Chelsea Fisher
Eckerd College
P.O. Box 662
4200 54th Ave S.
Saint Petersburg FL, 33711
April 30, 2008
Autism Speaks
2 Park Avenue
11th floor
New York, NY 10016
Dear Autism Speaks,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
The posting you have on the concern regarding vaccinations is reasonably informative and helpful, but there are people who have no understanding of the topic. These people may turn to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for their information, which as I’m sure you know is not a very informative site regarding this topic. The CDC has said “because signs of autism may appear around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine some parents may worry that the vaccine causes autism” and They also say that a study done in 1998 that led people to believe the vaccine was causing the disorder was very small and not comprehensive enough, it also states that many of the doctors involves in the study are now saying that it is not the cause. Since then larger studies have taken place in which “the percentage of children with autism who received MMR vaccine was the same as the number of unaffected children in the region who received the MMR vaccine.” The bullets end with the statement “Groups of experts say there is not relationship between MMR and the influx in Autism” This website for an uninformed parent makes it seem like the relationship between autism and vaccinations is non-existent and they should not worry.
I think that it is up to organizations like you to make sure that you have a comprehensive page regarding this issue. Research institutions like Columbia and Yale have done studies on the topic and have been unable to find answers, but have found enough evidence that more research needs to be done. Now one out of every one hundred and fifty children is diagnosed with autism which is an astounding increase. Also people should know that the government and the CDC are afraid that if people do find out that these vaccinations are causing autism it will cause people to stop giving their children any vaccinations, which would create an even larger problem. If people are informed about which vaccinations are speculated of being the problem, they can talk it over with their pediatricians.
I am very proud of everything you are doing for the cause, but I think that the page regarding vaccinations could be more informative. The fact that you are relaying the information at all is a very important step. Thank you for reading about my concerns as a young woman and student who wishes more people were informed on this topic. I would love to hear back from you if I have said anything you do or do not agree with.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
Thursday, May 8, 2008
final Draft letter to LADDERS
Eckerd College
P.O. Box 662
4200 54th Ave S.
Saint Petersburg FL, 33711
April 30, 2008
Friends of Ladders Inc.
P.O. Box 920025
Needham MA, 02492
Dear Ladders,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
I understand that you mostly do research to see how to help autistic people later in their lives, but I am very concerned with the recent proclamations that vaccines may be the reason for the influx in children diagnosed with Autism. Your increasing understanding of how autism affects and changes the lives of people could be of great benefit to the research institutions that are studying this issue. Research institutions like Yale and Columbia have found enough of a relationship to keep researching the matter even though they have found no definitive answers. Even though it has been a very back and forth topic the Center for Disease Control has been very adamant in refuting the relationship between vaccines and autism for fear that if people think there is a problem with one vaccine they will lost trust in all vaccinations and a larger epidemic will take place. If there is even a chance that vaccines are the reason one out of every one hundred and fifty children are now being diagnosed with Autism it is unacceptable that children are being subjected to it.
Like I said before I respect everything that your organization is doing and I feel that you can help reveal the real issues behind the influx in autism. I one day hope that I can feel comfortable giving my child vaccinations, and if my children is born with autism or aspergers I am glad there are people like you to help. Please reply if I have said anything you do no agree with or do agree with. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Chelsea Fisher
P.O. Box 662
4200 54th Ave S.
Saint Petersburg FL, 33711
April 30, 2008
Friends of Ladders Inc.
P.O. Box 920025
Needham MA, 02492
Dear Ladders,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
I understand that you mostly do research to see how to help autistic people later in their lives, but I am very concerned with the recent proclamations that vaccines may be the reason for the influx in children diagnosed with Autism. Your increasing understanding of how autism affects and changes the lives of people could be of great benefit to the research institutions that are studying this issue. Research institutions like Yale and Columbia have found enough of a relationship to keep researching the matter even though they have found no definitive answers. Even though it has been a very back and forth topic the Center for Disease Control has been very adamant in refuting the relationship between vaccines and autism for fear that if people think there is a problem with one vaccine they will lost trust in all vaccinations and a larger epidemic will take place. If there is even a chance that vaccines are the reason one out of every one hundred and fifty children are now being diagnosed with Autism it is unacceptable that children are being subjected to it.
