Catastrophic Thinking and David Kirby’s Global Worries
June 14, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
While not included in the DSM criteria for autism, catastrophic thinking is something that seems to happen regularly to my son Charlie. The Michigan Tech counseling center defines catastrophic thinking as
tending “to exaggerate the discomfort that a negative outcome will involve” and also tending “to view him or herself as totally helpless to deal with the negative outcome, imagining it to be catastrophic and not simply unfortunate or a frustration that can be overcome”
I have seen Charlie, on hearing that we do not have any of a certain food in the house, seem to think that that means he will never eat again and what can he do? The DSM-IV notes that a child might have “apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals” and—when those routines or rituals do not occur, a “catastrophic” response results—-often a tantrum of magnum force. As I think about it from Charlie’s perspective and differently ordered way of understanding the world, one small change—not wearing the blue fleece that is getting too small on him to school—means the order of things is entirely upset, and this is what can thoroughly bother him.
Consequently, teaching Charlie to work through anxious moments and to understand how to react in the face of cognitive dissonance is among the skills that we teach him at school and at home (one of these strategies was to teach him ask for a break before he was so anxious that he would be very, very, very upset). Thinking catastrophically is a tendency in him, I rather think, and it has been good to help Charlie help himself out of such moments.
Catastrophic thinking is how one might categorize some of Evidence of Harm author David Kirby’s June 13th musings in the Huffington Post about the vaccine court proceedings that started on Monday. Kirby notes his fear that parents may not prevail if there is not “enough evidence to support a link between the MMR vaccine, thimerosal and autism spectrum disorders,” and alleges that the “”thimerasol defenders” are the ones making doomsday predictions should they win: They “are now dispatching dire warnings about the looming decline of the nation’s public health — and the pharmaceutical industry’s corporate health.” Whatever the verdict, Kirby makes his focus not only—not simply—-the 4800 families of autistic children who are plaintiffs in “vaccine court.” Kirby’s concerns go global: “I think everyone needs to stop and think about dealing with the ramifications — on a worldwide scale — of any family victory in Vaccine Court.” Some of those “ramifications overseas” being:
Today, millions of children in Latin America, Asia and Africa are receiving American-export vaccines that still contain the full battery of ethylmercury — in amounts that put children dozens of times over the US EPA maximum daily limit on vaccination days.
Immunization rates are rising in many developing countries, but so are the reported rates of autism. In Mexico, for instance, vaccine rates are now about 92%, UN figures show, while reported cases of autism are also moving upward (proof of nothing, but interesting and disturbing nonetheless).
Several well-placed sources have told me that the CDC and FDA will never agree to an outright ban on thimerosal in vaccines, due to pressure from the World Health Organization, and because the message this would send to developing nations would be untenable: “Yes, thimerosal might cause harm, but we are going to give it to you anyway, for your own good. Trust us. We’re Americans. We know what we’re doing.”
Talk about driving people away from vaccines in droves. The result could be catastrophic, with rising rates of infectious diseases and child mortality to follow.
In other words, we can probably convince American parents to keep on vaccinating, because the mercury here has largely been removed. But what do we tell parents in South Korea, or Brazil, or Nigeria?
Thimerosal is not a necessary ingredient in vaccines. We can still ship multi-dose vials — which require a preservative but are cheaper to buy and administer — to poor countries, a noble goal indeed. But the preservative does not need to be based on a deadly neurotoxin.
South Korea is a “poor country”? (It is one of the richest countries in Asia, and in the world.)
Is Kirby not making a correlation with a strong hint of causation (on his part) in noting that vaccine rates in Mexico are now 92% and that “reported cases of autism are also moving upward”? This might indeed be “proof of nothing”; the rising rate might also point to increasing understanding and awareness about autism worldwide (in South Korea, indeed).
