Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 1 of 294 UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS IN RE: CLAIMS FOR VACCINE ) INJURIES RESULTING IN ) AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, ) OR A SIMILAR ) NEURODEVELOPMENTAL ) DISORDER ) ----------------------------- ) FRED AND MYLINDA KING, ) PARENTS OF JORDAN KING, ) A MINOR, ) Petitioners, ) v. ) Docket No.: 03-584V SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND ) HUMAN SERVICES, ) Respondent. ) ----------------------------- ) GEORGE AND VICTORIA MEAD, ) PARENTS OF WILLIAM P. MEAD, ) A MINOR, ) Petitioners, ) v. ) Docket No.: 03-215V SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND ) HUMAN SERVICES, ) Respondent. ) REVISED AND CORRECTED COPY Pages: 3531 through 3823/3891 Place: Washington, D.C. Date: May 28, 2008 HERITAGE REPORTING CORPORATION Official Reporters 1220 L Street, N.W., Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20005-4018 (202) 628-4888 [email protected] Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 2 of 294 3531 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS IN RE: CLAIMS FOR VACCINE ) INJURIES RESULTING IN ) AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, ) OR A SIMILAR ) NEURODEVELOPMENTAL ) DISORDER ) ----------------------------- ) FRED AND MYLINDA KING, ) PARENTS OF JORDAN KING, ) A MINOR, ) Petitioners, ) v. ) Docket No.: 03-584V SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND ) HUMAN SERVICES, ) Respondent. ) ----------------------------- ) GEORGE AND VICTORIA MEAD, ) PARENTS OF WILLIAM P. MEAD, ) A MINOR, ) Petitioners, ) ) v. ) Docket No.: 03-215V SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND ) HUMAN SERVICES, ) Respondent. ) Courtroom 402 National Courts Building 717 Madison Place NW Washington, D.C. Wednesday, May 28, 2008 The parties met, pursuant to notice of the Court, at 9:00 a.m. BEFORE: HONORABLE GEORGE HASTINGS HONORABLE PATRICIA CAMPBELL-SMITH HONORABLE DENISE VOWELL Special Masters Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 3 of 294 3532 APPEARANCES: For the Petitioners: THOMAS B. POWERS, Esquire MICHAEL L. WILLIAMS, Esquire Williams Love O'Leary & Powers, PC 9755 S.W. Barnes Road, Suite 450 Portland, Oregon 97225-6681 (503) 295-2924 For the Respondent: VINCE MATANOSKI, Esquire LYNN E. RICCIARDELLA, Esquire U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Torts Branch Ben Franklin Station, P.O. Box 146 Washington, D.C. 20044-0146 (202) 616-4356 Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 4 of 294 3533 C O N T E N T S WITNESSES: DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS For the Respondent: Catherine Lord 3535 3586 3600 3603 -- -- 3605 -- Eric Fombonne 3607 3706 3812 -- -- 3781 -- -- Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 5 of 294 3534 E X H I B I T S Respondent's EXHIBITS: IDENTIFIED RECEIVED DESCRIPTION 12 3606 -- Eric Fombonne Slide Presentation Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 6 of 294 3535 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 (9:00 a.m.) 3 SPECIAL MASTER VOWELL: Please be seated. 4 All right. We are back on the record in the Theory II 5 General Causation cases, and the Mead and King cases. 6 And I see Dr. Lord is on the witness stand. And if 7 you would raise your right hand. 8 Whereupon, 9 CATHERINE LORD 10 having been duly sworn, was called as a 11 witness and was examined and testified as follows: 12 SPECIAL MASTER VOWELL: Thank you. You may 13 proceed, government. 14 DIRECT EXAMINATION 15 BY MS. RICCIARDELLA: 16 Q Good morning, Dr. Lord. Would you please 17 state your name for the record? 18 A Catherine Lord. 19 Q And would you please state what your current 20 position is? 21 A I am the director of the University of 22 Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Clinic, 23 and a professor at University of Michigan. 24 Q And would you please briefly describe your 25 educational background since high school? Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 7 of 294 DR. LORD, PhD - DIRECT 3536 1 A I have a bachelor's degree in psychology 2 from UCLA. I then went to graduate school at Harvard 3 and graduated from the program in psychology and 4 social relations. 5 I was an intern at the University of North 6 Carolina. And I guess that's it. 7 Q Was that a postdoctoral position? 8 A Yes. 9 Q At UNC? 10 A Yes. 11 Q And do you hold any board certifications? 