Editorial #251: We’re back! And Lisa Jo Rudy is Gone!

We at Autism Politico have come out of retirement because Lisa Jo Rudy is going into hers (in a manner of speaking). She says:

Note: as this is the last blog post I’m writing for this site, I have closed the post to comments.  To those of you who enjoyed reading my blogs, thanks so much for the kind words!

Autism Politico doesn’t know why Lisa Jo has ended the comments but knows that Lisa Jo has a habit of closing comments when people who emphatically disagree with her decisions or opinions post their opinions. Such was the case with the notorious Zoey Roberts article she posted.

Many people in Facebook forums are cheering the exit of Rudy, who, for the duration of her reign at Autism.About.com, never really seemed to have a firm opinion on anything, never really seemed to take a firm stance against unproven therapies, and sometimes seemed to make her readers wonder if her son was a guinea pig for autism treatments.

Even as she exists, she throws in some parting shots at the autism community which some people are interpreting as bitter:

Many people on the autism spectrum are amazing human beings.  Many are not.

says Rudy, seemingly in exasperation. Our counter to that is a restatement of something we picked up from a poster in a WrongPlanet community: ALL autistics are amazing, even if some of them behave like jerks.

So we see now how Rudy has viewed the community which she allegedly served.

Rudy says:

This so-called “autism community” includes some very scary people.  Beware of these people, and try not to allow them to influence the decisions you make on behalf of your children.  When sites like Age of Autism LITERALLY photoshop images of horns and tails onto people with whom they disagree, you can make a shrewd guess that they have an agenda that they are trying to push.

But she posts this unaware that there is a big brew-ha-ha going on right this minute across Facebook about a person she featured in one of her articles. This person has many different online aliases and is badgering people with them to the point where people are visibly angry. Rudy billed this person as an advocate. So while Rudy may say that AofA photoshops images of horns and tails onto people, Rudy may have knowingly or unknowingly pasted a halo onto person many people consider to be a demon.

Another nugget of wisdom from Ms. Rudy, who invites us to follow her on her new blog:

Gold-plated, double-blind, controlled, expensive studies may tell you far less than you think they should.

Yes, Lisa, let us all disregard these studies, which are put together by a scientific method which is accepted worldwide by researchers. Let us all reject these studies, which are done in such a manner as to reduce error ratios to a minimum, and quantifiable, reproducible results to a maximum. Let us ignore the fact that there is a control group. What we should want, Autism Politico gathers, is a random sampling of people who give vague opinions on things, and this should be our source of knowledge.

Autism Politico notices that Lisa Jo Rudy was always “open-minded” about ABA therapy, but now that she has no interest in Autism.About.com, she tells us that for HER child:

We specifically stayed away from ABA because, quite frankly, when it’s done poorly (and it often is) it is dehumanizing and disrespectful.  Worse, it is focused entirely upon behavior, and not upon the human being that is your child. 

Never in our recollection did she try to discourage other people from ABA. Autism Politico guesses that while she certainly would not expose her own kid to ABA, she didn’t care as much what other parents did with their kids.

Now Autism Politico must state that we do not believe Rudy is a bad person. We actually LIKE some of the things she has to say. For instance, when Rudy says:

The goal of autism therapies and treatments, in my opinion, should be to help the individual with autism to become as fully human as they can be.  Being “fully human” means so much more than being typical.  It means learning, loving, creating, imagining, laughing, playing, singing, being silly, having fun.

Autism Politico hears two things:

1) Rudy genuinely wishes the best for autistics.

2) And she must be naive, because she seems to think we are less than fully human.

Autism Politico is pleased that Lisa Jo Rudy, who has expressed the idea that we are not as fully human as others, is leaving. Good riddance, and goodbye.

And no, we will not be reading your new blog.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #248: Government Healthcare and What It Means for Quack Therapy Believers

Autism Politico can’t wait until national healthcare comes into effect in the US because it will mean that all the curbies who believe in quack treatments will be required to buy health insurance which will not pay for the treatments they want to get for the autistics they supposedly love and care for.

It’s adding insult to injury and boy does it feel good!

