At least Mccain Responded!!

The following is part of an email I received from the Autism Research Intitute.

In May, Rebecca Estepp of San Diego, who has a vaccine-injured child with autism, contacted both presidential campaigns for clarification on their positions with regard to vaccine-safety reform. She made a plea for two Executive Orders to be issued within the first one hundred days of entering office: the removal of all mercury from all vaccines, and a moratorium on the addition of new vaccines to the recommended list for children, until the current vaccine schedule can be proven safe.

On October 20th, Estepp received a detailed response from Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy advisor to the McCain campaign, stating that if elected, McCain "will work with all agencies to take all necessary steps in an expedient manner to ensure safe vaccines for every American family." Further, McCain endorsed parental vaccination choice stating, "The key to health care reform is to restore control to the patients themselves."
(http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/10/mccain-senior-p.html)

"In contrast, Senator Obama never responded to Estepp's requests for improved vaccine safety, responding to her only with regard to his position on autism. Estepp is disappointed: "I truly wanted responses from both parties, and while the concerns of vaccine safety and autism overlap, they are in fact separate issues. I didn't ask either candidate for his position on autism. I asked for vaccine safety improvements on behalf of all children."

Earlier this fall, New Jersey parent Claudine Liss attended an Obama fundraiser with the express intent to get answers similar to those sought by Estepp. Liss explains, "He looked right at me and said, 'I am not for selective vaccination. I believe it will bring back deadly diseases, like polio.'"

Estepp extends a final plea to Senator Obama to clarify his position: "This is a party-neutral issue, and many of our parents are waiting to make up their minds on whom to elect. Senator McCain believes parents have a choice in how they vaccinate their children. I sincerely hope that Senator Obama misspoke that night in New Jersey."

Why I trust Sarah Palin

I have found that when it comes to special needs, the only people who really care and understand what we go through as parents of these special children are those who are going through the same thing. Palin's son Trig was born with down syndrome and her nephew has autism.

She knows to well the agony and the joy of raising a child with special needs. She is exactly what our community needs. "We need Sarah in the White House".

In a speech in Pittsburgh, Penn., last week, Palin pledged that a McCain-Palin administration would fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, exempt disability programs from the domestic discretionary spending freeze they plan to institute next year, and will provide school vouchers so families can send their special needs children to the school of their choice.

"Too often, even in our own day, children with special needs have been set apart and excluded," said Palin, whose infant son Trig has Down syndrome. "Too often, state and federal laws add to their challenges, instead of removing barriers and opening new paths of opportunity. Too often, they are made to feel that there is no place for them in the life of our country, that they don't count or have nothing to contribute. This attitude is a grave disservice to these beautiful children, to their families, and to our country -- and I will work to change it."

"That's more than the shortfall to fully fund the IDEA," she said. "And where does a lot of that earmark money end up? It goes to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good -- things like fruit fly research in Paris, France, or a public policy center named for the guy who got the earmark. In our administration, we're going to reform and refocus. We're going to get our federal priorities straight, and fulfill our country's commitment to give every child opportunity and hope in life."

Sarah carried her son and gave birth to him, with the knowledge that he had down syndrome. Now that to me, is what a real feminist is like. Anyone who puts her down for that is just envious, because they don't have the inner strength to do what she did.

This is why I trust her as the best choice for our kids future.

Disabled Kids Still Digging in the Trash at School

Yesterday on the way home from school, my daughter who took the videos, said that the school says that they want to teach the kids to take care of the planet by recycling, and she said in a really angry voice,

"The problem is that the kids in the Special Ed. class don't understand about responsibility, they just want their ice cream and the regular kids don't do it, because it's not cool to dig in the trash. Responsibility is doing what I did".

They didn't pick anything from the trash that day, and we were really happy, though my daughter was a little reluctant, because she said that that day was Club day, which happens once every two months, and there were no bottle and cans to pick up, because the kids get to buy foods different from the regular cafeteria food. She was right and today she saw them again picking bottles from the trash. How they can justify the treatment of this kids is beyond me. If I catch my son being treated like that, I don't think I could control myself.

