Vaccinations - Plano, TX

S. - I cannot speak from personal experience, as my children are all grown. However, my husband and I were recently in the office of the new Dr. in town. We were talking about this subject, and he said he had personally stopped vaccinations for his children (he has 3), and belived that there is a connection between vaccinations and autism If we had small children, I believe I would chance their taking the diseases, since most of the time they are not life threatening, and once they have the disease, their immunity is lifelong. This is not the case with vaccinations. Just a "for what it's worth". I wish you well.JB

I spaced out the first few shots for my baby (now 7 months old) but we have now decided to postpone any additional shots until he is two years old. As mentioned on CNN last night, this website for Generation Rescue has lots of useful information regarding alternative schedules and research on vaccine safety. I thought you might find it helpful--the organization is Generation Rescue and the link to the alternative schedules is: http://generationrescue.com/vaccines.html

Also, know that you CAN get the MMR shot separately versus the "cocktail". Ask your pediatrician.

S.,
I am a mom with a son with autism, My son was healthy too until his DPT and MMR shots. I am teling you from my heart and all my research those vaccines triggered my sons autism. I am not anti vaccine and believe in them but the schedule today is ridiculous! He had 27 shots by the time he was 14 months! THAT is common sense. Too much for their little immune systems. There is a book by Dr. Stephanie Cave showing a safer schedule. There are many of the vaccines NOT needed in my opinion (and million otheres). Example would be the Hep B. If you are going to give him all of them , spread them out! Get the MMR seperated. If your doc says he cannot do that, THAT IS A LIE! Email me and I can tel you docs who will. FIGHT like HELL for your childs health. Its great you are listening to the AWARENESS out there. It is 1 in 150 and 1 in 90 boys with this disorder! There is NO SUCH THING as an genetic epidempic!!!! Something is triggering this awful disorder. And BELIEVE ME you do not want to live with this. You are a good mommy so listen to your gut and the docs don't always support this so do what YOU want to do.
get on line and try to watch the Larry King show with Jenny McCarthy and hear her.
Good luck to you and you must be awesome and smart to be inquiring about this. If you have any questions please email me any time.
L.

I delayed - my sons got DTAP and Polio on time - everything else was late. They had the MMR shot a week after their second birthday, and had I thought FOR A MINUTE that there was anything going on that could be exacerbated, they wouldn't have had it at all. I also delayed hepatitis A&B and didn't get the flu shot until they were 4. Jason hasn't had those yet. My daughter hasn't, and won't, get the HPV shot until she is in the age group that it was tested in.

I have had no issues, they were in daycare, and no one will tell you but there is a waiver that works for school or daycare. http://www.vaclib.org/exempt/texas.htm

FTR, it is not an allergic reaction - and in the NVIC settlement that rocked the autistic community, the settlement was granted because, "The child had an underlying mitochondrial disorder that was aggravated by the MMR shot and resulted in an autism like syndrome".

AKA normally progressing 18 month old baby had the MMR shot and became non-verbal and refused to make eye contact. Autism like syndrome. Uh huh.

I would wait. Just my opinion for what it's worth, since you're asking.

There is so much information on the internet about the links between autism and vaccinations that it will scare you. At first I had my head in the sand about it all, wanting to be mainstream and not a freak about it. But after my son turning out to be special needs, I have read so much that I am delaying his shots and my dd's as well. She's 20 months and hasn't had any shots since 12 months and my son has had most.

At this point, I just know I will wait. I haven't concluded that they are good/bad, just know that for children neurologically compromised to begin with that shots affect them adversely (as with my son and autistic children). And this you will not know if your child is neurologically susceptible until after the fact and then it is too late.

Wait. It can't hurt.

HI S.,
Well you are sure to get some very opinionated responses, because this is a very hot topic.

The links between autism and vaccines have been proven and disproven, depending on the organization and the agenda they have. People and organizations who do not vaccinate are going to present the data in a certain way, just as pro-vaccine people are going to present the data in another way. It is difficult to shift through the data, espeically if you don't know the medical lingo. It is frustrating for the parent who is trying to find OBJECTIVE and neutral information about the subject.

2 years ago while doing grad work at UNT in Denton, I took part in a study that investigated the anti-vaccination movement in Denton County (I wouldn't really call it a movement, but that was the language used). One thing I would do if I were you is to call the Health department of whatever county you live in and find out how many cases they had of mumps, measels, rubella, polio, spinal menengitis, pertosis, etc. The statistics may alarm you. We think many of these things have been eradicated but that is false. One of the reasons is the large number of immigrants we have and these people are coming from places where these diseases are still a problem and they do not have vaccines (I am not downing immigrant, that is just one of the reasons). Just because your child is at home does not mean that s/he is completely protected.

