Ramblings this week...

The other day, I was flipping through the channels. I missed most of the interview (which, I can't say I was upset about!) with Deirdre Imus on Fox News. The banner on the bottom of the screen read, "Parents trace link between mercury in vaccines & autism." What they fail to mention in that headline, is that this link has no scientific basis. Once again, Mrs. Imus, just like Jenny and others, denies the possibility of a genetic link to autism. This perspective is somehow held onto by these people, despite real, hard evidence of various genes related to autism. Twin studies are very interesting to review. Here's what Deirdre had to say:

"...no such thing as a genetic epidemic & autism is an epidemic."

It was a brief piece, at least what I caught of it. What's unfortunate, is that Deirdre's irrational points, along with that ridiculous headline about a "link" between vaccines and autism, all got the last word. I was surprised the phone wasn't ringing, family and friends asking "did you see Don Imus' wife on T.V.?" Questions about the Omnibus cases, and also, I imagine, why the heck Mrs. Imus was involved with this debate. No one did call, so I assume they all, like I almost did, missed this brief snippet. One thing is for sure, the anti-vax message is spreading. For a while, it was found only on MSNBC, and then CNN, and now Fox. It's clear to see who has all the money--and what they are doing with it. Why ever would this elite bunch, with their cash cow organizations, want to actually help autistic people with the money they raise?

Something I found strangely ironic, was a while after this autism-vaccine piece, the show featured a comedy troupe in the U.K. (doing a Facebook sketch). This troupe is called "Idiots of Ants," which when pronounced aloud is, "Idiot Savants." I imagine that no one at Fox News understands the irony. Well, based on statistics, perhaps at least one person on the production crew, in the back office, or in the studio got it, if their child is also autistic. The term "idiot savant" is no longer used, but was once how autistic savants (and in general, most savants) were referred to. Webster's defines "idiot savant" as

"a person affected with a mental disability (as autism or mental retardation) who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field (as mathematics or music) —called also savant"

This thought came to me tonight, amidst all this autism-vaccine hubbub. What do the anti-vaxers have to say about Childhood Disintegrative Disorder? It was first documented in 1908. The fact that the symptoms and onset of CDD is very similar to regressive autism (age being the main differential), would make one wonder if they both have the same cause. Recently, there has been some written on autoimmune and environmental factors in CDD. However, since it has been affecting children since at least 1908 (and surely prior to a doctor identifying and naming it), one has to wonder if a vaccine link to CDD is truly feasible. Surely the children with CDD in the early 20th century were not vaccinated. Curious...to me at least.