Autism - Vaccination Fraud

Here's a recent story about the quack who's study 1st linked autism to vaccinations.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110106/...d_autism_fraud

"The conclusions of the 1998 paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues was renounced by 10 of its 13 authors and later retracted by the medical journal Lancet, where it was published. Still, the suggestion the MMR shot was connected to autism spooked parents worldwide and immunization rates for measles, mumps and rubella have never fully recovered."

It's unfortunate this guy put out this bogus study with basically falsified and/or misleading data.

Not sure what to believe about the truth or frauds of this "finding". But I do know that my son lives a fruitful life with autism even though he is 9 years old. He is one spoiled little boy.

IMO, let's move on and find a cure and then return to what causes this disorder. That way the money for curing autism is put towards a cure and not to someones research and beliefs.

Brett, it is interesting to read the article since the doctor that wrote it still believes that MMR is a cause for autism while the other medical institutions think otherwise. I wonder if both parties got paided by the pharmaceutical companys so lawsuits wouldn't be filed in the court system....

I am on the fence about the topic and this will not change my mind. Our solution has been that we do not vaccinate for anything more than the absolute minimum in one sitting. We do so much to protect our children, yet we are encouraged to get 3, 4, 5+ vaccinations for serious diseases at one time, and the only valid reason for doing it is convenience for the adults.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/01/m...to-choice.html

There is no honorable or business reason for Merck to have stopped offering the separated M-M-R vaccines. The demand is there, and it's obviously less risk to the child, so why not make it available?

I could never understand why the school system forces children to get vaccinated. If you get it you're protected, if you don't you're not. At least that's the theory. Isn't still a matter of personal choice? WTF does the govt need to force these things on anyone?

Do people really put their faith in govt bureaucracy to be knowledgable about these things? The people who make these laws are basically going to industry as to advice them about what drugs we should force children to take.

David, do you feel that the AMA and CDC adequately advise doctors on treatment? Or do you finding yourself having to find alternative treatments outside their recomendations?

My son has gone though the in-home Behavior Treatments with good success. This does help your autistic child to become more independent with daily routines so the parents have more time to do other things besides the basics (example: brush teeth, wipe their butts, ...) After the in-home therapy, there was parent training on how to do what the therapiest were doing on a much larger scale (example: training your child how to do advanced things like putting a VHS tape into a VCR or even how to play with toys that are more advanced than the childs mentality level is). So, I would defintely suggest this. As for the AMA and CDC's, I base my child's life around what I feel is what could be needed now. But they did suggest stuff that did work and they also suggested other things that didn't work for my son. You really have to try it out and see if they are successful with that "therapy".

For example, we had the school district purchase a PEC's (Picture Exchange Communication) device similar to this:


My son didn't get the hang of the device quickly and he lost interest becuase the basic sign language he knows gets what he wants communicated to me. But, we wouldn't have figured that out if we didn't try it. Now he is using an iPad with a similar software package in the classroom and seems to be getting the hang of it.

He still doesn't talk much but he can use sign language to get the basic's done.

John, the school systems don't force people to get vaccinations. It's very easy to simply sign a form to opt out nowadays. I was a bit surprised at how easy it was when I got the paperwork for putting my daughter in kindergarten.

I do think most vaccinations in general are important. Things like Measles, Polio, and Smallpox were practically eradicated in this country thanks to vaccinations. We sure as heck don't want those things coming back. Also, there are some diseases out there that protect you from a disease but don't necessarily guarantee you won't get it. A recent example is the Whooping Cough outbreak. From what I've read, many kids who had gotten vaccinated still got it. It's helps, but it's not a 100%. However, if it's not required by the schools, and fewer people get it, then it's just that much likely we'll have these larger and larger outbreaks. The chance of everybody getting it then increases. I wouldn't consider not vaccinating against something like this unless their was credible evidence about a greater danger of getting it than not getting it.

I think it's a good idea to do some research when picking out a doctor for your family and/or kid to get one you trust and talk them about vaccinations. Just don't take advice from people like Jenny McCarthy for your kid's sake.

Brett, it's been a while since I had kids in school. But I'd never heard of an opt out form. You used to be told you had to have the vaccinations. Probably something new that's come up since the controversy started. And quite frankly doctors don't really seem to know a lot. They work by a cookbook and really don't have many options but to push whatever the pharmasceutical industry decides is what we need. I think it's great that there are people like McCarthy who are there to challenge our misguided trust in the medical community.

