Censored Doctor Loses License

Dr. Andrew Wakefield has lost his medical license. He is the doctor that originally supported the link between autism and vaccines. Since his study, no one else has been able to recreate his results. There have also been people that claim that his research results were influenced by him being a paid professional witness in lawsuits involving vaccines.

He has also been criticized for how he obtained blood samples from children at a birthday party. His original report was published in 1998 in the Lancet Journal. In February, it was retracted. Dr. Wakefield still believes that vaccines are a causal factor in autism cases.
In an exclusive interview this morning, on the Today show, he states that he believes that the government put pressure on the medical board to take away his license. He also says that the American government accepts the fact that vaccines are linked to autism, and that is why they have been secretly settling cases out of court, since 1991. However, the government says that they do not believe that anymore.

Dr. Wakefield says that he will continue his work. “Callous Disregard“, his book that is now available in stores, gives his side. I haven’t read it, yet. What do you think?

Parents of Autistic Children Don't Have to Face Divorce!

One of the common myths circulating in the autism community is that parents who have an autistic child will inevitably face divorce. Many people believe that if you are parents who have an autistic child, the stress will become so much that you will have up to an 80% chance of becoming divorced.

However, the great news to know is that a recent study has disproved this rumor. The study showed that parents of autistic children are just as likely not to divorce as any other parents, which is something that researchers want to make aware to families with autistic children as a means of encouragement. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistically shows that 1 in 110 children have autism, and 80% of those children are male. Autism diagnoses is on the rise, but it's difficult to determine if more children are getting autism, or if more people are becoming aware of autism so that they can diagnose it.

Some researchers confirm hearing the 80% divorce rate statistic relating to parents of autistic children. Many people feel that this is a death sentence as soon as a child is diagnosed with autism because the parents can then anticipate marital troubles. Families that do have autistic children have high stress levels, but they should also receive encouragement that they can continue to have a strong marriage without any more risk of divorce than other couples. This glimmer of hope is wonderful for parents of autistic children because they can continue to focus on coping with the disorder after diagnosis instead of having to worry about their family falling apart.

Research in 2007 showed that children that had autism had the same likelihood of living with married parents as children who weren't autistic. That is great news for the autism community!


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