SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Just in case you haven’t heard already – Jack FM 93.1 has adopted TACA as their beneficiary for their first concert! This is incredibly exciting and wonderful event for TACA and our families!

FYI: Jack FM happens to be one of the top rock stations in the greater Los Angeles market.

The event details:

Date: August 19th starting at 4 pm
Locale: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Irvine, CA
Bands: Def Leppard, Billy Idol, Cheap Trick, Journey & The Violent Femmes
Ticket status: SOLD OUT!

TACA will:

Receive $1 for each ticket sold (and it has sold out!)
TACA will have ongoing autism awareness and “what TACA does” announcements repeatedly during the day.
Note: I have heard up to 30 announcements on TACA & Autism during most days.
There is a link between www.931JACKFM.com and TACA
Other exciting things will be in the works and be announced soon!

TACA has received over 500 emails and calls requesting CAN WE GET TICKETS FROM YOU?? I wish there was a way to grant each and every request because this will be a very fun concert! But that is not possible.

HOW CAN YOU GET TICKETS?

Listen to Jack FM or go to www.931jackfm.com and JOIN THE LEAGUE OF ORDINARY LISTENERS for special ticket packages and GIVEAWAYS! You could get lucky!

OR -- FOR ANY TACA MEMBERS : You could WIN two tickets! Here is how:

You first need to qualify by having a child with autism and be a TACA member
Then you need to write a 1,500 word or less essay answering one question: HOW HAS TACA HAS HELPED YOUR FAMILY?

To be qualified for entry - Be sure to:

1) Include your name, address, telephone number and your essay on how TACA has helped your family.
2) Submit via email or fax to 949-640-4424 before August 10, 2006.
3) Essays will be reviewed and a winner selected by our friends at JACK FM.
4) Winner will be announced on August 15, 2006 via the TACA enews!
5) IMPORTANT: DO NOT CALL TACA TO FOLLOW UP ON THE STATUS!
6) Ticket location for 2 seats will be r andomly selected and provided via email. Tickets are not for resale or transfer.

SPECIAL THANKS AGAIN TO OUR FRIENDS AT JACK FM
FOR HELPING FAMILIES AFFECTED BY AUTISM! YOU ROCK!

Please be sure to read the personal note – Item #11 for more information

2 General News

2. Article A:
Legislative Update – Several articles & press releases – Combating Autism Act & New Legislation:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_457595.html

By Liz Hayes
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Sunday, June 11, 2006

Shelby Hainan can name dozens of things that would make life with her 6-year-old autistic son easier.

She wishes a nearby school district had an autism support classroom so she wouldn't be faced with the decision of home-schooling Tyler next year, sending him to a class that's a half-hour drive away or having him remain in an emotional support classroom at Kiski Area School District that doesn't suit his needs.

She's working with limited resources -- both in her finances and in the area's professional services -- to get Tyler the correct level of medication and behavioral, speech and occupational therapy to keep him calm and focused enough to learn.

And she's trying to scrape together enough money to build a fence around her Washington Township home so she can take Tyler outside without worrying about him bolting into traffic on nearby Route 66 or disappearing into the surrounding woods.

"I cannot take my son outside because it's not safe," Hainan said as she looked into her tree-lined, sunny back yard from the inside of her locked house.

Hainan is not unique in her experience with autism and her criticism of the availability of services in the region. As the rate at which autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed continues to rise dramatically, more and more families are likely to share her problems.

Federal legislation sponsored a year ago by Sen. Rick Santorum would help address some of the difficulties experienced by families affected by autism.

The Combating Autism Act, proposed in April 2005 by Santorum, R-Penn Hills, and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, would funnel almost $1 billion over five years toward exp anded research and improved diagnosis, treatment and professional training.

One of the bill's provisions would require all children to be screened for autism before they reach their second birthday because research has shown that early intervention of therapy and educational services helps children with autism or other developmental disorders to overcome their disabilities.

Sharon Huss, a New Kensington resident and former therapy provider, said the services her autistic son, Daniel, 2, receives have made a significant improvement in his language and communication skills.

"We've been really blessed with our early intervention program," Huss said, noting that Daniel is able to communicate through sign language.

Huss also advocates better training for pediatricians so they can recognize the symptoms of autism earlier, which could get autistic children into early intervention programs sooner.

The Combating Autism Act includes money for training programs for doctors, scientists and other health professionals to improve diagnosis and treatment of autism.

The act also would double the number of Autism Centers of Excellence, which were established in 2000 by the National Institutes of Health to centralize research on the causes and treatment of autism.

Another requirement would be for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to create long-range goals for autism research and to continue to centralize autism research among the many government agencies involved.

Howard Carpenter, the chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh-based Advisory Board on Autism and Related Disorders (ABOARD), said his organization is very supportive of the Combating Autism Act.

"There's not a bill that's perfect, but this is a substantial piece of legislation," Carpenter said. "It will benefit the autism world.

"This will double autism funding at the National Institutes of Health," Carpenter added. "This is a tremendous improvement over the past."

Tracy Grieve-Martin, the clinical director for North Huntingdon-based therapy provider Family Behavioral Resources, said any legislation that increases funding for research and training would be welcomed.

"Most therapists weren't taught about autism in school," Grieve-Martin said. "We learn about it in the field."

With better-trained therapists working with children whose autism was diagnosed sooner, Grieve-Martin said autistic children have a better chance to thrive and lead normal lives.

"The diagnosis rate is just skyrocketing," Grieve-Martin said, noting that FBR treats 800 autistic children in the region. The agency has 13 offices, including one in New Kensington.

Carpenter noted that, while autism advocacy organizations are supportive of the legislation, some are concerned that language authorizing research into possible environmental causes of autism could be cut.

Some people believe that thimerosal, a mercury-based substance once used as a preservative in childhood vaccines, causes or helps trigger autism. Not only are many autism cases diagnosed at about the time that children finish a series of childhood immunizations, but many of autism's symptoms can mimic those of mercury poisoning.

Many government-sponsored studies have tried to rule out thimerosal's role in autism but parents and autism support organizations have not been convinced, questioning the impartiality and accuracy of the studies.

E-mails circulated by organizations including ABOARD have accused American Academy of Pediatrics' lobbyists of working to remove environmental research language from the bill.

Marjorie Tharp, a spokeswoman for the academy in Washington, said the organization has not taken a position on the legislation and is not lobbying for or against it.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports ongoing research to determine the cause or causes of autism, to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment st andards and to find ways to prevent it," she said.

A spokesman for the National Institutes of Health declined to comment on the bill, noting that it was NIH policy not to take a position on pending legislation.

A Santorum spokesman said the bill's language is being finalized among members of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, but he said provisions for environmental research will remain in the bill.

"We absolutely are keeping in the environmental research," said Robert Traynham, Santorum's director of communications.

However, he said research into thimerosal and vaccines likely won't be mentioned in the bill because it is unusual for legislation to be that specific in identifying research topics.

"It is preferred to let the science lead where it leads, not exclude any possibilities or draw any preconclusions," Traynham said.

He noted that it is very rare for Congress to get involved in disease-specific legislation, and that the bill is unlikely to pass unless it is widely supported by the autism community.

"They (Congress) won't go near this with a 10-foot pole if there is not a consensus," Traynham said.

Traynham said Santorum hopes the committee will approve the Combating Autism Act in the upcoming weeks and that it will go to the entire Senate for a vote.

"We strongly believe something needs to be done about autism," he said. "(The legislation) is timely and very much needed."

It couldn't come too soon for Shelby Hainan and her son, Tyler.

"They're not talked about as much as other special needs kids," Hainan said of autistic children. "If you've got a mental retardation diagnosis, you've got it made. They have the facilities and services for them.

"I'm always fighting somebody for him," she said.

She gazed around her modest home, where she uses dog leashes to secure her kitchen cabinets, locks every door and has cleared the shelves of knickknacks to prevent Tyler from smashing valuables or smearing food on himself.

"You can't leave him alone for 20 seconds or it's a disaster," Hainan said. "But I'm crazy about him. I'd have him all over again."

About autism

Autism is a developmental disorder associated with a wide range of behavioral, communication and learning problems. It is classified under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorders, which include Asperger syndrome and pervasive-development disorder as well as classic autism.

Part of the difficulty in diagnosing and treating autism lies in the disparity in symptoms.

Some autistic children never speak while others can talk normally. Some throw tantrums over something as simple as a missing puzzle piece while others rarely react to their environment. Some have severe mental retardation while others have few learning problems.

Other characteristics include obsessive-compulsive tendencies, problems with sensory overload and self-stimulating behaviors such as h and-flapping, rocking and jumping.

Prevalence of autism

Although no national data exist that clearly show how common autism has become, research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that from 1 in 500 to 1 in 166 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

The CDC estimates 24,000 children are diagnosed with autism every year -- or about one child every 20 minutes.

Autism is more common than all other developmental disabilities except for mental retardation, which affects about 1 in 100 children.

Prevalence rates for other childhood disorders and illnesses include:

• Cerebral palsy: 1 in 350

• Diabetes: 1 in 400 to 500

• Cancer: 1 in 6,600.

Liz Hayes can be reached at lhayes@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4680.

TWO Joint Statements from the National Autism Association and SafeMinds on the Combating Autism Act of 2006

Statement One

With all of the recent activity and controversy surrounding this legislation, we wanted to provide a more detailed update to everyone on the efforts of NAA and SafeMinds, much of which has had to remain behind the scenes up until this point. As some people unfriendly to our community also read these lists, we haven’t wanted to risk tipping our h and to them, possibly threatening our ongoing work to get the most we can for our kids from this bill. However, we think it is important to set the record straight on our activities and motivations, since unfortunately these have come into question recently on this list. Since the consideration of the CAA provides an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize federal resources for our children, we have been motivated to work as hard as we can to get something positive and meaningful for vaccine-injured children out of this legislation.

NAA and SafeMinds were involved early on with the Combating Autism Act, although as with other organizations focusing on the role of environmental factors in creating the autism epidemic, we were excluded from participation in the initial drafting of the legislation. As a result, we were presented in the original draft of April of 2005 a piece of legislation that we did not want to support. Three important areas were neglected: research into vaccines and thimerosal, greater oversight from the community, and support for biomedical treatment. Representatives from SafeMinds and NAA, working with other organizations including A-CHAMP, NoMercury and Generation Rescue decided together to work with groups such as Cure Autism Now and Autism Speaks that were involved in drafting the original legislation to draft another version of the bill that would address the obvious shortcomings of the original version. Many teleconferences ensued as the language was variously considered, written, inserted, deleted, rephrased, re-inserted, and so on, until we finally came up with a version that all involved at that time could support. This community consensus version was a significant achievement for all members of the autism community.

Last week, nearly a year after the re-writing phase was in progress, we received a revised version from HELP committee staffers that differed in numerous ways from the consensus version. Most prominently, the vaccine research language was officially stripped from the consensus version of the bill. In addition, there were many other drawbacks to the revised version that represented a step backward from the consensus draft. Those of us with NAA and SafeMinds were as disappointed and frustrated as anyone else at the deletion of the vaccine research language and were also deeply concerned about the other changes.

At the same time, the revised bill language had retained some positive attributes from the consensus version. There were major increases in unrestricted research funding. For the first time ever, there was an official declaration of support for research into the environmental causes of autism. The role of the CDC was substantially diminished relative to the original draft and there were provisions for funding for treatment. As we are constantly reminded, many members of Congress oppose the funding of disease specific bills, and the passage of this legislation would represent an historic achievement for the autism community.

