More Vaccinations???

I am the mother of two autistic children, and they were autistic from birth.

Autistic kids need you to stop feeding this fire, because all the money we walk for needs to go to research that is not a dead end. Vaccines do not cause autism and the community does not need to spend one more dime to prove it again. There is no conspiracy. Big pharmacitcal companies employees have just as many autistic kids as the rest of us, one in 110. None of us can espcape that.

Many things happen in childhood that can be blamed because the time is so short. They eat bread, they ride ponies, they get their first pair of real shoes. Not one of these things is said to cause autism, and yet, they happen just like vaccines do. Sometimes there is no one to blame, no one to sue, and no one responsible.

I will tell what I think caused autism. Modern life caused autsim, not that it never existed before modernity, but that because of modern life, kids like mine live. I can tell you without any question that my autistic children would never had lived long enough to be identified as autistic, neither could nurse because that was a motor skill they could not master. If they were able to survive infancy, they would die in a household with an open flame, or the rest of our family would perrish because I would never be able to complete the heavy burden of domestic chores that were needed to keep my family alive while I watched after my developmentally disabled children and kept them from dying. Is the breast best, yes, but it is also a natural selector. No one questioned, because half of all babies died in most families before modern living, including vaccines, gave us the unprecidentied expectation that nearly 100% of our children will out live us. The real epidemic is life. They live, as do children with CP, and down syndrome. They live, some live so well that they go on to have children, and they live...and thier geneic code is replicated.

If your son is going to have autism, he has autism already. That should be a fantastic releif for you, because if you are one of the 110, you don't have to blame yourself for what you should have done to prevent it. It is only because of modernity that you have the luxuery to reject the things that make us safe in the first place.

Coincidence is not causality. Causality is derived from real science, and that is very expensive. We have wasted enough money looking down this path, please, let this one go and don't spread the fear any furhter. It won't help you prevent autism, and it may prolong the search for the cause, and new treatments.

M.

13 moms found this helpful

Please don't skip the vaccine. As both Beth and Martha have stated, the autism -vaccine link has been proven to be invalid, and your son depends upon you to provide for his medical needs.

I also encourage to you look beyond your son and at look at the bigger picture. When parents choose not to vaccinate, it's not just their children who are affected. Other children are put at risk as well; other unvaccinated children can catch vaccine preventable diseases during outbreakes. A few years ago a family at my church lost their 4 month old baby to measles. They had choosen not to vaccinate their 2 year old son; he got measles during a known outbreak in the community, passed it on to his sister, who died. The little boy is now profoundly deaf. His parents have since had him fully vaccinated, but the damage has already been done. They have to live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.

Also, I am immunocompromised due to an autoimmune disorder. It is not my fault. I do what I can to keep myself healthy, but I am at risk for catching communicable diseases, including diseases like measles, whooping cough and the rest, even though I am up to date in my vaccines. I depend on those around me to be vaccinated, including children. I cannot live in a bubble; I have to work to support myself, I have to go to the grocery store to eat, I have to go to the doctor's office where there are other sick people. I have no choice but to live my life.

There are others who are immunocompromised as well, cancer patients, those with lupus and other autoimmune diseases, the elderly, and infants wh aren't fully vaccinated yet. Like myself, they are unable to protected themselves entirely, and depdend on others for protection.

I am not trying to guilt trip you or tell you what to do, but sometimes parents forget about the bigger picture when it comes to vaccines. It's not always just about your child; it's also about the community you live in and the people you come in contact with. Just something to think about.

5 moms found this helpful

The autisim - vaccine link has been dis-proven.
Autism is genetic not brought on by outside forces.
Get him vaccinated so he does not contract something nasty.

4 moms found this helpful

How did you receive the mmr split up when they were discontinued and are going to start be made again but won't be available until 2011? http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2009/05/return-o...

The reason for recomending the prevnar 13 vaccine is because prevnar 7 only is for 7 types of pnuemoccocal while prevnar 13 is for 13 of them.
"Children who have completed the 4-dose series with PCV7: Healthy children who have not yet turned 5, and children with medical conditions who have not yet turned 6, should get one additional dose of PCV13."
The link with autism has been disproven but it was thought that it was linked to vaccines containing mercury. Prevnar 13 does not contain thimerosal or any other mercury containing perservatives.

edited: Also my son is 3 and so it is possible that your child will need to get a hib vaccine. There was a shortage at some point so not all children turning 3 this year received all of the required vaccine for it.

4 moms found this helpful

I don't vaccinate at all. And, I go to a doctor that recommends not vaccinating. She did not even vaccinate her own children. That to me says a lot about the safety or rather the lack of safety with vaccines.

L.

3 moms found this helpful

Personally I keep hoping for dozens of more vaccines:

Aids
Ebola
Malaria

Being the top 3 on my list... although there are about a dozen more merely life altering (like herpes) that also make my "short" list... not to mention the common cold/flu which ON AVERAGE kills 50,000+ people in the United States every year.

If they ever come up with a preventative for cancer, also, sign me up. Nothing is ever 100% but my god... we've got preventatives for the majority of the illnesses that swept the world with only a few left without preventative vaccines... can you imagine ALL of the deadly diseases with preventatives? Never having to worry about AIDs? Or any of the others? Cancer prevented with a shot? Please, god, sign me up. Let it happen in my son's lifetime.

3 moms found this helpful

With the exception of Momof3girls, I agree with the other posts -go ahead with the vaccine! Vaccines do not cause autism. Period. I love Martha R's hypothesis about what DOES cause it, and it makes really good sense. My children have never had any type of adverse reaction to vaccines and I know hundreds of small children and youth who are vaccinated and don't have any issues at all. I don't know one who does due to a vaccine.