Most pediatricians will work with you on a delayed or spaced out schedule. I would hesitiate to take advice from people who are completely anti-vaccine because usually that is coming from a place of emotion rather than reason. It is heartbreaking to hear about an autistic child and most of the time it is those parents who are so strong in their opinions. I am just saying this based on the 35 couples we interviewed for the study. One of the things that frustrated me the most was hearing "if everyone else gets their kids vaccinated then I don't have to." That is just plain selfish and unfair.

You need to seriuosly read: www.thinktwice.com

It can happen to your child, it happened to mine.
Educate yourself dont be stupid and above all DONT listen to your STUPID pediatrician. They are the worst bunch.

You probably opened a "Pandora's Box" with this question as people are quite opinionated on the topic (like breast feeding), and you know what they say about opinions! I can tell you this, I too was concerned because of the supposed autism connection and the fact that my husband and his brother both had adverse reactions to the MMR. I did a lot of reading on the subject. One book I highly recommend is "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell. For my own child, my husband and I wrote out our own vaccination plan and gave it to our doctor. We did not let anyone bully us into doing something we didn't feel comfortable with. We never let her get more than two shots at time and only if she had those previously individually and had not had a reaction. This was a good plan for us because she eventually did have an adverse reaction to one vaccine. We are now dealing with enamel hypoplasia on her teeth because of it. She has over $7000 worth of dental work including six stainless steel crowns.

She is six now and is only behind in Heptitis B. I just couldn't justify giving an infant that one and had planned to wait until she was a preteen, but changed my mind recently and went ahead and started the series. (so far, so good) She never had the chicken pox vaccine. We waited and hoped she would just get the chicken pox and have a stronger immunity than the vaccine. She had it last April. I do not think that that particular vaccine is effective as a large outbreak among vaccinated children occured a few months ago in my child's elementary school. We did have to have a titer test to prove she had immunity for her school records. I also had to sign an affidavit for exemption of immunizations that she had not had yet for the school as well.

The bottom line is that you have to do what you feel is right for your child. You also have to remember that as a parent, it is your job to advocate for your child. Educate yourself and don't let anyone bully you.

Hi! I also did the same thing with my kids as a matter of fact the Dr made me feel horrible about me not getting his shots, its not that im not its just that im waiting till they get older, i think i was really worried about the mmr too!! My aunt is a speech therapist and she was the one that told me to worry about the shots becasue she was seeing this one kid and she said like the very next day after he had the mmr he changed!! I dont know its scary thinking about your children! I understand i would just hold off!!

Spreading your vaccinations out is a really good idea. Especially seperate out the MMR into 3 different shots. Make sure all the vaccines your child gets are thimerosol free.

I am the mother of a child with autism, and I don't think autism is caused by one vaccination or a certain virus within a vaccination. I believe it is assault after assault on a child with an already weakened immunue system.

Before each vaccination make sure to boost your child's immune system and the slower they receive them the better to give the body a chance to recoop.

My daughter actually started showing signs around 9 months. She would crawl around and chase her brother. Then one day, she just stopped looking up. She would run into walls and her interest in people decreased.

This is a decision every parent has to research and decide for themselves. I blindly followed my pediatrician and got all of my daughter's shots on schdeule because I thought I could trust him 100%. Although I believe his heart is good, he is not there now to pick up the pieces as I pay over $3000 in therapy a month, and my 5 year old daughter can't have a normal conversation with me. Nor is the APS supporting any of the therapies that have helped my daughter, so insurance won't pay.

Sorry to vent, I just wish I would have researched a little more.

It is a really hard decision. The best of luck to you.

J.

BTW - Yes, the odds are small that something will happen, but the odds don't matter much when it is your child and your life.

S.,
I have a 10 month old son who's vaccinations I have deferred. The last vaccinations that he got were the ones recommended for a four month old. He got those at 7 months. I nurse my little guy and he is extremely healthy. The truth of the matter is that there really isn't a set time when babies should get their vaccinations. And with all the rumblings in the news about autism, I rather that my son be older and stronger before a pour untold amounts of drugs and live viruses into his tiny little body.