Representatives from the community met on Friday, July 15 with the HELP committee staff who explained that there was absolutely no way that the HELP senators would pass the bill with the vaccine language intact. We learned, however, that the reference to environmental research would remain and the bill would be brought to the Senate floor accompanied by legislative history stating clearly that the intent of the environmental research is to include all possible causes of autism, not excluding thimerosal.

This meeting was viewed as a final opportunity for the organizations to express concerns and objections on the bill before the final draft was to be completed on the following Tuesday. NAA and SafeMinds presented - in writing and verbally - our concerns on the following 3 areas:

1. The importance of NIH accountability for research spending and provisions for increased participation and oversight from the autism community.

2. Treatment and evaluation should not exclude biomedical approaches like gastro, metabolic, toxicologic, etc.

3. The allocation of funds to NIEHS as opposed to NIH.

In large part, these concerns were addressed by the committee to our satisfaction. Since no other objections were raised, it seemed that the community left the meeting feeling hopeful that we would still come out at the end of this process with a bill we could work with.

When the manager’s amendment was released on Tuesday, it contained several new problems and, again, many individuals within both NAA and SafeMinds considered declaring official opposition to the bill. The most glaring problem was the addition of language stating that the environmental research was subject to availability of appropriations. Since every bill in Washington is subject to appropriations, we were concerned that this proviso was added to the environmental research section and nowhere else, suggesting a hierarchy of research funding with environmental research at the bottom of the list. We pointed this out to a HELP staffer and the staff immediately agreed to resolve that issue by adding the appropriations reference throughout the bill, not just under environmental research. This left us with several other concerns that could be addressed during the process of "technical and conforming" changes made after the markup on Wednesday.

While considering our options in the hours following our review of the manager’s amendment, Wendy Fournier, Scott Bono, and Jim Moody met with several HELP Committee Senate offices in Washington, visiting personally with Senator Reed and Senator Sessions of the HELP committee and communicated regularly with those of us contacting HELP staff by phone. After again considering our course of action, we decided that rather than backing away from negotiations and publicly withdrawing support, we would communicate our specific concerns privately to the HELP committee, and search for solutions that would improve the bill to the greatest extent possible before it was too late to have a say in the final outcome.

We submitted a letter to the HELP committee that included six specific areas of concern with the Manager’s Amendment:

1.        The addition of the phrase “subject to the availability of appropriations” in the two most important areas to many of us, the strategic plan and increased non-center research, and the Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health and Autism. Singling out these two critical areas could send a subtle signal that they are of lesser importance than others. The staff had already agreed to a conforming change to apply the phrase throughout all sections of the bill, but we felt we needed to reconfirm this critical point.

2.        The addition of a new section: "The Secretary, acting through the Director, may consolidate program activities under this section if such consolidation would improve program efficiencies and outcomes." This raised concerns that the environmental centers could be merged into the activities of the ACE centers, risking the needed focus on environmental research. We suggested a conforming change moving that language to the section on the                                             strategic plan so that the bill would be specifying that research should not be duplicated within the plan, and would leave the research centers intact.

3.        The addition of a new provision for involvement of the CDC Director for best practices, an unprecedented role for CDC creating a potential for conflict between NIH and CDC in carrying out NIH's research mission. We believed this was inadvertently inserted in the bill in the wrong place and should have been in the Centers of Excellence in Epidemiology section. The staff agreed to a technical correction to move this provision to the appropriate section.

4.        The addition of "rule out" language which could be read to apply to treatments and intervention strategies and might also affect insurance reimbursement and malpractice litigation. Staff indicated to us that “rule out” applied only to diagnosis. We suggested technical corrections to read: "The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall promote research to determine evidence-based best practices for diagnosis (or ruling out a diagnosis), treatment, and intervention strategies for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities." The HELP Staff agreed to change the language as suggested.

5.        The omission of vaccine/thimerosal language from the bill. We have received assurances from the Senate staff that they will address this important omission in the legislative history presented with the bill. While thimerosal is a leading contender as to cause, the potential causative effects of vaccines in general and thimerosal in non-vaccine biological products must be included within the research m andate. We are still working with HELP Staff on this crucial item.

6.        Establishing an Autism Advisory Board. Following up on a discussion SafeMinds and NAA had with HELP staff on Monday, we learned that the Executive Branch can establish advisory committees that provide oversight for federal activities without express authorization from Congress. Recognizing the difficulty of incorporating this item from the community consensus in actual statutory language, we suggested applying the IACC m andate to recommend opportunities for improved public participation. Either the Secretary or Director on their own, or the IACC by recommendation, could establish an advisory board structured as suggested by the community. We are still in negotiations with the HELP Committee on this important oversight board.

After reviewing the CAA as reported out of committee on Thursday that has already been posted here, we believe that four out of the six issues we raised have been successfully addressed. Our dialogue with HELP committee staffers and Senate offices of HELP committee members is ongoing to resolve item numbers five and six that can be addressed through report language and/or colloquy.

We hope that this will help alleviate the doubts that have been raised regarding the commitment to our children on the part of NAA and SafeMinds in our h andling of the process. Withdrawing our support has been ( and remains) a serious option and we underst and why other groups have chosen that route based on the current situation. But in our view, hanging on to the idea that we could still keep the consensus version of the bill (a version we all knew at the time it was drafted would be subject to further negotiation and changes) would not deal with the problem in front of us. We found ourselves presented with a new reality. Either we could continue to work the problem and seek practical solutions or we could walk away. We chose to stay at the table, continue to negotiate, and fight for our kids. NAA and SafeMinds reasoned that if we didn’t work with the new bill presented while there was still time to influence the final outcome, then there would be no one representing our side in the process and making sure our children get the best possible future treatments and research they deserve. We are continuing to negotiate with HELP staff and no matter what the final outcome is, we want parents to know that we left no stone unturned in trying to secure some benefit for our vaccine-injured children from this legislation.

Lastly, despite bizarre rumors to the contrary, NAA and SafeMinds will not receive financial benefits of any kind from this legislation. As parents, however, it is our most sincere hope that the bill will lead to urgently needed environmental research into the causes and cure for all of our children.

Sincerely,

National Autism Association
SafeMinds

Statement Two

We share the concerns expressed earlier today by A-CHAMP, Moms Against Mercury, NoMercury, and individuals within our community regarding the version of the Combating Autism Act distributed yesterday. Since reviewing this latest version, we have been actively engaged with HELP Committee staffers both in person and through teleconference to address these concerns in the hope of obtaining a bill that will truly benefit our children. There are recent encouraging developments that we want to share with all of you.

One thing we want to emphasize is that there are many positive aspects to the bill, most notably the allocation of $1 billion in federal funds to autism over five years. Perhaps of most significance to many in our community are the bill's provisions for funding specifically directed towards environmental research. This is the first federal legislation to acknowledge the existence and importance of environmental factors in the development of autism.

While this bill provides a great opportunity to direct large amounts of resources to helping our children, we must be diligent in ensuring that these taxpayer dollars are well spent. Therefore, it is important to both raise legitimate concerns, and to make sure that such concerns are addressed. Here are a few examples of what has transpired over the past 24 hours.

One area of concern involved the addition of the phrase "subject to the availability of appropriations" in two areas of critical importance: the strategic plan and increased non-center research, and the Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health and Autism. Discussions with staff last night led to an underst anding that technical/conforming changes could be made so that the same phrase "subject to the availability of appropriations" would be used throughout all sections of the bill. This change will re-establish the parity among sections of the consensus version of the bill.

Another concern involved is the repeated use of the term "rule out" as in the following example:

The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall promote research to determine evidence-based best practices for diagnosis or rule out, treatment, and intervention strategies for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities .

We initially feared the term was used in relation to treatments and interventions and raised the issue with the HELP staff.  We have been assured that "rule out" is only being used in reference to diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and has no implications for treatment or any other area beyond diagnosis. We are working with the staff for further clarification so that there will be no room for misinterpretation of this phrasing.

The ultimate passage of legislation that will hold to our children's best interests depends on continuing negotiations with those on the Hill who have been involved with the bill since its early stages. To that end, we are maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the HELP committee staff and will continue to update you as we learn more. As with all of you, we are committed to working towards the very best legislation we can get for our children.

Sincerely,

National Autism Association

SafeMinds

STATEMENT FROM A-CHAMP REGARDING THE COMBATING AUTISM ACT

In November 2005 A-CHAMP made a commitment to many autism organizations, the community and our children to support the consensus revision version of the Combating Autism Act. see: http://www.a-champ.org/combatingautismactrevisednew.html The consensus revision bill contains a modest provision for vaccine, vaccine component and vaccine preservative research. This is the bill A-CHAMP supports and we have worked hard to advocate for the revised bill. We have kept and will continue to keep our promise to the community.

If other organizations choose to break the consensus and support legislation that drops the vaccine research provision their action will be evident to the community.

If the vaccine language is dropped from the final bill that is introduced in the Senate or House, A-CHAMP will advocate for language to be incorporated into the legislative history that will support vaccine research. But make no mistake: any communication to the Senate that suggests it is acceptable to drop the vaccine research language is a breach of the promise that the organizations made to each other when they joined the consensus.

Everyone compromised on the consensus language. A-CHAMP does not view every provision in the consensus revision bill favorably but there is enough in the revised bill to make the entire package worthwhile.

Some organizations have criticized A-CHAMP for taking a strong position on the vaccine language, claiming that a bill containing the vaccine research language will not pass the Senate, and to vigorously support a bill with the vaccine research language will kill the bill. A-CHAMP regards that criticism as misguided. Pressure must be brought to bear for what we want. If the "fix is in" in the HELP committee and the vaccine research language is dropped we must nevertheless st and up for what we want and what our children need. There is no good reason to omit vaccine research from the bill - it is but a small part of the revised bill. If we fail to push for the vaccine research provision those in the Senate who have yielded to pharmaceutical and AAP lobbyists will think that our community has no backbone, and will always sell out our kids for political expediency. The suggestion that continued advocacy for the vaccine research language jeopardizes the bill is wrong, and is a distortion of the legislative process that has occurred. Communications that signal the Senate that it is acceptable to disregard our consensus represents unprincipled posturing by persons or organizations that seek to curry favor with politicians, at the expense of our children.

There is never sufficient justification for actions that place political positioning and expediency over efforts that make our community unified and strong. If our community were sufficiently unified and strong we could tell the Senate: NO!, that is not what we wanted, and we would be able to come back to the Senate and win a stronger bill. Unfortunately, the day for our community's unity and strength is yet to be realized.

A-CHAMP has never opposed the Combating Autism Act but we cannot endorse the omission of vaccine research language from the final bill. We will continue to advocate strongly for research in the one area of autism research that has been neglected: research into vaccines, vaccine components and vaccine preservatives. We will continue our advocacy in other areas that benefit our children, such as health insurance coverage, education and funding for lifetime care.

If other autism groups break their promise to the consensus for the sake of political expediency that is their choice. A-CHAMP will maintain its consistent position, one that is based on principle, a commitment to our community and, most importantly, a commitment to our children.

Thank you.

