By Cathy Jameson

Some time ago, one of my old posts and accompanying image (below) popped up in my FB memories.  It had me remembering the early days, the early worries, and the early choices I'd made, ones I now wish that I hadn't.  

I know too much, so much but then on some days, not enough. 

That's why I still ask questions.  That's why I still read as much as I do.  That's why I still reach out to people I trust to lead me on the right path.  Who are those people?  They are other parents.  When I need answers about autism, seizure, and mito-related concerns, I don't tend to run to medical people first.  I go straight to the parents.  

That habit goes back many years.  It started when I needed help at the beginning of our journey.  Parents set me straight then.  Parents set me straight now.  They are the ones actively researching.  They are the ones sharing ideas, reporting on the latest research and sharing results of their child’s therapies - and they do so with no strings attached.  

Parents weren't clueless like some of our son’s doctors had been.  Not only that, when another parent's child got better, because some kids do recover from autism, these people didn't clock out.  They didn't leave the community.  They stuck around and continued to help!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I'd be lost without the moms and dads I've met in this community.  I wouldn't have learned what I needed to...

I know about vaccines, and autism, and special education.  I’ve read the history behind vaccines and understand that autism can be a result of vaccines. I hear about the greed, the cover-ups and the on-going deception. I know more now than I have ever known before. I belong to a community because of that knowledge. A community was formed because of awful realizations and because of greed that intruded in our children’s lives… Parents should have been able to trust their doctor, their government, but no. Instead of trust, they got betrayal.  Formed for parents like me who also felt that stab of betrayal, this community stands out speaking up against the atrocities. 

They also offer something else that’s equally important: help, hope and the truth.

Is there anything else to say??

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Governors (Winken, Blinken and Nod) kiss the CDC's buttocks when it comes to vaccines, and now thumb their noses at them claiming they are not health experts when it comes to Covid.   You  may agree or disagree with the CDC recommendation changes (no point in outlining them as they will change again soon no doubt), but ask yourself, how much of ANYTHING the CDC does is really about our health and not tied to politics and profit? It's a jaded point of view, but one we know is all too true here in the age of autism. 

 All righty then.

Note: Below is a Rapid Response from March, 2020 in BMJ (British Medical Journal) that asks a very important question.  Have you seen any official concern, let alone answers, as to whether flu vaccination could increase COVID?

In a world where EVERY move we make is judged upon its possible (no matter  how small) affect on COVID transmissions, should we be seeing the standard flu shot campaigns that are already popping up all over the USA? 

###

Rapid Response: Flu shots and the risk of coronavirus infections

John Watkins is right; we need to think beyond containment, but he overlooks the possibility that seasonal flu shots are potential contributors to the current outbreak. (BMJ 2020;398:m810—February 28)….A randomized placebo-controlled trial in children showed that flu shots increased fivefold the risk of acute respiratory infections caused by a group of noninfluenza viruses, including coronaviruses. (Cowling et al, Clin Infect Dis 2012;54:1778) From Table 3, vaccine recipients had 20 noninfluenza virus-positive ARIs and 19 virus-negative ARIs; non-recipients had 3 noninfluenza virus-positive ARIs and 14 virus-negative ARIs. These figures yield an odds ratio of 4.91 (CI 1.04 to8.14).

Such an observation may seem counterintuitive, but it is possible that influenza vaccines alter our immune systems non-specifically to increase susceptibility to other infections; this has been observed with DTP and other vaccines. (Benn et al, Trends in Immunology, May 2013) There are other immune mechanisms that might also explain the observation.

To investigate this possibility, a case-control study is in order as we study and care for the victims of covid-19. Influenza vaccines have become sacred cows in some quarters, but they shouldn’t be.

ALLAN S. CUNNINGHAM 2 March 2020

How many times have you been told that your son (or daughters) will outgrow much of their autism, as if by magic? There is some good news and some...  Interesting to note that "adulthood" was age 23. Two of my daughters must be approaching middle age!) No 33, 43, or 53 year old subjects?

###

August 26, 2020

Population-Based Study Aims to Identify Features to Predict Functioning Level in Later Life

Planning a meaningful future for a child with autism can give even the calmest parents anxiety. Especially when they are tasked with making educational, employment and/or vocational decisions while research gaps regarding autism symptoms experienced in adulthood exist. A recent SafeMinds Shares article reported on a new study that examined changes in autism symptom severities from preschool to early elementary school years. The study found around half (54.4%) of the young participant’s autism severities remained unchanged and about half of the cohort experienced a change. Twenty-eight percent saw a reduction in their autism symptoms while, sadly, 16% had their symptoms worsen.

But what about predicting changes in later developmental years? A study published earlier this year in the Journal of American Academy of Child Adolescence Psychiatry may help provide anxious parents with guidance with this issue. This population-based longitudinal study from Great Britain is the first to investigate autism symptom changes in late childhood through early adult life. Using data from the Special Needs Autism Project (SNAP), the study’s authors examined latent growth curve models at three time points 12, 16, and 23 years. At each of these intervals, IQ and parent reported Social Responsiveness Scale Autism Symptoms were measured in order to plot trajectory changes of development and functioning throughout these years.

Nature reports on a Yale Covid study that found a disparity in severity and death between men and women -- which almost makes cramps worth the discomfort.  Autism has typically been said to affect males 4:1 over females. Note the sentence saying that Nature "recognizes that sex and gender are neither binary nor fixed." But it seems COVID has not gotten the message.

###

26 August — Sex differences in the COVID-19 immune response might drive men’s high risk

Variations in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 could explain why men are more likely to be hospitalized and die of COVID-19 than are women.

Akiko Iwasaki at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues studied the immune responses of 98 men and women infected with SARS-CoV-2. All had mild to moderate symptoms (T. Takahashi et al. Nature http://doi.org/d7gb; 2020). The researchers noticed that male participants’ typical immune response to infection differed from that of female participants, which could explain the more severe disease often observed in men. (Nature recognizes that sex and gender are neither binary nor fixed.)

The team found that in general, men had higher levels of certain inflammation-causing proteins known as cytokines and chemokines circulating in their blood than had women. By contrast, women tended to have a stronger response from immune cells known as T cells than did men. In men, an increase in symptom severity over time was associated with a weak T-cell response; in women, it was associated with increased amounts of inflammatory cytokines.

The study proposes taking sex into account when treating people with COVID-19.

Police Car? No.

By Kim Rossi

Every so often, I am reminded of why we publish Age of Autism. When Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill had the idea to start a blog around the concept of autism being a man-made epidemic, I had just begun a site called Rescue Post for JB Handley and Generation Rescue. We quickly merged, and I was delighted to join Dan and Mark on their mission to tell the world that autism is an epidemic with a hard, fast beginning, a middle (we're in it) and sadly, it seems, no ending. 

When I look at the lightning fast, over-the-top response to COVID-19, I'm sickened. We HAVE the ability to make drastic changes to stop an epidemic. Even if we hate or disagree vehemently with the changes. The country CAN change its track on a dime. We HAVE the ability to change behavior the moment the population feels or is told to feel afraid.  But no one seems to be afraid of autism. It has been whitewashed into a diagnosis that America now just accepts.

Take a look at the photo above. This is the car of an autism Mom whose teen son lashes out violently while she is driving. Take a good look at it. She used a dog barrier to create a safety cage, like a police car. For. Her. Son.  He beats her when he rages. She showed me her arms. Her back. Black and blue. Scraped. If you saw the photos, you would weep.  You should weep.  She is not alone. That is what I had to tell her. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  But Lord in heaven, when we are in the throes of autism, behind closed doors, in our homes, our cars, we FEEL ALONE. 

Sometimes our community goes very high level. The work seems to be more about changing the rate at which the planet spins than the daily grind we face.  We focus on major issues that honestly, most of us have very little time to consider, because we are holding on by a thread at home. We've branched out into other health categories and the autism takes a back seat, because we are a third rail. It's painful when that happens. And it seems that the real reason we're together as a community is often forgotten. Many of us have children with autism who are now adults with autism. The behaviors that are tolerable at age five become terrible at 15 and torturous at 25.

This is the Aging of Autism.

Article on the lack of liability Americans face when injured by COVID vaccines. Good to see this info getting out. Please share. Most know 0.0 about the NVICP and less about CICP - the Pandemic version.

###

COVID-19 era highlights U.S. 'black hole' compensation fund for pandemic vaccine injuries

By Tom Hals (Reuters) - A U.S. government program that compensates people who say they have been harmed by an emergency vaccine has paid out on fewer than 10% of claims, raising questions whether the process should be used to address any potential side effects from a coronavirus shot, according to some lawyers who have filed such claims.
The Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), run by an agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has been designated to handle any issues with a COVID-19 vaccine.

The lawyers say the program is inadequate for addressing fast-tracked coronavirus vaccines bit.ly/bigpicturecovid.

They say that any COVID-19 vaccine injuries should be handled through a different HHS program known as the “vaccine court,” a more transparent process with a better record of compensating people for the rare injuries or serious side effects from routine inoculations, such as measles shots.

