Vacinations and autism?

Question

I know lots of people say that there is no link between vacinations and autism, but my 5-year-old, healthy little boy has his kindergarten physical tomorrow and I'm scared to death of something happening because of his shots. Anyone have any info to put my mind at ease?

Thanks for the info GAgirl, but since African children are not vaccinated like American children and American children have higher rates of autism, that would SUPPORT the argument of vaccinations having a link to autism, not DISCOUNT the theory.

Answer 1

Hi there,

Thank you for your concern. Do NOT give an MMR vaccine in *one* shot, but ask for vaccinations *separately* for Measles, Mumps and Rubella respectively.

You could ask for a vaccine without thimerosal and other potentially harmful preservatives for your child. If you are confused, then please click on and read through my very much detailed answer posted earlier today on Y!A concerning vaccination and autism [see ref. at the bottom].

Personally speaking, I have had first-hand knowledge about a wide number of parents of autistic children whose children drastically regressed and lost all acquired skills suddenly within a very short period of receiving the vaccinations.

If you search at Y!A, you would come across a number of questions on the same topic. I'd encourage you to read them all and make an informed decision.

I'll just cut and paste one question below posted by someone named Babara:-
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ajsmd.2Cyag0xdY6gFj8AXnsy6IX?qid=20070614134341AAzK9OS&show=7#profile-info-MABueeaRaa

"I'm still in the angry stage. My 21 month old beautiful baby boy was just diagnosed autistic. It seemed like he changed overnight. Lost his speech, started staring at wheels on cars, walking on tippy toes, lines up shoes all day and bangs his head. It did all start shortly after these controversial vaccinations. I am now hating myself. I wish I had researched these vaccines then instead of now."

Another post you may like to read. It's by someone named WriterCharlie:-

"Many of the previous posters are ill informed. Thirmisol isn't an "ingredient" in vacs anymore...but it is still used in processing and is still found in the vaccines. It's not 500 people in the first group of lawsuits. It's just under 5000. They are presenting the proof that their autism was caused by vaccines and the court's job is to assign blame, basically. There's no doubt that it was the cause in *those* 5000 cases.
.......
"If you visit the FDA website you can look up the approvals on all vaccines. What you'll find is that almost every approval letter contains a waiver releasing the manufacturer from the requirement of providing the results of any safety testing they may have done. In some cases, it implies none was done. In several cases it states that they did not meet the FDA standards so they are waiving them of needing to, and approving the vaccine anyway. Also, no vaccine on the market to date was tested on children in the age range it is administered to. Most were tested on children 10+. Additionally, many of the vaccines that are given to babies were not approved for them at all. The FDA approved them for ages 11+ but the CDC put the vaccines on their schedule for babies and toddlers.

"All of this information is availible on the FDA website, and you can view the manufacturer's inserts that your doctors are required by law to give you before your child is vaccinated. I have yet to find a doctor that does, but that law is not enforced. Those inserts warn you about the many allergens and neurotoxins that are used to process vaccines and often used as ingredients in them. Thirmisol is just one of MANY, and where it isn't present there is always something equally dangerous."

"I only recently discovered all of this, myself, when researching for an article on vaccine safety and effectiveness. It will be published tomorrow morning, if you'd like more information. You will be able to access it free via this page at that time."
http://www.associatedcontent.com/onevoice

Hope this helps a little.

Answer 2

Onset of autism does not occur as late as age 5. Your son is old enough.

Not that I buy the theory that autism is caused by vaccines, but I do think the vaccines are tough on a little body. I feel the government recommended is too aggressive. Again, your son is old enough.

They started phasing out thimerasol (mercury related preservative) around 1999. The stopped putting them in childhood vaccines completely in 2001. The last of that batch expired in January of 2003. So any vaccine your child gets now will be thimerisol free. (with the possible exception of flu vaccines - ask your doctor)

Give your child the vaccines. He is old enough now.

Answer 3

My son has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (basically, a less severe form of Autism). He is 5, going into kindergarten next year, and I recently had to make the same decision you are facing--whether or not to get that last shot required for school. If thimerisol in vaccines is linked to autism, it's only the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shot, and flu shots that contain it. Chances are, your child has already had his MMRs. The FDA recommended to the pharmaceutical companies that the thimerisol be replaced in 1999. That doesn't mean that any shots administered after 1999 were thimerisol-free.
As far as your child is concerned, if he has progressed normally thus far, he probably is not at risk for autism. My son is 5 and cannot hold a conversation, but he can count to 100 in 3 languages, and he can navigate a computer almost as well as I can.

Answer 4

Studies testing the link between vaccinations and autism are relatively new and therefore they have yet to really state any sufficient evidence. However, most studies are starting to show that there is no link. Autism is defined as a genetic defect, not as a virus or disease. Don't worry about your boy, he will be just fine. :) Of course, he probably won't like getting poked very much but I think he'll get over it. :P So relax, there is nothing to be worried about.

If you would like to do your own research on the subject, try a Google search. You might find something interesting.

