Rossignol’s Contradiction
May 28, 2008 by Do'C 
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For serveral reasons, I don’t attend many autism conferences, however, I do read an occasional presentation to see what’s new (or not so new). This month I chose to read a power point presentation by Dr. Dan Rossignol, MD. It’s from the DAN! Spring 2008 conference.
Granted, a power-point presentation is not peer-reviewed research, but sometimes I find them interesting. Sometimes they cite research I was not previously aware of, which can lead to more interesting reading. Of course, sometimes they simply raise more questions (which can be a good thing).
The presentation from Dr. Dan Rossignol definitely raises a couple of questions for me. Perhaps the good doctor will be kind enough to consider putting together an answer to one, for Autism Street readers. I’ll note that I have communicated with Dr. Rossignol via e-mail in the past, and he has always been courteous and prompt in response, with answers to the actual questions I posed.
Mark Blaxill’s 100 Billion
May 26, 2008 by Do'C Printer-Friendly Version
Heard at the recent Autism One conference during a portion of one panel discussion.
Audience member 1: I want to know what the number is that makes an epidemic. Seriously, I mean 1 in 10,000 when my son was first diagnosed was 1 in 10,000. Okay now its, then it went to 1 in 500.
Audience member 2: But [redacted], they’re not talking about, they’re not, they’re talking about incidence versus prevalence.
Audience member 1: I just want to know what number equates to epidemic? What number equates to pandemic? Tell me what number, where, when do we reach epidemic proportions? The CDC says its 1 in 150. So?
Audience member 2: What they’re saying is, they’re saying, they go back to the DSM manual, and they’re saying that, that, that, they’ve just, they’ve broadened the criteria for diagnosing it. They’ve, and that’s what, that’s what all the autism experts are saying, that they’ve just broadened the criteria. And you know Mark can…
Mark Blaxill: It’s not true.
Lasting Impressions
May 25, 2008 by Do'C Printer-Friendly Version
I will never forget a former next-door neighbor of mine.
Before we moved to our present home, I had a neighbor, Theodore, whose son William had a rare medical condition that produced a significant (and probably quite diverse) set of disabilities. At first, I remember reflecting that the situation faced by Theodore and his wife Danielle must be extremely difficult. But one day, Theodore communicated an attitude to me that has stuck with me.
I was chatting with him out in the front yard while William crawled around him, clinging to him, happily. Our conversation went something like this:
RFK Jr. Beats The Dead Flu Shot Horse
May 11, 2008 by Do'C Printer-Friendly Version
In the concluding paragraph of a recent article at Spectrum Magazine (which appears to be an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), Sarah Bridges, Ph.D, writes:
Most recently, Kennedy has been speaking out against the CDC’s claim that the thimerosal debate is dead since autism rates didn’t drop when mercury was removed from vaccines.
I was unable to find any source for such a claim by the CDC in the article, or on the CDC’s website.
But, here are a few things anyone can quickly find on the CDC’s website:
Fire!
May 10, 2008 by Do'C Printer-Friendly Version
I got home late from a business trip Thursday night - about 11:15pm.
As I brought in my bags, plopped down at the desk and paid some bills, and got ready for bed, my wife got up. She did a little cleaning in the kitchen, and then let me know she was going outside to take out the trash (something I typically do on Thursday nights). I told her not to worry about it and that I could take care of it in the morning. She said okay.
But, wanting to make the next morning, after a few nights with little sleep, easier for me, she took out the trash anyway.
She came right back inside. She told me the neighbor’s fire smelled funny, thinking our neighbors a few doors down had their courtyard chiminea going. She urged me to come outside an check it out. Now in more comfortable clothes, I walked outside with her.
Green Our Schools And Doctors’ Offices!
May 3, 2008 by Do'C Printer-Friendly Version
Among others, there was a recent measles outbreak in San Diego.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5708a3.htm
In January 2008, measles was identified in an unvaccinated boy from San Diego, California, who had recently traveled to Europe with his family.
This report summarizes the preliminary results of that investigation, which has identified 11 additional cases of measles in unvaccinated children† in San Diego that are linked epidemiologically to the index case and include two generations of secondary transmission.
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