# 75 studies that show no link between vaccines and autism **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 7, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145 "2014-03-07T21:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/21 "2014-03-09T21:29:08Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > We should stickie this. We should have a forum with stickies of information collected on frequent topics, like the 911 questions or the JFK stuff. But then we’d need stickies to keep the stickies at the top of the stickies forum. It would be CT’s all the way down… ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/22 "2014-03-09T23:56:31Z")
Hahaha ‘whisker biscuit’!! Are there by any chance any studies or articles dealing with the whole ‘But my friend took her perfectly normal little boy to get his MMR and within twenty-four hours he had regressed to a state of profound autism!’ thing? I have a friend who’s pro-vaccine but has worries because she’s heard these stories. I said as far as I know some of it is confirmation bias, some of it is just plain probability (1/6 of a baby’s first year is within two weeks of some vaccine, so 1/6 of babies who have problems in the first year are going to show the first symptoms within two weeks of a vaccine), and some of it is misperception (the child actually showed signs of autism earlier, but no one recognised them for what they were), but I’d love to be able to show her a coherent scientific source that lays all this out and explains why a vaccination can be perceived to trigger autism. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/23 "2014-03-10T00:31:12Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Are there by any chance any studies or articles dealing with the whole ‘But my friend took her perfectly normal little boy to get his MMR and within twenty-four hours he had regressed to a state of profound autism!’ thing? I have a friend who’s pro-vaccine but has worries because she’s heard these stories. I said as far as I know some of it is confirmation bias, some of it is just plain probability (1/6 of a baby’s first year is within two weeks of some vaccine, so 1/6 of babies who have problems in the first year are going to show the first symptoms within two weeks of a vaccine), and some of it is misperception (the child actually showed signs of autism earlier, but no one recognised them for what they were), but I’d love to be able to show her a coherent scientific source that lays all this out and explains why a vaccination can be perceived to trigger autism. As far as the misperception thing - there is evidence that [subtle signs of autism appear very early in life](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-08-09-autism-babies_N.htm) (long before the immunizations that are later blamed), which can be detected by trained observers but which parents miss. Later, the child may have a physiologic or emotional reaction to getting shots, after which the parents notice changes that were building all along. But the stories of virtually instantaneous conversion to severe regressive autism after immunization are just that - stories without clinical validity. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/24 "2014-03-10T03:37:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > As far as the misperception thing - there is evidence that [subtle signs of autism appear very early in life](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-08-09-autism-babies_N.htm) (long before the immunizations that are later blamed), which can be detected by trained observers but which parents miss. > > Later, the child may have a physiologic or emotional reaction to getting shots, after which the parents notice changes that were building all along. But the stories of virtually instantaneous conversion to severe regressive autism after immunization are just that - stories without clinical validity. I remember reading something at the sprog’s pediatrician’s office that the advent of the ubiquitous video camera is proving to be very useful in diagnosing some developmental disorders. Because they show the child’s usual behavior in his normal environment, these videos are the best form of direct observation a clinician has. The clinician doesn’t have to work around parental interpretation and memory, and doesn’t have to factor in changes in the child’s behavior due to the strangeness of the doctor’s office. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/25 "2014-03-10T03:55:41Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Yeah, but Jenny McCarthy is a parent and she knows her own child. A mother’s love is a more powerful etiological tool than studies backed by Big Vaccine. > > (Poe’s law disclaimer: Not serious) Jenny McCarthy’s tits are all the convincing I need. Plus, the flu shot gave my kids the flu. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/26 "2014-03-12T14:53:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > As far as the misperception thing - there is evidence that [subtle signs of autism appear very early in life](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-08-09-autism-babies_N.htm) (long before the immunizations that are later blamed), which can be detected by trained observers but which parents miss. > > Later, the child may have a physiologic or emotional reaction to getting shots, after which the parents notice changes that were building all along. But the stories of virtually instantaneous conversion to severe regressive autism after immunization are just that - stories without clinical validity. Thanks - I appreciate that. It should go some way towards convincing her that instant autism isn’t really how it works. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145/27 "2014-03-12T18:03:59Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Plus she showed the world her whisker biscuit in Playboy. Gotta give points for that. It does keep her from being a totally worthless human being. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-studies-that-show-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/683145.md?page=1)