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) covers claims regarding 16 routine vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

When it comes to addressing any potential harm from a COVID-19 vaccine, “there are major deficiencies that need to change” in the U.S. approach, said Peter Meyers, an emeritus professor at George Washington University School of Law and former director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic.  Read more: COVID-19 era highlights U.S. 'black hole' compensation fund for pandemic vaccine injuries

Yesterday, an ACTION ALERT was sent by the Autism Action Network to fight the suggestion of a MANDATE for COVID vaccine in Virginia.  We might assume that the Governor's phones were ringing off the hook thanks to this alert and alarms sounded up and down the Commonwealth of Virginia, and thus, the updated announcement from the Governor's office denying a mandate. Don't let your guard down for a second, this vaccine (in all its unholy, warped iterations) will be on the agenda of every legislature this Fall as overzealous public health officials salivate at the prospect of mass, unbridled vaccination.

This story in the ACTION ALERT was updated that Gov Northam has stated he will not mandate the COVID vaccine.

Northam not planning on COVID-19 vaccine mandate despite support from top official

Evening, 8/24: RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)- A spokesperson for Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he’s not planning on mandating a COVID-19 vaccine in Virginia, even though his Administration’s top health official supports the idea.

In an interview with 8News on Friday, State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said he planned on mandating a coronavirus immunization once it’s safely released to the public. In Virginia, state law gives him the authority to order immediate vaccination ‘of all persons in case of an epidemic of any disease of public health importance for which a vaccine exists.’ The law only includes an exemption for medical reasons.

Dr. Oliver was not available for a follow-up interview on Monday but a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Health sent 8News the following statement:

“When Dr. Oliver spoke of his support of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine for adults, he was sharing his personal opinion as a physician.  Currently, the Northam administration has taken no official policy position on whether or not a COVID-19 vaccine for adults should be mandatory. VDH regrets this error.”

####

Action Alert:

The health commissioner of Virginia stated in a television interview on Saturday that he intends to make covid 19 vaccines mandatory for all residents of the state once it becomes available. Under Virginia law, Norman Oliver, MD, as health commissioner, can order mandatory vaccines in a health emergency. Only medical exemptions would be allowed. Commissioner Oliver, however, has not taken action yet.

So far Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has remained silent on the issue, but Oliver reports to him, and Northam appears to be letting an underling float a potentially unpopular idea so he can disavow it if politically expedient. This is the first incident we are aware of that where a state official with the authority to do so has declared the intention to make covid 19 shots mandatory for all residents. Therefore, this action has national significance and we are asking people from all over the US to respond.  No doubt this will be the first of many similar measures if we do not take action.

    Let's let Gov. Northam know that this idea is not politically expedient. Before you take action on this issue if you value the information, news and advocacy opportunities brought to you be the Autism Action Network please make it possible for us to keep going here, by supporting our one fundraiser of the year that we do in conjunction with the Autism Community Walk TENTATIVELY scheduled for October 18, 2020 at Belmont Lake State Park in Babylon, NY.

Give Governor Northam a call and let him know politely why this is a bad idea:

Governor Ralph Northam, (804) 786-2211
[email protected]

Here are just a few reasons why a mandate is a bad idea:

What on earth did schools expect?  For months, parents have been told to keep their kids home. ALL non-emergency medical care was put on hold.  And so yes, vaccine rates have "crashed."  Can't wait to see what else crashes. Maybe food allergies. Asthma. Speech delays. Seizures. SIDS. (We may have already seen this beginning.) Autism. Developmental delays.

There's panic. And schools are trying to mandate that kids get up to date for September 1st. Massachusetts just passed a flu vaccine MANDATE for school aged children in the dark of night. Pay attention.  Doctors are worried about whooping cough? 

Vaccination rates crash amid COVID. WA requires students be up-to-date by 1st day of school Read more here: https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article245055550.html#storylink=cpy

As Washington state vaccination rates plummet amid COVID-19, medical professionals are reminding families that students need to be up to date on their vaccinations by the first day of school this year even if they are returning remotely.

Doctors worry that not doing so could lead to outbreaks of other diseases and a strain on a health care system that’s trying to control the spread of COVID-19.

“The last thing we need right now with COVID is another measles outbreak or a whooping cough outbreak. To me, that would just put an extra burden on the health system,” said Dr. Carrie Jenner, a CHI Franciscan pediatrician from the Tacoma area.

PS: If you find his beloved bike, please call him.

NOTE:  Excerpted with permission from Children's Health Defense.

By John Stone

Taylor 2014: The International Fall-Back Position for Officials Challenged About Vaccine Safety and Autism

This is a complementary article to JB Handley’s ‘Vaccines and Autism—Is the Science Really Settled?’ because of a parallel British experience I had. JB was bemused when he challenged Joshua Gordon, the presently appointed head of the United States about vaccines and autism, to be sent the “meta-analysis” by Taylor et al ‘Vaccines are not associated with autism: an evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies’. Could he do no better than that? In one respect this was consistent because this was the same study brandished by Gordon’s predecessor Thomas Insel at a 2014 Congressional hearing, when – if memory serves – Rep Posey chastised him by suggesting he might at least produce something that did not involve the research of Poul Thorsen, the former CDC employee on the run for embezzlement (whom the US government in all its might and majesty has now failed to extradite from Denmark in virtually in nine and a half years, despite being on the most wanted list).

In my case the story reaches back to November 2018 when I wrote to the British Government’s then Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davies, asking her to make good her claim that “we know” MMR “is a safe vaccine”. In response she referred me to the exact same paper Gordon cite to JB and Insel cited to Congress:

…Specifically in relation to whether MMR vaccines may be a cause of autism, a substantial body of population-based research has found no evidence to suggest a causal association. This evidence (not just for MMR, but other types of vaccine) is available for review in the published medical literature, and was summarised in a meta-analysis in 2014…

I think it is here worth mentioning that my answer (now recorded as part of an official document through Freedom of Information) was somewhat different than JB’s and therefore supplementary to it. Perhaps, when something is really rotten its rottenness may be multi-faceted, and this is what I have to add from my 2018 letter:  READ MORE AT:

Taylor 2014: The International Fall-Back Position for Officials Challenged About Vaccine Safety and Autism

Note: I wish Dan Olmsted were here to write this post. He was a Yale trained journalist and his perspective on the current state of reporting would be valuable. Not only does the fine hand of the Gates Foundation appear in what IS written, they dictate what can NOT be written as well.   Recently, Del Bigtree's The Highwire was taken "off air" in an effort to squelch his message.

Think about the messaging for autism. Neuurodiversity was given fertile ground and every column inch possible, while those of us who saw our children descend into autism from their vaccines were plainly shut out from saying, "boo."

I'm sure the same thing is happening with COVID right now. There is an agenda being shoved down our throats. On March 13, 2020, a switch was hit, and the USA ground to a halt.  And Bill Gates is at the forefront. 

I worry every single day that we might awaken to a 404 not found message that isn't just a technical glitch.  Journalism used to be about investigating and reporting what was happening. Now it's about regurgitating press releases and reporting on what someone in power wants you to think is happening. At some point, perhaps as newspapers realized they were a dying breed a couple of decades ago, they decided to give up on "all the news that's fit to print" and adopted an "only the  news we're told to print."  Even the New York Times, the Old Gray Lady.

Money. It's about money.  The haves take, the have nots, like Age of Autism, will keep up the good fight. For now.

###

Journalism's Gate Keepers

Bill Gates, chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2019. Samuel Habtab/AP Photo

Last August, NPR profiled a Harvard-led experiment to help low-income families find housing in wealthier neighborhoods, giving their children access to better schools and an opportunity to “break the cycle of poverty.” According to researchers cited in the article, these children could see $183,000 greater earnings over their lifetimes—a striking forecast for a housing program still in its experimental stage.

If you squint as you read the story, you’ll notice that every quoted expert is connected to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which helps fund the project. And if you’re really paying attention, you’ll also see the editor’s note at the end of the story, which reveals that NPR itself receives funding from Gates.

NPR’s funding from Gates “was not a factor in why or how we did the story,” reporter Pam Fessler says, adding that her reporting went beyond the voices quoted in her article. The story, nevertheless, is one of hundreds NPR has reported about the Gates Foundation or the work it funds, including myriad favorable pieces written from the perspective of Gates or its grantees.

And that speaks to a larger trend—and ethical issue—with billionaire philanthropists’ bankrolling the news. The Broad Foundation, whose philanthropic agenda includes promoting charter schools, at one point funded part of the LA Times’ reporting on education. Charles Koch has made charitable donations to journalistic institutions such as the Poynter Institute, as well as to news outlets such as the Daily Caller, that support his conservative politics. And the Rockefeller Foundation funds Vox’s Future Perfect, a reporting project that examines the world “through the lens of effective altruism”—often looking at philanthropy.  Read more Journalism's Gate Keepers.

