Louder than Words and Mother Warriors: A Review
Jenny McCarthy has authored two phenomenal books about autism. These books are the perfect complement to Dr. Weissman’s series on vaccinations.
In her first book, Louder than Words, Jenny chronicles Evan’s (her son) devastating diagnosis and struggle with autism. Reading her story is literally heartbreaking. She is just starting out her journey discovering the research relating autism to vaccinations. And she describes how Evan’s seizures and medical/behavioral problems began shortly after his MMR shot. But the connection between vaccinations and autism is more of a background discussion in her book. The book is more about her journey in trying to pull Evan through what she describes as the “window” and get him out of the world of autism. What’s tough to read is that it is a journey that Jenny really had to walk on her own. Because most in the medical community are not yet speaking about the possible causes of autism and the natural, effective ways to treat it, parents are basically on their own when it comes to helping their kids. They are left to research in the “university of Google,” as Jenny calls it, and to talk to other parents. As a result, Jenny has made sure to fill the book with great information on diet, biomedical therapies, the importance of the immune system, the role of infections, and other knowledge that parents of autistic children should have in their arsenal. For example, she describes the astounding and radical beneficial effects of putting her son on a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Jenny also provides some shocking statistics, such as that in the seventies, one in ten thousand children were autistic. Today, one in a hundred and fifty are autistic. It is the fastest growing developmental disease, with a child being diagnosed every 20 minutes. She ends the book in her “What to Do Phamphlet” by gently discussing a “possible” link between vaccinations and autism, and suggesting that it is good for parents to be aware of the dialogue on the issue.
But by the time she writes Mother Warriors, Jenny is a mother on a serious mission. She has had some time to process and cope with her son’s autism, and now she is ready to get down to the cause of it and spread the message. Even the dedication does not dance around her intentions: “Our voices will shake the ground of those who were responsible until all of our children our safe from harm.” She tackles vaccinations head on.
The foreword to Mother Warriors is written by Jay N. Gordon, M.D., FAAP, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UCLA Medical Center, Former Senior Fellow in Pediatric Nutrition, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute. Dr. Gordon’s credentials are not exactly lacking. And what he has to say is astounding. For example, Dr. Gordon explains how the acknowledged toxic dose of aluminum for a baby is 20 micrograms, but the amount of aluminum found in the hepatitis B vaccine given on the day of birth is 250 micrograms. Dr. Gordon describes how, at two months of age, this same infant could receive immunizations containing as much as 1,875 micrograms of aluminum. (pg. xvi). And to top it off, Dr. Gordon reminds us that no studies have been done on the ability of infants to rapidly excrete this amount of toxic substance from their bodies. He concludes that “evidence has existed for years that aluminum in amounts this large is harmful to humans. We can only guess what harm we might be causing to babies with these huge overdoes of aluminum.” (pg. xvi). And aluminum is just one of the toxins in vaccines.
Dr. Gordon states unequivocably, “Vaccines can cause autism” (pg. xiii). Worse yet, he points out the Amercian Academy of Pediatrics is “far too involved with the pharmaceutical industry to actually do anything but pay lip service to an open discussion [about the connection]. The CDC and AAP are filled with doctors whose research, speaking engagements, and travel are often funded by the manufacturers of vaccines. Many of these same doctors are paid consultants, and some later go to work full-time for the pharmaceutical industry.” (pg. xiv). He also discusses how the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (dubbed the “vaccine court”) is currently considering the claims of nearly 5,000 families whose children developed autism after vaccinations, and the vaccine court is beginning to issue awards to these families.
Dr. Gordon discusses how concerned he is over the tremendous increase in the rates of autism and related disorders over the past decade. There are also other factors that could be contributing to the rise in autism statistics (such as undiagnosed infections), but as Dr. Gordon states, “the truth is that we have to look much harder at what happens when we directly and repeatedly inject toxic material into babies, toddlers, and children. The benefits for most healthy children are easily matched or outweighed by the risks of the immunization schedule used by almost all pediatricians. Some of our vaccines have outlived their usefulness in the United States and elsewhere, and others need reformulation to make them safer for those families who want their children to receive them.” (pg. xvii).
Jenny asks how bad it will have to get before “everyone start[s] listening to what the mothers of children who have autism have been saying for years, which is…We vaccinated our baby and SOMETHING happened. SOMETHING happened.” (pg. 8). As Jenny points out, part of the problem is that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) treats vaccines as if they are a “one-size-fits-all” and are administered at the same rate to all children no matter what the state of their immune system or their biological make-up. A baby with a healthy immune system might be able to process and handle a toxic overload of a particular substance and come through it alright, but another baby who has a pre-existing immune deficiency might not. No tests are done to protect the latter infant. They are put on the same vaccination schedule as the healthy infant. Jenny’s parting words are powerful and profound: “How many times have medications come on the market, deemed safe, and then pulled off the market owing to major side effects? Are we to believe that ALL thirty-six vaccinations given now are ALL safe with no side effects? Give me a break. Are we supposed to buy the fact that these shots are one-size-fits-all? Or that every child is born with a perfect immune system? Wake the hell up, America, and think hard about the logic in this. In the meantime, I hope mothers across America will join me in our fight to change this insane vaccination schedule and demand that they GREEN our vaccines. Take the crap out! Enough is enough.” (pg. 215).
Mother Warriors is made up of the stories of numerous parents whose children developed autism after having received their vaccinations. Their experiences are devastating but their strength and determination are inspiring. Especially harrowing is the experience of one mother, who’s four-month old son, Elias, began seizing the night after he was given his vaccination shots. They took him to the hospital and he was in the ICU for 3 days. When he was finally discharged, the statements the parents had made to the emergency room staff and the doctors that their son had just had his vaccinations and they thought he was experiencing a reaction to them, never showed up on any paperwork. Nowhere was it stated that he had a vaccine reaction. Instead, this mother describes how the doctors did such a good job of convincing her that there was no correlation between the two, that she actually went ahead and vaccinated her son again. This time, Elias immediately began seizing. He seized forty-five times thereafter during his first year of life. He was then diagnosed with autism when he failed to reach his developmental milestones. Then, Elias woke up one morning with a sore throat and a fever. He went into such a state of uncontrollable seizes that the doctors could not stabilize him, and he died shortly thereafter. This is just one parent’s story among many in Jenny’s book.
But these books are also ultimately stories of hope. Jenny and the other brave parents have found that it is possible to help kids heal from autism, and they are determined to help other parents do the same.
These two books are must-reads for parents, especially those who are skeptical about the link between autism and vaccinations. They also are a must-read for parents of children who already have autism.
Jenny’s Books:
McCarthy, Jenny. Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism. Penguin Books, 2007.
McCarthy, Jenny. Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds. Penguin Books, 2008.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I believe this whole heartly. My daughter’s nervous system could not take the “P” in the DPT shot when she recieved her first shot. She screamed for 6 1/2 hours straight in a few hours after the shot. They still wanted to give her it in 1/2 doses the second round but I said NO.NO. That is when I started looking into it.We are the only country in the world that gives so many vaccines at such a early!! age. I think it is associalated with crib dealth too.Thats so much for wonderful book!!