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For many months, we've been waiting patiently--or not so patiently--for the Omnibus ruling on the autism/vaccine relationship cases. These were the cases of three families who claimed that vaccines caused their childrens' autism. When the ruling came--insufficient evidence to support a link between autism and vaccines--there was a collective groan and mass outrage. This was definitely a backwards step in the struggle to gain recognition of the fact that as vaccines are becoming more mandated, more frequent, and plain old 'more,' more children are being diagnosed with autism than ever before. The bright side though? The court didn't dispel the possibility either.
Backing up a bit: the Omnibus Autism Proceeding came about in 2002 in response to the 5,300 or so families who filed legal claims after their children suffered side effects from vaccines that didn't occur while a vaccine was being given, or within a few hours of it being given. (The National Vaccine Injury Program was created back in 1988 to handle cases of children who suffered only immediate side effects.) There are a lot more details about those two organizations available on the Internet, including information on how parents cannot sue vaccine manufacturers directly unless they've gone through "vaccine court"--a federally mandated system to file legal claims against vaccine manufacturers--first.
To be fair, there are studies stating that vaccines aren't the cause of autism, but the studies don't capture the stores of parents who literally see their children change right before their eyes, within hours or days of receiving a vaccine. The number of parents who can attest to a speaking, happy child before a vaccine, and a feverish, rash-covered, unhappy, angry, or seizure-prone child who can't speak after a vaccine is too large to be ignored. (And only a few of us have the resources to pursue it in court.) Oddly enough, there's no study showing the cumulative effects of all these vaccines on a small child, particularly if the child has an underlying or unknown health issue, such as the mitochondrial disorder in the well-known case of a little girl named Hannah Poling, or a weak immune system. (Would you want your child to be the guinea pig for that test? It'll never happen.)
Just like there are those out there who react negatively to peanut butter exposure, there are children out there who will, and are, reacting negatively to vaccines. Just because our kids aren't dying in large numbers, that doesn't mean the risks are acceptable. Our kids are more than collateral damage. A court victory in the Hannah Poling case--the government conceeded the case before it began--proves this.
Every child who has autism means one more family changed forever; autism doesn't just affect the autistic child, but the parents, the siblings, and everyone they know. We should be facing this as a community, but instead, these rulings often seem to break people into two camps: pro-vaccines, and anti-vaccines. In reality, the camps are pro-vaccines, and pro-safer-vaccines. We who believe in safer vaccines aren't against vaccinations, and we do understand the necessity of vaccines; however, short shrift is often given to our viewpoint. We're looked at as wackos who want to risk the safety of the world by not vaccinating. We hear, "But vaccines save lives!" and we aren't disagreeing. We just want people to hear what we're saying, too. We don't want to take vaccines away from anyone. We just want them made more safely. Sometimes these very important facts are lost in the spectacle that erupts when rulings come out.
You may see autism awareness commercials on TV, on billboards, or on bumper stickers. Like the color pink represents breast cancer, puzzle pieces represent autism. To solve the puzzle, we need to know what causes or triggers autism. It may not solely be vaccines, and in some kids, it may not be the vaccines at all, but since a genetic epidemic is impossible, we have to be realistic and start considering that it is something these kids are all exposed to, something that is getting worse. You don't need to watch TV very long or read much of a mainstream women's magazine to see the vaccine ads. With 1 in 94 boys becoming autistic, to some level, we have to be willing to find why those odds are getting worse and worse.
With this ruling, autism awareness could take a severe hit. Instead of focusing on autism itself, people may focus on how parents of autistic children are "those anti-vaccine people." Instead of having compassion towards us, as one would towards the parent of any disabled child, we may face anger. It's not uncommon, and we're used to it. Autistic children are being kicked out of churches, schools and airplanes. It's vital to the community-at-large that everyone learns more about autism, not less. If it doesn't affect someone you know now, it will, and it likely won't be long before it does. In fact, it probably already does, and you (or even they) just don't know it. In the last two days alone, I have talked to three mothers of young boys who are either about to be or are currently being assessed for autism spectrum disorder. Three moms, and three dads, going through the heartbreak of watching their child morph into a different person. In talking to these ladies, wonderful parents who will do anything for their child, I hear the pain and the worry. My eyes tear up as I wish I had more to give them than words, books, and service provider recommendations. I have flashbacks to watching my own son go through the autism diagnosis process. I remember watching him flop to the ground, stripping off his clothes, with no awareness of the crowds stepping over him or around him. I remember him pulling out his eyebrows, chunk by chunk, because I mistakenly moved his line of perfectly aligned blocks on the rug. I remember him banging his head onto the floor and his unhealthy interest in wanting to lick everything and everyone around him, while trying to arrange the chairs they were sitting in and flashing the light switches on and off. (That didn't go over so well in a waiting room.) But most of all, I remember thinking, "What do I do?" The draining, exhausting, painful "What do I do?" Day after day. Or almost worse yet, "What am I doing wrong?"
