(Ring, ring)
“Hello, this is Emergency, how may I help you?”
(Mom, breathless, anxious) “My child has stopped speaking. He could talk two weeks ago but now he can’t. He doesn’t notice if I walk in the room anymore. He’s screaming constantly and I can’t seem to console him. He has constant diarrhea. He keeps arching his head back. I can’t figure out what’s going on. Something happened to my child.”
“When did this start?”
“About two weeks ago right after his 15 month shots.”
“What does your pediatrician say?”
“He says not to worry about it.”
This is a vaccine injury and it is not treated like an emergency. Why do pediatricians respond to a child’s regression into Autism with such complacency? Why aren’t pediatricians panicked by the number of times this happens in their practice? Why aren’t they asking themselves how come every year they are seeing more and more children falling apart physically and developmentally between their 1st and 2nd birthdays?
One case of Measles on an airplane was a crisis. We later discovered the person was fine. Lettuce tainted with Salmonella is such an emergency that they can trace down the source of the outbreak within three days. But a child diagnosed with Autism every 20 seconds is not considered a crisis. Hell, I’ve seen more of a sense of urgency when they hit “three bells” for the check-out lines at Trader Joe’s Supermarket!
My daughter was born in 2000. She is typically developing and in the 5th grade. Her teacher told me this fall that her grade contains the largest number of learning issues they have ever seen in one year at her school. Her school nurse recently told me that about 12 years ago she used to have one or two student’s Epi-Pens in her office each year. Now she has over 40 per school year. I don’t think the average parent of a child with a life-threatening peanut allergy, or a Ritalin prescription connects the dots to environmental injury. One out of every 6 children has a learning issue in America today and 1 out of every 5 children takes a medication for chronic illness. But this is not considered a crisis?
This is surreal for me. As surreal as adults walking by a burning house with children inside. No one is stopping to help. And the adults are Firemen. We are in the middle of a crisis in children’s health, but no one is worried. The house has always been on fire. Everyday a certain number of children die in house fires. We don’t know why, it’s a mystery. There is no research that proves that dying in a house fire would be painful.
It is beyond comprehension that anyone could look at this situation and not be terribly worried about children’s health. But as a nation we are not. Michelle Obama is worried about obesity even though her husband continually appoints former Monsanto (makers of High Fructose Corn Syrup) folks to positions of power within the food safety ranks. Her husband is worried about everything except Autism and how to get re-elected. Rick Santorum is worried about gay marriage and Dan Savage, and Mitt Romney is worried about how to make that sadistic dog on top of the car thing go away. It seems like the only people truly worried about children’s health are the ones with the least to lose at this point, those of us whose kids are already environmentally sick with Autism.
As a mother of a vaccine-injured child when I talk to parents about taking great care with vaccination urging them to read and research and really consider the choices they make, I take for granted that they may not listen to me. Like a gift, you have to let go of advice the minute you give it. You have no control over how the gift is received or whether the advice is appreciated. Sometimes, parents will come back to me and tell me they wish they had listened.
I would never say, “I told you so” to a parent; however, I feel differently about my conversations with medical providers. I’ve talked with many of Nick’s doctors about my concerns involving vaccine and antibiotic safety. I’ve also talked with lots of friends who are doctors and scientists. With the exception of a rare few, their usual reaction is polite disdain.
Medical providers of small children have tremendous power and responsibility in the Autism/vaccine debate. They do have the time to critically analyze the studies on this subject for flawed design, author bias, and affiliation of practice, pharmaceutical ties and relationship to the vaccine industry. Autism mothers find time to do this and we are the busiest people on earth. Pediatricians must demand better leadership from their professional organizations in the area of vaccination safety practices and get help standing up to pharmaceutical interests that infiltrate the way they practice medicine.
When the Autism/Vaccine shit hits the fan, which is inevitable, I will shout, “I told you so” to every one of these arrogant S.O.B’s. because it has been on their watch that more children have been harmed. Whether through their denial, passivity or stubborn adherence to medical orthodoxy, they have ignored innumerable attempts to raise their awareness of the risks of the current vaccine schedule. They will have more blood on their hands if they do not acknowledge this crisis in children’s health now and make adjustments to the way they practice. How will they justify their actions ten years from now? “We just didn’t know” might have been acceptable in the early ‘90’s. In 2012 we know. How will they live with the shame? Will they be able to forgive themselves for the damage they are inflicting today?
If they haven’t heard us, it’s because they are choosing not to listen. Our voices and our stories are everywhere.
Autism Moms make massive sacrifices. We give up everything: sleep, money, time, joy, careers, friends, and our health. But we do not have to sacrifice our voices or our stories and we mustn’t let them go unheard. I will never forgive myself for listening to my pediatrician. I know what happened to my child. We Moms know what happened to our children. We know what we saw. No amount of denial or scorn takes away the mother’s visceral experience of watching her baby fade away from her.
So what happens when people speak up?
They get Wakefielded!
And it’s effective. Parents have been kicked out of pediatric practices and schools, have had child protective services sicked on them, and healthcare workers have lost their jobs or found research budgets eliminated. These bully practices work like an army leaving the severed head of a villager on a post at the edge of a town they’ve just demolished. The message behind these tactics is clear: “Challenge vaccine doctrine and this will be you.”
Who am I talking about when I say ‘They’? I’m talking about the medical industrial complex that includes the pharmaceutical industry, their paid lobbyists and the medical lobbying groups like the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the large bureaucratic institutions like the CDC, NIH and FDA, right down to your pediatrician.
This business of removing children from families or wheeling out the old ‘Munchausen by Proxy’ threat goes right to the heart of the Mother, “We will take your children away from you.” I hope the history books will be appropriately vicious when they describe this practice and those who employed it.
I think the antidote to these bully practices is transparency because this level of aggression doesn’t sit well with the general public. My neighbor may not like my vaccination choices, but it goes against his moral compass that my child should be removed from my care.
