Green our Vaccines March

Jenny McCarthy and her boyfriend, Jim Carrey, marched on Washington this week sporting "green our vaccines" t-shirts. As many of you know, Jenny has a son with autism. She believes childhood immunizations played a role in his symptoms. She wants the government to change the vaccine schedule for kids. She says there are too many vaccines given to children at too young of an age. There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue.

I was sent an email stating there was a similar march in Springfield, Illinois at the same time.

Here's the ABC News Coverage of the event:

The actors have joined with other national autism advocacy groups to press for the elimination of toxins from children's vaccines and to change children's vaccination schedules.

The Institute of Medicine concluded that 19 major studies, tracking thousands of kids, all show no link between vaccines and autism. Still, thimerosal was removed from essentially all childhood vaccines in 2001 in response to autism fears. But autism rates have continued to rise, leaving many experts to consider the case against thimerosal settled.


Nearly one in every 150 children in the United States has autism, according to the organization Talk About Curing Autism, one of the march's sponsors.

McCarthy's 6-year-old son, Evan, has autism, and the actress has become a vocal advocate for more autism-related research. McCarthy's best-selling book, "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism," chronicles her efforts to help her son overcome his symptoms through a special diet, medication and daily therapy.

Many doctors worry that linking autism to vaccines could deter parents from vaccinating their children, leading to an outbreak of childhood diseases like measles, mumps and rubella, which have been virtually delimited thanks to childhood immunization but are now threatening again.


The CDC is bracing for the worst measles outbreak since 2001, with nine states already reporting cases this year. In 2006, more than 6,500 Americans were sickened by mumps, the worst outbreak in 20 years.

McCarthy and Carrey said that while they do support immunization, they and their allies believe children receive "too many vaccines, too soon, many of which are toxic."

This march brought up a question I am often asked. What do Jenny and others mean when they say a safer vaccine schedule? I am hesitant to post the recommendations because I know it would cause a big fuss from doctors who believe there is no link between childhood immunizations and autism. All the major health organizations have stated that as a fact. Still, people who read this blog want to know what an altered immunization schedule looks like. Let me know your thoughts on whether or not I should post something!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

FREE Web browser for kids

Free, yes I think this one actually is. It's a web browser for youngsters! It was made by a grandfather who has a grandson on the autism spectrum. He made it for kids with autism, but really it sounds like something kids who are typically developing from would benefit too. It omits the right click on the mouse and makes the computer a little simpler.

Here's part of an an article about this from Boston.com:(Thanks to Peoria Pundit for this story idea!)

"John LeSieur is in the software business, so he took particular interest when computers seemed mostly useless to his 6-year-old grandson, Zackary. The boy has autism, and the whirlwind of options presented by PCs so confounded him that he threw the mouse in frustration.

LeSieur tried to find online tools that could guide autistic children around the Web, but he couldn't find anything satisfactory. So he had one built, named it the Zac Browser For Autistic Children in honor of his grandson, and is making it available to anyone for free."

So how can you download it? Just go to ZacBrowser.com

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

I'm stuck on you!

I just had to share this picture. My cute little one year old was running around the house with something stuck to his head. Yes ladies, it's that little feminine product you're thinking of. (Sorry if I grossed out the men) He likes to open all the drawers in the bathroom while I dry my hair. I guess he snuck something out of the bathroom with him!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Childhood Insomnia

When does your child go from having sleep problems to having childhood insomnia? Pediatric sleep specialist Dr. Sarah Zallek says she's not convinced insomnia is a cause for not sleeping. She says it is usually a symptom of another problem: like sleep apnea, breathing obstruction, or anxiety. "Childhood Insomnia isn't necessarily a condition on it's own. It's a behavioral thing most of the time. Childhood insomnia can also be caused by medications like the ones used to treat asthma, ADHD and others," said Dr. Zallek.

Causes of Childhood Insomnia:

1. Limit Setting

Dr. Zallek: There are some kids who are developmental abnormal and have insomnia. That's a different story. For most kids, behavioral insomnia in childhood can be related to limit setting. Keep the child within limits, put them in bed, don't give in when they ask for another drink, etc. It turns into a not sleeping thing because they get attention for getting up. She advises her parents to say, "Go to bed and stay in bed." If the child gets up, don't let them snuggle in bed with you, watch T.V. or anything else. Don't get them into that habit.

Dr. Zallek: I would go back to the sticker chart, a series of squares to put stickers in. Three nights of good behavior gets a little toy. For an older child, it would be a week of good sleeper gets a toy. You reward what you want them to do. Punishment almost never works.