Robert J. Krakow
President, A-CHAMP

New Vaccine Safety Legislation – Weldon:

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69803

National Autism Association Endorses 'Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act of 2006'

7/26/2006 12:54:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Wendy Fournier, ( Portsmouth, RI), 401-632-7523, Rita Shreffler, ( Nixa, MO), 417-818-9030, both of the National Autism Association

WASHINTON, July 26 / U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Autism Association (NAA) today announced its support for vaccine safety legislation presented by U.S. Congressman David Weldon, MD (R-FL) at a press conference held this morning. Co-sponsored by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act of 2006 would for the first time create a separate agency to oversee and implement vaccine safety research. The proposed Agency for Vaccine Safety Evaluation would conduct vaccine safety research currently under the purview of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the same agency charged with promoting high vaccination rates. In recent years, the CDC has been the subject of criticism from a growing number of parents and independent researchers for its h andling of vaccine safety thought by many to take a back seat to vaccine promotion.

"Congressman Weldon's legislation is crucial if eroding confidence in the safety of vaccines is ever to be restored," stated Scott Bono, NAA board member and father of a vaccine- injured son. "The inherent conflicts of interest with having the CDC recommend and promote vaccines and then evaluate its own recommendations as to safety have led to widespread distrust of this agency's ability to put the health of consumers first. Non- biased government research has been a critical missing piece in our underst anding of an increasingly aggressive vaccine program, and especially of its effects upon pregnant women and young children."

According to a UPI article in July 2003 entitled "The Vaccine Conflict", children under the age of two receive nearly 40 doses of various vaccines, double the number since the mid-1980's, all m andated by the CDC. The article states that:

-- Members of the CDC's Vaccine Advisory Committee get money from vaccine manufacturers. Relationships have included: sharing a vaccine patent; owning stock in a vaccine company; payments for research; getting money to monitor manufacturer vaccine tests; and funding academic departments.

-- The CDC is in the vaccine business. Under a 1980 law, the CDC currently has 28 licensing agreements with companies and one university for vaccines or vaccine-related products. It has eight ongoing projects to collaborate on new vaccines.

In addition to removing the potential for conflicts of interest to better oversee vaccine safety, the Agency for Vaccine Safety Evaluation is expected to conduct research long ignored by the CDC. For example, the long term impact of a single vaccine on the immune system and when given simultaneously with other vaccines has never been investigated. Another study yet to be conducted is that of fully-vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children in relation to health status including obesity, asthma, cancer, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and neurological disorders including ADHD, Tourette's, Bipolar Disorder and autism.

According to NAA Vice President Ann Brasher, "It hasn't been lost upon parents that the rates of neurological and other disorders among the children of this nation have risen alarmingly and are in direct proportion to the addition of numerous vaccines to the routine pediatric schedule over the past two decades. The CDC has yet to address the concerns of parents and have made it clear they don't intend to. Congressman Weldon's legislation is essential in establishing a trustworthy agency to conduct desperately needed vaccine safety research."

For more information: http://www.nationalautism.org

2. Article B:

Orange County Regional Center Advocacy Services

Getting the Word Out About Special Education Advocacy
Offered Through Regional Center of Orange County

Answering a growing need among families of children with aut ism and other developmental d isabilities, Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) has begun working with TACA to increase awareness of the special education advocacy services being offered by RCOC.

“We recognize that many parents are challenged by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, and that there is wide variation among school d istricts in how they deal with children’s individual needs,” says RCOC’s Chief Executive Officer Bill Bowman. “By working collaboratively with TACA, an organization that hundreds of Orange County families look to for help, we hope to ensure that each and every family knows about the advocacy programs RCOC provides. It is also important for parents to know that these important resources can be accessed throughout a child’s school age years, from the initial transition from Early Start into school d istrict programs, all the way through high school.”

For a number of years, RCOC families have received ass istance through the Pepperdine Special Education Advocacy Clinic. Affiliated with the university’s law school, the Pepperdine program is run by Professor Richard Peterson, a prominent Orange County attorney who is a past-president of RCOC’s board of directors. In addition to h is expert ise and personal passion for special education law, Professor Peterson holds Master’s (M.D.R.) and Master in Laws (L.L.M.) degrees in d ispute resolution. He is a full time faculty member of Pepperdine University School of Law, where he teaches Special Education Law, Disability Law, Dispute Resolution in Education and is Director of the Advocacy Clinic.

Through the Pepperdine Clinic, second- and third-year law students work under Peterson’s close supervision to help empower parents by teaching them about special education law, as well as their rights and responsibilities as they relate to the law.

“Our goal is to equip parents with the knowledge and skills they need to be effective advocates,” says Peterson, who has personally attended as many as three IEP meetings in a day with parents. “The process can seem intimidating, but it is possible for all families to be successful, no matter what their educational or cultural background.”

Peterson emphasizes that h is approach is heavily influenced by h is experiences in teaching d ispute resolution to educators of inner-city youth across the nation. The Clinic’s goal is two-fold: to ensure that each child with developmental d isabilities receives the services and supports they need throughout their school-age years, while helping to enact systemic change that builds collaborative relationships between school d istricts and parents with the hope that there will be a time when lawsuits are unnecessary to resolve problems related to special education.

In addition to the Clinic’s individual advocacy work with families, Peterson regularly leads training sessions for school district staffs, parents, advocates, and professionals to help them deal more constructively and collaboratively with families. Education advocacy has become such an important service of Regional Center of Orange County that we have added a second advocacy clinic, Whittier Law School. Very similar to Pepperdine, Whittier law students work under the supervision of a law professor, Meredith Goetz, and also provide support to families.

If you think your family could benefit from special education advocacy through RCOC, contact your RCOC service coordinator.

# # #

2. Article C:

Capo Unified School District – 2 articles

Capo issues discussed secretly Closed meeting to evaluate superintendent's performance also
addressed how to silence school board critic, documents show.

By TONY SAAVEDRA and NORBERTO SANTANA Jr.
The Orange County Register

Capistrano school trustees over the years secretly discussed muzzling board critics, increasing taxes and other business that open-meeting experts say should have been done in public.

The discussions took place during twice-yearly, closed-door meetings that were supposed to be dedicated to Superintendent James Fleming's performance review. However, agendas and meeting minutes obtained by The Orange County Register show that numerous discussions went far beyond the scope of employee evaluations and potentially violated the Brown Act.

Most Capistrano Unified School District trustees did not return telephone calls seeking comment for this story.

Trustee John Casabianca insisted that during private sessions covering Fleming's performance, "we discussed the evaluation of the superintendent and issues related to that."

Fellow board member Duane Stiff said the trustees never violated state open-meeting laws.

"Not with me there. I wouldn't condone that at all," Stiff said. "We've always run a very tight ship."

Confidential minutes from a July 30, 2005, closed session tell a different story. They show that the trustees discussed limiting the time that recall supporter and longtime critic Ron Lackey would be allowed to talk at meetings.

"In general Board members want to start to limit Ron Lackey and the amount of items he can address," said the minutes, written by Heather Wheeler, manager of board office operations.

According to the minutes, trustee Sheila Benecke said, "If we are going to permit Ron Lackey to speak to numerous items on the agenda, do not list them individually in the minutes."

Lackey said he was not surprised that the trustees were talking about him when they were legally bound to discuss Fleming's job evaluation and nothing else.

"They're not supposed to be strategizing to keep people from talking to them in public," Lackey said.

The document also shows that the trustees discussed 31 items that day that were outside the scope of Fleming's evaluation, such as how to handle the parent of a special education student.

"What the heck does all this stuff have to do with a performance review?" said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. "It certainly does sound bogus."

A 2001 memo sent to the district by county education department lawyer Ronald Wenkart said that closed-session reviews of the superintendent could include all aspects of the employee's job performance.

Fleming, in a statement issued by a district spokeswoman, said the items did not violate the Brown Act because they were part of his evaluation and job objectives.

Another closed session is scheduled for July 29 to conduct Fleming's performance review. He announced his intention to retire this week under a hail of criticism concerning an "enemies list" compiled by the district on parents supporting a failed recall of board members.

Fleming also was criticized for sending two employees to illegally look at recall petitions kept by county election officials. The Register also found that Fleming's staff last year underreported his total compensation by more than $64,000 in response to a public records request by the paper.

The open-meeting issue was the first to implicate board members in wrongdoing. One secret agenda showed that the trustees were scheduled on Jan. 24, 2004, to discuss seeking voter approval for a $25 to $75 parcel tax.

"It's absolutely abhorrent they would do these things," said Tom Russell, who leads one of two pro-recall groups.

Russell said county prosecutors told him they were investigating these and other potential Brown Act violations.

Fleming announces retirement plans

Capistrano Unified superintendent departs amid criticism over list of parents in recall campaign.

By NORBERTO SANTANA Jr. and AMANDA STRINDBERG
The Orange County Register

OUT: Dr. James Fleming says he does not want to distract attention from school board elections.

MARK AVERY, THE REGISTER

Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent James Fleming abruptly announced his retirement Wednesday amid an intensifying tide of investigations and accusations.

Fleming issued a statement saying he had been planning to retire for some time but, citing the recent "hysteria" over revelations that school district officials compiled an "enemies list" of parents organizing a school board recall, he accelerated the announcement. Fleming said he did not want to become a focal point in coming school board elections.

"Those campaigning for school board seats, both incumbents and challengers, should focus on the issues, policies and challenges which Capistrano Unified faces, not about whether or not the superintendent should resign his position," Fleming stated.

After Fleming's announcement, school board President Marlene Draper lauded his accomplishments.

"I would say, first and foremost, that in the 15 years Dr. Fleming has run the school district, we have seen the academic achievement of students improve year after year. In addition … we've built over 30 schools. Dr. Fleming has done a tremendous job of leadership. We are sorry to receive notice of his resignation, but we respect his decision."

Draper said trustees would call a special board meeting soon to determine the selection process for a new superintendent.

Upon hearing the news of Fleming's impending departure, parents who spent the last year battling him reacted with joy. Yet many said their desire for broader change remained.

"It's great that he's moving out of the way," said Thomas Russell, a spokesman for the CUSD Recall Committee. "However, that still doesn't eliminate the need to look into and investigate everything that's left in his wake."

Rebecca Bauer, a parent who spearheaded the original recall and sued the county over the Registrar's invalidation of those petitions, also said the fight against trustees continues. "It doesn't really change the overall battle. Those trustees need to go," Bauer said.

"At this point, I think the board is looking at (Fleming) as the sacrificial lamb. I'm just really disappointed at the non-responsiveness of those people that are supposed to be there to protect us," she said.

While Bauer echoed recall supporters' frustration with trustees, she applauded the role of a former district spokesman who revealed the existence of the "enemies list."

"We've been waiting for someone like Dave Smollar. We needed a whistleblower," she said.

Smollar, a former reporter for The Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times, resigned from a spokesman job with the district in May. He later revealed the existence of the list, which Fleming initially disputed, calling his former right-hand man "disgruntled." This week, Fleming admitted that a database had been created but said it was part of an internal investigation into people suspected of hacking into district computers.

Fleming, who had strained relations with a host of elected city officials throughout South County, became the focal point of intense criticism after moving forward last year with plans to build a 126,000-square-foot administration building at a cost of $38 million.

The decision outraged parents who termed the building a "Taj Mahal" and protested the lack of renovation on many of the district's aging school facilities. In April 2005, they responded by mounting a recall campaign targeting all seven school district trustees.

An Orange County Register investigation published last week detailed how district officials created an "enemies list" that kept track of many of the parents involved in the recall effort. Those parents spent much of their summer outside markets gathering signatures and by November, submitted more than 170,000 to county election officials. However, in December, Registrar Neal Kelley invalidated the recall effort citing problems with how they were collected.

