An Autism Mom's Open Letter to Dr. Paul Offit

http://www.ageofaut ism.com/2008/ 09/an-autism- moms.html

September 15, 2008

An Autism Mom's Open Letter to Dr. Paul Offit

By Julie Obradovic

Dear Dr. Offit,

I am writing in regard to your new book, Autism’s
False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine and Finding a Cure.

It would be premature to say for sure, but I am
willing to bet I would be considered a “False
Prophet” in your eyes. I am a mother who
witnessed her daughter regress into Autism, and I
am a mother who believes it was because of her
vaccines. I dedicate much of my time to helping
other parents who experienced the same thing with their own children.

I also make it a point to encourage parents to
research vaccine safety carefully before blindly
subjecting their children to it. In fact, I can
count at least 10 children under the age of 3
right now who have been spared the
one-size-fits- all approach to administering
vaccines because of my advice. They are
undoubtedly part of any decrease in vaccination rates.

Some critics call me an irresponsible
anti-vaccine zealot for this. Frankly, I am
baffled by that; I am simply advocating for more
independent and relevant research into their
safety and administration. I am also simply
telling parents to do their homework; any
decision they make not to vaccinate is theirs.

I have serious, unanswered questions about the
current state of vaccination, and the bullying,
fear-mongering, and hateful discourse spewed
towards someone like myself does nothing to
squelch my concerns, or more important, the
concerns my family, friends and neighbors having children right now.

These people know that I am a rational, logical,
courageous, highly educated, intelligent mother
who pulled her own child out of the depths of
Autism. They saw with their own eyes the descent
of my perfectly healthy baby girl at birth until
6 months of age into the lost, sick state of
Autism by age 2. It’s not me telling them a
version of what happened; they saw it for themselves.

They also saw us claw our way out of that
hell-hole. They witnessed our family do what-ever
it took for however long to get our little girl
back. Despite the terrible odds against us, we
got her. My daughter no longer qualifies as having Autism.

With 1 in 20 families now being affected by
Autism, and thousands of those families
recovering their children as we did, you can only
imagine this trend (of parents not trusting you)
growing. You continue to tell these family
members, friends and neighbors that what they
witnessed wasn’t real. That doesn’t sit well with
most people I know, including you. If I’m not
mistaken, the real reason for your book is
because you don’t like it when people call you a liar. It goes both ways.

*****

Instead of critics thanking me for preventing one
more person from being dependent on the state for
the rest of her life, thus saving them thousands
of tax dollars in lifetime care, I am portrayed
as an irresponsible parent who just couldn’t
accept that she is genetically flawed. Worse, I
am now using my denial to hurt other children and
society as a whole by scaring parents away from vaccinations.

For starters, I find it interesting that
encouraging parents to research and question
vaccines, including their ingredients and
administrative protocol, is threatening. If there
truly is nothing for parents to be afraid of,
then what is the problem with telling them to
look into it for themselves? The idea that
overwhelmingly the medical community would rather
parents not question anything in this area,
thereby “just trusting us”, gives them reason to pause.

I trust my financial adviser, but I certainly
won’t let him do whatever he wants with my money
before researching it first. And I trust my
child’s teacher, but that doesn’t mean I don’t
participate in obtaining the learning outcomes
desired for my child. Certainly you can
understand that when it comes to a parent’s baby,
they are going to be involved in the decision
making process of the most important thing that baby has…her health.

Perhaps your resentment of educated parents stems
from the fact that there are legitimate
unanswered questions about vaccines that research
fosters….like what is the safe amount of aluminum
that can be injected into a tiny baby and how do
you know that? (A biological study that has never
been performed and a question that has never been answered.)

When a parent objects that you would subject
their child to such an experiment, you are
frustrated. Why? Because it appears to be safe
for the general public, and that should be a good enough answer?

It would be a blatant lie to say these concerns
are only fostered by desperate parents giving bad
information and promoting bad science on the
internet, but you perpetuate that myth
none-the-less. It’s easier to paint us as silly
fools than to admit that you don’t have all the
answers. You probably find it shocking that of
those 10 children I mentioned, 3 of them have
parents who are physicians trained in
evidence-based medicine. These are not stupid people.

As such, they can’t help but be suspicious of
someone like you who claims “I don’t get paid to
talk about vaccines” and “vaccines are the safest
thing you can put in your body” knowing you just
sold a patent for one worth $182 million dollars
(a vaccine that as one version had to be pulled
because it actually killed some children).

They can’t help but question you when they learn
that millions of dollars have been paid out to
people hurt by vaccines in a special “vaccine
court” designed to protect vaccine manufacturers.

They can’t help but wonder what you are talking
about when they read the list of ingredients in a
vaccine for themselves, or when they realize
those ingredients have never been independently tested for safety.

They also can’t help but wonder about your sanity
when you crazily suggest a child could get
100,000 vaccines in one day, no problem. (Would
100,000 traces of thimerosal still be considered a trace?)

