Ex Baggie dies

[Omegstrat6]

As an aside, there has been an increase in the numbers of children being diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum and it may seem then reasonable to suggest that this might be attributed to vaccines but the answer is far more likely a combination of other, more mundane, factors. Besides, if true, and similar mass vaccination programmes were begun just after WW2, why would these effects only show themselves now?

The autistic spectrum is huge and, to a degree, many of the "symptoms" if you like are traits that most of us have, if only in small measure. Some research shows certain forms of autism to be genetic but other linked diagnosis -ADHD for example-can be impacted by nurture rather than nature. Poor diet (too much processed food/ sugar), lack of exercise or too much screen time on electronic gaming/tv/social media can all have an impact.

Another factor is that autism in children is now both better understood and recognized whereas in the past such children may have been dismissed as either weird, thick or disruptive. The downside is that schools are now so poorly funded that they simply cannot afford the specialist support these children require (e.g. one-to-one time) and SENCO officers in schools vary greatly in knowledge and ability. I know this from personal experience where a little knowledge can indeed be a dangerous thing. The upshot of this has been an increasing number of children being taken out of school to be home tutored because the state schools simply cannot cope with them but trying to get any help as a parent is nothing short of a nightmare, even with an EHCP.

Increased awareness around autism, coupled with poor training , has, I personally believe, also led to another factor creeping in which influences the higher numbers of children now being diagnosed. Now more aware of autism, I am convinced that some parents use this as an excuse for the behaviour of their child as it is easier than admitting that their own parenting may be part of the problem. Poor diet, too much screen time on electronics, too many changes of setting (by which I mean too much time outside of home by going to breakfast club, after school clubs and child-minders) can all have an impact on development and behaviour and if the person making the diagnosis for the purposes of the EHCP is not fully clued up they may be loathe to call these aspects out or be able to more accurately judge if certain behaviours are down to the child being simply naughty or are genuine indications of autism.

I am not saying that such children are not on the spectrum at all, just saying that their traits might be exaggerated by their parents for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the root causes of their behaviour however all such children should be able to get the help and support they need.

[Calgarybaggy]

Autism used to be seen as something that caused kids to be non communicative and to sit in the corner rocking backwards and forwards staring at their fingers. It was also assumed that an autistic child had low intelligence. Then a guy called Asperger realised that some kids with very high intelligence had some communication problems too even though they were so intelligent and so Asperger’s syndrome was coined. This was all in the last 50 years. Then about 10 years ago they realised that autism and Asperger’s were different ends of the same stick so they lumped everything together and called it autism spectrum disorder. And it really is a spectrum in that no two autistics are the same. It’s first and foremost a communication disorder. So you can have someone who is brilliant but a bit antisocial because they don’t know how to deal with social situations very well and you can have have someone who has a very low IQ who screams at you uncontrollably if you take away their favourite toy, and they are both on the same spectrum but just have different quirks and deal with it very differently.
The reason why it seems like there are more and more people with autism is because it’s still a relatively new diagnosis with relatively new diagnostic criteria, so they are finding more and more of them all the time. So now if you get a 13 year old boy who does reasonably well at school and seems quite normal but is so into Star Wars that he cant seem to get through a conversation without mentioning it, chances are, he’s autistic. He can probably be trained to tone down his infatuation so that it doesn’t make him seem so weird but the basic wiring in his brain that caused him to be like that will not change. Plenty of people with autism can function perfectly well and plenty barely function at all. They think Einstein was on the spectrum. Both Dan Ackroyd and Elon Musk have admitted that they are on the spectrum.
My daughter is doing a PhD in communication disorders so she knows a lot about autism. She says it’s nothing at all to do with vaccines because apart from the complete lack of real evidence linking them, there is a strong genetic component which pretty much rules out an environmental cause. if a child is autistic, chances are that at least one parent is also on the spectrum. They estimate 5% of the population is somewhere on the autism spectrum. Thats about 3.5 million in England. Probably less than 10% of them have been diagnosed or even suspect they may be on the spectrum because it is still so under diagnosed.
The profession with the most number of autistic children is medicine which doesn’t surprise my wife at all because she is fairly convinced that many doctors themselves are autistic - think Doc Martin: very brilliant but often unwittingly antisocial. And as more and more are diagnosed, the taboo surrounding the diagnosis is lessening so more and more people are willing to ask the question: is the reason why I feel so out of place in social situations, or always say the wrong thing to my wife or get completely obsessed with things that don’t interest other people but I can’t seem to shut up about it, is it because I am autistic?

