Parents aren't convinced about Vaccine Ruling

FROM CNN: A special court's Thursday ruling that no proven link exists between autism and certain early childhood vaccines seems to have done little to change the sometimes-passionate opinion fueling the debate. Amanda Guyton, a mother of a 6-year-old boy with autism, was "incredibly happy" with the decision and said it reaffirmed her belief that her son's autism has nothing to do with vaccines.

"We're ready for them to get on real research like educational strategies and help for kids," she said. "An awful lot of money and effort and time were spent on vaccines when three or four studies said no, there isn't a link."Meanwhile, John Best, the father of a 12-year-old boy with autism, said: "The whole thing stinks."

Guyton and Best were not involved in the cases, but were following the news because of their interest in autism.

Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- had sought damage awards from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for their children who have autism, a disorder that the parents contend was triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined with vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. Watch Campbell Brown's take on the controversy »

The panel of "special masters" ruled that these petitioners had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines caused autism in their children.

A vocal segment of autism parents has contended that childhood vaccinations recommended by the government cause the disorder. Health agencies and the scientific community have disputed that notion. In defending its conclusion that no link exists, the Institute of Medicine cited five large studies that have failed to prove any connection between autism and thimerosal and 14 large studies finding no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

"As the scientific community has been saying for a long time, there is no good, credible, reproducible research that supports the hypothesis that MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine causes autism," said Dr. Max Wiznitzer, an autism expert at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Wiznitzer testified in two of these three lawsuits brought against the government's National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

"What the decision tells us is that these vaccinations are safe," he said. "The medical evidence tells us there is no association between vaccines and autism. This is one more piece that helps confirm that conclusion."

The defendant, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a statement Thursday: "Hopefully, the determination by the Special Masters will help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism."Meanwhile, some autism advocacy groups such as SafeMinds also criticized the HHS saying the "deck is stacked against families when they enter 'vaccine court.'"

National Autism Association president Wendy Fournier agreed."If you have a vaccine injury, you're forced to sue Health and Human Services instead of suing the manufacturers. It's the government that oversees these court cases," said Fournier, who is the mother of a 9-year-old girl with autism. "The conflict of interest is so huge in so many levels by having the government responsible for not only promoting vaccine program, but also responsible for overseeing the safety."

Fournier said her daughter was a happy, healthy toddler who developed autism after receiving shots. She said she's heard countless similar stories from other parents.

The special court denied Mike and Theresa Cedillo's claim that vaccines caused autism in their daughter, Michelle, 14, who can't walk without help and receives nourishment from a feeding tube.

"We're obviously really disappointed," Theresa Cedillo said.

Tom Powers is an attorney for a litigation steering committee representing thousands of families that fall into three categories: those that claim that MMR vaccines and thimerosal-containing vaccines can combine to cause autism; those who claim thimerosal-containing vaccines alone can cause autism; and those who claim that MMR vaccines, without any link to thimerosal, can cause autism.

"We're disappointed in the outcome of the court's decision," he said. "However, these decisions are the first step in a long process. The whole process was designed to raise every possible issue in these cases -- hear all the evidence in these cases, knowing that ultimately appeals courts will be making the final decisions."

This week's ruling brought a different outcome from the Hannah Poling case. In November 2007, the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation concluded that the Georgia girl's illness that had predisposed her to symptoms of autism was "significantly aggravated" by the vaccinations she received as a toddler and that her family should therefore be compensated.

But Thursday, Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the Cedillos case, "The evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link" between autism and vaccinations.

Wiznitzer said the ruling sent a message.

"Instead of spending resources investigating ideas that are hypothetical and have no proven value, we need to invest our time and resources into projects that will better determine the reasons for autism and the interventions that are best needed," he said.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Autism-Vaccine Ruling

FROM ABC: A special court has dealt a big blow to parents who blame vaccines for their kids' autism. Doctors hope Thursday's special court ruling puts an end to the fierce debate over a possible link between certain children's vaccines and autism.

Dr. Bill Schaffner, Chairman - Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University "Parents can be reassured the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine which every child should get is not associated with autism." The decision is a stunning setback for the 5 thousand families who filed claims seeking compensation for their children's autism. Schaffner said "The families will have to digest this ruling, of course, and some will be persuaded by the logic of the judges, others perhaps not."

But the court has yet to rule on legal challenges from other families who claim thimerosal, a preservative in some other vaccines is to blame. Actress Jenny McCarthy, whose son Evan has autism, told Good Morning America last year that she believes the vaccines *could* be the cause.

Jenny McCarthy, actress GMA 9/29/08 from GMA 6/4/08 interview "We believe that vaccines need to take a closer look at what the ingredients are." Opponents are already attacking the court's logic. In a statement the group Talk About Curing Autism says. "If the government can not definitively tell us the cause of autism, they can not tell us what doesn't cause autism either. This fight is not over."

But it began in part because there is still no scientific explanation for what causes the disorder or why there has been a spike in its prevalence. According to the CDC today 1 in 150 8-year-olds has autism.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Jenny McCarthy Speech Review

She acted just like the Jenny you remember from the 90's, except a little more mature. She was very funny and really brought a sense of relief to the people in the room. (BTW, she is talking to me while we are taking the picture. It kind of looks like she doesn't like me very much. Funny!)