I say we have to speak up; we have to use our voices.
But you worry, “They will take my child away from me, they will hurt my loved ones.”
I say they already have.
What would you say about how your child got sick if you didn’t fear the repercussions?
Our voices alone are small and frightened. But together in a unified voice we are powerful. We have the strength of our numbers. We can say what we know to be true. Our children were born healthy. Through the course of vaccination, antibiotics and environmental insult they became sick.
Rinse. Repeat. Re-use.
Although, the medical community at large may be ignoring the crisis in children’s health parents are not. They are tuning in, in greater numbers all the time. They see our Autistic children everywhere. They hear our heartbreak and they are heeding our warning, one Mom at a time. This is what’s working, and it’s working despite the fact that the medical industrial complex spends $30 billion a year trying to get you to think otherwise. Mom-to-Mom, one conversation at a time has resulted in 1 out of every 4 parents linking risk of Autism with vaccinations.
Now go to tell two friends, and so on and so on.
Speak up.
Don’t be afraid.
Stay with the group.
Don’t go it alone.
Tell your story.
We are Thinking Moms, and we are the revolution.
~ Mama Mac
Chills Mama Mac. You hit this out of the park. Was just talking to Sunshine the other day. When Harry was Dx’d the word ‘Activist’ was not even in my vocabulary. Being one sort-of snuck up on me. Sooo happy that my friends are all ears and are listening to me now. Awesomely amazing post. I hope this inspires others to get talking, and keep talking. xx
Sometimes when we tell what happened to our child we get the eye rolls but sometimes we get someone who actually listens and asks questions. I hope somewhere out there that there is a child who was spared because I said something. I sure wish someone had said it to me………….great post.
Awesome post. I wish there was more we could do to prevent other children and families from the torment that is autism.
Why won’t they listen? I guess we will make them listen.
Great Post…. I wish someone had said it to me too!!
I have spoken to so many people since my 16 yo son was damaged by vaccines and regressed into what they call autism.. I have gotten more eye rolls than I care to think about, and if they choose to ignore my warnings I pray for their children like nothing else… I play the Russian roulette scene in my head and pray the chamber is empty for their child(ren)
This post and your previous post about the conference have me yelling from the mountain tops!! I feel like I dodged a bullet in my family. My children are 8 and 11 and have developed ‘normally’. whatever. But my husband’s side is full of Autism and Asperger’s of every spectrum throughout his father’s side. Including his brother, first cousin, and Uncle. I thought for sure my son would be in that category as well.
My sister is developmentally disabled. Lives at home with my parents. She had meningitis as an infant and was brain damaged from the fever and the fact that she actually stopped breathing. When the nurses saw her after my mom brought her to the rural hospital in England, they scolded my mom telling her it wasn’t much of an emergency after all and she looks fine. They kept her anyway for several days and after that, she was never the same. She is 48 now and her medical file is the size of a several phone books.
In my small brain I really think it is the crap in our food. We are so different than any other country and I think it’s our FDA standards. The bottom line is always $$ and it pisses me off. They don’t have these issues in Europe. Their food supply isn’t poisoned!
I’ve seen my mom and her relentless fight on my sister’s behalf. I wish you all the strength in the world to continue yours.
We need your voice! Thank you!!!
Parents need to get informed. See the books, Vaccine Epidemic http://www.amazon.com/Vaccine-Epidemic-Corporate-Coercive-Government/dp/1616082720 , , and Make An Informed Vaccine Decision http://www.amazon.com/Informed-Vaccine-Decision-Health-Child/dp/1881217361/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329412776&sr=1-1
Also see the National Vaccine Information Center http://www.nvic.org/.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism http://www.ageofautism.com
The LA Times recently published this review of the new film, “Greater Good,” an in-depth look at the vaccine safety debate. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/14/entertainment/la-et-capsules-greater-good20111014
The short trailer to this movie on their website http://www.greatergoodmovie.org/experts-in-the-field makes it clear that there are experts on both side and a lot of serious questions that need to be asked. The medical community and health officials promote vaccines as the greatest achievement in modern medicine yet there is growing fear over vaccine side effects.
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism http://www.ageofautism.com/
Pingback: AnneDachel.com » Blog Archive » thinkingmomsrevolution: “While Rome Burns”
See the coverage of The Great Good in the ID Mountain Express:
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005141182 .
You are nicer than I am. You would never say “I told you so”. I don’t say that, but I do shrug my shoulders and say, “What did you expect? for 17 years now I have been telling John’s story, talking about the dangers of vaccines, posting information on knowing your own genetic back ground, handing out “know, before you go” cards, but you didn’t listen, you thought I was a crazy lady looking for someone or something to blame. Who is crazy now?” I mean it. I am tired of people not listening and then when it happens acting shocked and saying nobody told me. WELL TELL THEM THINKING MOMS!! post it far and wide. get on tv, be in the new papers, scream….maybe one day….someone will hear us.
Hi there, can you tell me what you mean by knowing your genetic background? I was injured by a vaccine, and after 3 years in Vaccine (Hell) Court, my attorney advised me to drop the case today, as I was recently diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. It’s so rare, I’m having a hard time finding a doctor who can pronounce the disease, let alone treat me or testify for me. If you have any information re: genetic predisposition to vaccine injury, I’d love to hear more.
Hi,
You commented “recently diagnosed with a rare genetic disease.” has got to be very, very unusual as a grown adult to just find out. Could you please name it and describe your health issues as I don’t think we are discussing the same issues here with the kids and an autism diagnosis. Furthermore, what vaccine caused your injury and can you list your health timeline since then? Hope you are feeling better.