[Dubbag]

Autism used to be seen as something that caused kids to be non communicative and to sit in the corner rocking backwards and forwards staring at their fingers. It was also assumed that an autistic child had low intelligence. Then a guy called Asperger realised that some kids with very high intelligence had some communication problems too even though they were so intelligent and so Asperger’s syndrome was coined. This was all in the last 50 years. Then about 10 years ago they realised that autism and Asperger’s were different ends of the same stick so they lumped everything together and called it autism spectrum disorder. And it really is a spectrum in that no two autistics are the same. It’s first and foremost a communication disorder. So you can have someone who is brilliant but a bit antisocial because they don’t know how to deal with social situations very well and you can have have someone who has a very low IQ who screams at you uncontrollably if you take away their favourite toy, and they are both on the same spectrum but just have different quirks and deal with it very differently.
The reason why it seems like there are more and more people with autism is because it’s still a relatively new diagnosis with relatively new diagnostic criteria, so they are finding more and more of them all the time. So now if you get a 13 year old boy who does reasonably well at school and seems quite normal but is so into Star Wars that he cant seem to get through a conversation without mentioning it, chances are, he’s autistic. He can probably be trained to tone down his infatuation so that it doesn’t make him seem so weird but the basic wiring in his brain that caused him to be like that will not change. Plenty of people with autism can function perfectly well and plenty barely function at all. They think Einstein was on the spectrum. Both Dan Ackroyd and Elon Musk have admitted that they are on the spectrum.
My daughter is doing a PhD in communication disorders so she knows a lot about autism. She says it’s nothing at all to do with vaccines because apart from the complete lack of real evidence linking them, there is a strong genetic component which pretty much rules out an environmental cause. if a child is autistic, chances are that at least one parent is also on the spectrum. They estimate 5% of the population is somewhere on the autism spectrum. Thats about 3.5 million in England. Probably less than 10% of them have been diagnosed or even suspect they may be on the spectrum because it is still so under diagnosed.
The profession with the most number of autistic children is medicine which doesn’t surprise my wife at all because she is fairly convinced that many doctors themselves are autistic - think Doc Martin: very brilliant but often unwittingly antisocial. And as more and more are diagnosed, the taboo surrounding the diagnosis is lessening so more and more people are willing to ask the question: is the reason why I feel so out of place in social situations, or always say the wrong thing to my wife or get completely obsessed with things that don’t interest other people but I can’t seem to shut up about it, is it because I am autistic?

Short answer. Who knows.
I am antisocial because most people converse about bolix generally. But I'm happy with my own company.
RIP Paul Bradshaw as an aside.

[Leicesterbaggie]

It’s a difficult one regarding vaccinations. From a personal point of view, I have never had the flu and any cold that I have had has been just a minor sniffle. I never had the flu vaccination until I got to my mid seventies but then decided to have it. As far as covid is concerned, I think that it was an undoubted success and saved many from dying or serious illness. Again, from a personal point of view, I had the vaccination, tested positive for covid but had no symptoms. Whether that was down to the vaccination or not, I don’t know.
Basically, it’s a matter of choice but when you consider the fact that polio has been eradicated in this country, TB, virtually the same, although I think it has started to increase again, there being certain factors for this; on the whole I am in favour.

[WBA123]

I take any jab they offer me.

I’ve barely had a cold in the past 7 years since I started taking the flu jab.

I wasn’t allowed to have a Covid jab this winter as I’m not 65+ but now I’ve been diagnosed with asthma I’m hoping they’ll allow me one.

This scaremongering is no different to the idiots who won’t give their kids the MMR vaccine.

