Do Vaccines Cause Autism? Study Says No...What Do You Think?

I've worked for many years with adults and children with Autism and Other needs, In Education and then in The Audiology Service.
I also have a nephew who is autistic (and was never Vaccinated).
All the research I have read and seminars I have been to, show NO proof for the MMR as a causation of Autism, It Is a dangerous concept that has been put out there.
There have even been views printed that autism wasn't about before the MMR....and our media loved that (biggest load of C**P)

I have seen the aftermath of babies that have had, Mainly measles, But Mumps too. Not to mention the rubella Babies, that are not only sensory impaired, But severely mentally too.
We also have had parents whos 1st child was innoculated and fine, BUT then became aware of the MMR scare and then not had a second child innoculated, and that second child was the ONE we were seeing because of It's Autism.

In France and Spain I think, a chhild can't go into mainstream schooling if it has Not been innoculated and in my opinion (just mine) I think is right.
The ammount of mums that will bring their child to school with a babe in arms too young for its innoculation and then mixing at the school gates with childen who maybe have the disease/virus is too much too bear.
I just wanted to get across how unfounded 'rumours' can cause a lot of damage, Phyiscally and mentally, ( I have a son who is Deaf, 23 now, and was told by a nurse, when he was diagnosed, it was because of the whooping cough vac...being a young mum at the time I was racked with guilt, even tho half my family are Deaf and common sense and genetic testing prevailed!)

I am a mom of three and two have been injured by vaccines. This has prompted me to research and research HARD. Being a Christian, this is where my research led me:

http://islandmomsarah.blogspot.com/2010/01/biblica...

Blessings,

~Sarah

Adventures of an Island Mom

http://www.islandmomsarah.blogspot.com

All of you have very interesting perspectives, and it is certain that vaccines are at least as important as penicillin in the Western world's fight against the plagues that have accosted humanity. Now, having said that, is it always a good idea to vaccinate your children against the known and most lethal illnesses? Probably. As a country, America has a pretty good hold on most of the truly scary diseases that once ravaged our ancestors, even our parents. But if we stop vaccinating where there seems to be no need, there will surely be one in the future. Now, should the greedy pharmaceutical companies invest in testing other preservatives other than the harmful agent known as mercury? Absolutely. And it is a crime if they do not. Now, whether or not vaccines actually cause all autism, we know the answer to that is most definitely no. But does it contribute to autism in some cases? Absolutely yes. There are other factors to consider here, though. The main reason that vaccines were attacked for causation of autism is simple: nearly every child in the whole country is vaccinated at least some in their lives. But here's another thing most people aren't thinking about: most children in the United States are also exposed to HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic... ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic... )

(If you don't want to read this report, it basically says that most HFCS has mercury in it.) 

 Of course the corn companies, as we've all seen on the television lately, have tried to cover their worthless hides after this experiment and many on diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance, and, (don't tell me you're surprised by this one) fibermialgia. Their commercials about HFCS being nutritionally analogous to sugar are lies, and they should be prosecuted for false advertisement, at the very least.

 If we think that it's just the vaccines that are debilitating our children, we are very wrong. But also, if we think that it's just the HFCS, we are also, probably, wrong. It is these things together, more than likely catalyzed by other agents present  in the  American lifestyle that is stealing the life away from these children and their parents.

 If more is not done to remedy these two known factors in autism, we as the American people should consider it criminal and prosecute these low-lifes who feel that virtual green stuff with presidents on it is more important than our (and their) children. If more research is not conducted to narrow down the other (and there are others) causes of autism, then someone must pay.

It's all about politics ladies.  Wake up and open your eyes wide enough to take in the whole entire picture.

We are only told about the things they want us to know about.  Those parents who had a healthy happy baby one morning, went to get the "scheduled" vaccines that afternoon, returned home with a damaged child. That's all the PROOF I need. Who's fault?  there is a whole entire LINE of people responsible, in my personal opinion.

Read The Autoimmune Epidemic, Breakthrough by Suzane Somers, The Reality Behind the Myth ( on Vaccines), DPT: A Shot In The Dark...you'll educate yourself on something no one wants to talk about; the lies we are told every day so someone can make a buck.  It's sad that that buck has turned into a TRILLION dollar industry...and who suffers the most?  you and I do.

I want to be told the facts and just the facts, problem is they don't even know what the facts are anymore because they've told so many lies.

I just viewed a DVD where Gabriel Cousins M.D.CURES 6 people of diabetes...4 are type 2 and 2 are type one...one wasn't totally cured but was down from 70 units of insulin to 5 units in just 30 days. He fed their bodies what they needed to heal themselves.  Why isn't this on the national news?  we know why..if everyone was WELL and Healthy and Happy...who would make money on the sick? No one because there wouldn't be any sick people...how many jobs would be lost then?

See we've gotten ourselves backed into a corner or sorts, the way i see it...pretty scary and pretty dang sad.  In order for a whole slew of people to keep their jobs, we have to remain sick!  What's wrong with this picture?

I'm a mom of 5 wonderfully healthy children.  We didn't vaccinate, we had home births for the last 4, I breast fed the last four until they were two, fed them no baby food and we are now going 80% raw organic food as a family.  Food will either kill you or heal you.

Immunizations are a joke...for the masses.  IF they would develop a test to test a childs immunity from birth, then maybe we could move in the right direction.  But until they do that, I would stay as far away from a doctor with needles as I could.

Oh and YES I got all 5 kids into PUBLIC SCHOOL without vaccinations.

My kids, when they do get sick, are sick for hours not days.  They are all "tested" geniuses.  Have a link to NO vaccines...I think it does.

They don't have proof on the link YET, or they just aren't telling us the truth.  No human cell that I know of, is made out of chemicals...so why wouldn't we expect this kind of reaction when we inject a baby by the time they are 1 year old with 19 different shots?  We're ORGANIC humans not chemical ones..the body doesn't know what to do with most chemicals ( thus the autoimmune epidemic). MERCURY is poison, so why would we knowingly inject our children with it??

This debate will go on....I just know I did the best thing for my children by not having any vaccinations.  They survived whooping cough, one had mumps on the left side and one had the hard measles.  We're better served, to learn about health and wellness and the immune system.

