Immunizations and Autism

The vaccination / autisum link has been disproven.
The reason it shows up after vaccinations is because it shows up after 18 months. Studies have shown that Autism begains before birth.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050110114832...
http://www.aap.org/immunization/families/autismfacts.html
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/immunizations/vacc...
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/6668

The orginal "study" that suggested the link , was done at the scientist's son's birthday party. It was a flawed "study".

The Autism - immunization link is misinformation.
And it is far more dangerous to not vacinate.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/video/health/4/not_vaccinati...

Yep. Loads from overseas in 3rd world countries I've visited/lived/worked, and many here in this country... primarily from migrant farmer populations and other poor families who can't afford healthcare.

As others have said, the study was flawed. The whole autism/vacc thing was debunked YEARS ago in the scientific community... it is an UNTOLD RELIEF that it's now out in the public domain.

I recently did my persuasive research paper on this subject, because my own daughter has had similar problems for a long time. I began the paper with the idea that there was a connection becasue of stories heard in the media and that underliying want for some kind of reason or a fear that I could have prevented it. However during the course of my paper I had to change my thesis because I could not find any real proof. The man who started the theory has been disproven by many studies and was found to have had a connection to companies that would benefit from this scare and thus has recanted. I spent so much time trying to find studies that really had proof of this but just could not find many of them. I instead found thousands proving that there was not a real correlation. Though i agree there is far too much toxic stuff in vaccines and they are given much to close together I feel that it is just a connection of the time or age that symptoms manifest or become noticable and the time that some vaccines are given.
I feel there are so many dangers to not giving the vaccine and even experienced what could happen very recently. A child that I had been around our family was thought to have rubella and I am in my first trimester. which this is can cause the initial development to be greatly altered or even death for the unborn baby. Fortunatly after many tests we found it was not exposed. Though I began with the normal schedule for my daughter we chose to begin an alternative schedule where they are more spaced out and I am more aware of everything that is going into her body. Just keep yourself informed and you will find better answers to things like this, I did. I hope this helps, I know this is a very touchy and highly charged topic.

Autism is not a disease you can "catch". Just because a baby met milestones doesn't mean that later they won't begin to lag behind or show signs of being on the autism spectrum. There have been over 20 years of research on this and the most recent panel of 35 scientific experts including geneticists, doctors, autism specialists, and neurologists conclusively stated there is ABSOLUTELY no indication of any link between vaccines and autism. I know parents want to have something to point to or blame, but it's simply not true. Every autism expert agrees vaccines do not cause autism. I really wish this misinformation would stop spreading.

Yes. The study which first started the furor over vaccines and autism was doctored. The connection has never been shown and vaccines are the best way to protect your children from known child killers.

I used to work with a group of seven severely autistic children, of whom one had never been vaccinated. Ever. One had only had one round of vaccinations. And the remaining five children had had their vaccines regularly.

My child has autism. The doctor who treats my child has two children with autism, one vaccinated the other not vaccinated. He has recovered the child who was not vaccinated. I don't think vaccinations cause autism but I do think they are a contributing factor for some kids. I've stopped vaccinating my typical daughter and my son.
The study to which some of the others posters are referring was not disproved. The author was criticized for his techinque, not his conclusion. His research has been duplicated. Also that study only looked at the MMR, not the MMR in conjunction with all the other vaccines given.

Hi--
I do not know anyone with Autism. However, just yesterday news came out that the person who supposedly "disproved" the link between autism and vaccines absconded with $2 million that he was supposed to use for research. It turns out that his initial study that "disproved" the link used falsified data. Further research done by other researchers was based on this initial study that was falsified, so pretty much any research that says there is no link between Autism and vaccines can no longer be trusted.
Here is the link to the full article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/central...

Also, check out this link to Jenny McCarthy's latest article--if you don't know, she has a son recovered from autism and swears his symptoms started after receiving the MMR:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-mccarthy/whos-afraid-...

My children both have food allergies, and therefore very sensitive digestion and livers. We did not vaccinate because I was going to wait until they were older and their immune systems had formed. However, when my eldest got sick at 4 months we tried everything. We finally found an alternative doc who was able to help us. A year after starting treatment that doctor told me that our son was the sickest baby he'd ever seen and that if we had vaccinated him it would have put such pressure on his system that he would've ended up with learning problems at the very least and most probably autism. My son is an example of someone who is more genetically sensitive and more likely to have developed austism. That is why diet changes so often change the autistic like symptoms.

I hope this information helps you flesh out your own feelings on the subject. Good luck!
J.

What a controversy. I feel bad for anyone having to try and make a rational decision about vaccines at this point.