And they certainly can’t help but wonder why
someone so confident about his knowledge about
what does not cause Autism has actually never treated someone with it.

Coupled with the fact that you refuse to debate
any Autism specialists, journalists, parents or
scientists in person, you end up being as credible as a used car salesman.

*****

In light of their research, and not just with
regard to Autism, more and more parents are
growing skeptical of vaccines for other reasons
as well. Much of it is due to the current state
of children’s health in our country.

You don’t have to have a child with Autism to
know something is wrong: We have the most
vaccinated children in the world, and the
sickest. That may or may not be related, but it
certainly warrants investigation. An epidemic of
immune system dysfunction taking place in kids
who are given more vaccines to provoke their
immune systems at an earlier age than ever is disturbing, isn’t it?

Right now, 1 in 5 children is in Special
Education; allergies and asthma plague millions;
diabetes and other chronic diseases are at an all
time high; speech delay, learning disabilities,
ADHD, and occupational needs continue to soar;
and certainly 1 in 64 boys being diagnosed with Autism is beyond comprehension.

In spite of these shameful statistics, medical
authorities are doing their best to pretend this
is all normal. They just can’t figure out whether
or not this is a problem (is it better diagnosis
or not?), thereby continuing to deny calling this what it is: An epidemic.

We all know, however, that epidemics can never be
genetic; something environmentally must be
triggering the problem. This is becoming obvious
enough that even the CDC is claiming to look for
that trigger (which begs the question, why look
for a trigger of an epidemic you claim doesn’t
exist?). It will add to the others that have also been conducted.

In one study, they found it could be the television causing Autism.

In another, they suggested dog shampoo could be doing it.

And now, as Dr. Harvey Karp mentioned on Larry
King Live!, they are even looking into the flame
retardant used in children’s pajamas and their mattresses.

The sad thing about these studies is how truly
insulting and wasteful they are. I have yet to
meet or read about one parent of a child with
Autism who says, “You know, I turned on the
television one day, and wouldn’t you know it, my
baby got non-stop diarrhea everywhere!”

Or, “By golly, we washed the dog, and the next
day, she stopped looking me in the eye!”

Or my favorite, “I put my child in new pajamas,
and I swear he regressed right into Autism!”

Yet thousands upon thousands of parents all have
the same story: They vaccinated their babies, and
something happened….chronic illnesses began,
gastro-intestinal stress started, tantrums
ensued, seizures took place and their sensory
perception changed (among many other problems).

Still, the authorities refuse to make it a
priority to look first and foremost at the
chemicals INJECTED INTO THEIR BODIES as being the
probable cause. No, instead, we’re looking at their pajamas.

Could these stupid studies be necessary because
actually finding the real trigger may be too
frightening? As Dr. Bernadine Healy eloquently
stated on the CBS Evening News, there is an
expressed concern that finding that answer would
jeopardize the vaccination program.

This means there are people in great positions of
power who could investigate this issue thoroughly
and instead have clearly stated, “We don’t want
to know if vaccines are causing Autism because
the ramifications of that answer are too huge.”

*****

I assume your response would be two-fold: One,
that you think Dr. Healy is misinformed as you
stated at the AAP Press Conference (it’s
interesting how everyone who disagrees with you
is misinformed) ; and Two, that this question has
been answered and re-answered: Vaccines have nothing do with it.

You will probably support this belief by
referencing studies that supposedly exonerate not
only vaccines, but their ingredients as well, from playing any part.

Unfortunately, I know from years of being
involved in this debate that the average person
doesn’t have a clue about any of these studies.
Instead, they hear a prominent physician like you
referring to them on the nightly news or NPR and believe they must be true.

What they don’t realize is that these studies in
fact do very little to determine the role
vaccines or their ingredients play in the Autism epidemic.

*****

To “prove” that vaccines don’t cause Autism,
physicians like you have compiled studies they
believe put the issue to rest. Most of these studies are population in nature.

The paradigm supported by their compilation is
that epidemiological studies would confirm if
vaccines were indeed implicated in Autism; the
fact that they repeatedly do not allows them to
close the book on the subject. In other words,
because they haven’t found the association in the
general population, the debate is over.

There are 4 major flaws with this.

1. Study Bias

These studies are done by the people who have the
most to lose if the outcome is a bad one.

Your paradigm assumes that these compiled studies
are independent studies that are not trying to generate a desired outcome.

I do not believe there is a conspiracy in the
vaccines-causing- Autism controversy (a common
tactic used to discredit my character). That
would mean I believe from the very beginning,
someone purposely set out to hurt my child. I do not.

But I am not naïve either. It is appropriate to
be skeptical of certain scientists’ objectivity,
especially when one considers the consequences of
what their oversight may have caused (a foreign
policy nightmare, lowered vaccination rates and a
possible collapse of the vaccination program, law
suits, billions in lost revenue, criminal
charges). One needs only look at the tobacco
industry as an example of the lengths people will
go to protect themselves. This issue dwarfs tobacco.