Eat well, live well, be well.

~Amy~ From Missouri

I have met many who have fully vaccinated children who provide their children with crap diets, virtually no exercise and access to regular fresh air and water. All essentials for a functional immune system

I have three children and I suppose when I see the term "crackpot" being used to refer to Ms McCarthy I suppose its one that could and has been applied to me. However, if its a title you earn for providing people with the truth then its one worth wearing. My daughter got all of her early jabs bar the MMR then my son came along he had a very rough delivery and as a result he was a difficult feeder and and a very asymmetrical appearance, we took him to a cranial osteopath and this seemed to get him through this he did very well and at nine months had very normal development. I decided he was ready for his jabs I took him down gave him 5 in 1 AND Men C, within 24 hours MY son was gone he went from 15 hours sleep to nothing, he was screaming at the sound of any white noise, within 3 months he had no babble and spend his days in front of a washing machine. I was a train wreck and I have no idea how myself or my husband were not in a car accident in those months as the lack of sleep was beyond description. At the same time I vaccinated my older daughter with the MMR she developed blood and mucus in her stools within the month that was the beginning of a whole other trauma that unfolded in the following years. At 14 months I took my son back to the cranial osteopath within two weeks he began to babble, and from then on he made great progress and is a great little boy full of empathy and love and very engaging. He is a little shy and very sensitive but he is a good child and I have high hopes for him. As his nightmare ended my daughter's began and her's was much worse she went on to suffer constipation/fecal impaction that was so severe she would spend up to three days trying to move a stool. My daughter suffered far more pain in those years than I ever suffered in childbirth, I have no doubt about that. We tried everything, she wouldn't allow anyone to touch her and consequently could not try the therapy we used on my son, then purely by co-incidence we were in a hotel and she tried crunchy nut cornflakes and almost immediately she said she needed to move her bowel and did so with little discomfort that was a year ago now, since the bowel has settled so too have the social problems and difficulties. Last April a clinical psychologist attempted to label her with Aspergers I refused and she attends OT and SLT for the appropriate interventions now, she is a challenge but we keep working and that is the way it will be. My third girl is not vaccinated. My children will receive some vaccines but only the ones that can be given on a single basis, i.e. tetanus and hib and Men C, this is the first year that I have felt that I can make that trip. People who judge me a crackpot or suggest we should live else where have no idea what they are talking about my kids and us as a family have suffered far more most people know or can imagine. Vaccination is important, what caused it, well after much thought on this I'll tell you what I think, both of those children were ventouse, I think difficult delivery is tough on the child and they need a chance to recover from it. My DH has a chronic low sperm count and is an older dad and this could account for some propensity. My sister has a anaphalactic reaction to her 3 in 1 so heredity factor. Just to confirm my son was diagnosed by the best Paed in the country and it was recommended that he not be given Pertussis again. Some kids can't be vaccinated just like some kids can't eat peanuts, so you who think we should live on our own island I really hope that statement does not come back to haunt you as you have absolutely no idea of the complexity or the sleepless nights people who don't vaccinate put in or the pain people suffer when they have a child with a disability and they don't know what caused it, was it something they did? You can't vaccinate against everything and particularly against accidental death or injury. Myself and my husband come from two very large families (21) brothers and sisters in total, all had measles no-one suffered any damage, we all got chicken pox as did my children. The mothers of all those children would all confirm its not what your children will catch that will kill them but the danger they would get into and many parents will testify to this. Thats just my opinion. This debate will rage. For the parents who read this and still don't know and are torturing themselves remember you are the best judge - YOU know best - follow your instinct. 

There are enough "smoking gun" cases to show that vaccination is causative of autism in some cases. And where there is damage, there should be due process and there should be credible research to find the cause. Not reactionary hysteria from the medical community that wants to make the vaccine opponents look like crackpots, idiots, or worse. Autism may be caused by many things, but shooting up children with many many hits of mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, aborted fetal tissue cell lines, and the toxic broth of chicken viruses..to any rational human being is a probable cause. All you have to do is take a sample of the CSF of some of these damaged children and test it and you will find evidence of brain inflammation--of a sort that rationally could come from the vaccines.

 Autism in children is only one area of concern. With or without the mercury--the toxic broth alone is a huge concern. Adults get Guillain-Barre and other neurological diseases from the vaccines.

 The concern is that we have made vaccinations seem so safe and harmless that they are no longer monitoring for late effects. Studies follow people for such a short time. Children lined up to get vaccinated at school. Parents going to the Wallmart to get flu shots. How are these vaccines being preserved? If not with mercury--i.e. TOXIC, then what is growing in the thimerisol free ones? How long does it take for a vaccine ingredient to start unraveling the brain? And how much unraveling (i.e. inflammation, cell death, etc) do you suppose is needed to be noticed? What if it drops your IQ a few points--who would notice? What if adults or teens also get pushed subtley into a more "autistic" mode. What if it predisposes you to a leukemia virus later in life--who would conduct a study to show that? What if 7 months after a vaccine you start falling down all the time due to neurological damage--that has no explanation. Oh yeah, had a flu shot at the mall and didn't realize it was poorly refrigerated so all kinds of things might have grown in it.  

 Vaccine PRO-ponents are so hysterically vehement in protecting their status quo that they no longer question anything they're told. Herd immunity? Where is the proof in that? Read the research. Look critically at who stands to gain by the vaccine industry. Look at who is protecting the vaccine industry (hint: department of defense). And stop ridiculing people who have the courage to stand up and say, THIS IS WRONG. Parents who don't vaccinate or at least negotiate for a rational vaccination schedule are HEROES.

We've moved into an age where chronic disease is taking more of a health toll than epidemics. As a society are we becoming healthier? No. Is our healthcare becoming more affordable? No. It is perhaps the time to re-think the way we use vaccines. To come up with a better way than weakly irritating the immune system to form antibodies that wear off in a few short years because they were an ineffective process to begin with.

 Wake up to the truth. Stop ridiculing other people. And lets fix this thing.

 No matter which side of the fence you are on-hoping my studies and information can be useful to parents with children who have Autistic issues and are seeking advice and help. Enjoying the engaging dialog and opinions being expressed and thank you for allowing me the chance to chime in.