3 moms found this helpful

Bravo to Martha for her excellent answer!

I would also add that my older daughter, who is now 8 years old, had to have her Kindergarten shots TWICE! Once before Kindergarten, and then once in Second grade because her pediatrician retired and her medical records were lost in the transition to the new pediatrician. Somehow at the same time her school misplaced her shot records when they remodeled their office, and for the life of me I couldn't find my copy. Because I couldn't be absolutely sure she had been vaccinated for all of those shots, we repeated them. Our new doctor said that it wouldn't hurt, and if she had missed any vaccinations, it would help.

I am pleased to report that after repeating a whole bunch of shots that may not have been strictly necessary, she is no more autistic now than she ever was. Probably because vaccinations don't cause autism.

Please vaccinate your child. He needs you to look out for him. He can't do it for himself at this age.

2 moms found this helpful

Look up the diseases/viruses that they are asking you to vaccinate him against and weigh out the affects and if they are worth getting vaccinated against.
Autism is only one concern that I have with vaccines. Too many too young is not good. The body is still developing and you are bombarding it with vaccines. The immune system is weak and the nervous system is still being developed.
We now live in a prescription drug fog. Its everywhere. Just sit in a doctors office and you'll see more drug reps than patients. On T.V. they try and sell you drugs to correct ever known and unknown condition under the sky (does anyone listen to those side effects, wow), celebrity over doses. That's your epidemic!
Your right to be concerned and to question what you are putting in your body and in your children s bodies.
I wish you well with your personal research and making the right decision for your family.
C.

2 moms found this helpful

Autism is not always birth given, it can be aquired, there are different kinds. The reason vaccinations are blamed for autism is because vaccinations can make it so the body is not prepared for foreign substances by tinkering with our natural ability to create an immune defense. There are a lot of links to autism and gluten allergies, and this is a relatively new developement and there CANT be proof, because clinical trials take much longer to prove and disprove allergies.

You are right to study this, and question this, you are making educated decisions and should continue to take both sides of the argument and make it work for you.

I am not an advocate for non immunizing or for immunizing either, i ride the fence waiting on evidence. My oldest has terrible reactions to most shots, and my youngest has so far been cool with the ones i will actually get for her. I wont do the mmr at all. I've met too many moms and doctors when i was working in a health related field that were entirely too adamant about the dangers of immunizations, whos children i met that appeared often times as if a "light had been switched off" inside them.

Do your educational study and make your own discoveries, and tread lightly.

2 moms found this helpful

This is directly from their site:

"As with any vaccine, Prevnar® may not protect all individuals receiving the vaccine from serious invasive disease caused by S. pneumoniae.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR PREVNAR®
Risks are associated with all vaccines, including Prevnar®. Hypersensitivity to any vaccine component, including diphtheria toxoid, is a contraindication to its use. Prevnar® does not protect 100% of children vaccinated."

The information above coupled with the exposure risk and the fact that my LO is pretty healthy along with the rest of the family will have us opt out.

Here is another quote from an article that came out in 2009 - "US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on vaccines and related biological products has given a near-unanimous endorsement of the pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13" - near -unanimous endorsement? Why wasn't it unanimous? Sorry but if I'm going to have my LO stuck with a needle I want it to be 100% effective such as the small pox vaccination.

As with every vaccination question posted on this site it truly comes down to your own situation and research.

1 mom found this helpful

Parents with autistic children need something tangible to blame it on... and thats why the vaccinations get so much attention (just remember it could be from something we eat or drink as well). If you are uncomfortable with that particular vaccination maybe tell the doc you only want the vaccinations that are required for satisfying elementary school. I always trusted my sons pediatrician and would discuss what these injections were and what they were for prior to my approval. If you trust your doc to give you the facts.....that's how you make your decision.

1 mom found this helpful

Become a fan of Dr. Tenpenny on facebook. Ask questions. You wont ever vaccinate again. They don't work. They do more harm than good. No more shots...PLEASE!

I do vaccinate to protect my kids & others from getting a serious disease I did get updated on my vaccines myself before leaving the hospital after my 3rd child..Autism is in the back of every parents mind it's not going to go away till there is an absolute a cause & cure.More babies born in the last 5 yrs since I had my son 7 yrs ago have Autism or like disorder that is scary I hate to think that if this continues our grandkids will be born with the disorder when will it ever end.The vaccines I rejected YES I did reject some the ones that are required for preschool & in daycare settings I told them that once they reach the preschool enrollment they will receive them till then they are home with me so it's not required.So if you want to vaccinate then do so if not & he gets a disease you'll only be blaming yourself & then again you'd be blaming yourself for letting him get the vaccine if he does get Autism & you believe the vaccine caused it, he is 3 does he have any signs or symptoms of having Autism is the Dr concerned that he will develop it later?There are more vaccines because of the medical science we have today they are protecting us from these disease that are life threating.

I, too, am curious how you split the MMR when it was my understanding that the MMR was no longer being produced that way and has not been for some time (?).

You are wise to ask questions - imho you are not "spreading fear" or doing anything wrong. You are doing what most moms/dads do on this board - seeking the opinions of other moms. Of course that's all it is - a "mom" opinion. When it comes to any medical treatment you should always do your own research AND seek the opinions of multiple qualified health care providers, if necessary, to do what you think is the best interest of your particular child.

I like a book by Stephanie Cave, MD ("What Your Doctor May Not Tell You . . . "). I have also heard good things about Dr. Sears' book (but haven't read it myself).

Here is a web site I like: www.nvic.org .

Whatever you decide, good luck. Just try to gather as much reliable information as you can to make the best decision for your child.