Not only is there is high level conflict of
interest on part of many of the authors, but in
most instances, they are employees of vaccine
manufacturers and/or work for the CDC (an
organization responsible for keeping vaccination
rates high). This clearly makes them biased.

As an example, consider the Taylor article
published in the Lancet (1999). As a response to
the Wakefield study (1998), this article attempts
to exonerate the MMR from being involved with
regressive Autism. The study was performed by
several members of the UK Immunization Division
of the Public Health Department. In the discussion of their study, they state:

“We hope that our results will reassure parents
and others who have been concerned about the
possibility that MMR is likely to cause Autism
and that they will help to restore confidence in the MMR vaccine.”

A good scientist doesn’t set out to “reassure”
anybody of anything with his or her hypothesis.
They simply want to find the truth.

Only scientists who are truly independent can be
trusted with this important research, which is
why there is federal legislation currently pending for such action.

2. Poor Study Design

The methodology employed in these studies is not
properly structured to test the hypothesis it is trying to.

You mention bad science as being a part of the
problem in this debate; you even mention it in
your book title. In this regard, we couldn’t
agree more. Over and over and over, studies that
set out to test one hypothesis actually end up
being irrelevant or inconclusive for finding it
out if it’s true, but get reported as conclusive none-the-less.

Consider these examples.

In 2002, Pinichero et al. performed a study to
test for thimerosal safety. He reasoned that
exposing children to typical thimerosal
containing vaccinations and then collecting
blood, stool and urine samples would verify its
rapid excretion, thus proving its safety.

For starters, the study is limited it to only 40
children; provided Autism affects 1 in 150
children, it is highly probable his sample size
was too small. Regardless, the author could still
only account for a small percentage of the
mercury injected into the children. To explain
this, he assumes the rest of it was excreted when
he didn’t catch it. However, thimerosal is now
documented as entering tissue quickly, including
the brain. Without a biopsy of these children’s
organs, it is impossible to know where all the mercury went.

Even more, he fails to explain why the two month
old baby who received half the amount of
thimerosal as the others had the highest
percentage blood concentration of mercury. This
would seem to fit the theory that not all
children have the same detoxification abilities, but this fact is ignored.

None-the-less, this study is widely quoted as proving thimerosal is safe.

Another example of this problem, and perhaps the
most important of them all, is the CDC population
study conducted in the United States on the role
of thimerosal exposure in the development of
Autism and other developmental disorders.

Of primary concern, the CDC should have never
been allowed to conduct this study in the first
place. In perhaps the first instance of its kind,
the CDC was investigating a health outcome that they may have caused.

People accused of a crime do not have the luxury
of investigating themselves to find out if indeed
they are guilty. From the get-go, ethical and
responsible researchers should have identified
this conflict and given the task to someone on the outside. They did not.

Even after being redone 4 times before
publication, noting the correlation “just won’t
go away”, the study could still only report
finding a “neutral” association between the two.

This neutral association was present in spite of
the fact that a child’s cumulative exposure to
thimerosal was not accurately tabulated. Flu
shots, Rhogam shots given to their mothers while
pregnant, and other thimerosal containing
vaccines were eliminated from being used to
tabulate their total exposure. (Which is odd,
isn’t it? If you want to see if it’s having an
effect, why not include all of it?)

And now, the original data sets have been lost,
destroyed (both punishable as a Federal crime) or
stored in off-shore accounts where they cannot be accessed for replication.

Interestingly, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Head of the
CDC, recently declared the study “useless” and
not helpful in ruling out an association between the two.

Provided this study was a large part of the
Institute of Medicine’s 2004 ruling that
thimerosal did not play a causal role in the
development of Autism, and no longer warranted
further study, it is fair to say that their
ruling no longer stands. A “useless” study can
certainly not support such a position.

The list of examples I could site with this kind
of methodology flaw used to exonerate vaccines or
their components goes on and on. In fact, there
is not one study in your compilation that isn’t
subject to this scrutiny, including the recently released study on the MMR.

Because of this, I’m thinking about writing a
book too. I’m going to call it, Autism’s False
Offits: Biased Science, An absence of Medicine, and No Attempt to Find a Cure.

3. Irrelevant Findings

The studies used to exonerate vaccines from
causing Autism are extremely focused, although
the question is a broad based one that hasn’t been sufficiently addressed.

Once again, the theory behind vaccines triggering
Autism is that there is a genetically susceptible
group of individuals who upon exposure to vaccination regress into Autism.

To properly test this theory, multiple studies
have yet to be conducted. A study of the never
vaccinated versus the vaccinated would help
determine if vaccines were indeed implicated, but
not necessarily explain why. Additional study of
the children with these health impairments is
prudent. They need to be tested for vaccine
strain viruses that may have not properly cleared
the body and/or left behind damage (immediately
following regression preferably); they need to be
tested for heavy metal toxicity, which may have
sparked the problem to begin with; and they need
to be tested for any and all evidence that may
demonstrate how all of these issues are related.