Won’t it be great to see them lobby the government for legitimizing those treatments and see the government turn a deaf ear on their pleas? Won’t it be great to see the more militant among their numbers being labeled as “threats”? It’s a good way to shut up these people, and hopefully it will put an end to the quack treatments too.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #243: Are schools your friend?

Autism Politico would like its readers to carefully the implications of schools diagnosing children with any disorder.

If a child has a disorder, a child may be entitled to additional funding to meet the educational needs of this special needs child. Autism Politico agrees that all children are entitled to an education and that all special needs students are entitled to whatever funding they may be entitled to under the law.

But Autism Politico also questions whether or not schools are qualified to make a diagnosis of any kind. They are not medical professionals. As far as autism goes, there are, under the DSM IV, different kinds of autism, and a medical diagnosis can take years, rather than hours or days to reach and accurate diagnose.

If a school can identify a child with special needs, then they must develop an IEP for that child within a specific time period, and they may apply for certain kinds of funding, depending on where these schools are situated. The amount of funding they are entitled to is also dependent on what the laws are in their locality.

In a time when cuts in funding are made to education, it seems that schools have additional motivation to secure funding wherever they can, and so the question arises as to whether or not children who are quickly diagnosed are properly diagnosed, or whether or not a diagnosis even exists.

While we as taxpayers can rest easy when we know our tax dollars are used for good purposes, when we see the number of autism diagnosis climb dramatically over a period of years, and when we see most of these diagnoses being made by schools rather than qualified medical professionals, can we continue to rest easily?

Could it be that schools are diagnosing special needs children so that they can make up for cuts in funding to regular education elsewhere?

A diagnosis follows someone the rest of their life the same way a conviction for a crime follows them for the rest of their lives.

Isn’t a false diagnosis under these circumstances the equivalent of exploitation of children for monetary gain? In which case, are schools our friends?

Keep in mind that when a child is diagnosed falsely, the parent of that child may believe the diagnosis and subject that child to all manner of legitimate and quack cures, causing themselves considerable expense, and causing their own child considerable trauma. All so that schools can make money.

Is this what we want from out schools?

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #240: Good News! Two Autism Schools in Two Years Have Problems!

Autism Politico is pleased to hear that a private autism school has lost accreditation and another one has closed within the past two years.

The story is a pretty extensive one, but we will focus on three small paragraphs of a very long article:

John Locke Academy, a mainstream high school, and the special needs School of Autistic Healing, opened as companion schools two years ago. They are largely run by the family of Bob Jones, the real estate developer blamed by many teachers and parents for the August 2008 closure of Utah Southvalley Community School (USC), a Murray private school formerly known as Woodland Hills.

Jones had acquired the financially strapped Woodland Hills, for children with Asperger’s syndrome and other cognitive and behavioral impairments, a year earlier and hoped to revive it, partly through introducing a comprehensive sports program. But the school suffered rapid teacher turnover —­ at least 50 teachers quit or were fired in one year — and some parents complained about the new focus on athletics.

The “School of Autistic Healing” is a silly name for a school seeing as how no government agency will state that there is a cure for autism. “Healing” implies that there is a way to a cure.

With regard to athletics, as we know, some autistics may suffer problems with coordination. Having them play sports if they don’t want to might cause them to feel even more inept that they already do. That a school would not understand this goes to show how little they know about autism.

At the time, Jones argued he had kept the school from closing and lost his own money in the process. In March 2009, he filed for bankruptcy, leaving behind $6.5 million in debts both from his real estate ventures and USC. The Utah Office of Debt Collection reports there are still 30 outstanding cases for unpaid wages to school employees.

That he invested his own money is nice, but considering the debts the ultimate fate of this man’s adventures, it’s best that the school closed before the attendees came to suffer from lack of proper funding. This is not to imply that the students would have suffered, but it appears from this story that the person behind the two schools doesn’t have much knowledge about autism or how to deal with autistics.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #239: Heavy Metals in Makeup

Autism Politico would like all moms who believe that mercury causes autism to concede the possibility that the heavy metals in your cosmetics may have been absorbed into your system and poisoned your baby while it was  in-utero, thereby making the baby autistic.  