Putting these kids in a situation where they are the target of ridicule and humiliation is not teaching them anything of value. If anything they will learn that they are less then the other children.

Disabled Students Humiliated-Update!

I have been digging more and what is happening is that the special ed kids are picking up recyclables. When they collect a certain amount by Friday, they get Ice cream. So after they eat lunch they walk around for the rest of their lunch, with plastic bags picking up cans and bottles from the floor and the trash. Recyclables or not, it's still trash. They are still in the middle of the cafeteria being exposed to the other kids' mean comments.

They dig in the trash and then they touch their face, gross! If I were given an option for or against my Mickie doing that I would oped out.

The regular kids are encouraged to do this too, but none of them do it, because they find it gross and embarrassing. Special kids on the other hand don't understand social subtleties, and all they know is that they might get ice cream on Friday. They should be getting ice cream anyway!!

I still think it's disgusting, humiliating and wrong in so many levels!!

Disabled Students Humiliated!

Last week as I was getting Mickie ready for school, one of his sisters said to me,

"Alta Loma Junior High"

"Mom me and my friend got really sad yesterday", I asked her why, and she said something that really hit home.

Apparently the kids from the Special Ed. class get to go to the front of the line to get their lunch, but after they're done, their job is to pick up trash in the cafeteria, while the regular students eat, make fun of them and throw extra trash for them to pick up.

These innocent kids laugh, while being laughed at, and pick every piece of trash thrown on the floor. All this goes on, under the watchful eye, of the principal and vice principal. This is what my daughter also said,

Video taken on October 21, 2008

" While the regular kids eat lunch, the disabled kids come out 5 minutes before lunch is over and proctors tell them certain areas to clean up trash. Some of the kids keep throwing trash on the floor on purpose and saying, "Hey look at all those retards cleaning up crap, Ha, ha, ha." Then they go up to them and say, “Look there’s trash over there!"


Video taken on October 21, 2008

May be these special kids don't understand what's going on, but that doesn't make it right. What is wrong with our society, that we can't bring ourselves to treat the mentally disabled with the dignity they deserve. The disabled have a right to be valued and respected. All of us should make it our responsibility to watch over them and protect them, not humiliate them. I fail to see what picking up everyone else's trash is teaching them. The brats who are dropping trash on the floor, should get written up for being slobs.

On Friday, I tried to go into the school during lunch to see for myself and was denied entrance.

Mickie Has Been Cranky

Yesterday, when I picked Mickie up from the bus, the driver told me that Mickie looked like he was crying on the ride back from school. I know they don't like him in that class and Mickie like most kids on the autism spectrum, can sense, when someone doesn't appreciate them. Something is not right with him, but I can't tell what it is.

Last night he fell asleep early, without his melatonin, but he was up by nine. I got up seven times throughout the night to check on him and every time I walked in his room, he was sitting on the corner of his bed wide awake and watching TV.

I was so tired this morning, that I woke up late. I didn't think I was going to have enough time to get him ready for school, but I did. I told the bus driver to tell the person who picks up Mickie from the bus, at school to please be patient with him, because he didn't sleep last night. I just feel that he is going to be all kinds of cranky today.

I couldn't be sure that she would remember, so I called his teacher. I let her her know about last night, but she said that he was actually being very good this morning. He was watching Dora the Explorer and was listening very quietly. Well who knew? Maybe he does better on less sleep. I wish I could say the same for me.

Extend Statute of Limitations for Vaccine Injury Claims

I few months ago I started a petition to extend the statute of limitations for filing a claim with the NAICP. I came up with this idea, because for most families, mine included, unfortunately, that statute of limitations runs out by the time we put two and two together and link our children's autism to vaccines. I think this program is designed to protect vaccine manufactures from liability and to keeps us from taking them to court as we should be allowed to do so.

