Signs Your Child Could Have Autism

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With the CDC recognizing that Autism rates have gone up by 23% in just two years (1 in 54 boys being diagnosed)and saying that Autism is reaching epidemic proportions...
What is the CDC's remedy? How do they plan to LOWER the numbers of those diagnosed?
As a CBS News article noted: They're going to change the definition. Instead of finding the cause, and treating it...they're simply covering up the real numbers by removing a significant portion of those diagnosed NOW under current criteria in order to FALSELY lower the numbers based on a NEW definition of Autism.
That should be a criminal offense. Shame on those who think otherwise.
Seriously, what is the cause for this "sudden" jump in Autism? If the autism rate has doubled in six years and is becoming an epidemic...what's causing it? Environmental factors? Viruses? Bacteria?
What happened starting around 6 years ago that would cause a sudden spike in the ensuing years?
Wasn't there a change in vaccines given to babies around that time?
Kathy Wakefield, immunisation lead at NHS Rotherham, said “Some years ago, there were many stories in the media linking MMR with autism. These caused some parents to delay their child’s MMR immunisation or not to have it at all resulting in outbreaks of measles. However, independent experts from around the world have found no credible scientific evidence for such a link and in fact now have a large amount of evidence showing that there is no link.”
In contrast to Ms. Wakefield’s statement, the Center for the Biology of Chronic Disease (CBCD) would like to show how Microcompetition could be the missing link.In other words, Microcompetition could be the biological mechanism linking the MMR II vaccine to Autism.
The vaccine package insert for the MMR II vaccine written by Merck & Co., Inc. and that can be downloaded from the FDA website, shows that Fetal cell line Wistar RA 27/3, Fetal cell line WI-38, and genetically engineered human albumin are all used in the vaccine.( http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM123789.pdf )
The CBCD believes that the current purification processes cannot completely filter all foreign DNA plasmids used in the process of manufacturing the MMR II vaccine. Therefore, some foreign DNA fragments end up being injected into infants.
In support of this belief, Dr. Helen Ratajczak, Ph.D. who published two papers on the subject in the Journal of Immunotoxicology, says “The MMR II vaccine is contaminated with human DNA from the cell line in which the rubella virus is grown. This human DNA could be the cause of the spikes in incidence. An additional increased spike in incidence of autism occurred in 1995 when the chicken pox vaccine was grown in human fetal tissue.” (Merck and Co., Inc., 2001; Breuer, 2003).
The contamination of MMR II with foreign DNA fragments, discussed by Dr. Ratajczak, combined with Microcompetition, discovered by Dr. Polansky is the missing link between MMR II and Autism.
If the MMR 2 is causing microcompetition, which in turn "could" cause Autism, one needs to ask what the CDC's motivation in ignoring such evidence could be.
Hmmmm....
For more information on the Center for the Biology of Chronic Disease, or to learn more about microcompetition, biologists, virologists, geneticists and doctors should definitely read "Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease". People can check it out for free at: http://www.cbcd.net

Will of OK 6:05AM April 01, 2012

Early Intervention for birth to 3 is available in all states. An evaluation at public expense helps identify a child's strengths and challenges. Early Intervention does not diagnose but looks at all developmental domains to evaluate how a child is functioning in all developmental domains and can suggest further evaluation if needed for a variety of concerns.
Being proactive and getting support for a child early gives children the boost they need to "catch up" to their peers and gives other children the opportunity to get closer to where they need to be in their development.
No parent wants to hear that their child has a delay or may in fact have a diagnosis, but the majority of families I have worked with in over 30 years in the field, felt they did the right thing for their child by getting them help.
Early intervention for birth to 3 years is unique and works with the family to help them with suggestions and tips on what they can do in their daily life to support their child and teach their child the skills they need.
In NJ many of us in the field are parents of children/adults who have or had special needs and have walked the talk. Of note, I am a practitioner, not a statistics person and also want to take a closer look at what the CDC and others are saying, but I don't want to ignore it either without looking closely at what they are saying...

