Parents Ordered to Court for Kids' Shots

But two studies have already been done - one in the U.S. and one in the U.K. - that show absolutely no statistical correlation. The consensus seems to be a developmental defect in the brain, which is at least an improvement over the original psychiatric theory of punitive mother and absent father.

And people keep talking about the "epidemic" but there is absolutely no evidence of an epidemic. There have always been autistic children, they were just categorized as 'retarded' until autism was broken out into a separate category around the time of WWII. And the definition of autism has expanded so much in the past ten years that there is probably very little if any actual increase, but if there is one it can't be quantified because you're comparing apples and oranges.

But what with parents with difficult children (and don't get me wrong, I'm one of them!) hoping for some sort of solid diagnosis, a definite cause, and a cure, and researchers hoping for a grant, there will always be an group of people who believe that the incidence of autism has wildly increased, and that vaccines are to blame.

My wife is a teacher, specialty developmental disabilities. She has seen good results, sometimes amazing results, with dietary changes etc. that would indicate that autism is not simply “retardation.” I hear what you are saying and statistics are hard to sort through . . . but . . . something seems to be going on with autism. It has the emotional withdrawal component that has nothing to do with being retarded or slow. Downs syndrome causes retardation, but those kids are socially outgoing. I’ve know a boy that was retarded because he was tangled up in the umbilical cord and it cut off oxygen when he was in the womb and he was in no way autistic; very outgoing and social.

Oh, no, I wasn't saying that autism IS retardation -- just that before World War II it was lumped in with retardation in the statistics. That doesn't mean it wasn't THERE, just that it wasn't recognized as a separate condition.

It obviously is different from what is generally considered "retardation" - Down's, certainly, cretinism, hydrocephalus, and all the other brain deficiencies and insufficiencies.

Some types of retardation (cretinism for example) are due to dietary deficiencies. It would not be surprising if other brain defects were in part due to dietary problems.

Of course, many a crook has made many a dollar by convincing anxious parents that special diets will solve their child's problems. There are quite a number of quack diets around that purport to "cure" ADD/ADHD, unfortunately mostly they cure the weight in the parents' pocketbook.

“Cervical cancer has shown no genetic or increased risk of abnormal pap tests, or cervical cancer for daughters and grand-daughters of cervical cancer patients.”

True, but it is an extremely common virus that also happens to be an STD. My family and my wife’s family both already have a very high incidence of various cancers other than cervical. This at least lets us knock ONE of the possible cancers out of the running. I believe that I mentioned in one of my other posts on this thread that we depend on the heart attacks to save us from cancer in my family? Not to mention that one of my daughters is a teen, and the other is a pre-teen, so I’m not prepared to make any bets on how they will behave, despite our family discussions of the risks and liabilities. Nor that whoever they eventually choose as husbands or whatever will have been any more careful than they have been...

The cause of cervical cancer is not definitive even though the medical community has a fair assessment at this time.

Risk factors include: cigarette smoking, sexual activity (young women who smoke, and have sex, have twice the risk). Cervical dysplasia may occur because of a sexually transmitted infection. Herpes simplex virus type II, a common STD, is also a possible cause of cervical dysplasia. A link between a specific STD and cervical cancer is not certain. HIV and cervical cancer has such a strong link that women with the virus are now advised to get a Pap test every 4 to 6 months. There are also strong concerns that auto-immune issues may also play a part.

HPV is known to include 70+ types of sexually transmitted virus. Some of these HPV may cause cervical cells to become cancerous. Many women are diagnosed with HPV, but never develop dysplasia or cervical cancer. HPV can be found in most women, and the percentage may well be the key.

Cervical cancer risks increase with age. Older women will refuse having pap tests, and with physician’s approval; which is wrong, as older women will have more advanced cervical cancer. (One has to wonder if this has a correlation to prostate cancers and age.) Perhaps the gap between medical coverage and medicare is to blame for this phenomenon

On the topic of the new HPV vaccine, the FDA has seen fit to refuse to publish adverse effects of the vaccine. Most are minor; but, heart problems, blood clots, neurological events, seizures, and a small percentage of deaths statistics are available.

The new vaccine is exactly that, new. With all new pharma products put on the market, one must weigh the risks against the outcomes. This particular vaccine came on the market with much advertising and political flag waving. It has become a major money maker. Pap tests have been a proven and effective test for cervical cancer. The pap test is not expensive. Treatment for cervical cancer is certainly easier and more effective than treatment for prostate cancer for instance. Young teens and pre-teens should not be in the que for this vaccine if sexual activity is not currently an issue. Holding off, and allowing those with high risk behavior to be immunized, seems logical until new statistics or behaviors are evident

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