Like I said before I respect everything that your organization is doing and I feel that you can help reveal the real issues behind the influx in autism. I one day hope that I can feel comfortable giving my child vaccinations, and if my children is born with autism or aspergers I am glad there are people like you to help. Please reply if I have said anything you do no agree with or do agree with. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Chelsea Fisher
Final Draft letter to ASU
Chelsea Fisher
Eckerd College
P.O. Box 662
4200 54th Ave S.
Saint Petersburg FL, 33711
April 30, 2008
James B. Adams
Professor
Arizona State University
P.O. Box 876006
Tempe, AZ 85287-6006
Dear Autism/Aspergers research program of Arizona State University,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your research institution is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing number of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccinations.
I understand that you are trying to find the causes of autism and ways to help people who have been diagnosed. I noticed also that you mostly do your research on biomedical issues which are obviously the most important factors. What worries me most is the recent and rapid influx in autism in recent years. I understand that other research institutions have found enough of a relationship among the two to keep researching the topic. I was wondering if as a research institution you have also looked into this subject matter. Potentially it is not the vaccines that are causing the issues, but the vital moments in a child’s devilment when we give them these vaccinations.
It also worries me that this topic has fallen of the charts a little bit. The Center for Disease control has claimed that many experts say there is no relationship, but it is also true that the CDC is worried that if there is a connection people will lose trust in all vaccines, ultimately causing a larger problem. This is not a good enough reason to keep information from the public. It is in your hands to find out how these vaccines could be causing autism and explain why the numbers have raised so rapidly.
I know the affects aspergers has had not only on my friend, but also on her family, and if these types f disorders are caused by vaccines it must be stopped. I one day would like to give my child a vaccine that helps them and does not affect their development. Please let me know if you have in fact researched this topic and what you have found, or if I have said anything that you agree or disagree with. Thank you for your time and understanding.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
Eckerd College
P.O. Box 662
4200 54th Ave S.
Saint Petersburg FL, 33711
April 30, 2008
James B. Adams
Professor
Arizona State University
P.O. Box 876006
Tempe, AZ 85287-6006
Dear Autism/Aspergers research program of Arizona State University,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your research institution is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing number of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccinations.
I understand that you are trying to find the causes of autism and ways to help people who have been diagnosed. I noticed also that you mostly do your research on biomedical issues which are obviously the most important factors. What worries me most is the recent and rapid influx in autism in recent years. I understand that other research institutions have found enough of a relationship among the two to keep researching the topic. I was wondering if as a research institution you have also looked into this subject matter. Potentially it is not the vaccines that are causing the issues, but the vital moments in a child’s devilment when we give them these vaccinations.
It also worries me that this topic has fallen of the charts a little bit. The Center for Disease control has claimed that many experts say there is no relationship, but it is also true that the CDC is worried that if there is a connection people will lose trust in all vaccines, ultimately causing a larger problem. This is not a good enough reason to keep information from the public. It is in your hands to find out how these vaccines could be causing autism and explain why the numbers have raised so rapidly.
I know the affects aspergers has had not only on my friend, but also on her family, and if these types f disorders are caused by vaccines it must be stopped. I one day would like to give my child a vaccine that helps them and does not affect their development. Please let me know if you have in fact researched this topic and what you have found, or if I have said anything that you agree or disagree with. Thank you for your time and understanding.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
lesson plan
Chelsea Fisher
Analytic and Persuasive Writing
Professor Robinson
Lesson Plan Title: Autism what is it? How does it change the life of an autistic person?
Concept: The concept is to teach 5th graders what autism is and some of the affects autism has on an individual. This lesson will mostly focus on the social incapability’s, and differences that autistic kids deal with. This concept will be taught using the Florida State standards of dance. Mostly the creation and communication standard will be addressed. Standard 1: the student understands dance is a way to create meaning. The students will try and show emotions with peers first without using facial expressions or words, then with only facial expressions. This will show the ability that people generally have to understand what other people are feeling without them directly telling them. This will show what empathy is; autistic children have been studied as having a general lack of empathy and thus this will lead into explaining that autistic children have a difficulty in relating with other people because they cannot understand what other people are feeling. This activity in full with the lead-in, the dancing, and the discussion afterward should take about 20 to 30 minutes.
