A friend has a daughter with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Vijay and her husband are so honest and open about their challenges with their younger daughter, and their intelligent perspectives have helped me understand a bit more about these families. She recently posted a note about acceptance and autism, and I thought it was important to share with you.

Vijay: I was asked by a friend,

Are you telling me that you would NOT be interested in a cure for autism?

And here is my answer:

Certainly dealing with Violet has been harder than dealing with a “regular” kid, but sometimes challenges are good for people to kind of push us to open our minds. It’s humbling to be faced with someone who is difficult to figure out. But that there is a lot to be learned from the experience. There’s no way to find out if Violet understands that she’s different, or if she would change that if she could. Yet.

These kids are different. So what should change? The kids? Or society?

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Seventeen-year-old Simone Davis has been applying for citizenship for almost 10 years. When she was 3, she was abandoned and then adopted by her paternal grandmother, who married an American. The family moved to Port St. Joe, Fla.

Now, because she refuses to get the HPV vaccine, she may be sent back to England. That’s because Gardasil is among the required vaccines for citizenship. This vaccine is not mandated for American girls, though different localities have their own laws.

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This is the start of a series sharing the stories of these brave families.

Here is the story of Brittney Fiste, as told by her mother Roxie.

“Everyone deserves to know the whole truth before blindly rushing out to take an unproven vaccine.”

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She was confronted by store staff, who said that Abercrombie policy didn’t allow more than one person in a dressing room at a time in an attempt combat shoplifting. The girls had encountered the same policy at another store, but they allowed the sisters in the dressing room at that store after they understood the situation.

At Abercrombie & Fitch, Brittney explained her sister’s special needs, but was still refused. Their mom, Beth, tried to talk to management and the girls were still refused. Beth even called a customer service hotline while at the store and the request was still ignored.

Four years later, the clothing store has been ordered to pay $115,264 for discriminating against a disabled person.

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The vaccine’s maker, Merck, has been pushing for males to be offered the shot too, and gave the FDA evidence that, according to CBS,

Three studies of over 5,000 boys and men, Gardasil was 89% effective in preventing genital warts.

Check out the entire news story:

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The way the tests work today is we think that by testing at high doses we’re gonna see everything. So that once we get to a dose that’s intermediate and we don’t see anything, we’re golden.

But the science is telling us that at really low doses as contaminants mimic hormones. They can have effects that are totally unpredictable by what happens at high doses.

Pete Myers spoke to Living on Earth about the consequences of current testing.

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But by the time that second (or third or fourth) comes into the picture, you have an older sibling who just might not understand, “Why in the world is mama feeding baby under her shirt?”

If you’re not looking to pick up a breastfeeding doll, halter top and all, you’re probably looking for an engaging way to discuss breastfeeding with your tot.

That is where the book “Mommy Breastfeeds My Baby Brother” was born. Want a chance to win it?

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When the Consumer Products Safety Commission was charged with implementing the new CPSIA, designed to make toys safer, fans of handcrafted goods worried: would we still be able to get our beloved natural toys? After all, toy testing for lead and phthalates has a price tag attached that is harder on the small business owner than it is on corporate giants like Mattel.

Turns out, it’s especially easy for Mattel, as the toy manufacturer gets to use “independent” in-house testing instead of submitting its toys to third-party testing like everyone else, as the AP reports,

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently, and quietly, granted Mattel’s request to use its own labs for testing.

Although I’d love to not be too cynical on this, guess what? Coincidentally, Mattel spent $1 million last year in lobbying costs.

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If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.

A couple aisles over, he made “good” on his word and slapped Ms. Mathews’ daughter 4 or 5 times, following the abuse with a smug,

See, I told you I would shut her up.

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A new ad campaign, sponsored by three government agencies, will feature Elmo and Gordon teaming up. They’ll spread the message on how not to spread germs: wash hands frequently, cough and sneeze into your elbow, and keep your hands away from your face.

The best part? They don’t mention the swine flu vaccine in any of the 30-second PSAs. See?

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Those of us who believe in natural processes, like breastfeeding and childbirth without medical interventions, won’t be surprised to hear this news:

Labor drugs interfere with breastfeeding.

*Shock*

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Want those full 9 hours of sleep you remember?

Pump your baby full of Enfamil’s “Restfull” formula! It’s,

Specially designed to help babies feel full longer and sleep better…[It] thickens gently in baby’s tummy and digests slowly.

Because didn’t you hear? Formula-feeding is apparently,

A natural way to help keep your baby feeling satisfied.

Ri-ight. Because as a natural parent, when you’re not forcing your baby to sleep through the cry-it-out method, certainly you’re hoping to find something that will stick in their bellies. Or even better, something that will magically “thicken” in their bellies.