By Cathy Jameson

I had an incredibly busy week and had no time to write a new post.  Today’s story comes from an old journal entry of mine.  It’s been edited a tad for our AofA readers today:

--

February 4^th - This Blows

...While I try to be upbeat and hopeful, there are days I just can't keep smiling.  Ronan looks so normal at first glance.  Strangers are caught off guard when he does something unusual or has a meltdown.  Those encounters can be painful, so I either try to explain things or quickly move away from watchful eyes.

On those bad days, I sometimes just want to blow off my responsibilities.  I would never do that.  I have five kids, and they all need me in some special way.  Ronan is my most needy most days and always gets my full attention.  His complicated medical issues and cognitive delays have us constantly on the go to get him to his therapies and appointments.  My life includes weeks that are tornado-like and should have high alert statuses to warn others what to expect...

--

That old memory crossed my path today.  I’d appropriately titled the entry This Blows.  Written during what looks like was an awful week over 10 years ago, I recently had a similar week full of struggles and emotions.  Before things smoothed out, I told myself the same thing I’d said a decade ago:  Things really stink.  But you'll pick yourself back up again, Cat.  You’ll see.  I expected it to be a good week, but the week I wrote that was THE PITS.  Each day, my well-thought out plans were completely destroyed.  Then Ronan had dozens of seizures.  The night those came on was the worst, and the following day was no better.  Walking around with more worry than with happiness, I asked myself how do I keep smiling when there's nothing to smile about.  

...while most of Ronan's days are full of struggle just to do the simple things - like getting in his chair without falling over, or scooping his food without it spilling out of the spoon - Ronan is victorious.  Each day he faces more challenges than I will ever know.  Each day he teaches me to learn more and to do better, too.  I may want to blow things off some days, but that little hero wrapped up in a kid’s body pushes me along.  That’s when I try to remember ‘this too shall pass’.  He didn’t chose the medical and behavioral issues he suffers.  But together, we can try to work through them. 

As usual, things settled down after I’d written that old memory:

Note: Thank you to Anne Dachel for transcribing Dr. Larry Palevsky's presentation to the CT Assembly last February, during which time the religious exemption was in jeopardy. Then...  COVID. 

By Anne Dachel

Nightmare in Connecticut

On February 19, 2020 there was hearing by the Connecticut Assembly on vaccine safety. There should have been a packed chamber and lots of press coverage because what one expert testified to was shocking. Sadly, most of the seats were empty, but we need to consider what was said.

Larry Palevsky, MD answered questions for 28 minutes. He described the appalling lack of studies when it comes to vaccine safety, especially involving the use of aluminum in vaccines and its damaging impact on the brain.

“We have never studied whether the aluminum we’re giving in vaccines gets into the brain, and we’ve never measured whether it stays in the brain, and what it does if it does stay in the brain.”

“What we’re seeing is a large outbreak of neurodevelopmental disabilities in adults, including Alzheimer’s, and one of the main factors that they’re finding in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s is the aluminum nanoparticle that’s directly related to the vaccines that we’re giving. “

The representatives should have been more than a little worried over the statistics Dr. Palevsky cited.

“We have more than half of our children with chronic inflamed conditions, and we’ve never allowed ourselves to ask the question: If the vaccines cause inflammation acutely, do they continue to create inflammation chronically?

by Anne Dachel

The representatives questioning Dr. Palevsky about vaccines should have had more than a little interest what’s causing the decline in the health of children in Connecticut.

Connecticut is the future

Back on February 10, 2014, The Connecticut Mirror published the grim story,
For CT adults with developmental disabilities, housing help unlikely until parents die.

This is piece told the public the plain truth: As long as parents were still alive, there would be no adult services for state residents with autism. Funding had not kept up with the explosion in autism.

The erosion of state funding for people with developmental disabilities has left many parents worried about what will happen to their children when they die or become unable to take care of them.

One 70 year old mother was quoted saying,

“We are told that our loved ones will stay home until we die. They’re welcome to stay home forever. We’re not trying to get rid of our beloved children, adult children included. But there is that fact of mortality.”

Six years ago the parents were already told that there were too many children with autism to automatically offer adult services for everyone who aged out of school. Of course in 2014 the autism rate was one in every 68 children compared to one in 54 children currently.  As more children are recognized with autism costs for accommodating their needs also increases.

This brings us to 2020

On August 1, 2020, The CT Journal Record published the stunning story, The system is going to explode’ — Adults with autism struggle to find support in Connecticut.

Despite the fact that for years the main stream media has conditioned us never to worry about the autism rate, here The Journal Record laid it on the line: The increases are real and we’re never going to be able to pay for this disaster.

Oh really, Mr. President?

Do you think the President and his family - ALL of them - will be getting any of the Operation Warp Speed vaccines as soon as they are available? Are any of them in clinical trials right now?  That Tweet in the photo is from 2014.  Below is a press release from HHS.

###

Trump Administration Collaborates with McKesson for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Under the leadership of President Trump, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD), in support of Operation Warp Speed (OWS) announced today that McKesson Corporation will be a central distributor of future COVID-19 vaccines and related supplies needed to administer the pandemic vaccinations.

“Today’s announcement puts another building block in place as the Nation moves toward a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D.. “America’s march toward one or more safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a combined effort between American industry and the federal government. McKesson is a leader in their field, and we welcome their expertise and dedication to public health.”

This week, I learned of a disheartening situation in Edinburgh, Texas from Evelyn Cano and Debra Liva.  They are two of the fiercest advocates for special needs kids in the entire Southwest. I had the pleasure of meeting them and speaking at their event in the McAllen, TX area twice.

The witches though, are the Edinburgh Consolidated Independent School District, including  school board trustee Edward Pena, Jr who joked that another trustee was "special ed" at their meeting on August 18. The other board members laughed.   The trustees actually laughed instead of calling him out. I damn well hope it was nervous laughter at least. What if he’d made a racial slur, would that have been as amusing?  I was reminded of the Roald Dahl story "The Witches," in which the witches pretend to love children, until they rip off their masks. And show their disdain.  Fish rots from the head. When the board of education thinks special ed students are acceptable targets for jokes, you can bet your red rubber nose, seltzer bottle and punchline that every layer below them knows it.  I am certain the special education teachers and paraprofessionals were wounded when they learned that they too are considered a joke, by virtue of devoting their careers to students like MY THREE DAUGHTERS.  My children did nothing for my district's testing score rating. My daughters did nothing for college acceptance rates. My daughters did nothing for sports accolades. But I can promise you that my daughters made an impact on all of their peers, teachers and paras, all of whom worked so hard for honestly, not a lot of return, except my gratitude.

I HATE that our kids are the butt of jokes. Special education is taking over districts across the nation. Boards that are in such lily white Ivory towers had damn well better come to terms with this. 

We're in a nadir of civility and respect across the nation. Special education has taken a monstrous hit during COVID - as most of our kids have been fed scraps of services instead of what IDEA and their IEPs require.  Sometimes, school boards give special education lip service, having no clue what teaching and parenting a child with special needs entails. Me? I'd like to give Mr. Pena Fat Lip Service for his cruelty. However, that wouldn't do much for civility, would it?



Official Disability Chamber of Commerce RGV press release regarding the ECISD incident from August 18, 2020.

As some of the largest employers in our area, school districts in the RGV still need training and direction with our disability community. We challenge them to be part of a larger discussion and change. We are here to help with sensitivity trainings and disability awareness trainings.
#dccrgvcares #CallToAction #changethenarrative #ableismexists

Note: Here's a report from Safeminds on IACC, which my Dad, would have said "Is as useful as the sleeves on a vest."  Safeminds is far kinder than I am. They use the word "sluggish," while I would say, "willfully constipated because they don't give a sh*t."  Kim

###

IACC Releases Autism Strategic Plan Update 10 Months Late

Top Federal Autism Committee Hasn’t Met for Over a Year

On August 11, the Office of Autism Research Coordination (OARC) of the National Institute of Mental Health announced the release of its 2018-2019 Update to the IACC Strategic Plan For Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, or IACC, is the primary advisory body designated by Congress to address activities related to autism by the Federal Government. It was reauthorized and funded under the Autism CARES Act passed in 2019 and is charged with drafting and updating the autism strategic plan each year.

The 2018-2019 Strategic Plan contains valuable updates to the previous Strategic Plan of 2016-2017, including the need to double the research budget, treat co-occurring mental and physical health conditions, and address racial disparities and housing options. Unfortunately, the updated Plan is almost a year late in being released. The previous plan for 2016-2017 had a publication date of October 2017, while the new report is only now coming out in August 2020, representing a 10 month delay. Strategic Plans are meant to guide future planning and resource allocation, so a delay means the Government has been directionless in prioritizing its autism activities for 2020.

Adding to the sluggishness of the Federal response to autism, the IACC itself has not convened since July of last year, even though it is Congressionally mandated to meet at least twice a year. Historically, it has met quarterly.  Read more here.