Originally Posted by brettw

Just don't take advice from people like Jenny McCarthy for your kid's sake.

hahaha, talking about a freak of nature... She cured autism for her child.

In California, you can opt out of vaccinations for philosophical purposes. There was recently an article in our local paper in San Diego where you could see how many at a school site had opted out. While both of my children were on a delayed schedule due to a high fever in my son at his six month appointment, I still believe in the importance of vaccination. Back in January of 2008 there was a measles outbreak in San Diego. My son was only 10 months at the time and not old enough to be vaccinated. There were infants who contracted measles from sitting in the waiting room while being around others with measles. I am all for each parent doing what they feel is right for their children, but not at the expense of my own children.

No child with Autism is like another. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. Look at Jenny McCarthy and her camp who feel a diet of supplements and gluten/casein free diet cured their children, while here in my school district, parents have seen very little result from GF/CF diets, supplements or kelation. I agree with David that we need to refocus our energy into finding a cure or the most effective treatment.

How is it at the expense of your children that others don't get a vaccine? It's your responsibility to decide that for yourself. I had Mumps, measles, and chicken pox as a kid. Wasn't a bug deal for me. I'm more curious as to why we have so much Autism, IBS, ADHD, and Celiac illnesses in our society today. Why are our kids falling apart at the seams?

Originally Posted by fly135

I'm more curious as to why we have so much Autism, IBS, ADHD, and Celiac illnesses in our society today. Why are our kids falling apart at the seams?

I wonder the same thing. The only thing I can think of is what's in our food and how its made today vs 50 years ago.

I just have some feelings about herd immunity. Like I said in my post, it is up to every parent to decide what is right for their family...as it goes with so many things with raising kids, BUT, when there was a measles outbreak before my son reached the vaccination age and there were infants getting measles just by being in the waiting room of a Dr.'s office here in San Diego and my child directly became affected I got upset. My children are on a delayed vaccination schedule and receive no more than 2 shots in a visit because I do believe that the current schedule is too much for small body, but I also know the potential effects of infectious disease on an infant. I am glad that you survived measles, mumps and chicken pox, but as a kid your immune system is a lot strong than an infant so the potential side effects aren't as fatal.

I believe the foods that we consume have a great deal of influence on some people, but I also believe that those people have a predisposed condition that is triggered by something in the environment. Otherwise why are some people completely healthy and why are some plagued with these conditions. Look up Mitochondrial Dysfunction. It is encompasses some of the more recent research into the cause of autistic like disorders and basically says that something in the there is a dysfunction in the mitochondria that effects the gut and processes heavy metals in the system. However, not every person with Autism has positive results with the gluten free/casein free diet or with supplements. There are also studies that show the MRI's of people with Asperger Syndrome who have made significant progress still have parts of the brain that fire differently.

Oh and not every child is falling apart at the seams. I think it is unfair to the many families out there who have multiple children with Autism and related disorders (some of who aren't vaccinated because of the belief that their siblings got it from a vaccine) to point to a single source as a root cause. There has to be a genetic connection that may in fact be triggered by environmental factors.

What is in the food is definitely a concern but what is in our environment is more of a concern. Shots use to contain Mercury Powder to preserve the life of the medicine then there is the pesticides that are sprayed over the farmers fields that become airborn and then it's in the items we eat. Pollution has increased over the years also.

It's not as easy as saying the MMR shot was the problem with autism. There could have been Mercury in there or who knows what else. I am not saying MMR shots were the issue here. I am just saying that it could have been the problem or it might not have.

Melissa,

Interesting but I have to agree. I do have two children. My oldest son does not have autism and my youngest does. They were both born in San Diego but we did move to the Sacramento area shortly after my youngest was born (2-3 months afterwards).

Here's a story done by 60 minutes on vaccinations back in 2004.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in650368.shtml

Notice the section about the 'herd mentality' that Melissa mentions. Also note the studies showing no links between vaccines and autism.

As far as what John says about being curious why we have so much Autism, IBS, ADHD, and Celiac illnesses. I'm curious about the uprise in some of those things as well as others like certain cancers. I think it probably has something to do with the much greater exposure to chemicals all of us have had over the past several decades. A good example is all the information that's come out in the past couple years about the dangers of certain plastics and our food being exposed to them. Among other changes, our family no longer heats up any type of food in plastic for starters. As far as vaccinations, though, from all the info out there together, I think they still do a lot more good than possible bad. Not giving my daughter vaccinations would feel like not putting on her seatbelt every time she's in a car - for life.