MAHA Institute’s Autism Round Table Sparks Hope

By Louis Conte, Health Freedom Editor, The MAHA Report

On September 25, the MAHA Institute held Autism Round Table: A National Call to Action for Families, Advocates, and Changemakers, a five-plus-hour event at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Debra Sheldon, vice-president of The MAHA Institute, delivered welcome remarks before introducing Tony Lyons, President of MAHA Action, the event’s first speaker. Lyons called out The New York Times and other legacy media for failing to accurately report on the suffering and struggles of the families with children profoundly affected by autism. Lyons said mainstream media had marginalized “the warrior moms who worked tirelessly to help their children, referring to them as conspiracy theorists and antivaxxers.”

Lyons also noted the endless stream of media hit pieces targeting Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “And when they ran out of ways to target Secretary Kennedy, they started to go after his staff and we saw negative articles on his staff, like Stephanie Spear, a good, honest person who is working hard and doing good things,” Lyons said.

Lyons emphasized that the purpose of the gathering was a call for positive action to address the autism epidemic and unify the autism community to prepare for the work ahead as more important news is released by President Trump and Secretary Kennedy in the future. Lyons praised Trump for his leadership, compassion, and commitment to the autism community during Monday’s historic press conference.

The opening session also included trenchant words from Elizabeth Horn, of the 2M Foundation; Gabrielle Traub, from MTech San Diego Homeopathy; Andrew Downing of Downing Allison & Jorgenson; Richard E. Frye, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist; and Brian Hooker, PhD, of Children’s Health Defense.

A video of the first 30 minutes of the 5-hour autism event is here:

The event’s first panel, titled “Parents: The Front Lines of Advocacy,” was moderated by Lyons and featured Honey Rinicella, from Medical Academy of Medicine and Special Needs (MAPS); Katie Wright, formerly of Autism Speaks; Sylvia Fogel, M.D.; and yours truly (Louis Conte), on behalf of The MAHA Report.

Rinicella told the story of how one of her sons nearly died but was restored to better health and functioning through a variety of medical approaches, including taking leucovorin. Wright emphasized the social isolation that families with children with autism experience, recounting her son’s battles with seizures. Fogel spoke of financial hardships and stress that families of children with autism suffer. “The mothers have elevated cortisol levels” and often experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders “that are comparable in many ways to combat veterans,” she said. She added that depression and Fogel suicide rates in families with autism are significantly higher than in families without children on the autism spectrum.

As a father of three boys on the spectrum, I spoke about the need to plan for future housing needs of adults with autism so that they can eventually live in compassionate communities when their parents can no longer care for them. I also called on researchers to study the children who suffered autistic regressions as understanding that phenomena are crucial to understanding the causes of autism. Fogel called for the development of emergency medical protocols when children experience regressions.

A second panel addressed genetic vulnerabilities and environmental factors in Autism. Moderated by James Lyons-Weiler, the panel featured Hooker and Frye.

The discussion focused on misplaced research priorities of the past twenty years. Federal dollars were directed to genetic research but virtually excluded research on environmental causes of autism. “Genetics are important, but genes are not the only issues we need to examine in autism,” Dr. Frye told the panel.

Hooker noted that research linking autism to vaccine injuries has been actively suppressed and that a paper he authored, based on data provided by CDC whistleblower Dr. William Thompson, was retracted because it showed a higher rate of autism in African American children who received the MMR vaccine prior to age four.

Panelists expressed hope that future research will directly focus on environmental triggers for autism.

Panel three, titled, “Justice, Redress and Remedy,” was moderated by Kim Mack-Rosenberg, from Children’s Health Defense. The panel featured John Gilmore, the Director of the Autism Action Network; attorney Andrew Downing of Downing Allison & Jorgenson; and Hooker. Gilmore spoke about recent advocacy victories in states such as New York, where a bill allowing for the Spellers Speech intervention unanimously passed one house of the state legislature. “I think we will get the bill through the other house next year and I believe the governor will sign it into law,” said Gilmore. He also pointed to recent victories on issues ranging from vaccine medical and religious exemptions to Florida’s drive to end all vaccine mandates. Hooker noted that the federal government is advising states that failing to respect religious exemptions to vaccine mandates may cost those states federal funding.

Downing shared his experiences in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) and reported that Secretary Kennedy has appointed him to lead the charge to reform the program. He said that program had wandered away from Congress’ intent in 1986, when the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act became law.

Panel 4, titled Clinical Needs and Research Priorities, was moderated by Lyons-Weiler with panelists Tracy Slepcevic, of AutismHealth.com; Mary Coyle, DIHom at The Real Child Center; Dr. John Gatainis, a physician-scientist; and Frye.

The panel emphasized treatments for autism ranging from homeopathy to homotoxicology to biomedical approaches, some involving the use of leucovorin and umbilical cord stem cells; and a new treatment involving plasmalogen supplementation.

Positivity pulsed through the entire event, with many panelists celebrating recent gains for people with autism, including the use of Spelling to Communicate. I spoke to parents, advocates, and doctors from all over the country and the world, including Lithuania. They came to learn, listen and unify.

People with autism working with spelling boards show us that they are sentient, often brilliant people, who are emerging from the shadow of silence. Brian Hooker reported that his son is an advanced mathematician and can understand the German language. People with autism are fully human but trapped in bodies that have betrayed them because the medical establishment has betrayed them.

That betrayal includes the way in which legacy media labels people with autism.

“Autism is a word that indicates a person who is alone,” said Dr. John Gatainis, during his panel. “These children and adults are mislabeled. They are actually very connected and very loving people.”