I had measles when I was 6 and was extremely ill, it was by far the worst of childhood illnesses I had.

I’d rather take a 1 in 100,000 risk with a vaccine than have the illness.

Hit the nail on the head here Mick, and an attitude I take myself.

I have no idea how people can't look at the evidence of major illnesses that have been almost eradicated because of vaccines, smallpox and tuberculosis spring to mind immediately, and think that vaccines don't work.

And another thing I can't understand, if any conspiracy theorists out there want to explain it to me, is why every Government in the world would purposefully out their people in danger if the vaccines were killing people off in large numbers. What do they stand to gain?

[bordering]

Not anti - vaxxer but sceptical about a gene altering injection [ MRNA]which had only been tested for 9 months as opposed to 9-11 years before approval.

[baggieal]

My understanding is that the MMR /autism theory stems from a report in the Lancet magazine in the late 1990s which linked the two and then got a lot of publicity which led to a reasonably dramatic drop in the number of parents who chose to vaccinate their children. Subsequent research then concluded that there was, in fact, no scientific evidence to link the two and the doctor who authored the paper was ultimately discredited. Fewer vaccinations however led to an increase in mumps and measels.

Of course the anti-vaxx movement argued that this subsequent research was all a conspiracy theory itself and was put about by Big Pharma wanting to protect its own interests (in these days of so much reported corruption maybe not such a leap) as it made money from providing these jabs.

With the advent of covid and the often knee-jerk reactions to a pandemic nobody really understood, the anti-vaxx message grew louder. With many people either bored or worried at home during lockdown social media quickly became a breeding ground for such theories/conspiracies. A government that didn't know it's own mind on the situation did not help and neither did the penchant for people to claim Trump like that any reports that contradicted their own viewpoint were "false news" .

For myself, I don't discount the possibility that vaccines may be harmful to some and personally I would not have them unless I thought them necessary as any vaccine works by mimicking the illness so you are introducing that into your body. As Mick points out though, it is only through vaccination programmes that once common illnesses like polio have been virtually eliminated. The data surely shows that, overall, vaccination programmes like MMR are beneficial. If there are an increasing -but still minority-of unvaccinated children who have never caught such illnesses, might a big factor in that simply be that it is because the majority have had the vaccinations and so these illnesses are not about so much for them to catch?

Ultimately, it is-as baggieAl says-down to personal choice and I guess everyone weighs up the perceived risks and makes up their own minds (hopefully) based on as much information they can find so that that choice is as informed as possible.

Yes Omeg respect should be given to life choices. Had I followed the advice of some medical professional consultants with my illness then I wouldn’t have wanted to be here any more. I researched treatment and spoke to a highly regarded US consultant and managed to get the treatment here in the U.K. free. Many doctors had not even heard of the treatment including those at my local surgery. The majority of Joe Public follow the herd!

My in laws know not to thrust their opinions on us or our children as they will be politely reminded it’s not their lives and they are out of touch!

Personal choices should be respected

[Omegstrat6]

Hit the nail on the head here Mick, and an attitude I take myself.

I have no idea how people can't look at the evidence of major illnesses that have been almost eradicated because of vaccines, smallpox and tuberculosis spring to mind immediately, and think that vaccines don't work.

And another thing I can't understand, if any conspiracy theorists out there want to explain it to me, is why every Government in the world would purposefully out their people in danger if the vaccines were killing people off in large numbers. What do they stand to gain?

You're evidently not up to speed on this 123! Basically, not only is it about making money for Big Pharma and for friends in high places through the purchasing of vaccinations and PPE, it is also about control. The covid pandemic was a partly engineered opportunity to build on the restrictions on individual freedoms (including implanting tracking chips into people via the jabs) that the false war on terror had begun.

But not only was covid itself a lie used to frighten the sheeple into accepting more state control but the vaccines themselves killed off the more vulnerable and so got rid of the need for the state to support "useless mouths". A kind of deliberate population control-some of it all orchestrated by the Liberal Elite who also ran a *****phile ring out of a restaurant. Luckily, America had Trump to try and save them from this madness but we didnt..