If I had a chance to talk to people who aren't dealing with autism and who believe wholeheartedly in vaccines as they exist today, I'd start by letting them know we're not ignorant people willing to risk our children or anyone else's. We're educated parents who have spent countless hours researching. We've found the statistics and have read the fine print that shows the ingredients in vaccines, and the real story behind those ingredients. We've seen the numbers of children and adults who have suffered adverse reactions, or worse yet, died. Couple that with the fact that many of our children now have autism or have seizures, and it's only prudent that we look further into it. To not do so would be irresponsible. What parent won't look for a cause for their child's chronic illness? We gain nothing by sharing our concerns that vaccines need to be safer, or scheduled further apart, so there's no benefit to us to come forward, other than the possibility that these vaccines will be changed. And if vaccines work, we're not endangering anyone else by not vaccinating our kids. For us, the risk is just too great. That kind of motivation is more than adequate enough to drive someone to seek a court ruling.
We as a world need to be doing whatever we can to prevent autism from happening to more children. We need to come together, even if it's with an agreement to disagree respectfully. More court cases are coming down the pike. These families aren't going to go away. If there wasn't some evidence out there, there'd be no need for organizations and cases would be dismissed before wasting precious court time. I respect these families who have the courage and strength to take this on, and who are willing to go the painful distance to help their children and everyone else's. This court ruling is no reason to celebrate, because it's not the end. It's a major letdown, a proverbial slap in the face to those families and the rest of us out here who saw the connection and who live it every day, but it's also a learning experience for the many, many cases still in line to be heard. We'll have to work harder to continue the legitimate cause of autism awareness, but we're parents of autistic children, we can never be underestimated. We successfully and quickly dress tantruming children who can disrobe in the blink of an eye while throwing shoes and biting your hands, in the midst of your nearby Target or grocery store, ignoring the stares of people who assume we've just got a brat on our hands. In other words, we can handle anything.
For more information, visit any autism organization website. There's a plethora of press releases and illuminating articles out there that give viewpoints on both sides. They're well worth the read, particularly if you're a parent or know one.
--Donna Biroczky
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I understand there has been a rise in autism. No, I didn't read the whole article but I have to say that the rise in autism could very much be do to the rise in births.
Lets face it there is a percentage of children who have autism, and yes my heart goes out to those families. But I just have to ask if the rise has to do with the rise in birth rates as much as it does to vaccines?
I know I'll be blasted for this, but I have to speak my gut feeling and this is something I've thought about for a long time, since I heard the correlation to autism and vaccines.
The problem is that the percentage of children with autism is far greater than can be explained by a rise in birth rates. We have all heard the staggering numbers- most notablely in boys- 1/94 diagnosed with autism. To go with your gut feeling is to follow your intuition- which someone should never be "blasted" for. This is precisely what so many of us parents are doing- going on our keen intuition that tells us that something is just not right. When you can have a healthy and developing child one day and then a child suffering with autism the next and the only thing that happened in between is that they received their vaccines- something is not right. Then, when you start to ask other parents of children with autism and service providers that help these families, there is still that one thing in common: it happened after their shots. At this point, it is so much more than a gut feeling. I urge you to read the article in its entirety- it paints a very clear picture of what so many of us go through on a daily basis with no clear explanations from the countless doctors and specialists as to why this is all happening.
One thing that recently gave me pause was when I compared the shot records of my husband(born 1976), my son(born 2001) and my autistic daughter's( born 2005)- I could not believe the difference in both number of shots and how far apart they were. My husband had almost half as many shots in a five year span, my son had quite a few more in 2 years time, but my daughter had by far the most in the shortest amount of time. Maybe she needed more time, maybe her immune system couldn't handle as much as my son's could- why does one size fit all in this form of medicine but not as a general rule with all medicine? Look at the back of the bottle of children's fever reducer- isn't there a weight/age range for dosage? The difference of a few pounds for a baby is a huge difference! There are so many arguments for safer shots- not just for children with autism, but for all children.
Thank you for your honest comment and your opinion- they all matter!
I agree with Katie. There are so many more children being diagnosed with Autism because there are so many more children. That combined with the heightened awareness we have about Autism is contributing to the growing numbers. I am not insensitive to children and families with Autism. Our son has Asperger's- a high functioning form of Autism. I work with children with Autism. I am well educated in child development, including several classes solely focusing on Autism.I am empathetic to all these families. I still feel that vaccines do not cause Autism. I think that because it is so prevalent, and we still really do not know what causes it, people are trying to stick the blame on something. Enter vaccines. It is the nature of Autism itself to have a sudden onset. In addition, many of the vaccines correlate with the age when Autism begins to surface. What about the many families who chose not to vaccinate their children and still have an Autistic child? The original study that caused the "autism scare" was only ONE study that "suggested" there "could be" a correlation between vaccines and Autism. This study also had a very small sample of children, and was not repeated as all solid research studies should. In my opinion this is so unfortunate because now there are so many children who are going without the protection of vaccines. we just recently witnessed that during a measles outbreak which claimed lives of several children in one area, and many more nationwide.
I do agree that more research and testing needs to be done to find out what IS the cause of Autism. Parents deserve to know what to do to protect their children, without sacrificing other necessary medical attention.
One of the reasons there is a rise in autism could be attributed to better medical technology. Babies with underlying health problems would have been dead before are now being saved. The amount of chemicals used in ordinary households has also increased drastically (e.g. flame retardant in children's clothing, tricolsan in anti-bacterial products, food additives, etc.) - things that did not exist in the "pre mandatory vaccine era". It would be naive to blame vaccines as the only contributing factor to autism in children.
Tyx POST.
"...if vaccines work, we're not endangering anyone else by not vaccinating our kids."