But we don’t have these studies yet. Instead,
what we have are studies that have suggested, not
proved, that thimerosal ALONE does not cause
Autism in the general population (no longer
admissible) and current studies that suggest the MMR ALONE does not either.

Claiming the debate over whether or not vaccines
are involved in Autism based on this is
irresponsible. We don’t have a study on the
effect of the combination of the two, or on all
of the other vaccines given in combination.
Considering there are now dozens of routine
childhood vaccines, the causal possibilities are numerous.

*****

None-the-less, let’s assume that all of that
science is actually perfect. Let’s assume that
none of the authors, whether or not they are
vaccine patent holders like you, or employees of
vaccination companies, or members of the CDC are
unethical in any capacity. Let’s say that each
and every individual conducting these studies has
the highest professional standards and would not
compromise something so important in any
capacity. And let’s assume that all of the
studies were designed and methodically carried out to the tee.

They still don’t prove Autism isn’t caused by vaccines.

4. Epidemiology can never prove causation.

While population studies are useful for
identifying large-scale problems, they are not
useful in identifying genetic susceptibilities,
and again, can never stand alone in proving
something did or did not happen in an individual.

Suppose I have a grove of multiple kinds of fruit
trees, and every time I spray the grove with
pesticide, my orange trees get sick but none of
the other trees do. If I study the entire grove
over and over again and don’t come up with an
association between the pesticide and the sick
orange trees, I still can’t rule out that it was
the pesticide that did it to them.

That doesn’t mean my study of the fruit trees was
wrong, and it doesn’t mean the pesticide is bad
for all the trees; it just means my study was
irrelevant to the question at hand. At best I
know most of my fruit trees are fine when exposed
to this chemical. It doesn’t change the fact
something’s still wrong when my oranges are, or that I still don’t know why.

Provided none of the Autism studies touted
exclusively studies the children who did regress
after their vaccines, it is baffling that medical
professionals are so willing to claim the issue is closed for debate.

Ethical and compassionate physicians would make
it a priority to say, “Although I don’t
understand why this is happening to these
children, and although some studies are telling
me it didn’t happen to the general population of
children (Thank God!), I have an obligation to
find out why it did to this child. Why did this
child regress after his vaccines, and what
evidence does he show me that it was or wasn’t causal?”

This is a substantially different take from
saying “Population studies told me it didn’t
happen, therefore it didn’t. Case closed.”

*****

Those physicians who do feel obligated to look
beyond epidemiology are conducting such research.
Together they and scientists from prestigious
universities like Harvard and Colombia have
compiled significant scientific evidence
demonstrating that indeed vaccines may be involved.

Evidence

1. Anecdotal

Hundreds of thousands of parents globally all
have the same story: They vaccinated their
children and something happened. In some
instances, the something happened immediately. In
others, it happened slowly over time and got
worse with each series of vaccines. Regardless,
they all subscribe to the same story. They
witnessed their children’s health deteriorate
after vaccines, and subsequently their children were diagnosed with Autism.

While this is not conclusive as being causal, it
certainly is valid. Anecdotal evidence is revered
as being scientific and the fact that so many
parents are telling the same story should raise
red flags everywhere. Instead, parents are
irresponsibly dismissed as imagining it or remembering things inaccurately.

Furthermore, the timing of the onset of Autism
and vaccines is identical. This too makes it
highly plausible they are involved.

2. Epidemiological

Multiple studies done, including those sponsored
by the CDC, prove that there has been a
substantial increase in Autism and other
developmental disorders in the last 2 decades.
This increase starts precisely when the Hepatitis
B shot was administered at birth, beginning in the late 1980’s.

Many doctors have written this increase off as an
indication of better diagnosis. However, the
better diagnosis belief would mean that about 97%
of cases of Autism in 1985 and prior were missed.
In other words, 1 in 64 40 year old males is
walking around right now with Autism and doesn’t know it.

Finally, no wide-scale study has been done on the
vaccinated versus never vaccinated children of
this country (a study that also has legislation
behind it). It is absolutely impossible to know
the true differences in health outcomes between
them. In this case, it is a lack of epidemiology that is hurting our kids.

3. Biological

Incredibly, the symptoms of mercury poisoning and
Autism are identical. They aren’t kind of
similar, or sort of the same, they are identical.
The idea that we are actually debating whether or
not injecting kids with mercury can cause the
symptoms of mercury is ridiculous.

I’ve included a table in case you are one of
those ignorant physicians often quoted who only
know mercury toxicity in the form of Acrodynia or
Minimata Disease and fail to understand the other
ways it may manifest. There is no doubt the
comparison of mercury toxicity to Autism is stunning.