I have an AWESOME doctor I would recommend you try. He's a chiropractor, but his office is more of a wellness center. He has 6 VERY HEALTHY kids, so you can be sure he practices what he preaches and know a lot first hand. He is a weatlth of information and has lots of books in his office that you can check out and read all on different topics including immunizations.
His name is Dr. Brantley. ###-###-####. He is in Mckinney.
Tell him you were referred by J. Hasselman and you can get your work up for like $20-30 bucks.
Also he knows doctors in the area that are more supportive of not vacinating or waiting till the children are older.
Another good website to check out is www.909shot.com
Also you can get a waiver for your kids when they are school age if they aren't immunized, or you are doing the immunzations seperately (like MMR) and don't have them all for school. I have these for my two oldest kids. He has helped my family A LOT. If fact the kids have barely been sick at all since we started going to him, and the couple times they got the runny nose, fever, or earach, we had them good as new in about 24-48 hours, instead of the 5-10 days I remember as a kid.
Hey, when you know better, you DO better.
Good Luck!
J. Hasselman
____@____.com
mom of Branden,6;Abigayle,3; and Victoria 7months

We have waited on almost all of the vaccinations. We did go ahead and do the dtap (all 4 doses) but waited a couple of months on the early doses. Our dr. felt like as a tiny infant this shot was important to prevent pertussis. Our son is 18 months old and has hardly even had a sitter. I stay home with him so he's been pretty protected. Our pedi. has been good about it. She tries to do her job of educating us on the vaccines but doesn't push the issue at all. We are just now about to enroll him in MDO and will have to submit an affadavit saying we choose not to vaccinate for conscience reasons. We also will probably vaccinate down the road but will not do all of them and will not do more than one at a time. I see no need for the chicken pox (varicella) vaccine and am incredibly afraid of the MMR. I know that the MMR is available as separate shots instead of the cocktail but it still scares me. Trust your feelings on the issue. Don't let someone talk you into something that you aren't sure about. There's no harm in postponing until your child is a little bigger. Good luck.

Cnn.com has had a series this week about autism--http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/news/autism/

Also, the CDC has a website about the additives in the vaccines. Primarily the one in question with the MMR and autism possible (not scientifically proven) link is Thimerosal. Here's the website:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm

At the very least, the vaccine for pertussis is really important (whooping cough). There are cases of pertussis in our county regularly, and it's so dangerous for babies and toddlers. Adults and teens can get pertussis (even those that have been vaccinated--the vaccine wears off after about 10 years) and usually are the ones that give it to babies. Pertussis in a vaccinated person can be mild--looking like any other respiratory illness with a cough.

Just some thoughts.

Good luck!

S.,

I have a B.S. degree in Community Health. When I got the degree in 1994, there were a whole lot less immunizations required than there are today. If I had a child the age of yours, I would hold off and do some research.

I believe there is a connection between the number and kind of immunizations children are required to take, and autism. It's better to err on the side of caution.

T.

Hi S.,
You can tell I'm really bored today since I went back and found you some recent posts on Mamasource that can offer you some additional info to the responses to get today. This topic appears on a very regular basis here so you should be able to find even more if you want. My kids were all vaccinated on schedule so I can't really give you any advice on delaying just thought I'd send you these extra links, too.

http://www.mamasource.com/request/18232268937549053953/12...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/87...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/87...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/87...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/87...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/87...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/99...

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13761320407476994049/99...

Save yourself and your child a whole lot of heart ache AND DON'T VACCINATE!!!!! They are laced w/ aluminum, mercury, latex, chicken embryos, monosodium glutamate, microorganisms, gelatin, human and animal cells, yeast, bacterial and viral DNA etc. (lots more) I've done so much research on this stuff its not even funny. The center of vaccine injury has admitted "vaccines do cause autism" They just said it the other night on Larry king Live. Jenny Macarthy is leading the fight against vaccines and vaccine injury after her son flatlined after vaccines. They were able to revive him and then diagnosed him w/ autism. Vaccines also have been linked to: autism , juvenile diabetes, rhematoid arthritis, language difficulties, asthma, allergies, ADHD, brain tumors, cancer, osteosarcoma, lupus, abnormal behavior, deafness, seizures, dyslexia, SIDS, vision problems, irratibility, etc. (just to name a few) btw This is all documented scientific evidence. Just don't do it. This should tell you something. In 1976 even in 1983 we had 10 vaccinations. Now we have 36 injections all of which have 3-4 diseases in them. The rate of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. In 2004 it was 1 in 250 births. Now it is 1 in 150. Neither one of my boys are vaccinated and they are both happy, healthy, and advanced. They will eventually change the vaccination schedule, because it is making too many children autistic.