Elsevier
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology
Volume 62, December 2020, 126632
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology

The role of aluminum adjuvants in vaccines raises issues that deserve independent, rigorous and honest science⋆

Guillemette Crépeauxa, François-Jérôme Authiera, Christopher Exley, Lluís Lujánd,Romain K. Gherardi

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2020.126632
Received 3 July 2020; Received in revised form 22 July 2020; Accepted 29 July 202

In their recent review on aluminum and vaccines [1], JP Goullé & L Grangeot-Keros described general knowledge on aluminum (Al) exposure, kinetics and toxicity but made very little effort to delineate thescientific questions specifically related to Al adjuvants in vaccines. In-stead of representing the bulk of their review, the  subject of Al adjuvants covered no more than one third of the 3 page-text. Numerous important papers on the topic were omitted,i.e.20 years of scientific publications in clinical, post-mortem,in vitro and in vivo experimental studies published by independent research teams, worldwide experts in this topic, were simply omitted... 

...While reaffirming our position in favor of vaccination, we claim that the safety of aluminum-based vaccine adjuvants, like that of any environmental factor presenting a risk of neurotoxicity and to which the young child is exposed, must be seriously evaluated without further delay, particularly at a time when the CDC is announcing a still in-creasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders, of 1 child in 54 in the USA (2020figure for 2016)

Read more https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2020.126632

This link does not contain plastic explosives either

But you should click on it to watch part 2 of a certain movie. It's a hole in one. It’s been censored on social media. Ben Swann is hosting it at his site. Hint? If it were a dessert it would be flan-demic. 

Zuckerberg and the Fact Checkers! Worst band name ever? LOL!

Thank you to Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s CHD for suing  to protect our freedom of speech.

CHD Legal Team Led by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Sues Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Three of Facebook’s So-Called “Fact-Checkers”

Washington, DC—August 18, 2020—Children’s Health Defense (CHD) filed a lawsuit on Monday in San Francisco Federal Court charging Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and three fact-checking outfits with censoring truthful public health posts and for fraudulently misrepresenting and defaming CHD. CHD is a non-profit watchdog group that roots out corruption in federal agencies, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and exposes wrongdoings in the Pharmaceutical and Telecom industries. CHD has been a frequent critic of WiFi and 5G Network safety and of certain vaccine policies that CHD claims put Big Pharma profits ahead of public health. CHD has fiercely criticized agency corruption at WHO, CDC and FCC.

By Anne Dachel

Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister,  addressed the U.N. in Sept 2019.   He spoke about modern technology with analogies to Greek mythology and historical figures. Will our high tech world free us or enslave us?  Liberate us or control us?

In the midst of this 16 minute speech he managed to slam ‘anti-vaxxers’ as anti-science. (8:15)

“It is a deep human instinct to be wary of any kind of technical progress. …There are today people who are still actually anti-science, a whole movement called ‘the anti-vaxxers’ who refuse to acknowledge the evidence that vaccinations have eradicated smallpox and who by their prejudices are actually endangering the very children they want to protect.

“And I totally reject this anti-science pessimism. I’m profoundly about the ability of new technology to serve as a liberator and to remake the world wondrously and benignly.”

So while the computer age poses threats to our freedom, vaccines are good, vaccines save lives, according to Johnson. No one should reject them.

Actually this man needs to look at the British education system. Things are not good. In 2015 the government announced 27 new special needs schools to be built across England, schools for disabled children who couldn’t be helped in regular special education classes. In 2020 we see the additional of 37 more special schools, with plans for 49 more coming after that.

Johnson needs to look at the shocking numbers in the U.K. In Northern Ireland one in every 24 students is autistic, and 23 percent receive special education help. In Scotland 29 percent of children are considered special needs. (England itself puts the special education number at 15 percent, a low figure that can be explained by the recent scandal showing thousands of special needs students are routinely expelled from school. Thousands more simply don’t get assessments for their disabilities.)

Source: Business Insider

Note: Can you be a Vegan, a true Vegan who does not consume animal products, and take a COVID vaccine that calls for the ex-sanguination of horseshoe crabs? What's the difference between the cruel existence of veal, and hooking horsehoe crabs to a machine that drains their 30% of their blood, if when they are returned "home," many die?  Is taking any product that knowingly harms animals hypocritical?  If you have never seen horseshoe crabs in the wild, you should. We used to see them often on Cape Cod.  They are mesmerizing, ancient creatures.

Each year, the medical industry catches around 600,000 horseshoe crabs. The crabs are drained of 30% of their blood and up to 30% of the crabs don't live through the process. The survivors are returned to the water, but no one really knows how well or if they recover. Source: Business Insider Why Horseshoe Crab Blood is So Expensive

###

Horseshoe crab blood is key to making a COVID-19 vaccine—but the ecosystem may suffer. Conservationists worry the animals, which are vital food sources for many species along the U.S. East Coast, will decline in number.

Note: Many of our readers have taken steps to thwart wireless in their homes. However, with COVID school and work restrictions, most all of us are being forced to use wireless devices several hours every single day. It's a Zoom/Google Classroom world. There's no avoiding EMF. Dr. Kostoff,  a valued AofA reader and commenter, has written an detailed monograph that we share today. I looked up the term "monograph, and learned that it means "a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it." Mono - one. Graph - writing.

THE LARGEST UNETHICAL MEDICAL EXPERIMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY

Ronald N. Kostoff, Ph.D.Research Affiliate, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology

KEYWORDS Unethical Research; Electromagnetic Fields; Wireless Radiation; Radio frequency Radiation; RF; Non-Ionizing Radiation; Mobile Networking Technology; 5G; Adverse Health Effects

ABSTRACT

This monograph describes the largest unethical medical experiment in human history: the implementation and operation of non-ionizing non-visible EMF radiation (hereafter called wireless radiation) infrastructure for communications, surveillance, weaponry, and other applications. It is unethical because it violates the key ethical medical experiment requirement for “informed consent” by the overwhelming majority of the participants.

The monograph provides background on unethical medical research/experimentation, and frames the implementation of wireless radiation within that context. The monograph then identifies a wide spectrum of adverse effects of wireless radiation as reported in the premier biomedical literature for over seven decades. Even though many of these reported adverse effects are extremely severe, the true extent of their severity has been grossly underestimated. Most of the reported laboratory experiments that produced these effects are not reflective of the real-life environment in which wireless radiation operates.

Many experiments do not include pulsing and modulation of the carrier signal, and most do not account for synergistic effects of other toxic stimuli acting in concert with the wireless radiation. These two additions greatly exacerbate the severity of the adverse effects from wireless radiation, and their neglect in current (and past) experimentation results in substantial under-estimation of the breadth and severity of adverse effects to be expected in a real-life situation. This lack of credible safety testing, combined with depriving the public of the opportunity to provide informed consent, contextualizes the wireless radiation infrastructure operation as an unethical medical experiment.  Continue reading here.

By Cathy Jameson

Originally written in 2017 for a different audience, this older story describes a successful trip to Mass.  I’ve edited it for our AofA readers today. 

From week to week, Ronan’s ability to sit through Mass varies quite a bit. One week, Ronan can sit through an entire Mass.  The next week, he may refuse to even walk into the church.  Lately, there has been no consistency in his ability to be successful at church.  Instead of pushing him to do something he's unable to do yet, the family and I have decided to split up going to church.  My husband goes to the early Mass while I go later.  It's not what we want to do, but it ensures that the rest of us can fulfill our Sunday obligation.  Occasionally, when my husband is traveling for work over a weekend like he was this weekend, I have to get creative.  

I didn't want to send the kids on their own, which I’ve done before.  So I didn't.  I took a chance by taking all five of the kids to the noon Mass.  I'm very happy that we did!  

Ronan recognized where we were going, even though the church was not our home parish, and he easily transitioned into the building.  Upon entering, we found a quiet section and got settled.  Within five minutes, though, Ronan was ready to leave.  I told him we'd do a countdown, and then I prayed that he'd last longer than the 100 seconds I was slowly counting backwards. 

100...99...98...97...96...

He signed ‘all done’ and proceeded to put the kneeler in the up position.  

...95...94...93...92...

Not wanting a struggle, which has happened plenty of times at church in the past, I held his hand and guided him out of the pew.  ‘All done, all done, all done’, he signed.  "I know, buddy.  Let's go back to the car.  The kids will stay here," I whispered.  Ronan hesitated.  The kids?  He looked back at his siblings and froze.  A confused look came over him as he pointed to them.  

I repeated, "Yes, the kids are staying."  

Ronan didn't like that answer, so he sat in the pew we were trying to go around.  Pointing a very straight index finger at his big sister, he indicated that he wanted her to come with us.  "Oh, she's staying," I quietly reiterated.  Ronan started to tap his hand on his leg, a self-regulation technique he does when we do a countdown to help keep himself calm.  He "taps down" letting me know that he knows that an end is in sight.  

...91...90...

Ronan pointed again to the other siblings.  I reminded him that they were staying for the entire Mass as well.  He was not pleased, but he did not get frustrated when I shared that information.  He contemplated quietly before pointing to the siblings.  Hoping they'd come with him, he began to tap his leg once more.

