Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Full Story here

After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.

The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff’s identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case.

The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal “Vaccine Court,” was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, the “defendant” in all Vaccine Court cases.

The child’s claim against the government — that mercury-containing vaccines were the cause of her autism — was supposed to be one of three “test cases” for the thimerosal-autism theory currently under consideration by a three-member panel of Special Masters, the presiding justices in Federal Claims Court.

Keisler wrote that medical personnel at the HHS Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation (DVIC) had reviewed the case and “concluded that compensation is appropriate.”

The doctors conceded that the child was healthy and developing normally until her 18-month well-baby visit, when she received vaccinations against nine different diseases all at once (two contained thimerosal).

Days later, the girl began spiraling downward into a cascade of illnesses and setbacks that, within months, presented as symptoms of autism, including: No response to verbal direction; loss of language skills; no eye contact; loss of “relatedness;” insomnia; incessant screaming; arching; and “watching the florescent lights repeatedly during examination.”

Seven months after vaccination, the patient was diagnosed by Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, a leading neurologist at the Kennedy Krieger Children’s Hospital Neurology Clinic, with “regressive encephalopathy (brain disease) with features consistent with autistic spectrum disorder, following normal development.” The girl also met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) official criteria for autism.

In its written concession, the government said the child had a pre-existing mitochondrial disorder that was “aggravated” by her shots, and which ultimately resulted in an ASD diagnosis.

“The vaccinations received on July 19, 2000, significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder,” the concession says, “which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of ASD.”

This statement is good news for the girl and her family, who will now be compensated for the lifetime of care she will require. But its implications for the larger vaccine-autism debate, and for public health policy in general, are not as certain.
….
posted here.

CNN published an article today that reports on an FDA warning to parents regarding cold medications for children.  It states that there would be negative effects if used by children under two years.  Health experts around the world state that low doses of these meds are not the real danger.  Accidental or unintentional overdose is the key concern.  Some parents do not follow the label and/or provided measurement apparatus and use kitchen teaspoons, which could lead to overdose.

The FDA also stated that they are looking into whether or not the meds are actually safe for children under 12 as a whole.
Parents, please be sure exercise extreme caution when medicating your children.  Also, be sure not to give more than one product to your child unless under direct order by an experienced pediatrician.
via cnn

Source: MSNBC

“Doctors say the latest study adds to existing evidence refuting a link between thimerosal exposure and autism risk and should reassure parents that the disorder is not caused by vaccinations. If there was a risk, they said, autism rates should have dropped between 2004 and 2007.

The findings show “no evidence of mercury poisoning in autism” since there was no decline in autism rates even after the elimination of thimerosal, said Dr. Eric Fombonne, an autism researcher at Montreal Children’s Hospital who had no role in the research.”

Full Article

TDG-i has done an excellent job with transforming the site once again. The logo was professionally done by a third party, while the layout was created and modified by TDG-i. We were able to keep the ExtJS 1.1 “image chooser” for products. The site has a much smaller width and is much easier to read. Also, the colors reflect the store’s kid-friendly products. TDG-i has some more features in the ’skunk works’ laboratory, but we are not going to disclose them until we are 100% in production.

Store front

ExtJS image chooser

This CNN report details some stories about parents who went through the difficult task of facing their children’s autism.  It also details how the American Adcademy of Pediatrics are now suggesting that children get screened for autism at least twice before they are two years of age.  This such a sad thing.

 Here is a link to autismspeaks.org

from cnn.com

Click Here to read the story

The response to these new wraps has been absolutely amazing.  We thank you all for your interest in these beautiful wraps.  A new shipment of these products arrived today

and have updated the stock on our page  accordingly.

Jade Green

The Washington Post reports the effect of HHS’s efforts to change their ads about breastfeeding. This is a much welcome change in their attempts to intrigue and educate the public about the best way to feed your young child. The previous ads were designed to scare women into breastfeeding, depicting children in bad situations with insulin needles, etc cetera. The new ads are now using more subtle hints and natural visuals to easily portray their message.

Thank you HHS for recognizing the failure of your previous campaign.
Click here to view the full article.

A great article from parenting.com published by cnn.com explains eight points about motherhood that folks rarely disclose or pass on.  The fact is motherhood is no cakewalk.  These bullets itemize some of the issues and feelings that you may have had or will probably experience as a parent.
(from the article)
1) There is no learning curve
2) You run in circles
3) You’ll feel helpless sometimes
4) You don’t get instant replays
5) There’s no privacy
6) Your baby will eventually insult you
7) You have to force yourself to back off
8) You won’t know if you’ve done a good job for, oh, 20 or 30 years

Click here to view the full article. 

Many mothers are unaware of the full benefits of breastfeeding. Unfortunately, the American public has been mis-educated for many generations about breastfeeding. This poor education about the natural wonder of breastfeeding has fed the cultural shun of breastfeeding in America. The fact is that many healthy and capable moms opt to feed their babies formula without even attempting this method of nourishing their child. 8/7/2007 Marked the end of the “World Breastfeeding Week” campaign backed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The goal of this campaign is to educate mothers and increase the survival rate of new borns.
Click here to read the full MSNBC Article