Autism Everywhere

"And please, commenters, show some respect."

Unlike the Baristas own previous misstatements about autism on this site. Eh, Deb?

My cousin Amanda came up with the 'Art for Autism' project idea last year for "The Rhetoric of Activism" seminar class she was taking. The professor asked the class to make a difference, this was her difference. She took a lot of time contacting all the bands, getting songs for the album, getting it pressed and organizing/promoting shows for the album. All profits go to the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center.

It's been a year since she graduated and she's still working on the project, that's dedication. Go Amanda!

Previous Baristanet thread

THATS GREAT!

(What am I supposed to show respect for?)

(Or is this a no humor thread?)

(A joke free zone?)

(Is it disrespectful to even suggest humor or jokes when talking about autism if obviously not directed AT those touched by it?)

The one thing Corky on "Life Goes On" taught us is that folks with autism are just like us-- they laugh and joke too.

(But, I guess, not here. We don't know how to play fair.... I guess....)

(Back to the dog park for me....)

Corky had Down syndrome.

Whoops....

I hope that mistake was not disrespectful.

It was a mistake in my memory (although the sentiment remains).

The rate in NJ now seems to be about 1 in 95. Their are many possible reasons for the higher rate in NJ, but there are some recent studies that suggest a father's age may play a role. One study showed that children of men 40 and over had six times the rate of spectrum disorders than children born to men younger than 30. The theory is that time does damage to genetic material which is less likely to be repaired in older men.

Connect that with the fact that NJ is a relatively wealthy state and the higher income a couple has the more likely they are to delay having children and that may explain at least a portion of the higher rate in NJ.

Can't count out the possible environmental factors though, or the fact that we in NJ require more vaccinations than most other states.

(I write in parenthesis as if "off the record" so as not to be considered disrespectful of this topic. Which unlike race, sex or taxes requires us to be "respectful.")

(I also wonder how many kids who were labeled as other things- or not at all- when I was growing up would be diagnosed as autistic today. This makes me question the idea that there is epidemic today because unlike earlier days, everyone is diagnosed with something these days.)

Yes, the increased awareness would account for some of the increase, but I doubt it's the whole reason. Mandatory reporting of autism started in US schools in 1991 and the diagnostic criteria became standard for the most part in 1994, but the rate continues to increase. And part of the reason for the mandatory reporting and creation of the standards came form the fact that doctors were seeing more of the condition.

Epidemiology studies have pretty much ruled out vaccines as a cause.

Beautiful logo, Katie!

Yes, very nice.

What are the tests for Autism? Can they run a DNA test and establish it or is it entirely based off of behavioral patterns?

A year ago, the state was threatening to have my then two year old nephew classified as Autistic because he didn't talk and was reluctant to interact with others (no blood drawn or anything of the like and didn't seem to take into account the fact that my brother and sister-in-law are borderline negligent parents). Today he talks just about as well as any other three year old I've met, but the state is still trying to have him labeled.

Part of me thinks the increased number of cases may be due in large part to this sort of rush to judgment on kids who may just be late bloomers (the same way that every Tom, Dick, and Harry in my high school had some form of ADD or another) combined with the increase of TV raising kids instead of parents, thus eliminating a much-needed element of social interaction at a young age.

Spectator, if you look a little deeper you may note that many of the studies cited on this subject are either industry funded, performed by academic instututions with ties to the industries, or lead by folks connected to the industry. The CDC, NIH and FDA accept those studies as fact. The smaller studies that do suggest a connection, and there are many, don't have the same sort of backing and tend not to get published, and thus don't get cited.

The lead author in one of the larger studies that got a lot of press lrecently and was cited by CDC now works for Glaxo. In his own analysis before publication he found a strong correlation between the additives and spectrum disorders, but the published version played down the connection, and he now won't talk about why that is.

I personally think we are looking at kids with a certain genetic make up and that it is only expressed under certain conditions. It could be the effect of multiple vaccines given at one time (which is generally not done when they do clinical trials) or the effect of additives (of which Thymerisol is only one of many).

I'm not saying all the studies that show little or no connection are tainted, I'm saying you should take them with the same grain of salt that you take when you realize these are some of the same folks that told us that VIOXX and many other recalled drugs are just fine for human consumption.

