I would say I wrote a lot, and probably too much, about Jenny McCarthy in 2008 (and writing less about her, and about the whole vaccine-autism idea, is making its way higher and higher up onto my list of New Year’s resolutions).
Nonetheless, vaccines dominated discussions about autism in March in the wake of announcements about the case of Hannah Poling, whose “pre-existing mitochondrial disorder…. was ‘aggravated’ by her shots” and led to symptoms of autism, as conceded by the U.S. Federal Court of Claims. A lot of debate followed about the Vaccine Court, to the point of general vaccine fixation.
Some …read more

Earlier this year, reports that the US Federal Court of Claims had conceded that vaccines had contributed to the onset of autistic symptoms in the case of Hannah Poling led to much speculation and debate about (1) if mitochondrial disorders could be linked to autism and (2) how common mitochondrial disorders might be among autistic children. A number of experts on mitonchondrial disorders met in June to discuss the “controversial case” of Hannah Poling. An article in the November 26th PLoS One entitled Mitochondrial Disease in Autism Spectrum Disorder Patients: A Cohort Analysis investigates the medical records of 25 …read more

For the past two weeks something’s been up with Charlie’s teeth, or so we think. He’s been chewing the string on his sweatshirt and his shirt and poking a finger into his mouth (on the upper right side, I think) and just dabbing at some parts of his teeth with his toothbrush (still brushing the fronts). This has certainly been the Year of Losing Teeth; there’ve been more than a few times when, after a fretful, unsettled day, Charlie has been found with a bloody tooth in his fingers. After a check-up in August, Charlie’s dentist noted that he was …read more

“Stem cells. Gene therapy. Immune protection.”
This is the first line of an article about…….what do you think? The latest treatments for autism?
The article’s about skin care products. Products that claim to provide “‘cellular level cleansing’” (shades of autism detox) and that have “medical-sounding” names starting with “bio-, micro- and pro-”: There’s:
“biomolecular” eye cream; “microtechnology bio active” foundation; “pro-collagen” serum; “microsmoothing” face serum; and a “bio-stimulating” night cream with “microlift.
The article appeared in the October 1st New York Times and certainly it’s nothing new that cosmetics company have used “multisyllabic pharmacological-sounding words” to describe the ingredients in their products, but “now …read more

While the evidence refuting a vaccine/mercury link to autism continues to pile up, a connection between them seems to have become lodged in the public consciousness, as the recent survey on attitudes about autism from Florida of Institute of Technology suggests. One case that has attracted a particular lot of attention was that of a girl from Georgia, Hannah Poling. Back in March, it was reported that the government had conceded that Hannah’s “pre-existing mitochondrial disorder…. was ‘aggravated’ by her shots.”
This decision was widely, widely discussed and the question repeatedly raised about how common mitochondrial disorders are in autistic children. …read more

An article in the July 31st American Journal of Human Genetics suggests that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are “common in the general population.” According to the study, one in 200 people has a DNA mutation that could potentially cause a mitochondrial disease in them or in their offspring. Mitochondrial disease is (according to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) ) a “devastating and often fatal disease, and mitochondrial disorders are at the core of many well known diseases and chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and autism spectrum disorders.” Mitochondria are the body’s main energy source; are in …read more

According to the claim that vaccines or something in vaccines can be linked to autism—the source of much discussion and dissent for most of my son’s life—-autistic persons are “damaged” and “injured”; they were once “normal,” “typical” and “ok.” The notion that vaccines or mercury poisoning are the cause of autism not only poses some potential health hazards, but also creates an image of autistic children and adults as “less than [the rest of us]” due to a short; as “damaged goods.” Whereas, genetic studies on the causes of autism suggest that, far from being an “accident” that befalls an …read more

Yes, I do think that the hypothetical “vaccine-autism” link distracts us from the key issues of education, services, and understanding about autism. Nonetheless, vaccines were the topic of some of last week’s top posts:

Musings on Camp and Independence
Should I be sending Charlie to camp?
The Dangers of DIY Doctoring
Doctors and patients at odds, and the latter more armed with (mis)information than ever.
Nintendo At School
Charlie is learning how to play video games, at school.
Michael Savage’s Parting Shot
Ah, Michael, just give it up!
Public Spaces Mean Extra Precautions
What if I lose my child in a busy public place?
Not Able …read more

Over at Primary Source in an August 1st post, Sharyl Attkisson discusses the case of Hannah Poling and says that “it’s the first time we know of that the government has ‘conceded’ an autism case in vaccine court.” Attkisson then writes:
But CBS News has learned the government has previously been court-ordered to pay on other vaccine injury cases in which a child ended up with damage including autism or autistic symptoms [my emphasis]. In one case from 1986, the child had a pre-existing condition that the court decided was aggravated by his vaccinations. Here, the pre-existing condition was “tuberous sclerosis” …read more

This week my summer school class on Psychology and Literature read Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. On Thursday morning the students had a quiz in which they had to “diagnose” Christopher, the novel’s main character, with autism or Asperger Syndrome, based on the DSM criteria. We also talked about the book in terms of development (looking at Erik Erikson’s stages) and also in regard to theories of social psychology, such as moral exclusion and dehumanization; its concrete, visual language; its plot that’s set into motion when Christopher finds Wellington, a neighbor’s black dog, …read more