Bob and Suzanne Wright, Why Won’t Autism Speaks Address the Vaccine Issue?
Posted Feb 01 2011 12:00am
By John Stone
Dear Bob and Suzanne,
How can it be that the organization which you founded cannot discuss publicly the vaccination issue? Year after year you sit there silently as executive members and nothing ever happens to stem the flow of damaged children and broken-hearted parents. The only thing we have is better recognition: by now we also have quite good recognition of Auschwitz and Hiroshima.
But when this last week Dr Oz had a television programme in which the possible causes of autism were discussed, including vaccination, Autism Speaks was silent. And yet – and this is remarkable – you did both once speak on a visit to London in October 2008, and this is what you said:
Bob:
"...Today he isn't ducking that issue. "There is no question but that autism is partly genetic and partly environmental, but we don't know whether environmental factors account for 30, 50 or 60 per cent of cases," he says. "Unlike cancers which can develop at any age, autism shows fully by the age of three so we ought to be able to zero in on some of the environmental factors in early childhood.
"Vaccines are one of the variables. The last vaccine Christian had before he regressed was MMR - that's why my daughter concentrates on that. I don't know whether his autism is linked: it was certainly coincidental, what we don't know is if it was causal. Nor do we know whether the thimerosal (the mercury-based preservative used in vaccines) is a factor, although mercury is clearly poisonous. Governments want to run from that issue but they should become more aggressively involved. They have to follow children through to see if there are any effects. When we spend so much money on vaccines, we should be spending money tracking each year group." ( HERE )
Suzanne:
"We think autism is a relatively new epidemic. After all, where are all the 50-year-old autistic people? They just don't exist in these numbers. It could be genetic or there could be environmental factors. Both in the US and UK we have a big vaccine issue. We know what vaccines prevent, but do we really know their effects?" ( HERE )
So, how can it be that at the end of the 5 year history of Autism Speaks it will not address what happened to your grandson or the children of thousands upon thousands of grief-stricken parents and grand-parents, and all we get is cant? And how can it be that sort of medical support that your grandchild has had will be denied to countless others on ideological grounds, and even because of the persecution of the doctors who tried to help (notably in the United Kingdom). How can this appalling situation be allowed to go on?
Please speak out, once and for all, not as corporate board members but as grandparents and human beings.
John Stone is UK Editor for Age of Autism.
Posted by Age of Autism at February 22, 2011 at 5:45 AM
in John StonePermalink
Dear Bob and Suzanne,
How can it be that the organization which you founded cannot discuss publicly the vaccination issue? Year after year you sit there silently as executive members and nothing ever happens to stem the flow of damaged children and broken-hearted parents. The only thing we have is better recognition: by now we also have quite good recognition of Auschwitz and Hiroshima.
But when this last week Dr Oz had a television programme in which the possible causes of autism were discussed, including vaccination, Autism Speaks was silent. And yet – and this is remarkable – you did both once speak on a visit to London in October 2008, and this is what you said:
Bob:
"...Today he isn't ducking that issue. "There is no question but that autism is partly genetic and partly environmental, but we don't know whether environmental factors account for 30, 50 or 60 per cent of cases," he says. "Unlike cancers which can develop at any age, autism shows fully by the age of three so we ought to be able to zero in on some of the environmental factors in early childhood.
"Vaccines are one of the variables. The last vaccine Christian had before he regressed was MMR - that's why my daughter concentrates on that. I don't know whether his autism is linked: it was certainly coincidental, what we don't know is if it was causal. Nor do we know whether the thimerosal (the mercury-based preservative used in vaccines) is a factor, although mercury is clearly poisonous. Governments want to run from that issue but they should become more aggressively involved. They have to follow children through to see if there are any effects. When we spend so much money on vaccines, we should be spending money tracking each year group." ( HERE )
Suzanne:
"We think autism is a relatively new epidemic. After all, where are all the 50-year-old autistic people? They just don't exist in these numbers. It could be genetic or there could be environmental factors. Both in the US and UK we have a big vaccine issue. We know what vaccines prevent, but do we really know their effects?" ( HERE )
So, how can it be that at the end of the 5 year history of Autism Speaks it will not address what happened to your grandson or the children of thousands upon thousands of grief-stricken parents and grand-parents, and all we get is cant? And how can it be that sort of medical support that your grandchild has had will be denied to countless others on ideological grounds, and even because of the persecution of the doctors who tried to help (notably in the United Kingdom). How can this appalling situation be allowed to go on?
Please speak out, once and for all, not as corporate board members but as grandparents and human beings.
John Stone is UK Editor for Age of Autism.
Posted by Age of Autism at February 22, 2011 at 5:45 AM in John Stone Permalink