Fourteen confirmed cases of measles have been reported in Minnesota. State officials have linked all but one of the cases to an unvaccinated Somali infant who returned from a trip to Kenya in February. Minnesota reported no cases or only one case of measles for most of the past decade. In fact, measles had been all but eradicatd in the United States, but it accounts for 200,000 annual deaths worldwide.  The Minnesota Dept of Public Health found in 2009 that young Somali children in Minneapolis public schools were over-represented in autism programs.  However, that fact alone didn't prove a higher rate of autism.

A discredited British researcher, Andrew Wakefield, who claimed there was a link between vaccines and autism has been meeting with Minneapolis Somalis.  Wakefield's work fueled a backlash against childhood vaccinations after he published a 1998 paper in the medical journal Lanclet linking autism to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine in a dozen children. The Lanclet retracted his paper last year. Wakefield continues to stand behind his work. However, numerous studies addressing autism and vaccines, or the mercury-based thimerosal, which was formerly used to preserve vaccines, have so far found no link. Researchers still do not know what causes autism.

One Minneapolis Somali family practice physician says that Wakefield has caused a global hysteria that has cost lives and he has warned the Somali community to stay away from the researcher. Meanwhile, health officials are working with the Somali community leaders to urge more parents to get their children vaccinated, although few people have taken advantage of the recent clinics offered. One clinic prepared 600 doses of the MMR vaccine, but only 20 children showed up to get the vaccine.  

GOD BLESS YOU for the segment on Nancy Grace!!!!It was great!!! We lived through Katrina, then my 2 year old very verbal son stopped talking, stopped looking at me.

I just got back from the mind institute at UC Davis for a phenotype study and I just found out I have the IGG antibody that a study is just being started on. I'm probably one of the most passionate people you could meet. Can I please do something to help you spread the word? My son is now in full time ABA therapy and I have lots of talents I need to give to others but I'm not sure where?? I know God has a plan for me with assisting getting children's therapies covered. I've not received TEFRA yet, but when I do,I want to look into the EPSDT law and also from what I understand with TEFRA, I can get my son chiropractic and dental, but not the only thing the AAP released in Oct 2007 report as "treatment" was intense ABA therapy complimented with the other you know. CRAZY!

Sorry for rambling...I'm making Christmas treats for tomorrow and was shocked to see a national wonderful segment that we so much need. I don't know how you did it. but all the parents of this club we did not ask to be members of can never thank you enough.

I am a 47 year old mother of 2. My youngest son,I  believe, has some degree of Autism. It has never been diaganosed, however. My boys' pediatrician has been assuring me my son is fine since he was two. I was even told my son had a behavior problem and needed to be shown who's boss! This was to be acheived by physically pinning him down(which I thought was excessive and only tried once.)

My son has never pointed at anything, doesn't communicate well, has a lack of sensory perception and displays anti-social behavior as the norm. Our older son, 9.5 yrs. old, is the total opposite. He communicates well, makes friends easily, and has been an athlete since age 4. In other words, totally different.

I was 33 with my first, 42(1 month short of 43) with youngest. We(Dad,Mom and Bubba) have tried to deal with the extreme behavior our 4 yr old can produce, but it is getting harder by the day. The Medicaid medical insurance my boys have hardly treats them when they are physically sick, forget about an illness that takes effort to diagnosis! My husband is completely disabled and has been for 4 yrs. With only Disability SSI for income,my son's problems have been totally neglected. I pray I will be able to get him help soon. I fear he may never feel like he belongs. Thank you for listening. Any advice or comment would be a God-send. 

I am the mother of an autistic child who is now 5 years old. Our angels' name is Pierre Leonidas Timothee Jr. I have two other daughters who are "normal," Sophia who is 6 and Stephanie who is 15. I can truly say that I KNOW for a FACT that my son was not BORN with Autism. He started to develop normally like my girls did, crawling, walking at one year old, mimicking sounds and words, everything was perfect with his birth. He was planned, a C-section, 10 pounds at birth, and I had a remarkable pregnancy with all my 3 kids.