I don't see why they are so shielded from lawsuits when it comes to vaccine injury and specially when autism is involved. The petition reads as follows:

We demand Congress take steps to extend the statute of limitations to allow all children affected by vaccine induced Autism to file in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). We demand the right to file a lawsuit until our children become an adult.
http://www.petitiononline.com/vaccjust/petition.html

The Art Show

Well in the end I didn't take Mickie with me to the art show. My mom volunteered to babysit and the girls and I went by ourselves. It was nice to spend some time with them enjoying all the beautiful artwork. There was so much of the wrong foods there, that it would have been a disaster, because Mickie has a ravenous appetite, specially for gluten, casein and sugar containing foods.

Mickie did well with his grandma. My oldest son was there playing video games and he was ready in case Mickie got aggressive, but he didn't. Once he was done eating he started to push my mom out the door again, but she told him, "no Mickie I want to stay here", and he sat next to her for a little while and then went to his room, and fell asleep shortly after. We got home around 8:30 and all was calm.

Art Show Reception

Tomorrow night, the Pomona Valley Art Association has it's opening reception for their Annual Juried Show. This is my second year participating in this event. Last year I didn't even get to attend, in spite of receiving an award. I was so busy and overwhelmed with all the biomedical stuff, that I just couldn't leave him.

Since two weeks ago when I went to another art show and left Mickie with my mom, he gave her such a hard time. Tomorrow I will take Mickie with me along with his three big sisters. We will take the Convay Cruiser, which is a big stroller to keep him from running off.

I hope he doesn't decide that he needs all the lights off or wants to eat all the wrong foods at the buffet table. Keeping my fingers crossed, I will report back after the show.

New OCD Behavior

For the last few months Mickie has decided that he has to have his TV and DVD player on all day and night. I turn it off when he leaves for school, in order to give the appliances a break, but as soon as he gets home he runs in his room and turns it back on.

The DVD player plays the same DVD everyday. I don't know what I will do if the disk breaks. I have tried to play other movies. He used to love Ren & Stimpy, Cars, and the show Ed, Ed and Eddie, but now it has to be this one. It's got a blond baby boy and an Asian baby girl, while a really soothing womans voice sounds out single words.

If anyone turns off the TV, he goes ballistic! I can't even turn it off, when he falls asleep, because he instantly wakes up.

Mickie has a new Obsessive Compulsive behavior. Last night he discovered that a switch by his bedroom door turns of the plugs for the TV and DVD player. He turned it off and then back on, but the DVD won't turn on by itself, so I have to go fix it and by then he has started changing the channels and so the movie won't play.

He did this about 50 times in a row, becoming more and more upset each time. I finally stopped fixing the problem for him and just went to my room and waited it out. He cried and yelled and stimmed for 30 minutes by my door and then he stopped making so much noise and walked to his room. I then fixed the TV again and just jumped for joy. He laid down and fell asleep.

This morning at 5 o'clock in the morning, I was awaken by a rattling on my door. It was Mickie and he was trying to get me to fix the TV again, because, you guessed it; he turned the darn switch again. I didn't give in this time and I made him wait until seven. Needless to say he left the switch alone for the rest of the day.

Mickie is Going to Private ABA School!!

This week I recieved a call from Mickie's school district to let me know that they would give the go ahead for him to be placed in the private ABA school I had requested back in May. Apparently, the current arrangement is not going to work out.

Sure I am happy, since it's what I wanted in the first place, but other then asking me to cut his nails and complaining about his farts, I never heard anything from the teacher that could have given me any indication, that Mickie was to much for her to handle.

I was noticing his lack of progress and he was coming home with his cheecks red and raw from stimming, which told me they weren't keeping him busy.

For all the money being poured into Autism, you would think, that our kids out to be making more progress, then they are. Everything he knows, I taught him!

Jenny MacCarthy vs Amanda Peets

Last summer Amanda Peets comments In Cookie Magazine, angered a lot of parents, who choose not to vaccinate their children and others who blame vaccines for their kids autism; She said, "There are a lot of misconceptions about the dangers of vaccinations...but frankly, I feel that parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites." She since apologized by saying, “I believe in my heart that my use of the word ‘parasites’ was mean and divisive…For this I am truly sorry.” Jenny McCarthy spoke out against her comments and does not accept the apology from Peets.

