Monday, April 12, 2010
Autism Optimism is moving!
Hello Autism Optimists,
Autism Optimism is now .ca!
I'm building a new website and blog here:
www.autismoptimism.ca
Join the Autism Optimism Facebook Group to share stories, pictures, links, books, poetry and your thoughts on the spectrum!
Follow Autism Optimism on Twitter: @AutismOptimism
Cheers,
Wanda
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Vaccination Deliberation?
Parents are concerned about the safety of vaccinations and the autism community has an on-going debate whether there is a the link between vaccines and autism. Ultimately, it's a parents decision to have their children vaccinated or to abstain from the popular practice. As a parent to a young man with autism I choose to put my younger son on a delayed vaccination schedule - just in case. That was our decision as a family and I do not feel the need to side with either extreme points of view in the vaccination debating community. Dr. Joe Schwarcz, author of the bestselling books, An Apple a Day, Foods That Fight Cancer brings us Science, Sense and Nonsense: 61 nourishing, healthy, bunk-free commentaries on the chemistry that affects us all. Feel free to read the excerpt below and use the information as you see fit.
A Case for Vaccination
By Joe Schwarcz, PhD.
Excerpt from Science, Sense and Nonsense (09/08)
AVOID! One of the most common words of advice heard these days. Avoid tap water. Avoid bottled water. Avoid butter. Avoid margarine. Avoid the sun. Avoid sweeteners. Avoid genetically modified foods. Avoid plastic bags. Avoid paper bags. Avoid preservatives. Avoid dairy. Avoid meat. Avoid soy. Avoid— ah, never mind. I could go on and on with a litany of such “avoids.” There are some valid points to be made with some of these, but there is one avoid that I cannot stomach. Advising parents to avoid childhood vaccination is scientifically unjustified and dangerous.
Vaccination just may be the most significant medical advance in history. It is difficult to estimate the number of lives saved, but it is in the many millions, to say nothing of the countless number of people who have been spared the misery of mumps, measles, whooping cough and polio. I can vouch for the agony of whooping cough myself. Feeling as if you are going to cough your lungs out is a memory that doesn’t leave you easily. I survived, but one of my classmates in grade two did not. And how often can one say that a disease has been completely wiped off the face of the Earth by a medical intervention? The last case of smallpox was recorded in 1978. The World Health Organization estimates that smallpox killed as many as 500 million people in the twentieth century and that as recently as 1967 it was responsible for two million annual deaths.
Other vaccines may not have eradicated diseases, but they have curbed their incidence very significantly. Cases of whooping cough in North America have declined from a pre-vaccination peak rate of about 300,000 per year to 10,000. Measles from a million cases a year to a hundred. Diphtheria and polio are almost nonexistent today in developed countries. The incidence of hepatitis B and tetanus have been reduced by a factor of forty, rubella by two hundred and mumps by four hundred. The effectiveness of immunization is simply beyond argument. How can there be an issue here? How can some parents choose not to vaccinate their children?
It really is a conundrum. But the answer likely lies in a growing distrust of the “medical establishment,” a discredited but widely publicized scientific study, inaccurate information being spread on the Internet, and a lack of understanding of the difference between an association and a cause-and-effect relationship. Although we may not think of it in such terms, the decisions we make in life often come down to a risk-benefit analysis. Whether it is flying in airplanes, eating smoked meat, taking cholesterol lowering medication, or vaccination, there are always pluses and minuses to consider. There is no denying that immunization does come with some risk. Rashes, joint pain and fever are well documented, as are occasional lapses in the speed with which safety issues concerning vaccines have been addressed. Oral polio vaccines, which were more convenient to administer than the injected form, were responsible for actually causing the disease in rare cases. Yet some twenty years were allowed to pass before switching back to the safer, injectable form. An infant vaccine against an intestinal infection that struck roughly four million babies a year in North America was found to cause an increase in life-threatening cases of bowel collapse and had to be abandoned. Although there is no scientific evidence linking the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal to any disease, it probably should have been removed from vaccines more speedily when ill effects attributed to mercury in other contexts became apparent.