Best to you in health and wellness,

Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D.

http://www.ultramind.com

http://www.youtube.com/ultrawellness

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ultrawellness

Regardless of who spreads the diseases, who are more likely to get them when exposed?

I think the list may go like this:

 First, children with absolutly no immunity to them.  This would include kids not vaccinated for whatever reason.

Second, less than healthy kids that are vaccinated but have less than full immunity.  This would include my kid and kids on chemo, etc.  Also adults and elderly that don't have the greatest immune system.

Third, healthy kids that have been vaccinated and have either complete or almost complete immunity.

I respect your decision.  But technically, your decision has the potential to affect my child.  My decision does not affect yours.  So if anyone would be moving to an island, it should be those whose decision affects others.  Not the other way around.  Especially considering there is not really a large enough place for the MAJORITY of people who do vaccinate compared to the minority of those that do not. 

Though I'm in no way telling anyone to move. 

And like another poster mentioned:  Aren't the parents that do not vaccinate looking to the parents that do for the control of these long gone diseases like polio?  If everyone agreed with you and stopped vaccinating, what would happen?  In that logic, are the parents that do not vaccinate happy that parents that do are "sacrificing our children on the altar of public health" so that they don't have to?  Let someone else make the "sacrifice" that keeps other children healthy?    

Thanks for you sentiment.

I am responsible, which is why I have practically become a shut in to protect him.

But who is responsible when a mother chooses to not vaccinate then travels to another country and her child catches something and passes it on to kids like mine or kids on chemo?  I'm surely not responsible.  

To me, weighing consequences on a large scale is important.  Especially because I do care about the large ripples my choices make in the world.

Hypothesized (unproven) consequence of vaccinating:  Autism.

Proven possible consequence of vaccinating:  Allergic reaction with varying degrees of severity.

Unknown possible consequence of vaccinating:  Future problems.

Proven possible consequence of not vaccinating:  Sickness in your child or children.

Proven possible rippled consequence of not vaccinating:

1.  Passed sickness in other people's kids, elderly, and/or immuno-suppressed individuals.  

2. An outbreak.

Anyone adding to the list is welcome.  I would not want to leave anything out.  :D

This was a very insightful commentary...I totally agree with the term of link vs. cause. I am a natural health care practitioner and I personally experience that the removal of this vaccine can help an autistic child...the sooner the better really.

As to link, I had studied much regarding compromised digestive systems. My son was a premi with the inability to eliminate effectively when he was young. I refused the vaccine for this reason. I think research into the issue of digestive challenges would be advantageous to the general public, but you probably won't see it done. Studies are perpetuated by pharmacuetical companies and the MMR is big business.

FYI - I tried to get the vacine broken into 3 separate injections (like it is offered in Europe) and it would have cost me in 2002 a mere $12,000.00!!!!!! Obviously the MMR was a corporate push. For all parents who believe there child changed from the injection my heart goes out to them...They probably are right and now this study devalues their most innate ability to know beyond a doubt that their child went into a Dr's office and in a short period of time became a different child.

I am ashamed of our FDA!!!! 

Thank you!

Thanks for you grace and courage.  This topic is very controversial so it is easy to feel attacked. 

I agree that we should have all information at our hands.  And I agree that mothers should not accept something just because a doctor says it is acceptable.  And I agree that mothers should never be looked at as though they are crazy for questioning something.  

You have a plate full too.  I apologize for being so harsh.  And I really hope that research and science will bring a conclusion to what causes autism.  Only with knowing what causes it will it be curable.  Your desperation is understandable and heart breaking.

:::hugs::: to you, your family, and other moms & children.

As I mentioned above, my child, due to a weak heart and damaged lungs, is at risk if he comes in contact with a child that has one of the illnesses.  Just as a simple cold can put him in the hospital, coming in contact with a child with the measles, mumps, rubella, or pertussis and chicken pox is very dangerous.  His vaccinations are not 100% end all protection.  Luckily, I'm a stay at home mom and we only leave the house for doctor appointments, where I insist we are seperated from others.

You are completely right.  Some of the things I wrote in my comment last night sounded wretched, and I apologize. 

I felt that I was under attack and so I attacked back.  Stupid, stupid Brillig.  I know better than that.  Sorry.

My point was SUPPOSED to be that all of these people were weighing in on an issue that didn't effect them, without ever stopping to think about the motivation behind the mothers who are questioning vaccines along with the many other possible factors.  It was just easier for people to call us incompetent or crazy.  And that's just not fair.  And some commenters were validating their point by saying that their child is on the spectrum, and therefore they get to speak for all of us.  "On the spectrum" and "autism" are different, and this conversation was about AUTISM.  More importantly, I was just trying to explain my personal struggles--to help people understand WHY we have to question everything, including vaccines. We're just trying to do the best thing for our child, without any help from the medical community, and sometimes what we think might be "the best thing" turns out not to be.  And that's scary, as you and any other mother knows.

I wasn't trying one-up anyone, but I absolutely see how it sounded that way.   My desperation isn't because my child is "sicker" than anyone else's, because that's absurd.  He's not.  But no one can tell me anything about my child's disease or how to help him.  THAT'S where the desperation comes in.  There will be new research announcing one thing, and the next day the research will be thrown out the window.  I realize, again, that MANY mothers go through similar things with completely different diseases.  

But those who aren't going through it don't get to roll their eyes at me.  Or call me dangerous.  Or call this whole conversation "irresponsible."  

For the record, my son (and my other three children) are all up-to-date on their vaccines.  Vaccines definitely did NOT cause my son's autism-- it was present long before that 18 month MMR shot.  Still, I understand that if people suspect this link, it needs to be investigated.  If I could keep anyone from going through what we've gone through, I would do it, just as you would.  It's fair to require that vaccines be looked at more closely.  Reformulated.  Made SAFE for EVERYONE.  

You have your plate full, and I appreciate the perspective you've given me.  I will be more careful with how I word things in the future.

I wonder if there is some undiscovered gene, mutation of a gene, or certain spot on a chromosome that:

1.  Predisposes families to autism (which would explain autism in siblings or the occurence of autism without vaccination.)

and/or

2.  Predisposes a child to developing autism AFTER a vaccination or as a reaction to any ingredient in the vaccine (which would explain the children that change within 24 hours of the vaccination.)