Goal: The main goal of this is for the fifth graders to understand one of the aspects of autism, which is the social difficulty an autistic child has due to a lack of empathy. Also they should get a general understanding of what autism is simply through communication and discussion; this will hopefully lead to a moral of accepting people with differences.
Required materials: about two cards per child with emotions or feelings on them ex. Anger, another card could say happiness, confusion, sadness, pain. A single chair will be needed when for a demonstration of overstimulation.
Anticipatory Set (Lead-In) - First it is important to ask the students if they have ever heard of autism, are they know what it is, if they know anyone affected with the disorder. The teaching aspect will of course change according to the original understanding of the topic by the students. Once this has been discussed, the teacher will then explain what autism is. Autism is defined as a brain disorder that begins in early childhood and persists throughout adulthood; affects three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play. This causes difficulties in functioning in normal society because they are more sensitive to what is going on around them. Next ask the students if they know what empathy is, or in other words they know what it is like to understand what one of their friends is feeling without their friend telling them. Instances when they knew their mother or father was mad at them for doing something wrong before they were punished, know when someone is lying or cheating them. This will lead into the communicating without words in order to simulate empathy.
Step-by-step
1. Each student will choose a partner
2. One student of the partners will choose an emotion card out of a container
3. The one who has chosen the card must do a charade type action and dance of the emotion without using words or facial expressions.
4. The other student will have to guess which emotion or feeling they are displaying
5. This will be repeated with the other partner choosing the card.
6. Each partner does this twice
7. Then the same sequence will e repeated but they must only use facial expressions this time.
8. Then there will be another discussion sequence about whether or not the students were able to feel and understand what their partner was feeling. This will lead to the teacher explaining the difficulties for people with autism to empathize or understand what other people are feeling. Ask the fifth graders how they think this would affect someone when they are trying to make friends or understand what is going on in a social situation. Ask them how they think it would feel if they could never understand if someone was lying to them.
9. Then the overstimulation exercise will be done.
10. The teacher needs to choose one student to sit in a chair for this
11. The rest of the class will first surround them and act normally have conversations with the other students around them, use their acting skills to represent what a park is like, maybe pretend they are in a grocery store , any public place.
12. Then the other students need to simulate the same situation (this may get loud and hopefully not unmanageable) but this time they need to go crazy and be loud and intimidate and annoy the student in the seat.
13. This will represent what a normal situation or public place feels like to a child with autism.
Closure: The teacher will then sit everyone down and ask them how their life would be if every time they were in public or in a social setting they could not only relate to other people but would also see all places as over stimulating. Explain that these are both effects of autism, which make it difficult to participate in normal daily life.
Assessment: The student should demonstrate ability to show emotion through dance and communicate through facial expression and dance. They should also be involved in the conversation and be respectful and understanding of the effects of autism.
Adaptations (For students with learning disabilities): This may require simply more communication by the teacher about the topic to make sure that the concept is understood by all students. Also when the emotion cards are handed out the teacher may want to give these children quick ideas about how to represent their emotions.
Extensions (for gifted students) : This is difficult to really change, they should be expected to be very involved in the discussion aspect, they also can have more emotion cards and express more emotions through dance and expression in the same amount of time.
Analytic and Persuasive Writing
Professor Robinson
Lesson Plan Title: Autism what is it? How does it change the life of an autistic person?
Concept: The concept is to teach 5th graders what autism is and some of the affects autism has on an individual. This lesson will mostly focus on the social incapability’s, and differences that autistic kids deal with. This concept will be taught using the Florida State standards of dance. Mostly the creation and communication standard will be addressed. Standard 1: the student understands dance is a way to create meaning. The students will try and show emotions with peers first without using facial expressions or words, then with only facial expressions. This will show the ability that people generally have to understand what other people are feeling without them directly telling them. This will show what empathy is; autistic children have been studied as having a general lack of empathy and thus this will lead into explaining that autistic children have a difficulty in relating with other people because they cannot understand what other people are feeling. This activity in full with the lead-in, the dancing, and the discussion afterward should take about 20 to 30 minutes.