By Elizabeth Hart, Australia

Email to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Forwarded by 'Contact your PM' facility, 10 August 2020
Subject: Disproportionate response to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

Mr Morrison, I'm horrified by the political situation in Australia in relation to the handling of this virus. Elected representatives of the people have grossly over-reached in exerting control over those they are meant to serve. And unelected individuals, i.e. Federal and State medical officers, and various academics, are influencing policy with little or nothing in the way of accountability. The situation in the police state of Victoria is appalling, with people masked and under curfew, impeded from travelling from their homes, and subject to intimidation by police and the army. This is the most shocking political experience of my lifetime, and it is occurring under Australian governments, not invading powers.

We must have immediate transparency about the coronavirus situation, the information provided on the Department of Health Coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage is insufficient, and is beating up the number of 'cases' and not providing data which informs about the actual risk of this virus to the entire population. Provide the Australian community with relevant information, e.g. what comorbidities are involved with Covid-19, across the age groups? What is the status of the people in hospital, the outcomes? Give us real information, instead of media-led fear-mongering by beating up the number of 'cases' which is largely irrelevant.

It’s a warm, Summer Friday night. My two adult daughters just had a rare argument. Over a young man? No. Over the latest outfit? No. Over who will use the car tomorrow? No.

Over a Kindle Fire tablet for Kids, loaded with preschool, Sesame Street, Nick Jr and other content.

It’s a warm, Summer Friday night.

They are in bed in their shared room. 

My adult daughters with autism.

And this is why AofA is still here.

Good night.  Kim

By Laura Hayes

I went grocery shopping this past Saturday, first time in 30 days. I find seeing my fellow humans masked, including young children, to be soul-stripping, and I come home angry and depressed. For some reason, I thought I would not be the only unmasked person at this stage of the insanity, but I was wrong. The store was more crowded than I had seen it to date, and yet, I saw no other shopper, or employee, not wearing a mask…nearly 6 months into this global machination.

In the event you haven’t noticed, things are getting worse, not better. And I am not talking about “Covid-19”, whatever that is or isn’t (no way for us to know, as we have been lied to from the get-go). I am talking about the state of our God-given rights, many of which our U.S. Constitution was created to protect, rights that include: the right to breathe freely, minus dangerous impediments; the right to communicate and socialize with others, minus facial covering and physical distancing requirements; the right to move about freely, including frequenting businesses of our choosing, minus finding businesses forcibly closed, and minus absurd shopping and walking around town rules; the right to conduct business, minus being deemed non-essential, minus being restricted in scope and ability to conduct business, and minus being coerced to enforce dangerous and absurd requirements of employees and customers; the right to assemble, minus ridiculous and arbitrary physical distancing and maximum number restrictions, and minus the forced covering of the majority of one’s face; the right to seek medical, dental, and eye care, minus temperature checks, facial masking, and in some cases, Covid-19 testing requirements (with the nasal swab testing causing harm and damage to some of those being tested that way); the right to practice one’s religion, and to congregate and fellowship with others, minus rules and requirements which prevent one from doing so; and the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, minus unwarranted, unconstitutional, and unacceptable government interference.

Americans should find it shocking, frightening, and intolerable that acting on our God-given fundamental rights as human beings has now been deemed illegal behavior and can result in being charged with a crime in a growing number of situations and locations. Stop and think about that for a few minutes. That which prior to 2020 were considered basic human rights, including the rights to breathe, smile at others, communicate, entertain, move about, congregate, shop, conduct business, seek care and services, and go to church, have instantaneously been labeled dangerous behaviors if done in a free, unregulated, and unimpeded manner, deemed worthy of fines, ostracization, shaming, social isolation, forced quarantine, closures, lockdowns, lawsuits, and no doubt very soon, prison time and “re-education camps”. Perhaps this is why nearly half of U.S. states have released thousands of prisoners before their sentences were completed, including those who have committed violent crimes…to make room for those who will refuse to comply with rights-stripping, unconstitutional, life-destroying edicts made and enforced by those abusing their positions of power.

Such a clever headline  and a WHOPPER of an obfuscation from National Pharma Radio, aka NPR. In the article they jauntily refer to a substance called "alum...."  The author might want to check in on the work of Chris Exley in the UK. His latest? The role of aluminum adjuvants in vaccines raises issues that deserve independent, rigorous and honest science

From NPR:

The Special Sauce That Makes Some Vaccines Work

There are many approaches to making a vaccine against COVID-19. Some use genetic material from the coronavirus, some use synthetic proteins that mimic viral proteins and some use disabled versions of the virus itself.

But before any of these approaches can generate the antibodies to the coronavirus that scientists say are essential to protecting people from getting sick, the immune system has to be primed to make those antibodies.

That's the job of something called an adjuvant.

"The definition of [an] adjuvant is something you add to enhance, in the case of immunity, the immune response," says Gregory Glenn, president of research and development at Novavax, one of the companies that has received money from Operation Warp Speed.

Vaccines essentially trick the body into making an immune response to a specific virus or bacterium, so if something dangerous comes along, the immune system will be prepared.

But before it can prompt a response to a specific virus, the immune system has to be made ready.

"When you inject a vaccine, the first immune cell that's of importance is a dendritic cell," Glenn says.

Dendritic cells are part of what's called the innate immune response. These cells will respond to anything foreign that enters the body, the coronavirus included.

Thanks to reader Judy R who always sends me excellent links,, including the story of NBC's Richard Engel and his plight for his disabled young so, below.

Only one of my daughters is still in school, at age 19. Ordinarily, ESY would have been 20 hours of direct instruction and therapy services with plenty of outdoor fun, water play, swings, slides, activity and life. This summer, she had 3 hours per week delivered by ZOOM with her mother sitting next to her facilitating. She also had carry over work on websites, that also required her mother to sit next to her.  Her tiny, private autism placement pooped the bed in June after providing unbelievably wonderful programming for 27 years. They decided to close their doors rather than accept the challenges of COVID and honor their 40 students. So now we are trying to create a new program for Bella to carry her through her final years in school.  And guess what? Her mother will be at her side.... at least for now. It's exhausting. I am not a teacher. I have other jobs that need tending. And she has two older sisters who are also home more than they are at the now re-opened day program.  I feel like the classic Lucille Ball chocolate factory episode. I love my kids. I love chocolates!

What about compensatory services? Are we supposed to turn a blind eye to the lack of services? When is school supposed to provide them, assuming we open for in person learning full time maybe in 2021?  Weekends? Nights?  It's an impossible task.

The Daily Mail ran this story today:

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel has opened up about how the coronavirus pandemic has been a 'nightmare' for his severely disabled four-year-old son who has been cut off from the therapies that enrich his life. 

By Anne Dachel, CHD Contributing Writer, Age of Autism Editor, LossofBrainTrust.com

There is still a dearth of any real news on special education and autism in U.S. schools, but not so in Britain and Ireland where the press reports constantly on big time increases in special education spending.

Honestly, while it’s not being reported on as a crisis, any thinking person has to be concerned about what’s happening over there. Someone needs to explain what’s going on.

Back in 2015 the big news out of Britain was the announcement that the government would be opening 27 new special needs schools in England.

These schools would serve 2,000 students. It all sounded good. Of the 27 schools, 22 would be specifically for children with autism. Unfortunately 27 schools weren’t enough, so because of “increasing demand” more had to be done.

2020: 37 new special schools with 49 more schools in the planning stage

July stories from the U.K. were all about more funding and more provisions for students with complex special needs. The British national government has approved 37 additional special schools across England, and that’s only the beginning.

Seemingly no one can tell us when it’s going to stop. At the same time no one is alarmed. Stories include reassuring photos of teachers and officials smiling and being quoted using words like ‘delighted,’ ‘fantastic’ and ‘exciting.’

The truth is the U.K. government has to do this. They have no choice. Local county councils simply can’t pay the enormous cost of sending students with critical special needs outside their home areas to school. The government has to come up with funding and it’s adding up to be billions.

The same is true in Ireland where shocking reports tell us about hundreds of disabled students who wait 3 and 4 years for assessments and then go on waiting lists for services. Hundreds have been told there aren’t school places for them.

One might ask why everyone is so compliant. Why doesn’t anyone demand to know why all this is necessary? Read More at Children's Health Defense.

Posted with permission from Michelle Guppy.  Many of you will recognize her handsome son, 20-something Brandon, who is wracked with seizures and autism. Go ahead and provide a caption. The playhouse is for Michelle's darling grandson, her Grandfishy. But she snapped this photo and well, I had to ask if we could share it and she generously said, "yes."  I was reminded of the old Tom Hanks movie "Big," when he jumped into top of the the bunk bed after his date. But there is no Zoltan machine to change the past for Brandon or any of our adult children with autism.

Ginger Taylor posted this Tweet from Canadian MD Matt Strauss. It made my blood run cold. Read it. Admissions diagnosis, starvation. Our elders are starving because Covid measures have plunged all of into.... autism. Hear me out. 