In an otherwise well-written and detailed piece, I was disappointed to see this untrue statement. At best a gross oversimplification, it completely fails to address the fact that "IF VACCINES WORK" they do so by eliminating incidence of disease. NO vaccine is 100% effective; some vaccinated people will still be susceptible to disease. However, when a POPULATION is vaccinated, the probability decreases (ideally, approaching zero) that disease will remain and a susceptible person will be exposed under the right conditions to become infected.
Vaccines have known and unknown side effects and risks, but it makes your cause seem rather shady and untrustworthy when you completely discount the risks of NOT vaccinating. There are risks, from both approaches, to people other than yourself, and this is exactly why it is a heated issue and a difficult one to resolve.
Consider that newborns, who have not yet had any or a full course of vaccines, are particularly at risk. So if your unvaccinated child hands my baby's pacifier back after it falls on the floor (such good manners!) we are now sharing germs and sharing risk.
Please do not forget why these vaccines were invented:
"Prior to the invention of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, pertussis caused as many DEATHS as all other contagious diseases combined."
Tetanus has a 20-60% mortality rate in children.
Diptheria has a 10-35% death rate.
Haemophilus Influenza B has a 5% mortality rate.
Polio has a 10% mortality rate.
Measles and mumps can cause deafness and brain damage... and the list goes on.
(Information cited from The New Father, by Armin A. Brott, 2004.)
I believe my brother and cousins are on the autism spectrum (autism and Asperger's) because there is a genetic component to the disease, and it clearly runs in my family. I would much rather have my daughter or unborn baby develop autism than die of a preventable disease. And if I didn't have them vaccinated, I would hold myself responsible for such a death. I don't even want to think about how I would feel if a friend's infant caught a fatal disease from my unvaccinated child.
I understand the concern regarding the percieved association with autism (or reactions with similar symptoms to autism) and vaccines. It is true that autism rates have risen in the last 10 years. What this article does not address is the fact that the definition of autism has expanded in that time.
The irresponsible statement that "...if vaccines work, we're not endangering anyone else by not vaccinating our kids." This relies on the rest of us to protect your kids! And as stated by bsh, no vaccine is 100% effective. It merey allows a child to build up antibodies to fight the disease - not prevent the disease altogether.
In a world where mothers and moms to be are bombarded with conflicting black and white rules for pregnancy and child rearing to keep our childrn safe and healthy, we are creating an environment of placing our children in bubbles to "protect" them from any possible harm and in the meantime we are exposing them to more hurtful and harmful problems.
I am 7 months pregnant - I interviewed pediatricians regarding vaccines and asked a pediatrician who has 20+ years experience in treating infants and children about the issue. She was kind and understood my concern. She agrees with my philosophy that children are given too many drugs to combat anything from a hang nail to infections. However, she still believed that vaccines were helpful and continued to prevent illnesses. I asked her questions about her practice and her observations with vaccines and autism - and , in her practice,she saw no increase in autism and had no patient that alleged the connection.
Thank you for continuing to breed this fear mongering environment so more nuerotic mothers can infect this world.
It's easy to attack a mom who's offering her opinion and experience and cite the overall "safety" record of vaccines, but the fact remains that vaccines are produced by entities who also want to stay in business, so I feel that some suspicion is warranted -- if not our duty. Also, I think the point here is that could this be studied further without the hysteria and finger-pointing? yes. Could vaccines be made safer and more environmentally friendly? yes. Should we avoid doing that because "they work fine for me"? Regardless of vaccines and the still unknown cause of autism spectrum disorders, it's easy to turn our backs on those affected by this... until it happens to you. Let's cut the self-righteousness and work toward what should be a common and mutually beneficial goal.
Rates of autism have been rising because 1) doctors recognize it better now and 2) a range of diagnoses fall under the general category of autism now. It's highly, HIGHLY unlikely because of vaccines. I really wonder about the stories of children being fine one day and then completely different after a vaccine...it just doesn't seem real that a vaccine could trigger this total 180 in children, especially when autism is genetic. Symptoms of autism may take up to three years to show themselves, and is pretty much going to show up no matter what. What's more likely happening is that parents are confusing vaccines for causing what was likely going to happen anyway.
Bottom line, whether vaccines can cause autism or not (I seriously, strongly believe they don't), they have saved countless lives. Many childhood diseases that scared parents in the past are now almost forgotten by the general population because of vaccines. As my father, a pediatrician, said to a mother once who didn't want her children to receive vaccines because she wanted them to gain immunity naturally: "well, death is natural, too." She changed her mind a day later.
Oh, and drug companies don't make a lot of money on vaccines. They actually lose money making them. They make their money on everything else but vaccines. Food for thought.
Vaccines could be made safe but they're not because the 'elite' have embarked on a depopulation effort. Vaccines DO contain a lot of toxic substances. So does our food and our air. Recently I've noticed chemtrails where I live. I noticed a change in my child due to vaccines and he will never get another one. Our food contains many toxins...mercury, aspartame, sodium nitrite, sodium benzoate, and recently I discovered that some salt contains a cyanide compound--yellow prussiate of soda--look it up, and then notice the law on the morton website stating that this ingredient doesn't have to be listed when used in food. The pharmaceutical companies are at the top of this evil. One of them recently found a batch of vaccines tainted with AIDS. They couldn't sell it in the US so what did they do? They shipped it to Europe. The government developed aids, lyme, west nile, and the 1918 spanish flu, just to name a few, so why wouldn't they poison your babies?? This society is ran by madmen bent on our destruction and it consists of pansy sissies who will believe anything the "official" people tell them, ie: 9-11. The sins of this society have reached unto heaven and God is sending the nations gathered (SCO) to destroy us on 10-10-09.
