought me a great deal of guilt," she said.

Using a plastic bag and the prosecutor's arm, McCarron demonstrated for jurors in Tazewell County Circuit Court how she placed a bag over her daughter's head and pushed her to her knees, the (Peoria) Journal Star and the Pekin Daily Times reported.

"Were you able to see her face as she fell to the floor?" Johnson asked.

"Yes. I could see her face through the trash bag," McCarron answered.

McCarron said she listened for a heartbeat after Katie stopped struggling.

"I just put my ear to her chest," McCarron said. "I heard one, then I heard nothing."

The child had scratch marks on her head and bite marks were found inside her mouth and on the bag as she apparently tried to free herself, according to other testimony.

The taped confession was made while McCarron was hospitalized after attempting suicide, investigators said. Wearing a hospital gown, she appears sitting on a bed next to her husband, Paul McCarron.

Karen McCarron said she killed her child hoping to "fix her" and give her peace in heaven.

"Maybe I could fix her this way, and in heaven she would be complete," she said on the tape.

Karen McCarron said on the videotape that she took her daughter's body back to her own house and put her in bed. She then went to the store, bought ice cream and returned to her mother's home to get the garbage bag because, "if things get bad, their house would be searched."

Interviewers asked McCarron if she knew what she did was criminally wrong.

"I have enough education to know that," she answered.

McCarron told police she felt like a failure because of the child's autism and was sad and hurt because the child couldn't interact with her very well.

"I loved Katie very much, but I hated the autism so, so much," McCarron said. "I hated what it was doing to her. ... I just wanted autism out of my life."

A woman by the name of Christine posted a comment which I have not published as a comment, but decided to answer publicly here:

WOW people don't know Dr. Jerry at all. Words can't explain what he does for children with autism. You are taking his words and twisting them.

Actually , I printed the words exactly as they were written. Perhaps you should read Jenny McCarthy's book and look at what "Dr. Jerry" has written. You will see that I have printed the comment word for word. It's not just me either. Check out these blogs and videos for other responses from autistic people and parents:

http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/?p=682
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4zsb0tlHF0
http://wskrz.wordpress.com/2007/10/04/dear-dr-kartzinel/
http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/2007/10/jerry-kartzinel-and-lying-about-nature.html
http://bigwhitehat.com/?p=353
http://survivingmotherhood-mom26children.blogspot.com/2007/10/message-to-dr-jerry-kartzinel.html
http://tanglebones.com/articles/2007/10/07/so-very-wrong/
http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/?p=663
http://www.spoems.com/video_O4zsb0tlHF0.html
http://www.kevinleitch.co.uk/wp/?p=446


Any one with a child with austism remembers the day they recieved those words and you can't tell me you jumped up and down with joy. No you went home and felt like someone ripped your guts out. [I've left the spelling errors intact]

*If* I had a child, I probably would not be too surprised or upset that he or she received a diagnosis. Why? Because I'm autistic and know that the chances of me having an autistic child are pretty high. The reason you feel like your guts have been ripped out is because of what you've heard about autism in society, in doctors offices, from autism societies and in parent groups. People make a lot of money and get a lot of sympathy for making autism out to be this horrible thing.

Perhaps you should spend more time talking to autistic people about just how "horrible" it is and just what they think of the negative PR...I think you'll find I'm not alone in my opinion.

That is what Dr. Jerry is talking about. I traveled from New York to Flordia so he could treat my son. And I would not change a thing. Dr. Jerry helped recover my son yes RECOVERED. I have never meet a Dr. with so much love for our children. It really makes me sad to see what people are saying.

I "recovered" too. Read the rest of my blog to find out what happened to me in my 20's. I got very ill and almost died because my core issues were overlooked and ignored.

I'm glad Dr. Jerry was able to help you and your son. How much did it cost you? Did you have to re-mortgage your house?

I pray he doesn't go through what I went through later on in life. I really do...

Best of luck to you and your son. And do read Jenny's book to see where I got the quotes from. Also check out the link where the interview was taken. You'll see word for word just how much "love" Dr. Jerry and his wife have for autistic children...including their own.

All the best to you and your son.