Wade Rankin's blog

This has been the season of nail-biting for my wife and me.

After years of steady progress in elementary school, the Little Rankster went into Middle School this year. He’s now learning to deal with the constant changing of classrooms, dealing with the locker, changing for P.E., etc. It’s a lot of change to throw at any kid—especially one on the spectrum.

The biggest change has been that he now rides the school bus. It’s not the “special” bus; it’s the “regular” bus with all of the neurotypical kids. And that’s a bit scary for us as parents.

It’s time once again for my monthly assault on the web-waves. June’s installment of Injecting Sense: The Radio Edition will come your way on Tuesday, June 28th, at 1:00 pm EDT, on Autism One Radio.

My guest will be Cynthia Cournoyer, author of What About Immunizations?: Exposing the Vaccine Philosophy. It’s a great read, discussing how vaccine interests have misframed the debate. I think you'll find Tuesday's conversation most interesting.

On this month's edition of Injecting Sense: The Radio Edition, my guest will be that dedicated dad, the man behind the camera for F.A.I.R., and an all-around great guy, the one-and-only Erik Nanstiel. Tune your computers to Autism One Radio on Monday, March 28th, at 1 pm EDT, noon CDT. Or catch it later in the archive.

This month on Injecting Sense: The Radio Edition, we'll be talking with Ginger Taylor about vaccine safety, vaccine rights, the Center for Personal Rights, and the new book, Vaccine Epidemic. Join us this Friday, January 28th, at 1:00 p.m.

In the debates about vaccine rights, just as in the parallel debates about autism, one does not need to search too far to find hypocrisy. But then hypocrisy comes easily to those who want to oversimplify the issues.

On Wednesday, after the news outlets all broke the sensational headlines that “the” study linking vaccines to the autism epidemic had been reported to be a fraud, Mark Blaxill wrote the following:

This month on Injecting Sense: The Radio Edition, we'll be talking with Lori McIlwain about the problems faced by caretakers of autistic individuals who wander or run off. I'm also reserving a little time to editorialize a little about my favorite shill and his pals. Join us this Tuesday, December 28th, at 1:00 p.m. EST, on Autism One Radio (or catch it later in the AO Radio archives).

This month on Injecting Sense: The Radio Edition, we'll be talking with John Gilmore, the Executive Director of the Autism Action Network. We'll talk about advocacy in general, and discuss the battle for insurance coverage in New York. Join us this Sunday, November 28th, at 1:00 p.m. EST, on Autism One Radio (or catch it later in the AO Radio archives).

Injecting Sense has been the name of my "other" blog for several years. Now it comes to the airwaves . . . well, net waves. The folks at Autism One Radio have taken leave of their senses, and have given me a half-hour each month to spout off.

The first installment of Injecting Sense (the Radio Edition) is scheduled for October 28, 2010, at 1:00 pm EDT. It should be available in the archives after that.

I’m always a little cautious in how I use the words “cure” and “recovery.” When it comes to reversing the disabling manifestations that come with ASD, “cure” is a process, and not a result. And “recovered” is too final; who is to say how much recovery is possible? But every now and then we get a little reminder of just how far we’ve come.

The Little Rankster has come a long way from the dire predictions we received with his diagnosis. It’s the little moments that drive the point home for us.