This is what happens when people who are not experts give their opinions on things that they are not fully informed about. People who perform autism research and are the experts on the autism spectrum almost universally agree that vaccines have nothing to do with autism. I hope that the scientific community begins to see the importance of spreading their findings to the public, instead of relying on academic journals to disseminate their information.
I agree with you 100%. As a parent with an Autistic child, I struggle daily with the question of what did I do wrong. In fact I feel guilty for even giving my son the vaccination. I have a daughter that is two years old and I worry constantly about whether or not she too will start regressing. My son was talking and meeting all milestones until after he had his MMR vaccine at 15 monthsand within a few weeks time my little boy changed. I consulted with his pediatrician and I was informed that obviously he didnt meet all milestones, and that it wasn't the vaccine that triggered the Autism. Needless to say I disagree, but am stymied because I like so many other parents don't have the funds to fight. Also, after the vaccine my son had a high fever for about a week, not terribly high, but 103 is high enough. My daughter didnt even run a fever. after the MMR, so I believe she shoudl be okay, but when you have 1 Autistic child your chances of having another is 4 times higher than those families without an Autistic child and that is a scary feeling.
FYI: While vaccines are beneficial in that they do decrease desease and deaths, the usage of Mercury is what is the real issue is. We all know Mercury is posion, so why use it? Isnt it ironic that drug companies stopped using Mercury suspensions when people noticed the increased number of children with Autism and other disabilities such as ADHD? Just a little food for thought.
I am mother of 6 year old boy with Aspergers Syndrome who doesnt believe Autism was caused from the vaccines.Maybe because he was diagnosed later at age of 5 or because I am Rn who believes vaccinations are important.Regaedless Autism is a veryfrustrating disease to deal with because no oneknows the cause or how to cure it.Its day to day in my house.
I do know that some children re-act badly to vaccines. But I am not sure if it causes Autism. I have an Autistic Grandchild, who we watched withdraw into himself. Later than most do he was over three. He was breast fed for a long time, till he was 30 months. I found a book on diet. Fortunately his consultant was the foremost authority on diet related Autism . He is 10 and is still on a no gluten no casien diet. He stood for school council. He wrote his own speech and was elected. So why don't more people know about this I do my best to let people know. It is worth a try, always remembering that there are different kinds of Autism
all i can tell you is that my grandson was doing everything right on target for his age , even doing somethings early, after the shots he forgot to talk , to smile, he was in his own world, maybe we should think about doug flutie after going to congress showing the before and after videos of his son , the drs sat stonefaced , when my kids were getting their shots the drs would space out the shots , we all hated it then because it meant we had to keep going back, boy am i glad they did it that way , maybe they knew back then that this was the way it should be done , i believe they should be spaced apart
I have three grown daughters, all in there thirties. My middle daughter has severe Autism and I noticed a difference at birth. I know that it is in the 10th cromosone, somehow, that is the problem. It has nothing to do with vacinations or familar traite. Excuse the spelling. Please read up on Autism more. When they diagnosed my daughter they were only labeling children for 5-10 years earlier with Autism. It was a new diagnosis. They have been giving Vaccines so much longer. Autism has nothing to do with anything a parent (mom or dad) has done before conception. I don't know the answer, but I know without a doubt, it is not from vaccines. My girls occasionally reacted with a low grade fever.....but all three had the same personality as they did before their vaccines. The same personality and behaviour. I now have 7 grandchildren and they are all fine. I also have 4 sisters with children and grandchildren and NO Autism. They are releasing info too soon.
I am a psychologist (Ph.D. in psychology) so I have quite a bit of training in autism, but even more I have extensive training in scientific research methods. I trained with a child psychologist who specializes in developmental disorders like autism, and he fiercely opposes the vaccine theory, so I have heard all the arguments against it. Personally, I am not so sure. Listening to the personal accounts of how children seem to develop autism right after receiving a vaccine certainly gives me pause. I also thought the peanut allergy analogy was a good one. Just because something is safe and natural for most people does not mean that a minority of people might not suffer bad effects. My main point, here, is that we just do not know. People think they know, and they make their points loudly and even insultingly, but science does not work that neatly. Remember how milk was supposed to cause weight loss, and then it didn't? Or how we should all eat plenty of soy, but then suddenly we should cut back because it might cause breast cancer? In both cases it wasn't the scientific process that was flawed, but rather the hasty and unwarranted interpretation of study results by the media. Science is an iterative process, which means that knowledge slowly builds on knowledge until finally a consensus is reached (e.g. smoking is harmful). However it takes many, many clinical trials to get anywhere near that, and there are always many conflicting findings along the way. The truth is that we don't know yet with certainty why autism is on the rise. The science on that topic has not yet reached a point of consensus. So, for those of you who feel certain enough of your own views to insult those with a different one, please take this into consideration. Even world class autism researchers can't answer these questions, but the best of them are keeping an open mind and are trying hard to find answers. It would be good for the rest of us to keep our minds open as well.