Vaccines, in a sense, are becoming victims of their own success. As memories fade of the horrors of the original diseases that they prevent, more attention is being focused on possible harmful side effects. Indeed, one can judge the progress of society by looking at its worries. Instead of having to be concerned about millions dying from smallpox or coming down with measles or whooping cough, we worry about the possibility of vaccination being linked with some cases of autism. That suggestion was raised in 1998 by a paper published in the British medical journal The Lancet. Andrew Wakefield and twelve colleagues claimed that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) caused a bowel disease that then caused autism.
The report received extensive publicity and triggered public demonstrations against mandatory vaccination. Most scientists were skeptical of the Wakefield study, and their skepticism was borne out by the results of an investigation published in 2002 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Danish researchers had examined immunization records and autism diagnoses for all children born between 1991 and 1998 and found that unvaccinated children were just as likely to be diagnosed with autism as those who had received immunizations. The Lancet study was further discredited when it was revealed that Wakefield had failed to disclose he had received a large grant from a group of lawyers who were looking for ammunition in a lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers. In the end, ten of Wakefield’s co-authors retracted their support for the original research, saying that in retrospect the results as reported were not valid.
Other studies around the world also refuted the link between vaccines and autism, but a vocal group of anti-vaccine advocates maintains that a witch hunt has been organized against Wakefield to protect vaccination interests. Humbug. The fact is that autism commonly shows up at roughly the same age that vaccines are given, and an association can readily be mistaken for a cause-and effect relationship. But even if there really were a link between autism and vaccination, the anti-vaccine movement would still not be justified. The benefits overwhelm the risks.
In Britain, the consequences of the vaccine scare are already being seen in rising rates of mumps, rubella and measles. And Britain faces another problem: homeopaths are recommending that tourists travelling to malaria-stricken destinations use homeopathic remedies instead of well-tested prescription prophylaxis. This is ludicrous. Homeopathic products contain no active ingredient of any kind, so it comes as no surprise that a number of travellers have already paid for their folly with their health. Many homeopaths also advise their patients to avoid vaccines in lieu of a cacophony of implausible homeopathic medications. If indeed you are looking for something to avoid, how about this silly and dangerous advice?
Excerpted from Science, Sense and Nonsense Copyright © 2009 by Dr. Joe Schwarcz.
Excerpted by permission of Doubleday Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
A Case for Vaccination
By Joe Schwarcz, PhD.
Excerpt from Science, Sense and Nonsense (09/08)
AVOID! One of the most common words of advice heard these days. Avoid tap water. Avoid bottled water. Avoid butter. Avoid margarine. Avoid the sun. Avoid sweeteners. Avoid genetically modified foods. Avoid plastic bags. Avoid paper bags. Avoid preservatives. Avoid dairy. Avoid meat. Avoid soy. Avoid— ah, never mind. I could go on and on with a litany of such “avoids.” There are some valid points to be made with some of these, but there is one avoid that I cannot stomach. Advising parents to avoid childhood vaccination is scientifically unjustified and dangerous.
Vaccination just may be the most significant medical advance in history. It is difficult to estimate the number of lives saved, but it is in the many millions, to say nothing of the countless number of people who have been spared the misery of mumps, measles, whooping cough and polio. I can vouch for the agony of whooping cough myself. Feeling as if you are going to cough your lungs out is a memory that doesn’t leave you easily. I survived, but one of my classmates in grade two did not. And how often can one say that a disease has been completely wiped off the face of the Earth by a medical intervention? The last case of smallpox was recorded in 1978. The World Health Organization estimates that smallpox killed as many as 500 million people in the twentieth century and that as recently as 1967 it was responsible for two million annual deaths.
Other vaccines may not have eradicated diseases, but they have curbed their incidence very significantly. Cases of whooping cough in North America have declined from a pre-vaccination peak rate of about 300,000 per year to 10,000. Measles from a million cases a year to a hundred. Diphtheria and polio are almost nonexistent today in developed countries. The incidence of hepatitis B and tetanus have been reduced by a factor of forty, rubella by two hundred and mumps by four hundred. The effectiveness of immunization is simply beyond argument. How can there be an issue here? How can some parents choose not to vaccinate their children?