Kelley's designation was held up in an Orange County superior court this month. Recall organizers are appealing the decision.

2. Article D:

Sandy McDaniel: Autistic kids can improve with help, author says

SANDY SPURGEON MCDANIEL

SANDY SPURGEON MCDANIEL
Parenting Solutions
Special to the Register
sandy@parentingsos.com

Sunday, July 23, 2006

A chance meeting in a walk-in medical office brought Christina Adams into my life. Christina has written "A Real Boy: A True Story of Autism, Early Intervention and Recovery." She and I have become friends and now have the same literary agent.

When I read Christina's exquisitely written book, I was excited to see that significant changes to a child's diet along with intensive therapy for behavior and speech, can often help a child improve quickly.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that 1 of 166 children have some form of autism nationally.

At age 15 months, Christina's son Jonah lost his language skills, social skills and attention span. He became hyperactive and aggressive. Two preschools expelled Jonah.

At nearly 3 Jonah was diagnosed with autism. He immediately began dietary, speech, behavioral training and language-building therapies. Three weeks later he pointed to a car (autistic children rarely point) and asked his first question.

At age 4, Jonah passed a pre-kindergarten exam given to him by credentialed testers who had no knowledge of his autism. Today, Jonah is in third grade; advanced in language skills, top of his class academically with some attention difficulties, and is doing well socially.

In a recent interview with Christina, I asked her to help me understand autism and what can be done to help parents.

Adams: In my Newport Beach neighborhood, there were originally four families dealing with various forms of autism; now there are nearly two dozen families in that same area.

McDaniel: What do you think is the reason for this huge increase across the country?

Adams: I've just returned from a Senate meeting in Washington D.C. and the government is struggling with how to handle the national increase in autism and related problems. Right now, the primary focus on the cause of autism is on genetics and environment, and how they interact.

McDaniel: Since everyone reading this piece knows or is likely to know someone with an autistic child, what five things would you want them to know?

Adams : No. 1: The autism spectrum ranges from very mild to severe. 2: Many persons with autism are very bright, but have a hard time communicating. 3. Many apparently normal people have undiagnosed autism-spectrum disorders. 4. People on the spectrum have many of the same feelings and emotions as everyone else, they just have difficulty showing it. 5. If a kid is acting "naughty" or odd, don't assume the parent is doing a bad job; the child may have a behavior disorder such as Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism found in some bright, verbal children.

The McDaniel discipline system was developed for a boy with ADHD and Asperger's syndrome. Now we see it working with every type of child.

Adams says all children and adults with autism can improve their skills. They need help and the earlier they get it, the better the outcome.

In Part 2 of this column next week, we will address safeguards against autism, things to look for in your child's behavior and what to do if autism comes to your home.

Christina will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming conference for parents, teachers and professionals held by the Pomona Valley Learning Disabilities Association, titled "ADHD, Autism or Behavioral Disorders: The Links Which Bind Us." It will be held Aug.18-19 in Ontario. Go to www.christinaadamswriter.com for more information or to contact her.

2. Article E:

FAPE IS NO LONGER "FREE"

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Steven Wyner
Attorney at Law

The Supreme Court appears bound and determined to create an obstacle course for families pursuing the rights of their disabled children. Approximately 8-months ago, in Schaffer v. Weast, the Court held that families must prove that their disabled children have been denied a FAPE. Today the Court has held in Arlington Central Schl Dist v. Murphy, that families cannot recover expert witness fees under the IDEA.

The Court reasoned that the term "costs" is a "term of art," as used in the IDEA provision allowing for an award of "reasonable attorneys' fees as part of the costs" that may be recovered by families as a "prevailing party." As a matter of statutory analysis, the Court held that the term "costs" does not "include reasonable expenses and fees of expert witnesses," even though legislative history, including the Conference Committee Report, expressly stated that Congress intended expert witness fees to be recoverable as part of reasonable attorneys' fees.

The Supreme Court has again ignored the realities faced by parents seeking to enforce their children's federal and state rights. With rare exception, parents must offer the testimony of expert witnesses in order to prevail in administrative due process proceedings. In the absence of an expert witness, how can parents sustain the burden of proof and prove that a school district has denied their children a FAPE? The school districts rely upon the testimony of their
teachers, behavioral specialists and aides, speech and language specialists, occupational therapy specialists, etc. (all of whom are generally viewed by hearing officers as experts), to testify about a student's progress and to vehemently defend challenges to the school's educational program. Those school district experts are not likely to testify that a student has been denied a FAPE.

The Court's current decision will have the greatest effect upon financially disadvantaged families, who may be unable to find experts who previously testified based upon the understanding that should the parent prevail, the expert would recover fees for participating in the proceedings. As keenly observed by Justice Breyer in a well-reasoned, socially conscious dissent:

"In a word, the Act's statutory right to a free an appropriate education may mean little to those who must pay hundreds of dollars to obtain it."

These two most recent Supreme Court cases make it clear that the schools and families are no longer playing on a level field. All too soon, we may find that only families that can afford to hire experts to help their failing children will be able to enforce the rights and remedies secured by the IDEA. FAPE is no longer "free."

Steven Wyner
Attorney at Law

3	Vaccine News

3. Article A:

Dr. Andrew Wakefield Update – 2 articles:

I DEMAND THE RIGHT TO CLEAR MY NAME
Although he is now unlikely to face charges for questioning the safety of the MMR jab, the doctor ostracised by the medical establishment insists...

by Bonnie Estridge in the Daily Express, UK

IT IS 7am and Dr Andrew Wakefield has come off the phone to his wife. But while she is in the living room of their comfortable south London family home, he is in the tiny kitchen of his apartment thousands of miles away in Austin, Texas.

For the past four years it has been like this; ever since Dr Wakefield sought exile in the United States after being forced out of his job at London’s Royal Free Hospital. His crime? Suggesting that there might be a link between the MMR vaccination and autism and bowel disease in certain children.

His research whipped up a storm of controversy, led to inoculation rates plummeting as worried parents refused to let their children have the jab and saw him ostracised by the medical establishment in this country. The debate was fuelled further by the Prime Minister’s refusal to say whether his son Leo had been given the MMR injection.

Yesterday, after a 20-month investigation which has left him not just parted from his family but with his professional reputation severely compromised, it was revealed that the General Medical Council is now unlikely to proceed with misconduct charges against Dr Wakefield. No formal charges have been drawn up, no date has been set for a public hearing and a spokeswoman for the GMC said there is now "no guarantee" there will ever be a hearing.

Yet anyone expecting the 49-yearold doctor to be relieved at this development is in for a surprise. When the Daily Express broke the news to Dr Wakefield in Texas, he replied: "If this is really the case, I would be disappointed because I am keen for a hearing to go ahead so the issue can be publicly aired in order that the truth might emerge. If I am told officially that there has been a decision to drop the hearing, then I will have to discuss the next step with my lawyers."

In America, Dr Wakefield is held in high regard for his work. But, whatever the ultimate outcome of the furious debate on MMR that his research sparked, he will not be returning to Britain to continue it.

"Whatever the outcome of a hearing, I won’t be coming back to work in the UK. The only chance I will get to complete my work is here in the US. The situation in the UK is so entrenched and hostile – despite the fact that our findings have been confirmed in other quarters recently. However, the Government is determined not to let any aspect of findings in relation to this matter move forward."

Nor can those who have ridiculed and vilified his findings expect that Dr Wakefield will use this opportunity to seek a lower profile. "I’m not going to go away before this work gets done," he says. "This is not my own personal crusade – my job is to find the truth."

He is fully backed by his wife, Carmel. She has been left to bring up the couple’s four children (three sons and a daughter aged between nine and 17) and bitterly resents what she calls "the disgusting way he has been treated because his scientific observations were deeply unpopular. It’s staggering just how much he has been maligned".

She adds: "We need the hearing to go forward so that Andy can have the opportunity to clear his name. There has been a deliberate slur on his professional reputation and until his side of the matter becomes public, his life is under a continual shadow and therefore so is ours.

"We will be moving to the US so that we can give Andy support by being in the same country. His only motive is – and always has been – to help these disadvantaged children and the only way forward is to

dispel the myth created by the Public Health Office. We need a full hearing in a constituted forum."

The Daily Express can also reveal today that the demand for single vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella – long advocated by Dr Wakefield – has reached an all-time high in the past three years. There have been 430,000 doses imported in that time as worried parents prefer to pay out rather than run the risk of leaving their children unvaccinated – or let them undergo the MMR jab.

The revelation will almost certainly add weight to calls for the NHS to allow single vaccines to be offered alongside the triple jab for parents who remain unconvinced by studies that prove that the MMR route is safe.

On learning the figures, Dr Wakefield said: "It’s clear that the protection – against measles particularly – is bigger than we are led to believe, and that there is a demand from the public who are sensible enough to want to protect their children. It seems that plenty of parents appear to be having their children vaccinated privately and therefore paying out.

"I have never said that parents should shun vaccination and the majority of them realise the benefits of immunisation. But parents should be allowed individual vaccines and the Government should provide them instead of banning them on the NHS. Parents must be given the choice."

He may be calmly defiant and appear physically robust, but just how has all the stress and public drama taken its toll on Wakefield and his family? A tall, athletic looking man, he has a friendly demeanour and a wry sense of humour, but one detects both weariness and sadness in his voice.

He lost the job to which he had dedicated himself at the Royal Free and has hardly seen his family for the past four years but he refuses to let any anger show, or to be emotional about the situation that he is in. He simply says: "My family are so understanding. It’s an extremely challenging situation but something we have no choice but to deal with.

"I get home for a quick visit every few months or so but it’s awful not seeing the kids every day, not seeing them grow up. Yes, I often have to cook for myself – not something I was used to – but I’m not losing any sleep over that, or any weight for that matter. It’s easy to eat well in America.

"My work is here now – and what upsets me enormously is the lack of care for the children affected by autism and bowel disorders in the UK. Crucially, there should be a centre where children can get appropriate clinical care and the origins of their disease can be investigated, as they now can here.

"But sadly, this just is not happening in the UK and because of the vaccine connotations, I am aware that many doctors don’t want to get involved because of the implications for their jobs. I lost mine and they don’t want to go the same way. This unfortunate situation leaves these children without appropriate medical attention."

While he denies fighting a personal crusade, Dr Wakefield’s dedication appears to be all consuming. It has meant that his wife and children have only once been able to visit him all at the same time as his apartment is so small and the air fares so expensive.

"It is a very difficult, lonely situation for all of us," Mrs. Wakefield admits. "We speak on the phone a couple of times a day and Andy makes sure he talks to the kids every day too. But being on different time zones can make it difficult for any of us to be in the right place at the right time. It’s very empty here without him but, of course, it has to be a lot worse for him.

"Andy has had to adapt to living alone and although he has friends there, he’s isolated because he is away from us and that is very, very hard. Coping with being so vilified in your native country has not been easy for him – or any of us for that matter – but he is determined that he must do what’s right and carry on his research.

"The children have been really amazing. It must hurt immensely to know that their father has been ridiculed and that he has had to leave his home, but they don’t complain because they feel it is right that his work should carry on. They know he’s doing the right thing by working so far away – they know that he is doing it to help other children."

While she would prefer not to leave, Mrs. Wakefield says that she and the children will soon join her husband for good in America.

"I may have enjoyed going to the US on holiday but it’s not my choice of home. Before all this we were so settled – Andy was doing good work and we had a great life – but everything was turned upside down. The fact is, though, that Andy has been welcomed with open arms in the US because of the massive rise in autism there too.