*Borrowed from Changing the Course of Autism (Jepsen)

Mercury Toxicity Autism
Biochemistry Biochemistry
• Binds SH groups; blocks sulfate transporter in intestines and kidneys
• Reduces glutathione availability, inhibits
enzymes of glutathione metabolism; glutathione
needed in neurons, cells, and liver to detoxify
heavy metals; reduces glutathione peroxidase and reductase
• Disrupts purine and pyrimidine metabolism
• Disrupts mitochondrial activities, especially
in the brain • Low sulfate levels
• Low levels of glutathione; decreased ability of
liver to detoxify xenobiotics; abnormal
glutathione peroxidase activity in erythrocytes
• Purine and pyrimidine metabolism errors lead to autistic features
• Mitochondrial dysfunction, especially in the brain
Immune System Immune System
• Sensitive individuals more likely to have
allergies, asthma, autoimmune-like symptoms, especially rheumatoid-like ones
• Can produce an immune response in CNS, causes brain/MBP autoantibodies
• Causes overproduction of Th2 subset;
kills/inhibits lymphocytes, T-cells, and
monocytes; decreases NK T-cell activity; induces
or suppresses IGNg & IL-2 • More likely to have
allergies and asthma; familial presence of
autoimmune diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis; IgA deficiencies
• On-going immune response in CNS; brain/MBP autoantibodies present
• Skewed immune-cell subset in the Th2 direction;
decreased response to T-cells mitogens; reduced
NK T0cell function; increased IFNg & IL-12
CNS (Central Nervous System) structure CNS Structure
• Selectively targets brain areas unable to
detoxify or reduce Hg-induced oxidative stress
• Accummulates in amygdale, hippocampus, basal
ganglia, cerebral cortex; damages Purkinje and
granule cells in cerebellum; brain stem defects in some cases
• Causes abnormal neuroanoal cytoarchitecture;
disrupts neuronal migration, microtubules, and cell division; reduces NCAMs
• Progressive microcephaly • Specific areas of
brain pathology; many functions spared (area 36)
• Pathology in amygdale, hippocampus, basal
ganglia, cerebral brain stem defects in some cases
• Nauronal disorganization; increased neuronal
cell replication, increased glial cells; depressed expression of NCAMs
• Progressive microephaly and macroephaly
Neuro-chemistry Neuro-chemistry
• Prevents presynaptic serotonin release and
inhibits serotonin transport; causes calcium disruptions
• Alters dopamine systems; peroxidine deficiency
in rats resembles mercurialism in humans
• Elevates epinephrine and norepinephrine levels
by blocking enzyme that degrades epinephrine
• Elevates glutamate
• Leads to cortical acetylcholine deficiency;
increases muscarinic receptor density in hippocampus and cerebellum
• Causes demyelinating neuropathy • Decreased
serotonin synthesis in children; abnormal calcium metabolisjm
• Either high or low dopamine levels; positive
response to peroxidine, which lowers dopamine levels
• Elevated norepinephrine and epinephrine
• Elevated glutamate and aspirate
• Cortical acetylcholine deficiency; reduced
muscarinic receptor binding in hippocampus
• Demylelination in brain
Neurophysiology Neurophysiology
• Causes abnormal EEGs, epileptiform activity,
variable patterns, e.g., subtle, low amplitude seizure activities
• Causes abnormal vestibular nystagums responses;
loss of sense of position in space
• Results in autonomic disturbance: excessive
sweating, poor circulation, elevated heart rate •
Abnormal EEGs, epileptiform activity, variable
patterns, including subtle, low amplitude seizure activities
• Abnormal vestibular nystagmus responses; loss of sense of position in space
• Autonomic disturbance: unusual sweating, poor
circulation, elevated heart rate
Psychiatric Disturbances Psychiatric Disturbances
• Social deficits, shyness social withdrawal
• Repetitive, preservative, stereotypic
behaviors; obsessive-compulsiv e tendencies
• Depression/depressi ve traits, mood swings, flat
affect; impaired face recognition
• Anxiety; schizoid tendencies; irrational fears
• Irritability, aggression, temper-tantrums
• Lacks eye contact; impaired visual fixation,
problems in joint attention • Social deficits, shyness social withdrawal
• Repetitive, preservative, stereotypic
behaviors; obsessive-compulsiv e tendencies
• Depression/depressi ve traits, mood swings, flat
affect; impaired face recognition
• Anxiety; schizoid tendencies; irrational fears
• Irritability, aggression, temper-tantrums
• Lacks eye contact; impaired visual fixation, problems in joint attention
Speech and Language Deficits Speech and Language Deficits
• Loss of speech, delayed language, failure to develop speech
• Dysarthria; articulation problems
• Speech comprehension deficits
• Verbalizing and word retrieval problems;
echolalia, word use and pragmatic errors • Loss
of speech, delayed language, failure to develop speech
• Dysarthria; articulation problems
• Speech comprehension deficits
• Verbalizing and word retrieval problems;
echolalia, word use and pragmatic errors
Sensory Abnormalities Sensory Abnormalities
• Abnormal sensation in mouth and extremities
• Sound sensitivity; mild to profound hearing loss
• Abnormal touch sensations; touch aversion
• Over-sensitivity to light; blurred vision, loss of color perception
• Under-sensitive or over-sensitive to pain •
Abnormal sensation in mouth and extremities
• Sound sensitivity; mild to profound hearing loss
• Abnormal touch sensations; touch aversion
• Over-sensitivity to light; blurred vision
• Under-sensitive or over-sensitive to pain
Motor Disorders Motor Disorders
• Flapping, myoclonal jerks, choreiform
movements, circling, rocking, toe walking, unusual postures
• Deficits in eye-hand coordination; limb
apraxia; intention tremors, problems with intentional movement or imitation
• Abnormal gait and posture, clumsiness and
incoordination; difficulties sitting, lying,
crawling, and walking; problem on one side of
body • Flapping, myoclonal jerks, choreiform
movements, circling, rocking, toe walking, unusual postures
• Deficits in eye-hand coordination; limb
apraxia; intention tremors, problems with intentional movement or imitation
• Abnormal gait and posture, clumsiness and
incoordination; difficulties sitting, lying,
crawling, and walking; problem on one side of body
Cognitive Impairments Cognitive Impairments
• Borderline intelligence, mental retardation- some cases reversible
• Poor concentration, attention, response inhibition
• Poor visual and perceptual motor skills; impairment in simple reaction time
• Deficits in understanding abstract ideas &
symbolism; degeneration of higher mental powers,
sequencing, planning and organization •
Borderline intelligence, mental retardation- some cases reversible
• Poor concentration, shifting attention
• Poor visual and perceptual motor skills;
impairment in simple reaction time lower performance on timed tests
• Difficulty in carrying out complex commands
• Deficits in understanding abstract ideas &
symbolism; degeneration of higher mental powers,
sequencing planning and organizing
Unusual Behaviors Unusual Behaviors
• Self-injurious behavior, head banging
• Inability to focus or concentrate; hyperactivity
• Agitation, unprovoked crying, grimacing and staring spells
• Sleep disturbances and impairments
• Self-stimulatory behaviors
• Obsessive compulsive behaviors • Self-injurious behavior, head banging
• ADHD traits
• Agitation, unprovoked crying, grimacing and staring spells
• Sleep disturbances and impairments
• Self-stimulatory behaviors
• Obsessive compulsive behaviors
Physical Disturbances Physical Disturbances
• Hyper or hypotonia; abnormal reflexes;
decreased muscle strength; especially upper body;
incontinence; problems chewing and swallowing
• Rashes, dermatitis, eczema, itching
• Peeling skin (hands and feet)
• Diarrhea; abdominal pain/discomfort, constipation, colitis
• Anorexia, nausea, vomiting; poor appetite, restricted diet
• Lesions of ileum and colon; increased gut
permeability • Hyper or hypotonia; abnormal
reflexes; decreased muscle strength; especially
upper body; incontinence; problems chewing and swallowing
• Rashes, dermatitis, eczema, itching
• Diarrhea; abdominal pain/discomfort, constipation, colitis
• Anorexia, nausea, vomiting; poor appetite, restricted diet
• Lesions of ileum and colon; increased gut permeability

