David Kirby and Autism Speaks
March 28, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
David Kirby posts today in the Huffington Post about a post by autism mother Katie Wright about how her son Christian has been getting much, much better—-”physically, …….emotionally, mentally and cognitively”—-thanks to biomedical interventions including a special diet, chelation, and methyl B-12.
Kirby, of course, is not just “any blogger,” nor is Wright any “autism mother”: Kirby is the author of Evidence of Harm, which makes the case that mercury poisoning is the cause of the autism. Wright is the daughter of Bob and Suzanne Wright, co-founders of Autism Speaks, which Kirby mentions through his post, and in laudatory terms: Not only is Autism Speaks funding genetic research into autism, but it is also funding biomedical research. Kirby cites Wright’s postings on the Evidence of Harm Yahoo Groups email discussion list as further proof of the efficacy of biomedical treatments in curing children from autism. The recent Discover Magazine article on not just being “in the head” is warmly praised, by both Kirby and, in her email posting, Wright. Kirby poses the rhetorical questions:
If autism is purely genetic, then why is the prestigious Institute of Medicine holding a two-day workshop in April called “Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research?” And why, for that matter, is the National Institute of Mental Health funding a clinical trial of chelation therapy as a treatment for autism?
If such treatments are working for “the most famous toddler with autism in the world,” Kirby asks, why do some continue to downplay biomedical treatments and explanations?
There is indeed much more research to be done, much more evidence to be found out.
I wsh only to ask a question regarding one piece of information in Kirby’s post, namely that “the Wrights’ grandson is now, perhaps, the most famous toddler with autism in the world”—-but, as I gather from a recent article in Autism Spectrum Quarterly, Christian Wright is around five years old—-not exactly a toddler any more?
It is a small and quibbling point but, as Kirby knows, when it comes to autism, it is important to get all the facts right. As autistic children get older—thanks to education, thanks simply to growing up—they learn and they grow, and this ought also to be taken into account too.
All I know about is nitric oxide. I don’t think that development of one part of the brain or another is more important, the whole brain is important.
Low NO does tend to amplify androgenic effects. I think that is part of why animals on antibiotics get bigger, and why humans are bigger now than they were 200 years ago.
What is the source of mud you are using? The important places to get it are hands, feet and scalp. I think it is the residual bacteria from the mud that is what is helping. Not using soap to wash it off (a light rinse is probably ok), and especially not using anything antibacterial is (I think) very important.
The Mud is LLclay they have a wb sight, they have different muds for detoxing different things, I do not wahs him off after, I use a damp towel to dry him off and remove alot of the residue and then i massage him with a thick cream high in vitamins AC and E.
So you do not see anythinkg with the Right Brain Development being behind in kids with autism? I understand that the whole brain is important, I was under the impression that the development delays, and symptoms stem from the Right Brain? So that is what I have been trying to build strength in,for him.
Please excuse my typing and grammer-I am sorry it is so bad.
Chris
I wonder if there’s a record for the greatest number of responses to a blog post? I was somewhat surprised with the speed it hit 100 posts. Kristina’s blog is popular, but to keep going like this? This would seem to be “The Blog Post That Would Not Die…”
“While you’re at it, why don’t you find 76 year olds who are autistic at the rate 1 in 166?”
They are all dead. Murdered by the stress of not being understood or protected from the old asylum system. People with the same attitude as you, but with more power.
Phil, The alleged autistics who frequent the autism hub blogs are not in institutions. That nullifies your position, Phil. Maybe they all progressed into Alzheimer’s like most of you will. Then you won’t even know your own names and will be unable to blog about it.
Mr. Best, the tone of your comments diminishes anything you might wish to communicate.
MS Chew, Different tones for differnt audiences. I think I chose the right one.
I agree to disagree.
Kristina, Best is a meglomaniac. It’s comfortable for him to be abusive and emotional. Let him – give him enough rope to hang himself (I think he’s got enough already!).
And typical of him to change the context of what I wrote. He wanted to know where the 76 year old Autistics are (and older) and I told him. Before Kanner (and even after as long as the asylums were still around) they were sent to these horrific places and I doubt any of them lived past 40 if that. They weren’t being allowed to be themselves and they couldn’t cope without that routine. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there were a lot of suicides amongst them. Alzheimers would have been a long way off for them.
But of course, Best doesn’t see that because he doesn’t want to.
Youth dementia = Autism (as it was translated at the time). And there was youth dementia in 1893.
Kristina,
I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Phil’s assessment of Mr. Best…..what an ego.
Too bad he can’t find a way to educate parents in a more effective manner….he actually ends up scaring most of them away with his zealotry and “attack dog” manner…..he may acutally have much information he could share with many parents who are interested in finding out more about a possible mercury/autism conncection, however it gets pushed aside when he becomes abusive and shows his ignorance of other facts pertaining to autism as well.
Phil, I completely agree with your posting regarding both Best and adult/elderly autistics.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this topic and wonder how many homeless adult men and women might be on the spectrum? It would certainly provide an insight into why we don’t see that many adult autistics walking around. Namely, the homeless are the most “invisible” sector of our society. With the closing of government institutions, it’s been shown numerous times that a notable percentage of the homeless population often have mental disorders/disabilities.
For that matter, what other “invisible” populations in our society might fall within the spectrum if evaluated appropriately? Immigrants? Working poor? Prisoners? “Mentally Retarded”?
It seems that there is an exigency for diagnosing children to meet educational needs; whereas, what motivations are there to identify, diagnose, and treat adults, especially those who constitute the most “invisible” sectors of our society?
God, I had a buck for every mother who went from product to product – secretin to B12 to oxgen therapy and on and on… – each time saying ‘that’s it, I can see an improvement’.
Ms Wright is a tragedy. Mr Kirby should be ashamed of himself.