First of all I would like to thank you Heather, as I read this article and the accompaning responses I began to get angry with certain points of view, but I have to say that your comment summed it up best..... Even world class autism researchers can't answer these questions, but the best of them are keeping an open mind and are trying hard to find answers. It would be good for the rest of us to keep our minds open as well....
With that being said I would like to share my story....
My son was four when he received an MMR shot. That night he experienced a very high fever. Within two days his eye contact was limited, he would roll around on the floor, he began spinning his hands and named them "Gary" and "Chevy." His behavior became extremely erratic. My ex-husband and I did not know what we were looking at. When we enrolled him into pre-school he was diagnosed with Autisum. As a parent living through this I have to say that there is nothing more heartbreaking than watching your healthy child turn into a child with Autisum.
My son is LUCKY, he is considered "high-functioning" He is aware that he has Autisum, He is aware that certain behaviors he exhibits are from Autisum and he tries very hard to control those behaviors. I also have him on a gluten free diet. The diet seems to help his behaviors. He is difficult to talk to, his communication skills are very poor and like most high-functioning Autistic children he gets frustrated and confused easily.
Finally, I would like to add that I do not find the vaccines to be "evil." I personally believe that there may be a genetic pre-disposition within some families that might trigger a reaction when given a vaccination. I believe this because recently I was hired to work as a secretary in a hospital. As part of routine bloodwork I was told that I needed an MMR booster. I explained to the nurse that I did not want the booster, that my son was Autistic and I felt that he had gotten Autisum from his MMR shot. I was informed that without the booster I would not get the job. So I got the booster. I went into anaphylatic shock. I am okay now, but I find myself struggling for words at times. I am also told by my daughter and occasionally my co-workers that I say things backwards. I never did that before....
I also believe that there may not be one specific cause... I also believe that we need to work just as hard at finding a cure... too soon these Autistic children of ours will be adults and when they are intregrated into society I pray that they will be accepted and not shunned.
As the mother of a grown autistic son, I appreciate Heather's measured and intelligent response. It seems a couple of posters here may be math-challenged. In the 1960s, the rate of autism was one in 2,500 (Lotter, 1996). Today, it is one in 150. Rate = percentage. To make it simpler, for every 2,500 children born in the 1960s, one was diagnosed as autistic. In the 2000s, SIXTEEN of the 2,500 were diagnosed as autistic.
To those who blame "the birth rate," keep in mind that the autism increase is occurring in industrialized nations. In these countries, the birth rate has actually decreased since the 1960s (Population Reference Bureau, 2005).
The Amish are an American group that receives a religious exemption for childhood vaccinations. Among them, autism is virtually nonexistent. Dr. Frank Noonan, a family practitioner in Lancaster County, Pa., who has treated thousands of Amish for a quarter-century said, "I have not seen autism with the Amish."
Like Heather, I believe that it is important to keep an open mind about the cause or causes of autism. I am skeptical about the genetic theory--it doesn't explain the increased prevalance, unless inbreeding were a factor, which it is not. However, there could be environmental or infectious triggers. As far as vaccines, preservatives and additives are likely suspects. (How could ANYONE believe it's a good idea to inject mercury into a small baby?) So is the increasing tendency to combine vaccinations so that the child receives three to five different types of killed or live viruses in one shot. The idea behind vaccination is to stimulate the immune system--couldn't this possibly OVERstimulate it?
True, expanded criteria and earlier identification could result in a perceived increase in reported autism. In the past, perhaps some children with Asperger's syndrome and/or high-functioning autism went through life being regarded as merely shy or eccentric. But 50 percent of those with autism have IQs classifiable as mentally retarded (Edelson, 2006). So, if we disregard the higher-functioning 50 percent, there has still been an EIGHTfold increase over the last 40 years.
Although there have been a number of studies, there is as yet no consensus as to what causes autism. Researchers cannot even agree on what DOESN'T cause it. Therefore, it is irresponsible to make statements such as "I just know it isn't vaccines," or "Since autism is genetic...."
The major point of Donna Birocyzy's article is that we are NOT calling for an end to vaccines. We don't want our children or your children to die from preventable illnesses. What we want is unbiased studies, safer vaccines and accountability if turns out that vaccines are the culprit.
The awful irony of parent's refusal to allow their children to have the MMR jab and their failure to get their children the vaccines seperately is a huge rise in the number of incidences of all of these illnesses. Most ironically, Rubella, which was nearly extinct in the UK, has claimed the eyesight of many young people. They are often served by the same organisations that also deal with autism care.
For the idiots:
Look up the ingredients for Thimerosal, the preservative in many vaccines.
Look up the MSDS on Ethyl Mercury.
Look up the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning.
It doesn't take a genius, just someone who isn't blinded by the govt or on their payroll.
None of anyones' opinions can change the fact that doctors are injecting a deadly poison into our childrens' bloodstreams, even before they have a chance to develop.
I'll also mention that the govt shipped AIDS to africa in a shipment of smallpox vaccines and they sent a different strain to NYC in hepatitis vaccines. Look it up. People remain stupid because they choose not to learn and accept at face value the lies of those who would seek to eliminate 80% of the world's population. Look that up too.
Want another example? Look up the effects of marijuana. One of the DEA's own administrative judges, Francis Young, after a year of deliberations said "marijuana is the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."
Now go look up the effects of SSRI's. (prozac, wellbutrin, paxil, etc.) They list "intentional injury" as an effect. In fact, EVERY school shooting in this country involved those drugs. I personally know 5 people who are dead because of them. What are the doctors prescribing to millions of people? The safe marijuana or the evil crazy drugs???
