Hi, I have a 4 month old and my husband's aunts son who is 10 years old has the worse case of autism I have ever seen. Just wondering what I can do to prevent it if there is anything. His mom says it is from vaccinations and that 80% of her friends with autistic kids say they think it is from vaccinations. I know there is a ton of controversy on this and was hoping to see what others had to say. He is still little but I definitely want to do everything in my power to prevent and to be aware.
Thank you for your knowledge!!!
Kim
This was discussed earlier...here's the link:)
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/6715712631161880577
I do not think it is due to vaccinations. That theory was found to be flawed. No one knows what causes it or any prevention techniques. If it were me, I would try to socialize him as much as possible as early as possible. Be attune to symptoms. Research has found that the earlier the intervention, the better the results.
I have two with autism, and neither was caused by vaccines. I send my children to a school for kids with autism, and I know only one parent who thinks this. Our school requires vacinations, and encourages all of us to get our children flu shots every year, and even provides them for us at school yearly.
There are many things that children do for the first time, other than vaccines, that happen at about the same time that autism is detectable, and many children do follow the pattern of Childhood distintigrative disorder (one of the forms of autism) at about the same time that some children get vaccinated. Just this weekend, the original study, which was long ago discredited, was also determined not only to be wrong, but was also an elaborate fraud. The current genetic trials are very promising. If they ever discover an enviornmental contributor, it will likely be one that triggers a predisposition, and will be something so much less obvious than vaccines.
There is nothing you can do to prevent autism, if your child is autistic, they are are already autistic. All children have a one in one hundred and ten chance, and if your child is a boy, that is now one in ninty nine.
The good news is, if there is nothing you can do to prevent it, there is also nothing you will do that will cause it, so you need not beat yourself up if you walk in my shoes one day.
Another bright spot is, autism is not as bad as you think. As identification improves, early intervention is becoming more and more possible, and outcomes are improving too.
There are no gaurentees for any of us. None of us really have that much to do with how our children turn out, they are hard wired to have a certain amount of potential. Enrich your childs enviornment so that they can be all that they can be, and don't worry about this any more. If you need to worry, you will soon know that. Keep a close eye on all your childs developmental milestones, and know that they are there for a reason, and that you should never wait and see when it comes to development. Early is always best.
Enjoy your baby!
M.
It's NOT from vaccinations! Just because you have a cousin who is autistic in no way shape or form means that your child will be autistic. Don't worry about it -get him vaccinated and go on with your life. If your son around a year will not make eye contact or shows developmental problems -talk to his doctor about it, but given how many babies are now dying from whooping cough, measles and other diseases that vaccinations prevent -get him the shots! The anti-vaccine crowd is doing nothing but bringing back a whole host of diseases we had gotten rid of and endangering extremely young infants. I have a cousin who is mentally disabled, and I never gave a thought to the fact that it would have any bearing on my children's outcome.
Hi K.,
This is so controversial. Many people disagree with me but I do believe that the rise in Autism is exponentially related to the rise of synthetic chemicals in our lives. Fifty years ago you hardly heard of Autism and now it is rampant. Approximately 50,000 new synthetic chemicals have been developed in the past 50 years...our bodies, especially our neurological system, were not meant to be pumped full of different chemicals. Think about all the contraindications you have with simply one chemical. Imagine the numerous symptoms that are possible with more than one.
When I was a kid, vaccines were preserved with refrigeration. Now, vaccines are preserved with chemicals. I did not vaccinate my children. Research or no research, putting synthetic chemicals into anyone's bloodstream for the purpose of good health does not make sense to me. My kids don't get sick, and no, they don't carry illnesses...they're not sick. We have detoxed our home (removed and stripped all residues of chemicals from surfaces) and we don't eat processed foods. They too, are full of chemicals.. pesticides, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics.
My best friends son-in-law is in a near vegetative state with a condition known as ADEM. He's military and just went through his battery of vaccines. Even the medical community admits that vaccines may play a part in THIS condition. It is a brain disorder much like MS that creates lesions on the brain. If vaccines can cause THIS brain disorder, why can't it cause another brain disorder?
Ultimately everything that you do for your child is your decision. I'm tickled you are seeking information. No matter what your conclusion is, whether right or wrong, your children will know that you tried your best to do the right thing for them and appreciate it.
