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Rand Paul does a lot of interviews -- a lot. This, from time to time, has gotten him in trouble. Rarely, though, has it gone as poorly as this. Speaking Monday afternoon with CNBC, Paul: 1) Reiterated his contention that vaccines should be voluntary. 2) Said this: "I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines." (Michele Bachmann said something similar during the 2012 presidential campaign. It didn't go over well.) 3) Actually shushed the anchor when he thought she wasn't allowing him to answer her questions.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul is standing by his statement that most vaccinations should be "voluntary," telling CNBC that a parent's choice not to vaccinate a child is "an issue of freedom." In an interview with the network Monday, Paul said that vaccines are "a good thing" but that parents "should have some input" into whether or not their children must get them. And he gave credence to the idea - disputed by the majority of the scientific community - that vaccination can lead to mental disabilities. "I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound...

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Since Dylan Green was 2 years old, he has had a passion for vacuum cleaners. Dylan, who has autism, was never into “normal” toys, his mother Jodie told WTVR. The middle school student turned 14 over the weekend and celebrated his birthday with a party that included close friends, family and a vacuum salesman. In an effort to help make her son’s birthday special, Dylan’s mother sent an email to the Kirby Company, the Cleveland-based makers of the Kirby vacuum. “I am reaching out to you in hopes for an answer to an unusual request for...

No, apparently this is not a spoof, the scion of the man who was responsible for the Cuban blockade is full of awe for the Cuban dictatorship. Sure, it’s a dictatorship, but other than that, it’s just ducky, apparently. Writing in the South American news agency MercoPress, Robert F. Kennedy avers, after admitting the dictatorship and lack of a free press: Despite its poverty, Cuba has managed some impressive accomplishments. Cuba’s government boasts the highest literacy rates for its population of any nation in the hemisphere. Cuba claims its citizens enjoy universal access to health care and more doctors per...

In early December, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than five decades of a misguided policy which my uncle, John F. Kennedy, and my father, Robert F. Kennedy, had been responsible for enforcing after the U.S. embargo against the country was first implemented in October 1960 by the Eisenhower administration. The move has raised hopes in many quarters – not only in the United States but around the world – that the embargo itself is now destined to disappear. This does not detract from the fact that Cuba is still a dictatorship. The...

U.S. scientists have identified a molecular network of genes known to contribute to autism spectrum disorders, and they say their finding may help uncover new genes linked to these conditions. "The study of autism disorders is extremely challenging due to the large number of clinical mutations that occur in hundreds of different human genes associated with autism," study author Michael Snyder, genetics and personalized medicine professor at Stanford University, said in a news release. "We therefore wanted to see to what extent shared molecular pathways are perturbed by the diverse set of mutations linked to autism in the hope of...

When a veteran academic finds something notable in a Republican president’s administration, it’s generally the expansion of a federal government program. At the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), on Tuesday, Michael Wiseman, an economist at George Washington University (GWU), called Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the disabled, the “big achievement of the Nixon years.” The program dates from 1974. Currently, millions of adults and children are on the program, and millions more are likely to be. “Since 1996, the real value of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, as the Clinton Administration and the Republican Congress renamed welfare) has been declining,”...

PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - An Oregon mother accused of killing her 6-year-old autistic son by throwing him from a bridge is being held on $1 million bail, a Lincoln County District Court clerk said on Wednesday.

As I recall a time in my daughter’s life when she was not drawn toward the church or Christians, I wonder how others with Asperger’s Syndrome feel about the church, religion, and spirituality. I googled “Aspergers” and “Religion” to research Aspies’ thoughts about this matter. (Individuals with Asperger’s often refer to themselves as Aspies). To my surprise, there are hundreds of articles written about Aspies and religion. Psychology Today recently featured two articles on this very topic: Bullying, Hypocrisy, and Church: An Asperger Perspective on ReligionThe Pain of Isolation: Asperger’s and Suicide The reality of many Aspies’ experience with religious...

With 1 in 68 people on the autism spectrum, most churches will encounter a number of people of various ages and backgrounds who are autistic. I am autistic and a Christian, and my faith is a very important part of my life. As a child, I had little use of language and was very “typically autistic.” But as an adult, I learned to use language, and now I teach churches worldwide about autism. I work with leaders from the Church of England, and I wrote their national autism guidelines at the request of the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend...