Autism is loneliness.  I once watched my beautiful then 15 year old daughter stand at the front door of my home watching the neighbors much younger kids playing in their yard. She was mesmerized from behind the screen door. Then she said three words that broke another piece of what was left of my autism ravaged heart:

Gianna wants friends.

Autism is not being able to leave the house when you want to go somewhere or do something because it may be very difficult for your child.  My daughters have never left the house without an adult, caretaker or to board a bus with an adult.  I wrote in my memoir about the time I had to leave a Chinese food order in the restaurant because my daughter had such a meltdown in the parking lot that I had to carry both her and her older sister (they were tots) back to the minivan and drive home hungry.

Autism is not knowing what the person you see is feeling because you can't read his or her facial expression.  I thank God I am old enough to have crows feet and forehead creases so that people can tell if I am smiling or angry behind my red, white and blue mask. And poor enough that I can't even consider Botox...  ha ha.

Autism is isolation. My 25, 24 and 19 year olds have not been invited to a single event that was not adult facilitated for special needs since around 5th grade. That's more than a decade without a social interaction with typical peers.

Autism is diminished financial security for adults with autism and their families alike. From this I surely know.

Autism is an epidemic.  And so are the repercussions of COVID.

We're starving. All of us.

XOX    Kim

SNARK ALERT!

For a world crippled by the coronavirus, salvation hinges on a vaccine. 

(I hope you read that sentence from the CNN article below in the movie trailer guy deep. ominous voice.)

Instead of sending $1200 checks, perhaps the Federal Government should send everyone a treadmill. Instead of COVID checkpoints in New York, perhaps there should be weigh ins (open the old highway truck weight stations?) Instead of temp checks, calorie checks.  Force Americans to lose weight to save us from COVID.  Heavy Americans will be looked upon as dangerous, uncaring, unwilling to sacrifice their Big Mac and fries for the greater good of humanity. Schools will pass laws outlawing students above a certain BMI from attending classes.  Hospitals will dock the pay of nurses and doctors who are overweight.  This article expresses "concern" for those for whom the "salavation" COVID vaccine might not work because of their weight.  The same folks express disdain for "anti-vaxxers," but isn't this the same?  If you do not whip yourself into proper shape to prepare your body, your temple for the Covid vaccine, then surely you are sinner and do not care about those around you.  Food is health. Fitness is health. The Western diet is pharma reliance and death.

According to CNN and others: US obesity epidemic could undermine effectiveness of a Covid-19 vaccine

By Cathy Jameson

This isn’t a post about the pros and cons.  It isn’t a debate for you should or shouldn’t.  It’s a post to share one fact that the media isn’t. 

Several years ago I was in the main office at my son's elementary school when a new family came in.  After settling her kids in the chairs where I was sitting, the mom asked to speak to someone about the enrollment procedure.  The young secretary, a twentysomething, showed and described the forms that would need to be filled out, signed and returned.  When she got to the health history form, the secretary said that the school required a copy of the kids' shot records, too.  I waited for her to add that vaccine exemptions could be accepted, but she neglected to share that information.  The mom thanked her for her time and said she'd get started on the paperwork that day.  "If I have any questions, I'll call you," she said.  I had a question for the secretary, so when the family left, I walked up to the counter.  

"Hey, I couldn't help but overhear what you said to that other mom about that health history form.  Do you ever tell parents that they can submit an exemption, because that's part of the law, too?"  

She said no.  

I told her it would be a good idea to include that info.  Not many people know that it's an option.  I shared that since she's the one person fielding calls and inquiries about school enrollment procedures, she should cite the whole law.

I was happily surprised that she said she probably should tell people that.  

These days, it isn't so much the vaccine laws that are being partly or wrongly cited; state mask policies are being wrongly cited.  

WEAR A MASK

MASKED REQUIRED BY EVERYONE

KEEP MASKS ON AT ALL TIMES

DO YOUR PART!!

How about those sharing the mask information do their part, too?

Here's a trip down memory lane, the kind of road that leads you to back to the future. When I look at Alec Baldwin, I am transported back to the late 90s, sitting on my couch in Doylestown, Pennsylvania watching a movie called Mercury Rising. I was in the early stages of Mia's autism diagnosis. The movie, about a boy with autism who cracks an encrypted government code setting off a very angry Alec Baldwin and a boyhunt, presented one of the most realistic portrayals of autism I've ever seen. I cried throughout the movie. One line especially slayed me:

Mommy. Simon is home.

Mommy was dead.

Robert Kennedy Jr had a 1 hour video chat on Facebook and Instagram with that bad guy from Mercury Rising, Alec Baldwin. Here we are some 20+ years later, and Baldwin, who has 5 young children with his wife Hilaria, just spent an hour listening to Robert tell him the facts about the demise of pediatric wellness.  The media is already going after him - but I have a feeling he's used to that and will not allow them to besmirch him. Alec Baldwin Just Did an Hour-Long Instagram Chat with an Anti-Vaccine Activist During the talk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s been promoting vaccine misinformation for years, promoted false and misleading claims about vaccine safety and COVID-19.

Let's hope Alec listens, thinks and acts. As only he can. XOX

From Corvelva, in Italy. An important appeal. Per favore. Grazie.

###

We are appealing to all the associations (and citizens) whose Countries have experienced and are still experiencing restrictive measures like Italy. We need to share with you an unacceptable fact and we want to ask other citizens in the world to take action in order to shed light on the many shadows that envelop the emergency situation we are facing.

We are an Italian association 1 fighting for freedom of choice in the vaccination and therapeutical fields since 1993, but we are here today speaking also to those associations that do not totally agree with our way of thinking and living freedom.

Italian people have gone through the Covid-19 pandemic strictly following the rules imposed. Italian people have complied with the Government’s restrictions and provisions but even so, for months we have been watching tv programs showing drones, helicopters and law enforcement vessels chasing and identifying individual citizens walking deserted streets or empty beaches, 2-3-4-5-6-7 and even law enforcement precluding religious services. Media have been pointing the finger at the runners, ordinary citizens going solo for a run, suddenly becoming terrible plague spreaders and primary cause of infection, according to the mainstream media narrative.

We are silently accepting our Country’s economy to fall apart and we should at least expect that our Government, responsible for the imposed restrictive measures, would clarify and be willing to provide evidence and answers to the people.
Every single choice the Italian Government made to manage the Covid-19 emergency, was and will be based on the opinion of the Technical-Scientific Committee (CTS). A small number of people called the shots of the Government Agenda, from the forms and lasting of Lockdown, to the masks, the social distancing, and any regulatory act always issued “having consulted the CTS”.

Recently, three lawyers, being part of a foundation, decided to file a FOIA (request for access to documents) , specifically requesting to view the minutes of the Scientific Technical Committee of February 18th, March 1st, 7th, 30th and April 9th. The data and opinions expressed and collected in these minutes are basically the reason, the drive, the foundation for the Government to have issued every act relating to the Covid-19 emergency management.
After the request has been rejected at first instance, the lawyers have been forced to apply to a Court. On July 23rd, 2020 the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR) had ruled in favour of the publication of the documents by August 21st at the latest. 8

And here is the shocking and for us unacceptable fact: the Italian Government, through the State’s attorney, on July 31st opposed 9the Court (TAR) ruling, motivating that the publication would have caused “a real damage to public order and security that exposing the CTS minutes, at this stage of the emergency, would cause for both technical assessments and general guidelines of the technical body”. 10

On August, 5th 2020, we learned from journalistic sources 11 and from the same lawyers who had requested access to the documents, 12 that the Italian government will publish these minutes, but the question remains unchanged:
Why did not it make immediately transparent what really happened in the emergency? If the Italian government acted on expert opinions, why did it oppose the publication of the data? What are the contents of these reports that should cause damage? Why would damage to public order and security even be expected?

Dan Olmsted would have written, "Oh frabjous day!"  Below are two sentences you need to Tweet, Facebook, Insta and email to everyone you know OUTSIDE of our AofA world. It sums up the "Ah ha" moment that it took many of us years and a severely injured loved one to reach.  Reuters calls this a "3 minute read." 3 minutes that could save your life.

###

AstraZeneca to be exempt from coronavirus vaccine liability claims in most countries Ludwig Burger, Pushkala Aripaka

"AstraZeneca has been granted protection from future product liability claims related to its COVID-19 vaccine hopeful by most of the countries with which it has struck supply agreements, a senior executive told Reuters."


...“This is a unique situation where we as a company simply cannot take the risk if in ... four years the vaccine is showing side effects,” Ruud Dobber, a member of Astra’s senior executive team, told Reuters. 