Goal: The main goal of this is for the fifth graders to understand one of the aspects of autism, which is the social difficulty an autistic child has due to a lack of empathy. Also they should get a general understanding of what autism is simply through communication and discussion; this will hopefully lead to a moral of accepting people with differences.
Required materials: about two cards per child with emotions or feelings on them ex. Anger, another card could say happiness, confusion, sadness, pain. A single chair will be needed when for a demonstration of overstimulation.
Anticipatory Set (Lead-In) - First it is important to ask the students if they have ever heard of autism, are they know what it is, if they know anyone affected with the disorder. The teaching aspect will of course change according to the original understanding of the topic by the students. Once this has been discussed, the teacher will then explain what autism is. Autism is defined as a brain disorder that begins in early childhood and persists throughout adulthood; affects three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play. This causes difficulties in functioning in normal society because they are more sensitive to what is going on around them. Next ask the students if they know what empathy is, or in other words they know what it is like to understand what one of their friends is feeling without their friend telling them. Instances when they knew their mother or father was mad at them for doing something wrong before they were punished, know when someone is lying or cheating them. This will lead into the communicating without words in order to simulate empathy.
Step-by-step
1. Each student will choose a partner
2. One student of the partners will choose an emotion card out of a container
3. The one who has chosen the card must do a charade type action and dance of the emotion without using words or facial expressions.
4. The other student will have to guess which emotion or feeling they are displaying
5. This will be repeated with the other partner choosing the card.
6. Each partner does this twice
7. Then the same sequence will e repeated but they must only use facial expressions this time.
8. Then there will be another discussion sequence about whether or not the students were able to feel and understand what their partner was feeling. This will lead to the teacher explaining the difficulties for people with autism to empathize or understand what other people are feeling. Ask the fifth graders how they think this would affect someone when they are trying to make friends or understand what is going on in a social situation. Ask them how they think it would feel if they could never understand if someone was lying to them.
9. Then the overstimulation exercise will be done.
10. The teacher needs to choose one student to sit in a chair for this
11. The rest of the class will first surround them and act normally have conversations with the other students around them, use their acting skills to represent what a park is like, maybe pretend they are in a grocery store , any public place.
12. Then the other students need to simulate the same situation (this may get loud and hopefully not unmanageable) but this time they need to go crazy and be loud and intimidate and annoy the student in the seat.
13. This will represent what a normal situation or public place feels like to a child with autism.
Closure: The teacher will then sit everyone down and ask them how their life would be if every time they were in public or in a social setting they could not only relate to other people but would also see all places as over stimulating. Explain that these are both effects of autism, which make it difficult to participate in normal daily life.
Assessment: The student should demonstrate ability to show emotion through dance and communicate through facial expression and dance. They should also be involved in the conversation and be respectful and understanding of the effects of autism.
Adaptations (For students with learning disabilities): This may require simply more communication by the teacher about the topic to make sure that the concept is understood by all students. Also when the emotion cards are handed out the teacher may want to give these children quick ideas about how to represent their emotions.
Extensions (for gifted students) : This is difficult to really change, they should be expected to be very involved in the discussion aspect, they also can have more emotion cards and express more emotions through dance and expression in the same amount of time.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
letter to LADDERS
Dear Ladders,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
I understand that you mostly do research to see how to help autistic people later in their lives, but I am very concerned with the recent proclamations that vaccines may be the reason for the influx in children diagnosed with Autism. Your increasing understanding of how autism affects and changes the lives of people could be of great benefit to the research institutions that are studying this issue. Research institutions like Yale and Columbia have found enough of a relationship to keep researching the matter even though they have found no definitive answers. Even though it has been a very back and forth topic the Center for Disease Control has been very adamant in refuting the relationship between vaccines and autism for fear that if people think there is a problem with one vaccine they will lost trust in all vaccinations and a larger epidemic will take place. If there is even a chance that vaccines are the reason one out of every one hundred and fifty children are now being diagnosed with Autism it is unacceptable that children are being subjected to it.