Sure - i was diagnosed last month with Hereditary Hemochromotasis - Iron Overload. Neuropathy, pain, fatigue and double vision were the symptoms that appeared after I was given a course of Hep A, Hep B, DTP and Pneumonia vaccines (7 shots within 8 months.) That was 4 1/2 years ago - I was 48 years old at the time and had no health issues or symptoms at the time. I realize that this is a forum for parents about the questions of vaccinations for their children, but I was curious about your reference to genetics. I guess my question is, is there a genetic predisposition for some people to have adverse reactions?
Hi.
Not sure if this helps.
I just did a bit of googling. This small article may speak on how this genetic (or acquired) defect — could iron overload cause issues with viral and/or bacterial vaccine components?:
http://evmedreview.com/?p=652
Hemochromatosis and Y. pestis Infection
Apr 18th, 2011 by Robert Perlman
“The CDC report suggested that my colleague’s hemochromatosis-induced iron overload might have increased the virulence of this attenuated Y. pestis strain.
Eugene Weinberg and others have studied the molecular mechanisms of our evolved iron-withholding defenses and have documented the importance of these defenses in protecting us against pathogens (3). The reduced serum iron seen in patients with infectious diseases is now recognized as an adaptation that decreases the virulence of these diseases, and the dangers of giving iron to patients with infections are well known….”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine
Hi, For years we have know that regressive autistic children come from families with a host of immune system issues. Parents or grandparents with rheumatoid arthritis, crones, IBS, psoriasis, and other skin issues, MS, and another other immune system disorder, are keys that your child may have a vaccine reaction where the body turns on it’s self. Poll parents with late onset or regressive autism and it will come up everytime. Granted in the last 20 years or so with the change of food, genetic tampering and such more people have these issues, but I use this as a guide to slow or no vaccines for people who wish to protect their children from vaccine damage. If I had known this, my son would never have been vaxed, our family is riddled on both sides with issues.
I love all of you so much. I have felt like I have been screaming…SOMETHING HAPPENED TO MY SON… almost alone for 16 years. I am so sorry that my screaming did no good. I am grateful that there is finally a tremendous ground swell of voices, but so sad that it’s because there are so many more injured children.
The difference between a vaccinator (Dr.) and firefighter is that a firefighter would never walk past a burning building, so we must all be just like them. And the Pres. and Michelle are simply playing good cop,bad cop, and doing whatever it takes to stay in that position.
As for that lost career, come on down to California! Now that the boy is over 18 I am a full time employee of the state! This keeps our kids out of the institutional system where it would cost them in excess of $300,000, per year to care for him!!
Pray that the cost of caring for the tens of thousands will start to shake America!! Money is all most people understand. Keep writing ladies.
We love you, too, KFuller. And you’ve made a difference for WAY more people than you know. Believe me.
KFuller - one of the original TMs!
I <3 you, Miss Karen! You HAVE made a difference, sweetie! Never forget that…ever.
Absolutely. People are listening, and you have made a difference.
This post really hits home. I am a family practice physician, used to deliver beautiful babies and had a fair sized pediatric population in a small town. My world changed about 15 months ago when my daughter was vaccine injured and regressed into autism. I had little experience with autism, no training and really had not seen any patients with it. Oh but I definitely knew it when I saw it! It’s been devastating and I’ve had no help from colleagues and I’ve seen the eye rolls from respected professionals that I know well. Ive had colleagues say the most ridiculous things to me…like I don’t have the same education they do. I feel like my education has failed me. I was once so proud to call myself a physician, now not so much. But one thing you must know. I truly felt there wasn’t a connection. I had no parents report a connection to me personally, no patients in my practice that this happened to and I believed what I was told and what was reported in the literature. I was naive. I have learned so much. I have read so much. My daughter has made me a better mother, doctor and made me more open minded and willing to listen and learn. I have definitely changed the way I do things. I talk to patients. I educate. I read anything I can get my hands on. I do the best I can, but I am one person. I love your blog and these websites but most physicians don’t have an agenda and are doing the best they can to teach what they have learned. Most don’t even know what they were taught is wrong! I’m so not defending because I live in both worlds and have experienced exactly what you have from providers. I have had no help from my doctor. I called EI got services started, started biomedical therapy and have continued to tweak it with the help of a biomed doctor. I don’t know how much power I have in the medical establishment. I use my voice to educate my patients and share my story. The establishment is powerful and I cannot afford to lose my job(be Wakefielded) I have to work to support an autistic child. For I am also a warrior mom:)
Lisa, thank you for saying what so many of us have been saying, and saying it from a doctor’s and a mother’s perspective. Consider coming to the Autism One Conference in Chicago the last week of May. http://www.autismone.org/content/autismone-generation-rescue-conference-2012 Many of the Thinking Moms will be there, and there will be more information than you could possibly hope for. I think so much of the problem with pediatric practices is exactly that…doctors don’t even realize or know that their practices are the root of the problem. We need to change this as parents and patients. We need to re-educate the physicians to protect our children.
I went last year changed my life! It’s a date! Would love to meet you guys!
Lisa, thank you for every word you have put on this page. You are a thinking mom and you will be a revolutionary doctor. Let us support you while you heal your daughter. You are one of us and we are proud to have you among us.
Thank you! Tears of joy!
Dear Lisa, Many years ago I wrote a hot and not so nice note about Md’s to an Md who was looking for parents that had an autistic child. I let him have it. The next morning that man called me and told me HIS story of vaccine damage with his son. Like you, he didn’t know. Once it happened, he made it his life’s work to undo the damage to his child and others. His name is Jerry Kartzine, you can find him in the book section having co-written a book with Jenny McCarthy. I share this with you, becuase sadly, I don’t think anything hurts as badly as when doctors and nurses see it within their own children after years of trusting what you were taught. I know you cannot afford to loose your job, and having to walk on both sided is difficult. Please, please work with us, we will help you learn what we have already learned over the years. Most of all, keep taking a stand. There are more doctors out there in your shoes than you know. Read their books, contact them and see if you can find a way to bring light of treating autism to your town. Best of luck to you and your child. I will keep you in thoughts and prayers.