I have a PhD in molecular biology and my husband has an MD. The ingredient that was singled out to "cause" autism has been removed from the immunizations and has been for 4 years now. The connection with autism is more genetic in nature. The rise in autism is due to the lastest changes in diagnosis. It has been broadened so now more kids are being classified within this diagnosis. What you should be more concerned about is the possible exposure of your child around other kids at grocery stores, playgrounds, etc. Even adults can carry some of the diseases. The unvaccinated children are the ones who cause the epidemics. I think you should go ahead and vaccinate. I have three kids and all were vaccinated, my eldest was vaccinated with the thimersol in the shots and is fine. Just use your best judgement.

I agree with you. My daughter is now 1 and I said no more shots after her first visit. I am waiting until right before she starts school. My daughter has never been sick or had an ear infection!! I have breastfed her and I plan to wean her at 15 months. I say wait...my daughter isn't in daycare either. If you are a sahm....you should be fine

I'm glad to hear that you will get your son vaccinated. I have not delayed any of my daughter's vaccinations and I am glad I didn't. You never know when your child will be exposed to something. The sooner you can build up your child's defenses the better. The full dose of MMR is not given until his four year check-up. (My daughter just got hers) The atutism thing is extremely rare and has not been totally proven yet, but measles and chicken pox are real. And they can make kids very sick. I also beleive that the healthiest kids are the ones who play in the mud, run barefooted and are constantly around other kids. This builds up their immune system and keeps them healthy way more than the kids who's moms follow them around with sanitizer.

You can get individual MMR vaccines from the Health Department (as opposed to combined, which your pediatrician will offer).The problem seems to be with the preservatives in the combined vaccines.

My daughter is 13 months and has had almost all of her vaccines to date. Because of the controversey that is currently surrounding vaccinations my pedi has postponed her MMR vaccine until she is 15 months. There are some vaccines that they need to have for the simple fact that it will help keep them well. But like I said this was our pedi's advice to wait and I trust her so we waited. Talk to your pedi and see what they recommend. HTH!!

J. H
Texas

I would do it. I have started delaying the schedule I spread it out for mine...

good luck, listen to YOUR instincts

A.

I have read a lot lately about autism, and there is actually more disproving the relationship between vaccinations and autism than there is proving it. The rumor that there is a link really doesn't have any backing. It's just one of those things that has caused a scare, and there isn't a need for it. I wouldn't delay vaccinating. The recommendation for the MMR is 12-15 months old, so if it makes you feel better, I would do it at 15 months. But I wouldn't delay it any longer than that. Good luck!

I am waiting to vaccinate my 16 mo. old boy on 2 of the vaccines. My ped. recommended waiting on the MMR and the chickenpox until he is talking and even mentioned waiting until his 2 year checkup. I think these are the 2 live vaccines.

I am not a doctor, but I would strongly recommend waiting if at all. My son was a perfectly normal child, Baby of 5 children, until he reached about 18 months. He was talking and developing and then all of a sudden some of his vocabulary was just gone. We struggled with speech delay and many behaviors that we had never seen before in any of our children. At 6 years of age and after 3 years of back and forth to specialist, we finally have a reasoning...a mild form of autism. After talking with the school and doctors and therapists, this is becoming more and more common in these children with these behaviors.

My daughter has not ever been vaccinated. She is very happy, healthy and intelligent! I strongly recommend not vaccinating!
sandy

First of all in response to someone mentioning that these diseases have not been eradicated - at least one of them has. Polio has been eradicated in the Americas since 1994. The only cases of polio since 1979 were caused by the vaccine itself and not by the wild polio virus.
Also, not all anti-vax opinions are the result of emotion. My opinion comes from months of research. I personally don't have anyone in my life who was vaccine injured. The conclusions I've come to with the vaccine issue are a result of gaining knowledge, not from my emotions.

We're doing a delayed / selective schedule with our 7 month old. I'm waiting until age 2 for the Dtap and then at age 3 I'll start the MMR, but split up into the separate vaccines and not all three given at once. My doctor - Dr. Bain in Frisco - splits up the MMR.
I've heard Dr. Sears new book on vaccines has a delayed schedule many people like. Dr. Stephanie Caves also has a delayed schedule. I sort of made up my own - and took notes from Generation Rescue as well.
Good Luck! You're doing what's best for your child by considering this issue seriously. The vaccine program in America desperately needs to be revamped and made safer for our kids.

We also have chosen to delay and selectively vax. I highly recommend "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears. It's very easy to read and is full of good info.