Like I said before I respect everything that your organization is doing and I feel that you can help reveal the real issues behind the influx in autism. I one day hope that I can feel comfortable giving my child vaccinations, and if my children is born with autism or aspergers I am glad there are people like you to help. Please reply if I have said anything you do no agree with or do agree with. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Chelsea Fisher
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
I understand that you mostly do research to see how to help autistic people later in their lives, but I am very concerned with the recent proclamations that vaccines may be the reason for the influx in children diagnosed with Autism. Your increasing understanding of how autism affects and changes the lives of people could be of great benefit to the research institutions that are studying this issue. Research institutions like Yale and Columbia have found enough of a relationship to keep researching the matter even though they have found no definitive answers. Even though it has been a very back and forth topic the Center for Disease Control has been very adamant in refuting the relationship between vaccines and autism for fear that if people think there is a problem with one vaccine they will lost trust in all vaccinations and a larger epidemic will take place. If there is even a chance that vaccines are the reason one out of every one hundred and fifty children are now being diagnosed with Autism it is unacceptable that children are being subjected to it.
Like I said before I respect everything that your organization is doing and I feel that you can help reveal the real issues behind the influx in autism. I one day hope that I can feel comfortable giving my child vaccinations, and if my children is born with autism or aspergers I am glad there are people like you to help. Please reply if I have said anything you do no agree with or do agree with. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Chelsea Fisher
letter to ASU
Dear Autism/Aspergers research program of Arizona State University,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your research institution is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing number of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccinations.
I understand that you are trying to find the causes of autism and ways to help people who have been diagnosed. I noticed also that you mostly do your research on biomedical issues which are obviously the most important factors. What worries me most is that recent and rapid influx in autism in recent years. I understand that other research institutions have found enough of a relationship among the two to keep researching the topic. I was wondering if as a research institution you have also looked into this subject matter. Potentially it is not the vaccines that are causing the issues, but the vital moments in a child’s devilment when we give them these vaccinations.
It also worries me that this topic has fallen of the charts a little bit. The Center for Disease control has claimed that many experts say there is no relationship, but it is also true that the CDC is worried that if there is a connection people will lose trust in all vaccines, ultimately causing a larger problem. This is not a good enough reason to keep information from the public. It is in your hands to find out how these vaccines could be causing autism and explain why the numbers have raised so rapidly.
I know the affects aspergers has had not only on my friend, but also on her family, and if these types f disorders are caused by vaccines it must be stopped. I one day would like to give my child a vaccine that helps them and does not affect their development. Please let me know if you have in fact researched this topic and what you have found, or if I have said anything that you agree or disagree with. Thank you for your time and understanding.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am currently a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your research institution is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing number of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccinations.
I understand that you are trying to find the causes of autism and ways to help people who have been diagnosed. I noticed also that you mostly do your research on biomedical issues which are obviously the most important factors. What worries me most is that recent and rapid influx in autism in recent years. I understand that other research institutions have found enough of a relationship among the two to keep researching the topic. I was wondering if as a research institution you have also looked into this subject matter. Potentially it is not the vaccines that are causing the issues, but the vital moments in a child’s devilment when we give them these vaccinations.
It also worries me that this topic has fallen of the charts a little bit. The Center for Disease control has claimed that many experts say there is no relationship, but it is also true that the CDC is worried that if there is a connection people will lose trust in all vaccines, ultimately causing a larger problem. This is not a good enough reason to keep information from the public. It is in your hands to find out how these vaccines could be causing autism and explain why the numbers have raised so rapidly.
I know the affects aspergers has had not only on my friend, but also on her family, and if these types f disorders are caused by vaccines it must be stopped. I one day would like to give my child a vaccine that helps them and does not affect their development. Please let me know if you have in fact researched this topic and what you have found, or if I have said anything that you agree or disagree with. Thank you for your time and understanding.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
letter to autism speaks
Dear Autism Speaks,
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
The posting you have on the concern regarding vaccinations is reasonably informative and helpful, but there are people who have no understanding of the topic. These people may turn to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for their information, which as I’m sure you know is not a very informative site regarding this topic. The CDC has said “because signs of autism may appear around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine some parents may worry that the vaccine causes autism” and They also say that a study done in 1998 that led people to believe the vaccine was causing the disorder was very small and not comprehensive enough, it also states that many of the doctors involves in the study are now saying that it is not the cause. Since then larger studies have taken place in which “the percentage of children with autism who received MMR vaccine was the same as the number of unaffected children in the region who received the MMR vaccine.” The bullets end with the statement “Groups of experts say there is not relationship between MMR and the influx in Autism” This website for an uninformed parent makes it seem like the relationship between autism and vaccinations is non-existent and they should not worry.
I think that it is up to organizations like you to make sure that you have a comprehensive page regarding this issue. Research institutions like Columbia and Yale have done studies on the topic and have been unable to find answers, but have found enough evidence that more research needs to be done. Now one out of every one hundred and fifty children is diagnosed with autism which is an astounding increase. Also people should know that the government and the CDC are afraid that if people do find out that these vaccinations are causing autism it will cause people to stop giving their children any vaccinations, which would create an even larger problem. If people are informed about which vaccinations are speculated of being the problem, they can talk it over with their pediatricians.
I am very proud of everything you are doing for the cause, but I think that the page regarding vaccinations could be more informative. The fact that you are relaying the information at all is a very important step. Thank you for reading about my concerns as a young woman and student who wishes more people were informed on this topic. I would love to hear back from you if I have said anything you do or do not agree with.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
My name is Chelsea Fisher and I am a student at Eckerd College. I respect everything that your organization is doing for autism which is becoming a bigger concern every day. I have a close friend who was diagnosed with aspergers, and I am very concerned with the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism. Being a young woman who one day plans on having children it worries me that the “epidemic” as some are calling it may be related to vaccines.
The posting you have on the concern regarding vaccinations is reasonably informative and helpful, but there are people who have no understanding of the topic. These people may turn to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for their information, which as I’m sure you know is not a very informative site regarding this topic. The CDC has said “because signs of autism may appear around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine some parents may worry that the vaccine causes autism” and They also say that a study done in 1998 that led people to believe the vaccine was causing the disorder was very small and not comprehensive enough, it also states that many of the doctors involves in the study are now saying that it is not the cause. Since then larger studies have taken place in which “the percentage of children with autism who received MMR vaccine was the same as the number of unaffected children in the region who received the MMR vaccine.” The bullets end with the statement “Groups of experts say there is not relationship between MMR and the influx in Autism” This website for an uninformed parent makes it seem like the relationship between autism and vaccinations is non-existent and they should not worry.
I think that it is up to organizations like you to make sure that you have a comprehensive page regarding this issue. Research institutions like Columbia and Yale have done studies on the topic and have been unable to find answers, but have found enough evidence that more research needs to be done. Now one out of every one hundred and fifty children is diagnosed with autism which is an astounding increase. Also people should know that the government and the CDC are afraid that if people do find out that these vaccinations are causing autism it will cause people to stop giving their children any vaccinations, which would create an even larger problem. If people are informed about which vaccinations are speculated of being the problem, they can talk it over with their pediatricians.
I am very proud of everything you are doing for the cause, but I think that the page regarding vaccinations could be more informative. The fact that you are relaying the information at all is a very important step. Thank you for reading about my concerns as a young woman and student who wishes more people were informed on this topic. I would love to hear back from you if I have said anything you do or do not agree with.
Sincerely,
Chelsea
Kat's response to letters
Chelsea, Awesome letters. I think that you are heading in the right direction. One thing, watch for consistency in font and style. Are these letters for email? You need to make sure that you list your address and the organizations' addresses on the letters.I like that you are using your information to highlight areas that you need to bring to attention. Yeah, Research!! Happy belated birthday! I hope that the coming year brings you lots of joy and bliss. Remember, "a man achieves full maturity when he achieves the seriousness he had as a child at play" (Nietzsche). Go play!!
Take care,
Kat
Take care,
Kat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)