From Professor Chris Exley:

In April 2020, I agreed to a telephone interview with Marie McNeely, the co-founder of an organisation called People Behind the Science (http://www.peoplebehindthescience.com/). The interview took place in early May 2020 to the apparent satisfaction of all concerned. In late June 2020, I received an email from Michael Green, also a co-founder of People Behind the Science, telling me, without explanation, that my interview would not be broadcast on their podcast. Subsequent emails from myself asking for an explanation and asking for the return of a copy of the interview were completely ignored by Green. Only when my US legal representatives issued a demand letter for a copy of the tape of the interview was a reply from Green forthcoming. He agreed to send an mp3 copy of the interview to prevent legal action being taken against him. However, what he actually sent was not what I asked for. He sent a highly edited copy of the interview in which there are many gaps and all words spoken by Marie McNeely had been removed. This is the low-resolution interview tape that I received from Green. Perhaps, as you listen you can play, fill in the gaps? Make your own judgement as to whether anything I say on this version of the interview would warrant censorship. Rather it appears to me from everything that has gone on that I am the subject of censorship here and that someone has threatened Green and McNeely with some form of repercussion should they broadcast my interview on their podcast. Whatever the reason, People Behind the Science and specifically McNeely and Green, should be ashamed of their actions. They do not deserve the support of anyone listening to or contributing to their podcast in the future.

Yahoo reports: Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll: Number of Americans who plan to get vaccinated falls to 42% — a new low   Americans do not trust the rushed vaccine in either party. Because we're pretty smart people no matter how we vote.  Even experts are speaking out:

“Why should we expect Americans to agree to a vaccine before one is even available?” coronavirus expert Natalie Dean, an assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida, recently wrote in the New York Times. “I’m a vaccine researcher, and even I would place myself in the ‘not sure’ bucket. What we have right now is a collection of animal data, immune response data and safety data based on early trials and from similar vaccines for other diseases. The evidence that would convince me to get a COVID-19 vaccine, or to recommend that my loved ones get vaccinated, does not yet exist.”

I don't buy the political division - do you?

The outlook for universal vaccination is clouded by political considerations from both sides: skepticism about medical authority and expertise (more common among Trump supporters), and suspicions (mostly among Democrats) that the administration is cutting corners on safety to rush a vaccine into production before the election.

Note: Many years ago, when I was a cub saleswoman for a female run organization, my mentor taught me a phrase: "Don't punish progress."  Those three words have served me well when I adhered to them, especially when teaching my daughters skills.  All forward movement is progress, even if glacial in pace. I am trying not to punish progress as Forbes' writer Steve Salzberg admits he is wrong, then says:

"...if we expand the distribution of vaccines too quickly, and then the vaccine doesn’t work, we may seriously undermine the public’s trust in any eventual vaccine that really does work."

I translate this to mean that if the earliest COVID vaccines cause harm, it could mean that a nation of "anti-vaxxers" will be born.  And that's exactly the fear.  Not the early injury to those who might give their consent but are still vulnerable lab rats. Slap your head much, readers? Welcome to.... The Age of Autism where so many of us experienced vaccine injury that "undermined our trust."  Do read the entire article and let us know what you think.

###

I Was Wrong: We Can’t Skip Phase 3 Vaccine Trials

I wrote a blog post over the weekend that has generated tremendous pushback, including an op-ed in the New York Times as well as thousands of comments on Twitter.

In my previous post, I suggested that while we’re pursuing Phase 3 testing of several promising Covid-19 vaccines, we could simultaneously offer those same, unapproved vaccines to a wider community of volunteers, as long as those volunteers were fully informed. The benefits of moving quickly, I argued, would outweigh the risks.

I was wrong. After reading many of the responses to my article, some of them outlining the risks in greater detail, I have concluded that (1) the risks are greater than I presented them, and (2) the benefits are not as great as I had thought....

By Twilah Hiari

In 2020, we find ourselves living in a world where some of our fellow humans are not only rationalizing, but demanding human sacrifice. The question is not so much how we got here, but what does it say about our moral malleability and basic humanity.

On June 26, 2020 the New England Journal of Medicine published an article entitled Ensuring Uptake of Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. The piece serves as a legal blueprint to guide states to increase uptake of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine when it becomes available, guidance to when a mandate of the vaccine may be appropriate, and strategies to use to sidestep legal challenges in the event of a vaccine mandate.

As a person who lost the ability to read, write, speak and count in 2014 due to a series of medically induced injuries, including injury from two vaccines, the piece read not so much like the prequel to a dystopian novel, but like a direct threat to my life. 

Included among the criterion the authors suggest as a trigger for state vaccine mandates is Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation of the vaccine for populations including the elderly, health care professionals working in high-risk or with high-risk patients, and persons with certain underlying medical conditions. I strongly suspect that I’d qualify as a person with certain underlying medical conditions.

An unusual characteristic of the paper is its recognition that vaccine injury is real and will inevitably affect some people who receive the vaccine. One of the criteria that the authors outline as a prerequisite for a vaccine mandate is that, “a generous compensation program for people who have serious vaccine side effects should be a centerpiece of these efforts.” 

Do I, as a person who is under potential threat of state mandated vaccination feel assured by a promise of generous compensation should I lose my ability to read, speak and perform the functions of daily living independently again? No, I do not. No amount of money would be fair compensation for a loss so far reaching as severe vaccine injury. Severe vaccine injury is a loss that destroys not only the life of the injured individual, but transforms the lives of that person’s family and community. My spouse would lose a partner again, my community would lose a person who grows and shares a quarter acre of organically grown produce, my friends would lose a loyal support. And I, as a shell of my former self, would require valuable productive energy and resources from a team of other human beings to maintain an existence that no longer nourishes me or anyone whose life intersects with mine.

NOTE:  Tell us in the comments what is happening in your district, from Early Intervention to Adult Services. Is your child being left behind?

Safeminds: Fears Rising of Massive Special Education Litigation

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, students with disabilities and their families are facing the rapidly approaching fall semester with reservations, as many of these families suffered through enormous difficulties last spring while trying to implement special education programs remotely. These families are now left to wonder if the fall semester will be any better for their students.

Concerned about the current state of special education programs, SafeMinds spoke to Tim Adams, a California special education attorney earlier this summer about special education advocacy during the pandemic. Sadly, in our article, Adams reported numerous instances where students eligible to receive special education were unable to receive any services since the COVID school closures. He also reported many other instances where students with disabilities received only a fraction of their educational services during the same time period.

Adams explained that early in the COVID shutdown, school districts from across the nation had erroneously interpreted a provision in last March’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (CARES) Act as providing schools a free pass from following the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA was passed in 1975 and guarantees a “Free and Appropriate Education” (FAPE) for all students with disabilities. A few weeks later, clarification from the Department of Education would prove these districts’ assumptions to be wrong.

(I'm Ed Sullivan plate spinning old, how about you?)

The New York Times has an article about our plight. Imagine that. But they forget that many of our children are.... adults themselves.

The Pandemic’s Toll on Children With Special Needs and Their Parents

From this we know.  Flatten the curve is flattening families, even when the day to day living isn't catastrophically behavioral.  In my home, my youngest's school shut down - closed its doors - rather than continue to provide an education to its most vulnerable population. They were cowards. My district is doing a great job of helping us create a custom program for her. My older daughters' day program has been amazing, providing a full day of online programming for MONTHS (I Zoom in my sleep) and now offering placement for Phase 1.  My daughters attend two half days per week, just like preschool....  They could go full time, but I thought it best to start slow. Everyone I know is taking full precautions with cleaning, handwashing, distancing and more. I can't afford to get sick, can you? I certainly don't want my daughters to fall ill, and end up in a hospital alone.   School begins in a month here. We have no idea if it will be hybrid or not. If hybrid, how do parents work? How have we BEEN working all these months. Me? Like a circus plate spinner- stirring a pot of sauce with my foot while typing with two hands while one daughter grabbing me to tighten her ponytail for the 1000th time, another asking me to print a 1/2" screen shot of a Sesame Street video to add to her pages of tiny cut out photos that she carries and the other zooming around with her phone blaring The Bubble Guppies Party at Sea and reciting the calendar as I ask her yet again to pleas

I had this album as a kid!

e turn it down!  They  visit their father for 2 nights every three weeks, which is a chance for me to catch up on sleep and also to worry since the woman he lives with is a Long Island, New York hospital based nurse. Long Island is former hot zone of sickness and death. I have to trust that his home is safe for the girls, and unless there is a jump in New York, I do.  (He questions my protocols more than I question his, but that's divorce for you!) Mind you, I'm not complaining. It's rather amusing and the grasshopper never thinks the ant is doing enough work.  Tra la la! We're doing GREAT.  We've gained skills and we've created a new routine. What else can we do?  That said, it's kind of a miracle Age of Autism is still running - and I hope you'll forgive any lapses in content as I try to keep my plates in the air!  KIM

###

The Pandemic’s Toll on Children With Special Needs and Their Parents

Missing social contacts and altered routines, disturbed sleep and eating habits can be particularly intense for the kids with developmental challenges.

Franscheska Eliza has a 9-year-old son with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and sensory issues. Before the pandemic, he was in a program in the Bedford, Mass., public schools designed for children with autism.

This meant her son, Rafael, was in a special classroom, but also was a member of the regular third-grade class, and could join them for morning meeting or some academic subjects. He had a dedicated aide who worked with him when he got anxious. This was his first year in the school, and the beginning of the year was tough, but by March, things were going well.