It really is a conundrum. But the answer likely lies in a growing distrust of the “medical establishment,” a discredited but widely publicized scientific study, inaccurate information being spread on the Internet, and a lack of understanding of the difference between an association and a cause-and-effect relationship. Although we may not think of it in such terms, the decisions we make in life often come down to a risk-benefit analysis. Whether it is flying in airplanes, eating smoked meat, taking cholesterol lowering medication, or vaccination, there are always pluses and minuses to consider. There is no denying that immunization does come with some risk. Rashes, joint pain and fever are well documented, as are occasional lapses in the speed with which safety issues concerning vaccines have been addressed. Oral polio vaccines, which were more convenient to administer than the injected form, were responsible for actually causing the disease in rare cases. Yet some twenty years were allowed to pass before switching back to the safer, injectable form. An infant vaccine against an intestinal infection that struck roughly four million babies a year in North America was found to cause an increase in life-threatening cases of bowel collapse and had to be abandoned. Although there is no scientific evidence linking the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal to any disease, it probably should have been removed from vaccines more speedily when ill effects attributed to mercury in other contexts became apparent.
Vaccines, in a sense, are becoming victims of their own success. As memories fade of the horrors of the original diseases that they prevent, more attention is being focused on possible harmful side effects. Indeed, one can judge the progress of society by looking at its worries. Instead of having to be concerned about millions dying from smallpox or coming down with measles or whooping cough, we worry about the possibility of vaccination being linked with some cases of autism. That suggestion was raised in 1998 by a paper published in the British medical journal The Lancet. Andrew Wakefield and twelve colleagues claimed that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) caused a bowel disease that then caused autism.
The report received extensive publicity and triggered public demonstrations against mandatory vaccination. Most scientists were skeptical of the Wakefield study, and their skepticism was borne out by the results of an investigation published in 2002 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Danish researchers had examined immunization records and autism diagnoses for all children born between 1991 and 1998 and found that unvaccinated children were just as likely to be diagnosed with autism as those who had received immunizations. The Lancet study was further discredited when it was revealed that Wakefield had failed to disclose he had received a large grant from a group of lawyers who were looking for ammunition in a lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers. In the end, ten of Wakefield’s co-authors retracted their support for the original research, saying that in retrospect the results as reported were not valid.
Other studies around the world also refuted the link between vaccines and autism, but a vocal group of anti-vaccine advocates maintains that a witch hunt has been organized against Wakefield to protect vaccination interests. Humbug. The fact is that autism commonly shows up at roughly the same age that vaccines are given, and an association can readily be mistaken for a cause-and effect relationship. But even if there really were a link between autism and vaccination, the anti-vaccine movement would still not be justified. The benefits overwhelm the risks.
In Britain, the consequences of the vaccine scare are already being seen in rising rates of mumps, rubella and measles. And Britain faces another problem: homeopaths are recommending that tourists travelling to malaria-stricken destinations use homeopathic remedies instead of well-tested prescription prophylaxis. This is ludicrous. Homeopathic products contain no active ingredient of any kind, so it comes as no surprise that a number of travellers have already paid for their folly with their health. Many homeopaths also advise their patients to avoid vaccines in lieu of a cacophony of implausible homeopathic medications. If indeed you are looking for something to avoid, how about this silly and dangerous advice?
Excerpted from Science, Sense and Nonsense Copyright © 2009 by Dr. Joe Schwarcz.
Excerpted by permission of Doubleday Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Hex on Rex!
First it was Michael Savage, then Denis Leary and now we have Rex Reed adding himself to the list of recent celebrity autism bashers. I'm very dismayed by the circumstances surrounding Reed's comments considering he was reviewing a movie called Adam which involves the topic of Aspergers. To add insult to injury, Reed comments that he knows people with Aspergers. So let me get this straight, this makes it alright for you to slam everyone on the spectrum then? Reed's stereotypical statements are hurtful and politically incorrect to say the least. I'm not sure if this haggard hasbeen is looking to get some attention- you know that old saying, "any press is good press" -or if he has a giant chip on his shoulder for individuals with ASD. I'm not going to repeat his comments here. If you want to bother reading Reed's review then click on my title Hex on Rex! To view an insiders review of the movie Adam then check out Jake Crosby in Age of Autism.
