Autism and Vaccines

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

I just saw this and thought it may be interesting to some here.

My son has Autism. I am not sure where I stand on the Vaccine issue. I don't rule it out.

I hope the link works.

http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2008/03/07/Autism.Vaccines.Analysis/

 

[ecki]

My daughter has the regressive form of autism. She was doing great (in spite of also having Down syndrome) until age 2 and between age 2 and 3 lost 50 words and a dozen signs. Now she is completely nonverbal and pretty much noncommunicative (unless it has to do with food!).

Do I blame the vaccines? I don't know. But what I do know is that autism is challenging, but your kid isn't going to die from it. Your kid could die from complications of the measles, chicken pox, etc.

It's heartbreaking to see your child as a shadow of what she once was. But I still don't regret getting her vaccinated.

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

I know ~ like I said, I don't know how I feel about the subject.

After my son was diagnosed - I had done some research and found that some people associate the disorder with vaccines but he had already been vaccinated and I figured what can I do now.

I obviously would want something changed if vaccinations are proven to be causing or intensifying any disability.

It is extremely alarming how the rate of Autism is rising.

 

[swimlib]

The rate of autism isn't rising, it's the rate of diagnosis that has really jumped. Doctors have been catching it better, which is really what is making the rate seem to rise so dramatically. But better diagnosing leads to more effective treatments.

I admit I'm not an expert, but I do agree that something seems to be triggering more severe autism cases to occur more commonly. That rate definitely may have increased. But as has been said in many of my classes, children who today are diagnosed with aspergers or PDD-NOS would have been labeled as simply "odd" 20 or 30 years ago.

 

[KirstenB]

I just saw this and thought it may be interesting to some here.

My son has Autism. I am not sure where I stand on the Vaccine issue. I don't rule it out.

I hope the link works.

http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2008/03/07/Autism.Vaccines.Analysis/

I don't rule it out either. Our dd has always been different though, no regression, so in our case, I wouldn't attribute vaccinations triggering anything. I'm glad for this girl and her parents. I'm sure this has been a long uphill battle for them.

 

[stenickar]

I wonder if kids have a "predisposition" or are biologically "different", then when you add in the vaccines it induces the symptoms of autism. I think that these kiddo's would have "autism" but maybe not to the degree they do after vaccinations. My son who came to live with us at 3, but is biologically my great nephew, did not get vaccinations on a regular schedule. He has not had any since he has lived with us. But when we had titer levels done he had the antibodies , as though he had been immunized. I wonder what would have happened if he had more immunizations If I had a baby I would probably have titers levels done before I ever let them vaccinate. I would also ask them to break up the vaccines to only have them give one at a time, not all at the same time. Just my 2cents BTW-my son was born in Alaska, but the first time(he was 4 months old) I saw pictures of him I could tell something was not quite right. He was "looking right through" the camera.

 

[ireland_nicole]

My daughter was "interesting" from her birth on. Born at 28 wks (but developmentally 26 wks) they had to keep dosing her w/ morphine to sedate her enough not to keep pulling the vent tubing out. Her heartrate rose anytime she did Kangaroo care, and she pulled away from contact. As she grew, she didn't social smile and had very poor eye contact, was extremely defiant, etc. She also has IgA deficiency, so she needed the vaccines. I can't speak for others, but I am sure that the vaccines aren't why my DD is the way she is. I would also agree w/ pps that 1.we are dxing a lot better and 2.it still seems something environmentalis going on.
Nicole

 

[mechurchlady]

The rate of autism isn't rising, it's the rate of diagnosis that has really jumped. Doctors have been catching it better, which is really what is making the rate seem to rise so dramatically. But better diagnosing leads to more effective treatments.

I admit I'm not an expert, but I do agree that something seems to be triggering more severe autism cases to occur more commonly. That rate definitely may have increased. But as has been said in many of my classes, children who today are diagnosed with aspergers or PDD-NOS would have been labeled as simply "odd" 20 or 30 years ago.

Well said. I was born 50 years ago so there was no testing in school for ADD and a host of health issues. If I were to go for the testing and was diagnose then I would be a 2008 new case and not one from the 1960's. Until recently a child with a disease might die young or go undiagnosed. I have seen families where 75% of the children in a large family died and the parents died young.

In theory the vaccines could cause brain damage which mimics autism or causes autism. It could trigger something in the child that unlocks the dormant autism. I would do the vaccines and take the risk as the risk of not having vaccines it much greater. Most schools will not take kids without vaccines and home schooling just got tougher in California.