12 A I have, I'm an ABPP, which is American Board 13 of Professional Psychologists in clinical psychology, 14 and part of the National Health Register for clinical 15 psychologists. 16 Q And do you hold any licenses? 17 A I'm licensed in Michigan and Illinois. 18 Q In what discipline? 19 A In clinical psychology. 20 Q And would you please briefly describe your 21 academic employment history? 22 A My first position was at University of 23 Minnesota, where I was an assistant professor in child 24 development. I then went to Canada, to University of 25 Alberta, with my husband. And then moved back to Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 8 of 294 DR. LORD, PhD - DIRECT 3537 1 North Carolina to set up a clinic at University of 2 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Then went to 3 University of Chicago, and am now at University of 4 Michigan. 5 Q And are you a member of any professional 6 societies or organizations in your discipline? 7 A I'm a member of INSAR, the International 8 Organization for Autism Research. 9 Q Is that formerly called IMFAR? 10 A Yes. SRCD, the Society for Research in 11 Child Development. APA, American Psychological 12 Association. That's probably the main ones. 13 Q And have you been honored for your work in 14 autism specifically? 15 A Yes. I received an award from the Royal 16 Academy of Psychiatry in the UK, and an award from 17 California State, I was the chair of a National 18 Academy of Sciences Committee looking at the 19 effectiveness of early intervention in autism. 20 Q Now your report states that you are one of 21 four scientists who make up the strategic planning 22 committee for autism research for the National 23 Institutes of Health. What does that entail? 24 A As part of the Combatting Autism Act, there 25 was a committee created, or there was the statement Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 9 of 294 DR. LORD, PhD - DIRECT 3538 1 that there should be a committee created to plan how 2 NIH and the other agencies in the federal government 3 would allocate funding, not specifically for grants, 4 but to set priorities in terms of research and federal 5 funding. 6 So the federal government invited four 7 scientists, as well as community members, people 8 representing different kinds of practice and families, 9 to create a committee to try to set these goals. 10 Q Were you appointed to that committee? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Now, your report also states that you are on 13 the planning committee for autism and related 14 diagnoses for the American Psychiatric Association's 15 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 16 V, is that correct? 17 A That's right. 18 Q Is that also known as the DSM? 19 A Yes. 20 Q And is that an appointed position? 21 A Yes. 22 Q How many people are working on that planning 23 committee? 24 A On the committee that I am a member of, 25 there's probably 12. I think there are 12 different Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 10 of 294 DR. LORD, PhD - DIRECT 3539 1 people. 2 Q And what does working on that planning 3 committee entail? 4 A Conference calls and meetings. But the goal 5 is to try to create the framework, and then test the 6 framework that will be used for diagnoses of autism 7 spectrum disorders and other developmental disorders 8 in the next round of DSM-V, which is the organization 9 that's used in the U.S. for billing for children, 10 which obviously has a huge effect on health insurance 11 and the ways in which kids are covered. 12 Q Were you also involved in the formulation of 13 the DSM-IV? 14 A Yes. 15 Q In what capacity? 16 A I was a member of that committee. And then 17 our group received funding from NIH and also the 18 American Psychiatric Association to try to test out 19 when we proposed criteria to see whether they would 20 really work, and how well clinicians could use them. 21 Q Do you hold any teaching positions in your 22 specialty? I believe you touched on that earlier. 23 A Yes. I teach at the University of Michigan. 24 Q Are you a full professor? 25 A Yes. Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 Case 1:03-vv-00584-MBH Document 121 Filed 10/23/08 Page 11 of 294 DR. LORD, PhD - DIRECT 3540 1 Q And what do you teach? 2 A I teach assessment. I teach, I run training 3 workshops in diagnosis. I teach developmental 4 psychopathology research design. 5 Q And who are you teaching? 6 A I'm teaching mostly graduate students, 7 although I supervise undergraduates in practical 8 placements with regard to autism and research.