It is impossible for a parent like myself, who
witnessed her daughter regress into Autism more
and more with each set of vaccines she received,
to believe that it is a coincidence that she was
repeatedly injected with mercury (including at
birth), and then developed the symptoms of mercury poisoning.

This is the equivalent of someone saying that
they went into the sun for 2 hours on a sunny day
and got the symptoms of a sun burn, but the sun
didn’t do it because everybody else they know
always gets a tan, (and they better not treat
themselves or tell anyone what happened because
the sun is good). It is completely and totally
illogical to believe such a thing.

Further evidence to support a toxicological base
in Autism comes from studies that demonstrate
higher rates of Autism among children who live
near coal-burning plants; a study that
demonstrates glutathione levels (a substance
necessary for detoxification) being 68% lower in
children with Autism than their nuerotypical
peers; and a study on mice with a predisposition
for auto-immune conditions that shows a markedly
different response to thimerosal exposure than the mice who did not.

Then there are the studies that show thimerosal
causes mitochondrial dysfunction, the exact same
condition the Dept. of Health and Human Services
(in a medical decision, not a legal one) just
said caused Hannah Poling’s symptoms of Autism
after receiving 9 vaccines at once.

Not to mention, the very first cases of Autism
ever diagnosed in the world or anywhere in
medical literature were done shortly after
thimerosal was introduced on the market. Among
those cases, many of them had parents who worked
with or lived near ethyl mercury, the same kind of mercury used in thimerosal.

In fact, there is so much evidence against
thimerosal that an entire book was written on it
by an award-winning journalist in 2005: Evidence of Harm, by David Kirby.