"The feeling generally there is, quite rightly, that if a mother’s basic instinct tells her that something in her child had gone wrong after having had the vaccine, then she should be listened to by doctors. And so in the US they welcome someone who is doing research into the problem.

"For this reason, he can work comfortably because he knows that they want him and are happy to fund research."

Dr Wakefield’s original research was published by the Lancet in 1998, after carrying out tests at the request of the parents of 12 children who had been admitted to the Royal Free Hospital with serious bowel disorders.

The children had fallen ill after having the vaccination. He recommended further investigation of a possible link. A further separate research paper two years later reported that the measles virus was present in the gut of 24 out of 25 autistic children examined.

The publication of the research caused panic among parents. Huge numbers refused to inoculate their babies against measles, mumps and rubella with the MMR vaccine, and at that time the option of having single vaccines was abruptly withdrawn on the NHS. Parents wishing to take this option were faced with fees in excess of £100.

It was then claimed that Dr Wakefield’s findings were flawed because he had failed to disclose a £50,000 grant from the lawyers of parents attempting to sue MMR’s manufacturers for their children’s disorders. Dr Wakefield has always vehemently denied the claims, maintaining that the grant was for separate research.

The debate became even more heated over the question of whether Leo Blair had been given the MMR jab, and his parents’ refusal to confirm or deny it. Again, Dr Wakefield prefers not to be drawn on his feelings over the matter. "It’s not helpful to be bitter," he says. "The public deserved then, and still deserve, to know what decision he [ the Prime Minister] made at the time."

Carmel Wakefield is also emphatic that the strain of the past few years has not embittered her husband. On the contrary, she insists, he is completely absorbed and stimulated by his work.

"Andy is determined to do what’s right for children who are suffering or may suffer in the future," she says. "He feels that parents should have the choice between MMR and single vaccines, that it is their right."

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx#

MMR row doctor who defied Government 'in the clear'
By SUE CORRIGAN and SALLY BECK, The Mail on Sunday

22:00pm 15th July 2006

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=
395903&in_page_id=1770

The doctor at the heart of the MMR vaccine controversy may not face charges of misconduct despite a 20-month investigation which has devastated his professional reputation.

The General Medical Council has indicated that it will not proceed with charges against Dr Andrew Wakefield, who first suggested a link between the triple jab and autism.

Dr Wakefield has been strongly backed by the parents of autistic children allegedly damaged by the vaccine, who refused to condemn his actions when interviewed as part of the inquiry.

Last night the families claimed the investigation had been used to discredit his work and prevent further study into the risks of the vaccine.

Dr Wakefield first suggested a link between the triple vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella and autism and bowel disease in 1998, after carrying out tests on 12 children admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London with serious bowel disorders. He proposed that parents be offered three single injections.

The Government denied there was a problem with the vaccine and it became a politically sensitive issue after senior Labour figures, including Tony Blair, refused to disclose if their children had received the jab. Dr Wakefield was ostracised by the medical establishment and has since moved to America.

In late 2004 the GMC announced it was launching an inquiry into allegations of serious professional misconduct against Dr Wakefield and two former colleagues. It centred on claims that autistic children admitted to the hospital with serious bowel problems were subjected to "unnecessary and invasive", tests.

smear campaign

However, the children's parents are understood to have staunchly defended the doctors', actions, praising them as the first to take their concerns seriously.

It was also claimed Dr Wakefield's research had not been valid because he failed to disclose a £50,000 grant from the lawyers of parents attempting to sue MMR's manufacturers for their children's disorders. Dr Wakefield has consistently argued that the grant was for separate research.

Nearly two years later the GMC has not drawn up any formal charges against Dr Wakefield and no date has been set for a public hearing, at which scientific arguments for a link between MMR and autism would have been aired. GMC spokeswoman Jo Wren said there is now "no guarantee", there will ever be a hearing.

New figures released last week revealed that more than one in 100 children in the UK suffer from autism - far higher than previously thought.

Last night Rosemary Kessick, the mother of an autistic boy whose treatment is part of the investigation, accused the GMC of allowing itself to be used as part of a deliberate Government campaign to smear Dr Wakefield and prop up public confidence in MMR.

"Hundreds of autistic children with the serious bowel disease first identified by Dr Wakefield have been unable to get any treatment in the UK, and the drawn-out GMC investigation has played a major role in this disgraceful state of affairs," she said.

"It is deeply disturbing that Dr Wakefield's research findings and personal integrity have been so damagingly called into question on the basis of draft charges that may, in the end, simply be dropped."

Last night Dr Wakefield confirmed that no charges had been filed to date.

3. Article B:

More parents resisting vaccines for kids

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2003130272_resisters16m.html
By Carol M. Ostrom
Seattle Times staff reporter

Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.

They're the "conscientious objectors" of the public-health world: parents who resist giving their children vaccines.

Their numbers are increasing, public-health officials say, although nobody knows exactly how many there are.

Some are parents like Pam Beck, a Vashon Isl and mom who says she once trusted doctors and public-health officials to know best. But years ago, when two of her children had what she calls extreme reactions to pertussis vaccine, that all changed.

"There's a lot of people here who don't vaccinate," Beck notes. "My daughter-in-law decided not to do it, just to be safe," she said, speaking of her 2 ½-year-old gr andchild.

Saturday, pediatricians, public-health officials and researchers wrestled with how to best reach parents like Beck, how to counter irrational fears, whether doctors should "fire" vaccine-resister parents, and whether m andatory vaccination for school attendance should be scrapped.

The conference, "Ethical Issues Related to Vaccination of Children," began Friday and was sponsored by the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center.

Now, such resister parents — statistically better educated and better off financially than average — "coast" on the immunity of others, health officials said. Because most children are vaccinated, "herd immunity" mutes or prevents outbreaks of contagious childhood diseases, for the most part.

But, dangerously, an increasing number of families at the other end of the socio-economic spectrum aren't able to vaccinate their children because of cost, being unable to take time away from work, or other barriers, said Dr. Maxine Hayes, state health officer.

"We have a direction where we could lose the herd immunity," she warned.

Many speakers blamed themselves — public health in general or doctors in particular — for not working harder to underst and just why these parents are fearful of vaccines and to work with them.

And, they said, it's harder to balance parents' fears of the vaccine with fears of the disease, because many have never seen a child with polio or tetanus, for example, and underestimate their effects.

More vaccinations

Certainly, the number of vaccinations recommended for children has mushroomed over the past two decades, said Dr. Stephen Cochi, senior adviser for the Global Immunization Division at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 1985, children were vaccinated for seven diseases. Now, that number is 16.

Altogether, said Dr. Lainie Friedman Ross, that means children endure about 37 separate vaccination encounters.

"People will become increasingly skeptical as the numbers get larger and larger," said Ross, director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago.

So when a parent wants to delay vaccinating an infant against hepatitis B, typically transmitted by sex or contact with blood, she listens. But she'll also warn the parent that blood-to-blood contact can happen in day care, on a school bus, on the playground, or even in the home.

Doctors must listen to resisting parents and try harder to underst and their fears, she and others said. "People no longer have blind faith in the health-care community," said Ross, who started a lively debate when she proposed making all childhood vaccinations voluntary.

Required for school

Although vaccinations are required for entry to public school in Washington, parents can sign exemptions for religious, philosophical or medical reasons. Officials think some also sign just to have more time getting their children vaccinated.

In 1999, a h andful of counties in Washington state had exemption rates of 5 percent or more. By 2004, the number of such counties had more than doubled.

Speakers said that dropping patients who refuse vaccines for their children only makes the situation worse, perhaps pushing them out of the health-care system entirely.

At the same time, trying to ply them with statistics won't work, because the gulf is usually about values, not numbers, said immunization expert Dr. Edgar Marcuse, associate medical director at Children's.

Compelling anecdotes are always more powerful than statistics, Marcuse said, and become the "data" of the public's outrage.

For example, Dr. Neal Halsey, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, noted the lingering fears about thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative once prevalent in childhood vaccines.

Studies have shown no link to autism, he said, and thimerosal no longer appears beyond a trace in any childhood vaccines, except in multiple-dose flu vaccine.

"None of us have any concerns about exposures going on today," he said.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, director of communicable-disease control for Public Health-Seattle & King County, said the public is further confused by laws banning thimerosal in childhood vaccines, such as the one passed this year by the state Legislature. "Although the legislation was undoubtedly well intentioned," he said, "it is an embarrassment because it was unnecessary and misleading."

Carol M. Ostrom: 206-464-2249 or costrom@seattletimes.com

3. Article C:

Dan Olmsted – Two New Entries

All of Dan’s Age of Autism work can be found at this link www.theageofautism.com

The Age of Autism: 'Amish bill' introduced

By Dan Olmsted
UPI Senior Editor

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- For the second time this week, legislation aimed at determining whether vaccines are linked to an epidemic of unrecognized side effects has been introduced in Congress -- this time as a direct result of reporting by Age of Autism.

The new legislation, titled the Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2006, would order the National Institutes of Health to study "health outcomes, including autism," in those two groups.

In essence, the bill proposes the simplest way to exonerate vaccines as a cause of autism: If the autism rate is about the same in never-vaccinated children, vaccines are unlikely to play any role.

Yet such a straightforward and potentially decisive study has never been done on American children. In the past, public-health officials have said such an approach would be impractical due to low numbers of never-vaccinated children, but this column found tens of thousands of such children -- beginning with the Amish -- in various locations in the United States.

In our anecdotal and unscientific reporting, the rate of autism seemed strikingly lower in never-vaccinated children, although those findings cannot be considered conclusive or convincing. For that, a scientific study would be needed, as proposed in the new legislation.

The bill is being co-sponsored by Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Tom Osborne, R-Neb. It seeks to determine whether there is any correlation between the increasing number of immunizations in recent years and the rise in "chronic, unexplained diseases such as autism, learning disabilities, and other neurological disorders" over the same time period.

"Childhood immunizations greatly reduce human suffering from infectious disease, and I think it would be in the best interest of everyone if we definitively resolve parents' questions about vaccines," Maloney said in a statement.

Maloney cited particular concern about the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal, to which children were increasingly exposed beginning in the late 1980s. It was phased out starting in 1999 at the recommendation of public-health officials and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Subsequent studies have found no association between thimerosal and autism, but critics say those studies have been inadequate and beset by conflicts of interest. Nor have they compared vaccinated vs. unvaccinated populations, in part because officials say such groups are hard to find in a society where childhood immunizations are routine -- and mostly mandatory for school attendance.

"In this country we have very high levels of vaccination," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding told Age of Autism at a news conference last year. While "such studies could be done and should be done," she suggested, the obstacles might be overwhelming.

But this column identified several groups that might fit the bill -- from the Amish in Pennsylvania Dutch country to homeschooled children to patients of a Chicago family practice.

"I have not seen autism with the Amish," said Dr. Frank Noonan, a family practitioner in Lancaster County, Pa., who has treated thousands of Amish for a quarter-century.

"You'll find all the other stuff, but we don't find the autism. We're right in the heart of Amish country and seeing none, and that's just the way it is."

In Chicago, Homefirst Medical Services treats thousands of never-vaccinated children whose parents received exemptions through Illinois' relatively permissive immunization policy. Homefirst's medical director, Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, told us he is not aware of any cases of autism in never-vaccinated children; the national rate is 1 in 175, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We have a fairly large practice," Eisenstein told us. "We have about 30,000 or 35,000 children that we've taken care of over the years, and I don't think we have a single case of autism in children delivered by us who never received vaccines.

