25% of Parents Think There’s a Vaccine-Autism Link?

1 in 4 parents links autism to vaccines according to a study published in the March 1st Pediatrics, the March 8th New York Times reports.

Even though the 1998 study in The Lancet that first liked autism to the MMR vaccine has been retracted.

Even though 9 out of 10 parents (the study found) think that vaccines do protect their children from disease.

At this point, it seems to me that no study, no science, is going to convince those who believe in a vaccine-autism link, that there isn’t one. indeed, mentioning the word “science” seems to arouse suspicion and uncertainty and cries of conspiracy and complicity among the pharmaceutical companies who make vaccines, scientists, doctors, the CDC. Posts about vaccines receive scads of comments; reading these makes it apparent that many who are concerned about vaccines and “vaccine safety” are not necessarily so informed about, and even invested in, issues pertaining to individuals on the autism spectrum and their needs for programs, services, schools supports.

One such program that I’ve long been in search of is an after-school program for my adolescent autistic son, Charlie. When younger, he was able (with me shadowing him) to participate in a gymnastics class. He also still did speech and other therapy sessions that included a lot of play. Now that he’s older, programs that can really address his needs—Charlie is very athletic and prefers a high degree of physical activity—and challenges when anxious and upset are few and far between. My husband Jim Fisher and I currently are always with Charlie when he’s not in school. We have flexible work schedules so we can do this, but that’s not the case for every family.

Hence I’m trouble to hear about how Kidz Korner, an after school program for autistic children in Newark, NJ, will have to close at the end of the month, the March 8th Star-Ledger reports.

“The number one gap in services, identified by parents completing our annual Family Support Survey, is for after school care,” said Jessica Goldsmith Barzilay, Assistant Director of The Family Resource Network.

Finding care after school hours for children with autism and other developmental disabilities is markedly difficult for parents. Due to the nature of their disabilities, children frequently become isolated from the main stream. Children may require one-on-one assistance with social interactions, behaviors, or communication which most after school programs cannot accommodate without additional, trained staff.

And without after school care, how many parents will not be able to work? Will have to leave their jobs early to take care of their children? Not to mention the opportunities for social interactions that the children will no longer have, without this program.

I may well be wrong but I do suspect that 4 out of 4, and 10 out of 10, parents of autistic children would agree that their child and their family could use more services and supports and programs to better accommodate their child’s needs. It’s not exactly rocket science.

Read more: health policy

Photo by laurakgibbs.

Kristina Chew, Ph.D., Assoc. Professor of Classics at Saint Peter's College in New Jersey. Since 2005, she has been blogging about autism, disabilities, and education, previously at Autism Vox and now at We Go With Him, a daily journal about life with her 12 1/2 year old son. She has recently published essays in Disability Studies Quarterly and in Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum (ed. Kyra Anderson and Vicki Forman).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Nancy M.

12:11PM PDT on May 16, 2010

I heard of autism over 25 years ago.

Perhaps the "link" is simply that the vaccines are given at a certain age and that happens to be the same age at which autism first appears.

A "link" or correlation is NOT cause and effect.

send a green star

Cindy C.

11:44AM PDT on May 16, 2010

OH THERE IS DEFINITELY A LINK AND I HAVE TWO AUTISTIC SONS AND THEY WERE FINE UNTIL THEY HAD THE NEEDLE. IT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED AT ALL AND LIKE I HAVE SAID AUTISM IS BECOMING LIKE A COMMON COLD NOW. IT WAS NEVER HEARD OF ABOUT 15 YEARS A GO.

April L.

7:55PM PDT on Apr 10, 2010

If anyone is still reading this thread, please check out the following link to an interview with Dr. Wakefield himself. Even if you already have your opinion set with regard to him, watch it anyway. Your opinion will probably change.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/10/wakefield-interview.aspx

sandra d.

4:42PM PDT on Mar 31, 2010

Finally the truth is coming out:

"Dr. Paul Thorsen, a central figure behind the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) claims disputing the link between vaccines and autism and other neurological disorders has disappeared after officials discovered massive fraud involving the theft of millions in taxpayer dollars.

Thorsen was a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote several key studies supporting the CDC's claims that the MMR vaccine and mercury-laden vaccines were safe for children.

One of his studies has long been criticized as fraudulent, since it failed to disclose that the increase was an artifact of new mandates requiring, for the first time, that autism cases be reported on the national registry.

Despite this obvious chicanery, the CDC has long touted the study as the principal proof that mercury-laced vaccines are safe for infants and young children. The mainstream media has relied on this study as the basis for its public assurances that it is safe to inject young children with mercury -- a potent neurotoxin -- at concentrations hundreds of times over the U.S. safety limits."

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/central-figure-in-vaccine-coverup-absconds-wit

Cate S.