What about the kids that are disabled from the vaccine's like my son who never walked or talked and had 80 seizure's a day.Today my son is 18 years old and is the size of a 5 year old.what would you do if this happen to your child.Why don't you all that know so much study on that.thanks
Come on people tell me what would you do ? If you took your baby to get the vaccine's then days later your baby started having seizure's for no reason and he or she stopped smiling or sitting on his or her on.Then you had nothing left but a body.Come on tell me this father what you would do .You all know so much lets talk come on.You would just do what we are told to do deal with it .Our doctor yes a doctor told us our baby had a reation to the dpt vaccine at 8 years old to late to file a cliam with the compensation program but what is the use the damage is done can't bring my boy back .
I believe that the decision on whether to vaccinate or not should be an individual decision based on the child's health, family history, and environment.
I personally gave my kids almost all the vaccines. However, 2 of them reacted really badly to the DTP vaccine (fever of over 40 degrees celsius) and from that point on I insisted on giving them DT only (without the Pertusis component).
I know a baby who reacted really badly to DTP with a very high fever and constant trembling all over. A baby like that should not be given the DTP again, but rather the DT only.
I wonder how many vaccine-related problems could have been avoided if doctors took such a common-sense approach?
Personally, I think if the medical community would just accept that
many moms have concerns about the MMR vaccine, they could make more
options and choices available. Just telling moms they are wrong isn't
as helpful as making them feel more comfortable about with their
decision to vaccinate. And making every vaccine that comes down the pike "mandatory" doesn't help matters much either.
Thank you for writing this. And to all those who posted comments, your stories are part of the truth, too. I'm a baby boomer, grew up in a large town in California - in my entire childhood and up to the age of 45, I only knew of one family with an autistic child.
Neither of my sons born in the 1970's had any friends with autism in the family. My daughter born in 1990, had TWO friends with siblings who were autistic, they were the same age. And my boss had a three year old son diagnosed in 1998 with autism. In Springfield, MO a town of about 200,000.
SOMETHING HAS CHANGED!!!! I have new grandbabies. I want them protected. I want everybody's babies protected. I don't want them to get childhood diseases, and I don't want them to be afflicted with autism. It is not "either...or".
Until the scientists sort it out (my dad died from cigarettes that were advertised as 'healthy' when he was young, only much later, after a huge struggle, were "allowed" to be sold with a health warning on the package!), I am going to recommend good old-fashioned common sense.
1. Do your research, make up your own mind!!!
2. Spread out the vaccinations - don't get them all at once. You want to see if your child has a reaction. The majority of kids don't have any reaction, but yours might.
3. If your baby has a reaction, report it. Fever, fussy, any change in behavior, no matter how slight.
4. If your child has had a reaction to a particular vaccine, consider not repeating that one. I have a friend who's child nearly died at six months after his shots (anaphylactic shock) and she has never had him vaccinated again - she has letter from the pediatrician that he is exempt. Her son is in high school now.
I am not a doctor or a nurse or a scientist. Just a regular mom & grandma with some experience. When you start feeding babies solid food, you try new foods one at a time, right? Why would you give multiple shots of live and killed viruses to a baby all at once? Makes no sense.
I feel bad for any family that faces the challenges of caring for children with autism. As with any challenge our children face, we suffer with them, as our hopes for a perfect, healthy, always happy child are dashed.
However, I am very frustrated with the finger-pointing that takes place as these families seek answers to the questions these challenges stimulate. In this complex, ever-changing world, only the most clear causes of disease can be established. If vaccines could be established as a cause of autism, the link would have been proven long ago. Science with have to undergo some evolutionary change before this will ever happy.
Ironically, the finger-pointing parents are the same parents who would use this alleged link to put the rest of our kids at risk by doing everything they can to avoid vaccination. Before vaccination, many, many, many, many more children suffered from infections, post-infectious damage, and deaths, than are now found to have autism. These unvaccinated children put us all at risk for these highly preventable diseases... all for the sake of "belief".
Please leave your "beliefs" at church, where they belong, and accept the need for vaccination.
agree with what is written but please don't just limit the Autisim link to boys, even though boys are more prone to Autisim than girls. I have an Autisic daughter who we have worked very very hard with to get her a little above the normal autisic levels. If it had not been for the teachers, staff, and doctors have that dealt with her over the past 20 years she would not have made it to the point she is at. I have often wondered if it could have been a vaccine that triggered her problems, but we also know that she (1) has fragile X syndrome-but with girls their other X chromosone will usually dominate and (2) she has an allergy to eggs-both the whites and the yolks. The reason I have wondered about the vaccines is because when she was little and receiving her baby shots we did not know that she was allergic to eggs and the polio vaccine is made with eggs as is most flu vaccines. She was an average child until about 9 months are so and then the normal mama and dada babble stopped. Her walking was delayed as well as the other autisic traits that came along.
I work in the local school district as an Occupational Therpapist and see and have seen many Autistic students ranging from 3-21. My personal belief and gut feeling is that there is some kind of genetic component involved. I have had numerous students with siblings diagnosed also, or a cousin, uncle, etc. I have even had students on the Autism Spectrum where the parent is not diagnosed, but exhibits slight-moderate behavioral traits (i.e. Asbergers) and does not realize it. Sounds strange, but true and have witnessed this more than a couple of times. Maybe the genetic component + vaccinations is the cause, just a thought. I cannot believe that vaccations alone are the cause.