"We do have enough of a sample," Eisenstein said. "The numbers are too large to not see it. We would absolutely know. We're all family doctors. If I have a child with autism come in, there's no communication. It's frightening. You can't touch them. It's not something that anyone would miss."

Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, a Florida family practitioner with ties to families who homeschool their children for religious reasons, told Age of Autism he has proposed such a study in that group.

"I said I know I can tap into this community and find you large numbers of unvaccinated homeschooled," said Bradstreet, "and we can do simple prevalence and incidence studies in them, and my gut reaction is that you're going to see no autism in this group."

Osborne and Maloney said such examples undercut claims "there was not a big enough population to which we could compare the general vaccinated population. ... The Maloney-Osborne legislation proposes comparing vaccinated populations with unvaccinated populations such as these."

Clearly, there are children with autism who have never been vaccinated. Moreover, even a much-lower rate of autism in never-vaccinated groups would not directly implicate vaccines as a cause -- other factors could be at work. For instance, the Amish might have a genetic resistance to the disorder; children receiving alternative schooling or healthcare might have less exposure to other conceivable medical, environmental or lifestyle triggers.

But just as clearly, such a study could be done, and the Maloney-Osborne bill proposes to do it.

Maloney was co-sponsor of another bill introduced Wednesday with Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla. That bill would give responsibility for the nation's vaccine safety to an independent agency outside the CDC. Weldon was harshly critical of the government's monitoring of vaccines.

The National Autism Association called the two bills "good news from Washington. NAA applauds Congresswoman Maloney in her continuing efforts to support families affected by autism with this new legislation and co-sponsorship of Congressman Weldon's Vaccine Safety bill."

The group urged its members to ask their local representatives to support the legislation when they are back in their districts during the August congressional recess.

The Age of Autism: 'The first casualty'

By Dan Olmsted
UPI Senior Editor

WASHINGTON , June 27 (UPI) -- A medical doctor in the U.S. House of Representatives delivered a harsh judgment this week on public health authorities whose job is making sure vaccinations are as safe as humanly possible.

"Federal agencies charged with overseeing vaccine safety research have failed," said Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla. "They have failed to provide sufficient resources for vaccine safety research. They have failed to fund extramural research. And, they have failed to free themselves from conflicts of interest that serve to undermine confidence in the safety of vaccines.

"The American public deserves better, and increasingly parents and the public at large are demanding better."

Weldon concentrated his fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends the childhood immunization schedule through its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices -- and has conducted numerous studies that find no association between vaccines and serious health problems, particularly autism.

But Weldon said the federal government in toto has failed to do its job.

"Several issues relating to vaccine safety have persisted for years. The response from public health authorities has been largely defensive from the outset, and the studies plagued by conflicts of interest."

It should be noted the CDC stands behind its research and that last year it separated its Immunization Safety Office from the National Immunization Program. Weldon says that's simply not enough to ensure impartial, aggressive investigation.

Weldon introduced a bill -- co-sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. -- that would create a new agency of vaccine safety that reports to the secretary of health and human services; require research to be independent of any vaccine-related decisions; and establish an 18-member advisory committee to create a vaccine research agenda. At least one-third of the committee would be made up of people with vaccine injuries or a vaccine-injured child.

Given the realities of the legislative calendar, Weldon told me, he's hoping to build support and hold hearings this fall on the measure and re-introduce it in the new Congress that convenes in January.

Weldon's approach is wide-ranging. For one thing, he's not putting all his eggs in the mercury-equals-autism basket, so to speak -- he's not asking for more research solely to determine whether the mercury-based preservative thimerosal triggered a huge rise in autism diagnoses in the 1990s.

While that question has been the focus of attention -- and properly so, given the government's own decision to phase out thimerosal from routine childhood immunizations beginning in 1999 -- there is the prospect that other vaccine ingredients, and other side effects, may be insidiously at work.

"There are unresolved questions about the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine that arose in 1998 that should be fully investigated," Weldon said.

Indeed, this column recently reported on a cluster of cases in Olympia, Wash., that suggest a possible risk of autism from getting MMR and chickenpox shots too close together in a susceptible subset of children.

One of the children diagnosed with autism was in a clinical trial of a new vaccine combining all four of those live-virus vaccines, including 10 times as much chickenpox component as the standalone chickenpox vaccine. The manufacturer, Merck & Co., acknowledged that case -- and another from a similar trial in Olympia involving an experimental chickenpox vaccine given at the same time as the MMR -- was not reported to the FDA until March.

That was the same month we first inquired about the cases -- and six months after the new vaccine, called ProQuad, was approved by the FDA for all children 12 months to 12 years old.

Merck, like other vaccine manufacturers, mainstream medical groups and public health authorities, says there is no association between vaccines and autism. Weldon's bill would put that assertion to the test -- without the conflicts he says make such assurances suspect.

Beyond autism, a range of concerns are "out there" about the childhood immunization schedule, which has expanded greatly over the past two decades and now includes a Hepatitis B shot on the day of birth and the prospect of more combinations and components in coming years.

Few argue against the basic premise of mass vaccination against deadly diseases. The legitimate public-policy question is whether the authorities have gotten the details wrong -- vaccinating too soon against too many illnesses, not all of them life-threatening or likely to afflict children, and undertaking too little independent surveillance of possible unintended consequences.

From that perspective, it was hard to ignore the convergence of events at the Capitol Thursday morning -- as Weldon spoke, members were awaiting the arrival of the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to address a joint session.

In the new book "Fiasco" about the Iraq war by Washington Post Pentagon Correspondent Thomas E. Ricks, the failure of public officials to properly gauge the real risks and potential rewards of the invasion are laid out in devastating detail.

"None of this was inevitable," Ricks writes. "It was made possible only through the intellectual acrobatics of simultaneously 'worst-casing' the threat presented by Iraq and 'best-casing' the subsequent cost and difficulty of occupying the country."

That made me go back and dig out a paper titled "From Safety Last To Children First," by Mark Blaxill of the group SafeMinds and Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center. It was submitted to a CDC panel on vaccine safety in 2004.

"The obvious concern is that benefits may be overstated and that risks will be suppressed," they wrote in terms that eerily echo Ricks'. And they made the war analogy explicit, citing "a mission of fighting a 'war on disease' that disregards the secondary and tertiary consequences of war and views innocent children as inevitable consequences."

"The language of conflict -- the 'war on disease,' 'combating the causes of epidemics,' 'fighting emerging infections' -- is closely connected to the language of military power and, of course, 'Disease Control.' History teaches us that when government officials are determined to fight a war, any war, truth can be the first casualty."

It would be ironic if the same patterns that led to a foreign policy "fiasco" were at work in domestic health policy. Weldon's bill is a first step toward finding out -- and making sure, if that did happen, it gets fixed before more casualties pile up.

3. Article D:

Vaccines for kids now mercury-free

One encephalitis strain is only exception as new law takes effect.

By Dorsey Griffith -- Bee Medical Writer

Vaccines containing a mercury-based preservative are now largely off-limits to children under 3 and pregnant women in California.

The only exception to the new state law, which took effect on Saturday, is the vaccine against Japanese encephalitis virus, a deadly mosquito-borne illness endemic to certain parts of Asia.

The new law, by Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, was aimed at reducing the risk of neurodevelopmental problems such as autism, which many parents believe can be traced to exposure to thimerosal, long used as a preservative in many vaccines.

Several large federal studies have shown no link between childhood vaccines and autism, but additional research is continuing.

The U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1999 began to advocate the elimination of thimerosal from vaccines because some infants who received them were exposed to mercury at levels that exceeded Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

Except for trace amounts, which are allowable under the new law, thimerosal has been removed from childhood vaccines.

The flu vaccine had been an exception. But concerns about its safety re-emerged in 2004, after the federal government recommended that babies between 6 months and 2 years be added to the list of those who should get annual flu shots.

Aventis Pasteur, the company that manufactures the lion's share of flu vaccine, has increased the supplies of its thimerosal-free version in response to dem and.

"Based on what we know, we anticipate there will be an adequate supply of thimerosal-free flu vaccine for pregnant women and children under 3," said Department of Health Services spokesman Ken August.

The state has ordered 684,480 doses of flu vaccine to be distributed to counties for the upcoming season. The total includes 50,000 doses of thimerosal-free vaccine for children ages 1-3 and 15,000 doses for pregnant women. In addition, the state ordered 10,000 doses of FluMist, also thimerosal-free, for use in healthy people ages 5-49.

Aventis had opposed the Pavley bill, citing in a statement concerns that the ban could "undermine public confidence in immunization and ultimately deprive children of access to needed influenza vaccine."

In response to industry worries and related concerns cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the legislation ultimately was amended to give the industry more time to stock up on thimerosal-free flu vaccine.

The new law also allows for exceptions when no other alternatives are available or during public health emergencies.

August said Kim Belshé, health and human services secretary, issued an exception for the Japanese encephalitis virus vaccine: "Given the absence of a mercury-free vaccine against Japanese encephalitis virus and because the risks of fatal disease or brain injury far exceed any risk of mercury in the vaccine, the secretary is exercising her authority and temporarily exempting the vaccine from the provision of the law for a 12-month period."

About 50,000 cases of the disease are reported annually in Asia. There is no cure, and up to 25 percent of those infected die from the disease.

August said that California distributes about 32,000 doses of the three-dose vaccine annually. Last year, 19,000 went to the military and the rest to people traveling to certain parts of Asia. It is unknown how many of those doses went to very young children or pregnant women.

UPCOMING TACA ACTIVITIES!

April 1 Kickoff

TACA’s 2nd Annual Friends and Family Campaign kicks off on April 1

F&F Logo Last year TACA families raised $35,000! TACA has grown to serve over 2,000 families and provides 95% of our services at no cost —
WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Fundraising Kicks Off in April
Since TACA was started, dozens of TACA families have asked me “How can I help?” Last year we launched the Friends and Family campaign. We asked you to help by reaching out to your extended community to raise awareness about autism and funds to help TACA continue to fulfill its mission of educating and supporting families and building community. You came when we called and raised an amazing $35,000!!

This year we’re asking you to do it again. And to stretch yourself a little farther outside your comfort zone, into your more extended circle of family and friends. If you do that, together, I know we can raise $50,000 this year!

Request Your Picture of Hope Fundraising Kit
Picture of Hope Fundraising kits include: Complete instructions and suggestions on approaching family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and the company where you work, five magnets, and five sets of TACA brochures and information. You only need to supply the picture of your child!

For more information please contact us to order your kit or pick up your kit at a monthly TACA meeting. to order your kit or pick up your kit at a monthly TACA meeting.

TACA Friends & Family Efforts - SUPER STARS!
Nigro family	$ 10,000.00
Taylor family	$ 1,500.00
Monahan & Skosh Monahan’s	$ 1,500.00
Busse Family	$ 1,240.00
Yencso family	$ 1,000.00
Chin family	$ 936.00
Brodie family	$ 540.00
Tang Family	$ 500.00
Marroquin Family	$ 425.00
Wu/Chiang Family	$ 370.00
Rose Family	$ 310.00
Yang Family	$ 300.00
Lions Club Costa Mesa	$ 300.00
Ackerman Family	$ 300.00
Estepp Family	$ 250.00
Ancich Family	$ 200.00
Romero family	$ 175.00
Barboza family	$ 100.00
Lowey family	$ 100.00
Smith family	$ 50.00

TOTAL IN:	$ 20,096.00
GOAL TO GO:	$ 29,904.00
Help TACA get there by June 30, 2006!