For families dealing with autism, going to church can be difficult. Children with autism often struggle in new environments. Large crowds of people can be overwhelming to them. They are often bothered by certain noises, bright lights and even smells. Many of the individuals have limited verbal skills. There are safety issues for those who have a tendency to wander. I have talked to way too many families who said, “it is just too hard, so we don’t go” or “we can’t find a church willing to accept our child.” What a terrible shame. The families are not to blame....

Have you ever heard of a church that turned away a little boy because he had red hair? What if a mother was greeted at the children’s ministry check-in with news her redheaded son had to go back home? No, you can’t imagine. If any church ever sent home a child because of their natural hair color it would make the evening news! Now, have you ever heard of a church that turned away a little boy because he was on the autism spectrum? What if a mother was greeted at church check-in with the news that her son with autism couldn’t be...

I’ve written previously (here and here) about the possible connection between autism and vaccines made with aborted fetal cells. Now, the September issue of the prestigious Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology has published a study conducted by scientists at Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute that shows an spike in autism in country after country where vaccines using fetal cells from aborted babies have been introduced. The implicated vaccines are MMR (measles/mumps/rubella), Varicella (chickenpox), and Hepatitis A. Using data from the U.S. government, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Western Australia, researchers found a spike in autism around the world after vaccines using...

Police are investigating after a group of teens in Bay Village, Ohio, allegedly tricked an autistic 15-year-old into creating an ice bucket challenge video, then dousing him with urine, feces, spit, and cigarette butts. The video was filmed on the boy's cell phone and posted to Instagram, according to his mother, Diane. (Local news outlet WJW withheld the family's last name to protect the boy's identity.) The victim's brother, Jacob, told WJW: I mean, the first thing that popped into my mind was like, why could someone – how could someone do this? How could someone really be this cruel...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-AUGUST 27,2014 STATEMENT OF WILLIAM W. THOMPSON, Ph.D., REGARDING THE 2004 ARTICLE EXAMINING THE POSSIBILITY OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MMR VACCINE AND AUTISM My name is William Thompson. I am a Senior Scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where I have worked since 1998. I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics. The omitted data suggested that African American males who received the MMR vaccine before age 36 months were at increased risk for autism. Decisions were made regarding which findings to report...

A UC Riverside-led team of researchers says it has found conclusive evidence that a naturally produced enzyme in the body is responsible for autism and other neurological disorders in people with Fragile X syndrome. Fragile X is a mutation of the X chromosome associated with obsessive-compulsive and repetitive behaviors as well as learning deficits. People affected by Fragile X have been shown to have structural differences in brain cells, such as underdeveloped neural receptors. :snip: The study is the cover story for the latest edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. :snip: Often, such discoveries are the first step in a...

At a time when election officials are struggling to convince more Americans to vote, advocates for the disabled say thousands of people with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy and other intellectual or developmental disabilities have been systematically denied that basic right in the nation’s largest county. A Voting Rights Act complaint to be filed Thursday with the U.S. Justice Department goes to a politically delicate subject that states have grappled with over the years: Where is the line to disqualify someone from the voting booth because of a cognitive or developmental impairment? The complaint by the Disability and Abuse Project...

The Maryland teen who admitted to torturing an autistic boy while and filming the abuse has been sent to a juvenile facility where she'll stay for up to four years. Lauren Bush, 17, pleaded guilty in juvenile court last month to distribution of an obscene video and second-degree assault. Under her sentence, she'll be released before she turns 21, NBC Washington reported. Her case was moved from an adult court — where she faced up to 80 years in prison — to the juvenile system. The lighter sentence outraged the victim's father, who wanted the high school junior punished as...

In the study, researchers administered a dose of suramin to 25 male mice, whereas another 25 males received a saline injection instead. All mice were "maternal immune activation mouse models," meaning animals that exhibit autism-like behaviors following a virus infection in their mothers during pregnancy. This single dose, the researchers report, corrected the social behaviors seen in autism spectrum disorder. The mice, for instance, spent more time interacting with both mice and objects they had never interacted with before, compared to those injected with a saline solution. The benefits lasted for five weeks after the drug was washed out of...

Exposure to environmental pollution may cause brain changes that make people more vulnerable to developing autism or schizophrenia, according to a new study published in Environmental Heath Perspectives. This research falls in line with a 2013 study published in JAMA Psychiatry, which demonstrated an epidemiological link between pollution and autism; the researchers found that children who lived in areas with high levels of traffic pollution seemed to be more likely to be diagnosed with the neurodevelopmental disorder. […] While most research on pollution focuses on large-particle pollution—the only type monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—this research focused on the...