I belive that Jenny and Peets both have a right to their opinion, but for Peets to call us parasites, was of very hurfull and of poor taste and it brings into question her creditability. Without someone like Jenny to speak on our behalf, we would have no voice.

I do think that Jenny speaking out on a subject that hit so close to home will have an influence on how parents look at vaccinations.The Mercury moms have been screaming for years about what vaccines did to our children and Jenny has the power to relay that message and it will be heard.

In a stament in the next issue of Spectrum Magazine,McCarthy whose 6 year-old son, Evan, was vaccinated and since diagnosed with autism, says, “Peet has a lot of nerve to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she's completely wrong.”

Meanwhile Peets has agreed to become a celebrity spokesperson for rival child welfare group Every Child By Two, which according to Age of Autism, has ties to vaccine manufactures: Read full article here. Since learning about this, Executive Director of McCarthy’s autism advocacy group, John Gilmore, is calling for a boycott of Peet’s films.

A GLUTEN-CASEIN FREE DIET

It was March 2003 and Mickie was now 5 years old and has lost all speech by now. He had started to have these episodes. I didn't know what to make of them. He screams desperation, and as the weeks pass he gets worse. The episodes happen at school, at home, in the middle of the night. Mickie seemed to be in pain, but no one can tell me how to help him. No one in our house has been able to sleep-it's been four months. He would be happy one minute and sad the next. Late in May, I found a nice doctor who ordered some blood work upon my request.

One night I went as far as faking a head injury and taking him to Los Angeles Children's Hospital. It proved to be useless, because the doctor on duty that night refused to examine him. Another testament, that when an autistic person needs medical attention, he or she is treated like just another crazy person. I never took him back there again.

The next day Dr Alejandro, his pediatrician saw him and with the blood work being ready, was able to tell us that Mickie suffered from Malabsoption, but to not worry, that there were no toxins going into his blood. What I didn't know then, was how inaccurate that statement was. His Sed-Rate was at 33, which shows inflammation and It should be under 10. A few days later Mickie saw a Gastroenterologist. I showed him the blood work and he told me that Low IgA would make Mickie prone to gastrointestinal infections and that IgE, Mickie was to stay away from Dairy. Finally there was a reason for his unexplained pain!

I took him off milk and went a step further and took him off cereals. Within days the diahrrea had stopped and his pain had gone away.

The Fire

On February 14, of 06, there was an electrical fire in Mickie’s room. I woke up to a house full of teenagers screaming: "Mom, mom; Mickie's room is on fire". I ran out of my room towards the hallway and I could see the smoke coming out from under his door. Without even thinking, I pushed the door open and saw the fire reaching the ceiling on the left hand corner of the room. The TV was on and Mickie was sitting there on his bed, under the covers. He had no intention of getting out of there.

The fire looked like a giant snake and it was moving towards the closet on the other side where Mickie was. I ran in and tried to pull him out and he started to fight me. I had to grab him by his pajama shirt and drag him out. He still wanted to go back into the room. He didn't seem to have any idea of what had just happened. Danger awareness is one of the most disturbing issues parents with children on the autism spectrum have to deal with. Without a sense of danger our kids are prone to tragic accidents.

Keeping Mickie Safe

People on the autism spectrum, have no fear of death and no awareness of danger. Many are not afraid of large bodies of water. They are prone to wonder away for home. Wondering away is one of Mickie’s favorite things to do. Over the years I’ve adapted the house we live in to Mickie’s changing needs. My father installed two iron gates, one on the entrance to a hallway leading to the living room and the other leading to his siblings’ bedrooms.

One morning, in the spring of 2008, I walked out of my room as I do everyday, at 7 O'clock in the morning to find that the Iron Gate leading to the living room was wide open and the front door was unlocked.I remember latching the lock the night before. Who could have opened it? I asked myself. Then I remembered I had locked the lock, but it was almost dark and only one side of the chain was hooked on to the lock. I didn't even notice it. With all the precautions I take every day to keep Mickie safe, even to have earned the name of camp Gitmo, that mistake could have caused a tragedy. He must have had an angel watching over him that morning.