Cheryl aka John’s Mom
I think you mean Dr. Jerry Kartzinel who practices in Southern California and Florida and treats ASD families from all over the world. He’s the author of Healing and Preventing Autism with Jenny McCarthy. Some of his webinars (with topics like Sleep, Constipation, and Parent Stress) are available free on his website http://www.mendingautism.com
Lisa, I am crying reading this. When you have a sec, friend Goddes Tmr on facebook, I have something that might help you.
Having a hard time finding you!
Lisa, I have thought about you all day. Join me on facebook. http://www.facebook.com/cherylinamory?ref=tn_tnmn Every day I post new information and can connect you with a Mom who not only recovered her son, opened up a center to help others. I want to see you recover your daughter. Yes, I want all kids recovered, but you really have a story to tell when you are the MD who makes this happen. We are not going to stop until you have success!! Chin up, life has tossed you a hard blow, but you are going to take it and change the world for others. Be blessed and stay in touch.
Thank you, Lisa. Thank you for sharing what you have witnessed and for knowing just exactly what we’re going through.
Wow!!!!! Standing Ovation over here!!!!
SafeMinds has a well-written, attractively designed brochure on avoiding flu shots that contain mercury; the brochure can be given to one’s physician. Perhaps some thinking moms with writing and graphic arts skills could produce a similar brochure describing vaccine injury symptoms, treatment, reporting and prevention. Then print 10,000 copies and do a helicopter lit drop on the next AAP convention….
I am so very proud to be standing by your side in this fight. Let’s make some noise!
Thanks all for the kind words! I am proud to be a warrior mom. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. Don’t get me wrong I HATE autism with every fiber of my being but it has taught me some of the most important lessons and I will never stop fighting or spreading the word! Cheryl you are right! It is so incredibly painful. Something you were once so proud of has let you down in the most devastating way. I trusted wholeheartedly in what I was doing! I loved being a family physician..it was a privilege to deliver a baby, care for the mother and child, and continue to care for them. It would kill me if I knew that I harmed any one of those people! I treat patients as family. I am hoping at some point to take the courses and become a biomed provider. Maybe I can make amends for the medical community’s ignorance. But first I need to recover my daughter!
Many DAN/alternative docs are autism parents. You are not alone in finding out too late that there is so much good, but also so much bad, in modern allopathic medicine. Your voice will be very important in the future. It’s hard to argue with someone who is in your position. Thanks for being here and sharing your story.
((((((((Lisa))))))))
Would you consider becoming a biomed doc yourself? Can’t wait to meet you in person at A1. You are the kind of Warrior Thinking Mom that makes us all proud.
Thanks Tex,
I have thought about it. Looked into to starting my own practice. It’s all so scary because it can all be taken from you with one disgruntled patient that doesn’t agree with what your doing and has an agenda. And then I couldn’t even provide for my family. I try to use what I’ve learned in my practice now and I am going to take the practitioners courses when I can to learn even more:)
Howdy Lisa,
We saw a fabulous DAN doc who opened his own practice after turning down a prestigious position heading up the Kaiser Autism Center in Northern California (San Jose area). He wanted to take it but they would not allow him to use any bio-medical therapies. Nice. Nice and stupid of Kaiser. You can do it!
Alison, you have been heard by many! And we thank you, keep it up!
Hi Lisa,
My name is Kim. I live in San Ramon, California with my attorney husband and our son, who is soon to be 19 years old. Before our son was born in 1993, I had been warned about the potential risk factors with vaccines by a dear friend of mine. Frankly, I thought she was a little too homespun for me (I mean, she was into Mothering Magazine, go figure) and I eventually turned a blind eye to the facts she shared with me. Long story short, I am Rh-negative and have a family history replete with allergy issues, asthma (me), ADHD (one first cousin) and, coupled with my husband’s issues with severe allergy issues, I didn’t do my homework, sadly enough. Even though I’d tested negative to Hep B, they vaccinated our son anyway - when he wasn’t quite 12 hours old. He reacted with severe jaundice, yet they claimed they didn’t know why he was running a low-grade fever his first week of life, and professed no knowledge as to why he was SO severely jaundiced. By the time he had his second full round of vaccines at four months of age, he awakened from complete somnolence, to a high-pitched and prolonged screaming episode, which our pediatrician listened to, over the phone. They readily acknowledged our son’s vaccine reaction and duly recorded it into his medical files. We quit vaccinating our son after the age of six months, yet even still, we went through some very tortuous years of vaccine damage recovery. Today, though, Ryan is completely healthy and doing beautifully, socially and academically.
When I read your story and found you are a physician, I cried inside. I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling. I’m sure you must feel deceived by those who trained you and I can relate how heart broken you feel about your daughter. And yes, sometimes through the horrific pain of these issues, come the lessons we all need to learn. All things do happen for a reason.
Best wishes to you and to your daughter. You’ve definitely found some awesome folks, here, who will help you on your path.
Thank you so much Kim! It means so much.
Bayareamom, I’m SO glad your physician acknowledged the vaccine injury. Many people in your position have had no success getting physicians to acknowledge what’s right in front of their eyes. When someone in an “authority position” denies our reality, it can make for a very strange mental state. Many people handle that by continuing to “trust in their doctors” to their later regret. It’s wonderful that you were able to stop by six months and bring your son back. By the way, I’ve heard — anecdotally, there’s that word again… how many anecdotes does it take till it counts as data? — that the hep B shot is associated with much higher levels of newborn jaundice. But you won’t hear that from the medical mainstream.
As a grandmother of an autistic child knowing that at six months, because she missed her three months vaccination, the doctor gave her both at the same time. Two weeks later her parents say she was gone from them. Her name is Ireland and sometimes you can see the sweet child she was meant. to be. The monstrous, unprincipled medical society of burn out cancers, that shoots little defenseless children with over 40 vaccines before they start school ought to be shut down. And the hypocritical CDC which is agregiously involved in pushing flu shots every fall to fill up the purse strings of the manufacturer.