[Omegstrat6]

Yes Omeg respect should be given to life choices. Had I followed the advice of some medical professional consultants with my illness then I wouldn’t have wanted to be here any more. I researched treatment and spoke to a highly regarded US consultant and managed to get the treatment here in the U.K. free. Many doctors had not even heard of the treatment including those at my local surgery. The majority of Joe Public follow the herd!

My in laws know not to thrust their opinions on us or our children as they will be politely reminded it’s not their lives and they are out of touch!

Personal choices should be respected

Certainly agree with you regarding the benefits in seeking out second opinions on illnesses and treatments! I have personally known of cases where people with serious illnesses have been advised of one thing by consultants which has left them feeling quite negative but have found other alternatives that have worked for them. In some cases there may be clinical test programmes that are, as yet, not well publicized, that people might be able to get referrals for and which may benefit. Always worth researching things yourself as well as asking for a second opinion.

Whilst health care in the US is certainly very uneven, they do tend to have more up to date treatments available (for those that can afford them) than are generally accessible here or, in some cases, even known about. Sometimes It is simply that new innovations have not been properly tested to be approved here, sometimes It is that the NHS cannot afford them. It does pay to explore options yourself -although it can be tricky to say the least to fact check various claims especially as a lay-man with no real expertise in the subject.

[Albionic68]

.......And another thing I can't understand, if any conspiracy theorists out there want to explain it to me, is why every Government in the world would purposefully out their people in danger if the vaccines were killing people off in large numbers. What do they stand to gain?

I was determined not to become embroiled in this debate on what is supposed to be a thread in Remembrance of Paul Bradshaw but you leave me with virtually no other choice but to choose to respond. How dare you refer to people with opinions which differ to your own as Conspiracy Theorists?

They are people with opinions which differ to your own, nothing more and most certainly nothing less and they are not to be mocked. Ever. They are present in their chosen moment and should be taken as seriously as any of us choose to be taken.

In many cases their opinions have been reached following extended periods of research via the Interweb thingy, personal experience and in some cases second hand personalish anecdotal experience. Remember an opinion is never ever wrong. Or entirely correct.

Opinions are arrived at following meticulous analytical synthesis of the facts and only ever occasionally by predisposed personal cynicism or a burgeoning desire to wind the s hit out of others. You ask what is it the powers that be stand to gain?

Well I'm afraid there's only one way to find out and it entails a small financial outlay. Pop down to your local supermarket and buy yourself a roll of tinfoil. If you have a small corner shop closer to home use that facility instead to avoid any unnecessary social contact. The bigger the roll of tinfoil you can afford the better. Hell if you're feeling flush buy two. Remember to use cash though so your spending cannot be traced. No paper trails.

Return to the safety of your domicile abode. Remember to remove your footwear and adorn a comfortable pair of slippers to avoid spreading any germs you may have encountered on your foray. If you have no slippers Crocs will suffice but only if worn with brilliant white socks to ward off evil spirits. Now unwrap the tinfoil and wrap it around your head as tightly as your blood circulation allows.

Hold your breath for as long as possible. Preferably until you pass out and hit the floor with a resounding bump. When you awake from your concussive slumber rise immediately so oxygenated blood rushes straight up to the brain. To avoid confusion I'm referring to the brain that's in your head and not the one at the other end. That brain's for passing on what most people of opinion know about football.

The next step is relatively simple by what has passed up until now. Put your mind into the mind space of a Lizard. A Giant Lizard known to persons of Internet based opinion as a Lizard Person. Seek and ye shall find. Matthew 7:7-8. King James Version (KJV).

All of the very best in your pursuit of the true path which persons of opinion of all walks know is out there. Somewhere. And finally, please scroll down.........
























......... no offence meant anyone but you know what they say about @resoles and opinions, and if you don't....... look it up on the Internet. Just bear in mind that we all count and some of us don't even need to use our fingers.

For the avoidance of doubt this post which has never been part of a fence and was typed out very firmly tongue in cheek. Here and there. Possibly. Do do doooo doooo do do dooooo dooooo.