Jenny spoke to a packed room this weekend at the Autism One Conference in Chicago. I popped a squat on the floor and stared out at the hundreds, probably thousands, of people in the auditorium. I was lucky to be able to see her. There were many, many people who spilled out into the lobby and barely heard her talk.

You have probably heard by now, Jenny has a little boy, Evan, who has autism. She has been very vocal about the struggles she and thousands of other parents are going through. And she has really made a big effort to get the other side of the autism story in the media. She says she has made "Big Pharma" mad. She started her speech by saying, "I am not anti-vaccines. I am anti-toxin." She thinks the vaccine schedule needs to be changed. I know there are lot of physicians who disagree, but whether you agree with her opinion or not, I admire how she is fighting for her son.

Jenny is very passionate about helping her son recover. When I told her I was with the media, she said, "Biomedical treatments. That's what I want you to cover." She says her son has dramatically improved after she started the Gluten-Free Casein-Free diet. It sounds like a nightmare to implement with no wheat, no milk and a lot of other "No's." However, Jenny explained why she believes it works for her son. She says her son doesn't excrete toxins like other people do. She says it's like her son gets a "high" off certain foods. She says so many moms have told her they can't stop giving their kids milk because they loooooovvveee milk. Jenny says that's because the milk is making them stoned. Of course they love it. She said she is so strict about her son's diet, when Evan is in high school his friends will rebel and go drink and he's be like, "No, lets go eat donuts!" I don't know if a medical person would explain autism the way she does, but she made it very easy to understand!

I was invited to the conference to be part of the journalism panel. It was great to hear why other journalists have gotten involved in autism research. And it was very interesting to hear their responses to questions from the audience. This is a picture of David Warner, the Vice President of the Autism Society of Mclean County. He and his wife went to the conference and even saved me some room on the floor so I could hear Jenny.

During the media session, of course, there was a lot of complaining about what the media does and does not cover, but I think overall it was a good session. I would be happy to do it again. I think it is good for parents to hear from someone who cares about kids with autism, but does not have an autistic child. It's an important perspective to keep in mind. After all, if autism hasn't impacted your life yet, it soon will. So my advice is to stay informed. These kids will be graduating from high school soon. Then what? We think there's a health care crisis now, just wait. Even if you aren't passionate about helping these kids, like I am, you should still care about this topic. It's huge.

Here are the other people on the panel:

Mark Blaxill - Age of Autism

Julie Deardorff - Chicago Tribune

Rex Huppke - Chicago Tribune

Dan Olmsted - Age of Autism

Ashley Reynolds - KOMU / Missouri School of Journalism

Kim Stagliano - Age of Autism

I will post more this week about what I learned!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

World Autism Awareness Day

Today is "World Autism Awareness Day." The General Assembly of the United Nations designated April 2nd,2008 as the first World Autism Awareness Day with "the hope that in the future, improved research studies and technology, as well as increased awareness and compassion among members of society will help to improve our knowledge and understanding of and responsiveness to autism." Many communities are also celebrating the entire month as Autism Awareness Month. Easter Seals has an autism blog that is really interesting.

I have interviewed many parents and experts in the field as part of my research for the "Autism Epidemic" special that aired on WHOI in August 2007. There are so many signs and symptoms of autism and so many different aspects. Many parents have said to me, "no two autistic kids are the same." Some kids have very mild cases, others are so severe they need full time care their entire lives. There are so many more questions about autism than answers. Parents of children with the disorder often feel lost. I hope this designation will help these parents and help the rest of us better understand what needs to be done.

Autism One is hosting a three day conference this May. Jenny McCarthy is the keynote speaker. I was fortunate to be invited to attend. Local policy makers including mayors, state representatives and senators from Illinois (and most other states) have all been invited. I urge you to contact your local lawmakers and ask them to attend. The more people who understand autism, the better off we will all be. One in every 150 kids is now diagnosed with autism, one in every 94 boys. The chances are, you will know someone or your kids will go to school with someone with autism. This is no longer a topic for people who have a family member with autism.

UPDATE: The Autism Society of Mclean County held a book reading at Barnes and Noble in Bloomington, IL on Tuesday. The pictures are from the event. The little red head was telling me before I read how she has Aspergers and she loves her cat. She brought her mouse webkinz with her to the event. It just so happens I brought the book "All Cats have Aspergers Syndrome." Needless to say, I gave the book to Claire. Isn't it neat how things just seem to happen for a reason!

Thanks to David Warner for inviting me to read! The kids were so wonderful. What a great experience! Music Therapist Meryl Brown was there singing and dancing with the kids. She goes to your home and teaches kids on the autism spectrum how to open up. She said she has one child who was only doing ecolalia and is now having conversations and answering questions after about 8 months of therapy. If you live in the Bloomington area and are interested in hiring her email is MBrownMTBC [at] gmail [dot] com. Obviously use the appropriate version of email to send this. I just don't want her to get spam by posting the actual address on-line.

Here are some of the signs and symptoms of autism from the words of parents and experts in the field:

-NewsAnchorMom Jen