Picking up the pieces and moving on, once again.
Picking up the pieces and moving on, once again.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
For the Love of Sports
What do you get when you give a boy with autism the opportunity to play sports? Optimism!
My son Kyle has been a sports fan, I would say since way back in the womb. I think he wanted to play soccer for all the kicks I had to endure! One of Kyle's first words in his very limited vocabulary as a child was- wait for it- hockey! It was the first word he learned to spell. His Dad had to cut down a hockey stick to fit his short stature and we lost a few vases but c'est la vie.
Flash forward to when Kyle was in his last year of a life skills program in high school. He was being prepared for the real world. They call it mainstreaming or transitioning into society. We all knew his graduation was going to be bitter sweet. It's a sad thing for some special needs students when their whole world is school staff, classmates and a safe environment. There isn't too many possibilities to look forward to in their post high school future. The fortunate can fit into an adult life skills or work training program but not all services and classes are available for all abilities. There's lots of fear, uncertainty and worst of all alienation.
Kyle is one of the lucky ones. He is very verbal and enjoys socializing. He loves physical activities, likes to be busy and he can be trained to do jobs with some supervision. Did I mention he loves sports? In preparation for Kyle's transition from high school to the real world we signed him up for a Support Worker with the VON. It was touch and go with a few candidates. Some didn't want to commit and some just didn't fit. Then there was Ian. Our VON coordinator said he was perfect for Kyle and guess what, he was all that and a bag of chips, as Kyle would say! Ian was in teacher's college and looking forward to coaching and teaching phys. ed. plus he was interested in the field of special needs. Well, as you can imagine the two guys got on like a house on fire! The one thing we all noticed was there was no communication gap between the two guys. Ian and Kyle participated in typical stuff like hanging out with Ian's friends, going to the movies, Tim Hortons, ball games, bowling, tennis, mini golf, horse racing, and billiards - just to name a few. Ian was a regular part of Kyle's life for the better part of two years but then Ian had to go and get a job, (bleep)! Actually, we were all very proud to hear that he started teaching high school in his home town. Unfortunately, it's an hour and a bit away but the guys still keep in touch through Facebook. I think the students in Ian's classes are a very privileged bunch to have him for a teacher even if they don't know it yet. Ian is also a sports writer for the Chatham-Kent Daily Post. He's written an awesome article about Kyle and how he was influenced by his unique view of sports. Kyle rarely keeps score, he's been known to root for both teams and it's high fives all around when a bowling buddy gets a strike! For Kyle it's all about the love of the game. That old adage, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" really does apply here. Kyle would tell you that word for word and actually believe it too.
To see Ian's article click the blog title or go here:
http://ckdp.ca/autism-sports-optimism/
My son Kyle has been a sports fan, I would say since way back in the womb. I think he wanted to play soccer for all the kicks I had to endure! One of Kyle's first words in his very limited vocabulary as a child was- wait for it- hockey! It was the first word he learned to spell. His Dad had to cut down a hockey stick to fit his short stature and we lost a few vases but c'est la vie.
Flash forward to when Kyle was in his last year of a life skills program in high school. He was being prepared for the real world. They call it mainstreaming or transitioning into society. We all knew his graduation was going to be bitter sweet. It's a sad thing for some special needs students when their whole world is school staff, classmates and a safe environment. There isn't too many possibilities to look forward to in their post high school future. The fortunate can fit into an adult life skills or work training program but not all services and classes are available for all abilities. There's lots of fear, uncertainty and worst of all alienation.