“Catastrophic thinking” is, as I noted above, the tendency “to exaggerate the discomfort that a negative outcome will involve.” Kirby’s (rather apocalyptic vision) of the world community infected by US-made thimerasol-laced vaccines could be seen as such an exaggeration: “What do we tell the Chinese and their hundreds of millions of vaccine consumers? What will we say to people in booming India, or next door in Mexico?” In something of a negative restatement of Emma Lazarus’ famous poem engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, Kirby asks
“Will our immigration policy bar parents of autistic kids from coming to America, even if American shots might have made their kids sick?”
Paraphrased: Don’t give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” (Here I echo Lazarus’ poem.) Kirby rather suggests, “Made in America” shots have left the world’s children “wretched” and maybe “refuse” even before they get to our “teeming shore,” and goes on to note that “Osama, for one, has a very extended family.” He then points out that some vaccines contain pig-derived products in addition to mercury and writes “I don’t need to tell you where I am going with this train of thought. You already know.”
I am afraid that I do not; I am not exactly sure where Kirby’s “train of thought” is going. I am still sorting out how Kirby’s discussion of autism aetiology has turned into some vague considerations about world health, global politics, and terrorists—I do recall that his previous Huffington Post post mentioned “jet fuel” in a list of environmental factors that might cause autism. It does seem that, with each next piece, Kirby adds to the list of things that might cause autism and expands the reach (now global) of the “epidemic“—in what seems more and more to be a tendency “to exaggerate the discomfort that a negative outcome will involve”; in what seems to be an attempt to make the increasing prevalence of autism to be more and more a catastrophe.
In our continuing effort to help Charlie deal with his own catastrophic thinking, today we began a “relax” program, and perhaps it might be well, in these three weeks of the vaccine court, for others to embark on such a program too, and to be wary of the alternate realities one sometimes finds oneself wandering in when autism is the cause.
David Kirby is just worried that he is going to look pretty stupid for recklessly and falsely shouting “fire” in a crowded theater and having people get hurt by the panic he caused.
I think he is hoping that the mercury militia don’t turn on him when they realize that he has played them for fools and abused their trust in him.
Kristina,
You might need to reread Kirby’s articles. He didn’t say South Korea was poor, he asked: what do we tell parents in South Korea? He didn’t say jet fuel causes autism, he said that these other toxins need to be looked at.
You’re so against the theory that mercury/vaccines could contribute to autism, but have you read the studies? Have you read the transcripts from the Cedillo case? Have you read all the science at NoMercury.org? Have you read the Simpsonwood notes obtained by foia? Have you read Evidence of Harm?
You say you read everything about autism to keep yourself well-versed on the subject, but I don’t think you have read the science, since you have written more then once that thimerosal was in the MMR.
You continue to comment on the subject, yet I suspect you haven’t read the science.
I have read the sources you have listed, thanks for keeping tabs on me, Minnie. I appreciate your listing all of them, and have reviewed Evidence of Harm in a previous post. Thimerasol and the MMR are mentioned in this post, but not that the latter is in the former.
I have read quiet a bit on both sides and feel that the mercury autism camp sees only the bad the injured the sick. I on the other hard would rather embrace my daughters differences and the challenge to always look for new ways to educate her. Her speech teach had a horrible accident at the beginning of the year and was out the whole year until a couple of weeks ago. She has not been able to get to know Rebekah as well as the sub that worked with her alll year, this became very apparent when she came home from school with index card full of pictures of camping supplies convinced that we needed to purchase them for her camp out on Friday. I called the teacher and she was so appologetic that she did not make it a point of telling her that this was pretend and that we did not need to bring anything to school. I never have a boring day. We had a laugh about it after she went to bed and were able to say thats our Rebekah rather than dwell on the fact that she could not tell what was play and what was real.
Hi Julie,
The two things are separate issues. I accept my child with autism for who she is, and find ways to educate her. But I treat her medical issues.
It’s an adventure and good to be on it together.