If anyone has any studies looking at it all from that angle, please share.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/trentfedele ( http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trentfedele )

www.cafepress.com/mistertrent 

I'm sure this won't count for much because I'm not the mother of a child with autism. 

I am, however, a mother of a child with Down syndrome. (My third)

I have no one to blame for the fact that my child will not develop normally.  I guess I could try and blame God but I actually thank Him for keeping my son alive the three times he came close to dying.  I guess I can blame myself because my one of my eggs had an extra chromosome, but considering I'm only 30, the egg had the extra chromosome before I was a year old.  So I blame no one.  I look at my child and figure that he was given to me for a reason.

So yes, I DO understand the desperation.  I know the fear.  I know how my life changed completely with the diagnosis of Down syndrome, along with the need for a ventilator for the first two weeks, open heart surgery at 2 months, a helicopter ride to a better hospital at 3 months due to diagestive issues, and death looming over our family.   Our family was shattered also.  I wonder if he will walk, talk, or get leukemia, as many children with Down syndrome do.  I know those feelings.

 I also know that for every child that is not vaccinated, my son is at risk.  He is vaccinated but his immune system is not strong due to a weak heart and damaged lungs.  If your unvaccinated child gets one of the almost-eradicated-illnesses then comes in contact with mine, my son's vaccination might not be enough to protect him.  So your decision is not only affecting your child...your decision may cause my child to get sick.  How fair is that?  This is how outbreaks occur.  

Now, on to the pattern I see in the autism communities of one-upping each other, tit-for-tat "my child is sicker than yours" stuff, I find that extremely sad.  One thing you don't find in the Down syndrome community is  competition.  We pray for each others kids, rejoice over their achievements, and cry with them when something goes wrong.  Down syndrome doesn't have a spectrum technically, but some children are much more "involved" than others.  I would never dream of telling a mother of a down syndrome child that it is "almost funny" she is debating something that pertains to her child just because her child didn't have heart surgery or could read at a higher level than my child.  It isn't a competition.  And really, vaccinations are open for debate to any parent...even if the child isn't born yet.  It is up for debate because it has to be dealt with at some point. 

 Honestly, I find it highly offensive that you are saying a mother of a child on the lower end of the spectrum should not have her say.  How do you know what kind of fears she has?  How do you know to what extent her life was shattered or not?

Finally, I know a mom whose child has a condition that is so rare, he is only the 11th known case IN THE WORLD.  She contacted me through a mutual friend to tell me that if I ever needed to talk about the roller coaster of emotions I was on after my son's birth, she would love to listen.  Yes, you read that right.  She, the mother of a child with a very rare condition, wanted to help the mother of a child with a very common syndrome.  She is my hero because if anyone has the right to say:  My child is sicker than yours so shut up and stop whining, it's her.  But no, she takes the proverbial lemon and makes it into sweet lemonade.  She even goes to schools and talks about tolerance for people with differences.  If more people were like her, the world would be much better.  In her honor, I am sorry that you feel such fear and sadness.  Life will be hard, no doubt about it.  I will keep you, and all moms of children with any health problems or anywhere on the spectrum, in my prayers.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/trentfedele ( http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trentfedele )

www.cafepress.com/mistertrent ( http://www.cafepress.com/mistertrent )

I don't think there was a misdiagnosis. He was diagnosed by a reputable doctor. Many doctors in subsequent years did not object to or refute this diagnosis...UNTIL he was cured. Sounds like a cover up to me.

Hi Kelly.  I totally agree with you. 

We need to respect parents that have children suffering from autism, not blame them for a vaccine controversy.   And if your child is vaccinated he/she is protected and there is no need to harbor resentment and anger at parents that make a choice not to vaccinate. 

Parents need not be concerned that there will be an epidemic of measles, mumps or rubella...What they do need to worry about is how to prevent the leading causes of death among children -- accidental injury ( http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id... )

In 2001, 5,526
children ages 14 and under died from unintentional injuries.  In
addition, each year more than 92,000 children are permanently
disabled.  

Even with the few cases of measles the US has seen, no child has died.  As the mother of two vaccinated children who are now teenagers...I can say that my biggest fear is letting them drive.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
at Catherine-Morgan.com ( http://catherine-morgan.com/ ) and Women4Hope ( http://women4hope.wordpress.com/ )

I wasn't going to comment here until I saw Brillig's post. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for the struggle and the fear and the desparation you speak of. I can not imagine. I hope you find answers for you and for your son.

I can only speak from my perspective...

I held off vaccinating my first born with MMR until he was almost 2.5. I was terrified of all the not knowing and the debate. My doctor kept reassuring me it would be fine. But, he was also patient and told me it was my choice. 

We are talking about choice here, are we not? How can questioning ever hurt? How can we get angry at people for making a choice about their bodies? Their children's bodies?

If your child is vaccinated he or she is safe. You don't need to fear what other mothers decide is best for their children. 

Has the government every lied? Has the medical field ever been wrong? I think people's concerns are legitimate. With that said...

Yes. I would like to see every child vaccinated, but I can say that because I have only seen the benefits of vaccines. I have had no first-hand experience with my children having any reaction at all to any of their shots, except to kick and scream while they were being given.

I can not fault a mother who feels different, who believes she has evidence to the contrary. There would be no amount of studies or angry voices that could talk me off the ledge if I believed 100% that something was hurting my child. I see the parents of these autistic children who are in this fight as just trying to find some answers and just doing their day to day best to protect their children.

Disagreement, research, debate, discussion, these are what bring about progress...are they not?

Peace,
Kelly (conversemomma)

spit and scream at me here http://www.ordinaryartblog.com

While doing research on this topic, I "met" a woman who had an interesting perspective on this issue.  I published her e-mail to me here ( http://lukecommasara.blogspot.com/2008/11/great-re... ) and I think it's worth reading.  It's not scientific research, but her personal experience and her own search for the truth were helpful as I've grappled with this issue.

What about this?  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009...

I particularly enjoy the comment on that article from Koi Pond.

Miss Grace's Disgrace ( http://www.missdisgrace.com )

Disgraced Shopping ( http://www.shopdisgrace.com )

Like, Autism.  Straight forward.  Not on the low end of the spectrum, but really, truly, AUTISTIC?  Listening to all of you debate this is almost funny.  