I would never skip having them. Even if there was a clear case of it being a possibility I would still have them because kids can live with Autism but they can't live with some of those diseases that they can be vaccinated against.

I don't have an answer for this question, but this is a great question and can't wait to see if anyone does know someone.

I don't know any child who has autism. My uncle definitely seems to have Aspergers tho, however is not diagnosed. My mother is in the medical field and it is her believe that he should have been diagnosed long ago.

The "definition of Autism" has been significantly broadened over the years. So that is one of the reasons that you hear of so many more kids these days with "Autism". If you look at someone like my uncle, he has a degree, he's been married, he can function day to day. However, he's "off". He's truely the "wierd uncle" that every family seems to have. My point being, I think Autism is being more diagnosed today because we know about it and the spectrum is broader. Doctors are "looking" for signs of kids with Autism, ADHD, ADD, allergies, etc. Things they didn't do a generation ago.

I have three children. I have done a whole bunch of research on the topic - even recently since I have a new baby boy.

Although the original study that started the scare linking Autism to the MMR vaccine was stated "flawed", there's also people out there from the Austim Families who believe that the retraction of that study is a PR push from vaccination companies...do with that what you will. Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey put out a statement about it online.

Here's what I think after my research - Autism isn't something you "catch". It's not a virus like a cold or HIV. I think of it moreso along the lines of a genetic mutation or at least having a genetic component. Personally, I think it's like alcoholism...there are genetic links. But just because you come from a family of alcoholics doesn't mean YOU will be one. I think some people have a predisposition.

As far as the vaccines are concerned I think many people who have experienced Autism with their own children have a point. That point being that either a component within the vaccines, the quantity of the vaccines being give in such a short span of time (read 5 medications in one visit) or 30 over two years, is something to think about.

Also if you combine the genetic and vaccine links together, you'll see some people think that there may be some "condition" which causes some children to not process the vaccines the same way the majority of kids due. Like there's something wrong with their liver? Or there's an ingredient in the vaccines they are allergic to that triggers the onset of Autistic symptoms causing the child to "shut down" emotionally/interpersonally.

Personally I think there's too much information out there from parents who have autistic children to say, "Austism isn't caused by vaccines." However I also think there's not enough scientific data yet supporting a cause - effect relationship...especially when it comes to ALL kids.

Therefore, we have decided to vaccinate all of our children. I have had no problem "delaying" some vaccinations for our baby so that he doesn't get a whole bunch at once or if he's not feeling 100% the day of the appointment. Plus we have 7 other children in our extended family who have all received all of their vaccinations with no side effects or issues.

If your family/child shows Autistic tendancies or has allergy issues I might be more concerned with running a "higher chance" of getting Autism. Again, I personally think there is a link, but not enough information at this time to prevent me/our kids from being immunized. When I discussed my concerns with our ped she said "no problem" on delaying any vaccs and even helped come up with a delayed schedule. But she said she too thinks there is a genetic component. But with the available research she wouldn't advise NOT getting vaccinations as they do save lives.

That's what I know and think. I hope this helps you.

Yes... I do. My cousin's child has Aspergers. She would not vaccinate becuase her sister-in-law vaccinated and her son was diagnosed with Autism. We have all wondered if there is a genetic connection of some sort.
Recently they have disproved the connection of immunizations and autism. However... there are many people out there searching for answers. Many people who belive there must be a connection. I chose to vaccinate my 2 girls and so did my sister all of my other cousins. No one else has a child with a PDD diagnosis.

lived 24 years outside US and never ever heard or met or saw an autistic child. vaccinations don't start until age 5. here, many, many autistic children. i give it about 50 more years of research then i'll believe there is no link between vaccinations and autism. the way i look at it is vaccines may trigger something that causes autism. i am fully convinced there is a link between the two.

Our son is not vaccinated, and shows absolutely no signs of autism. No where on the spectrum, and no issues that some kids on the spectrum show. I would visit the NVIC website. They are working on funding for a study of non-vaccinated children and the occurance of autism. They also have a lot of great info on their site. http://www.nvic.org//

Good luck,
T.

Yes. I know two children who both have autism and were never vaccinated against anything. Their mothers were both worried about the link between MMR and autism, so they both chose not to vaccinate. Many of my friends have children "on the spectrum" and the general consensus seems to be that there are multiple causes of autism, and they all believe that their children were "vaccine-injured," but they all believe that some children are born with autism. It's hugely debatable, and I don't know that we'll ever have a clear definable cause for autism.

Sorry I too don't know anyone either – I do know parents who say that their child was "typical," got scheduled vaccines (by the way it was a total of NINE vaccines at once and when mom wanted to split them up the doctor said that he didn’t think it was a good idea because it would cost her too much money) and the next day did not recognize his sister.

