's Age of Autism Blog on AAOP & Eli Stone

[Guest guest]

My apologies if this has already been posted, but I wanted to

personally tell way to go! -

Posted on the Age of Autism blog at

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/01/national-autism.html

The American Academy of Pediatrics and " Eli Stone "

The headlines this week have me sitting at my computer with utter

contempt for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The AAP is frantic about a fictional TV show scheduled to air on ABC

this week. The show, entitled " Eli Stone " will depict the story of a

family who is awarded a multi-million dollar lawsuit based on the

theory that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative still used in

many vaccines – caused their child to develop autism. AAP president

sent a letter to ABC demanding that this show be

cancelled. Has the AAP got nothing better to do than worry about a

TV show?

The media is going crazy over this story and I'm choking on the

vocabulary that is being used - " emotional debate, " " the myth that

vaccines can cause autism, " " fantasy, " " reckless irresponsibility. "

The debate that vaccines have contributed to the explosion of autism

in the last 20 years is not one of emotion, it is one of science.

The word " myth " should be used only when something is proven untrue,

that is certainly not the case here. Suggesting that ABC is

being " recklessly irresponsible " is actually laughable when it comes

from the AAP - which in my mind is the epitome of those words.

The AAP suggests that parents viewing the show will refuse vaccines

and cause their children " needless suffering " . What about the

needless suffering of hundreds of thousands of children who have been

injured by the over-zealous, toxin-containing vaccine program that

the AAP so staunchly promotes?

What exactly is the mission of the American Academy of Pediatrics,

anyway? Is it not to protect the health of America's children? Why

are they turning their backs on the environmentally triggered,

therefore PREVENTABLE and TREATABLE epidemic of autism? Why aren't

they looking at the kids who have recovered and developing treatment

standards? Why are they wasting their time and energy worrying about

television shows and fighting state legislation to ban the use of

mercury in children's vaccines? This organization should be

fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with vaccine safety advocates to stop

the unnecessary injection of toxins into our children through

immunizations. They should be demanding the safest possible vaccines

for our children. Yet there they sit, on the opposite side of the

table. How could they possibly have such blatant disregard for the

health of our children? Could the fact that they receive major

funding from the pharmaceutical industry be playing a role here? Is

the AAP selling out our children?

Recently, several autism advocates respectfully attempted to

distribute information to pediatricians attending an AAP conference

in Washington. Our goal was to educate doctors who are still under

the misguided impression that autism is a mysterious, genetic, life-

long mental illness for which there is no treatment. We attempted to

give them hope for their patients and empower them with the knowledge

that they can increase the quality of life of these children. The

convention organizers didn't appreciate our message and we were

escorted out of the building by security personnel. What is the AAP

afraid of? As a parent, I would hope they would explore absolutely

every avenue of treatment for the 1 in 150 children in this country

who are affected by autism.

We now know that autism is biologically based. There are underlying

medical issues that cause the behaviors and symptoms that we

collectively observe and diagnose as " autism. " Those medical issues

frequently include gastrointestinal disease, bacterial and fungal

infections, chronic viruses that go undiagnosed, heavy metal

toxicity, food allergies and sensitivities, chronic inflammation,

vitamin and mineral deficiencies, auto-immune disease and more.

Many of our children are in constant pain. And sadly, far too many

are unable to express that pain verbally. So they are left to suffer

in silence. When they scream and act out in frustration, we are told

that they have " behavioral issues " and it's just part of having

autism. Wake up, AAP! Our children are sick.

Perhaps we need to strike the word " autism " from our vocabulary.

Medical professionals should be prohibited from slapping that label

on a kid and wishing their family luck as they push them out the door

without a shred of hope. Physicians should be looking deeper. Yes,

these kids display symptoms of " autism, " but what is causing those

symptoms? That's what needs to be properly diagnosed and treated.

It is my belief that doctors who choose to specialize in pediatrics

do so because they have a genuine desire to care for children. To

those doctors, I beg you to step outside the confines of what your

guiding organization tells you to believe and look at the children

you are seeing in your practices. It is within your power to restore

health to these children and help them to live a pain-free and full

life. Read Dr. Jepson's book, " Changing the Course of Autism. "

Attend a Defeat Autism Now! Conference and learn from the practicing

physicians who are in the trenches and are successfully treating

children diagnosed with autism. Talk to the parents who would not

accept a hopeless diagnosis and have gotten their children back

through individualized medical treatment of their biological

symptoms. You can help these children!

I will close with a heartfelt message to the American Academy of

Pediatrics. You have miserably failed our children. You arrogantly

accuse others of " reckless irresponsibility " as you actively fight

for the continued use of unnecessary poison in vaccines. You

unapologetically turn your back on a generation of sick children,

refusing to investigate potentially helpful treatments and condemning

them to a lifetime of pain. Shame on you!

Fournier

President

National Autism Association