Thread: IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

My 12 year old nephew Nicholas is a beautiful, bright, funny little boy. When he was two years old he was diagnosed with having one of the Autism Spectrum Disorders. Thankfully, early intervention has helped him tremendously. However, this is a lifetime disorder and many parents are concerned about their children’s futures.

There is an advocacy group called The Hawkeye Project. They have started a program called SOAR. SOARÂ*stands for Serve and Offer Autism Resource Initiative. It is a program that if the govt. passes, can put kids who graduate from school into a working enviroment. Right now if my nephew were to graduate, he would have almost nothing to do out in the real world as far as a job goes. Families are trying to change this.

My sister sent me this information to pass along. Since many of you are caring, community minded people to begin with, I thought I’d post this with the hope that you can take a moment to help support this very important initiative. All it takes is a few minutes on your computer.

The following link will take you to a site where you can send a pre-written message to your representative:

http://www.change.org/changes/actions/v ... t_id=16540

As many as 1 in 150 children are autistic, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That adds up to almost 1.5 million people in the United States. These kids represent future American adults and something needs to be done now to help make sure they can lead productive lives.

Hope you can help! God Bless.

Do you have any idea if this was a result from vaccines? So many children have been effected by that........thoughts and prayers are with you....thanks for the info.....will write now.

Done! Sent to all my contacts!

Let's help our American Kids!!

Letter sent. I was glad to help Chloe.

Originally Posted by crazybird

Do you have any idea if this was a result from vaccines? So many children have been effected by that........thoughts and prayers are with you....thanks for the info.....will write now.

Thanks so much Crazybird. Well, the whole vaccine issue is still up for debate. I've heard about parents who claim their children were actually verbal until they received their shots. That's when the noticed a dramatic change.

I don't believe that was the case for my nephew though. He was non verbal right from the start. He never cried. We just thought he was being a good baby!

From the Autism Speaks website:

Are vaccines to blame?
Though the debate over the role that vaccines play in causing autism grows more heated every day, researchers have still not found a definitive link between the two. According to organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization, there's just not enough evidence to support the contention that vaccines – specifically thimerosal-containing vaccines – cause children to develop autism. One study published in the medical journal Lancet faulting the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot has since been questioned by its own authors, and many others have also failed to pass scientific muster. Still, the accusations continue, largely from parents of children on the spectrum, and it's easy to understand why: There are still no answers to this day about what's causing a disorder that appears to steadily be expanding its reach.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/faq.php

Thank you butterbean, Jak, and anyone else who took the time to support this very important cause. You people are AWESOME!