I have four children.  Three developed normally.  The fourth is autistic.  You wonder why we talk about vaccines?  I can't tell you how many hundreds of mothers could swear that their child was FINE until the day he received the MMR.  And then?  Their whole world turned up-side-down.

In fairness, this isn't my family's story.  Our son was clearly autistic before his 18-month MMR vaccine.  Still, we search, desperately, to understand. 

HOW did this happen to my beautiful boy?  HOW???  Do any of you even begin to understand the DESPERATION?  To have this perfect family shattered into pieces?  To look at my beautiful son and know that nothing, NOTHING will ever be easy or normal for him?  

When Isaac was diagnosed, we were given nothing.  No hope.  Just a horrid, gut-wrenching label.  The medical community is clueless in this arena.  THAT is why mother's have to take it into their own hands.  We're mama bears, and we'll do anything for our children.  My insurance company won't cover anything.  I'm just STUCK.  We're working endlessly with a therapist and Isaac is making some progress, thank goodness.  And by "progress" I mean that he's now acting like a rather normal 12-month old.  He's almost three.  He will never catch up.

Do you know what it feels like to wonder if your child will ever walk?  Do you know what it feels like to know that you will never have a deep, meaningful conversation with him?  Do you know what it feels like to not get hugs, kisses, "I-Love-You's"?  

Do you know what it feels like to have NO help WHATSOEVER from the medical community?

If my child had cancer, there would be doors opened to him all over the country.  But he doesn't.  He has autism.  Therefore he's ignored, brushed under the rug as though he doesn't exist, and when mothers start trying to figure stuff out for ourselves, we get treated like we're nuts -- or, even, DANGEROUS.

Nice.

http://www.twas-brillig.com/

but like everybody else I do have an opinion.

From personal experience I know for an absolute fact that a member of my family was adversely affected by a vaccination.  I witnessed it with my own eyes and 24 years later he is still not well.  -not going to bore ya'll with details here...

That said, I do believe vaccinations are necessary. 

But I have to say that the last visit to the doc's office for my 4 month old left me with more questions than ever.  All the info about getting vaccines was centered around keeping office visits to a minimum, getting a whole slew of shots at once so you don't have to bring your lil ones in so much.

Now, for me, that's not selling me on anything.  Is that the whole point?  Just get as many as you can at once?  Are you kidding me?? 

Thankfully, my doc lets me space the shots out into a schedule that makes me feel better, because I feel in my heart that an infant is just too delicate to get so many vaccines at once.  I've read 'studies' on both sides of the argument and I've decided to stick to my ultra protective motherly gut instinct and be as reasonable as I can be, while protecting my children from both disease and potentially harmful side effects of vaccines.

http://superfabuloushousewife.blogspot.com/

Ah - but you can argue that there was a misdiagnosis, as MANY doctors have told her.  And there are plenty of people out there that will tell you, doctors included, that misdiagnoses are VERY common with autism.

All the things Jenny claims cured her son may very well have reduced symtpoms.  But there is no cure.   If he was truly autistic, then he is still autistic.  He may not be showing signs thanks to her therapies, but he is still autistic.  My child is on the spectrum.  He is very, very mildly autistic.  I know what I can do that will lessen the autistic tendencies.  He's still on the spectrum.  If she stopped doing her therapies I guarantee he goes back to the way he was.  That isn't a cure. That's offering false hope to others who have children that are as severe as her son was.  It's fine to say, "Hey, I did this, this and this and now my child isn't showing any signs or symptoms of being autistic."  But claiming a cure, that's wrong.

I am curious about what exactly the good deed is that you are referring to.  Did I miss something?

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5708a3....
"The index patient was an unvaccinated boy aged 7 years"

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm4809.pdf
"The first cases of ILI occurred during December 21–December 28, 1998, among five unvaccinated nurses"

This isn't my opinion, it is the CDC. But I'm sure they can't be trusted.

Angela at mommy bytes ( http://www.mommybytes.com )
BlogHer Contributing Editor in Mommy & Family Cribsheet ( http://www.blogher.com/blogher-topics/cribsheet )

There is no reason why parents should not be able to tell their vaccine horror stories without people crying foul. If vaccines are so awesome and so safe then they can stand up to the scrutiny right?

IMO Jenny McCarthy did cure her son. You can't argue with her results. Of course other moms of autistic kids who tried the same therapies and got no result will always be angry and bitter. You know what they say about no good deed...

Oh so we shouldn't be forced to vaccinate we should just leave the country to appease you? Sorry no.

It is your personal opinion that unvaccinated kids are the ones promoting these diseases. In most cases it is VACCINATED kids spreading them. Vaccination does not equal immunity. Choosing not to vax is my legal right and I am not going anywhere. I suggest YOU move to a place where the immune impaired can group togther in fear.

I never said that you should be required to vaccinate your kids. I just said that if you don't vaccinate, move to a place where no one vaccinates and share your infectious diseases amongst yourselves. You are relying on the good graces of the rest of the population to keep these serious diseases from reaching epidemic proportions which prevent them from affecting your very own children.

I can understand if you have personally experienced an issue with a reaction to a vaccine that you would not want any of your children to be vaccinated. This shouldn't be used into scaring new parents into thinking that all vaccines are evil.

Angela at mommy bytes ( http://www.mommybytes.com )
BlogHer Contributing Editor in Mommy & Family Cribsheet ( http://www.blogher.com/blogher-topics/cribsheet )

I am thankful that we have vaccines and that I am able to get my child vaccinated.  Yes, there is a downside to everthing, but ultimately, I believe in vaccination.  I don't consider my child a "guinea pig."  There are enough issues in this world to worry about.  His health, as far as the diseases he is vaccinated against, is not one of.  It is your choice not to vaccinate them.  And luckily you have that choice because of those who DO vaccinate. Vaccination has eradicated small pox, with polio on it's way to be next.  I'm thankful to those who vaccinated before me and I'm thankful to those who vaccinate after me.