Jen: I can attest to that last statement. We have tried punishment for bad sleeper. Completely pointless in my house!

2. Bedtime Fears

Dr. Zallek: Bedtime fears can cause childhood insomnia. Sometimes they will be totally good sleepers, then they will start saying there's a monster in the closet. There are shadows or something. The best way is to make sure and tell them the monster doesn't exist in the first place. Don't invent monster spray. No checking under the bed for alligators. Rationally explain to the child those things don't exist. Reassure them they are loved and protected.

3. Caffeine

Dr. Zallek: It is also outstanding to me how many kids get caffeine. Even one caffeinated beverage early in the day can effect their sleep. That little bit of caffeine gets in more than people realize. It's not just Coke and Pepsi. It's Sunkist Orange all those energy drinks. I found a Mango smoothy that included caffeine. It had the equivalent of three cups of coffee. Even if it looks like a natural drink, make sure you read labels.

Dr. Zallek: Chocolate gets a bad rap. It really doesn't have that much caffeine in it. A & W cream soda has caffeine in it. And not all products label caffeine in terms of milligrams, so you really have to be careful and read the ingredients part of the packaging.

About.com gives these causes of childhood insomnia:

If you set a realistic bedtime and your child is still not getting a good night's sleep, then common causes of insomnia can include:

• poor sleep habits
• caffeine
• stress
• obstructive sleep apnea (snoring)
• side effects of medications, including stimulants used to treat ADHD, antidepressants, corticosteroids, and anticonvulsants
• asthma (coughing)

• eczema (itching)

• depression

• anxiety

• restless legs syndrome
• neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, mental retardation, and Asperger's syndrome

There are several medications used to treat childhood insomnia and also some non-medical approaches. Doctors seem to agree that treating childhood insomnia is no easy feet. Here's an interesting perspective published in Psychiatric News.

Here are the others blog posts on getting our kids to sleep through the night:

Breastfeeding babies and sleep
Sleep ApneaHow many hours of sleep do kids need?
"The Sleep Fairy" Book for toddlersOlder kids losing sleep when new baby arrives

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Update on Wheelchair Story

I feel like I should update you on the story about the little boy in a wheelchair who missed his field trip because the school was told the train the students were taking wasn't wheelchair accessible. Some parents are outraged the school didn't offer to take the child by bus, others are mad at me for doing the story and others say the school does a great job of including kids with special needs. I am still getting emails and comments on this story five days later!

No matter which side of the story you are on, this really struck a cord. I talked to the state yesterday and got the impression that there are a lot of kids in Woodford County who need special care. The woman I spoke with said she isn't sure if there are more kids with special needs in this county than in other parts of the state.

It sounds like getting care for kids with special needs is very challenging. Some of these kids have nurses who go with them to school. Some of them need nurses, but don't qualify. I never realized what these parents go through. It has to be frustrating to be constantly fighting for you child, whether it's at school, daycare, or at the playground. This is a world most of us probably don't understand.

Here's the story we ran on WHOI last week. I just put it on you tube. I am probably opening a whole other can of worms by doing that, but if people are this fired up about this topic, I thought I should make it easy to email the story to others. Maybe we need to talk about it more.

Update from District #60

I just talked to District 60 Superintendent Rohn Peterson. He said he was sent a letter on Friday from a mom detailing some problems she has with Special Education in Woodford County. He said some of the things she mentioned, like not enough handicap parking, are things he is now working to fix. He said the letter mentioned handicap parking at Sowers Elementary school in Roanoke, but he noticed Roanoke-Benson high school doesn't have very many handicap spaces either. "I got my own parking spot when I started working here(this year). That's kind of old school too. We can take that one out and make it handicap. That's more up to date with what needs to be done, " he said.

Other issues that have been mentioned are crowded classrooms without enough teacher's aides. Superintendent Peterson said he will be looking into this to see if it's a problem. He said, "There are two things to think about here. What does the law require? What is good for kids? So we want to make sure we are doing what's best for kids. Maybe the federal guidelines we are within, but if we're still feeling crunched, we need to address that. Maybe the aides can technically work this many hours, but in reality, we need to discuss that and figure out what we need to do."

Superintendent Peterson said any parent with concerns can contact Woodford County Special Education Director Joan Hartnett. He said if the parents don't feel comfortable talking to her, they can contact him.