You MUST do what feels right as a Mom. There is absolutely nothing wrong with delaying vaccines until your baby's immune system is stronger....after the age of 2, and also spreading out the immunizations as to not overload the body and create a chemical cocktail. I think it is essential that moms become advocates for their babies, do some reseach, and make a decision, instead of allowing the decision to be made for us by doctors and pharmaceutical companies. YOU know what is right for your baby and there are plenty of other parents that are doing the same thing. Be strong and get all the information you can :)

S.,
As a mother of an autistic child I recommend that you spread out the vaccines as a precaution. In 1980 there was only 1 in 10,000 kids diagnosed as autistic. Since then the vaccines have tripled and there are 1 in 150 kids diagnosed as autistic in the U.S. England has 1 in 58. New Jersey is 1 in 90. You do the math! Just spread them out - especially the 18 months and 2 years vaccines. The MMR used to be seperate, now they are given together.
Studies have been done in the U.S. which dismiss the link between vaccines/mercury and Autism. But never has there been an INDEPENDENT study done on Autism statistic for kids with vaccines versus kids without vaccines. The CDC has done their own "studies". That is like asking Osama Bin Ladin to investigate Sept. 11th.
I just read an article about 10,000 Amish people in Lancaster Pennsylvania. They have NO autistic kids! They thought they found one - but that kid was adopted into the Amish community. Amish people don't use electricity, preservatives or hormones in their food and they don't give their kids vaccines! There is an environmental trigger for sure. Play it safe. Be your child's advocate! Make sure there is no thimerisol perservative in the vaccine. Ask for the lot number and date on the vaccine and write it down. The schools are pretty understanding about this now - so don't worry about your child being caught up to go to school - there are waivers you can sign.
Don't mean to scare anyone. This is just my personal advice. I wish I could go back 10 years and know what I know now.
God bless!
E.

Hi S.,

This was a very hard decision for me as well...after doing a lot of research and a lot of praying, I decided to opt out completely from doing vaccines for my boys. I certainly want to do what's best for them and as hard as this decision was to make that was the conclusion I came to. Not to say that any Mother who decides to vaccinate their children is not doing what's best for their children. All you can do is be their best advocate...like you are doing by asking such an important question and come to a decision you feel with your heart and mind is best for your family and not base your decision on "well if everyone else is doing it...it must be okay." I commend you for taking their best interest at heart and waiting is a good idea. Here is a video clip you can watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrIM2hwrLoc: God bless you in your decision.

BTW...my pediatrician tried to assure/convince me that there was NO risk/connection with vaccines and autism, it's so sad but her 4 year old was recently diagnosed with autism and she now thinks it was the vaccines.

I just addressed this issue with my son and daughter-in-law today. They were on their way to have my 8-month old grandaughter vaccinated. I just ask them if they had heard the news that you were talking about and maybe they should call my son's best friend who works with autistic children and see what he thought about it. The friend told them if it were his child he would wait. Evidently there is mercury in the vaccinations and if it doesn't break down well then maybe there could be a tie to the shots and autism. They decided to wait and research it a little more.

Hi S.,
Just wanted you to know that my good friend's baby died from her Hep B shot (proven by her autopsy) and that I have several other friends whose children (mostly boys--google Dr. Buttar and watch his video--his son had autism and he was able to cure it, but he shows some amazing stuff in his video relating testosterone and not being able to excrete toxins from vaccines and other sources--I would seriously watch this before making my decision ) have gotten autism and they believe that it was the vaccinations based on when the signs showed up in relation to their vaccines.

seems that you already have plenty of advice so I will just add the following . The federal government just admitted that hannah polling's autism was caused by vaccine injury and her family was compensated through a fund specifically set up to pay compensation for vaccine injury. I'll leave you to decide which way the tide is turning on this issue.

You can work with your pediatrician to give your child the MMR as 3 separate shots. We did this with my son and initially I was not happy that he was getting 3 shots instead of just one. However, my son was very brave about getting shots, and it was worth it for my husband's peace of mind. We had to order the vaccines directly, keep them in the refrigerator and take them with us to each appointment, doing 6 moths between shots. Hope this helps.

i've read all the research pro and anti vaccinations, and have gotten all vaccinations on the prescribed schedule. i see no link between vaccinations and autism that has been firmly proven. i see a few instances that some people want to blow out of proportion, and then ignore the facts. vaccinations save lives! remember that!

Sounds like you have a good plan. Hold off on the vaccinations until the last possible time frame. The older your child is, the more his immune system can develop with out the vaccines.

