Dear Mr. President, What About Autism?

Dear Mr. President,

I supported your campaign and preached "the good word" about your qualities and attributes. I have heard what you've had to say about foreign policy, economics, finance, community projects, and the like. I even felt a little "warm and fuzzy" when you spoke of the struggles your mother fought through and fought against in an effort to raise her children, work two jobs, and put herself through school. I can relate to needing government assistance during different periods in my life when I had young children in my home to care for.

I know that you feel that our educational system is deprived and needs to be restructured to fit the needs of the individual students, as well as the needs of the country. Even health care has been a subject to which you have a plan to maximize coverage opportunity for every citizen of the United States.





But what about autism?





I have a daughter. We call her SiSi. She's only 10... going on 11. She is a beautiful child. She's sweet. And, boy is she sharp?! The schools have tested her and determined that she is at the 4 year old level educationally, but she is a smart child.

I tell people often that she is a child first and autistic second. She can wrap her daddy around her little finger with the rest of them. And contrary to popular belief, she is extremely affectionate.

Though she is not going to hold a conversation with you, she does speak... primarily she'll call out items from the four food group when she's hungry... but just this evening, she told me, "I Love You"... "Tickle, please".

Some autistic children and adults are very functional. You can only tell that there is a developmental issue or comprehension issue in regards to personal relationships... or reactions to certain things like crowds of people or maybe certain places. Other children and adults are extremely low functioning. No speaking, difficulty walking, difficulty sitting, perform no tasks without being prompted and maybe not even then. Many of autistic children and adults have gastro-intestinal issues. Most autistic people require hands on involvement 24-7 and/or supervision.

Many autistic children have behavioral issues that range from mild to severe. I know. I have been all but beaten up by my SiSi. (smile)

Mr. President, there are many diagnosis that are in the autism "family" and these are grouped by the name "autism spectrum". Do you know how many children and adults have been diagnosed with some aspect of the autism spectrum?

1 out of every 150 people

are diagnosed with some form of autism.

That is a lot of diagnosis. That is a lot of people.

I have been told to leave grocery stores by shoppers when SiSi has a tantrum.

Adults become vengeful when she lashes out at them.

Children and adults watch her when she is just making noises (that don't sound like words, but I believe they are her words). They watch her self-stem (shake hands, rock her body, making bumping motions with her head repeatedly). People say very mean and ignorant things. Not ignorant as in stupid... though at the time that is how I figure it... but ignorant as in "lacking in knowledge". But instead of asking questions or just observing, they speak and say hurtful things.

Yes, we've been stared at,
criticized
ostrasized
talked about
ridiculed
and shunned...

But, did I say 1 out of every 150? The chance is good that someone they know has or will have an autistic child! They should be taking the time to learn a little something.

The public schools are very inefficient. The "OK" private schools starts at approximately $500/month. The "good" private schools range from $24,000 to $32,000 per year in the southeast. The charter schools are few and far between... and in some states schools designed just for our special children are non-existant.

If you have a child with behavior issues, you will spend maybe thousands of dollars per year replacing broken things (or going without). You will spend lots of money on doctors who don't except the type of insurance you have on your job and surely not Medicaid!
And Medicaid gets cut along with special programs for education and family support & training every year! Meanwhile, the number of diagnosis per year increases.

And do you know what the most suspected CAUSE of autism is, Mr. President?


IMMUNIZATIONS


By the way, immunizations are now suspected in having a hand in Alzheimers patients. It's always the very young and the very old that cannot fight off diseases or withstand extreme temperatures... and now immunizations. The simple fact that Government no longer requires that children be immunized and no longer have a mandate that "non-immunized children can not attend school" speaks to their awareness of the primary suspect for the cause of autism. Immunizations are "products" of Government... a product (once mandatorily administered) for which the Government refuses to accept accountability by way of retribution.

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Non-compliance from parents might have lead to child neglect or endangerment charges. If Government could be held responsible and accountable for their involvement, what charges could families with autistic sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles... what charges could WE place on Government. So, without admitting a thing... Government subtly dismantled control of the distribution and usage of mercurized immunizations and today, we can sign a waiver. If Government admits fault, it makes itself liable for lawsuits.

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Now, immunizations are not handled today the way they were handled when I was growing up. I took the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella immunizations separately. That is separate viles with a smaller amount of "preservative" per vile. I guess I should tell you that the preservative that is used is Mercury. There are many chemical names for it.... but Mercury is what it is, right? Today the Measles, Mumps, & Rubella immunization is combined and sealed in a tube that is used for three... not one... but three administrations. That means EXTRA Mercury is used to keep the deal fresh!

At the age that the MMR is administered to children is usually around the time that the symptoms of Austims starts to rear its head. (hhhmmm ... are they symptoms or SIDE AFFECTS?) There are some other cases where immunizations seems not to be the cause, but the majority can be represented in this scenario. In SiSi's case, she showed symptoms a bit earlier than that. You see, she was a "premie". Her first injection was one that was to help her lungs mature quickly. And there was a preservative... Mercury.

This is the same Mercury that was used in the production of felt hats in France during the mid 17th century. Due to the concentration of Mercury and the long term handling of it, some hat makers had reportedly gone "mad"... The Mad Hatter... need I say more? (http://corrosion-doctors.org/Elements-Toxic/Mercury-mad-hatter.htm)

There are already class action lawsuits against Government in regards to these findings. but I know the Government has a way of delaying the process until it can sweep everything under the rug.

.

But, there is another way to handle this. Use the money, that should be a lucrative judgement for the plaintiffs,

.....(1) towards education... not just education of our children, but education for the community. Parents are still getting their children immunized WITHOUT the knowledge of the possible dangers; sometimes doubling up on appointments if one has been missed! Government has not so much as issued a warning of the POSSIBILITY of autism.

.....(2) Use the money for special training of those who will be caring for autistic people - educators, behavioral therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, child pyschiatrists, counselors, medical professionals (you'd be surprised how many of them are clueless in handling autistic children), AND families with autistic family members.

.....(3) Use money to assist with home health care. We parents are getting old and may have difficulties managing everything for our children.

.....(4) Use money to build special, professional, monitored group homes and provide assisted living for those to whom this is a viable option.

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At the rate that autism is increasing coupled with the fact that we are soon to have a society full of autistic adults whose parents have died with no family members who are willing enough or care enough to offer real support,

"if society doesn't invest in future of autism now,

SOCIETY WILL PAY LATER".

Well, Mr. President, there is so much more to be said on the subject, but we are running out of time. Parents of autistic children are getting older. Homes are crowded... and quite frankly, our family isn't comfortable with the idea of placing our "sometimes behaviorly challenged" baby in a home where underpaid, untrained workers will want to "get her back".

Help us develop schools.

Find away to make Medical Care affordable.

HELP US FIND A CURE.

It's a tough fight... but we can do it together!

YES, WE CAN!

And with...

Respectfully Yours,
SiSi's Mom
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shYne