At a minimum, this evidence substantiates ruling
out mercury toxicity in all children with Autism.
That was my purpose when finding a qualified specialist to test my daughter.

Why wouldn’t I rule it out as a possibility?
Because one flawed epidemiological study done by
those who would be held accountable told me maybe
it happened, maybe it didn’t? Because vaccines
save lives and questioning them is wrong? How
irrelevant! How irresponsible! My daughter was
injected with mercury and subsequently developed
the symptoms of what it causes! How could I not test her?

Naturally, when it was confirmed she was mercury
toxic, I was outraged. Well first, I actually vomited.

I don’t believe anyone tried to poison my
daughter, but they did. As a result, her entire
life and what she will be able to do with it has been permanently altered.

More urgent, she needed to be treated. Under a
doctor’s care, using only medication approved for mercury poisoning, she was.

Today, I’m thrilled to report; she no longer has mercury poisoning….or Autism.

*****

Dr. Offit, time limits my ability in this letter
to list each and every study that supports
evidence that children with Autism have
substantial health problems, including but not
limited to their immune system, their central
nervous system, and their gastro-intestinal
system. They have severe nutritional
deficiencies; tolerate horrific yeast overgrowth
in their guts coupled with leaky gut syndrome and
dysbiosis; are in a constant state of battling
viruses and infection; have lowered
detoxification capabilities and suffer from heavy
metal toxicity; and live daily with intense pain,
inflammation, and sensory issues.

All of these health issues are well-documented in
the medical literature. All a responsible physician has to do is look.

But instead, they are told not to because
according to physicians like you, all of it is
garbage. Somehow only the studies done by those
who have the most to lose, the CDC, the AAP, and
the vaccine manufacturing companies, are actually quality.

According to your (and their) logic:

It’s a coincidence that Autism didn’t appear in
the medical literature until right after
thimerosal came on the market. (It’s been around
for centuries, we just never bothered to document it.)

It’s a coincidence the symptoms of Autism and
mercury poisoning are the same. (Sometimes these things happen.)

It’s a coincidence that as children are being
treated for their medical problems they are
losing their diagnosis. (It’s both a lifelong
genetic condition and something people spontaneously recover from.)

It’s a coincidence that these children are
regressing into Autism at the same time they are
getting their vaccines. (Unfortunate timing.)

It’s a coincidence that four times as many boys
have Autism than girls, even though we know
mercury is synergistic with testosterone.
(Mercury has nothing to do with Autism.)

It’s a coincidence that the rate of Autism and
other developmental disorders has sky-rocketed as
we added more vaccines to the schedule. (We have
gotten better at diagnosing, that’s all.)

It’s a coincidence parent after parent has the
same story. They vaccinated and their child
shortly developed Autism thereafter. (It’s the internet’s fault.)

At the same time, you perpetuate the myth that
thimerosal is a safe substance and that it is no
longer in vaccines; you even state that in trace
amounts it is the equivalent of being exposed to
the mercury that we breathe or eat. I certainly
hope I am misunderstanding that you believe
breathing or eating a substance is the same as
having it injected into your body. They most certainly are not.

We both know that if you ever tried to convince a
parent that injecting their child with just a
little bit of lead, simply because lead is in a
pencil they use or in the food they eat, the
parent would run fast and far away from you. Yet
mercury is 500 times more toxic.

Additionally, you know that thimerosal has never
been tested for safety. It is labeled as poison
and the bottle clearly states that exposure may
result in neurological harm. It is so toxic that
it was banned from over-the-counter products in
1982 and form animal vaccines in 1991. It’s so
toxic that when put on the umbilical cords of 7
babies in a hospital in 1977, they all died.

Still, it inexplicably remains in human vaccines
to this day. Despite claims to the contrary, it
was never “removed”. To date, no one has verified
that indeed it is no longer on the shelves of
doctor’s everywhere. At best, it is only in
smaller amounts, not zero amounts. Even worse, it
is now recommended that all pregnant women and
children get a flu shot, which has the full dose
of 25 micrograms in it (unless they know to ask otherwise).

Considering the argument has always been there is
a genetic susceptibility to this substance, it is
irresponsible to claim that less of it would
automatically be less dangerous to such a
person. A person with a peanut allergy only
needs 1 peanut to go into anaphylactic shock, not
a bowl full, and sometimes less than that.

*****

By continuing to promote to this coincidental and
toxicological non-sense, you are denying the
right to medical care for millions across the
globe, a human right’s violation.

Our children are perhaps the sickest children on
the planet, and yet they are shamefully not given
medical care. Instead, they are told to go home
with their parents where they should get
behavioral therapy alone, and worse, look into an
institution. They are written off from society as
being hopeless causes and a burden to their families.

This is the equivalent of a parent whose child
has cancer being told to just forget about
treating them and go buy a burial plot.