 

[Disneylvr]

My daughter was developing, for the most part, normally until she was about 20 months old. Then she stopped talking, lost interest in peers and would no longer make eye contact. This all occurred in the weeks following a flu vaccine which I didn't know still contained the Thimerisol (mercury based) preservative. I don't know if it was triggered her autism but I certainly think it is possible. I don't know if I will ever get over the guilt I feel because it was my idea that she get the flue vaccine due to her asthma.

 

[Eganclan]

Not really sure where I stand either. Our son also exhibited "signs" from birth so I always discounted the vaccine link at least in our case. Last year a friend sent along some articles that got me rethinking through our situation and opened my eyes to somethings that I had completely forgoten about. While I was pregnant with my son I received a tetnus shot(that also contain a high level of thimerisol) and I had also forgotten that when my son was born he received his first round of vaccinations in the hospital(something new from his older siblings). He also had a horrendous reaction to his 18 month shots but we were already deep in the trenches of autism. As he got older though things began to slowly improve. Before that I always felt like it was one step forward and three steps back. This past summer he needed to receive several vaccinations and I was concerned about his reaction but there was none what so ever. What I also came across in the articles last year that kind of floored me was that although the vaccines containing thimerisol are no longer used in the US the vaccines were not destroyed just sent to other countries. Thank you for posting the link.

 

[BeckyScott]

I used to think Justin wasn't an "immunization kid" because the signs were there before 18 months. But I've changed my mind.

I do think he had a genetic predisposition, and that he was born with a bad immune system. He didn't do regular formula so we took him to soy. He had eczema at 2 months old, but the "solution" was to put all kinds of steroid creams on him, not to look at the formula. As he got older the eczema got worse, and he developed asthma too.

He was a really easy baby, that's how I would explain it. Because I didn't know better. Didn't care if he was touched or not, would just sit and stare at the ceiling fan. I was also dealing with a toddler, so I was happy he was so low-maintenance.

We first went to a DAN last fall, and we found a huge yeast overgrowth and a whole bunch of IgG food allergies. When we got rid of the yeast, the eczema and asthma pretty much went away too. It made me furious, for a while. I wasn't mad at myself. I was mad that he was 7, all kinds of specialists, and it was yeast! Why did it take going to a "quack" to figure that out?

So, his bad immune system allowed the yeast to grow, which made his immune system worse, which made it grow more, etc etc. But *something* triggered the beginnings of it, and that *something* happened before 18 months. Before 12 months, even. And gosh, I gotta think it was the immunizations. It's just in his case, he bumped over the edge before 18 months.

And I don't think it's necessarily the thimerisol, I think it's the quantity of stuff they stuck him with. (although the thimerisol certainly didn't help) That's why all the nay-sayers are saying "well they took out the thimerisol and it's still happening, so it wasn't that". It isn't that, not all of it, it's the huge amount stuff they're being given at once. For all I know, he was "given" autism before we ever left the hospital.

 

[mazz1]

i can only speak from a Uk parents perspective

we had a massive study cause uproar quite some yrs ago when it blamed the triple MMR vaccine given to children at 3 months and linked it with a possible cause of Autism

it has since been discredited but the demand for single vaccines still rise and we have to fight for them

my daughter had the triple vaccine and my son did not and they both have autism, my son to a more severe degree

my personal opinion is that at the moment in the Uk we are seeing more families coming through that are having more than one child being diagnosed with ASD and hopefully it will be only a matter of time before a genetic link or trigger will be discovered

 

[LauraVV]

Just a note: this child is thought to have an underlying condition that can be associated with developmental regression, autism, and vaccine sensitivity. This case, from my understanding, just says that with some underlying conditions, there may be damage caused by vaccines. It's not a condemnation of vaccines. To date, there's not scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism.

http://www.umdf.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=dnJEKLNqFoG&b=3792379&ct=5087517

 

[dzorn]

For those of you wondering about the vaccine issue I would reccomend Dr. Kirbys book. It really shed's some light on the vaccine industry.

FYI I do blame vaccines for my daughter autism. She was advanced in speech until about 2 yrs old. Between 2 and 3 she regressed severely in speech, eye contact and other behaviors bacame the norm (flapping and spinning). We were fortunate early on to attend a biomedical conference here. Much research and finally started taking her to a DAN doctor. Her pediatrician of course said her vaccines had nothing to do with it when it came time for her 4 year shots. I still refused them.

We have learned through various lab tests all at our own expense, of course insurance would not cover this "quack" treatment. Her titers show she is immune to all the vaccines she has had (except for chicken pox it was not standard then so she thankfully did not recieve) even though she did not get the complete series of most of them. Some of her levels and 3-10x the amount needed to be immune. We have also discovered she does not process chemicals very well. She tends to retain heavy metals mercury, being only one of many in our vaccines.

