An Update On Congress, Autism and the VICP
On November 29, 2012, Congress held the first hearing on autism in 10 years. It was a momentous day for our community and it has been said that more hearings will come. In addition, this year the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) compensated two new cases for children who developed autism. The members of our panel are some of the many people who have been on the frontlines to witness and to fight for these small victories in Washington. They will be giving an update on what they have been working on and what they see in the future from Congress and from the VICP. There will also be a question and answer section with our panel at the end of their presentation.
Mark Blaxill
Mark Blaxill, MBA, is the father of a daughter diagnosed with autism, a long-time director of SafeMinds, Chairman and co-founder of the Canary Party, Editor-at-Large for Age of Autism, and a frequent speaker at autism conferences. He writes often on autism, science and public policy issues for Age of Autism and has published a number of articles, letters and commentaries on autism in journals. He co-authored a book on autism, called The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine and a Man-made Epidemic, (Thomas Dunne, September 2010).
Louis Conte
Louis Conte is the father of triplet boys, two with autism. He is the Director of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Justice Project and a founding advocate member of EBCALA. He serves on the board of the Autism Action Network. Mr. Conte has advocated extensively in New York for autism health insurance reform, vaccination choice and improved educational services for people with autism. Mr. Conte is an Assistant Commissioner in the Westchester County Department of Probation.
Brian S. Hooker, PhD
Dr. Hooker is an Associate Professor of Biology at Simpson University in Redding California where he specializes in microbiology and chemistry. He also has over 20 years of experience in biotechnology and has advocated for the removal of mercury in vaccinations since 2004. He has a 15 year old son with autism.
Rolf Hazelhurst, Esq.
Rolf Hazlehurst, Esq. is an attorney and has practiced law for eighteen years. His son's case, Hazlehurst v. The United States Department of Health and Human Services was the second test case in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
Lisa Colin, Esq. (Moderator)
Lisa Colin, Esq. is a partner in Martin & Colin PC in White Plains, New York, sits on the Board of EBCALA and the Board of Directors for the Westchester Law Guardian Association. She has represented the Department of Social Services, as well as those accused of abuse and also the children alleged to be abused.
