immunizations and autism: i'm sure you've heard about this debate. it's an issue particularly in male babies, with the most prevalant association being the 1 yr. vaccines, more specifically the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella all in one tasty little cocktail). i really hadn't given the topic much thought, but then a couple months ago i was at the post office picking up a package. a women in her 40s, soft around the edges (like i can say anything) noticed my two darlings and immediately started talking about their immunization record. odd subject, but i was just grateful for the human-to-human interaction so i chatted about addi's shot record.
this woman ran a school on the mainland for mentally handicapped children, ranging from high to low functioning, including autistic children. she talked of one boy, Stephen, and the whole story was just so sobering for me. she recanted how after his shots his eyes became empty and Stephen was lost, never to be found again. she encouraged me with all her energies, the way we should be sharing the gospel, to request that the girls' shots be separated, particularly Gwen, when her 1 yr. shots come around. she said i needed to demand that each part of the MMR be administered separately, two weeks between shots. i cataloged this information in my brain and went on my way.
but it has nagged at me incessantly. it's like the fly that buzzes in your ear and now matter how much you fan it, hit it, or shake your head like a rabid dog, the buzzing continues. i've researched the topic online and i feel like i can't find any facts on the subject. there are "scholarly articles" showing no relationship between vaccinations and autism. but who distributes, funds, etc. these studies? the companies and government programs that solicit vaccinations. then i find blogs and message boards and stories of mothers like me who have watched their lively, fully-functional children slip between their fingers after receiving vaccines, having high fevers from vaccines, etc. etc. of course they see a direct correlation between the administration of a vaccines and the onset of autistic symptomology.
i am a woman of science, i would say. i like fact ... cold, hard fact. quite honestly, the fluff is often quite annoying to me (ie. fluffy stories regarding the gospel...whole other subject, but as an example, the church is true because it preaches the true and restored gospel of Christ - fact; the church is true because at the moment i was praying about it the Relief Society president rang my doorbell and had my favorite cookies, OMGsh she didn't even know they were my favorite cookies!!, and she has the same middle name as my favorite Aunt who died last year, so i knew it was true at that moment - fluff. my blog - my opinion)
returning ... all i want on the subject of vaccinations and autism are the facts. is there a correlation? a recent article i read basically said that today's generation hasn't seen polio or whooping cough or measles, so we take for granted the advantages of the vaccines administered to our wee ones. i agree. but i have seen autism. it breaks my heart to think that a normal, healthy child could have their mortality stripped from them, stripped, before they even get a chance to utter their first thoughts.
with all of this information at our fingertips, finding the truth is - as the saying goes - like finding a needle in a haystack ... a really big world wide web of haystacks.
note: now that you've read this lengthy, inconclusive post, please also read Stephanie's Robertson's comment to this post, it provides some much-desired professional observation and insight on the subject.
15 comments:
I've thought long and hard about this topic too my friend. It's a really scary thought that because YOU chose to put something in your child's body YOU, and the rest of your family will lose the chance to know who this person was going to be.
here are my thoughts:
first of all WHAT is autism? How do we know they have had their mortality stripped from them? maybe this has happened and will continue to happen for reasons other than immunization. maybe it would have happened anyways because it is God's will. for one reason or another.
secondly and more scientifically. A lot of studies have surmised that it was the mercury base in the shots causing, what may seem like, a spike of autism because of immunizations. AND as far as i have been informed the mercury base in shots has been replaced because of this concern. So there really isn't a need to worry about it anymore.
what is my conclusion? even though the nurse at the doctor's office insists that these shots don't come separate and that they don't have mercury in them anymore anyways. INSIST that they be separate anyways, that they find one and have it brought in for you. why? because you can never be too sure when it comes to your child. your precious child you would give the world for.
this is my opinion on the topic--sorry for the novel.
Interesting topic. I have a family member who is adomate (to say the least) about the fact that autism is caused by vaccines. And I do believe (hopefully not erroneously) that there was a recent court case won in which family filed suit against a drug company for causing autism in their child. Does that mean that they did in fact intiate the onset of autism? Don't know.
Good luck. My grandmother always said to hold off on vaccinating you children as long as you can, though she practiced in Utah where the population tends to be limited to a certain demographic of certain races unlike our beautifully diverse Hawaii.
I am so glad you are looking into this. Personally I don't believe in getting my baby's vaccinations until they are older and their immune systems are built up better. My friends daughter died from her pertussis shot when she was 2. It was proven in court. The funny thing about pertussis is her last baby actually got the disease and with a week of antibiotics was all better. That's also something you have to think about. You don't live in a third world country, or without doctors. If your baby gets sick you are going to take them to the doctor, not let them have measles for 3 weeks and not get treatment. For me, I just weighed out the risks vs the consequences, and for me and Scarlett personally she is at a very low risk for getting any of those diseases. She is at home with me all day.
Now I do have to say I understand why shots are important to keep diseases away, and I do plan on getting her vaccinations if we travel and when she starts school.
Regarding the autism....my boss is a nurse and her husband is a doctor. They firmly believe their daughter who is 15 and severely autistic is that way because of her shots. Now it is so hard to prove that, but they KNOW that is the reason. They are fact people. They are doctors, and not lds. My point is they are not fluffy people. (the whole "fluff" think gets to me too)
It is a very hard decision...and sadly their are not a lot of straight facts out there. I do think with things like this you have to go with what you feel, when there aren't enough facts to make a decision. Any doctor will tell you shots are not dangerous (they will lose their license if they say otherwise) People think that I am crazy sometimes, but when I am around this autistic girl everyday, or around my friend who lost her baby, I know I am making the right decision right now. I will support you no matter what. In the end you need to do what is best for YOUR girls!