The group tested 49 makeup products and found all of them contained varying amounts of heavy metals, including one lip gloss which contained levels of arsenic and lead exceeding limits recommended by Health Canada.

But that’s not all:

Tests found that all of the products tested contained trace amounts of nickel, lead and beryllium. On average, products contained four of eight “metals of concern.” All but one of the products, however, contained metal amounts within Health Canada’s draft guidelines.

Maybe there’s mercury in there too?

One thing we must admit to…putting on makeup is a social thing. There really is no hygienic purpose for using it. So moms, in the interest of being social, you may have contributed to your kid’s autism. How does that make you feel?

Let’s hear you speak up!

Alternatively, you could get with the program and recognize that autism is genetic. It;s what the rest of the world has believed since 2007.

The discovery was part of the largest genome scan ever attempted in autism research. Called the Autism Genome Project, the initiative involved 137 researchers from 50 institutions in nine countries, including Canada.

 Working together, the scientists were able to share samples, data, and expertise to analyze DNA from about 1,600 families worldwide.

Of course we know most mercury-causes-autism people (the flat-earthers of our generation)  refuse to entertain the idea that they might be wrong. But we just thought that if you anti-vaxers are willing to sue doctors, governments, and vaccine manufacturers for “causing” autism in your kids, perhaps you’d like to sue yourselves for wearing makeup with heavy metals in them, because you could be just as guilty as you think the vaccine manufacturers supposedly are.

By the way, why don’t you people who wear makeup subject yourselves to chelation therapy?  You might become autistic if you don’t.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #237: Stem Cell Clinic Closes After Baby Death

Autism Politico is aware that

Europe’s largest stem cell clinic, which is at the centre of a scandal over the death of a baby given an injection into the brain, has been shut down.

What does this have to do with autism? Well…

Experts in stem cell research had accused the clinic of preying on vulnerable patients, desperately seeking a cure for such illnesses and diseases as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

As usual, Autism Politico is of the opinion that parents who wish use treatments not approved of by their governments on their children should try these treatments on themselves first. We hold this opinion because we know that any parent who loves their child wouldn’t think of subjecting their children to treatments which are not only potentially fatal, but are also not government approved.

Or maybe we’re wrong…

The clinic had come under increasing scrutiny following the death of an 18-month-old boy in August last year, in a case first revealed by The Sunday Telegraph. The child, who was from Romania, was injected in the brain with stem cells but suffered internal bleeding. Three months earlier, a boy aged 10 from Azerbaijan had almost died when the same procedure went wrong.

You never know what parents will do. But Autism Politico wonders if there is some kind of diagnosis in the DSM IV that describes parents who do such things? Will the parents who brought their children to the clinic be charged with child endangerment?

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #228: Europe and France Hit By Measles

Autism Politico has read that Europe and France are being hit by measles.

Europe, especially France, has been hit by a major outbreak of measles, which the U.N. health agency is blaming on the failure to vaccinate all children.

Well, what did you expect?

The World Health Organization said Thursday that France had 4,937 reported cases of measles between January and March — compared with 5,090 cases during all of 2010. In all, more than 6,500 cases have been reported in 33 European nations.

It doesn’t sound like much…yet. But what if…what if…the virus, thanks to incubation in its hosts,  mutates so that it becomes resistant to vaccines? Then there night be trouble. Of course, we have no idea if this will happen or not. We are not doctors, but…what if?

But vaccination rates across Europe have been patchy in recent years and have never fully recovered from a discredited 1998 British study linking the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella to autism.

Question: Would this discredited 1998 British study be the one anti-vaxers still stand behind to this day? Could be.

Well, in the past, AP has reported about measles outbreaks, and not too many people paid attention.

http://autismpolitico.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/editorial-94-just-spotted-in-ireland/

http://autismpolitico.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/editorial-109-a-lesson-to-be-learned/

http://autismpolitico.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/editorial-110-a-second-lesson-to-be-learned/

http://autismpolitico.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/editorial-124-measles-outbreak-in-malawi/

http://autismpolitico.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/editorial-141-next-time-it-could-be-you/

http://autismpolitico.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/editorial-153-65-of-measles-cases-in-us-in-unvaccinated-people/

Maybe when measles comes knocking on your own doorstep, you WILL start paying attention.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.  

