April is Autism Awareness Month!

National Autism Awareness Month

In order to highlight the growing need for concern and awareness about autism, the Autism Society has been celebrating National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. The United States recognizes April as a special opportunity for everyone to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community.
Want to get involved with the autism community this April? Show your support this month by joining the Autism Society in wearing the ribbon, bouncing for autism, texting, and more!

Put on the Puzzle! The Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon is the most recognized symbol of the autism community in the world. Autism prevalence is now one in every 110 children in America – that’s 13 million families and growing who live with autism today. Show your support for people with autism by wearing the Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon this month – as a pin on your shirt, a magnet on your car, a badge on your blog, or even your Facebook profile picture – and educate folks on the potential of people with autism! For suggestions and resources, visit www.autism-society.org/ribbon.

Spread the word. Helping the autism community can be as easy as updating your Facebook or Twitter status! On April 1, the Autism Society is asking supporters to change their status on Facebook and/or Twitter to “Autism affects 1 in 110. Text “AUTISM” to 50555 to donate $10 to the Autism Society. Help spread the word: http://bit.ly/bUAVRf.” For the first time ever, supporters can now simply text “AUTISM” to 50555 to donate $10 to the Autism Society. 100% of your donations will go to support the Autism Society’s mission of improving the lives of all affected by autism.

Make a difference. There are several important bills moving through Congress that will have important effects on the autism community – safer educational settings (Keeping All Students Safe Act), better autism services (Autism Treatment Acceleration Act), greater financial independence (Achieving a Better Life Experience Act), better protection against toxic chemicals (Toxic Substances Control Act Reform, introduction anticipated soon), and more. For more information about this legislation and to take action to support it, visit www.vote4autism.org.

Connect with your neighborhood. The Autism Society and inflatable playground franchise Pump It Up are bouncing again with “Bounce for Autism” – over 100 community-based fundraising events that combine family fun with raising awareness and support for autism in locations nationwide that welcome children on the autism spectrum. Many Autism Society local chapters also put on events in the community through the month of April. But if you can’t find an event that suits you just right, create your own! 1Power4Autism is an online tool that makes it easy to mobilize friends and family and help make a difference.

Bounce for Autism: www.bounceforautism.org
Autism Society chapters: www.autism-society.org/chapters
1Power4Autism: www.1power4autism.org
Watch a movie. Did you know that something that seems as simple as going to the movies is not an option for many families affected by autism? The Autism Society is working with AMC entertainment to bring special-needs families “Sensory Friendly Films” every month. Our special showing of How to Train Your Dragon is coming to a theatre near you on April 10. Or, you could see a movie about autism itself – the Autism Society is partnering with the Independent Television Service (ITVS) to support 70 community screenings of the new movie The Horse Boy, based on the memoir of the same name. In the film, Rupert Isaacson shares the inspiring story of how he and his wife learned to think of their son’s autism as an adventure rather than a curse, a beginning rather than an end. Find participating locations for both events at:

Sensory Friendly Films: www.autism-society.org/sensoryfilms
The Horse Boy: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/horse-boy/

Copied from www.autism-society.org

Court Rules Again Against Vaccine-Autism Claims

Court rules again against vaccine-autism claims

Shots with thimerosal don’t cause the disorder on their own, ruling states

Reuters

updated 3:55 p.m. ET, Fri., March. 12, 201

WASHINGTON – Vaccines that contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal cannot cause autism on their own, a special U.S. court ruled on Friday, dealing one more blow to parents seeking to blame vaccines for their children’s illness.

The special U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that vaccines could not have caused the autism of an Oregon boy, William Mead, ending his family’s quest for reimbursement.

“The Meads believe that thimerosal-containing vaccines caused William’s regressive autism. As explained below, the undersigned finds that the Meads have not presented a scientifically sound theory,” Special Master George Hastings, a former tax claims expert at the Department of Justice, wrote in his ruling.

The Meads had filed a civil lawsuit in Oregon state court against a number of pharmaceutical companies alleging that the thimerosal additive in many pediatric vaccines significantly contributed to the development of William’s autism, Hastings wrote.

While the state court determined the autism was vaccine-related, Hastings said overwhelming medical evidence showed otherwise. The theory presented by the Meads and experts who testified on their behalf “was biologically implausible and scientifically unsupported”, Hasting wrote.

In February 2009, the court ruled against three families who claimed vaccines caused their children’s autism, saying they had been “misled by physicians who are guilty, in my view, of gross medical misjudgment”.

The families sought payment under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a no-fault system that has a $2.5 billion fund built up from a 75-cent-per-dose tax on vaccines.

Instead of judges, three “special masters” heard the three test cases representing thousands of other petitioners.

They asked whether a combination vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, plus a mercury-containing preservative called thimerosal, caused the children’s symptoms.

More than 5,300 cases were filed by parents who believed vaccines may have caused autism in their children. The no-fault payout system is meant to protect vaccine makers from costly lawsuits that drove many out of the vaccine-making business.

Autism is a mysterious condition that affects as many as one in 110 U.S. children. The so-called spectrum ranges from mild Asperger’s Syndrome to severe mental retardation and social disability, and there is no cure or good treatment.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine has reported several times that no link can be found between vaccines and autism.

In a separate matter, the U.S. Supreme Court said earlier this month it would decide whether a federal law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits in state court seeking damages for alleged design defects.

The high court agreed to hear a Pennsylvania case involving a lawsuit by the parents of a child who suffered seizures after her third dose of a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine. They sued the vaccine manufacturer, Wyeth, which Pfizer Inc purchased last year.

Copyright 2010 Reuters. Click for restrictions. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35840976/ns/health-mental_health/

I’ve been saying for years (as have other special education teacher I know) that there is no connection between shots children receive and autism. More than likely, it’s a coincidence (many boosters are given at about the age that autism begins to show) or the child is predisposed to the disorder and will likely develop this anyway. Also, check out this link from the Today Show: http://www.today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35141455#35141455. The London doctor that began the Vaccine/Autism scare was found to have falsified data. Very interesting, don’t ya think?

Asperger’s and Parenthood

I watched the new show, Parenthood, this weekend and cried. No, it wasn’t due to the acting. It’s because there is a character with asperger’s. The episode has the parents learning of their child’s disability and the uncertainty of what it all means. So why did I cry?

I am a special education teacher and am in love with children on the autism spectrum. They are my favorite! Having said that, I cried because the parents kept saying that something was “wrong” with their child. There’s nothing wrong with children on the spectrum. They just see the world in a different way.

I equate something “wrong” with critical life issues, i.e. bleeding, not breathing, etc. There’s nothing wrong with people with ASD. They can be very intelligent, quite funny and independent. While their lives may not be easy, autism/asperger’s in not a death sentence.

Check out www.autismspeaks.com for further information.