Severity and Everyday Functional Impairment in the DSM5's Autism Spectrum Disorder

In his recent Nature  journal article Dr. Laurent Mottron repaints autism disorders in the image of his mentor Michelle Dawson, and the handful of high functioning autistic persons (represented by Mottron as being typical autistics) who are also providing research assistance to Mottron and his research team. Almost all media coverage of the Mottron commentary has consisted of breathless expressions of admiration for Dawson and Mottron. The media has by and large accepted the Mottron commentary without critical analysis and without reservation.  I was interviewed by Sara Boesveld of the National Post about the commentary. She was very courteous and provided an opportunity to offer some counterpoint to the Mottron comment even if my input was reduced to the following paragraph which was then, apparently, provided to Michelle Dawson for rebuttal:

"Harold Doherty is a New Brunswick labour lawyer whose son Conor is “severely autistic,” barely communicates and expresses odd behaviour. He’s sure Conor will never be able to work and he’s worried what will happen to his son should he ever die and be unable to care for him.

“You can’t talk to a parent with a severely autistic child about the ‘power of autism.’ That’s nonsense,” he said. “And what they’ve done is they’ve tried to paint autism in a way that’s not realistic across the spectrum and they’ve misled the public by doing so.”

Ms. Dawson said it’s unfair to categorize someone as low functioning or high functioning. She and Dr. Mottron believe many tests that are used to determine level of functionality are inappropriate. Less commonly used tests such as Raven’s Matrices, which doesn’t require verbal instruction to complete, can actually reveal very high intelligence levels."

I had tried during my discussion with Ms Boesveld to indicate to her that functioning levels in autism disorders are not simply related to IQ tests, that they relate to the functioning levels in the real world, in daily life. I gave as a specific example the fact that autistic children have a tendency to wander away from home and school, sometimes with tragic consequences.  That information did not appear in the National Post article. The article noted my description of my son as severely autistic in quotation marks and published Michelle Dawson's personal opinion  that it is unfair to categorize someone as low or high functioning. 

Neither Michelle Dawson, nor the National Post, appear to be aware of the description of the new Autism Spectrum Disorder in the  proposed new version of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Health Disorders, the DSM5, which is published by the American Psychiatric Association.  The DSM5 combines the various disorders referred to in popular discussion as the Autism Spectrum, including Autistic Disorder, PDD-NOS and Asperger's into one Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although the DSM5 creates one new Autism Spectrum Disorder it includes as a mandatory condition of receiving an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, in Condition D,  the requirement that a person's "symptoms together limit and impair everyday functioning" The DSM5 then  divides the new Autism Spectrum Disorder by severity:

I describe my son as severely autistic and low functioning because the professional assessments and diagnoses "autistic disorder, profound developmental delay" support those descriptions. I describe my son as severely autistic because of his limited communication, his limited demonstrated understanding of the world or the dangers the world presents in daily life.  I describe my son as severely autistic and low functioning because I have cared for him 24/7 over a period of almost 16 years, because his safety, security and well being depend on receiving 24/7 care and because I love him too much to hide the daily and serious functional challenges he faces in life.

I do not think it unfair to speak honestly about the severity of my son's Autistic Disorder.  Apparently the drafters of the DSM5 do not take issue with my use of such language even if the "learned" Michelle Dawson does. 

Read more »

Autism Rising: National Post & Michael Fumento Say Autism Is Increasing in Canada, the US, Sweden and Denmark

 " Published evaluations of children in Sweden, Denmark and Canada have also shown that autism diagnoses continued to increase after the discontinuation of vaccinations with thimerosal. U.S. cases keep rising as well."

- National Post, February 17, 2010: Michael Fumento: The damage done on vaccinations

The above comment by Michael Fumento,  a featured commentator on the National Post,  is part of an opinion piece condemning critics of vaccine safety and particularly those who assert a connection between some vaccines and autism disorders.  

Fumento and the National Post dismiss fears that autism disorders in some children are caused by the mercury based vaccine preservative thimerosal by pointing to increased autism rates after the alleged removal of thimerosal from vaccines in Denmark, Sweden, the US and Canada. 

For that argument to have any weight at all it must assume that the autism increases are real and not attributable to shifting diagnostic definitions or increased social awareness.

The National Post and Michael Fumento have stated clearly their position that increases in autism diagnoses reflect actual increases in cases of autism disorders.

autism

Read more »

Vaccine-Autism War: National Post Junk Journalism Continues With Jenny McCarthy Attacks

Jenny McCarthy is an easy target.

For that reason the lazy, ill informed "journalists" at the National Post continue to attack Ms McCarthy in yet another doomed to fail attempt to quash public discussion of vaccine autism concerns. Meanwhile they continue to omit any reference to respected medical and research authorities like Dr. Bernadine Healey, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dr. Duane Alexandre all of who have said that more research could and should be done on the issue. The junk journalists at the NP ignore Dr. Jon Poling a neurologist and father of an autistic child who brought a vaccine based autism claim to successful conclusion on behalf of his daughter when the government settled.