MinnieMatta, what about my non-verbal, autistic 6 year old who does not have co-morbid medical issues? What’s to cure??
I’m not saying we “do nothing”. There’s plenty to be done to help bring him along, but I’m certainly not willing to experiment on his healthy body, much less spend our life savings so that he can be “indistinguishable from his peers”. I wouldn’t set such a goal for any child of mine.
I wanted to think that there was some sort of medical reason for Charlie’s behaviors, lack of speech and so forth when he was younger, even as I knew that these were all really part of his “wiring”—of his neurology; of the way he was born. When I look back, I realize he has always been different—–and nothing wrong with standing out.
I also treat my daughters physical health issues. She does not have mercury levels that are elevated so I am not sure what I am supposed to treat there. I am not willing to experiement with her health were it is not necessary since she has had enough issues with her dairy allergy and asthma allergy issues. I did notice her differences more after a vaccine but I think it was just due to when she recieved the vaccine in relation to where she was developmentally and I know now when I think back to her as a newborn she had differences that now make more sence. I believe that she has had the autism from birth and that she does not need to be cured of it but learn to navigate her world with it. We are fortunate that her Dad works as a creative director in advertising. She is exposed to a lot of creative types that at times have strange quirks in an enviroment where it is not only accepted but embraced because of their ability to look at things differently. I am not implying that you do not accept your child it is a difference in how Autism is approached. A disease that needs to be cured or a neurological difference. I happen to choose the later.
What if his words were edited to:
“Yes, chelation might cause harm, but we are going to give it to you anyway, for your own good. Trust us. We’re DAN! Doctors. We know what we’re doing.”
Matt
Matt I love it!
Matt, it has indeed been said before….
Keep in mind that this is the second Kirby report in a very short time to raise the spector of “immigration” . He recently speculated that the California numbers may have continued to go up due to immigration. Somehow, the rise in the autism numbers for Hispanics didn’t count when it was helping to “epidemic” numbers in the 1990’s. Guess what, Hispanics are still vastly underrepresented. California can see a roughly 80% increase in autism numbers if the minority levels increase to just match those of Whites.
This is a man who obviously doesn’t do his homework.
Matt
I’ve noted the references to immigration and also an earlier one regarding pollution from China as a source of environmental pollution. In his previous post on vaccine court, Kirby wrote>
I would like to know more about the 79% Asian figure—being Asian and living in California or being (as I am, originally) from California, does not mean that one is an immigrant.
Julie, Kristina,
That’s great if your child has no medical issues. That’s definitely not the case for all children on the spectrum.
If you’ve been following the Cedillo case, then you’re well aware that some children on the spectrum have many severe medical issues.
Matt,
All doctors use all people as guinea pigs, to some degree. They can make educated guesses based on what they know and what they’ve seen.
Doctors wouldn’t chelate a child just for the heck of it – they chelate a child with high mercury levels. Just as a person with lead poisoning would be chelated, so should a person with mercury poisoning, since mercury is even more toxic.
I did not say that she does not have medical issues what I said is that I do not believe that medical issues cause the autism they are two seperate issues one being physical health the other being neurological. I have not seen any evidence that autistic children have more or less toxins in there system than non autistics since most normally developing children and not tested for merury levels I think it is premature to say that it is causing autism.
Julie,
Have you read Dr Martha Herbert’s work? She’s a Harvard dr that says there is a relationship between the medical issues/physical health and the neurological issues.
The Geier research shows evidence that children on the spectrum have high levels of toxins, specificially mercury, in their systems.
How do you know your child does not have high levels of mercury – did you run a porphyrin test?
I reviewed Dr. Herbert’s lecture on “biomarkers for autism, given last Friday at the Eden Institute conference, here. She is definitely interested in the brain and the effects of environmental pollution on it, and made specific mention of dolphin brains in regard to this.
All of our kids have issues as far as getting the right education, as you’ve noted in other comments, Minnie, and thanks for all your concern!