My child is on the autism spectrum, however, I do not believe there is any correlation between any vaccine and autism (at least as in regards to my child).  There are just too many factors that are involved.  My child had emergency brain surgery at 1 years old due to a malformation of the vein of galen that occurred during formation in utero.  He was having seizures at 10 months old.  He had brain pressure that was causing issues.  Who is to say his issues aren't in direct result of the brain pressure, the malformed vein or any of the surgeries that went along with it.  At that point, he was on schedule with all his vaccinations.

He did have a slight reaction to the MMR vaccine, but you know what - I'd rather him have a small, non-fatal reaction than have to deal with worse.

Parents are doing the field research and being sneered at for their
trouble. Just look at the first comment in this thread calling a mere
mom, Jenny McCarthy, a crackpot.

Jenny McCarthy was called a crackpot because she claims to have cured Autism.

Jenny McCarth, via CNN ( http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mccarthy.autsimtr... ):

Evan is now 5 years old and what might surprise a lot of you is that
we've never been contacted by a single member of the CDC, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, or any other health authority to evaluate and
understand how Evan recovered from autism. When Evan meets doctors and
neurologists, to this day they tell us he was misdiagnosed -- that he
never had autism to begin with. It's as if they are wired to believe
that children can't recover from autism.

There is no cure for autism.  There just isn't.  To imply that there is, especially with the following she has, is unfair and irresponsible. I myself have been to neurologists, behavorial psychologists, pediatricians and developmental pediatricians.  You can work with your child and see progress, but there is no cure.  

I will say right up front that I vaccinate, fully and according to the schedule.  I do this for a variety of reasons.  I don't want my kids to get sick, I believe in vaccines and honestly it's just easiest to go with the flow.  But I still feel that there's a lack of unbiased information.

When my children were born I received information packets from the public health office, outlining the dire dangers of not vaccinating.  The pointed out how, in rare cases, children die of chicken pox.  Don't let it happen to you!  But there was no information about possible adverse reactions to vaccines, and when my son had a slight adverse reaction everyone was very quick to point out that it was Just Fine, Nothing to Worry About, Vaccines are Very Safe.

On the flip side, there's a lot of information about how vaccines are very dangerous and you're taking your child's life into your hands if you vaccinate.  I know a lot of my mom friends who are very frightened by this.  But nowhere do I see a really balanced approach.  No open and honest discussion of the benefits and drawbacks, of the merits of the current vaccination schedule vs. other schedules.  And that bothers me.  Because I feel like I'm not being given good information upon which to base my decision, since everyone seems to be using fear tactics.

~ Amber

www.strocel.com ( http://www.strocel.com )

Studies have not proven that vaccines can be linked in any way to vaccines. BUT studies have also not shown that they don't have any connection. All the studies that have been done in this area are looking for a smoking gun. In the absence of that gun we are told that there is no connection, case closed. That is not nearly good enough though. Any parent being asked to inject their child with a chemical cocktail has a right to know ALL the risks and many of them are just not known at this time. We also don't have studies that show health and rates of illness among unvaccinated children because...well frankly I think the powers that be are afraid to go there. Make no mistake; if you vaccinate your kids... they are Guinea pigs.

For me the autism connection or lack thereof is just one small facet of this issue. The larger issue is that vaccines do have risks...significant risks. Only a tiny portion of adverse reactions are even reported because the medical community is trained to look everywhere else but at the elephant in the room. Parents are doing the field research and being sneered at for their trouble. Just look at the first comment in this thread calling a mere mom, Jenny McCarthy, a crackpot. The fact that she has no degree or scientific background somehow makes her incapable of determining what made her child ill. Mom intuition is thrown out the window as lunacy. I find that disregarding the eye witness accounts of thousands of moms is lunacy.

My son had an adverse reaction on day 2 of his life. I was told it was nothing and I believed. At 11 months he had another reaction to a vaccine (not the MMR BTW). He went into a 30 minute seizure and stopped breathing. The lack of oxygen caused some damage. He ended up with epilepsy and he is on the autism spectrum, albeit just barely. There is NO doubt in my mind or in his doctors minds what caused this. But while his doctors told me verbally that vaccines did this and advised me not to vaccinate again...NONE of them would put that in writing. That is the integrity of the scientific and medical community.  They are not to be trusted in regards to this issue. I am sorry but that is the truth of it. 

I take offense to what Angela said above. How dare any mom require that I sacrifice my child on the alter of public health so they can feel better? Did you have kids so you can put their health second and everyone else's first? I sure didn't. My kids are my primary concern and if keeping them healthy means not vaccinating than that is my choice. I have 3 kids and they are all vax free and will remain so.

Tiffany

http://www.naturemoms.com/blog

50 years + of peer reviewed research finds that there are increasing de novo genetic disorders, including those now described as autism found in the offspring of men who father babies at older ages. The role of vaccines seems to be strong in offspring who have mitochondrial disorders. To think that there is only one cause of what is called autism is a big mistake. To ignore the fact that sperm collect mutations as a man ages and that there is a genetic male biological clock and up to one third of all schizophrenia is known to be caused by older father's sperm is a greater mistake. The Paternal Age How Old is Too Old Blogspot contains many research abstracts and articles on this cause of autism. Every study that has looked for paternal age as a cause of autism has found it. This effect is seen on at a population level. Why do most autism blogs and websites ignore this cause of autism? http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-father-fac... realize that there is a great tendency by parents not to consider autism a mental illness, but I am talking in general about debilitating forms of the disorder.

The program has been around since '86 (the court since 1990) and the "debate" didn't start until after Wakefield's bogus study 12 years later. It's misleading to think that this system, set up for the welfare of people with documented reactions to vaccinations is the cause of the vaccine/Autism debate.

The vaccine court is intended to bolster our mandatory immunization
program by offering compensation to children truly damaged by vaccines
while avoiding excessive litigation. But in the autism case,
plaintiffs, and especially their lawyers, forced taxpayers and the
pharmaceutical industry to spend millions to defeat a clearly flawed
theory.

