Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. Good judgment, of others if not always my own.


2. Family.


3. Helping hands.


4. Central heating, the heating bill not so much.


5. A good laugh.


6. Modern medicine.

What are you tankful for?

Scientist Behaving Abominably: Updated

Most people would recognise that Dr. Andrew Wakefield is an unethical user of autistic children and their parents but now it is official.

MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield 'abused his position of trust'

The doctor who first claimed that the MMR vaccine could cause autism has been found guilty of a series of misconduct charges, that include putting children through painful and unnecessary tests, a disciplinary hearing has ruled today.

Dr Andrew Wakefield showed "a callous disregard" for the suffering of children and "abused his position of trust" as a doctor in carrying out a study which sparked the biggest vaccine scare in a generation and has been blamed for the resurgence of measles in Britain, the General Medical Council (GMC) found.

He was also found to have brought the medical profession "into disrepute" after he took blood samples from youngsters at his son’s birthday party in return for payments of £5 and failed to disclose vital conflicts of interest around his work - which has since been discredited.

You can see the entire 143 page document from Dr. Wakefield's hearing here (via Left Brain/Right Brain who asks "What were you expecting to happen?").

Some act as if Dr. Wakefield as a near god who saved their children from autism. I see him as a desperate, delusional, unethical person who should never be allowed near children again. Harsh words perhaps but having followed his rise to infamy and having read descriptions of what he has done to autistic children I think they apply. Dr. Wakefield and his followers are a threat to the public health and to the health and safety of autistic individuals. One can only hope that that message will finally get through to those who have been swayed by his deceptions.

Update:
For a round up of reactions, pro and con, plus links to background info see this post at I Speak of Dreams.

A Bit of Perspective

A visual representation of the universe as we know it thus far. Kind of blows the mind. Via Respectful Insolence.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. Better living through chemistry.


2. Progress, even if it is then followed by two steps back.


3. Good teachers.

Good friends.

What are you thankful for?

Celebrities and Science

Sullivan at Left Brain/Right Brain comments in the post Forbes on “Stars Vs. Science” once again the autism community looks bad

Once again, the Autism community takes it on the chin that our representative in the public eye is, well, in a league of her own when it comes to understanding science. Even though the story is about celebrities and science in general, autism plays a big part in the story as a whole.

Autism and the "controversy" over whether or not vaccines cause autism feature prominently in the Forbes article Stars Vs. Science that discusses the maddening phenomenon of people taking medical advice from Hollywood celebrities.

When the medical journal Pediatrics released a consensus report early this year concluding that autistic children do not benefit from special diets, ABC News' Diane Sawyer knew just whom to call. Jenny McCarthy, former MTV game host, nude model and now mother of an autistic son Evan, enthusiastically denounced the study. "Until doctors start listening to our anecdotal evidence, which is it's working, it's going to take so many more years for these kids to get better," she opined.

Stars are almost never doctors, but all too often they try to play them in real life. It's a rare week that passes without some celebrity weighing in on a scientific topic or medical controversy. Sometimes it is funny.

But some of the best-known celebrities use their soap boxes to spread scientifically dubious--and potentially harmful--messages. Jenny McCarthy believes vaccines cause autism, despite numerous studies to the contrary. She campaigns against child vaccines that have been shown to save lives. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control reported that measles outbreaks had spiked because more parents were deciding to leave their children unvaccinated, thanks to the burgeoning anti-vaccine movement.

"These are folks who really don't have the best information, but because they are vocal and well organized their message has gotten out," says William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt School of Medicine. As a result, "around the country pediatricians and their staffs are having to spend more and more time persuading parents to have their kids vaccinated in a timely fashion. It is an enormous problem."