Then came Covid-19. At first, Ms. Eliza said, her son was excited to be home. “He was happy that he didn’t have to get up early for school,” she said.

Note: I live in Connecticut. We've been giving ourselves atta boy boolah boohlah top drawer I tell you top drawer high fives all summer for our response to COVID.  The state's response to autism for twenty years has been the equivalent of spitting in the face of families. Here's the long and the short of it: If you have a testable IQ over 70 and autism, you are shunted into the autism waiver. Last I was told, there were 115 waivers in the state. 115. In. The. State.  All taken. Think about the age of autism - we're looking at people under 40? Under 30? How long is the wait for someone to drown, wander, get hit by a metro north train, be beaten to death by a caregiver or murdered by a parent?

We are wearing masks like badges of saintly honor. Preening over our numbers. Gazing at Covid stats like Narcissus at the water's edge. We are a state of sinners. Autism will explode. Imagine if we had a fraction of the attention, will, resources to combat the autism epidemic and help families. Read and learn:

I commend writer Matthew Zabierek for this unvarnished look at what we face. The autism the media doesn't usually show. The ventilator version....

###

‘The system is going to explode’ — Adults with autism struggle to find support in Connecticut

A special report by Matthew Zabierek, Record-Journal staff , August 01, 2020
Read the full article at

During a trip to Bridgeport’s Beardsley Zoo in 2012, Sharon Cable’s son, diagnosed with autism and schizophrenia, wanted to find out whether the zoo’s tiger was ticklish. An in-depth series looking at how autism impacts us all. So when his dad went to the bathroom and a zookeeper wasn’t looking, 18-year-old Alex Cable hopped a fence, ran up to Victor the tiger’s cage, and reached his hand in while Victor was sleeping.

“When Alex tickled him, he woke up and bit off the tip of his finger,” Sharon Cable said, adding that doctors were able to surgically repair her son’s hand.

Alex Cable, now 26, is taking classes at Tunxis Community College in Farmington and hopes to one day get a full-time job. Due to his autism and schizophrenia, he constantly needs to be watched because he has “no sense of safety,” his mom said.

“He's 26 years old, he's doing college classes, and he cannot cross the street by himself,” Cable said. “It sounds ridiculous, and you say, ‘Why can't you teach him that?’’ We taught him, he can explain how to cross the street, but he doesn't actually do it … If he wakes up in the middle of the night, you better be awake to see what he’s doing.” Read the full article here.

A classic scene from Auntie Mame. Gloria Upson is a wealthy CT gal whose very life is "top drawer..."

I wrote this post on my Kim Rossi Facebook page yesterday and I made it public. I've been pretty quiet on Facebook over the last couple of years, on my personal page.  I post memories and the occasional sweet treat I've baked or some local news.  Basta - enough. It's time to tell all your friends and family and colleagues what's going on.   Removing encryption opens you to hacking, fraud, theft, safety issues galore. I excerpted information from NORTON security below.  The more Gates interviews, the more he seems to be a few lines short of a fully working code.

Here is what I wrote on Facebook.

Do you use What's App to communicate when traveling or with family and friends overseas? Bill Gates wants to remove encryption safety to make sure big tech can read your content. See the article below. He wants to protect YOU from two evil groups - Pedophiles and Anti-vaxxers. I am a nationally known "anti-vaxxer" which means I learned from my family's sacrifice and seek to inform and warn others. I use humor mostly. But it ain't no fun. I fight for YOUR RIGHT to say yes OR no. I am pro-choice. I resent and am disgusted by Gate's conflating pedophilia and "anti-vaccine." BTW, If you aren't already 100% decided to take the very first Covid FrankenVax and give it to your children and elderly parents too, and I mean the fresh off the pharma line first shots from whatever manufacturer crosses the phinish (sic) line first, - then welcome to the anti-vax club. We'll send you the secret decoder ring in the mail. Unless Gates hacks it.......  Kim

Bill Gates: Lies spread faster than facts on social media, which is hard to police

By Cathy Jameson

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw an article suggesting that pregnant women should be first in line to get the undeveloped, untested, unlicensed COVID vaccine when it becomes available.  Other vaccines are strongly recommended for those carrying a child in utero, including the liability-free influenza and Tdap vaccines despite insufficient data being available on those vaccines.  They are pushed heavily even though it is also unknown if the (Tdap) “vaccine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity.” (HERE)  So why on earth would anyone suggest a pregnant woman receive a fast-tracked vaccine that has had no current data let alone any documented long-term, well-controlled studies? 

I haven’t gotten a solid time table on what long-term testing is considered industry standard—is it 5 years? 10 years? 20?  But I did find a webpage, recommended by the CDC, that somewhat details the average length of time it can take for vaccine development:

Under a heading First Steps: Laboratory and Animal Studies, we’re told that this exploratory stage “involves basic laboratory research and often lasts 2-4 years.”  The next stages, the pre-clinical stages, “often lasts 1-2 years and usually involves researchers in private industry.”  After those stages, add up to 30 more days to the new vaccine development timeline.  That’s how long the FDA has to respond to vaccine applications that have been submitted.  Within that time, the FDA can state they will or will not approve the vaccine for the next stage, which included an additional 3 stages of testing.  Once that’s complete, and depending on the outcome, the vaccine can then be eligible for licensing by the FDA.  Worth noting on this website was Phase IV.  “Phase IV trials are optional studies that drug companies may conduct after a vaccine is released.  The manufacturer may continue to test the vaccine for safety, efficacy, and other potential uses.”  

They may, and I think they should, but they don’t have to. 

The thalidomide tragedy in the last century led to US tightening restrictions "surrounding the surveillance and approval process for drugs to be sold in the U.S., requiring that manufacturers prove they are both safe and effective before they are marketed. Now, drug approval can take between eight and twelve years, involving animal testing and tightly regulated human clinical trials.”

One would hope that this tragedy--where thalidomide drug manufacturers ignored reports of birth defects--would serve as a warning for our own time. But apparently not, as the current COVID vaccine development is taking months, not years, skips animal studies, and may not include complete or adequate human clinical trials.

Looking at each of the CDC’s recommended vaccines licensed by the FDA (section 8.1 on a package insert), one can clearly see that not enough data exists to sufficiently inform the public of risks associated with many of the vaccines during pregnancy.  Maybe that’s why those who administer them are asked to encourage pregnant women to record post-vaccination pregnancy outcomes on the FDA’s pregnancy registry.  Those who license vaccines admit that safety and effectiveness hasn’t been established in that population but will, in the same breath, say to give it to a mother-to-be anyway.  Instead of doing the trial studies themselves, which I understand could be seen as unethical, they’d rather wait until the products is on the market and injected into women.

Ginger Taylor summed up this nonsensical, anti-science, anti-health, patronizing, condescending, anti-American article from Forbes. Forbes, a financial magazine, does not want you to read science. You should get your science from Forbes, a financial magazine. (This message brought to you by GSK, which sponsors Forbes, a financial magazine.)  This article is part of the frightening trend toward sanctioned, mandated obeisance and ignorance of facts that is the new America -  36 years after it was predicted by Orwell.

You Must Not ‘Do Your Own Research’ When It Comes To Science

By Ethan Seigel "I am a Ph.D. astrophysicist, author, and science communicator, who professes physics and astronomy at various colleges. I have won numerous awards for science writing since 2008 for my blog, Starts With A Bang, including the award for best science blog by the Institute of Physics. My two books, Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive, Beyond the Galaxy: How humanity looked beyond our Milky Way and discovered the entire Universe, are available for purchase at Amazon. Follow me on Twitter @startswithabang"

“Research both sides and make up your own mind.” It’s simple, straightforward, common sense advice. And when it comes to issues like vaccinations, climate change, and the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, it can be dangerous, destructive, and even deadly. The techniques that most of us use to navigate most of our decisions in life — gathering information, evaluating it based on what we know, and choosing a course of action — can lead to spectacular failures when it comes to a scientific matter.

The reason is simple: most of us, even those of us who are scientists ourselves, lack the relevant scientific expertise needed to adequately evaluate that research on our own. In our own fields, we are aware of the full suite of data, of how those puzzle pieces fit together, and what the frontiers of our knowledge is. When laypersons espouse opinions on those matters, it’s immediately clear to us where the gaps in their understanding are and where they’ve misled themselves in their reasoning.... You Must Not ‘Do Your Own Research’ When It Comes To Science

News we've all known was coming from Del Bigtree:

Greetings! I regret to tell you that this is the darkest day for The HighWire. The worst news has just happened. While the news is shocking and has created waves for our team, supporters, and viewers, we have a PLAN. We are confident every negative circumstance will ultimately serve to optimally benefit YOU after the challenge has been met. Google and YouTube may have won the battle but they will NOT win the WAR!! We WILL come out stronger with a larger audience, who is eager to hear truth, than ever before!!

Google and YouTube have decided to pull The HighWire. Our more than 200,000 subscribers and millions of viewers will not be able to watch our original, science-based reporting via this platform.