"Enough about autism." "Another post about autism?" "This is ridiculous."
Those are the thoughts that go through my mind before I write anything about autism. Then, like a wave, I get an overwhelming feeling, "You are called to do this."
Whether my mind is just playing games or I really am being compelled, it's better to be safe than sorry. So here it goes: Autism and Vaccines.
Some believe thimerosal, a mercury solution used to preserve vaccines, is a major cause for autism. Back in 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield and 12 other doctors did a study on 12 autistic children with gastrointestinal problems. His theory, and I do say theory, was if you give 3 vaccines together there's an increased risk for a bad reaction in the body. He thought there was a connection between BOWEL DISEASE, autism and MMR vaccines.
Well, rather than first attacking the issue of BOWEL DISEASE, the public latched onto an easier idea. Instead of readjusting their food diet, they said, "Let's stop giving our kids vaccines!"
Now, with measles cases rising and risks of death increasing, we are facing a scary situation.
This morning I received a call from Adam about a recent study done at Columbia University by Dr. Ian Lipkin and the Center of disease Control, along with Mass. General Hospital and Trinity College in Dublin. They found no relationship between the timing of the vaccine and the gastrointestinal issues or autism, testing 25 children with GI problems and autism.
Now, it all gets really technical...there are flaws in Wakefield's findings and I'm sure there will be discrepancies in Lipkin's research as well.
Adam and I have been asked numerous times whether we believe John's autism came from his vaccines. Our answer is clear: NO. John's symptom's of autism came from the day he was born. We are certain food has been a huge contributor to his poor mental/physical health. John has had bowel issues since birth. Now, we have literally made our son's diet a science experiment, eliminating foods and watching carefully for reactions.
For some families, this overwhelming...after all we live in a society that has an emotional connection to food. How on earth can we deprive our son of Doritos and soda?
Is mercury OK to put in vaccines? No. The government could do better at making a more natural, absorbing vaccine. We can all work towards encouraging government officials to create safer vaccines.
Tips:
In the meantime, I believe all families with children on the spectrum should try an elimination diet. And when I mean try, I don't mean for a couple months. I mean a reputable diet lasting at least over 6 months. The work is well worth it. There are many diets to choose from. Our favorite has been the SCD diet but there are plenty of others.
If this is still to much work, look for a good doctor and ask to have full blood work done to see if there are any food sensitivities...don't let them tell you no. We had one pediatrician tell us blood work doesn't show any food issues...a blatant lie. Get some blood work done!
We have seen remarkable improvements from John's diet. Within 24 hours of his diet, all of John's tantrums stopped. He was no longer banging his head into things and screaming. He still has symptoms, but there ARE genetic links that we have to work with too. Therapy and early intervention is so helpful.
Conclusion:
I'm no expert. But I've learned so much this past year I feel like my head is going to explode.
One thing I know for sure, I'd rather have my son's autism symptoms more prevalent than have him die from measles.
Taking away vaccines is not the answer. There are millions of people all over the world dying from the diseases we can prevent. I'm going to be really bold here...everyone should be vaccinated. Not vaccinating is taking a deadly risk. If people are paranoid about giving their children multiple vaccines in one shot, find a doctor who will give the shots separate and space them out further apart.
Society is making a huge mistake by not vaccinating because of ONE controversial study.
6 comments:
I love all your posts on autism. I find them very helpful, and informative! Keep them coming. I too was wary of getting my children vaccinated because of that study. I did vaccinate them just a little later, and slower than normal. I really want to hear more about the diet you talked about. I am thinking you should do a post on it:)
I love your post about autism. One of my best friends daughter is autistic. I don't know if you were in the ward when we did the walk. It was fun! Then they moved the walk to Sundays.
Anyways, way to keep every one informed. Even if it can be a little scary to put your self out there.
Bravo for sticking to the diet!
I'm sure sticking to the diet is very difficult. My niece is allergic to peanuts and that can really interfere with what we think of as "normal" childhood activities. I have watched my sister-in-law have to fight to keep her daughter safe, and you are doing the same.
With my limited knowledge of autism, I have always really agreed with the position that you take. I have always thought that the risk of not vaccinating is greater than the risk of vaccinating, unless there are already some really obvious risk factors going on. I also believe there are so many factors that lead to autism and I don't think that making vaccines the bad guy has been the answer, especially with the rise in these preventable diseases that we are now seeing.
Okay, I'm done. Thanks for making me think :)
I'm glad to hear your view point on this as a parent of an autistic child. I agree with you but it was always more of a feeling I had that it was right than because of any research I did. I was mad when that celebrity, Jenny McCarthy, came out about her son's autism and she was very vocal in the opinion that vaccines were the cause. I didn't think her reasoning was very logical but because of her celebrity status she got a lot of attention.
I still worry about vaccines but I know I have to do it. I'm already stressing out about Ashlyn's 12 month shots in 3 months!
Sorry to be the voice on the other side, but after reading, I Just couldn't NOT make a comment. Some children are born with Autism and some children's autism is "triggered" by environmental factors - one of them being vaccines. The CDC has now admitted that vaccines can trigger autism. There are many more studies as well as tens of thousands of parents that watched their child regress, have seizures, get very sick and develop autistic behaviors and I am one of them. There have been NO studies done to say that it is ok to give more than one shot at a time. With 1 in 150 children with Autism, I feel the risk is way higher that your child will have neurological damage from vaccines than get the measles. I have talked to many doctors that say that measles and most all diseases that children are vaccinated for are totally treatable. I would rather my child get the measles and spend some time in the hospital rather than have him have autism for the rest of his life. He may never speak, he may never get out of diapers, he may start to injure himself or others, he may never be able to get baptized, go on a mission or get married. I am sorry for the bold comment, but there is proof that autism can be triggered by vaccines and parents need to really make a vaccine schedule that is right for their child and not give so many at once. It is a recommended schedule, but not required. Do what you feel comfortable with, but don't make your decisions based on what the government, your doctor or your neighbor says is best for your child. 10 shots in 1982 - 1 in 10,000 children with autism. 36 shots in 2008 - 1 in 150 children with autism. There are just too many too soon. Sorry - I am not usually the bold person that makes comments like this but I couldn't help it....
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