OK, first of all I'm glad you do plan on eventually vaccinating. I am a pediatric physical therapist so I see kids with autism and have been educated on some of the research behind autism. In my opinion, the parents who do not vaccinate their kids at all are playing a little bit of russion roulette because many of the diseases can be deadly if you catch them, and are completely preventable (granted, some of the other vaccinations like for chicken pox are more for comfort measures). And the one mom's statement about diseases NOT being completely eradicated is completetly true. While there may not be documented cases in the states of certain diseases like polio, with our open borders and immigration, many other countries do not immunize like we do and you can not predict what diseases can be brought over; that's why we continue to immunize so that we are immune if exposed to certain diseases. There is so much research regarding vaccines and autism, and results are conflicting. The bottom line is this: they don't know exactly what causes it, but they do know that there is a genetic AND and environmental trigger involved. It's pretty much been ruled out that the actual shot itself is the cause, and as several mom's mentioned, the current meds do not contain mercury and are much safer. There is some link between shots and autism however, and they believe that the REACTION caused by the shot is the real culprit (fever, allergic reaction, etc.) In general, if your son has not had reactions with his shots in the past, he is probably OK. However, I see nothing wrong with spreading out the shots as long as you keep track and get them all sooner than later. (a friend of mine is an occupational therapist and she says when she has kids she does not want her kids to have more than 2 or 3 shots given at a time, because the kids she treats tend to react with fever, etc. after having a series of 4 or more shots at once). My husband is a physician assistant, so he is also educated in this area, and we are choosing to have both of our children on the traditional vaccination schedule. My oldest is 3 and is perfectly normal, my youngest is 4 months and so far has had no problems or adverse reactions. Good luck, your son is lucky to have a mom who cares enough to do the research and be educated.

Hi S. B, My 7 year old son has not had any vaccinations since he was 2. He has only been to a medical doctor once during that 5 year time and that was this past November when he got a viral rash and I knew that the chiropractor couldn't help him. Of course, the Medical doctor was a waste of money too because, it was something that just had to run it's course and they couldn't do anything for him. What they tried to do to help him just made it worse. Anyway, you do not have to vaccinate you child even when they are in school. My son is healthy and happy. I am forever grateful to the chiropractor that taught me so much about the harms of vaccinating.

Good luck in your decision.
J.

The original study between autism and vaccinations was done in Great Britain and involved a very small focus group. 12 I believe. Since then the AMA, pediatricians and several other groups including autism organizations have studied this and nothing has been proven. There is nothing to link the two. It just happens that children start regressing between 16 and 18 months with autism and that is when they get the shot. The preservative was taken out of the shots over 7 years ago and autism is still on the rise. 1 in 150. I believe the biggest reason is a broader definition and better diagnosing.
Please talk to your Dr. about this before deciding. I am old enough that I had measles and mumps as a child and you don't want your child to do that.

Hi, There is a web-site, www.NVIC.org, which stands for National Vaccine Information Center. It was started by 2 women years ago who had children injured by vaccinations. It has lots of info. My children are 20 and 18 and have not been vaccinated. They are very healthy and have been ill very rarely. Hope this helps. jy

When I realized my son had autism (I told my ped) I stopped vaccinating him and his older sister. My typical daughter had always had bad reactions to vaccines. Dr. Cave's book What your Doctor May Not Tell You about Vaccinations may be helpful to you.

We are using a delayed immunization schedule for our little boy, who is now 2. He will be getting all his shots, just slowly and more spread out.

I used the book "What Your Doctor May Not Be Telling You About Children's Vaccinations" as a guide. I typed up a revised immunization schedule and gave it to my pediatrician to follow.

We have been unable to find anyone who will separate the MMR vaccine (it comes all together now.) I will probably just wait until he is 5 before giving that one.

Good Luck!

Delay! if possible! Just INFORM yourself with pros and cons of vaccinating. The drs will ask and insist ytou do it at the time required. but you know your child and are ultimately responsible for him. Stand up as a parent! if you don't, who will??

Examinations of the study that originally connected autism to vaccines have proven it to be extremely flawed, and no loink has ever actually been found between autism and vaccinations. I watch a neighbor of mine struggle horribly with polio and it kills me that one shot could have saved her whole family so much pain.

My son has autism. I don't know if vaccines trigger autism in some children, but I am sure that they did not cause my son's autism. Looking back, we can see unusual behavior and red flags going all the way back to the day he was born.

I found this really informative website...
Hopefully it will help you.

It's called PROVE (Parent's Requesting Open Vaccine Education)

http://vaccineinfo.net/

Just wanted to comment on the problem with getting into school without their vaccines...it is not a problem. You just have to fill out paper work and give it to your school. (You do have to renew every two years.) The paperwork comes from Austin. I know you have a long time before you need this but it can be a concern. Good job on caring enough about your child to ask the tough questions!