In an even crueler twist of fate, our children
can’t tell us what is wrong or where it hurts
because their ability to speak has been taken
from them. To communicate sometimes, they scream
and hurt themselves and throw tantrums. They have
chronic gastro-intestinal distress and
unimaginable pain; are overly sensitive to
everything; often can’t ever get a good night’s
sleep; and sometimes can’t even tolerate being
touched as their parents try to comfort them. All
the while they are expected to learn or behave
properly. Can you imagine their hell?

And now parents are being told by ignorant
members of society that their precious kids are
simply brats who don’t know how to behave in
public. Supposedly they are just putting on act
because their fathers have disappeared or their
mom doesn’t know how to discipline. I suppose if
I weren’t an insider I would tell myself that
too; the idea that this is real is enough to
scare anyone into rationalizing it away.

Make no mistake, the torture of watching your
child succumb to this disease and being told that
there’s nothing you can or should do; well
frankly, it is enough to drive some people over
the edge. It should not be surprising parents of
children with Autism are killing themselves and
their children, jumping with them off bridges,
drowning them, and suffocating them.

It doesn’t get any more real than that.

*****

Dr. Offit, there is a generation of children who
are on fire right now. Their health is in flames,
and rather than doing everything in your power to
put them out, you have chosen to debate about
whether or not there really is a fire; if and how
it started; and whether or not there is any real reason to put them out.

Worse, you have taken it upon yourself to
ridicule and criticize those of us parents who
have decided to douse our children in water,
despite your inaction. You criticize the kind of
water we are using, where we are getting it from,
how much we are using, who is helping us get
it, and have the audacity to suggest that us
attempting to put out the flames is more irresponsible than letting them burn.

In an even more despicable twist, you go so far
as to accuse us of actually wanting and causing
other children to get hurt because we warn
parents about how our fire started; it’s easier
to blame us rather than acknowledge your pitiful
display of incompetence as being the real reason for the spark. How dare you.

I love my children more than anything in the
world. I also love the children of my family
members, my neighbors, and my friends. I would
lie down in traffic for any one of them if that’s
what it took to save their life. For anyone to
suggest that I would recklessly put their lives
or other people’s children at risk because I
encourage them to research vaccine safety is pouring salt on a gaping wound.

The pain I feel about what happened to my middle
child is often times intolerable, and I’m one of
the lucky ones. I got her back. There isn’t a day
that goes by that I don’t wish I didn’t believe
vaccines hurt her. I’ve lost faith in my
government, my media, and my medical institution
(but am hopeful it can be restored). To top it
off, I am subjected to the vile of anonymous
bullies and threatened physicians who are angry
that my experience differs from what they think it should have.

The saddest thing is we’re both on the same side.
We both want children to be protected, except I
believe we can and have to do better. To be sure
though, I would not wish what happened to my
daughter on my worst enemy, even them.

Can you imagine what it feels like to hold your
child down to be poisoned at the hands of people
you trusted; to watch her suffer in silence
unable to communicate her pain and fear; to
confirm she was poisoned after wasting years of
time; and to live with the never-ending pain of
not knowing what irreparable damage was caused or
who she was meant to be…Only to be told that what
you lived wasn’t real; that trying to help her is
irresponsible; and that by speaking out about it
and trying to prevent it from happening to
another child you are recklessly putting society at risk?

Let’s get something straight: my daughter is the
victim here, not the medical community. And as
for society, our debt has been paid a thousand fold.

When I followed the rules….When I listened to the
advice of my doctors and showed up at their
doorstep exactly on the day my baby was scheduled
to receive her shots, something horrible happened.

I don’t know why it happened to my daughter and
not my son. I don’t know why it happens to some
children and not others. I don’t have those
answers, Dr. Offit, but I do know this: It happened.

I’m sorry that makes you defensive. I’m sorry you
have chosen to take it personally rather than
admit you don’t have all the answers. I’m sorry
you cannot acknowledge the existing studies have
their limitations and that you, being a vaccine
patent holder are probably not the best person to
be promoting or dictating your version of vaccine safety.

But I am not sorry that I have chosen to speak
out about it. I am not sorry that those 10
children I mentioned earlier, including my own,
will no longer be subjected to blindly following
along a path that so many have for so long. I am
not sorry that parents everywhere are beginning
to think for themselves and are demanding answers.

And I absolutely will not apologize that I have
the courage to stand up and ask you if in the
name of good we have inadvertently swapped
infectious disease for chronic disease. No
responsible person wants a resurgence of vaccine
preventable diseases, but no responsible person
wants chronic disease to be the cost of
preventing them, especially if it is our children who are making that payment.

We have been vaccinating human beings for decades
now, and we have yet to take a step back and look
at any unintended consequences we may have
caused. We have a responsibility to humanity to
study that possibility, no matter how unpleasant the answer may be.

And no, despite your claim to the contrary, we haven’t.

Sincerely,
Julie Obradovic

Julie Obradovic is the mom of a recovered child.
http://www.ageofaut ism.com/2008/ 09/an-autism- moms.html