ABC wondering if Autism is getting too much attention...

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/2/2007 10:59:13 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, SMD@... writes:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3802533 & page=1 Copy and paste into web browser.

Autism Speaks gets too much attention ... not autism on it's own. At least they got it right that Autism Speaks is a fundraising machine ... they don't actually TREAT autism.

"Former NBC Universal chairman Bob and his wife, Suzanne, founded the powerful fundraising group Autism Speaks after their grandson was diagnosed with the disorder."See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.

[Guest guest]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3802533 & page=1 Copy and paste into web browser.

-- Shane M.D. " Learning is like rowing up stream, to stop is to fall behind. "

-Kung Fu Tze (Confucius) " Light travels faster than sound; this is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak... " Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift hence it is called the present. None of us is as smart as all of us Note: My purpose in sending on info is to never presume in this day and age that anyone has their finger on the pulse of all that is out there…remember the delete button is only inches away.

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[Guest guest]

Oh, Sweet Mother-of-Pearl....I think I'm going to just bang my head

against the wall until I pass out, because it would be a lot less

painful than reading that article.

Are they KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Okay...epilepsy is defined as having more than one seizure in one's

lifetime (this is from a doc...not my own devising). By definition,

I have an epileptic son...who also happens to have severe Autism.

Um....have the folks involved in this article realized that there's

sometimes a correlation with Autism and seizures? Autistic children -

- especially teens, from my research (and straight from a doc's

mouth) -- have a 60% chance of developing seizures at some point.

Maybe epilepsy and Autism can hold hands, sing " Kumbaya " and share

some info with each other?!?!?!?! Or, is that not allowed?

Admittedly, I sound quite on the offense here, but we are in the

midst of trying to find out what in the blue blazes is wrong with my

youngest son....we know it goes beyond Autism, but are still testing

to find out what that is. It may be a mitochondrial disorder.

Okay...well, finding an effective treatment/cure for mito may help

treat/cure other diseases -- like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and

maybe even the cardiomyopathy mentioned in this article, since many

mito disorders involve cardiac issues. If you all read Margie's post

from a little while back about Dakota Bihn, who has Juvenille Onset

Tay-Sachs -- well, guess what? Curing that fatal disease has

potential to cure things like...hmmm...Parkinson's and Alzheimer's!

And, up to 70 other diseases!!!!!! Do we see a pattern here?

And, to make things more interesting, I just learned that there is a

form of Autism that is actually mitochondrial in nature -- meaning

based at the cellular level...this is from the geneticist -- not me.

Every year I go to a benefit luncheon with my mother-in-law and

sisters-in-law for breast cancer. I, thank God, have not been

touched by this disease, but know many others who have been. Can you

imagine public outcry if an article like this were written about

breast cancer research getting too much funding?!?!?!?!!?? Oh,

my....this is insanity!

Folks, we are all more alike than different...and that stands true

with all these disorders. Perhaps if we had more folks genuinely

intent on finding cures, without having to worry about pleasing the

companies who fund their research, we might get a whole lot further

on a lot of fronts.

Sorry to vent...but that stuck in my craw a little....I'm better now.

[Guest guest]

WOW! :Look what the cat dragged in! Where you been hiding? I hope all is well. We got to get together over a few beers. Amazing article, It only raised questions on the author for me. JimShane <SMD@...> wrote: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3802533 & page=1 Copy and paste into web browser. --

Shane M.D. "Learning is like rowing up stream, to stop is to fall behind." -Kung Fu Tze (Confucius) "Light travels faster than sound; this is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak..." Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today is a gift hence it is called the present. None of us is as smart as all of us Note: My purpose in sending on info is to never presume in this day and age that anyone has their finger on the pulse of all that is out there…remember the delete button is only inches away. *PDFs require Acrobat Reader for viewing. If you don't have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you can download a copy for free.