Everyday my voice shakes but I can’t shut up. The children need us to stand up and be strong. We saw where the submissiveness got us…autism. This girl don’t work that corner no more. We are all amazing moms. We are hopeful that tomorrow our child will recover and we can fully exhale. A big hug of thanks for your writing. Do what you do best to create change. And you are creating a change. Congratulation and thanks for getting our words in print.
The more you speak up, the less your voice will shake. Go, Kerri!
As I was scrolling down, I came across Lisa’s story. I too, have a son with Autism. I’ve been a hair colorist by trade for many years. I’ve trained with some of the best hairdressers in this country. I also owned and operated my own salon in Philadelphia for many years. When I reflect back over this portion of my life, I will say I made a living. Now I want to make a difference! I just enrolled in Intergrative Nutrition school and I aspire to help our kids on the spectrum through their nutrition needs. Yes, I am nervous and scared also. Change is never easy!! I prayed so long so that God would put me on the right path. I believe I’ve found it! Your story inspired me, Lisa! Do all you can to help our children. We Need You!!!!
We need people like you too. Good luck to you. I’m sure you will find it very rewarding! We can make a difference one mama at a time!
Have you read the book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Kenneth Bock, MD ? I am interested to know what you think of it.
Thinkingmomsrevolution, Mama Mac, could you please comment on whether or not you have read “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders” by Kenneth Bock, MD ? I am interested in getting your perspective on this book. If you don’t have a copy, I could mail one to you.
Sheryl, I can’t speak for Mama Mac, but I believe MOST of the Thinking Moms have read that book. It’s been a huge help for many of us. I can say it was one of the first things that started me on the road to helping my two children one with ADHD and the other who used to have Apraxia. Dr. Bock relies on drugs a bit more than some of us might like. After all, we’ve been burned by pharmaceuticals; it’s hard to believe they are the way out, but overall his thinking and techniques are pretty sound. I believe he had a method for vaccinating safely, too? I personally wouldn’t do it, but I think if you ARE going to vaccinate you would be wise to listen to him.
Thank you, Professor. I didn’t realize Dr Bock used medications much. I would not like that. But the book was very helpful for me in seeing an MD with such a holistic perspective and understanding of environmental factors. Plus he tests before prescribing anything. I found a clinic in Minnesota that has a similar perspective. But my insurance company rejecting the claim stating the protocols were “experimental or investigational” (Like giving children medications without testing first is less experimental?!)
Unfortunately, the problem you’re having with insurance reimbursement is a problem across the board unless you have an amazing health plan. Many health treatments designed to actually get you healthier are not covered while the “standard of care” i.e. drugs to manage your systems, are covered 100%. It’s a whacked out world that is — so far — controlled by pharmaceutical companies, but we’re working on that!
Totally awesome post! Knocked my socks off!
At first my nephew was diagnosed as developmentally delayed, (because he would not participate in testing) After he was diagnosed with Autism, his pediatrician tried to give him another combined vaccine. When his mother questioned and declined she was told there is no proof it is a cause, Well for me, it hasn’t been proven it is not.. and that’s not good enough. There was a study at Columbia University that when mice were given mercury, like that included in combined vaccines, one set developed Autistic symptoms, the set pre disposed to Auto Immune.
Since for years we have heard varying theories on ADHD & Autism, some I have heard were Soy Milk, Children with ear tubes, Chronic ear infections, to Milk allergies. Well hold on many of those issues could be related to each other, Many children with chronic ear infections do get tubes in their ears, & put on soy milk. right?
My family has Auto Immune issues. My daughter, and a sister are diabetic. It is said it is caused by having a gene (auto Immune) and then a virus that causes the body into the incorrect Auto Immune response which causes it to attack pancreatic cells instead of the virus.
Is it not also possible that the assault to our children before their immune systems are fully developed could not also trigger an incorrect Auto Immune response. They looked for proof it was the only cause, and cite it not effecting enough children, what if they need only look at certain children, would this change the outcome of the studies?
Kathy, please read my blog posts here from the 13th and 14th. I said the same thing to the CDC. No one is paying attention to the immune history in new babies’ families or taking the status of the babies’ health into account AT ALL. Vaccinate them all as fast as you can, sick, preemie, mommy with fibro, who cares, that’s their motto. My son would not have autism if someone took into account his grandmothers’ medical diagnoses and inquired about vaccine reactions in the family and then vaccinated accordingly.
Absolutely. The single biggest thing kids with autism seem to have in common is families with histories of autoimmune issues. And, the most plausible theory I’ve seen for the huge rise in autoimmune conditions we’re seeing today has to do with injecting people, especially children, with things that they develop antibodies to. Some of those things are common in the human body and thus the antibodies attack the sites in the body where those things are located.
Moms with vaccine injured children… please keep shouting, get word out to other parents! My prayer is that vaccines will never become manditory. Also one more suggestion, when telling your story to others, please remind them that there is a good way to keep away sickness, build up your childs immune system with good vitamines, feed them a healthy diet and keep them home if they are sick. Very simple to do and the health of their child and of others will not be compromised.
Oh Kendra, vaccine are mandatory in a few places. I live in MS, don’t vaccinate and social services will be at your door, yes, your child can be removed for abuse for failing to vaccinate. For this reason, the ones who choose not to vaccine or to use a different scheduled, go into hiding and don’t talk. It’s a shame to live in a state where not vaxing is considered child abuse. Slowly states such as Maine are under attack. When I my son damaged, my md told me behind a closed door with no witnesses what had happened and in the next breath let me know in no uncertain terms he would not admit to it publicly or report the damage. NOTHING in America is move covered up or lied about….than vaccine damage. Sadly also nothing else is as pushed on parents as vaccines….