I have 2 girls 10 and 13 who received all their shots as infants when mercury was a component, before 2000, (now according to my pediatrician, mercury is only used in the flu shot and not the others as a preservative) and they are typical kids. I have a 9 month old son who has received all current vaccinations, and you better believe I look for "signs" every day and will continue to do so especially with the MMR. Not to would be ignorant on my part, even though we have no family history of Autism. I think knowing your extended family history is key. I also believe Autism and spectrum disorders have been around for years, just undiagnosed. We can all remember the "quirky" kid or kids we went to school with that TODAY would be diagnosed in the spectrum.
Has anyone at all considered the fact that perhaps one major component to the autism problem has a lot to do with the advanced age of the average mother and father in first world nations? There are exponentially more 30-40 year old first time mothers and fathers and fertility treatments (including IVF) have increased tenfold at the LEAST. You now see people TRYING to have twins and multiples, which raises the chances of mental and physical disabilities by quite a lot.
There has been scientific research that shows that older eggs and older sperm can lead to more vulnerable babies being made, which can translate to weaker systems in general. Add to this our germ-phobic culture where you are expected to wash your hands five times after picking up something with dirt on it and god forbid you ever eat something that wasn't washed in five types of detergent first, and you can see that human beings may be more susceptible to this stuff because we are overprotecting our bodies from stuff that basically builds up resistance in the first place.
Now, there may be a weak link between vaccinations and triggering of inborn characteristics, but the problem is that when people without medical degrees who are armed only with Google Search Engine don't really have the best information at their disposal.
My mom was CONVINCED that my sister had "Schizophrenia" after doing some "research" on the computer. She tried to get my sister on anti-psychotics. The truth? My sister was just being your regular difficult teenager who talked back! No psychiatrist my mom took my sister to would put my sister on anti-psychotics, so my mom had to settle with putting her on anti-depressants instead (which my sister refused to take because she didn't have depression!).
My problem with vaccine demonization is that our society is so obsessed with all sorts of medications that we don't even think of (like any meds to do with "male performance" and the myriad of meds being pushed at baby boomers) while we just arbitrarily decide to attack other things.
Also, just because something happens concurrently doesn't prove that it was a causal factor. The human body is complicated. If your baby ate a banana the day that he developed autism, would you blame the banana? And I am really not interested in people's anecdotal evidence as "proof" that something is so. There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that a diet pill or a TV exercise machine works. Even well-meaning people can honestly give anecdotal evidence about things that are often just as truly effective as a placebo.
Personally, I would love to find out what causes autism and other such things, and I don't think that it's a good idea to jump to conclusions or attack and demonize parents for being afraid. But there are people who stand to make a lot of money off of books or treatments made up of "alternatives" and "fuzzy medicine" and "alternative medicine" that is even LESS proven or researched than vaccines. Just as you can take the "evil pharmaceutical company" route, you can also take the "snake oil peddlers making a buck off of your fear" route.
So be sensible when it comes to vaccines. Think about only requesting the ones that you had as a child (take a look at your vaccination records) and consider getting ones done that do not have mercury in them (I believe that the only vaccinations I know of that have mercury in them are ones used in third world countries). Don't put your child in a bubble, and let them experience sickness and a built up immune system by playing in the dirt and grime. When they get sick, monitor them and make sure to get them to a hospital if they get too feverish.
I also encourage people to start their families before they turn 30. Increase and maintain your nutrition before and during pregnancy instead of eating crappy food. Make sure that you have adequate medical insurance of some sort and regular prenatal appointments. Make the best babies you can so that they will be stronger against health problems.
Remember, the average diet back in the day was much less processed and full of crap than the average diet of today. And the average age of starting a family was much lower too. We must look at a lot of different factors and how they intertwine before jumping to a conclusion. Because, in the end, if we are treating the wrong problem, then we cannot come to a solution for it!
My son has ADHD, my sister in law has a son with Autism, and I've been doing some checking into the link between these two disorders. People want to say it's genetic or it's vaccines, but I think it's much more likely that it's both. We can have genetic predispositions to illnesses or learning disabilities so my guess is that we probably have a genetic flaw in some of our families that makes some of us more likely to be born autistic or for the components in the vaccines to kick-start a "dormant" case of autism.
My mother has a genetic disorder that only seems to be triggered during pregnancy or an artificial increase in her hormone levels. It was discovered after she was being treated for a stroke less than two weeks after hormone therapy was started. If we can have little ticking time bombs like that in us, isn't it likely that a vaccine could trigger a reaction that leads to autism in some of us?
Perhaps if we stop pointing fingers and work towards better genetic testing for us and our children, we could find a link and then find a way to combat this problem.
Great for you for taking the time to help parents think for themselves, not just what thier doctor says is 'true' or what they see on TV. To inject poison after poison into a tiny body and NOT expect somekind of problem is just dumb. Mercury might have been a huge problem, but so is aluminum, and the host of other toxins still in vaccines. Most people don't realize, if it's traded on the stock market, all they care about is money. The drug companies make vaccines to MAKE MONEY and they are publicly traded. So if any parent out there is thinking the drug companies are sitting in their board rooms worrying about your kids, then you are living in dream land. They are worried about the economy and getting drugs into our hands, and into your childs body. It's not about 'health', its about money plain and simple. There is always a money trail and our pharmaceutical companies have a HUGE paper trail leading straight to them.
