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A portion of
Eric's Story and the Autism Epidemic will be published in a book
for speech pathologists and special education teachers in
universities and colleges. The book is titled "Milestones: Normal
Speech and Language Development" by John W. Oller, Stephen D.
Oller and Linda C. Badon. Under "Autism as an Example" is the
following: "The cost of caring for an individual with severe
autism, to pick just one example, in a recent published letter is
estimated at anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 per year (personal
communication from Ray Gallup, parent and Founder of The Autism
Autoimmunity Project, TAAP; also see http://www.taap.info
retrieved July 2, 2005)"
More can be read by getting the book at .....http://www.pluralpublishing.com/publications_mnsld.htm The full version is in this edition, Summer 2006, Vol 3, No 4, Eric's Story is on pages 52-53 Per...........http://www.informedvoice.com.au I'm writing this not as a doctor with a fancy degree from Harvard or another school. I'm a parent who graduated from Queens College in 1975 with a B.A. degree in Economics and served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman in 1966 to 1968. I was born on June 30, 1944 in St. Albans, Queens, New York. I received the pertussis vaccine when I was six months old and in the early 1950s I got a case of whooping cough despite getting the vaccine. In the mid 1950s I got a case of measles and was out of school for two weeks. Before I tell my story about my son, Eric Gallup, I want to mention some important facts. Autism is increasing at an alarming rate. Five years ago, it was 1 in 500 that had autism spectrum disorders according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Recently, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said that 1 in 6 children are diagnosed with a developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem. Also, the CDC and AAP said that 1 in 166 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. See... http://www.taap.info/A.L.E.R.T.asp I have been documenting the autism epidemic from the 1990s using the US Department of Education figures. Here are the latest figures. See... http://www.taap.info/epidemic.asp I know that the autism epidemic can't be genetic in nature. There never has been nor never will be a genetic epidemic. Like many parents who know their children, I know that vaccines are responsible for my son's autism disorder. In Washington, DC there is concern about Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid running out of money. The politicians are only thinking of the growing numbers of the elderly putting a strain on system. They don't realize that in 5 to 10 years from now, there will be a growing number of children with autism that will reach adulthood and will be eligible to collect SSI and Medicare benefits. What will happen then? Will the Federal government have unlimited resources to deal with this crisis. Will the states have unlimited resources to deal with this crisis? The vaccine link to autism goes beyond the thimerosal and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine as far as I'm concerned. Many in the medical establishment and Federal government health agencies deny a vaccine link to autism. Despite the denial, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) keeps a record of adverse reactions to vaccines. It is called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). See... http://vaers.hhs.gov/ Eric Gallup was born normal on January 17, 1985. While Eric was in the hospital with my wife, she was given the live virus rubella vaccine. He was normal at birth but regressed into autism after receiving the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine on April 28, 1986. In an Internet article by F. Edward Yazbak, MD (TLAutStudy@aol.com) titled, "Autism: Is There A Vaccine Connection?" Part 1 (there is also Part 2 and 3), Case 3 is about my wife, Helen and Eric. See Vaccination.... http://www.garynull.com/Article.aspx?article=Issues/Index.aspx&Head=Issues In 1995, Vijendra Singh, PhD. of Utah State University did blood work on Eric and found that he tested positive for myelin basic protein antibodies indicating an autoimmune dysfunction. That same year James Oleske, MD of UMDNJ, Newark, NJ who is a world famous pediatric immunologist who specializes in AIDS, found the following in blood tests done on Eric. "His measles antibody titers were extremely high, in fact, the highest I have ever encountered. This marked elevation of measles titers, despite normal Ig levels, further supports an immune dysregulatory disorder that has been associated with either debilitating neurological disorders such as sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis." Dr. Singh later tested Eric for the measles antibody titers and came up with the same results. Looking back at home video-tapes, I could see what happened before and after the MMR vaccine was given to Eric. His speech was progressing and then after, nothing. See.... http://www.avn.org.au/Children%27s%20Gallery/eric.htm In April 1995, September 1997 and November 2001 I went to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland and asked for immunology funding for autism looking into the MMR vaccine link. To date nothing has been done. In October 1998, I started The Autism Autoimmunity Project (TAAP) to fund independent research. To date we have raised over $130,000.00 to fund such researchers as Dr. Vijendra Singh, Dr. James Oleske and Dr. Andrew Wakefield. In 2002, we took Eric to see Dr. Arthur Krigsman, a gastroenterologist. Dr. Krigsman found that Eric had colitis and a very painful, quarter-size stomach tissue in Eric's throat. In 2002, Eric started to develop aggressions where he would bite, head-butt, kick, scratch and pull hair. Up to February 2004, we had to call the police numerous times and Eric had to be taken to the hospital. He was on various anti-depressant medications over those two years and in February 2003, Eric broke my left index finger with his teeth almost amputating it off. Eric grew to be 6'2" tall and I am 5'10" so he was a handful. We received no respite care from Eric's school or any state agency. We lived a life of hell and we were under siege during that time. When Eric had an aggression, we would have to go behind our bedroom or bathroom doors and lock them so Eric couldn't hurt us. Eric broke two bedroom doors by kicking on them and we had to replace them with stronger doors that were kick-proof. At a December 10, 2002 vaccine hearing by the Government Reform Committee in Washington, DC, Congressman Dan Burton read my letter to the members at the