She is on a gluten free diet and numerous supplements to help her system get rid of heavy metals. She is now 8 and even her regular pediatrician who discounted the vaccine theory has said she should not recieve anymore (that was before we obtain titers). She was impressed how much my daughter has improved and even asked what are we doing at home. Many times people we have just met are shocked if we mention she has autism. Of course we have those bad days when we still have the flapping and spinning, but now on occasion we also have that little girl who with the grace of God will go on to lead a productive happy life.

Denise in MI

 

[MinnieVanMom]

I was so worried about autism that I did not immunize. At about 18 months our DS lost his speech and now 2 years later we have a wonderful little boy with autism.

I have read that it just the timing of when children finish the immunization series is the time when most of the symptoms of autism begin to show up.

 

[SueM in MN]

This is a pretty good article on WebMD looking at different studies examining autism and vaccines.

One thing to keep in mind is that autism is probably not one specific condition, but a number of conditions, with different causes. They happen to share some of the same signs and symptoms. That idea may be one of the reasons that you sometimes see a 'cure' for autism that seems to work for some children, but does nothing for others. Until someone can come up with a way to further sub-divide people with ASD into different causes/types, there is little way to know what will work for which person.
A diagnosis of autism is basically made by comparing what the child is doing/looks like with a list of things that are considered autistic behaviors. Someone who 'matches' a specific number of those is diagnosed with autism. One of the reasons for more autism diagnosed is that the definition was changed to include some people who would not have met the definition that was previously used.

Another thing (as someone already mentioned) is that people in the past might not have gotten diagnosed, they were just maybe thought to be 'odd'. I worked in a state institution for people with developmental disabilities in the mid-late 1970s and we had a lot of patients who now might have a diagnosis of autism. At that time, many were just diagnosed with "developmental delay, NOS (not otherwise specified)". Also, there were not usually multiple diagnoses; someone with Down Syndrome would just have Down Syndrome, not DS and autism.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many of the people with developmental delays of any kind were placed in the institutions as soon as they were noted to be not following the normal path of development. My mother remembers a cousin of hers who was a toddler when he 'disappeared' and no one would talk about him any more. As an adult, she found out he had been "odd" and was placed into an institution (the family was told to just forget him and act as if he had died). Is that maybe a genetic link to my nephew's Asperger Syndrome? I don't know, but I do know that even as a very small infant (even before he got any shots), family members thought there was something "odd" about him. My sister is convinced it was his MMR shot, but he was exhibiting symptoms of AS before that, so I don't think so.

 

[BeckyScott]

Sue, my husband had a great-uncle (I think? It was a confusing story) who had "something wrong" with him, and lived in the family's barn his whole life. This was way way back. My MIL told me about him. Never got a diagnosis, the entire family history of this man was that there was *something wrong in his head*. It made me sad to hear it, and I wonder what really was going on with him.

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

As OP, I guess what I should have said was the rate of Autism is just plain alarming not really the rise of it. I do agree that diagnosis is better these days.

I just found the article to be thought provoking and I know there are some parents who are adamant that vaccines caused their child's Autism.

I would more agree with that there is a underlying issue that vaccines either make worse or effect your child in a different way.

It's a difficult thing to think there is something you are doing to keep your child safe and it actually harms them. I know the vaccinations good outweigh the bad but tell that to the parents in the article.

Anyway - while I want nothing changed in my son because he is the sweetest gift God could have given us.....I know some children are lost in that spectrum farther than my son. I hope with the earlier intervention and more awareness of Autism parents are able to get the help they will need for their child.

 

[disneynewman]

I would more agree with that there is a underlying issue that vaccines either make worse or effect your child in a different way.

This is about where I stand. I do think vaccines contributed to my son's Autism. He showed NO SIGNS of and ASD until 15-18 mo old. I can even look back on video of him as an infant and still say that.
I also do not entirely trust the medical/scientific community on these vacine studies. Remember the CDC MAKES MONEY on vaccines. If there is a link I do believe they would do everything in thier power to 'cover it up'. If that info was made public many more people would stop vaccinating thier kids and then they would loose $.
My DS now 5 1/2 has not had a vaccine since he turned 3 and I do not intend to vaccinate him anymore. However my non ASD daughter is almost 3, is up to date on her vaccines and I will continue with her. Apparently she can 'handle' the vaccines.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Remember the CDC MAKES MONEY on vaccines.

Can you provide a backup for this statement? The Center for Disease Control is part of and funded by the US Government.