Sept. 17, 2006:

3rd Annual Picnic is NOW scheduled for September 17, 2006

At Camp James/Hidden Valley in Irvine, CA
Registration IS NOW OPEN! SHOP TACA!
Exhibit & Sponsorship opportunities available!

Oct.-Nov. 2006:

Join TACA & Cure Autism Now for these two walks

50% of the proceeds (if you select TACA in your referral box at sign up
or the links below) will go to TACA & 50% will go to CAN!

Orange County Walk:
Camp James/Hidden Valley – October 14, 2006
Click Here: http://www.walknow.org/faf/home/default.asp?
ievent=144278&msource=06TACAOC

San Diego walk :
(to be scheduled September 2006)
Click Here: http://www.walknow.org/faf/home/default.asp?
ievent=144271&msource=06TACASD

Exhibit & Sponsorship opportunities available!

Monthly Fun:

Just for FUN – once a month

Come Join your TACA friends at PUMP IT UP in Huntington Beach for some good ol’ family fun!
Click here for the schedule

New Program offered by TACA: Marriage & Family Counseling services - UPDATE:

THANKS TO EVERYONE for requesting information on this special TACA program. The first group in the TACA Marriage & Family counseling is now FULL. We will be investigating providing this free service to more families in more areas.

The ability to provide Marriage & Family counseling will depend on:

Fundraising so we can exp and this program
Local counseling resources that underst and autism
And the need for counseling services in a TACA member populated geographic area

If you wish to be wait listed or on the list for future sessions – please call Susan Gonzales, LCSW 310-770-5009 or Karen Cladis, LMFT 714- 490-3780 for more information and to register for possible future groups.

Calling ALL SUPER PARENTS – TACA Mentors are needed!

TACA is in great need for additional mentors throughout California. If TACA has helped you and you are a parent in the autism journey over one year – we could use your time and effort to mentor new families.

Remember the start of your journey? Parents struggle with where to start, resources in your area and just to have someone there to answer questions via phone or email about autism who underst ands what it is like to have a child affected. We could really use your assistance for these newbie families.

Typically the questions you will be asked are:

What did you do for your child?
What resources do you like (school resources, local autism non public agencies – like speech therapists / ABA providers and other providers)
How to start biomedical treatments (again, you are not a doctor just a friend providing suggestions and information about your journey.)
How to start the Gluten free/Casein free diet (you may not be an expert here but help them navigate the TACA web site and get them to the shopping list they can buy at their neighborhood store.)
Support!!

Please remember: you don’t have to be an expert in all areas – what most people want is you to be a friend that underst ands how they feel. You don’t have to know the answers to all the questions. Just the place to start.

More about TACA mentors:

TACA has a parent mentor program that is available to TACA members in need. TACA parent mentors are volunteers located in your school district/neighborhood or are close by. These TACA volunteers wish to assist new families to help decrease their learning curve in many topics as it relates to Autism. The goal is getting all our children to the best they can be and in achieving the best possible outcome.

If this sounds of interest to you, I recommend to please read:

Finally: How are mentors introduced? I introduce you to your mentor via email only once I received the signed parent mentor agreement from the family that needs a parent mentor. It is up to you if you wish to meet or share phone numbers. Many families h andle the mentor relationship by email for the most part and some via the phone. The desired method of communication is up to you.

Over the past six years, I have mentored over 100 families. It has been the most rewarding time on my TACA journey. It can be for your family too. If you wish to sign up to be a mentor all you need to do is RESPOND YES to this request!

If you have questions or concerns and want to be a TACA mentor, always feel free to call me at 949-640-4401 or email me any time. Please remember if I have more TACA mentors like your family, I can do more to help families overall in California. Thank you for your time.

Vendor Announcements

New Home School Program & Fast ForWord Program Availability:

Beginning September 2006 Reading & Language Center (RLC) in Irvine, CA will be starting a Home School Program. We are currently in the planning and organization stages. The plan is to accommodate two small groups of students in separate classes. The students will be matched according to academic skill levels & behavioral needs.

The scope and sequence of the curricula will follow the targeted academic skills and development of concepts as outlined in the California State Content Standards in the areas of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Science and Science.

If you are interested in obtaining further information about the RLC Home School program please call the RLC office.

Secondly we are pleased to announce that we have obtained a site license for the series of Fast ForWord (FFW) programs. What this means is that families will not have to pay the single user license fee for each program ($900 for the first program and $850 for the subsequent programs) to Scientific Learning. We paid the site license fee so we were able to make these programs financially MORE available to families. Additionally, we have modeled our current FFW program after several clinics similar to ours in the U.S. that offer a blended menu of exercises from two or more FFW programs based on the individual child's needs. These clinics reported significant student success subsequent to completing the Language, Language to Reading, and Reading programs. For info on FFW www.fastforword.com

For more information, please contact: The Reading & Language Center, Roberta Coppersmith
949-474-7955 - 2402 Michelson Drive , Irvine CA - www.readingandlanguage.com

Sensaria Natural Bodycare GF-CF skin and hair care products –
DISCONTINUED PRODUCTS

TACA members receive a 20% discount when their order is placed with me. The following products will no longer be available after 07/31/06 or as supplies last, whichever comes first.

Discontinued Products
The following products will be discontinued from our product line, effective August 1, 2006:

451 Linden Flower Facial Polish 2 oz
622 Lavender Body Lotion 4 oz
626 Lavender Body Lotion 16 oz
632 Lavender Body Wash 10 oz
636 Lavender Body Wash 32 oz
640 Mango Body Mist 8 oz
642 Lavender Body Mist 8 oz
641 Rosemary Mint Body Mist 8 oz
643 Sweet Orange Body Mist 8 oz
8310 Mango Body Essentials
8312 Rosemary Mint Body Essentials
8304 Lavender Body Essentials
8311 Sweet Orange Body Essentials

To place an order and receive a discount, email or call me directly. To place an order and have the 20% go directly to TACA instead, place your order at my website.

Jamie Davis
Supervisor with Sensaria Natural Bodycare
(562) 431-1866
pampered@adelphia.net
www.mysensaria.com/jamie

AMAZING TEEN HELPS BUILD AUTISM AWARENESS

Dear friends,

My daughter, Ariana, a student at Newport Harbor High School, has organized a group to raise autism awareness among teenagers every April, during Autism Awareness month. This year was a pilot project only at her high school, but next year she is hoping to expand the campaign to every high school in Newport-Mesa.

I am writing to ask for your help on behalf of Ariana and her group, Teen Help for Autism (www.teenhelpforautism.com). Next year’s campaign will include a poster entitled “The face of Autism in Newport-Mesa.” She will need to create this poster over the summer, as she is overwhelmed with school work during the year. The poster will be a collage of faces, similar to the one at the end of this email. I am helping her collect photos to include in the poster. Would you please consider sending a photo of your child? No names will be used in the poster. She will send you an 8-1/2” x 11” copy of the poster when it is completed, along with a consent form to be signed if your child’s photo is included in the poster.

Please forward this email to families you think might want to send a photo and, if you are able, email your photos to Ariana Cernius at teenhelpforautism@hotmail.com.

Autism One Radio – Support, Informative Topics and great help for families and friends affected by Autism!

For more information on this free resource see www.autismone.org!

Book Announcements

EVIDENCE OF HARM
by David Kirby
NOW IN PAPERBACK!

Ready for a break from Autism?
How about Jenny McCarthy’s
latest in the Adult fun and funny?

Life Laughs: The Naked Truth about Motherhood, Marriage, and Moving On (Hardcover) by Jenny McCarthy

The author will donate a portion of her proceeds from this book to Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) a non profit organization that is focused on building the autism community by connecting people, families, friends and professionals and sharing information that can help children with autism be the best they can be. To donate or learn more visit www.tacanow.com

Special thanks to Jenny for being a friend to families affected by autism! We need and appreciate her!

Web Links:

Handy Dandy Gluten Free/Casein Free/ Custom Allergen free look up web site

Food lists are sorted by:

Gluten Free, Corn Free, Oat Free, Soy Free, Nut Free, Meat Free, Fish Free, Pork Free, Strawberry Free, Melon Free, Orange Free, Cherry Free, Banana Free, Tomato Free, Pea Free, Yeast Free, Egg Free, Milk Free, Chocolate Free, Fat Free, Cholesterol Free, Sugar Free, Preservative Free, MSG Free, SulphiFree, BenzParaFree, CarmNitrEthylFree and Color Free.

Go to www.Foodb.com.

FUN ACTIVITIES:

Social Outing & Fun for kids of all ages
Monthly Pump It Up Schedule

	Schedule for Huntington Beach	Schedule for Rancho Cucamonga

	Schedule for Sorrento Valley
	• August 23, 2006 - 6:30 – 8:00pm
How Much: The cost is $6.00 per child. No charge for adults.
Where:	Where? HUNTINGTON BEACH Pump it Up of Huntington Beach www.pumpitupparty.com/huntingtonbeach 16531 Gothard Suite C, Huntington Beach 92647 - The NW corner of Gothard and Heil Look for small signs in front of the “HB Business Center” office park. Drive around back to #C. Where? RANCHO CUCAMONGA We are located in “ Stadium Plaza North” on the corner of Rochester Ave. and Jack Benny Dr. Directly across from the Quakes Stadium. Phone: 909-466-0806 Where? SORRENTO VALLEY Pump it up Sorrento Valley is on 9370 Waples Street, Suite 102 in San Diego . Telephone is 858-685-9968 Sorrento Valley 1.5 miles off of I-805 and Mira Mesa Blvd just minutes away from UTC Shopping Mall.
RSVP & More Info:	IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU RSVP FOR THESE EVENTS. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT IF YOU DO NOT RSVP AS REQUIRED BELOW. FAMILIES WITH A RESERVATION WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND. THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES FOR ATTENDANCE WITHOUT RSVP’ING. PLEASE HELP US PLAN AND MAKE THIS A FUN TIME FOR ALL WHO WISH TO ATTEND! FOR HUNTINGTON BEACH: Please RSVP by the Monday before each party to Barbara Cornish at barbara.cornish@Intel.com or (714) 897-3460 or Susan Tombrello at suso903tomb@verizon.net or (714) 841-3076. FOR RANCHO CUCAMONGA: You must RSVP with the number of children that will be attending at least 48 hours prior to the event. Please RSVP promptly to assure your child’s spot! MINIMUM is 10 children. MAXIMUM is 40 children. Please email aaron2kristie@yahoo.com or phone Kristie at 909 758 0300 . FOR SORRENTO VALLEY: Please RSVP by the Monday before each party to Kristy Nardini at krnardini@cox.net IF YOU WOULD LIKE AN EVENT LIKE THIS IN YOUR AREA – PLEASE VOLUNTEER!! Contact us for details! THANK YOU TO THE AMAZING BARBARA, SUSAN, KRISTIE & KRISTY FOR MAKING FUN SOCIAL EVENTS HAPPEN FOR TACA FAMILIES!

10.

