Autism caused by vaccinations?

Great Debates
1

It’s been in the news tonight…apparently some think there is a link between vaccinations and autism. I’ve heard the arguments for and against (I’m watching some hearings right now). I don’t agree because after I found out Greg was autistic I did a LOT of reading and research on the subject. I’ve talked to a lot of specialists. They have all said that autism starts developing in the womb.

I’m thinking that they noticed the symptoms of autism around the time they had some vaccines and it was just coincidence that they noticed it then. I myself didn’t really realize something was wrong until Greg was around 2.

I don’t want to (“belittle?” “downplay the feelings of?” “step on the toes of”? I don’t know what word I’m looking for!) the parents who may think that (God knows I myself would love to find an answer as to what caused it), but I think they may be grasping at straws.

I heard about that theory a long time ago and dismissed it because when I talked about it no one agreed with it.

I’ve listened to why they think the vaccines did it but I still don’t understand the reasoning. Please explain it to me.

(In case anyone is wondering, I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve spoken to a lot of doctors. When I found out about Greg I talked to a LOT of people. I was determined to find out all I can about autism.)

MaryAnn
I’m into superstition, black cats, and voodoo dolls (<—written in case Ricky reads this board)

2

My search revealed a whole lot of anecdotal reports of specific cases where parents and primary physicians attributed the onset of autistic symptoms to the period after immunization. The few cases of actual studies of populations as a whole such as this one at Quack Watch do not support that assertion. There are some inquiries less formal, but still seemingly fair minded which are calling for an examination by manufacturer of MMR vaccines, to associate the specific strains, and associated chemical additives with specific cases. I was unable to find hard numbers for that.

The phenomenon of vaccination related disease is a touchy one, combining the sacred cows of government, and physician, and the possibility that neither is infallible. Iatrogenic disease (diseases caused by doctors) is not a favored field of study, in our medical hierarchy. Still, there seems insufficient evidence to me to forgo the benefits of immunization for healthy children. Children with immunodeficeincies of any sort should be evaluated on a much different basis.

Tris

Imagine my signature begins five spaces to the right of center.

3

Since I have two autistic kids, I can speak to this …

There was a story on “All Things Considered” the other night on this subject. Apparently, someone in Congress had a son who developed autistic features not too long after getting vaccinated and he (incorrectly, I think) tried to put two and two together.

Vaccinations seem to be the whipping boy for all sorts of things. A while back in England, vaccinations were reported to be to blame for some other ailment, I forget what. But the upshot was that the rate of parents vaccinating their kids went down and the popularity of “measles parties” went up where parents took their kids to someone who had measles hoping they would catch them and become immune naturally.

The link, however, between autism and vaccinations has pretty much been debunked, however. After one study was done, two confirming studies were performed (one in England and the other, I think in Sweden) and failed to find any correlation between autism and vaccinations. They found no increase in cases of autism in those who were vaccinated, nor any decrease in those who weren’t. The results were the same across the board.

But the thing aboiut autism is that, because it is what doctors call a "spectrum disorder’, it cam come on either at birth, or a few years later. My own feeling is that in this case the autistic features began to assert themselves in themselves concurrent with the vaccinations, and as Mary Ann said, it was just coincidence that they noticed it at that time.

Autism has only been noticed for about 40 years now, and all sorts of theories have been floated about what causes it, although nothing definite is known yet. In the 60’s parental neglect was thought to be the cause. earlier in the 90’s, a theory was floating around that overuse of antibiotics in the early years might have been the cause. Current research is focusing on the idea that, since autism tend to run in families, there must be a major genetic chain involved.

Saint Eutychus H.M.S.H.
" ‘He is a prince’ , the minstrels sing.
Among men, yes. Among fools he is a king."
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The Eutychus Papers

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There is not a shred of scientific eveidence that innoculations cause autism. This has not stopped idiots like the “kids health” writer for our local paper to say “but they haven’t proved it doesn’t”! True, but they haven’t proved sunspots don’t cause autism, or electromagnetic fields, or vitamin enriched cereal, or vegetarian diets, or,or, or,…