HUGE Autism ruling: No Proof that vaccines cause autism

[knight_shadow]

Slight hijack:

I've heard of autism, but I've never really took the time to understand it. I just did a quick search of some of the symptoms, but many of them seemed like symptoms of OCD. Could someone break down the disorder in layman's terms?

[DaemonSeid]

Even that is very difficult to do...hold for a bit...I believe there are some GCers who have kids with autism or work with autistic children that will answer your question.

Bottom line is it's very hard to diagnose and treat and this ruling today is going to be a major blow to those who are tyring to forward the cause to get autism cured.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Even that is very difficult to do...hold for a bit...I believe there are some GCers who have kids with autism or work with autistic children that will answer your question.

Bottom line is it's very hard to diagnose and treat and this ruling today is going to be a major blow to those who are tyring to forward the cause to get autism cured.

Actually, this should help lead to finding a cure for autism since it should stop people from pushing a theory that has been proven not to be the cause of autism. Continuing to blame vaccines only makes parents feel better that THEY aren't the reason that their kid has autism. Everyone likes to blame someone else for their troubles...that doesn't mean that what or who they blame is really the culprit.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Bottom line is it's very hard to diagnose and treat and this ruling today is going to be a major blow to those who are tyring to forward the cause to get autism cured.

How so? Even for those who claim a link between vaccinations and autism, the panel told the plaintiff's attorneys to select a number of "test" cases. It's not completely foreclosing the research; to me, it appears that it's allowing research resources to explore other avenues, instead of fixating on any link to vaccinations.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Bottom line is it's very hard to diagnose and treat and this ruling today is going to be a major blow to those who are tyring to forward the cause to get autism cured.

. . . or it could be a major boon for people who are focused on the ACTUAL cause for autism, instead of focusing on an up-til-now-dubious link between autism and vaccinations, right?

I mean, what if the Court actually handled this correctly, and is right?

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Bottom line is it's very hard to diagnose and treat and this ruling today is going to be a major blow to those who are tyring to forward the cause to get autism cured.

I'll agree with others who I don't really think this is the case. And I, too, wonder if the "rise" we seen in ASDs is really a rise in occurrence or better diagnosis of people who once might have been dismissed as "odd" (or "stupid" or "problems.") (My purely personal feeling is that it is some of both.)

Believe me, even though I tend to be a "life happens, deal with it and move on" kind of guy, I can identify with all of those parents who want to understand why this happened to their kid, and who, if possible, want to understand if there is a way to "reverse it" or at least keep it from happening to other kids. But sometimes, it just doesn't work out to be that simple.

All the latest research I've seen (and certainly the "anecdotal research" suggests) that there is a genetic component. But I know lots of parents who can identify what seem to be environmental factors that either seem to be commonplace or that seem to make a difference in treatment and improvement. Whether they really are part of the problem (or solution), only time and research can tell.

I know parents who will refuse to believe vaccines are not the/a culprit. I know many others who say "okay, that's been ruled out, what else do we need to look at?"

The bottom line is that when it's your kid, you can be desperate for answers, whether they are the right answers or not. But I think all the questions need to be asked; otherwise, there's no way to separate the right answers from the wrong ones.

[EagleChick19]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Even that is very difficult to do...hold for a bit...I believe there are some GCers who have kids with autism or work with autistic children that will answer your question.

Bottom line is it's very hard to diagnose and treat and this ruling today is going to be a major blow to those who are tyring to forward the cause to get autism cured.

*Raises hand!* I'm one of the GCers that works with kids on the spectrum that will answer your questions.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by EagleChick19

*Raises hand!* I'm one of the GCers that works with kids on the spectrum that will answer your questions.

what kind of work do you do, EC?

[EagleChick19]

I work as a mobile behavioral therapist for kids on the spectrum. This usually means that I'm working with them at their homes, schools, or in their communities.

I love my job and the kids that I work with.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by EagleChick19

I work as a mobile behavioral therapist for kids on the spectrum. This usually means that I'm working with them at their homes, schools, or in their communities.

I love my job and the kids that I work with.

What type of degree do you need to have for this type of practice? Are you an occupational therapist? I have a friend that works with autistic children, but he is a psychologist.

[EagleChick19]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

What type of degree do you need to have for this type of practice? Are you an occupational therapist? I have a friend that works with autistic children, but he is a psychologist.

I have a BA, but am working on Master's degree as we speak. I'm a TSS (here's a link to a job description: http://www.jobs.net/Job.asp?jid=JQ6CY67KQ1WYL33FCS.)

I'm not a OT, but I work with a lot of OTs, PTs, and speech therapists in the course of my day. I've learned lots while working with other professionals.

Sometimes, I even do ABA with my clients.....

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Slight hijack:

I've heard of autism, but I've never really took the time to understand it. I just did a quick search of some of the symptoms, but many of them seemed like symptoms of OCD. Could someone break down the disease in layman's terms?

It is a communication disorder. "Rainman" the movie shows some of what it is a part of.

The best website I have seen so far is:

Autism Speaks

Typically, depending, as I understand it, most sufferers cannot speak in any way at the age appropriate time they are expected to do so. Basically ~1.5-2 y/o--it is not a "muting" it is literally, they do not know how to verbalize simple things such as "light", etc.

And it is NOT that they cannot absolutely learn. Although some forms are autism do cause a mild mental retardation, most forms of autism causes an inability to communicate in an effective form.

Now, there are some older autistics that compensate and communicate via web, or other high levels of communications. In fact some autistics are savants.

It is believed that the way to communicate with someone with autism is through music... Their brains are literally wired that way... And they learn through musical interaface... It is not known why.

And that is the extent of my knowledge. But it is a fascinating neuromolecular study...