Kyle is one of the lucky ones. He is very verbal and enjoys socializing. He loves physical activities, likes to be busy and he can be trained to do jobs with some supervision. Did I mention he loves sports? In preparation for Kyle's transition from high school to the real world we signed him up for a Support Worker with the VON. It was touch and go with a few candidates. Some didn't want to commit and some just didn't fit. Then there was Ian. Our VON coordinator said he was perfect for Kyle and guess what, he was all that and a bag of chips, as Kyle would say! Ian was in teacher's college and looking forward to coaching and teaching phys. ed. plus he was interested in the field of special needs. Well, as you can imagine the two guys got on like a house on fire! The one thing we all noticed was there was no communication gap between the two guys. Ian and Kyle participated in typical stuff like hanging out with Ian's friends, going to the movies, Tim Hortons, ball games, bowling, tennis, mini golf, horse racing, and billiards - just to name a few. Ian was a regular part of Kyle's life for the better part of two years but then Ian had to go and get a job, (bleep)! Actually, we were all very proud to hear that he started teaching high school in his home town. Unfortunately, it's an hour and a bit away but the guys still keep in touch through Facebook. I think the students in Ian's classes are a very privileged bunch to have him for a teacher even if they don't know it yet. Ian is also a sports writer for the Chatham-Kent Daily Post. He's written an awesome article about Kyle and how he was influenced by his unique view of sports. Kyle rarely keeps score, he's been known to root for both teams and it's high fives all around when a bowling buddy gets a strike! For Kyle it's all about the love of the game. That old adage, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" really does apply here. Kyle would tell you that word for word and actually believe it too.
To see Ian's article click the blog title or go here:
http://ckdp.ca/autism-sports-optimism/
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Teen with Autism Spectrum Disorder Missing in Toronto
Toronto police have been searching for 16 year old autistic teen since Wednesday, May, 27. On Tuesday evening Mason MacPhail was attending an all ages concert with his friends on Polson Street at The Docks. Mason became separated from his three friends at 9:30 p.m. Mason was supposed to meet friends at the venue's parking lot at 11:30 p.m. but he didn't show up. The last communication with Mason was through a text message to his mother that evening. Mason McPhail lives in Lindsay, Ontario and he is unfamiliar with Toronto and has a limited sense of direction.
See the story below.
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090527/090527_missingboys/20090527/?hub=CP24Home
See the story below.
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090527/090527_missingboys/20090527/?hub=CP24Home
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Missing Autistic Boy Found Wimpering In The Woods
SUN MEDIA PHOTOOn Sunday evening in London, Ontario, four year old Daniel Connor went missing from his family home. His disappearance set off panic in his parents since the boy has autism. The nature of autism can make a child more vulnerable and gullible. After a search party involving volunteers, police officers, firefighters, paramedics and an RCMP helicopter, it was a neighbor who found Daniel. The neighbor, Al Tipping, participated in the all night lookout for Daniel. It was in the early hours of Monday morning that Tipping was alerted by the boy's wimpers in the woods. It's been reported that Daniel was missing for eleven hours and he is the youngest of eleven children. Daniel's mother Debora Connor is thankful for the quick response and assistance in her son's search.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
All About Autism
Recently I was researching autism statistics in Canada and came across a catch-all website called Love To Know. Along with a myriad of other topics, the site has a great collection of reference material about autism and autism related issues. In particular I would like to recommend the Diagnosing Autism section for those parents concerned about their child. I can imagine that at times a parent may question their child's atypical behavior and wonder if it's "normal" so to speak. Sometimes a parent may have an inkling that their child might be displaying a typical autism behavior. If you arm yourself with autism terms or lingo, then this information can be a helpful tool when communicating with teachers or medical professionals. For instance, as a young mother, I didn't know that tip toe walking was a trait of autism. Before my son's diagnosis, not one therapist thought to ask or noted my son's peculiar walk. I thought my son's style of walking was just part of his unique offbeat nature. He would grow out of it, right? Twenty years ago I studied Child Psychology, but back then the information about autism gave only examples of the two extremes of the spectrum. I read about the autism trait of hand flapping but my son didn't display this behavior. He did, however, hold objects close to his ear and scratch them. As a child my son loved it when his Nana showed him how to hear the ocean in a conch shell! Now that my son is a young man I can ask him about his old autism behaviors. He says that he liked to scratch things because it was relaxing to concentrate on the sound. He says that he walked on his tip toes because it felt better to be taller!
So, if there's things you need to know then check the link below for more info.
If you know of any other great autism sites then add them by way of a comment below this post.
http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Main_Page
So, if there's things you need to know then check the link below for more info.
If you know of any other great autism sites then add them by way of a comment below this post.
http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Main_Page
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