6:43PM PDT on Mar 28, 2010

Anyone that stil lbelieves that the MMR vaccines cause autism, should access the website of the English investigative journalist Brian Deer, who heroically tracked down the shameful fraud created by Dr Wakefield in 1998. Recently a 'disciplinary panel of Britain's General Medical Council (GMC) ruled last week that Wakefield had presented his research in an "irresponsible and dishonest" way and shown a "callous disregard" for the suffering of the children he studied.' - direct quote from ABC news.

Meanwhile, more must be done to support the families of children with autism. Thank goodness the USA now has a form of universal health care. Let's hope that will mean more of your children with autism will be able to access the healthcare they deserve, which should be their right.

7:55PM PDT on Mar 25, 2010

Lindsey, I read the article for which you posted the url. While this is extremely sad, the article was published in November 2009. Testing for H1N1 stopped in June of 2009 to save resources. Point being, do you personally know if the parents paid to have the H1N1 test done specifically for their son? If they did not, then NO ONE can be sure that it was actually the 'swine flu'. It could have been the another strain of flu, or maybe not even the flu at all, since many sicknesses have the same symptoms. He also had asthma which is a contraindication for any vaccine. I would not have vaccinated him either. It is my bet that no one can even definitively confirm he ACTUALLY HAD H1N1.

I actually HAVE a 7 year old son, and he was not vaccinated. He's never had a flu shot at all and he never will, as long as it's up to me.

I do not like the word autism when it comes to vaccines. I believe that vaccines, in some individuals, cause neurological dysfunction. This may or may not ever be classified as "autism". Maybe for some it will be called ADHD, maybe for some it will never be classified as anything at all. Maybe it will just make life a little harder for them. Harder for them to communicate, learn and get along by themselves when they are older...

The bottom line is that nothing good can come of injecting the ingredients of vaccines into a baby. I believe that people take the human body, and it's ability to compensate, for granted.

7:01PM PDT on Mar 25, 2010

Mom regrets not vaccinating boy who died of swine flu:

http://www.care2.com/news/member/362859877/1436183

6:52PM PDT on Mar 25, 2010

Much information is given to expecting parents (and some is common knowledge) regarding...
-the benefits of breast feeding
-benefits of natural, drug-free childbirth
-the importance of the nutrition of an expecting mother
-no alcohol
-no smoking

Here's the paradox: The child is finally born...and gets injected with the Hepatitis B vaccine within the first 24 hours of life. This vaccine includes:

Brand: Energix
Ingredients: Aluminum Hydroxide, Phosphate Buffers, Thimerosal*, Yeast Protein

Brand: Recombivax
Ingredients: Aluminum Hydroxyphosphate Sulfate, Amino Acids, Dextrose, Formaldehyde or Formalin, Mineral Salts, Potassium Aluminum Sulfate, Soy Peptone, Yeast Protein

Brand: Twinrix
Ingredients: Aluminum Hydroxide, Aluminum Phosphate, Amino Acids, Dextrose, Formaldehyde or Formalin, Inorganic Salts, MRC-5 Cellular Protein, Neomycin Sulfate, 2-Phenoxyethanol, Phosphate Buffers, Polysorbate 20, Thimerosal*, Vitamins, Yeast Protein

These ingreidents are INJECTED, not INGESTED, which only makes matters worse.

HepB is a sexually transmitted disease, and also transmitted through blood. If the mother doesn't have it, then there is NO REASON ON EARTH this vaccine needs to be given during the first 24 hours of life. But it is. Most parents don't even know what HepB is, let alone what's in the vaccine.

This is wrong, and quite frankly, doesn't make sense. But parents go along with it BECAUSE MOST OF THEM DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE.

6:48PM PDT on Mar 25, 2010

"After years of speaking publicly about her belief that MMR shots (immunization for measles, mumps, and rubella) caused her son to suffer from autism, Jenny McCarthy now faces the reality that her 7-year-old son Evan — who no longer shows any signs of autism — may likely have lived with completely different illness.

A new article in Time magazine — which Jenny was interviewed for — suggests Evan suffers from Landau-Kleffner syndrome, “a rare childhood neurological disorder that can also result in speech impairment and possible long-term neurological damage.”

http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2010/02/26/jenny-mccarthy-says-her-son-evan-never-had-autism/

I wonder how many other childen may have been misdiagnosed as having autism?

6:35PM PDT on Mar 25, 2010

"The only safe vaccine is one that is never used."

Well, the only 'safe' automobile is one that is never driven. Because if it's driven, it may accidentally kill someone.

The only 'safe' peanut is the one that is never eaten. Because if it's eaten, it may kill someone who is allergic.

The only 'safe' sex is the sex that never happens. Otherwise, it may give a participant an STD.

The only 'safe' fire is the one that is never started. Because it may start a wildfire.

But, for the majority of people, driving an automobile, eating a peanut, having sex, or enjoying a nice fire on a cold winter's evening are perfectly safe.