I am not anti-vaccine but there are some precautions I’d take
- make sure you know info about each of the vaccines and ask questions
- make sure your child is NOT sick (the CDC says the child should not be sick. However a study of Cincinnati pediatricians stated 90% of them used well baby checks for vaccines even if the child was sick (I am sure this is common across the US).
- be strong in your beliefs (e.g. if you want to wait on a vaccine know why so you can talk to the pediatrician and don’t be pressured)
- check the following sites about contraindications (e.g. yeast allergy, egg allergy): http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/vac-admin/contraindicati...
- read the following info and see if you feel that some of the ideas are something you would like to consider http://www.generationrescue.org/pdf/vaccine_guidelines.pdf

good luck in your decision!

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update:

so I was talking to a couple of other parents who have kids with autism and here is what they say:
- (this child was fully vaccinated until the age of 5). I always knew there was something off since my child was born (decreased social smile, decreased eye contact). Also got results of testing intestinal tract that showed measles (from MMR shot)
- (this child was fully vaccinated per cdc schedule and was normal with development until age of 13 months). When testing blood (age 3) it was found that his titer for the tetanus shot was 4x the level it should have been (was also diagnosed with a metabolic issue)

I have been to dozens of talks from leaders of autism (both doctors and people who treat children with autism). All of them feel there is a definite genetic component. Some of them feel that this genetic component is triggered by environmental issues (e.g. pesticide, hormones, antibiotics, microwave use, toxins released by plastic containers when you microwave them, toxins in daily products we use – by the way some of these toxins have been banned by some countries but the US still uses them).
One speaker also knows a researcher in europe who is studying vaccine safety. This research says that individual vaccines are safe but has noticed with combined vaccines that there are neurotoxins being released (not sure which combination vaccines she was referring to).
I personally do NOT feel MMR is the cause. I definitely feeding there is a environment/allergy/metabolic/genetic predisposition component. I definitely feel that there is a group of children who are unable to process the vaccine components (not necessarily the preservative being used but the actual component of the vaccine that is preventing the illness)– does that mean that people should not vaccinate – not necessarily but giving fewer shots will let you know that if your child will have a reaction which vaccine the reaction was to (the CDC states that if you get a vaccine reaction you should avoid that vaccine again) – My question is since we give our kids up to 9 vaccines (includes the combines vaccines e.g. MMR 3 vaccines) in one visit - how do you know which vaccine set off a reaction. Just food for thought :)

my brother has autism.he is now almost 20 and is very severe, low functioning.
he was progressing fine and with his 1st MMR vaccine at 1 yr old..he went downhill and with each vaccine there after just got worse.
to my understanding..autism is neurological and is triggered by preservatives in the vaccines along with other factors.
my oldest 2 who are 11,and 9 i have chosen for them to be exempt from their immunizations..but of course if there were an outbreak that threatened them i would have it done.

Great question. I am interested in the answers. I don't know anyone that has autism without vaccinations. I have gone slower on immunizations on my last 3 kids. Just 1-2 a time instead of 3-4 and only if they feel well (no cold or fever). I wait on the MMR until they are 4 or 5. That is what works for me b/c I am not convinced against vaccinations but I feel the nurses and drs. are all too relaxed about how much they give a tiny baby. I also refuse the hep shot when they are babies. I breastfed and I think it is more dangerous to poke them with a vaccine at that age than the risk of getting it.

No!!!

Tedd Koran is an expert in this field and has published many detailed works on this. You can find his info on amazon.com or you can google him.

Autism has many causes. Vaccinations are just one thing thought to be a cause.

i know the opposite.. a friend of mine had a baby with a cold.. and had a shot.. now has autisim good luck. ... just make sure when the kids get a shot they aren't sick...

Hi Brandy - I cant help but think that this is a loaded question. Look at all the hundreds of millions of children who have been fully vaccinated over the years who have no onset of autism at all. The answer is somewhere between the underlying differences between children who remain healthy after vaccination and those children with an onset of symptoms. It may be associated, I personally don't know. I know several moms with kids on the spectrum, I know they watch diet, etc. but I've never questioned them about vaccines. I've also watched a dear friend almost lose her 3yr old son to a childhood illness leaving him deaf - why? because she chose not to vaccinate.

I would love to know the answer too. I am having my first baby in June and am torn over immunizations. I do know someone personally that the baby was fine meeting all their mile stones and they had a Dr that was retiring, got the normal shots and then had Autism, they found out later that the vaccine was expired. So of course if I do relent to vaccines I will make them let me check the expiration date.