My two cents!
a definitive link between vaccinations and autism hasn't been proven. but the astonishing rise in autism can't be brushed away with 'we just don't know.' i think it's naive to think that the amounts of chemicals and toxins we're saturated with these days (including vacs) doesn't play a significant role.
i suggest you research carefully what vaccinations you choose to give your kids and stagger them. many of the diseases for which vacs are being pushed these days are NOT lethal, and in many cases the vacs have surprisingly low efficacy rates.
just because something is good (the polio vaccine) doesn't mean that more is better (gardasil.) arm yourself with knowledge.
khairete
S.
Too many mothers have seen their perfect babies go from normal to autistic within days of getting them vaccinated to not take a look at what's going on.
There are some great documentaries out there (if you have netflix like me) that are worth watching.
If you are worried about autism (because of family history) I would have your child get a full-blown allergy test. If there are many allergies present then you know what to avoid, also if your son has a ton of allergies that may be a sign that you want to keep chemicals (including vaccines) away from him to avoid an adverse reaction (autism).
Keep researching and don't take any unnecessary chance with the life of your son. Despite what people may say, there are few "diseases" worse then autism.
I do not believe it is caused by vaccinations and I don't believe there is much you can do to prevent autism. You can do a lot to help cope with it IF your child has it but not to actually prevent it.
The "link" was flawed because the medical histories and parental accounts did not match and false data was used. The reason most parents believe their child's vaccinations caused their autism is because they receive a MMR shot around the same time as their autism became apparent. This is because both occur at the same time...before it is time for the MMR shot, the child is too young to diagnose autism and is about the time the syptoms become noticable (some symptoms are similiar to normal developmental differences so you can't distinguish early on).
I believe the best things you can do is to stay vigilante, give your child the love and support they need at every stage in life. Socialize them and stimulate their minds early on.
As the mother of 5 I understand that you adore and worry for your child something all mothers do.
I want you to know that I am a mother of a child with Asperger's Syndrome and have several friends with children with Autism. One thing we all havein common is that we have learned that there is not one case of it for any of the 7 children caused from medications of any kind. In fact one family has 3 cases of it within the cousins and I have learned that we have several relatives with it from different parts of the US. So it is not from any one area that causes it.
Love and appreciate your child and don't fear it before your child shows signs of it being part of who he is. Also understand that when my son was born 24 years ago Autism was still considered as being part of Retardation and then treated as such now people are better educated and understand that it is a seperate issue and treated with more respect and help by doctors and school districts.
The bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what has caused the exponential rise in ASD. Even mainstream experts agree that the increase is more than just better diagnosis.
In my humble OPINION (and I'm not a medical professional), our children are bombarded from a very early age (in the womb even) with a toxic soup that was never previously encountered on earth. This toxic mix, among other things, could arguably include preservatives and vaccine ingredients.
I have found it helpful to check out some books from the library, and to consult with various professionals (not just one pediatrician) with different points of view. If I had it to do over again I would do this from the the "get-go." One of my favorite books is "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Childhood Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave, MD. There is a newer book by Dr. Sears that I have heard of but have not read.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do - it's not easy.
Dear K.,
I have a Peditrician friend who rrecently recorded a call on ADD/ADHD/Autism. If you are interested in listening please send me your email and I will send you the link.
c.
As far as what the studies have shown, vaccinations have nothing to do with it. By the time your child is born, there is nothing you can do or give your child that will make them autistic. It develops during the first trimester of your pregnancy. I did hear something on the radio this morning about having children closer together raises the chances of autism. Children born with a 3 yr gap between siblings have fewer autism instances where as children born with less than a 2 yr gap have more. Certainly a mother is more exhausted with a toddler and a new baby on the way. It makes more sense to me than a lot of the other theories I've been hearing lately.
There is no scientific controversy about vaccines and autism. There is no link (please see previous recent posts about this). However the rampant fear out there has not let this rumor die.
K.,
as a matter of fact I just saw in the news last week that researches have found that one have nothing to do with the other and have requested previous publications to be retracted. I don't think that there is anything you could do, as I also don't think that because your husband's aunt has a son that has it that means that your son will have it.
All I would do is pray! and not worry!
Blessings
I think we all want a smoking gun when it comes to autism and other childhood disorders. It's just not that simple. Another mom posted on MMR vaccines and autism earlier. You might find some of the responses interesting.
I don't think it is caused by vaccinations....and even IF they did the diseases your child could get from not being vaccinated are WAY worse than Autism...you can't die from Autism but you can die from those diseases! I know it's hard not to worry b/c I am a worrier myself....but don't let that take away from the time you could be enjoying with your baby!!!
It is not from vaccines and there is nothing you can do to prevent so just take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy your baby.