Answer 5

My kids have had theres and have no autism. Its never been proven that the shot causes autism and many researchers are now saying it doesn't and that many people believed it was related because when kids get that shot its right about the same time they start noticing the signs of autism. However, if your child has autism than they've had it normally since they were an infant but usually doesnt get notice until around 3 and sometimes even late elementary age.

Answer 6

Thimerosol, the mercury-based preservative that was once in vaccines (and is no longer) was blamed for the rising rates of autism diagnoses, but it was removed several years ago, and yet, autism dx rates continue to climb. That tells me that vaccines are not to blame in the overwhelming majority of cases. My son is autistic and had an MRI several years ago which revealed a prominent herniation of the cerebellar tonsils in the lower back of the brain. I have since learned that this congenital malformation, called Chiari Malformation, has been discovered in many kids dx'ed with autism, so before any blames vaccines, they should get an MRI on any child believed to have autism. I truly think Chiari is *way* ahead of vaccines on the causes list.

LIZARD :)

Answer 7

well think of it this way

children in poor villages in third world countries such as Africa are usually not vaccinated

there is a much higher prevalance of autism in the u.s. and uk then in africa

thus one would come to the conclusion there is no link

personally I think its a genetic defect, I dont believe it has anything to do with vaccinations

besides that if you have researched autism and the supposed link between vaccinations they site the link to be "mercury"....which mercury was removed from vaccinations in the u.s. and uk in the 90's so you have absolutley nothing to worry about

and lastly to completely put your mind at ease, children with autism are diagnosed before the age of three, your child is five so you are in the clear

Answer 8

No input to put you mind at ease - our daughter got seizures that started the day she was vaccinated. The only way to ensure safer vaccinations is to administer one vaccine at a time and make sure that the vaccines are preservative-free...

You can always say "No" and get a public health exemption form.

Ania

Answer 9

Can't put your mind at ease about this subject! Get an exemption from the school district for now and do some research. You can ask your child's doctor to have your child's titers checked as he might already be immunized against most or all diseases that he has had shots for as an infant as not every person needs booster shots. This is what most pregnant women have done for rubella during their first pregnancy.

As a parent of a high functioning autistic 4 year-old daughter who just started chelating, my advice is to read information on the Internet and the books: Evidence of Harm by David Kirby and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Childhood Vaccinations by Dr. Stephanie Cave. Is there diabetes, cancer, thyroid disease, arthritis, MS, allergies/asthma or other autoimmune diseases in your child's family history? This puts your child at higher risk for autism spectrum disorders but not only is thimerosal/mercury linked to autism but also tics, ADD/ADHD, sleep and speech disorders, SIDS, seizure disorders and many other disorders. Vaccines are still prepared with thimerosal but most are not preserved with thimerosal. Ask your doctor for a print out for each shot's ingredients then go home to read/think about it and research so you feel good about your decision. I am not anti-vaccination but believe the one size fits all approach is harming many children who can't detox efficiently. If titers indicated that your child needs the measles or mumps shots, then have those shots separately so you can observe for any reactions after the shot. If your doctor tries to persuade you to have all the shots, do understand that books/websites indicated that the clinic or maybe even the doctor receive "incentives" for children who are fully immunized.

My daughter is born fourth out of my 5 children and she has "regressive autism". Her siblings are healthy and the older 3 are outstanding, social students needing advance placement courses in school. Her youngest sister who is almost 3 shows absolutely no signs of delay and is actually very advanced in language, social skills, etc.

Just wanted to share with you that autistic daughter had 3 things happen to her that did not happen to her healthy siblings: I had a flu shot while about 5 months pregnant with her and then another one while breastfeeding her at 8 months-old and then she had a flu shot at 20 months to "protect her newborn sister" from "bad flu strains".

My daughter has improved greatly with each intervention (GFCF diet, supplements, and all) suggested by her DAN! doctor. He correctly predicted her biomedical problems. Her lab work is very typical of children with "regressive autism" who have leaky gut, malabsorption issues, etc. Yesterday, her preschool teachers/therapists told me to keep up whatever I am doing at home because my daughter's "language, disposition and behavior have been amazing within the last two weeks". I hadn't told them that my daughter started chelation therapy exactly 2 weeks ago!!! My advice is to educate yourself before making health decisions...even before you take vitamins or supplements for yourself. Google it!

Answer 10

There is not one credible scientific study showing a link despite being tested again and again. If you can cite a study, please do. You can go to pubmed.com which is where most credible studies are published and peer reviewed and see for yourself - the studies all reject a correlation between vaccinations and autism. Why can't we put this to rest?

The Africa reference is hilarious. The people of Africa are focused on survival. Millions of them are dying of Aids, starvation, and genocide. Their efforts aren't focused on identifying mental disabilities. If they were, as much as we are, the numbers would most likely support the percentages we are seeing in the industrialized world which are very consistent across all age groups, gender and ethnic groups.

Read the science - it's out there. Your gut feeling does not equal fact.