Thursday, May 1, 2008

Putting the Puzzle Together



Alec's response to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet has been phenomenal progress! Today he put together a 48-piece puzzle! Yesterday he picked up the shirt I put out for him, turned it around, opened it up and put it on just like he had been doing it for years. The day before he needed it laid front down and the back flipped up so he could see the opening at the bottom of the shirt. I am elated!
The autism community has used a puzzle to represent these kids for some years now. Some find it offensive to suggest that there children have "parts missing." But I think it represents the puzzle that autism is. We have figured out so many of the parts. Many kids are getting well, losing their diagnosis of autism. And still the medical establishment hasn't accepted one piece of new information. This is sooo frustrating. This not only affects autistic kids and their families, but our society as a whole. The financial burden of caring for these kids who aren't recovered will be enormous. Not to mention the lost contributions of these people to our society.
It affects those of you with "normal" kids, because the CDC is NOT being forthcoming with what is known about vaccinations and their scheduling. Because of their inability to address legitimate questions in public hearings, people are opting not to vaccinate or to delay vaccination until there are some answers. The CDC is blaming this drop in vaccination rates on "parents confused by the vaccination schedule." It's hard to be confused by a schedule that involves getting shots basically every time you go to the pediatrician. Two days ago the CDC sent this news story to all the major networks and they dutifully read the press release without digging further. Sounds like spin, in anticipation of some new direction with vaccinations. Beware the government's increased control over your child's health care. Unfortunately, the CDC seems much more interested in protecting the pharmaceutical companies than the public health of the American people. And unfortunately the American Academy of Pediatrics seems to blindly follow the CDC, and unfortunately the pediatricians blindly follow the guidelines of the AAP. PRAY for independent thinkers in all areas of this fight. Be one yourself. Be an informed consumer rather than depending on "experts." One year ago I was an "expert", a retired psychiatrist that BELIEVED there was no cure or treatment for autism. That was what my profession taught. Then I opened myself to learning more. Now I KNOW that there is a cure. I am living it!
Spread the word! There is hope!

Now I will climb down off my soapbox! (and write my congressman.)

3 comments:

Andrea said...

You look good on your Soap Box!


Andrea

Cassie - Homeschooling Four said...

This is my first time here and I have really enjoyed reading some of your posts.
I am curious, did you vaccinate your child that is autistic? We did vaccinations with our first 3 (until age 2) and then I did some research. We have chosen not to vaccinate our 4th or do any boosters with the other 3.

MDMOM said...

Hi Cassie! In answer to your question "YES". We have had all of ours maximally vaccinated (the triplets went to kindergarten for a while) because I didn't believe there was any connection.
Alec also has a shunt, which has been replaced 3 times, twice due to infection, the first time he almost died. Plus the triplets were born at 28 weeks, very early.
He had multiple reasons to be delayed and I grasped at all of them to avoid a diagnosis that involved autism, because I felt it was a useless label, i.e.- it described a list of symptoms that had no treatment. Only when I entertained the idea that there was hope did I accept his diagnosis of autism. Honestly I think all 4 of mine, esp the triplets, have been damaged by vaccines. If I could go back in time...