Editorial #227: Gluten-Free Diets Fail. Now Go Quack Somewhere Else.

Autism Politico is aware that yet another study claims gluten-free and casein-free diets fail as a treatment or cure for autism. We’re dismayed that some stubborn parents will ignore this study because it will mean that these people will further waste their money on terrible tasting food that annoys autistics.

A popular belief that specific dietary changes can improve the symptoms of children with autism was not supported by a tightly controlled University of Rochester study, which found that eliminating gluten and casein from the diets of children with autism had no impact on their behavior, sleep or bowel patterns.

The study is the most controlled diet research in autism to date.

Some of these parents should be going to therapy to try to find out why it is they refuse to believe scientific and medical studies except those which are discredited by all reputable scientific authorities.

Unlike previous studies, they also controlled for other interventions, such as what type of behavioral treatments children received, to ensure all observed changes were due to dietary alterations.

These controls were necessary so that it could be shown once and for all, that when autistics are subjected ONLY to gluten-free casein-free diets, that the diets did nothing for the autistics. Ergo no need to waste money on gluten-free/casein free foods.

Following the gluten and casein snacks, study participants had no change in attention, activity, sleep or frequency or quality of bowel habits. Children demonstrated a small increase in social language and interest in interaction after the challenges with gluten or casein on the Ritvo Freeman Real Life Rating Scale; however, it did not reach statistical significance. That means because of the small difference and the small number of participants in the study, the finding may be due to chance alone.

Now can we please move on and quit with the stubborn insistence that this therapy works? Instead, why don’t we focus on the fact that some parents of autistic children simply cannot accept their autistics the way they are and want to change them and make them more manageable and compliant, like well-trained dogs?

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #223: How to diagnose ASDs.

Autism Politico wants to share with its readers something that it read on the US CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-screening.html Now, usually we embed the link within the context of the post, but not this time. We want people to see the link, click on the link, bookmark the link. As you will see, the process is long and extensive, and it is broken down on the CDC page:

Screening Recommendations

Developmental Screening in Pediatric and Primary Care Practice

Developmental Screening Tools

Diagnostic Tools

You’ll find lots of screening tools and diagnostic tools, as well as a lengthy explanation about why a diagnosis sometimes takes many different specialists observing the prospective autistics over a number of years.

The CDC also makes this statement regarding people in school who diagnose a child with autism:

Developmental screening can be done by a number of professionals in health care, community, and school settings. However, primary health care providers are in a unique position to promote children’s developmental health. 

Alternatively, you can ignore what the CDC says, join some web forum that claims to be populated by autistics, compare yourself to people who have never been diagnosed, and pretend you’re autistic, just like them.

Which would you rather do? And what does it say about you if you choose the second option?

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #221: Measles Deaths

Autism Politico is aware that over 210 people have recently died of  measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF – Medecins Sans Frontieres) warned on Monday that a measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo was spiralling out of control.

MSF said that more than 21,000 people have been infected and 210 have died since the outbreak was identified in September 2010, although it believes the death toll may be higher.

 One thing worth noting:

“Since September 2010 we have vaccinated more than 1.5 million children in response to the crisis. But the disease is spreading like wildfire.”

Autism Politico is happy that steps are being taken to try to prevent the spread of this disease, mourns those who have died, and isn’t interested in anti-vaxers who are convinced that measles isn’t harmful and that it is better to get measles than autism.

Measles can kill one to 15 percent of children who contract the disease among populations that have not been vaccinated, according to MSF.

Autism does not kill, except when caregivers murder autistics, or lax caregivers allow their kids to drown, get run over by trains, or fall out of windows (which seems to happen quite often to autistics despite the fact that they are such a small percentage of the population – but then again, maybe many of these caregivers want these autistics to die – there are so many parents on online forums who have expressed such sentiments. But too be fair, some neurodiversity activists have been known to cheer when unvaccinated people die because for them it means that the fittest are surviving while the anti-vaxers are dying off.).

Vaccines seem to have been shown to have nothing to do with autism, BTW, but Autism Politico has already written about that. The main thing we are trying to show here is how disease spreads out of control when people do not vaccinate.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.