hearing. Eric had aggressions at school and was suspended various times. In February 2004, Eric was terminated from school and when I took Eric to the store he had another aggression. The police were called and Eric was taken to the hospital where he was born and put in their psychiatric unit. After a couple of weeks, we were told by the hospital that he would either have to be taken home or put in Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital and if we didn't do this we would be sued. So we took him to Greystone. The staff and patients took good care of him and they said that Greystone wasn't the appropriate place for Eric. Eric had been on a waiting list for Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland so they finally had an opening in March 2003. He was released and taken to Kennedy Krieger Institute where they treated him for his aggressions. In August 2004 he was released from Kennedy Krieger Institute and was placed in an out-of-state residential school. When we initially left him there, he was running to the door to get out because he wanted to go home with us. Since that time he has gotten better but he is on heavy duty medication such as haldol and adivan. It takes us 2 and ½ hours to drive one way to see Eric, so we only see him every other weekend. In January 2005, another patient punched Eric in the eye giving Eric a black eye. Eric was on a couch and pushed the other patient and the patient took exception and punched Eric. I worry about Eric constantly and at times I wonder what his and our lives would be like if he wasn't damaged by the MMR vaccine. Many a time, I shed a tear for him. In particular, Helen and I had to make funeral arrangements for Eric because the state said they had money for this. It was very morbid and stressful for Helen and I to do this. One person asked me why couldn't the state do this and not cause us more grief. I had no answer for them. Many times when we pick up Eric to go out for lunch he will ask us about "home" in his picture/word book. It is difficult to respond to him and we have to say not now. During the last year we have brought Eric home for the weekend but it is difficult for myself emotionally, the fact that Eric is no longer living with us. I'm sure that we won't be the first family dealing with this. Unfortunately, we won't be the last family dealing with a situation such as this. Recently, I had a disagreement over Eric's medications at the school that he attends. They have him on zyprexa, haldol, adivan and lithium. I asked them to put Eric on extra doses of Vitamin B6 to reduce the tremors he has from the medications. Eric also has drooling problems and he stares off as he is so heavily medicated. We now have to look for another facility for Eric because of our disagreement. Basically, the state, the education system and the medical community want our children vaccinated. When something goes wrong then none of these organizations are there to help. They leave it in the parent's hands. It isn't their problem, it is the problem for the families involved. The most telling part of the vaccine/autism link controversy is how three researchers who have looked into the autoimmune, MMR vaccine link to autism have been dealt with. This is what has actually happened. Keep in mind that if these researchers were politicians and this happened to them it would be reported all over the media. Unfortunately because they are independent researchers who are trying to help families and children with autism, their story is ignored by the media. Vijendra Singh, PhD of Utah State University has found it difficult to get funding for any studies related to autoimmunity and autism after he discovered and perfected tests that proved an MMR autism connection. Prior to that, funding was easily available to him including from NIH sources. Famed researcher Andrew Wakefield, MD of London, England, the author of over a hundred scientific articles (and his organization, Visceral (http://www.visceral.org.uk) ) encountered worse persecution. His research was closed down and he was told that he had to leave the Royal Free Hospital in London, England because he found evidence of measles in the gut of children with autism. His career came to a screeching halt in the UK. His phone was electronically bugged and his attackers are still after him, even now that he is in the US. Recently Dr. Wakefield has reported evidence of vaccine-strain measles virus genomic RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with autism. This only accentuated his enemies' attacks. Obviously all governmental funding had stopped years ago. Arthur Krigsman, MD of Long Island, New York has replicated Dr. Wakefield's research in the US. After doing some 250 ileal biopsies of children with autism at Lenox Hill Hospital, he was not allowed to have them further tested for viral genomic RNA. Dr Krigsman was then so restricted that he also had to leave his NY hospital base. The reason is obvious, he was replicating Dr. Wakefield's clinical science and the powers that be weren't happy with this. Congressman David Weldon (who is also an MD) asked that the NIH fund Dr. Krigsman's research. To date, the NIH has not honored Congressman's request. Anybody looking at what happened to these researchers can see the obvious. Why do this to these men if people were not afraid of the research they were doing? It basically is a vaccine/autism Watergate cover-up perpetrated by the enemies of these excellent researchers. The sad part about this is that families and children will never be helped and more and more children will develop autism. Who will pay and care for these children when they turn into adults like Eric? Especially when the parents get older and can no longer care for them. Will they have enough group homes and residential centers to care for the coming adult epidemic of autism? It is a subject that should be addressed now, but unfortunately only when something becomes a crisis is it addressed in the US. Ray Gallup, parent and Founder The Autism Autoimmunity Project http://www.taap.info highnoon@gti.net
DEFINITION * TREATMENT * PREVENTION
Autism is 1 in 150 children today, 1 in 68 families! TAAP (The Autism Autoimmunity Project) is a non-profit charity dedicated to obtaining funding for independent research into the cause, treatment and prevention of autism and other autoimmune disorders. Please learn from our mistake and 'Educate BEFORE You Vaccinate!' For more information visit our website at www.TAAP.info and 'TAAP into the Truth!'
TRAVEL FOR TAAP:
http://www.ytbtravel.com/travelfortaap Book your travel here & proceeds are donated to TAAP!
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