Tax Dollars Pay For Vaccine-Damaged Kids

During the same time period that the number of14 years old, with a one-to-one ratio of staff
doses of childhood vaccines nearly tripled andmembers to children, in a full-day 12-month program.
vaccination rates soared to nearly 95% for five yearChildren will be admitted by lottery, according to the
olds, the number of kids diagnosed with immune andMay 4, 2005 New York Times.
brain system disorders skyrocketed. There is onlyThe school will receive more than $60,000 per
one commonality in these children - they receivedstudent in public money for special ed needs,
vaccines that contained the mercury-basedcompared to the $8,586 given for normally
preservative thimerosal.developing children at charter schools.
Vaccines are the only product whose use isThe city\'s Department of Education says 3,788
mandated by law and all 50 states require children toautistic children are enrolled in the public system, 786
be vaccinated before entering school. According to aof them educated at private schools, with their fees
1999 report by the General Accounting Office (GAO),paid by the city, the Times reports.
an estimated 12 million vaccinations are given toSchool systems throughout Pennsylvania are feeling
children every year across the country.the pressure. Statewide, in 10 years, the number of
While licensing new vaccines and adding them to theschool-age children in special ed for autism disorders
childhood schedule, the government failed to add uphas increased more than eight-fold, from 634 to
the cumulative amounts of mercury that a child5,145 in 2002-03, the most recent year for which
would receive in shots in one doctor\'s visit or overstate statistics are available.
the course of the full vaccination schedule. But inSince 1999-2000, the number of Bucks County
1999, while conducting a review of all mercuryPennsylvania school-age autistic children receiving
containing products, the government finally realizedspecial ed services has jumped at least 22% every
that mercury exposure from vaccines grosslyyear, according to the US Department of Education.
exceeded safety guidelines set by the EnvironmentalThe September 12, 2004 Bucks County Courier
Protection Agency.reported: \"In 1993-94, the county had 64 kids. In
As a consequence, there has been a doubling of2002-03, it had 448 - a 700 percent increase. No
learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, andother special education category comes close to the
between a 300 to 600% increase in autism in mostsame yearly growth rate.\"
states at precisely the same time that the numberIn Bucks Country, for tuition, transportation,
of vaccinations tripled.evaluations, and other services, the price tag can
Since the government literally forced children to bereach $60,000 per child. That\'s far more than the
vaccinated with thimerosal-containing products foradditional $7,000 in school services that the average
decades, it now has an obligation to find a cure forspecial education student receives, David Mandell,
the epidemic of autism and other vaccine relatedco-chairman of the Pennsylvania Autism Task Force,
disorders and to hold the vaccine-makers financiallytold the Courier.
responsible for the damage caused by their products.For California schools, in December 2003, the National
In the absence of a cure and drug companySchool Board Association quoted the Sacramento
accountability, tax payers in every state in the nationBee, and reported that the number of autistic
will be forced to carry the life-time load of educatingstudents in California has doubled over the past four
and caring for a generation of injured people andyears at a cost of up to $60,000 a student per year.
their state and local taxes will go through the roof.That translates to 13% of the states student
These increasingly common disorders are forcingpopulation or 20,377 children.
public school systems to hire record numbers ofAccording to the March 25, 2005 Chicago Tribune,
newly trained professionals and build special educationthe figures from the Illinois Autism and PDD Training
classrooms to meet the needs of these children.and Technical Assistance Project show that 1,960
Autistic students are the fastest-growing segment ofchildren between the ages of 3 to 21 received special
special ed students nationwide and schools lacked services for autism during the 1996-97 school
specifically trained personnel to work with autisticyear, compared to 6,125 children in 2002-03.
children, as well as policies defining what appropriateIn Michigan, the April 27, 2005 Detroit News reported
services are. The school systems were caughtthat the number of autism cases among people ages
completely unprepared for this epidemic.6-22 grew fourfold from 1993 to 2003, to 7,259.
Unlike normal children, children with autism do notEducation officials in Wayne County Michigan said the
instinctively learn from a natural environment. Theycost of its Autistic Impaired Program has increased
must be taught even the simplest skills such asfrom $35.5 million in 2002 to $58.8 million for 2005.
making eye contact, waiting in line, followingThe number of students in the Impaired Program in
directions or how to hold a conversation. Behaviors,the Macomb Intermediate School District increased
skills, and abilities vary from one child to the next andfrom 142 kids in 29 classrooms 10 years ago, to 338
about half of autistic children have few or noautistic kids in 45 classrooms in 2005.
language skills. They also may suffer from otherSchools in Oakland County Michigan saw a 400%
problems that impair learning, such as hearing loss orincrease in children with autism between December
epilepsy.2002 and December 2004 when the cases went
On February 15, 2005, the GAO, released a Reportfrom 786 to 1,015, the Detroit News reported.
titled, \"Special Education Children With Autism,\" thatThe Missouri Department of Elementary and
revealed the number of children ages 6 through 21Secondary Education currently identifies 2,801 children
diagnosed with autism receiving services hasbetween the ages of 3 and 21 as autistic, up from
increased more than 500% over the past 10 years,294 children in 1991.
from under 20,000 in 1993 to almost 120,000 in 2002.The group, Research & Education for Autistic
The cost of educating the increased number ofChildren\'s Treatment, determined that between
autistic kids is predictable and enormous. The1989 and 1999 the number of school age kids with
Department of Education spends about $53 billion aautism in Oregon increased from 250 cases to 2,877
year on K-12 education. If it provides $60,000 percases, according to the state\'s Department of
year to educate each of the currently identifiedEducation statistics.
school-age autistic children nationwide, the price tagIn dealing with this epidemic, the first order of
will be over $7 billion a year, or about 13% of thebusiness must be to find a way to force the
Department\'s entire budget. And by the end of eachgovernment to ban thimerosal in all vaccines.
year, the cost will be even higher than that becauseUnbeknownst to many people, thimerosal is still in
the increased number of autistic kids entering thesome vaccines.
system each year is not waning.The EPA recommends ingesting no more than 0.1
Special education costs are so high because staffmicrograms of mercury and the FDA recommends no
requirements are high. For instance, in a program thatmore than 0.4 micrograms per day for pregnant
serves Minneapolis Minnesota students, eachwomen, nursing mothers, and small children, which
classroom usually has 6 students with staff consistingamounts to a recommendation that they eat no
of one licensed special ed teacher and two special edmore than 12 ounces of tuna per week, because the
assistants. Toddler classrooms have one licensedEPA says, \"mercury consumed by a pregnant or
special ed teacher and one special ed assistant withnursing woman or by a young child can harm the
four students. Services provided by social workers,developing brain and nervous system.\"
occupational therapists, speech and language clinicians,Yet the CDC still recommends that children aged 6 to
and adapted physical education teachers are also23 months and pregnant women get the flu vaccine
available at each site based on individual studentwith its 25 micrograms of mercury which amounts to
needs.250 times the safety limit for mercury intake set by
But the educational services reflect only part of thethe EPA for fish-eaters.
costs that taxpayers will have to bear. Other costsUnless a cure is found or drug companies are held
include tuition for summer programs to help studentsfinancially responsible, state and local taxes are going
retain learned skills, transportation costs, psychologicalto have to be increased to cover the cost of
and behavioral evaluations.educating and caring for these injured children. Its
State and local governments are already scramblinginevitable.
to find ways to meet the needs of autistic children.And its sad to say that this is likely the aspect of the
The New York Center for Autism Charter School willwhole vaccine-autism controversy that will in the end
open this fall in a Manhattan public school. At fullget the public\'s full attention.
capacity, the school plans to educate 28 children, 5 to