I have been thinking a lot about this. Leila is going to her 6 month apt soon. What should I do? Wait and separate them?.
I know the gospel is true. I believe that things happen for a reason. It took us 4 years to get pregnant with Leila. I know now what I needed to learn out of it. Yes, it was really hard but I'm grateful I went though it. I believe GOD has a plan for us. Sometimes things have to happen. I think autism is one of the things that we can't help. Just like I couldn't help that my Dad died and that I didn't get pregnant for 4 years. Some thing's are going to happen in our life that we can't help. That is what we are sent to earth for. We are here to be tested. What we do, with what we are given is our test. Someone may say to me I couldn't go through what you went through. I may say to them I couldn't go through what you are going through. God gives us trials only we can handle.
It's a scary thing to do. Allow someone to put all that stuff in to your little child. But I believe in immunization. I think our kids need them. I also believe in God's will. So what do I do? I just put my faith in God. If anything did happened to Leila I know that its God's will and I will lean on him for faith to get me through it. That's all I know what to do.
MY DAD IS THE AREA EXPERT ON AUTISM WHERE HE LIVES and this is what he has told me:
there are no know, absolute causes for autism yet, but there is also absolutely no research to support vaccinations and autism having any sort of relationship what-so-ever. He also doesnt believe in getting too many vaccinations at one time because it can just make a child sick period- but DO get them vaccinated however you chose to do it.
THIS IS THE CLINCHER:
many signs of autism occur around milestone birthdays- you might want to make sure people reading this know this so they dont get the wrong idea from reading your post. the tell tale signs of autism happen to coincide with the time in which a child turns one and other such ages - which just so happens to be when children get shots because it is easier to remember that way.
Got it? :) this put me at ease- my own father- ambrose's grandpa- has studied this and gone to so many conferences...etc. and evaluated too many children to count- supports vaccination and if he had the slightest doubt there would be NO WAY he would chance it. no way jose.
ok, hope this helps- if anyone has questions- you can call him. contact me about it :)
it seems a lot of people have an opinion on this subject. i am glad stephanie wrote you because i was just going to tell you to talk to her about it.
when my addy was due for her one year shots my sister in law told me these same scary stories. i was freaked. she even invited one of the ladies in the ward over who has an autistic son to tell me her theories. i was so confused, but then i talked to steph who talked to her father and got some facts. i say listen to the experts on this one, and not scary stories.
Thank you Stephanie! I don't know you but I agree with you 100%. If something life altering happens to your child it's so much easier to point the finger at someone or something than to believe that it was God's will. Stef, pray about it and you'll know what to do. :)
BTY, I love you stef! Thanks for your comment on my emotional post. You were SO exempt from it.
Ooops! Noelle above! :)
wow, making decisions that affect your precious little ones makes life so complicated at times. Thank goodenss for the beliefs we have and the power of prayer...it helps so much with tough decisions!
Also, yay for wanting to train with me! Let's start when I get back. Maybe we can run at night after the kiddos are asleep or something!!!
STEFANI! I'm so glad you posted on this!! Chris' Aunt has 4 (FOUR!!) out of her 6 children that ended up having one form of autism or another. She is 110 percent convinced it was the immunizations. She did not immunize her oldest, or her youngest, until later ages, and seperated the shots--- they are her only children that do not have any form of autism.
Fairly convincing, eh?
So, you can imagine the horrified response we got from Chris' mother and Aunt that we--- GASP --- got his immunizations on schedule. Really, his mom was heart broken. It really REALLY did effect her. I felt bad that she took it so personally, but I did my own research, and came to my own conclusions.
I loved reading all the responses you got. It really seems like a sensitive issue. It seems like Stephanie (I just NOW realized you both have the same now. Just now. WOW) made the most sense though... That the age a child gets shots is also the age a child starts showing signs of autism.
Good post. Good reading.
It's true- there is so much information out there and it all seems conflicting. Nilesh and I have discussed this issue at length and due ot the lack of causitory evidence and the fact that we plan to travel internationally we have come to the conclusion not to put off Joshua's shots.
Nilesh has worked as an autism interventionist and has had extensive training on the disorder. When a child is diagnosed with autism or another disorder on the spectrum if the parents/caregivers look back there were often signs long before they recieved their immunizations.
As you mentioned autism is such a heartwrenching disorder- hopefully they will find the cause and a way to prevent it soon.
Thankfully being a single mom with a toddler and new baby meant having no choice but to stagger their immunizations. And I wonder all the time, What if??
Oh, and I heard Jenny McCarthy's story and it held a lot of common sense, I thought. She seemed surprisingly intelligent about it. And pretty inspired in figuring out what worked for her son.
Stef!! What an awesome topic...I thought long and hard about whether or not to give my baby his shots at all, on time, or late....my step son has autism, high functioning but none the less autism. EVERYONE that knows him believes it was due to his immunizations....it scared me to think that this could happen to my own flesh and blood as well. I did wait until he was 10 weeks to start his shots and only because he had to go to daycare for a short stint and shots were required. Looking back, I don't regret it one bit. I have learned a LOT and I feel as many others that have commented. God plays a HUGE part in all of our lives. I feel my Isaac is autistic for a certain reason. It has blessed our lives immensely. Speaking with my hubby, he did see signs early on but just looked at is as a quirk he had. I am so grateful for the gospel and the role that it has in our lives! It has helped us make many decisions!! Like you said, I also like cold, hard fact. Enough of the fluff and it is the cold hard fact that has helped us make the right decisions! I just hope my comment makes sense since it's almost 2am and I'm extremely tired! :)
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