cynthia newman, msw, lcsw of NJ 10:47AM March 31, 2012

Hi Margaret,
Just because your three-year-old isn't talking as much as his or her siblings doesn't mean he or she has autism. It could be that, as a younger child in a family with multiple children, he or she is getting drowned out. For example, do your other children claim to know what your three-year-old wants before he or she can ask for it? While your older children are just trying to lend a hand, let them know that your younger child is old enough to ask on his or her own.
Before assuming that autism may be behind your three-year-old's quiet disposition, set aside some time every day for the two of you to play word association games. For example, have your child point to a picture of a word you say. Or ask him or her simple questions, such as "What color is my shirt?", to see if your child can answer. This will not only encourage your child to be more vocal, but it will also give you a sense of where he or she is in terms of speech development and comprehension. It's also good to encourage your little one to verbally ask for things he or she wants and to tell you how he or she is feeling.
If your child isn't showing improvement after a few weeks, talk to a child development specialist and make sure to be specific when voicing your concerns.

Miriam of DC 1:06AM March 31, 2012

I agree that parents should seek help at first sign, but I do not think this article takes into account all the adversity that comes with it.
Having gone through the process, it can be hell. You are alone in so many ways: the doctor may tell you that you are overreacting (went through 2 peds until I found one that took us seriously), well meaning family members that want to stress just how normal your child really is or seems, and for many even the parenting partner will not see eye to eye (check the stats on the divorce and separation rate of parents with special needs children).
If I could have dispensed with a doctor's say so, I would have had my little one checked out at 3 months old, alas it wasnt until the lamb was almost two that others saw what i already knew.

Momofed of HI 12:08AM March 31, 2012

Hi, my name is Margaret. I have a son almost three years old he doesn't really say much but can say some words but not a lot of words.now I have other kids and when they were that age they said everything. So with that being said should I worry.? Or should I wait and see.

Margaret Browning of MI 9:19PM March 30, 2012

The cause of autism is irrelevant. It is like looking for the cause of positive, pro-social behavior.
This digital rag publishes fluff like this all the time to get your parental ears perked up and to keep you adequately on edge so that you come back here for their sage-like advice.
The only way to know for sure is to have your child checked by trained professionals. And even then, you need to get a second opinion because, and this may be shocking to some of you, your kid may just not be responding well to the inconsistent rules you have in the chaotic home you provide.
Like the ADHD boom in the 90's, this autism pet diagnosis is creating an avenue for researchers and scientists to get funding to study it...good work for people that need it...but the money does not come from trees. Other, more important research like on what makes a good teacher or what will create jobs int he US economy that will be sustainable for people gets tossed aside for these health scares that, frankly, don't exist.

Andrew of HI 7:36PM March 30, 2012

Does anyone suspect that autism could *also* be caused by any of the psychiatric/psychoactive drugs, including ADD/ADHD treating ones, bipolar treating ones, antidepressants that the mother was taking at the time of pregnancy/conception/post-birth? Hoping somebody answers this question. I am genuinely trying to understand why the rates are rising in the US, and am not dismissing other potential causes/factors.

Kamalesh of DC 7:17PM March 30, 2012

1) CDC: 78% increase in autism rates since 2002
2) 50% decline of honey bees in the past 25 years.
What changes were implemented in these time frames?
1. Beginning in 1999, a secret program was implemented to track sex offenders using airborne weather radar (including commercial passenger airliners) pointed at the ground to scan pedestrians' radar profiles. This corresponds to increased autism rates since 2002.
2. Colony Colapse: Dual polarization weather radar was implemented in 1985. The Neonicotinoid class of insecticides implicated by the recent bee decline research, by comparison, were only introduced in the 1990s.
"all nerve tissue, especially the optic nerve, is very susceptible to X-band radiation and care should be taken to observe all manufacturers and FAA recommended safety procedures when working around a weather radar system that is radiating radio-frequency (RF) energy. (Airborne Weather Radar-Separating Fact from Fiction)

Dave of PA 7:05PM March 30, 2012