If you think the FDA, CDC and NIH are not closely linked the the pharmaceutical industry and their interests and only have the public's best interest at heart I think you're being more than a bit naive. And I say this as someone who works in the industry.

If you'd like I can point you towards some studies at respected institutions that suggest there is a connection.

Okay, I'll bite. Why is a bare, late autumnal-looking tree (nobody else was reminded of an old Fleetwood Mac album cover?) symbolic of autism? Especially since April, a month of blooming, is Autism Awareness Month.

Nice color scheme, nevertheless.

GNM it's usually a behavioral and developmental diagnosis...
DSM Criteria

It may be that the more kids they have with the "spectrum" label the more special ed funding they get. But they may just want him to get some extra attention.

Yeah, diagnosing kids on the spectrum is all about the money, right.

I don't cotton to the people who link it to digestive disorders. Jenny McCarthy claims to have "cured" her autistic son by following a certain diet. If only that were true.

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cathar, I just listened to Fleetwood Mac's Bare Trees this past Sunday whilst working around the apartment. A superb overlooked album featuring the brilliant Danny Kirwan.

S.S. Pete,
I would like to review the small scale studies you refer to. I hope they are not authored by the same people who are acting as witnesses in pending litigations.
It may be paranoiac to discount the work of academic institutions as tainted by industry support. The work I have seen was done by very highly respected people.
I doubt your industry connection, whatever it is, has any direct connection with vaccine work or you would not be as negative to the combined results of investigatins by industry, academia, the Academy of Pediatrics, the NIH and their European counterparts.
My own experience is that the syndromes we classify as autistic are primarily genetic.
Incidentally, I thought VIOXX was a very good product. It worked wonders for me and some of my athletic friends. I am not familiar with its perceived toxicology, but I sure hope it was justifiably removed from use.

Well, I designed that before I ever really knew what I was doing with design, so I guess I thought out half the idea (puzzle pieces as leaves) but didn't really think about it being a bare tree (and how the bare tree makes no sense). But this was done a year ago, and I've had many more projects since where I've thoroughly thought out the symbols I use.

Next time it will be a blooming tree of puzzle pieces!

Spectator, you are correct, I am not connected to vaccines, or clinical research in any form, it's just a subject of interest. My mistrust of the industry comes from many places including direct knowledge.
I can't say without looking if any of the studies I've seen are part of litigation, I'll check and see when I look further a bit later.
Agreed that the spectrum disorders likely have a genetic basis, but the question is what causes one child to have developmental issues when a child with a similar genetic make up may have none. What's the trigger?
I only used VIOXX as one example, but there are many more examples out there. You seem to be in a position to know that your experience and that of people you know don't really tell the whole story regarding safety and if a drug's side effects make it worthy of approval when similar drugs exist that do the same thing without the side effects. But the ethical issue really is more disclosure and manipulation of data or omission of negative data, or the repression of studies that reveal problems. The recent disclosures of unfavorable studies that remain unpublished or that are delayed for "further analysis" should make one skeptical at the least. I see the point at which the pharmaceutical indsutry became the partial funder of FDA drug approval process (PDUFA) as the day we could not longer fully trust that that agency was doing all it should to protect the public. The issue of academic funding and the various other groups that we look to for honest analysis is less clear, but I still see parts of these institutions as at least partially compromised by the vast amounts of money at stake in the industry. I mean no disrespect to you or those you have worked with who's moral compass is pointed in the right direction. I just know that there many who's intentions are not so clearly in the right place.

Speaking of puzzle pieces in relation to autism, Katie, get hold of today's "Savor" section from the Star-Ledger. Bachmann Pretzels is doing its own bit for autusm awareness with pretzels shaped like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Maybe one has to see the album cover "life-sized" to get the idea of leaves as puzzle pieces. I didn't pick up on that viewing it above. Sorry.

Cathar,
Can the Bachmann "pretzels shaped like jigsaw puzzle pieces" be fitted together to make a design of some sort.

Spectator, I haven't eaten them. I've merely read about them.

(Up late there, eh? With, maybe, the munchies?)

Spec, I'm still working on getting some links as I mentioned but I'm having a hard time going back and forth between work and other things. But do check back later. I promise I'll post eventually.