First and most importantly, trust your instincts. If you want to delay, then delay. Your intuition is sending you a message to delay so I would trust that. I delayed some of the vaccinations, too, and was glad I did. And when it came time for the MMR in my first born, I requested them to separate them out instead of doing them as a combo. I can't remember but either they complied, or they couldn't separate them so I chose to only do MMR without any other vaccines that day. Then I waited 2-3 months for the next vaccine. For some reason with my second child, I asked lots of questions and didn't delay with her, even though she had tons of food allergies! Go figure. Bottom line: trust your instincts. Both of my kids are healthy at ages 8 and 4 1/2. Good luck!

Hi S. B.,

I actually chose not to complete all vaccination for my son, past 15 mos. He, unlike your boy, was getting sick after every round, so I made the decision to stop and he has been much healthier ever since. But there are some people who choose to do 1 shot at a time and spread them out and have better results in determining if there will be any sensitivities or issues. Before opting to not vaccinate I actually logged onto the CDC website and read up on children who were at most risk for severe reactions to vaccinations and to get a list of what is actually in each one being administered. That might help you in your research, as well. Since my son had sensitivy, (not that your's does or ever will) I also decided not to vaccinate my daughter at all. She is the healthiest out of the two. She and my son are around kids all the time and have no problems with regard to immunity.

And let's say you choose not to vaccinate. No problem, as far as schools go. You can get the legal documentation from the state of Texas that gives your child the right to be in school. All schools must honor the documentation, since you have followed state protocol. I hope I have helped.

Good luck and Kudos to you for your willingness to consider a slower, if not different approach. Bottom line...only you can make the best decision for your child, because every child is unique.

:)

S.,
I too had questions about vaccinations. I found lots of answers in Aviva Jill Romm's book, Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parrents Guide. Aviva is a midwife, herbalist, and med student at Harvard Medical School. She writes a very well researched book.

I advise you to do the research needed to make an informed choice, and then follow your heart and your intuition.

Good luck,
V.

I have three daughters, ages 14, 12 and 6 years old. I started out vaccinating my children with the first child and as I became aware of some of the potential dangers, began to taper off. My six year old only received the Hepatitis shot in the hospital when she was born, but has not received any after that. She is healthy and happy. The main problem with vaccines, in my opinion, is the way they are administered. An infant's system is not made to take a series of vaccines like that and within such a short period of time. We have a great family doctor who does not push vaccinations. They never pressured me and actually supported our decision not to vaccinate. The other option would be a modified vaccination schedule, where your child only receives one vaccination at a time and waits six months or more to receive the next one. My doctor suggested this if we ever wanted to begin vaccinations. She also said we could just wait until they were older and their bodies could handle it. This has been, for me, the most balanced information I've heard regarding the matter. We plan on doing some international travel in the near future and will plan on finding out what vaccinations would be best for them to receive before then. Hope this helps. Just remember, you are the parent and don't feel pressured by anyone to do something that you don't feel is best for your children.

Dear S.,
I strongly believe you should educate yourself and speak to your chiropractor before you make your decision. Check out this link...
www.nvic.org
My best friends son (Jacob) was diagnosed with austism at an early age. Many years of heartache all due to vaccines.
We had our older children vaccinated because we had no idea what was in the vaccines. I feel it should be a a team effort for doctors to work with the parents TOGETHER for the best interests of your child. Never let your doctor pressure you into vaccinating your children! One of my daughters had a horrible reaction to her last dtp shot and she is fine now but it was very taumatic for the whole family. The nurse made me feel like I was overreacting and this was normal and not to worry but I knew something was not right. Definitely if you have any reservations follow your instincts. Me and my husband made our decision and we are not vaccinating our children because the risks are too highand our girls are way too precious. I hope you have peace with making your decision.
Blessings!

BTW I agree with everything Jennifer B said!!!

my son is also 8 months old and we have not had him vaccinated at all. i do plan on getting some of his vaccinations, but i am hoping to wait until he enters pre-school. i just think i want to wait until he is a little older and his little body can handle those medications better. i have done a lot of reading as well and i also have a close friend whose son is 8 years old and has mild autism. he developed the signs shortly after his first rounds of vaccines, now we know that it can't be proven.....but i would prefer not to risk it. good luck with whatever decision you make. no matter which way you go, people will have strong opinions about it. Just trust yourself, you know what is best for you child.

S.,

You received a lot of responses....I did research and delay my childrens vaccines and have the recommendations from a book I read "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Childhood Vaccines" in a spreadsheet....email me if you need them as a resource. If you need the MMR separated...I have a contact for that too....I will attach it as well.
http://www.amazon.com/What-Doctor-About-Childrens-Vaccina...