The NP despite having its attention brought to the Poling and Banks cases again omits any reference to these two cases in which it is known that the government settled vaccine autism claims. The NP omitted any reference to the IACC decision to include vaccine autism research in its strategic autism research planning. The NP omitted any reference to the criticisms of the epidemiological studies which are used to trumpet the position that the science has "decided" that vaccines do not cause or contribute to autism onset. The NP has omitted any reference to the well founded view that such studies do not examine the impact on vulnerable population subsets and possible connections to autism among such groups of children. The NP has omitted any reference to the fact that public health authorities have long discouraged the kinds of research that might disclose any vaccine autism connection.

In all fairness to the National Post Junk Journalists the issues listed above might be above their pay grade. Better for them to refrain from doing any real, hard journalism or any real, hard thinking.

Far better, and easier, to simply malign Jenny McCarthy. Of course those who actually know something about the subject and who want their concerns addressed will not be persuaded by such cheap, cowardly excuses for journalism

autism

Read more »

Vaccine-Autism War: National Post Ripped Over Junk Journalism

Vaccines have saved the lives, and continue to save the lives, of many children.

To my knowledge no one doubts that fact. No one doubts that vaccine programs serve the public interest. Many people, however, want to be informed about the negative aspects of vaccines. Contrary to what many in the media believe there are serious, legitimate questions that remain about the possible role of vaccines and vaccine ingredients in relation to autism. Many parents of autistic children refuse to shut up and be silent. They refuse to be told that they can not discuss vaccine safety issues in public. They refuse to be told that vaccine programs are sacred cows which must not be questioned.

There is a need for more research to be done on vaccine safety issues generally and in relation specifically to autism. Dr. Bernadine Healy, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dr. Duane Alexandre and neurologist and autism dad Dr. Jon Poling, he who successfully reached a settlement on behalf of his autistic daughter in a vaccine damage claim, have all called for more research to be done on possible vaccine autism connections. Sounds reasonable but many "journalists" have climbed aboard the "speak no evil", "ask no questions", "shut up and be a good little mommy or daddy" train of thought which dictates that it is wrong to discuss or research these issues. Such efforts to suppress free discussion by parents seeking to protect their children are counter-productive. The failure of such a strategy was recognized by the IACC, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee when its recently released strategic plan included vaccine autism research; if only to restore public confidence in vaccine programs.

Media outlets though continue to talk as though no legitimate questions have been asked. They offer completely one sided pictures of the legitimate vaccine autism issues. One recent example is the National Post article Junk science has a new cover girl in which the National Post attacks any and all who presume to ask questions about vaccine safety and autism. The NP article focuses on Jenny McCarthy and Oprah Winfrey and is blatantly one sided. Autism blogger Lea Schizas at Shaking the System, a blog she co-authors with Litsa Kamateros, has critiqued the NP's "journalism" in her aptly named comment Junk Journalism Once Again. Lea has written a letter to the National Post which I reprint here with her permission:

How like a newspaper to give a one-sided account and not bother to contact the biomedical specialists who are doctors and get their input. Has the newspaper business become so afraid to counter the billion dollar pharmaceutical industry and give a thorough investigation?

Allow me the opportunity to dissect Mr. Allen’s article with my own input:

A parent is a parent is a parent. As doctors themselves state we are the ones who best know our children. So whether Jenny was once associated with Playboy is not the issue but only a glamorous put down by this journalist. Jenny is not the only one who noticed a change in her child but thousands, and I state thousands because there were 4900 cases pending in the US last year all waiting to have their chance to say how vaccines had injured their children.

Also, I didn’t read the part where Jenny states she is pro-vaccine but wanting the medical profession to change the vaccine schedule for the children who might hide a disorder/dysfunction that makes them susceptible to multi-vaccines. Missing, too, was the fact that in the 80s US children received 10-12 vaccines by the age of 6 and now up to 36. Are you telling me that these compounded vaccines do not have the possibility of harming a toddler, ones who might have a mitochondrial dysfunction?

Where, also, is mention of the Hannah Poling or Bailey Banks cases where they were conceded in the courts that vaccines DID cause these children’s autism? How many cases of vaccine-injured children do we need to show that some children cannot handle the accumulated toxins needled into them? The medical professionals need to devise a test to try and evaluate a child’s susceptibility before their vaccines begin. And please get it right that no one disputes that vaccines have helped and will continue to help. But a better or delayed schedule should be considered. Children are now given at day one of birth the Hepatitis Vaccine, an age where any hidden health issues might not have surfaced yet.

And your mention of Humphrey Bogart, Louis Armstrong, and Elvis Presley advocating for vaccines gives no credence to an issue that back then had no clue about autism as much as there is now.

Research continues in various levels from genetic to environmental factors. And if you’re going to bash Jenny McCarthy, then why not mention Robert Kennedy as well with his own backing and autism advocacy about a meeting behind closed doors of top specialists and organizations where whispers of the possibility of vaccines harming children were spoken.

For this reason my title to Mr. Allen’s article is Junk Journalism Once Again.

Lea Schizas

In addition to the blog Shaking the System Lea Schizas and Litsa Kamateros publish on their web site The Autism Epidemic.

autism

Read more »