At one point in testimony, a University of Virginia
pediatric neurologist named Robert Rust tried to explain the dogged
persistence of the vaccines-cause-autism theory. The believers have
many data points at their fingertips, thanks to the Internet. Rust
compared them to Tycho Brahe ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe ), the 16th-century
astronomer who convinced his contemporaries that the sun revolved
around the Earth. Frustrated parents and scientists who have long
rejected the vaccine-autism connection frequently return to that
analogy. Alison Singer quit her leadership position in the charity
Autism Speaks because she tired of its demand for more vaccine studies.
"The question has been asked and answered and it's time to move on,"
she told Newsweek ( http://www.newsweek.com/id/179998 ) last month. "We need to be able to say, 'Yes, we are now satisfied that the earth is round.' " (A. Allen, Slate ( http://www.slate.com/id/2211156/ ), 2009)

As for the table, those are side effects that could be experienced from a variety of medications, and nowhere on it does it list Autism.

Believe me, if there was any legitimate science behind it, I'd be outraged too. The fact is that there isn't. There is NO debate. The causal link does not exist, plain and simple and we have a great deal of research that proves it (and none that contradicts it).

The only place the "vaccine/Autism debate" exists is in the minds of people who have been duped by the likes of Wakefield and McCarthy.  

Michelle writes at Michelle's Blog ( http://michellesamom.blogspot.com )

Hi Michelle.  To answer your question about why the debate about autism and vaccines exist.

The answer is simple. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program ( http://www.hrsa.gov/Vaccinecompensation/ ).  The government (and the medical community) understood that all pharmaceuticals (including vaccines ( http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/covered_va... )) carry some degree of risk for side effects and adverse reactions, and that is why this program was started.

I'm not trying to alarm anyone about vaccines, but this list ( http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/table.htm ) (acknowledged by the government and medical community) addresses some of the side effects (including death) that are covered under this vaccine injury compensation program. 

The Vaccine Injury Table (Table) makes
it easier for some people to get compensation. The
Table lists and explains injuries/conditions that
are presumed to be caused by vaccines. It also lists
time periods in which the first symptom of these
injuries/conditions must occur after receiving the
vaccine. If the first symptom of these injuries/conditions
occurs within the listed time periods, it is presumed
that the vaccine was the cause of the injury or condition
unless another cause is found.

Even knowing all the potential risks of vaccines, I would have still chose to give my children the MMR vaccine.  Like I said before, I do believe that the benefits of the MMR vaccine far outweigh the risks.  But even the government acknowledges these vaccines are not 100% safe, and that is why there is (and most likely always will be) a debate.  But debate is not a bad thing, it is a good thing, and it's what makes this country great.  

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
at Catherine-Morgan ( http://catherine-morgan.com/ ).com and Women4Hope ( http://women4hope.wordpress.com/ )

I recently heard that it's possible to ask for better quality vaccines, ones that don't contain unneccesary chemicals. I heard if you ask the doctor they can get you these, at a cost, and they could be a healthier alternative.

Has anyone else heard of this? I definitely would like to know more.

http://doesabodygood.blogspot.com

I don't see how this post can be considered provoking hysteria?  I've clearly written that I believe the benefits of the MMR vaccine outweigh any perceived risk.  And I don't think it's irresponsible to point out that as long as there is no known cause for autism, it's not really possible to 100% rule out any possible cause.  

And you said...

Vaccines are created because they save lives. When did
we forget that? Mandatory vaccinations make sure that they are
effective. It's ridiculous to say "oh just get it if you want to". That
would not guarantee herd immunity which is necessary to prevent
outbreaks, without it the vaccines become pointless (or at least a lot
less effective).

Not all vaccines are created equal.  And not all vaccines are essential for saving lives.  For example...

From Do Flu Shots For The Elderly Save Lives ( http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/do... )...

The widely-held perception that the influenza vaccination reduces
overall mortality risk in the elderly does not withstand careful
scrutiny, according to researchers in Alberta. The vaccine does confer
protection against specific strains of influenza, but its overall
benefit appears to have been exaggerated by a number of observational
studies that found a very large reduction in all-cause mortality among
elderly patients who had been vaccinated.

And I've written extensively on my concern for making the HPV vaccine mandatory...

HPV Vaccine Gardasil:  Is it safe? ( http://www.blogher.com/hpv-vaccine-gardasil-it-saf... )

The Three Faces of the HPV Vaccine ( http://www.blogher.com/node/18902 )

We need to help parents who have concerns with the MMR vaccine to understand the benefits do outweigh the risks...while not vilifying them for doing what they believe is best for their child.  And yes...also address their concerns (example...make the MMR vaccine available separately for parents with concerns).  

Displaced anger at me or anyone else will not solve this problem.  

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
at Catherine-Morgan.com ( http://catherine-morgan.com/ ) and Women4Hope ( http://women4hope.wordpress.com/ )

My anger is that there even is a "debate" and not at you personally, let me make that clear. Why does the link between Autism and vaccines exist? As far as I can tell, it is because of some debunked (over and over again) "study". Try as they might, the argument can not be substantiated, so why is there even a "debate"?

And if the post doesn't provoke hysteria, it certainly fans its flames. Parents are already worried (unnecessarily) about the link. The fact is that vaccine compliance is going down. The recent outbreaks of vaccine preventable dieseases are evidence of that.

I could understand a debate on whether the flu shot saves lives, though if you look, there are arguments on both sides:

Another paper, in the Oct. 4, 2007, New England Journal of Medicine,
pooled data on 18 cohorts of 713,872 elderly people and found that
vaccination was linked to a 27% cut in hospitalization from pneumonia
or flu and a 48% reduction in the risk of death. (V. Elliott ( http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/01/19/hll201... ), 2009)

There is actually a debate in the medical community about that. But there is no debate  in the medical community about the vaccine/Autism connection (though not for lack of trying). The fact that parents don't know what causes Autism is scary enough. So to say that there is "no "known" link" (your quotation marks) does cast doubt. It contributes to the hysteria that is already present in the population about this issue. It's the anti-vax equivalent of John McCain's "health of the mother".

This is an issue that I am passionate about. I know people who can not be vaccinated. Each time they see the numbers of people who choose not to vaccinate, their lives and health become more uncertain. It really is horrible to think that your child could get a completely preventable disease because some parents are worried about a "link" that isn't there.

**Edited to add: Here's another ruling just from today:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/11/autism.vaccin...

Michelle writes at Michelle's Blog ( http://michellesamom.blogspot.com )

I understand the concern of parents about vaccines and their fears it might cause autism, but the risk of not vaccinating to all us is too great to ignore.  As Angela says, remember polio and small pox?