I am talking now, too. I asked a young mom I work with yesterday, who was telling me her 9 month old son just received his second flu shot while being examined for his 10th ear infection, if she wants to be like my husband? She looked confused - so I ellaborated - 5 shots at one time when my son had a cold was what did our son in…..and my husband will never forgive himself. She gets it now.
Wendy Frye
Sheryl, I like Bock’s book. I especially like the fact that he sees childhood environmental illness as a continuum that includes asthma, ADHD and allergies as well as Autism. I also really like Bryan Jepson’s book: Changing the Course of Autism and McCandless’s book, Starving Children, Starving Brains. These are just two more of the amazing bio med books out there. I could go on and on. But I want to give a shout out to the yahoo and FB groups where parents are sharing help with each other on an up to the minute and daily basis, great cutting edge help. Good luck Sheryl and thank you for reading.
Thank you. Are there any books that discuss how to get insurance companies to pay for blood tests and office visits for Dr Bocks type of approach to healing the allergies, asthma, ADHD and autism?
There are some great resources that may help with your insurance question on the TACA website…found here:
http://www.tacanow.org/tag/resources/
Hi Sheryl - I feel I need to chime in here. The thing that really needs to be stressed is this: Autism is expensive and much of that expense is going to come out of your pocket. There are some treatments and lab work that are covered by insurance and there are some that are not. As you see your child progress, you will probably agree that every penny of your own money spent was well worth it.
Regarding “Blessed with Autism” I can only share my story. After employing the author, we were targeted by our insurance company and it took over a year, as well as an attorney and the fees related to that, to get out of that mess. I am sure that Ms. Peck has helped many families get coverage for COVERED treatments, but you simply will not get covered for treatments or lab work that is deemed experimental by insurance companies. (Keep in mind they don’t even cover ‘experimental’ treatments for cancer, an illness they recognize as being purely medical. They still don’t recognize Autism as medical - a whole ‘nother topic of conversation.)
My point is, be careful that you know what you’re submitting and if possible, speak with your insurance company prior to submitting a claim. If you give them the CPT (treatment) code as well as the ICD (diagnosis) code, they should be able to tell you what type of coverage is available BEFORE you decide to do. If finances are an issue (as they are for many of us), this is a really safe route to take as you’ll know what is or isn’t covered.
Best,
Jerry
According to the clinic, they coded for an “office visit” for allergies and asthma. Which is true. Nothing remotely experimental happened at the office visit. But I have a feeling that the insurance company is familiar that this clinic offers alternative approaches, and automatically deny anything with their name on it.
Sounds like you have a good case for an “office visit for allergies and asthma”. If that’s all the codes required, they will probably have to pay if you appeal. Insurance companies like to make people jump through hoops. A lot of people won’t, therefore they get to pay out a lot less.
Lisa….an absolutely awesome post! So spot on and no holds barred. I am not the mother of an autistic child, but have followed the autism community for over a year now. I also follow many other health areas in general…particularly nutrition-related. Why don’t “they” listen? It’s called turning a deaf ear or denial. It’s called having to go way out of one’s comfort zone. They (parents and non-parents) can’t get it through their heads that doctors are not Gods and that their main goal is ($$$) and not your child’s health. They also don’t make the connection between big pHarma, insurance companies, investors, crooked scientists and right down to your pediatrician who all work so diligently to keep us sick. This is not an autism-exclusive problem, indeed it covers all fields related to health…..it’s just that autism is particularly heart-breaking and devastating because it’s “our” kids, our future, and it’s just plain wrong! I see a shift in thinking, and I believe the tide is slowly turning. When it reaches a certain point (and I think it’s very close if not there) the momentum will swell. Then, when it is popular to believe that vaccines cause injury, others will be willing to let loose of their long hard-held beliefs in our medical system. It is the public that is going to have to speak out and fight back. Those in power have shown their intentions are not honorable or ethical, but indeed may be evil. Bless you and those who continue to fight the hard fight.
I agree that big Pharma wants to keep us sick. I don’t think most doctors are intentionally trying to do that. They have just been brainwashed, and believe what they were taught. Or they don’t want to get fired. And researchers know that finding the wrong answer is dangerous. Reminds me of this recent news story: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/07/victory-for-struck-off-mmr-vaccine-research-doctor_n_1326377.html?just_reloaded=1
Sorry, I mean: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/07/victory-for-struck-off-mmr-vaccine-research-doctor_n_1326377.html
OMG………..this is my story!!
This is a powerful read. Who out there is unaware or living in blissful ignorance or denial because you haven’t been affected… or have you? Got an autoimmune disease? Cancer? Severe allergy? Fibromyalgia? It’s something to chew on for sure. What is it that broke the camels back? Since we don’t know, we can’t afford to ignore anything.
Keep fighting! Keep talking about it, keep searching!
Great post Alison! I’m proud to stand among you all.
Sheryl, the book, Blessed with Autism by Christina Peck is the bet resource I have read on how to get Insurance coverage for treatments for our kids. Chock full of info, really worth it.
Thank you. My son has a ton of allergies, including life threatening food allergies, asthma, and ADHD. He does not have a diagnosis of autism. Would “Blessed with Autism” still be a good resource for me? I am at the beginning of a fight with the insurance company for not covering lab work and office visits.
Allergies are the biggest issue for my autistic son and my adhd son. I really would like to recommend Dr. Doris Rapp, “Is This Your Child”. She discusses brain allergies that act like developmental issues. Saved a lot of extra testing and treatments and also offered some insight into how to offset a reaction. I’m a little old school here ~
Wendy
Sheryl - please see my comment about regarding insurance.
Jerry
Professor,
Oh absolutely - the Hep B vaccine can cause the SAME issues as actually having…drum roll…Hep B!! Go figure. Unbelievable, isn’t it? AND THEY TESTED ME. They tested ALL the soon-to-be moms at Denver’s Rose Medical Center (where our son was born), prior to giving birth. What might ask why in the heck they tested all of the moms, if they were going to vaccinate our newborns with the Hep B vaccine anyway. None of this makes sense, unless you dig a little deeper.
From my understanding, there was an interesting study that was taken into consideration the day that the ACIP approved HepB at birth. They decided that although a mother could be tested for HepB (and almost always be negative) that the test would not be accurate if the mother had been exposed in the last 3 months. The study showed that Dads are most likely to be unfaithful in the last trimester of pregnancy, and therefore, any mother could be incubating and not showing a positive. As I type that, I cannot get my jaw off the ground. How about you?
My jaw certainly dropped. So your kid has to have a hep B shot on the off-chance that your husband was unfaithful in the last trimester and transferred hep B to you? I just can’t get my head around the incredibly bogus justifications used for poking tiny little newborns with needles full crap.
This is so exciting to read - reading the words of another parent who echos exactly my feelings is a beautiful thing!! We need to DO SOMETHING - like get together, all of us, and run through the streets naked to get everyone’s undivided attention…it wouldn’t be pretty, but it would do the job… Its way past due time!! Who’s with me?!
Thank you Mama for your posting. I’m sorry for what happened to your child. None of my 3 children have been vaccinated. As a child of the 70′s, I received all my vaccines, including small pox. When I took my first born son to the family pediatrician’s office, the Doctor told me he wouldn’t see us if we did not vaccinate per the CDC guidelines. He knew I was an RN. He said that if I didn’t agree with him on the issue of pediatric vaccinations then when else would I disagree with him? Thank God I didn’t shrink away from that challenge. I have since found two wonderful pediatricians who allow me to think independantly and make an informed choice for my children. I would urge all parents to be informed about vaccinations and why it’s not publicized that the CDC has a victims of vaccination fund for children damaged/killed by vaccinations.
I am particularly impressed by your courage and determination given that you are an RN and went through the same training so many others with closed minds have. Too bad that physician requires that all his patients “agree” with him. He’s probably like that with his wife or husband, too. Got a lot to learn.
Thanks to all of you for your posts….I finally feel like the sinking ship we’re on can stay afloat, if only powered by sheer spite and vengeance! Alison, your words are like a string of pearls of wisdom. How can we make doctors listen? I am at a low point with my 9 year old daughter, who has been damaged by vaccines, then nitrous oxide, and now risperdal and other anti-psychotics. They turned me away from the emergency room when I brought her in for out of control behavior and chronic akathisia, dyskinesia, withdrawal syndrome, aggression and self-injurious behavior. I wouldn’t allow the hospital to put her back on the drugs they she reacted badly to. The ER doctor told me I was “stepping outside of my boundaries” when I “diagnosed” her and gave him medical literature to support my belief in what was happening to her. He threw it back and me and said “Oh you think you know how to take care of your daughter? And this is what she looks like? Great job. “There is no such thing as neuroleptic withdrawal syndrome. She just has autism”. So I sat on the lawn in front of the treatment center and cried, with a new black eye from my daughter and her screaming and feral with anxiety and muscle spasms. No one would believe me. No one would help. We have been living with this sad, anguished child in this chronically restless, self-injurious state for 3 long years. She finally was admitted on a different day (3 times in the psyche ward in 1 year just for adverse effects of drugs , though not for help with drug tapering and detox. That’s not what doctors do. They just put her back on the same drug, higher dose, and added 3 more meds to the zombie cocktail. Do they think we make up this stuff? Don’t they know how to Google for their precious peer-reviewed papers? When can we start hitting ‘em where it hurts - sue them for malpractice?! And here’s the clincher: she still hits herself over 600 times an hour, even after all their medical “help”. First do no harm? What supreme hypocrisy. Thank god for all of you.
My heart is broken for you, Sharie, and your daughter. Actually, my heart is already broken for all of our kids, this just happened to take my breath away. It is unfathomable what you have been through. This is why we fight.
Sharie, Is it possible for you to take your daughter to see Dr Kenneth Bock at the Rhinebeck Clinic in New York? Or someplace like it?
I’d LOVE to! As soon as I sue the pants off of Kaiser, I’m trading those disgusting soiled dungarees for a plane ticket and treatment. Wish I could…have starting saving…huge thanks for your compassion.
Sharie, Is there a clinic in your area with a similar treatment perspective? So you wouldn’t have to fly to New York.
We had one open recently in our area, in Minnesota. But my insurance refused to pay for the initial office visit, and lab work and anything else. So I am in the midst of that battle now.
Sheryl, just coming back to you…apparently a wise Thinking Mom just let me know she had a bad experience with the advice in the Blessed With Autism book and WOULD NOT recommend anyone follow it.
What did she try and what was the bad result?
Alison’s talking about what Jerry posted about her experience with the author of the book.
Hello Thinking Moms, I am one of you. Living in EU (Slovakia), after a time of year fighting against the system /created with 22 combinatied vaccines for kids to have till their 15 y/ to get right to be able making dessicions about not vaccinating myself and my kids (8 and11) I was punished to pay some kind of tax and in every letter from the hygienic center was written, how Im a bad mother taking my kids into the biggest hazard and stopped for them the most important health care. It was hard time staying face to face, alone, without any professional help -legal assistance, but I am sure, that is nothing compared to parents of disabled children with. I am blessing you, yours kids and wish to find peace and light for every day! (do not judge me, please, bec my English).
FNJ
FNJ, no worries about the English. We’re delighted you stopped by to post. We encourage people from all nationalities and we’re happy to wade through posts that are written by those who do not speak English on a regular basis. Two of our founders have English as a second language. Thanks for coming by!
Thank you for a superb post! I am forever grateful I first researched this issue when pregnant with my oldest. We now have four healthy, unvaxed sons. We live in a state with only a medical exemption for school admittance, but we homeschool, so are not affected. I’ve met people however, who actually managed to obtain the exemptions, and yet were still denied school entrance!
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Yep. So relate. Of all the things I dreamed of being when I “grew up,” an activist was never one of them. Yet, here I am. I’ve marched on Washington numerous times; given speeches before thousands on the front lawn of The Capital; testified before numerous State legislatures; lobbied State legislators and members of U.S. Congress (on my own dime) so many times that I lost count; picketed in front of the CDC, the FDA, the Institute of Medicine, the Supreme Court; written letters to editors of dozens of papers; given more interviews than I can remember; been on the national news several times (once while shaking the Mama “shame on you” finger at a senior CDC official and lecturing him not realizing a CBS Evening News crew was filming his humiliation at being lectured by a mere parent); given dozens of scientific lectures on the dangers of mercury in vaccines; been subpoenaed and deposed because of my forensic accounting research into the corrupt world of vaccines, Big Pharma, CDC, FDA and WHO; and talked to thousands of parents, grandparents, numerous researchers and physicians…all because my son was injured by vaccines. Despite never wanting to be an activist, a Warrior Mama, I am and forever will be because I can not bear the thought of allowing it to happen to another child if I didn’t tell about our experience. So sad that it is necessary to be a Warrior Parent but so very, very proud and honored to stand with other amazing women (and equally amazing men) a be part of this Revolution…the Thinking Moms Revolution. As my dear friend, Leslie Weed, would say, “Soldier On!”
Awesome post- will share. I am the mother of a 34 yr old son with autism. I know my son was born with autism but as deeply as I know that, I also know that many more children have been sentenced to autism with vaccines and am doing my best to shout it from the hilltops. I am sure many of my facebook friends are sick of my many posts on it- too bad. If I reach just one parent and make them think about it, it’s all worth it. I too will be screaming, I told you so!!! when the truth finally comes out and all the murders of ours childrens “normal” lives are revealed.
Keep on posting on your facebook page. People are reading it, and you are helping. Probably the people you help the most are reading your posts, and you don’t even know it.
How do you know your child was “born with autism?”
Great post and great comments. I looked into the autism-vaccine issue nearly ten years ago when I was single because that’s the sort of thing I would do on my free time and came to the conclusion there was a big cover-up. I’m now married and have a healthy 3 year old unvaccinated son. Ironically, my wife is a special ed teacher teaching autistic children. I keep a folder on all the research showing the connection between autism and allergies and vaccines dating back to the 80′s. I have access to Lexis-Nexis and online journals because I work at a university (doing unrelated research). When someone tells me there’s no proven link between vaccines and autism I simply reply “Show me two results from research that 1) reveal that the completely unvaccinated population have the same incidence of autism that the vaccinated population have and 2) reveal that the vaccinated population are healthier than the unvaccinated population. That will shut up anyone since there are no such studies. As Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former head of the National Institute of Health said, “There is a completely expressed concern that they don’t want to pursue a hypothesis (showing the vaccine-autism link) because that hypothesis could be damaging to the public health community at large by scaring people.” I believe there’s an insidious program underway for nefarious reasons as a method of population control, to keep people so preoccupied and brain damaged in order to be contained in a matrix style imprisonment to service the privileged few. I could go on and on…
I am the mother of a 9 year old boy with autism. I made the mistake of taking him in for his routine vaccinations (this time it was the MMR) within 24 hours the little boy I knew was GONE. I will NEVER forgive myself for what happened to him. I HATE people/companies who push vaccinations and drugs! My fondest wish for them is that they all rot in hell!
By the way, Lisa, my late husband was an M.D., as well. I spent many years as a nurse in physicians’ offices…totally understand what you’re feeling. Our son was injured by the flu vaccine at 7 1/2 years old. Diagnosed as Asperger’s Syndrome at 8. We not only had to fight the “autism” but our medical colleagues, as well.
Hi= posting from AoA blog-
Thanks, Cat and great job, Alison on getting the word out. Not much has changed in getting medical help for vaccine injuries over the years since Megan regressed ( a nice word for assault by chemicals) 18 years ago. I think for your next blog it would be very helpful to describe what parents can do after hanging up that phone, when they have been dismissed and their child’s symptoms minimized.
How about a hotline for vaccine injuries?
I don’t even call it autism anymore, I just call it vaccine damage. Sure I get lots of eye rolls, but so what ? If people want to react that way, then that’s their choice. And lets be honest, this legalized child abuse that they call a vaccine schedule, is a little too much for some people to accept all at once. But rest assured that even the eye rollers are hearing us, and the next time one of THEIR loved ones inexplicably stops talking, our words will be return to the front of their minds.
I’d like to think that we’re making a difference, and to a small extent I believe we are. But I’m afraid what’s really making the difference, is that vaccine damage in now just too prevalent to be ignored. My generation knew nothing about autism, yet in my child’s generation the, prevalence has somehow soured to as high as 1 in 67. It wasn’t always there, genetics could NEVER work that fast, and parents really aren’t dumb enough to keep swallowing those excuses.
Truth passes through three phases:
1. t is ridiculed.
2. it is fiercely and violently opposed.
3. it becomes self-evident.
The sad truth, especially for our children, is that we are finally entering phase 3. It’s a crying shame that it had to end this way.
Thank you for putting into words just exactly what needed to be said. This is amazing. Just amazing, Mama Mac.
Please know that there are people like myself who do NOT have autistic children but who also scream the dangers of vaccines from the rooftops. And like you, we are alone. But we keep screaming.
Good can come out of the tragedy of the autism epidemic. How? By enabling change of the system which treats people as “Things”.
At the moment we have an aroused democracy, pressing for change e.g. via political activism viz http://www.canaryparty.org/. Trust me, as a “Wakefielded” UK doctor, I am proud of the description!
Get to it!