A Few Questions from Michelle Dawson · 2005-08-01 19:46

Michelle Dawson is an autistic adult who is a member of Dr. Laurent Mottron’s research team at the Autism Clinic of Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies in Montreal. Ms. Dawson is well-known for her trenchant writings on the history of behaviorism, and for her role as an intervener in the Auton case, decided by the Supreme Court of Canada last November.

I here reproduce, with permission, Michelle Dawson’s response to Craig Westover’s reply to St. Paul Saga.

Mr Westover, if you are interested in “scientific research”, then go ahead and argue the science. Propose whatever theory it is that you consider credible, and provide references, so this can be responded to.

Show me scientific evidence that cognition, development, and neuroanatomy in autism and in mercury poisoning are the same, and explain why autism scientists who provide evidence to the contrary are wrong.

Explain why mercury-induced problems in DNA methylation would only result in increases in autism, and not in the neurodevelopmental disorders known to be caused by DNA methylation problems, like Rett syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Angelman’s syndrome, etc. (this is well outside my field, so I stand to be corrected, but I am genuinely curious).

Why was the “explosion” of autism in California largely an “explosion” of autistics with no cognitive impairments? Why would more mercury in vaccines result in a dramatically higher percentage of autistics in the normal-measured-intelligence range, compared to those with below normal measured intelligence?

Explain what you believe autism is (what characterizes an autistic person) and how you believe autism is defined, such that, e.g., Dr Hornig’s mice strike you as credibly representative of autistic people.

Show me credible evidence that there has been an “epidemic” of autism, and that this “epidemic” is related to amount and concentration of thimerosal in routine childhood vaccine schedules. Show me why the UK and the US had the same supposed “epidemic” of autism at the same time with the same resulting prevalence. Explain why Canada has not experienced a dramatic collapse in rates of autism, and has the same prevalence as the US and the UK.

It would help to know why UK parents blamed their autism “epidemic” on the mercury-free MMR, whereas US parents didn’t, though it would also help to know your own position re the MMR. Are the MMR parents, who also claim to have science on their side, less credible to you than the thimerosal parents?

Mr. Kennedy seems to have veered (perhaps obliviously?) into MMR theories of autism with his recent invocation of “autistic enterocolitis” as yet another horror caused by… well, he only mentioned thimerosal, but perhaps Mr. Kennedy is getting ahead of the science again? Maybe he should make it clear whether he is going after the MMR also (and perhaps so should you). This would expand the “movement” beyond thimerosal and towards the realm of “anti-vaccination”.

That’s enough questions to be going on, though I would also like to know why you continue to find credible people who premise their theories on the “fact” that people like me (autistic adults) don’t actually exist.

Thank you for your time.

Michelle Dawson

Comments


  1. I would be interested to hear Dr Paul Shattock, Autism Research Unit, University Of Sunderland, Larry Arnold, Russell Stronach, Adrian Whyatt’s and others on DANDA and NAS Senior Executives and Commitee’s responses to Michelle’s comments and also other individuals, members of DANDA and NAS, professionals and reseachers within the neurodiverse, disability and survivors communities too. — Colin Revell    2005-09-24 06:21    #

  2. As requested – a brief response.

    On joining the internet community, one of the first lessons I learned was not to get involved in internet debates with people with Asperger Syndrome but, as the result of Colin’s direct challenge, I feel obliged to do so.

    I agree with most (but not all) of Michelle’s observations. As far as the UK is concerned (where backgroud levels of mercury are much lower than in North America, where they have decreased over the years and where we have never used the potetially dangerous (according to the US environmental protection agency advice) quantities of mercury for infants has been the practice in the the US, I do not believe that thiomersal or mercury is of great relevance.

    I am not prepared to be so sure in areas of the world (Indonesia, Mexico, Sicily etc) where volcanic activity blasts out very large quantities into the environment and where the population uses the cheaper mercury containing vaccines now removed from the market in North America and Europe. Could be an issue and is worthy of investigation.

    Like Michelle, I fail to ses such blatant and direct links between the symptoms of autism and of mercury poisoning. I would not rule out indirect effects though. For example, mercury does have implications for the immune system and does block certain enzymes, such as those involved in sulphation, for prolonged periods of time and COULD be an important factor although certainly not the only one.

    My personal view is that it could well be a factor and this possibility should be investigated. At the same time, there is absolutely no point in including it in vaccines so let’s get rid of it eh? Why on earth should this cause so much distress?

    Michelle has raised some other points where I feel her facts are incorrect.

    Michelle states that the Californian figures demonstrate that the large increases in autism repored there are a consequence of large numbers of people who do not have cognitive impairments. Is that right? It may be but it is news to me. I understood that this group was not included but the UK is a long way from California.

    She also contrasts the numbers of people in the US and UK who blame the MMR vaccine. The publicity here is virtually all about the MMR (for reasons alluded to above) but in our studies we find that close to 6% of the parents of children with autism in the UK allege MMR involvement. In other words 94% do not believe it was a factor. (We attempted to publish these data but it was rejected. WE are trying again.)

    In the US, my only data is from informal soundings and 50 – 60% of the parents I have spoken with (on an informal basis at conferences) believe that MMR vaccination did trigger a significant regression.

    The concept that the mercury content of the world’s most intensive policy could disrupt the immune function and enzymatic processes to such an extent that MMR vaccination (plus chicken pox given at the same time – but in a different part of the body) is reasonable.

    Is it true? Does it actually happen? I believe it does but no-one can be absolutely certain. Until appropriate investigations are carried out extremist views and name calling is all we get.

    The culpability remains in the complete and utter refusal to entertain such possibilities. This is the cause of the current mistrust about vaccines. Ask the wrong questions and you get the wrong answers.

    Paul Shattock, University of Sunderland, England. — Paul Shattock    2005-09-24 10:03    #

  3. Well I for one support the efforts of advocate and autistic activist Michelle Dawson.

    What the mercury hypothesis has led to, has been child abuse on a massive scale, the use of genuine medical therapies for severely poisoned individuals, on a whim, in unlicenced ways which have led to at least one death and who knows what other harm.

    There is absolutely no evidence that Autism and Mercury poisoning are the same thing, or that chelation has any real effect on the development of autistic individuals.

    I do not think any respectable person in the scientific community or autism world believes this. I can’t speak for Paul Shattock, but it interests me that his Reserch Unit features in Quackwatch.

    There has been no explosion of autism in California, this is propaganda and distortion that no epidemiogist with a genuine understanding of the subject can concur with, and furthurmore those promoting this idea, are not only severly hostile to adult autistics like ourselves, but are the very epitome of the pity/charity/medical model of disability that I oppose.

    And where does most mercury come from ? apart from Fish Diets, Coal fired power stations, and I completely agree with those who want to see alternative energy sources because Mercury apart, I think that the US is litarally reaping the whirlwind of global warming right now. — Larry Arnold    2005-09-24 16:50    #