Go with your instincts....

My email is: ____@____.com

Hey S.,
I have 2 children, my little girl 2, and little boy almost 8 mths. I started out having my little girl vac. on schedual. We missed her 12 mth and went at 18mths to get caught up. They ended up giving her all the shots at once that she had missed. She had 7 shots all at on visit! I felt like a horrible parent and everyone at the drs office made me feel the same way. Including my pedi. who told me how bad it was going to be for her and then stood at the door laughing at us because my little girl was screaming to the top of her lungs. I soon after that started hearing about all the vac. issues and decided to wait on both children until I felt like it was time. My son has only had the vac. that they give in the hospital when they are born. I am a SAHM and the only time my kids are around other children (besides family) is when they are in bible class at church. I plan on homeschooling so I am not worried about the school issues. I probably will end up getting some of there vac. when all is said and done, but I plan to wait till both of there little bodies can handle it. I admire you for listening to your instincts, and I am happy to hear that I am not alone in this matter.

My pediatrician said there is nothing wrong with waiting on the MMR until 18 months.

I copied this from the American Academy of Pediatrics

From time to time, rumors circulate that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once used in several vaccines (and still used in some flu vaccine), could contribute to ASDs (autism). However, valid scientific studies have shown there is no link. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association (AMA), the CDC, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) agree that science does not support a link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism. For the IOM report, please go to http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3793/4705/4717.aspx

The risk your child could have if he DOESN'T get vaccines can be a life or death situation. I guess you have to research the facts and decide 1)what you believe and 2)if the risk of autism (if you believe it can come from vaccines which I don't)is scarier to you than the risk of the disease that can be prevented.

I was a teacher (for 8 years) of students who have autism (and other severe special needs). I know that some of those children did not have their vaccines though most did. I also believe that autism is over diagnosed much as ADD/ADHD is. If your child does not have the vaccine they will have to stay home every time the epidemic pops up at school. Also they risk carrying the disease to school putting other who haven't had the vaccine and pregnant women at risk. When I was pregnant we had a scare atmy school and I had to have tests done... very frightening!

i did sooooo much research studying the pro's and con's of vaccinating. i did not vaccinate my now 5 and 9 year old daughters. they are a picture of health. you would definitely be saving your child from a battle with allergies as the over-vaccinating is one of the reasons. and yes i would definitely recommend waiting and vaccinating at an older age to allow for the child's immune system to have a chance to establish. good luck!

S., this is a very touchy subject for many. I have 2 children. A 4 and 6 year old. They both have stayed up on their shots and will continue. I have read all the responses and I understand everyones point of view, but unless you plan on homeschooling your child he needs to be caught up by the time he starts kindergarten. When my son started school the school relized that he was missing one of his vaccinations. It ended up being that it was just not written on there. She kept reminding me until we got a updated record.
My personal opinion, but shots have to be a certain distance apart and if you wait too long to start then he may not have them all up to date when it's time for school.
We all just want to do the best thing for our kids. I just have too many people in my family that are in the medical field. I hear what can happend if you don't vaccinate.
Pray.. God will help you make the right decision.

I know this is a hot topic right now and that it tends to be the fad for the decade. However, I too have lots of concerns with vaccinations for my 9 week old daughter. We have chosed to have her vaccinated according to Dr. Sears revised schedule found in his "Vaccine Book". It is a great book with simple explanations and doesn't ever tell you what to do. I recommend it. Good luck on your decision with your precious little one. The best advice I have gotten regarding this issue is to do what ever I think is best for my child. Nobody can tell you what is right or wrong for you and your family.

Since he's already had most of them nothing new will happen now, the only possiblity is if he were to get a brand new vaccine. And even then the odds are incredibly small he'll have any reaction. That's what people are blaming Autism on, an allergic reation. If you decide to delay his vaccines now you will probably have to start completely over. I would check all the facts before making a decision like this.

I understand your concerns. We went through the same thing. We decided to delay most of the vaccines. We started really slow with the ones with the least amount of risk and didn't do more than one at the time. We waited for the MMR until our son was 4 years old. By that time we thought there was less risks and he also had a couple more the same day ( hep A and B)I stayed home with my son too. He'll catch up eventually by the time he starts kindergarten. Here's the name to a useful book "What your Doctor May bot tell you about Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave M.D.Hope this helps.

I would not delay. There is case of measles in my state, and more in Arizona. It is airborne. My son has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I believe it did not come from vaccinations. It was something he was born with, I noticed signs from the day he was born. There is no cure for Autism. There are treatments that help the children adjust, but you cannot "cure" it.