WWW.GENERATIONRESCUE.COM is a great site
The rise in autism is due to the rise in awareness, twenty years ago you were hard pressed to find a phsyician educated on identifying and diagnosing Autism. There are no more instances of it, only more recognition, and kudos to you the parents for bringing about that awareness but please recognize when enough is enough. I've worked with Autisic children for almost seven years now and I have to say that in doing so I have come accross several different types of parents, the most upsetting being the "Prevention and Cure" Parents. It breaks my heart to watch these parent spend all their efforts and resources looking for the ever so elusive "cure". You can march, you can walk, you can lobby; the only Autism prevention is abstinence.
The MMR vaccine, or any other vaccine containing Thimerosal does not cause Autism. We would have a Nation comprised soley of Autistic children if that were the case. If your child has had a reaction to the vaccine chances are that is because your child was already Autistic. Autism is not caused by a needle, nor is it cause by consuming too much fish. It is not a contractable disease, you cannot "catch" it.
Stop looking for the "Why" my child and focus on the "How" can I help my child. Changing your child's diet and making them wear a weighted vest will help them, it will not cure them. There is no cure for Down Syndrome, there is no cure for Angelmans and there is no cure for Autism. Accept that you can not fix it and you can not prevent it, it happens; If you can do that and focus your energy on adaptive approaches to help your child succeed you will do your child a world of good. I understand that it must be the hardest thing in the world to know that your child may never say the words "I love you mom" but lobbying the government based on an unfounded theory is not going to change that. The finger pointing and the neurosis is not helping the cause.
The rise in autism is due to the rise in awareness, twenty years ago you were hard pressed to find a phsyician educated on identifying and diagnosing Autism. There are no more instances of it, only more recognition, and kudos to you the parents for bringing about that awareness but please recognize when enough is enough. I've worked with Autisic children for almost seven years now and I have to say that in doing so I have come accross several different types of parents, the most upsetting being the "Prevention and Cure" Parents. It breaks my heart to watch these parent spend all their efforts and resources looking for the ever so elusive "cure". You can march, you can walk, you can lobby; the only Autism prevention is abstinence.
The MMR vaccine, or any other vaccine containing Thimerosal does not cause Autism. We would have a Nation comprised soley of Autistic children if that were the case. If your child has had a reaction to the vaccine chances are that is because your child was already Autistic. Autism is not caused by a needle, nor is it cause by consuming too much fish. It is not a contractable disease, you cannot "catch" it.
Stop looking for the "Why" my child and focus on the "How" can I help my child. Changing your child's diet and making them wear a weighted vest will help them, it will not cure them. There is no cure for Down Syndrome, there is no cure for Angelmans and there is no cure for Autism. Accept that you can not fix it and you can not prevent it, it happens; If you can do that and focus your energy on adaptive approaches to help your child succeed you will do your child a world of good. I understand that it must be the hardest thing in the world to know that your child may never say the words "I love you mom" but lobbying the government based on an unfounded theory is not going to change that. The finger pointing and the neurosis is not helping the cause
Many good arguments, but (best I could tell) one factor was missing.
So many point to the rise in Autism diagnosis from the 50's and 60's to now... but what about all the institutionalized people from back then. So many of them were not given a specific diagnosis, or given a "generalized" diagnosis and parents were frequently ashamed or baffled and chose the institutions. Labeled odd, weird, stupid, horrible, etc... they spent their lives in the care of various institution personnel - never to know their families, many not knowing what the real problem was.
The autism spectrum disorder - had it encompassed more then as it does now, perhaps many of those in the institutions would have better known what was going on and how to deal with it. Instead, as I mentioned, some people were ashamed and others baffled and chose that as their first option instead of making an effort to learn more.
Who's to say that the "TRUE" autism rates from then and now aren't closer to comparable?
As for the Amish/autism side, can't put vaccines there as a definite either. After all, they eat less of the processed foods we do, they use different items for chores such as washing laundry and dishes... there is still a lot to be decided. I'm uncomfortable with the idea that vaccines are just slapped on as an answer for everyone autistic. Am I to blame vaccines for a friend's late-life seizures? Sounds crazy. Is it possible that some are already on the autism path and have a terrible reaction to the vaccines? Yes. Is it possible that vaccines cause autism? Perhaps, but please read on to understand why I say it that way.
But do not gauge the entire spectrum by one cause. A large group of people could have the same allergic reaction to something, and that something could be different for each person. And yet, they could all have mimicked each other's schedule... i.e., eaten same breakfast at same time, went to same stores at same time, went to bed at same time, etc. So, finding out they had something in common is not necessarily a dictation of the exact cause.
Would I change my kid's vaccination schedules had I known some of this then? No. Are they potentially autistic anyway? Truthfully, yes. Because I am. My vaccine schedule was different than theirs. And yet the possibility is still there that we are all in the same boat. How do you explain that one?
Before I go, I want to thank "Jeanean"... that last paragraph is how I feel exactly. Why not take care of teaching them to love, to live, and to understand more about what is happening? Teach that first. The answer to "why" will not be immediately available. But teaching them how to deal with life in a more positive way - that will produce immediate results. Those should be the results we are eager to see.