The Autism-Vaccine Connection: What Do You Think?

Question

I was watching Oprah the other day, and it was the episode on autism, my brother has Aspergers' Syndrome, which a form of high functioning autism, so my interest was immediately peaked.

This one woman was very adamant about the connection between autism and vaccines. I was all at once baffled and disgusted. Did she realize that she was turning off millions of mothers from vaccinating their babies, which could not only make them incredibly sick, but damage them for life or even be fatal? Does she realize that there is no solid evidentiary basis for that claim? I think that all options should be researched, but this one just seems a little off to me.

One could in fact argue that autism is getting more common then it was before, and link that with the discovery and use of vaccines, but I believe that its just being properly diagnosed a lot more often.

Any thoughts?

Thanks Duck Soup, I already knew that though, and in fact, the vaccines with these fillers we're distributed to the poorer neighborhoods and districts throughout the US, and not all of these cases can be directly linked. This woman who was so adamant about it doesn't seem to be part of that demographic

Answer 1

The vaccination theory was very reasonable, but research has failed to support that notion. Not that this has stopped the assumption of many that autism is caused by vaccinations.

The stopped using Thimerisol, the preservative many suspect causes autism, in vaccines in 2001. In January of 2003, the older vaccines that had Thimerisol expired.

So, if Thimerisol caused autism we would have experiences a major drop in autism, from 2004 to 2006. Yet the rates continute to rise.

But vaccinations are tough on a little body & I feel the recommended schedule to too aggressive. Many of the shots are combination shots. Some can be divided & given on different days so it is less of a shock to a child's system.

But I have a portrait of a 4 year old girl (my grandfather's sister) who died in 1914 of diptheria, unheard of in these days due to vaccinations. So I would not skip shots, just postpone them.

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Another point is that the rise in autism is someone disputed. we know the rate of DIAGNOSIS has increased but we are not certain if the actual condition is much more common. My niece & nephew would likely have just been diagnosed as "retarded" or "brain damaged" 30 or 40 years ago.

I heard one of the ladies on "The View" today quote that the rate of austims used to be 1 out of 10,000. Those stats from many years ago which included only classic autism. Even then, many with autism were just diagnosed "retarded" or someother general label. Most experts agree that the actual incidence rate of classic autism 30 years ago was more like 1 out of 1,000.

The current stats (1 out of 166) include Asperger's & other high-functioning forms of autism which were never diagnosed as autistic until the late 80s. The now compose about 70% of those with autism. Classic, or "Kanner's" autism occurs at about a rate of 1 out of 500.

So an accurate comparison would the old incidence rate of 1 out of 1,000 to the new rate of 1 out of 500. That means the rates have doubled, but that is a far cry from the rate increasing 60 times over. (and far from an "epidemic")

Answer 2

Thimerosal

Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative which was used in many vaccines between the late 1980's and 2003. The type of mercury used in thimerosal is generally cleared from the body within six weeks, which in theory would render it harmless. But according to those researchers who believe that the preservative causes autism, babies born during that 20-year window were injected with many times the "safe" level as determined by the FDA -- and some, they feel, were genetically incapable of clearing the doses of mercury from their bodies. Mercury is, in fact, a neurotoxin, and the theory is that the recent leap in autism diagnoses can be directly tied to thimerosal.


Thimerosal-Free Options for Concerned Parents

At present, the thimerosal controversy continues -- with evidence on both sides mounting up. The positive side, for new parents, is that thimerosal has now been removed from most vaccines -- and thimerosal-free vaccines are available across the board. The down side, of course, is that no one can say with absolute certainty that today's autistic youngsters were NOT harmed by thimerosal-laced vaccines.

Answer 3

Yes, I believe the thimerosal in vaccines can cause autism, and a host of other problems, like childhood asthma, arthritis, bipolar, anxiety, and the list goes on. Too many parents are coming out and saying their chil was fine, until they were vaccinated. I have a friend who's son is autistic, and he has been chelating, and getting his son back, can now talk, look you in the eye, feel pain, hot and cold, but he's still working on his son't social skills.

If you want to look more into chelation and autism, read Andrew Cutler's book, he's a Ph.D chemist and knows his stuff.