Seriously, of all the people who study autism ABC could only come up with Jenny McCarthy for comments? When your main goal is to entertain of course the pretty blond starlet mommy is going to win out over some plain Jane egghead scientists who actually know what they're talking about. I totally confess to being the kind of elitist snob that will take the advice of people who spend decades earning their advanced degrees and working in their area of expertise over that of someone who essentially makes a living being pretty and playing make believe whether they've got an autistic kid or not. But that's just me. We (autistic people, their families and their friends) have got enough to deal with with out having such questionable spoke's people supposedly representing our cause.

The Forbes article ends with this,

Why do celebrities feel the need to spout off on medical or scientific matters? Because they've excelled in one field, stars "think they're an expert in many things," says the vaccine expert [Paul] Offit. "That part doesn't bother me. It's the part that we listen that bothers me."

It bothers me too.

Ummmm Bacon!

This explains a lot.

Bacon and eggs could help pregnant women boost their baby's intelligence

Sis2's response, "Who put that out the pork people?"

Via Instapundit who asks, "BACON: IS THERE ANYTHING IT CAN’T DO?"

The Least of These

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)
6Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Zakhqurey Price is an 11 year old Arkansas boy who has been diagnosed with autism, among other things. Despite documentation of his diagnosis his school district refused to provide this child with appropriate services. If you thought this sounded like a recipe for disaster for this child you would be right.

Fifth grade autistic boy charged with a felony
On Oct 30th, Zakhqurey exhibited behaviors manifested by his Autism, which led to restraints. The police were called. In the process of attempting to restrain him, two staff members were injured and filed felony charges against the 11 year old child. They cornered him and tried to take him down, he fought back. There were very minor injuries to principal and teacher. The fifth grader was taken away in handcuffs and booked with juvenile criminals. He has an IQ of 68.

What does it teach this child when those tasked with educating him ignore information vital to doing their jobs? What does it teach this child when those seem people seem so intent on not doing their jobs at all? What does it teach this child that these adults are so willing to write him off and treat him like a criminal? What does it teach this child when those with power and influence choose to spread disinformation about him and his family (as documented here) rather than seek to do what is right, proper and required by law?

Many others have been following Zakhquery's situation, providing more information and exposing this abuse to the light of day.

• Helping Zakhqurey Price's Family


• Update on Zakhquery Price's Case: ASAN Action Alert


• Act now: Autistic Child Charged with Felony


• Zakhquery ( Zakh ) Price and the system


• Restraints & Seclusion: Not What School's About


• The Zakh Appeal

The thing about Zakhquery Price is that his situation is not unique and the more I read it about it the more I think, there but for the grace of God go I. We can't keep letting things like this happen to our children and adults with disabilities.

Matthew 25:35-40 (ESV)
35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. God has mercy on us miserable sinners.


2. We can do what we can.


3. The light at the end of the tunnel is not always another on coming train.


4. Haiti's survivors.

What are you thankful for?

"93% won't copy and paste this"

This is a meme that seems to be making the rounds on Facebook status updates these days

Please put this on your status if you know someone (or are related to someone, or are someone) who has AUTISM. My wish for 2010 is that people will understand autism is not a disease; people with autism are not looking for a cure but for ACCEPTANCE...... 93% won't Copy and Paste this, will YOU make this your status for at least one hour?

Now for the most part I agree with the sentiment expressed. Autistic individuals are not broken or diseased and for the most part do not want a cure. Many in fact find the implications of curing something that is such a significant part of who they are to be quiet disturbing, as do I. Autistic individuals do, however, want to be treated with respect same as anyone else.

I want to comment though on that last little bit of the status update, "93% won't copy and paste this." It's a common feature with these kinds of status updates that often ruins a perfectly good status update for me. It always makes me think of grade schoolers on the playground daring each other to go up and touch the fence of the neighborhood curmudgeon's house. Who comes up with these "X% won't copy and paste this" claims? Makes me think of the saying, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Slap a number on that bad boy and all of a sudden it looks more official, more compelling.

I hope there is a grad student somewhere working on a dissertation on the manipulation of people through status updates on Facebook. That would be a fascinating read.