Then suddenly, at about 2 1/2 years of age, my son started to get vaccinated HEAVILY (by that I mean 3 to 4 vaccinations per visit) and I started to notice my son covering his ears and humming. He started to walk on his tip-toes--things he had never done before. It was like he was going in reverse after all these shots. He wouldn't mimick sounds or say words anymore...so then, I started doing my research. All I can say is thank God for the internet and Jenny Mcarthy being on Larry King live!

I am a paralegal and with the mind of an attorney, and thank God like I said before and my parents, that gave me a good education, because if you don't fight, and ask, and discover things for your child, the child will be in BIG trouble because the State and MOST doctors don't care, nor do they want to admit that it is the mercury in these vaccine boosters that are poisoning our children....!!!!!

When I started to do my research and tried to get help, my son Pierre Jr. was 3 years old, fighting with his pediatrician in Kissimmee, Fla. I kept telling the doctor there was something wrong with my son. At one point, I even yelled and said "D*****, MY SON HAS AUTISM, YOU IDIOT, AND THE SHOTS DID THIS TO HIM".... You know what response I got??? " Don't worry Mom, he will OUTGROW this STAGE"........  I thought I was going to have to hurt somebody....

So, I got a specialist, which I had to pay money out of pocket because my insurance wouldn't cover all of it, so my son went to a "PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGIST" that right away gave me a diagnosis of "AUTISM" for my son. After that, then I was floored by all the legal obstacles this State and this goverment make you go through, even with a diagnosis from a Doctor!!!!!

I figured out that my son needed therapy. He was also given a diagnosis of a speech & language delay, so I figured, that was my first step, but then, come to find out, my insurance didn't want to cover the therapy!!! (shocker right)?
So, needless to say, then I went up against the heavyweights, "THE STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES" so that I could get MEDICAID for my son for his speech and behavior therapy. By this time, I had to quit my career to help my son, so the only health insurance we had was my husband's and now, only ONE income.

And now, my son is 5 years old and I JUST GOT HELP!!!!!! He just started speech therapy 2 months ago and I have noticed a MAJOR improvement. Why was he denied treatment all this time?????? I tried to get help from all levels immediately, and fortunately, after a lot of red tape and migraines, the State JUST RECENTLY approved Medicaid for my son. Thank goodness since I was UNEMPLOYED and hardly had no money left to eat practically, because if we made too much money, my son wouldn't have gotten the help that he so desperately needed??????????? "WE WOULDN'T QUALIFY" as they put it?????

What is wrong with this system???? EVERYTHING. SO UNFAIR.

They made my son this way, and I have to thank GOD that my family is very devout and religious and I pray HARD, everyday to keep my sanity and my patience and my family from falling apart..... Thank you LORD that he has made me a strong and intelligent woman because the weak DO NOT SURVIVE.

My girls are desperate for their brother to talk, especially my 6 year old doesn't understand why her baby brother can't communicate with her... it is heart wrenching for me as a parent.... really it is.

I have gotten in touch with a really good program here in Florida called the "UCF CARD Program" (University of Central Florida Children with Autistic related Diseases) that have taught me many ways to help my son and learn to communicate with him better. I have a board on my refrigerator that has all his favorite foods. I make him point to what he wants and make him try to say it. This has helped a great deal because at dinner time, he would get frustrated and cry and scream because he couldn't let me know what he wanted.

I am giving him "CHELATION" which is a combination af natural medicines like "CHLORELLA" sea algae, multi-vitamins, B-12, magnesium, DHA and a chemical detox (heavy metal remover) in which I have noticed MAJOR improvements in my son. He was a horrible eater, and now, his menu is very diverse, includes meats which he wouldn't eat and fruits and he also tries a lot of new things.

I AM MY SON'S DOCTOR, LAWYER, ADVOCATE, PROTECTOR, and most of all his "MOTHER"....
I don't trust anyone anymore when it comes to him, because the people who are supposed to be helping him, were the ones who hurt him because of the almighty dollar.......... That is what America & Americans are all about now...unfortunately. Where did the "LOVE AND CARING FOR THY NEIGHBOR" go???????

People don't have a heart anymore...NO PRAYERS IN SCHOOLS?????
It is all about greed and wealth and money and power and it doesn't matter if innocent children are at stake.......
I know.......... I have to live with it everyday of my existence here on this Earth.... but I believe GOD has a plan for all of us, and myself as well.
I am my son's ANGEL and he is MINE............