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Dr. Diane Harper tested Gardasil through Phases II and III of the trials and was part of the media blitz behind it, publicly touting its ability to prevent HPV.

But now, she cautions parents to be well aware of the risks and effectiveness before they decide their daughters should get the shot, according to CBS.

The rate of serious adverse events on par with the death rate of cervical cancer. Gardasil has been associated with at least as many serious adverse events as there are deaths from cervical cancer developing each year.

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Even before this news came out, you may have already cut the HFCS from your family’s diet. But manufacturers are sneaky. There is the corn sweetener in things you wouldn’t even suspect: ketchup, yogurt, salad dressing. Actually, condiments are the biggest culprits when it comes to the mercury/high fructose corn syrup link.

So what did this brilliant researcher receive for her tireless work? Surely, a commendation, right? Nope. Renee Dufault is currently suffering through early retirement in Hawaii.

She was kind enough to discuss her research with me and the implications of mercury in high fructose corn syrup.

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Walmart has won approval to build a Supercenter on the edge one of the most important battlefields from the Civil War: the Wilderness Battlefield.

Wilderness was the location when Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first met in battle, on May 4, 1864. Altogether, on both sides of the fighting, 160,000 soldiers total took part with approximately 29,000 killed or wounded. It was the beginning of the turning point of the Civil War.

Supervisors in Orange County, Virginia voted Monday night to grant a permit to the corporate giant, despite public outcry, especially from historians and Civil War buffs.

Jim Campi, of the Civil War Preservation Trust, is against it because,

What Walmart is proposing would absolutely transform the landscape. Walmart is proposing a superstore closer to a national park boundary than any previous Walmart, and this is right on the boundary of the national park.

Only one-quarter of the historic battlefield is protected, so the controversy has surrounded the question, “What is a battlefield?”

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But fears of adverse affects still abound. This month, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that in the 2.5 years between June 2006 and December 2008, there were

12,424 reports of side effects, or 54 reports per 100,000 doses given. That included 32 reports of death, or 1 per 1 million girls vaccinated, though it’s unclear whether the vaccine or something else was to blame.

An NPR report also stated that we’re not sure how many of those deaths were due to preexisting conditions in the teen girls, such as blood clots:

All of these people had a known risk factor for having blood clots. Most commonly was that they were on some sort of estrogen birth control. But obesity, traveling, immobility and some of these people had genetic risk factors for getting - for having blood clots, as well.

So…we’re blaming the girls for their deaths? For their previously unknown medical conditions? Not only are we as yet uncertain of Gardasil’s safety, we also have no clue about its efficacy, especially long-term.

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Research is split on whether routinely cutting boys at birth will protect them from sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDs and HIV. Most research points to a decrease in diseases only in high-risk populations where such diseases are prevalent.

One of the groups lobbying against such a blanket recommendation is Intact America, a newly-formed group in the U.S. with the aim of lowering the circumcision rate.

But those who state simply that “circumcision prevents STDs” may need to get their facts straight.

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First, you need to know this: most widely available doses of the swine flu vaccine will contain thimerosal, a mercury-laden preservative that has been removed from most vaccines on the Recommended Immunization Schedule over fears of neurological effects.

Also, there are ways you can protect even the littlest members of your family, without giving them a vaccine.

What? It’s either stock up on the Tamiflu or line up for the vaccine? Not so fast, there…

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Colony Collapse Disorder has killed off more than one-third of the bees in the United States.

Beekeepers know that when there isn’t nectar readily available to their hives, as in the winter months, some turn to supplements. Traditionally it was (guess what) honey. But that’s what you want to harvest, so many turn to cheaper substitutions. Cane or beet sugar, mixed with water, was seen as acceptable as long as you removed the part of the comb containing the sugar once bees started producing again. It was important to keep the bees fed so they’d keep brooding and ready to produce honey.

Except it hasn’t only been the occasional sugar-water substitution. We’ve substituted the substitute. People have also turned to high fructose corn syrup.

And once again, it seems our need for convenience and affordability has cost us: a new study shows that a contaminant from heat-exposed HFCS may be killing off the bees.

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A woman began to breastfeed in the Science World museum when a volunteer directed her to the nursing room. Because Kristen George was with her 23-month-old and her 8-week-old nursling, she stayed put, keeping an eye on one child while soothing the infant.

I’ve always felt a little self-conscious, so I usually pump and bring a bottle, but I had forgotten it this time.

George was in the section of the museum specifically for infants and kids, and says she was wearing a baggy shirt that covered her. She says she was approached by a young man who asked her to move. Then when she responded that she wasn’t “doing anything wrong,” he said what she was doing was,

Morally wrong

His words were loud enough to catch the attention of other parents, now making something otherwise mostly overlooked into a spectacle. Fabulous.

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