The “Autism Community” Punk’d!

Orac and Kevin Leitch both comment on how  the “Autism Community” (whoever the hell they are – who decided they represented the “Autism Community”?) have asked for messages of support for Andrew Wakefield. You know, the researcher whose crappy “research” supposedly linked autism to the MMR vaccine, and thereby (with the help of a complicit media) caused a reduction in uptake of the vaccine and an increase in Measles. (No reduction in autism, funnily enough.)

Anyway, several people posted messages with, shall we say, less than supportive messages. But the “Autism Community” is only accepting supportive messages. Shame.

Anyway, I thought I should post a message. But it had to be supportive, or it wouldn’t have been published. This is what I wrote:

Well done Dr. Wakefield. Although the medical establishment denies your research. Keep up the good work. Even though you are criticized. For the sake of the children. I know you are a man of integrity. Every thing you have said has turned out right. Lots of kids got autism from vaccines. Did that stop them poisoning our kids?. I don’t think so. So much for integrity. All we have are beacons of honesty such as yourself. Let our words give you strength. I trust you will continue your research. Autism is treatable. Real doctors know that.

U Menteur

So, I hear you say, a strange message from me. Seems a little too supportive.  And who the hell is U Menteur?

Perhaps if I started each sentence on a new line, my message might be a little clearer:

Well done Dr. Wakefield.

Although the medical establishment denies your research.

Keep up the good work.

Even though you are criticized.

For the sake of the children.

I know you are a man of integrity.

Every thing you have said has turned out right.

Lots of kids got autism from vaccines.

Did that stop them poisoning our kids?.

 

I don’t think so.

So much for integrity.

 

All we have are beacons of honesty such as yourself.

 

Let our words give you strength.

I trust you will continue your research.

Autism is treatable.

Real doctors know that.

I’ve bolded the first letter of each sentence - just read down. Also, “Menteur” is French for “liar”. So it’s signed, “U Liar”.

The funny thing – they published it. Click the thumbnail to read the actual section (just in case they take it down).

Childish? Of course. But deserved.

Comments

[Do'C]

Well done Skeptico. Mine was clear and to the point - and of course, not published.

[Candice]

Brings back memories from high school, trying to get dirty words printed in the yearbook/newsletter, etc.

[Jamie]

And, of course, it's no longer up there, just the glowing reviews of people too stupid to realise he's full of crap.

Jamie
An AS mother to two AS children

[Lepht]

high fucking five, my snide friend. good game.

L

[Joseph]

LOL.

I also hate their monopolization of the phrase "autism community". In reality I think they are a very small fraction of the autism community, although a fairly loud one.

[Skeptico]

Jamie: it's still there. For now.

[Infophile]

Well, you got me beat. I tried a similar tactic, except mine was a more direct parody. I think I might have given myself away with lines such as "Who cares if you caused an outbreak of measles? The point is, some kids have a marginally better life."

[Club 166]

Thanks for the good laugh this morning. You'd think they'd look up the name, even if they didn't catch the other.

[Club 166]

Thanks for the good laugh this morning. You'd think they'd look up the name, even if they didn't catch the other.

[Club 166]

Thanks for the good laugh this morning. You'd think they'd look up the name, even if they didn't catch the other.

[Club 166]

Thanks for the good laugh this morning. You'd think they'd look up the name, even if they didn't catch the other.

[TechSkeptic]

looks like Club166 REALLY enjoyed that post! lol.

I dont have too much experience with autistic kids.....but recently I did.

I was walking my dog and saw a kid playing in the park with his dad nearby. he wanted to pet my dogs. The kid seemed normal, just a bit 'off'. He interrupted a lot and had trouble focusing, I just thought it was an ADHD kid or something. After tlaking witht he dad though, he truly amazed me. This kid was autistic, but until age 5 he was so bad they (the doctors) intended on institutionalizing him.

with pretty intense therapy they turned a combative, uncommunicative, dissociative kid into what I thought was a relatively normal kid.

I know its anecdotal, I know that this is only one kid, but I was truly amazed at how far we have come in treating this. does anyone else have direct experience with autism?

[Joseph]

TechSkeptic: While intensive behavioral intervention is considered mainstream, the evidence of its effectiveness is pretty weak IMHO. There are testimonials for its effectiveness, but it's not uncommon for autistic children to change with time, like anyone else; plus there are great testimonials for all quack cures one can think of, including exorcism and homeopathy. ABA became popular because of Lovaas (1987), a non-randomized, non-blinded study which claimed 47% of children became "indistinguishable from their peers". The study relied on aversives (punishment) and its effectiveness was never replicated to that degree. In fact, the only randomized trial of ABA was a failure. Other non-randomized trials have also not found ABA to be more effective than eclectic interventions. There are no indications that the general outcome of autistics has improved in recent times.

Michelle Dawson is a an autistic researcher who has posted some pretty damning critiques of ABA on her blog: http://autismcrisis.blogspot.com

[Asteranx]

>> You'd think they'd look up the name, even if they didn't catch the other.

I don't know about that... Research doesn't seem to be these peoples' strong suit.

[Victor Ivan Thomas Thompson-Urquart]

For Andrew Wakefield...

"Yes, they called you a liar. Of course they laughed at you. Underneath it all, though, we knew.

For what it’s worth, I know you are a man of honour. Undeserved to the highest degree, those remarks they made about you. Can’t possibly see why they would make them. Know this, though… I, for one, see though it all. Not for me, those nasty ways to describe you. Generation Rescue, of course, owes its very existence to you and your work.

Take comfort, Andrew, from this: What little they know is obvious. All they do is scream and shout. That’s the difference."

Think he'll get it???? :P

[TechSkeptic]

Thank you joseph. i am not up on the state of the art of autism treatment. I was pretty impressed by this kid though. I will look a little more.

[HCN]

They did not publish my comment. Though I went straight for the jugular, counting the dead and disabled from Wakefield's lawyer paid study (3 dead in Ireland, 1 in the UK... and several disabled).

What was interesting is not only did your rather cryptic not get in... but so did this one, which starts...
Dear Dr Wakefield,
let me thank you for this.Just a short clip from a newspaper.......
A rapid series of tests on blood and other samples from both children came back negative. Both boys deteriorated and were admitted into intensive care.

The doctors were concerned that the boys’ brains were swelling dangerously, a condition known as encephalitis. They suspected a viral infection, but could not identify it.

Dr Eithne MacMahon, consultant virologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals, said: “This was something I’d never seen before. We had to think much harder about what it could be and decided to test for measles, even though measles-associated encephalitis hasn’t been seen in the UK for many years.”

The tests came back positive. Matthew and Joe were fighting for their lives against an affliction that British doctors thought had been consigned to the history books.
...........

and it continues. It is quoting a TimeOnLine article title "The Ream Victims of Britain's MMR Scare":
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1055533.ece

[HCN]

Oh cruddy dud... I mucked up... I wrote "What was interesting is not only did your rather cryptic not get in... but so did this one,"

What I meant to say was "What was interesting is not only did your rather cryptic GET in... but so did this one,"

Just remove the spurious "not"... stupid double negative. Should have made it a triple negative for fun and confusion.

oh, oh, oh... now for lots of fun with very silly people, you must check out this blog that I was directed from Kristina Chew's AutismVox blog:
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/mmr-and-statistical-lies.html

This man thinks it would be cheaper to NOT vaccinate for measles (since it really is just a mild disease), and only vaccinate boys for mumps and girls for rubella. Forgetting, of course, that mumps causes more than male sterility.

[Club 166]

I did really like this post.

But have no idea how it posted 3 times in rapid succession. I only hit send once, I swear!

Sorry about that.

Joe

[Victor Ivan Thomas Thompson-Urquart]

Bugger me... the silly sods published it!!!!!

LoL

[Dan]

I realize your posting to Autism Community was for fun. But what was the ratio of readers who got the joke to readers who came away with the wrong idea? Very small, I'd guess.

This reminds me of National Geographic's semi-recent cover story titled "Was Darwin Wrong?" People who took the time to flip to page 67 or whatever saw the word "NO" in 100 point font. But many more people saw only the cover, and might have come away with the idea that even National Geographic doubts the theory of evolution.

[Lars Dietz]

Reminds me of the Chinese-American who sent a "patriotic" poem to a Chinese government newspaper. Diagonally, it read (in Chinese characters, of course) something like: "Li Peng must step down to appease the people's anger." They didn't notice this,and it got printed.