And what about the new claims that the original doctor who came out with this so-called link of vaccines to autism, made it all up?  That the kids he used in the study were already autistic before he did the study? 

This portion of an article on Consumer Reports Health.org ( http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health/2008/09/to... ) is hard to ignore:

A new book, "Autism's False Prophets," published this month by Columbia University Press retells the heated history of the debate. The author, Paul A. Offit M.D., is chief of infectious diseases and the director of the vaccine education center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and is also an inventor and patent-holder of the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq. Offit reviews the story behind the 1998 Lancet study, which examined 12 children with autism and 14 controls. The findings, which hypothesized a link, were never confirmed by other studies and the autism link was retracted in 2004 in the Lancet by 10 of the study's 13 authors, after it was revealed that the lead researcher had hidden a conflict of interest. Wakefield had been partly funded by a legal aid society investigating a potential lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with autism against the manufacturers of the vaccine. What's more, some of those children were subjects in Wakefield's study. 

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ ) 

This is such a hot button topic I hate to comment. I have a 19 year old, 13 year old, and 1 year old. I have always automatically vaccinated. I remember polio victims from when I was a child, so I was always big on vaccinating. Then came my 1 year old. I got his third round of shots and his little leg swelled and got a large lump under it. That stayed for 3 weeks. He was getting therapy from a doctor who specializes in the neck/shoulders for a birth injury(he had no use of the right side of his face due to an injured vertabrae, so nursing was rough). The doctor saw the lump, became alarmed and treated it, although it was not his specialty. He even suggested I may want to opt out in the future, as the lump was so large he felt it was a pretty serious reaction.I called my regular doctor's office to tell them, and they refused to write it in his file since they didn't witness it. Didn't matter that my son's other doctor saw it and documented it. I began to wonder how many children had adverse reactions, not just autism, that were not reported?  I still vaccinate, but I really space them out because I was warned the next reaction could be anaphylactic. I think there is a lot about vaccines we don't know-I would just like to see studies done by people not trying to prove the autism link, or drug companies trying to prove there is no link.

http://iwannabeacelebbutimtoopoortoaffordit.blogsp...

http://lvmomssincity.blogspot.com/

I don't know when vaccines have become such a hot button issue. I have always believed in the benefits of vaccines. Doesn't anyone remember that smallpox has been eliminated because of vaccines? And how many people are NOT crippled because of the polio vaccine?

I heard a recent episode of This American Life where a ten month old baby contracted measles by going to the same pediatrician's office with a boy who had measles and was not vaccinated. The sheer terror of hearing that baby's struggle to stay alive because of one parent's selfish paranoia moved me firmly into the "you MUST vaccinate" crowd. I agree completely with the mother of the baby who felt that if you're not going to vaccinate your child, you should move to your own infectious diseases island.

People should have a responsibility to society and not just their own agenda. If they don't respect promoting the overall well-being of society at large, then they should move off the grid, have their own doctors, and stay out of public places. Sure they can over-protective and paranoid, but they should also be quarantined to stop them from endangering the lives of innocent babies.

As far as the MMR vaccine, I'm not convinced either way about its link with autism. But the Spock quote which was repeated during that This American Life show still holds, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

(Whew, I'm glad I can vent here, and not post this on my blog only to be flamed to death.)

Angela at mommy bytes ( http://www.mommybytes.com )
BlogHer Contributing Editor in Mommy & Family Cribsheet ( http://www.blogher.com/blogher-topics/cribsheet )

I am shocked that as a nurse you are willing to lend credence to these outlandish claims that have NO PROOF. And the kind of hysteria you are suggesting is particularly irresponsible, "Even if this study is correct, as long as the actual cause of autism is
unknown, a link between vaccines (or anything else for that matter) can
not be ruled out." Really? So we should now become worried that ANYTHING can cause autism? But especially vaccines. No matter how many studies are done that show NO LINK between autism and vaccines, there will always be parents who feel that there's a connection. I'm sorry, but what a ridiculous thing to say. It's that kind of attitude that puts the general public at risk because parents make an "informed" (and that's in quotes for a reason folks) decision not to vaccinate. 

Personally, I think if the medical community would just accept that
many moms have concerns about the MMR vaccine, they could make more
options and choices available. Just telling moms they are wrong isn't
as helpful as making them feel more comfortable about with their
decision to vaccinate. And making every vaccine that comes down the pike "mandatory" doesn't help matters much either.

 Are you honestly suggesting that the medical community has not heard the"concerns" of parents on this issue? There is a LOT of money being wasted proving some crackpots like Andrew Wakefield and Jenny McCarthy wrong when that money could be better spent finding the ACTUAL cause (or causes) of autism. And you know what? Sometimes moms ARE wrong, plain and simple. Perhaps that is an "uncomfortable" fact, but every thing we do as parents isn't going to be "the right thing", we all make mistakes, but willingly putting the general public at risk because you feel "undomfortable" and because you are willing to listen to celebrities and quackery instead of the medical community (who, by the way are committed to looking out for the public good) is wrong.

Vaccines are created because they save lives. When did we forget that? Mandatory vaccinations make sure that they are effective. It's ridiculous to say "oh just get it if you want to". That would not guarantee herd immunity which is necessary to prevent outbreaks, without it the vaccines become pointless (or at least a lot less effective).

There are chilcren out there who, for medical reasons, can NOT be vaccinated. There are children out there who do not respond to the vaccine. Every time a parent "chooses" not to vaccinate, they are playing games with these children's lives. It's selfish, it's irresponsible, it's wrong.

Michelle writes at Michelle's Blog ( http://michellesamom.blogspot.com )

Actually the investigative reporter in that story is the one who made things up. If you look at this NEW article it shows that the reporter covering this story for 4 years is actually the initial complainent in the case AND it appears that now he made the entire thing up. Two other gastro doctors found that these kids were ADVERSELY effected by the MMR.

http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/...

You might also check out the comment section where it is explained that contimated measles strains can cause brain damage. So we can admit that the MMR might cause brain damage but it can't possibly cause autism. Wake up people!

I am sorry you have a child with health issues but you cannot and should not lay responsibility for it at other people's feet. YOU and your son are responsible for his health...no one else.