Update from Dakota's Mom

Sophia Senn said she has learned a lot from this situation and she will continue to be an advocate for her children. She did call Amtrak. The company offered her family round trip tickets to Chicago. She said she is not sure if she will be able to use them, but she appreciates the offer. Dakota and his sister will both be in continuing education this summer through Woodford County and she is thrilled about that.

If you want to email the original story and all the comments that go along with it, just copy and paste this link into an email: NewsAnchorMom.com Wheelchair Story

You can also find more comments on WHOI.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Aluminum in Flu Shots?

I just got this question from a newsanchormom.com reader:

"Jen- I'd like to throw a question out there... I thought I had heard one time there is aluminum in flu shots? "

I think I know the answer to this, but I would rather the doctors discuss this because I am not an expert!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Can I take that when I'm pregnant?

I just love this picture I found on a blog. I remember when my sons did this to my stomach. Isn't it the craziest thing? I never got a cool picture like this!

I thought I would post this somewhat "lighter" story this afternoon after all the controversy the last three days.

The Federal Drug Administration is looking at replacing prescription drug warning codes for pregnancy. If this is implemented I will be thrilled. It seems like every doctor has a different idea of what pregnant women should avoid. And don't even get me started on what you can and cannot have when you're nursing. I remember bottled water was "not recommended" for nursing mothers. It has something to do with how many people have been tested. If no one has looked at the impact of bottled water and breastfeeding, it is "not recommended."

And then there are all those rules about what you can't eat when you're pregnant. I know my neighbor told me I couldn't have raw deli meat. I had to heat it up to kill bacteria. My doctor never said anything about this to me. But, of course, we all want what's best for our babies. So, I ordered every sandwich heated in the deli for nine months. It was very annoying and people always looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was.

"The Federal government's proposal is to add clearly marked labels that describe what research shows. It's meant to help doctors and patients know which medications are safe for women to use during pregnancy or when they breastfeed. Right now, prescription drugs have a code in the fine print.

For instance, category "A" means it's deemed safe, but category "X" means it's known to harm human fetuses. Other category's in between have varying levels of evidence one way or the other. The new system would have sections with research about fetal risk."

I hope this happens. I know I had to go on certain medications when I was pregnant that weren't necessarily recommended, but that's all I knew. What could they do to my baby? Is there a real danger or has this medication not been tested thoroughly?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Marketing at Autism One

I was shocked and a little skeptical by products that are targeted at kids with special needs after attending the Autism One Conference in Chicago last weekend. I am sure some people think some of the products presented really do help their kids, but there probably are some product owners who are trying to take advantage of these parents. I couldn't stop thinking "Why is this product targeted at kids with Autism? These vitamins are something all kids could use. Or this comfy chair is something I would like. What's with all these products marketed for autism?"

I don't have a child with autism, so maybe those who do appreciate all the merchandise. I just wonder if the owners take the products to different conferences around the country and have new signs made for each disorder/disease. Can you just picture the briefcases full of signs: "Helps kids with Autism!" "Great for kids with Muscular Dystrophy!" "What kids with Cystic Fibrosis really need!" "The best invention for kids with Cerebral Palsy."

Maybe I am just being obnoxious here, but I felt like I was walking into a big sales pitch. There was a lot of pressure to buy from some of the people. I wanted to put on a shirt that said, "I am with the media and I am not doing any stories on your product." Maybe that way I could have looked around and not been so aggravated. Maybe it's just high pressure sales in general that turns me off.

Has anyone else dealt with this? Am I being too sensitive? Does anyone have any advice for parents who deal with this? How are you supposed to know which products might really help your child and which ones are just people trying to make money?

(This is not a jab at the conference at all. The speakers were great and I was honored to be invited. This whole topic of high pressure sales to certain groups of people just made me wonder if I am the only one who thinks this.")

UPDATE: Coincidently, I just found this article that kind of talks about this. Strange.

Here's what one parent said:

"I bought enzymes and supplements from America, which cost a fortune. I even paid thousands for a special mattress, blankets and pillows with magnets sewn into them that the sales people promised would do wonders but, of course, didn’t work.
‘Autism is seen by some people as big business.
‘I meet parents who want a cure and spend money in the hope they’ll have a normal child. I try to warn them that there is no evidence any of these things work, but they’ll often go ahead."

Just to be clear, I have talked to parents of children with autism who say their children have recovered. I think that is fabulous! Whether outsiders believe these children are autism free or not, who cares. If the child and family feel they have created a better quality of life, that is wonderful!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen