Best Christmas Ever

We didn't have to fight the crowds to go anywhere or clean the house for company. We had a little money this year and got to buy the boys things they wanted. We had a beautiful white New England Christmas, except that it was also sunny and bright.

But none of those reasons were the reason that it was the best Christmas ever.

It was the best because Chandler has fully joined us in Christmas this year.

"Who is dis present for"?
"Can I open it?"
"What's inside?"
"Its a... its a... LEGO INDIANA JONES"!
"COOL!"
"Awwwwww.... huuuuugggggssss".

"Wait... where's my Darth Maul light saber?! Gimme dat Webster!"

I remember when we had to sit him on our laps and do hand over hand to get him to unwrap a present, which he may or may not have had any interest in.

This year we had a big breakfast at the table, and he didn't try to leave, or crawl under the table, or stand in his chair. He read his Christmas cards out loud, took turns opening presents, showed off his gifts and took pictures of us. He decorated the tree with us and played Wii bowling and tennis and soccer and even Yoga with us.

He is just with us now.

I even dared to put three glass ornaments on the tree this year. I might even go out tomorrow and pick up some more on sale.

I will leave you with some of his photographs from today. I got the camera out to take pics of the kids, but I forgot to and Chan took over.





















Merry Christmas

Thank Senator McCain and Ask Him to Keep Fighting For Our Kids

Lin Wessels, whose sweet son Sam caught Senator McCain's attention more than a year ago, has written a letter to John McCain thanking him for all he has done for our kids and asking him to continue fighting for them from his position in the Senate.

Please consider adding your signature to the letter as I have.

Thank you Senator McCain.

Jenny McCarthy, JB Handley and Stan Kurtz of Generation Rescue on Larry King Tomorrow

From AOA:

Jenny McCarthy, JB Handley and Stan Kurtz will appear on Larry King Live Saturday Dec. 20 at 9pm eastern, 6pm pacific. The show is focused on autism with very direct discussions about vaccines, how to lower your risks of having a child with autism and how to effectively treat children with autism for their medical issues.

Fire up your TIVOs.

FDA Officially Jumps The Shark, Tells Pregnant Women To Eat Mercury Laden Fish

From the "How stupid do they think we are" department....

WaPo: FDA Draft Report Urges Consumption of Fish, Despite Mercury Contamination.

They will soon claim that the benefits of the omega 3s found in fish are worth the mercury poisoning.

Apparently they have not heard that you can get cheated fish oil in a little pill which gives pregnant women all the bennies of fish oil with out all the brain damagie effects of mercury.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in his comments last summer at the Green our Vaccines rally talked about the phenomenon of agencies being captured by the industries that they are supposed to be regulating. I think that once we find out exactly how this report came to be, this will turn out to be a huge, glaring example of this destructive trend. I will be surprised if we don't find Big Tuna's fin prints all over this thing.

FDA Draft Report Urges Consumption of Fish, Despite Mercury Contamination
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 12, 2008; Page A07

The Food and Drug Administration is urging the government to amend its advisory that women and children should limit how much fish they eat, saying that the benefits of seafood outweigh the health risks and that most people should eat more fish, even if it contains mercury.

If approved by the White House, the FDA's position would reverse the government's current policy that certain groups -- women of childbearing years, pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children -- can be harmed by the mercury in fish and should limit their consumption.

The FDA's recommendations have alarmed scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, who in internal memos criticized them as "scientifically flawed and inadequate" and said they fell short of the "scientific rigor routinely demonstrated by EPA."

The FDA sent its draft report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, to the White House Office of Management and Budget as part of the FDA's effort to update the existing health advisory. The report argued that nutrients in fish, including omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and other minerals could boost a child's IQ by three points.

The greatest benefits, the FDA report said, would come from eating more than 12 ounces of fish a week, which is the current limit advised for pregnant women, women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children.

FDA spokesman Michael Herndon declined to discuss the draft report. "As a science-based regulatory agency we periodically and routinely review and analyze scientific evidence about health effects of FDA-regulated products," he wrote in an e-mail. "We do not comment on draft reports that are undergoing internal review."

Benjamin H. Grumbles, the EPA's assistant administrator for water, said, "EPA is working closely with other agencies in the scientific review of this report to better understand the risks and benefits of fish consumption."

The FDA and the EPA both play a role in protecting the public from mercury contamination. The EPA investigates and regulates mercury and other contaminants in recreationally caught fish, while the FDA regulates mercury in seafood sold in markets and restaurants. States rely on the federal agencies in issuing their own advisories.

In 2004, the two agencies issued their first joint advisory, suggesting that women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children stop eating four species of fish considered especially high in mercury: swordfish, shark, tilefish and king mackerel. At the same time, the government advised limiting consumption of other mercury-contaminated fish.

Mercury can damage the neurological development of fetuses and infants. Recent studies have suggested that mercury may also pose a health risk for adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The two agencies are supposed to work together to regularly review the advisory, but EPA sources said the FDA went ahead with its own proposal earlier this year, not consulting the EPA until the document was nearly finished.

The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, wrote yesterday to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and urged him to fight the FDA's recommendations.

"This is an astonishing, irresponsible document," said Richard Wiles, the environmental group's executive director. "It's a commentary on how low FDA has sunk as an agency. It was once a fierce protector of America's health, and now it's nothing more than a patsy for polluters."

Kathryn Mahaffey, who was the EPA's top mercury scientist until she left the agency in August to become a lecturer at George Washington University School of Public Health, said the FDA used an "oversimplified approach" that could increase the public's exposure to mercury.

But Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, applauded the FDA's efforts. "This is a science-based approach," he said. "And you start to see a picture emerge that shows the clear benefits of eating seafood outweigh the risks of a trace amount of mercury in fish."

Methyl B12 and Folinic Acid Raise Glutathione Levels in Autistic Children

Efficacy of methylcobalamin and folinic acid treatment on glutathione redox status in children with autism.

James SJ, Melnyk S, Fuchs G, Reid T, Jernigan S, Pavliv O, Hubanks A, Gaylor DW.

Departments of Pediatrics and Biostatistics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, AR.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic abnormalities and targeted treatment trials have been reported for several neurobehavioral disorders but are relatively understudied in autism.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether or not treatment with the metabolic precursors, methylcobalamin and folinic acid, would improve plasma concentrations of transmethylation/transsulfuration metabolites and glutathione redox status in autistic children.

DESIGN: In an open-label trial, 40 autistic children were treated with 75 mug/kg methylcobalamin (2 times/wk) and 400 mug folinic acid (2 times/d) for 3 mo. Metabolites in the transmethylation/transsulfuration pathway were measured before and after treatment and compared with values measured in age-matched control children.

RESULTS: The results indicated that pretreatment metabolite concentrations in autistic children were significantly different from values in the control children. The 3-mo intervention resulted in significant increases in cysteine, cysteinylglycine, and glutathione concentrations (P < 0.001). The oxidized disulfide form of glutathione was decreased and the glutathione redox ratio increased after treatment (P < 0.008). Although mean metabolite concentrations were improved significantly after intervention, they remained below those in unaffected control children.

CONCLUSIONS: The significant improvements observed in transmethylation metabolites and glutathione redox status after treatment suggest that targeted nutritional intervention with methylcobalamin and folinic acid may be of clinical benefit in some children who have autism. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00692315.

UPDATE: Some one provided me with a TIF of the full study.

Christmas Cards for the Kirton Kids!

Many of you know the Kirton family from their many media appearances. All six of their children have been diagnosed with some form of ASD.




Well John has asked for a Christmas Present for his kids...

CHRISTMAS CARDS!

So send one or two or all six of the little nippers a card this week.

Their names are Bobbie (14), Emma (9), Nephi (8), Sarah (6), Ammon (4), Mary (3).

Write to them at:
The Kirton's
6905 South 1300 East Box 321
Midvale, Utah 84047

Keep in mind, they are Mormon, so no need for bland, PC "Holiday" Cards if you are worried about offending.

And you might wanna consider throwing a few bucks in the card. They have six kids with autism for petes sake.

Autism Speaks Hearts Paul Offit

... and Katie Wright, whose son the foundation was created for, is the one spilling the beans.

Time for AS to either change the guard or close their doors.

Anyone up for picketing in front of #2 Park Avenue? Because this is just getting sickening.

A Message to Autism Speaks' Singer and Shih: ENOUGH ALREADY!

Round Up: DOD, State Health Rankings, HPV Vaccine Related Injury, Mercury in Tuna

So much happening... but my husband just got back from two months away and he is way cuter than you guys, so you get the short end of the stick.

Here are a few things that you should be keeping up with:

• Updates on the DOD Story - DOD yanks up the welcome mat and puts out a "gone fishin" sign.  Anderson Cooper ditches the story, then unditches it.  Army dad says high ranking military officials believe vaccines cause autism.
• Vermont - number one in health but coming in last in vaccinations... hmmmmm.
• Another girl paralyzed after HPV shot.
• Find out why so much mercury is still in tuna.
• EPA starts environmental fugitives list.
• This is on the front page of US News and World Report's web site:

"Vaccines Get New Scrutiny - Vaccinations are supersafe, but maybe not all at once, or for certain children.

A Parents' Guide to Managing Vaccinations - What to do if you don't want your child to get 8 vaccines at once."

UPDATE:  Kirby highlights the amazing quotes in the articles.  It is amazing how much faster the vaccine caution ball is rolling.  Things are changing faster and faster.

MORE UPDATE:  Just go read everything on AOA today.  It all kicks ass.

Vote for Bodies In Rebellion on Change.org

Go sign the letter to Obama and then vote to make it the top health priority on Change.org. We have to stop poisoning our children.

An excerpt:

"We, the undersigned, are very concerned about the increasing scientific evidence showing a positive association between environmental factors, such as mercury and pesticide exposure, and neuroimmune illnesses, most notably autism.

We believe that the many neurotoxins we are exposed to threaten the viability of human life on Earth and that affected children are the 'canaries in the coal mine.' Many illnesses, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's have their origins in the rising levels of pernicious chemicals we come in contact with including, but not limited to, the contents of vaccines.

The precautionary principle calls for a zero tolerance on the use of mercury and a moratorium on organochlorine pesticides. In truth, the toxic synergy of the many chemicals humans are exposed to is under-appreciated and makes their removal from the environment a priority well beyond the precautionary principle.

Approximately 4.5 billion pounds of pesticides are applied each year in the USA. When Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring in the early 1960's, only 400 million pounds of pesticides were used annually. Today, almost 1 out of 3 American children suffer from at least one chronic illness, and 12 million have some form of developmental disorder. The U.S. has the 4th highest incidence of childhood cancer in the world. Since the 1970's, there has been a 50% increase in childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia and a 35% increase in brain cancer. This new pediatric morbidity & mortality is not due to better diagnosis."

To read the rest of the signing statement go to www.BodiesinRebellion.com

Tom Daschle is Asking For Your Health Care Stories

Tom Daschle is "asking anybody and everybody to share their health care experiences."

GO TELL HIM!

I encourage you to begin your letter to him, as I have, "I am the _________ of a vaccine injured child". They need to be confronted with that sentence over and over again.

My letter:

I am the mother of a vaccine injured child.

My six year old son had early vaccine reactions, but instead of recognizing them for what they were, his doctors continued to vaccinate him according to the overly aggressive CDC vaccine schedule. After his 18 month shots he began to display the symptoms of Vaccine Induced Encephalopathy, but because his doctors had not been educated on how to look for vaccine induced encephalopathy (loss of eye contact, not responding to stimuli, seem disconnected from the world around them - according to HHS/VICP vaccine injury table http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/table.htm), his doctor called it "Autism", did no medical investigation of his case, and simply sent him for speech and behavioral evaluations.

I had to learn on my own what was medically wrong with my son and figure out how to treat him myself.

Along with the symptoms of "Autism" and Vaccine Encephalopathy, it turns out my son also had mercury poisoning, which he also displayed the symptoms of at that unfortunate appointment. He displayed an inability to speak, neurological damage and digestive system damage, which, according to CDC/ATSDR, are all symptoms of mercury poisoning. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html#bookmark07

But again... my doctor was never taught to look for the symptoms of mercury poisoning, even though he had been injecting children with HUNDREDS of times the EPA safe level of mercury for years. So he just called it "Autism", because that is what CDC/AAP taught him to do.

Autism is a junk diagnosis that tells us NOTHING about what is going on inside a child's body. It allows the medical profession to shrug its shoulders, repeat the mantra, “no known cause or cure” and get away with not even having to take our kids temperature.

Because it has been four year since my son's regression, and the arbitrary and unfair statute of limitations for filing a claim with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is three years, unless it is changed, my son will not receive the money he needs, and is legally due, for his injuries.

We have treated him via the emerging medical interventions that mainstream medicine refuses to investigate because they do not want to believe that something that has been so good in the past, vaccination, is now being overly used, causing severe damage and death to children on a huge scale, and that the "autism" epidemic is largely a iatrogenic illness.

My once healthy, social and verbal son could only speak two words, could make no eye contact and would not even answer to his own name after his vaccine induced "autistic" regression. With in 48 hours of putting him on the GF/CF diet to treat his digestive symptoms, he began making eye contact and answering to his name. The FIRST day we began chelating him with DMSA, he looked me in the eye and called me "Mommy" (four times in a row) for the first time since his regression 10 months earlier!

The treatments we are using on him are expensive and all consuming. We sold our home in Los Angeles, my husband quit his job in the entertainment industry, and we moved to much less expensive life in Maine so that we could pay for Chandler's treatment.

Almost every penny comes out of our pocket, as the medical community's denial and obfuscation prevents these long established medical treatments from being properly studied on children with an "Autism" diagnosis.

But if we have to spend every penny we have, down to the shirts on our backs, we will do it.

Because biomedical treatment for "Autism" works! There are over 1100 documented cases of children loosing their diagnosis all together via these methods.

Chandler has not fully recovered, but we have gotten him half way back. He has gone from severe to high functioning autism, he is verbal, with some impairment, almost all "autistic" behaviors like flapping/spinning/self injury are long gone, he is mainstreamed in 1st grade with a helper, and he is a happy boy that plays with his brother and hugs and kisses his loved ones. AND CALLS ME MOMMY!

I have spent four years reading and writing about vaccine induced autism, and the things that have gone on at CDC/HHS/AAP that have caused this epidemic and allowed it to snowball are not only unconscionable, some of them are illegal.

Further, CDC statements that there is no link between autism and vaccination have become completely nonsensical. Julie Gerberding actually went on CNN to talk about the Hannah Poling case, explained that in children with mitochondrial disorders, vaccination can cause "fevers and other complications" that result in the symptoms of autism, and then in the next breath said that vaccines had no relationship to autism. You can watch this absurdest theater for yourself: http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2008/03/julie-gerberding-admits-on-cnn-that.html

HOW STUPID DOES SHE THINK WE ARE!?

THIS HAS TO CHANGE..... NOW!

The vaccine schedule is NOT properly safety tested, it is too aggressive, and doctors are not trained to look for vaccine damage or to know which children are at risk for serious vaccine damage.

BUT MOMS KNOW! We all have the same story. We all saw the same early warnings, told our docs, but they didn't listen. Because CDC/AAP, instead of listening to us, have labeled us “desperate parents” who are “scientifically illiterate” and “looking for someone to blame” for their children’s autism.

So we no longer listen to them. Trust between us and the medical profession is dead. My friends no longer go to their doctors for vaccination advice, they come to me.

There is NO study that shows that the four shots my son was given before his regression are safe when given together, and even the individual shots are not tested against true placebo, but just other versions of the same type of vaccine!

We have been begging for a simple vaccinated v. unvaccinated study to see what overall health out comes for kids are, but CDC/HHS/NIH won't do it. They will allow nothing to stop the run away vaccine program, and they are busy adding MORE VACCINES!

Our kids are not bottomless pits that can constantly have powerful pharmaceuticals poured into them!

I WILL DO WHATEVER, GO WHEREVER AND TELL MY STORY TO WHOMEVER, TO BRING ABOUT VACCINE REFORM!

CHANGE THIS!

Ginger Taylor, M.S.
Brunswick, Maine
Http://www.adventuresinautism.com

Spread the word.

The DOD Aknowledges Autism as a Vaccine Injury

Please read David Kirby's article on the DOD documents that recognize autism as an adverse reaction to the DTaP vaccine, and that thimerosal toxicity, which may also cause autism, be treated with methyl B12 and chelation. In fact DOD is paying for chelation and DAN! doctors for military dependents.

And this stuff is still considered "controversial"???

Additionally, the DOD urges caution in giving multiple vaccines and in not continuing to vaccinate those who have shown previous vaccine reactions.

I am looking forward to the discussion that follows and from hearing from DOD doctors on why they have put out these statements.

But I suspect that it is because, unlike civilian medical authorities and private practices, the military cannot jettison their vaccine injured personnel and dependents. They will have to care for these people, sometimes for the rest of their lives.

So unlike Medicine/Pharma/Federal Government, vaccine injury effects the DOD bottom line, and their actual reason for existing... military readiness.

The Pentagon - A Voice of Reason on Vaccines and Autism?

UPDATE:  DOD yanks up the welcome mat and puts out a "gone fishin" sign.  Anderson Cooper ditches the story, then unditches it.  Army dad says high ranking military officials believe vaccines cause autism.

Several military autism families are digging into this and I would encourage those who are interested in the DOD story to keep an eye on Autism Salutes.

Keep in mind, the Navy was the first organization to implement chelation.  In the 1950's they began giving EDTA to those with lead poisoning from paint on ships. 

1000 Posts

So this is my thousandth post on this blog.

I thought I would mark it by thanking all my readers who have been so encouraging to me over the last four years, and those who have challenged me as well.

And to thank Chandler for all the profound wonder that he has brought into my life.

I love you Chandler P.

FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children

This is actually recycling an old story from June, but I am gonna run it again anyway because the point needs to be made loudly.

Again... props to Amy and Angela of Mom's Against Mercury for forcing the FDA to do its job.

FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children
David Gutierrez Natural News
Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008

For the first time, the FDA has issued a warning that the mercury contained in silver dental fillings may pose neurological risks to children and pregnant women.

"Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," reads a statement that has been added to the agency's Web site. "Pregnant women and persons who may have a health condition that makes them more sensitive to mercury exposure, including individuals with existing high levels of mercury bioburden, should not avoid seeking dental care, but should discuss options with their health practitioner."

The warning was one of the conditions that the FDA agreed to in settling a lawsuit filed by several consumer health groups.

"Gone, gone, gone are all of FDA's claims that no science exists that amalgam is unsafe," said Charles Brown, a lawyer for Consumers for Dental Choice, one of the plaintiffs.

"It's a watershed moment," said Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy Project, another plaintiff.

Mercury is a well-known neurotoxin that can cause cognitive and developmental problems, especially in fetuses and children. It can also cause brain and kidney damage in adults.

So-called dental amalgams, or fillings made with a mix of mercury and other metals, have been used since the 1800s. Although it is known that small amounts of mercury are vaporized (and can be inhaled) when the fillings are used to chew food, and though Canada, France and Sweden have all placed restrictions on the use of mercury fillings, the FDA has always insisted that amalgams are safe.

Dental amalgams are considered medical devices, regulated by the FDA.

Even the FDA's new warning stops short of admitting that dental amalgams are dangerous for the general population. Instead, it focuses on the same population that has already been warned to limit mercury exposure by consuming less seafood: children and pregnant women. The FDA says it does not recommend that those who already have mercury fillings get them removed.

Millions of people have received amalgam fillings, although their popularity has dropped off in recent years. Currently, only 30 percent of dental fillings contain mercury - the rest are tooth-colored resin composites made from glass, cement and porcelain. These alternative fillings are more expensive and less durable than amalgam, however.

In 2002, the FDA began a regulatory review of amalgam that was expected to be complete within a few years. In 2006, with the review still incomplete, an independent FDA advisory panel of doctors and dentists rejected the agency's position that there is no reason for concern about the use of amalgam. While the panel agreed that the majority of people receiving such fillings would not be harmed, panel members expressed concern for the health of certain sensitive populations, including children under the age of six.

The panel recommended that the FDA conduct further studies on the risks to children from dental amalgam, and that it consider a policy of informed consent for children and pregnant: that is, warning those groups of the risks associated with the fillings before installing them.

Part of the lawsuit centered on the FDA's failure to respond to these recommendations in a timely fashion.

"This is your classic failure to act," federal judge Ellen Segal Huvelle told the agency.

As part of the lawsuit settlement, the FDA must reach a final decision on the regulation of amalgam by July 28, 2009.

"This court settlement signals the death knell for mercury fillings," Brown predicted.
But J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Ipsita Smolinski disagreed, saying that the FDA is unlikely to ban amalgam entirely

"We do believe that the agency will ask for the label to indicate that mercury is an ingredient in the filling, and that special populations should be exempt from such fillings, such as: nursing women, pregnant women, young children, and immunocompromised individuals," Smolinski said.