Conferences

From the Grandparent Autism Network –
The Challenges of Growing Up with Autism

Personal insights of how a young woman with autism perceives the world

Wednesday, August 2, 2006
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Florence Sylvester Memorial Senior Center
23721 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(Corner of Moulton Parkway and Santa Maria in front of Polly’s Pies)

Presented by Cameron and Teri Book. Cameron was diagnosed with high functioning autism at age 7. She is 15 years old and attends high school at the California Academy for Math and Science, Long Beach. Teri Book, Cameron’s mother, is a pediatric nurse practitioner focused in autism, who shares a practice with Dr. Pauline Filipek at the CHOC/UCI Neurodevelopmental Center in the program For OC Kids.

2-Day Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
Training Workshop - Presented by Donna Banzhof, M.Ed.

Aug 7 & 8 San Diego 8 am - 4 pm/ $395 professional/ $255 parent Hilton San Diego-Gaslamp Quarter - Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. www.pecs.com

August 16, 2006
6:30-8:00 PM

"What is a Pediatric Neuropsychologist
and how can they assist in my child's care?"
presented by
Robert Gray, Ph.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist

Dr. Gray has held academic and clinical positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. He is now in private practice, providing neuropsychological consultation and evaluation services throughout Southern California
(CA License PSY 20705).

This presentation will address the roles and services of the pediatric neuropsychologist, how neuropsychological evaluation results enhance the understanding of a child's strengths and weaknesses, how test results can impact special education planning, and how a neuropsychological evaluation differs from a school or educational assessment.

• The Crimson Center cannot endorse any individual program. •

Karyn Lewis Searcy, M.A. CCC
Director
Crimson Center for Speech & Language
www.crimsoncenter.com
858 695 9415

The Links Which Bind Us
ADHD + AUTISM + LD + Special Education Laws and Advocacy

For Parents and Professionals
Who Live or Work with Children Who Learn and Behave Differently

August 18-19, 2006
Ontario Airport Marriott
3rd Annual Summer Symposium Series

August 18-19, 2006
P O M O N A V A L L E Y L D A
PO Box 1114 Claremont, CA 91711
FOR MORE INFORMATION (909)621-1494 PVLDA@aol.com

OUTREACH CLINIC
For Children with Autism, PDD, AD(H)D, and Behavior Disorders

Coming to Ontario, California

August 13, 2006

Marriott Residence Inn , Ontario
2025 Convention Center Way|
Ontario , Ca. 91765
(please see mapquest.com for directions)

Please contact Sarah Wickens if you have any questions and/or to schedule appointments at 913-341-8949 or swickens@gpl4u.com

Dr. Nicola McFadzean (DAN! physician) will be seeing patients on Sunday, August 13 th, from 8:30am-6:00pm.

Our goal is to help children with autism, allergies, AD(H)D and behavioral abnormalities to improve their health and well-being.

Dr. Nicola McFadzean received her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. As a California-licensed Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. McFadzean’s training and practice has been focused on natural healing and integrative medicine. For the past three years she has been in private practice in San Diego, currently working with Kurt Woeller, D.O. at Stillpoint Center for Integrative Medicine in Temecula, CA. Dr. McFadzean is committed to making a difference in the lives of families with autistic-spectrum and ADHD children. She can be heard hosting her own radio show on Autism One internet radio, and has developed a preconception program to help parents with autistic children improve their own health and prevent autism in future children.

Dr. McFadzean provides follow-up appointments and phone consultation services to review laboratory test results with patients and their families at additional costs. We will provide information regarding the physician’s phone number and office hours at your Outreach Clinic appointment.

Each doctor participating in a Great Plains Outreach Clinic is performing his/her duties as a health consultant regarding diagnostic testing and biomedical therapeutic options for children suffering with autistic-spectrum disorders. They are not diagnosing illness or disease, nor are they providing medical treatment for children during the consultation visit.

A licensed phlebotomist for The Great Plains Laboratory will perform all laboratory procedures for blood collection at the Outreach clinic. We encourage ALL parents to start increasing fluids on their child at least 24 hours prior to appointments. All other specimens, including urine, hair, and stool will be collected at home. The test kits will be given to parents to take home from the clinic. All kits will have a prepaid FedEx envelope to send back to Great Plains Laboratory upon completion of collection. Results of testing will be sent to Dr. McFadzean’s office within 4-5 weeks. Please see our website to obtain further information about Dr. Shaw, founder of The Great Plains Laboratory, and the specialized testing that we offer at www.greatplainslaboratory.com

In the case of a cancellation, you must contact Sarah Wickens at 913-341-8949 swickens@gpl4u.com AT LEAST 72 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR APPOINTMENT TIME. Failure to do so could result in a charge to your credit card.

Back to School Autism/Asperger’s Conference
Pasadena

Back to School Information
Temple Grandin/Carol Gray/Barbara Doyle & Doreen Granpeesheh

CEU'S for parents/ teachers & professionals
Aug 19-20 Pasadena $90 a/day or $150 for both. Please check web site for more information

Pasadena City College/ Sexton Auditorium in Building C
1570 E. Colorado Bl 91106

Autism Conferences 562-448-9275

www.Autism-Conferences.com autismconferences@gmail.com

Organized by Autism Conferences and Arizona State University

Co-sponsored by LAUSD, ASA Los Angeles & ASA Long Beach

Save the date!

September 9th
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Oceanside Pavilion, Port Hueneme
Fee: $10.00, CEU’s available

How to Access Your Insurance

A training for families and professionals
who work with children with special needs

Presented by Chris Angelo, Esq.

To assist families and the support agencies that work with children with developmental disabilities and those with mental health needs, a training is being offered to interested parties by Chris Angelo, Esq. a parent and attorney. Mr. Angelo has provided training to staff from a number of Regional Centers in the Los Angeles area and has worked extensively with the Autism Society and their chapters in California.

Some of the following topics will be covered:

The mental health parity act and how it can work for your family
Services covered under the mental health parity act
Developing the legal argument using case law.

This training is open to families, support agencies and professionals who work with children with special needs. This training is being offered by a multi-agency collaboration between Tri-Counties Regional Center, Ventura County SELPA, Ventura County Behavioral Health, Rainbow Connection Family Resource Center, Area Board IX, United Parents, Ventura County Jewish Family Service, Ventura County Autism Society and the Autism Society of America Santa Barbara.

For further information, please contact:
Rainbow Connection Family Resource Center at 805-485-9643

A Two-Day Workshop

On Facilitated Communication

September 15-16, 2006 - Santa Fe Springs, CA

Introduction to Facilitated Communication… In this introductory presentation, participants will be introduced to the theory of Facilitated Communication. We will discuss the impact of movement on communication and thinking. This presentation will also outline the process of using FC as a support strategy to communication as it is described through the Best Practice Guidelines.

Getting Started… On the second day, the steps suggested to get started using the strategy, assessment for benefit, and goal writing will be presented. Participants will learn through hands-on simulations how to appropriately support a person so that they can move to communicate their own thoughts.

These sessions are meant for people wanting to learn about the strategy and then learn how to be a facilitator. Participants will be teachers, Speech and Language Pathologists, paraprofessionals, parents, Occupational Therapists, recreational therapist, and any one else interested… Be sure and contact me if you are interested in these sessions.

For more information please email: Dghanson62@charter.net

Grandparents Autism Network
Contact: Bonnie Gillman (714) 573-1500
New e-mail: gangrandma@cox.net

Dear Grandparents

Please note that our name has changed from the “Grandparent Connection” to the

Grandparent Autism Network.

While our name has changed, our goals have not. We are grandparents of children with autism who are passionate about improving the quality of life for our loved ones. Together, we can learn how to be more helpful to our children and grandchildren, raise awareness and support for autism and make a difference!

The Grandparent Autism Network provides a forum to exchange ideas, share resources and enjoy the camaraderie of other grandparents. Programs are presented in collaboration with recognized professionals who provide medical, educational, therapeutic and social autism support services. Membership is free, meetings are exclusive to grandparents and provide opportunities for questions and answers.Programs focus on:

Education: Learn about autism therapies, research, innovative technologies,available services and community resources.

Advocacy: Increase awareness and support for autism through community outreach, speaking, letter writing and/orlobbying on a local and national basis.

Social Events: Meet with other grandparents for dinners, theatre and othersocial opportunities.

Grandchildren Activities: Participate in group entertainment and planned excursions.

The following topics will be presented by Nancy McGovern, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, County of Orange Health Care Agency, Parent Support Consultant to Regional Center of Orange County and Hedy Hansen, Parent Support & Education Program Manager at For OC Kids, CHOC/UCI Neurodevelopmental Center

For more information contact Bonnie Gillman at (714) 573-1500 or e-mail: gangrandma@cox.net.

11.

Personal Note:

Just in case you don’t know already – Jack FM 93.1 has adopted TACA as their beneficiary for their first concert! This is incredibly exciting! Jack FM happens to be in the top 2 positions for rock stations in the greater Los Angeles market.

The event details:

Date: August 19 th starting at 4 pm
Locale: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Bands: Def Leppard, Billy Idol, Cheap Trick, Journey & The Violent Femmes
Ticket status: SOLD OUT!

TACA will:

Receive $1 for each ticket sold (and it has sold out)
TACA will have on going autism awareness and “what TACA does” announcements repeatedly during the day. I have heard up to 50 announcements on TACA & Autism during most days.
There is a link between www.931JACKFM.com and TACA
Other exciting things will be in the works.

TACA will have a booth and will be selling T-shirts at the event and other stuff to promote autism awareness. We hope to meet new families we can support as well. This is an incredible opportunity.

TACA was selected by JACK FM and we consider ourselves lucky and blessed. This event will mean a lot for our families and building autism awareness throughout our community.

Please note: after receiving over 500 emails & phone calls I wanted to answer some frequently asked questions:

I don't have connections for tickets. I bought my own for my family and friends.
I don't have a need for volunteers. We have a modest booth with 6 spots - already spoken for by key TACA volunteers.
I don't have the ability to provide back stage passes.
One lucky TACA family COULD receive two tickets – see earlier special announcement in this enews!

The station will be doing ticket giveaways and packages between now and the concert date. Please check their web site for more info: www.931jackfm.com. Be sure to JOIN THE LEAGUE OF ORDINARY LISTENERS for better notices and information.

I want to send a special note to our friends at Jack FM who have asked great questions, wanted to help in any way and support the TACA families we serve. They have been so generous with their time and efforts to help us! THANKS JACK FM!

On a personal note – special thoughts and prayers for my mom so she gets better soon.

Hugs, thanks, and BE SAFE
Lisa A Jeff's mom

And Editor: Kim Palmer (thanks Kim!)

Web Page for TACA Group: www.tacanow.com
check it out and let us know your thoughts

Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) provides general information of interest to the autism community. The information comes from a variety of sources and TACA does not independently verify any of it. The views expressed herein are not necessarily TACA’s. TACA does not engage in lobbying or other political activities.IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS, just respond and I will be happy to remove you from the list.

P.S. TACA e-news is now sent to 2,577 people!
(This number STILL represents 90% families affected by autism and 10% professionals.)

Fleming announces retirement plans

Capistrano Unified superintendent departs amid criticism over list of parents in recall campaign.

August 18-19, 2006 Ontario Airport Marriott 3rd Annual Summer Symposium Series

August 18-19, 2006 P O M O N A V A L L E Y L D A PO Box 1114 Claremont, CA 91711 FOR MORE INFORMATION (909)621-1494 PVLDA@aol.com

August 18-19, 2006
Ontario Airport Marriott
3rd Annual Summer Symposium Series

August 18-19, 2006
P O M O N A V A L L E Y L D A
PO Box 1114 Claremont, CA 91711
FOR MORE INFORMATION (909)621-1494 PVLDA@aol.com