Just curious, any moms deciding/decided not to have their child vaccinated, primarily the MMR vaccine? I know there is a substantial amount of researched linking the vaccine to one possible cause of Autism. What do you all think?
I apologize if this thread has been done before..probably should have researched....
hi
i think there was onestudy suggesting this as a possibility but regarding the evidence base and reliability i don't think that was good in the study. plus autism is often discovered about the age babys get the mmr jab. i am planning to give ds his mmr -sure i will still worry, but these illnesses are making a come back because people stopped immunising against them and they can be fatal illnesses too. each to there own but i shall give the jab to ds i think he gets it at 13 months it may be different in the u.s
The risks of not getting your children vaccinated far exceed the risks of getting them vaccinated. My son (almost 5) is Autistic and I don't think for a minute that his MMR or any other shot caused it. In my family's case it appears to be genetic. My husband hasn't been officially diagnosed yet, but I would bet my life that he has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of Autism. It's so obvious now that I have done so much research, it really makes me wonder why the heck no one else ever noticed it about him, like doctors, teachers, or him mom for crying out loud.
Anyways, there have been recent outbreaks of previously snubbed out diseases like whooping cough, measles and rubella and this is because parents are too scared to vaccinate their children. There is NO evidence whatsoever to link MMR to Autism. Like Weepy said, Autism is discovered in children about the same age they recieve this shot, but parents often say they knew something wasn't right before then. In my case, I knew something was different about Blake when he was teeny tiny and looking back on my pregnancy, things were different even then. He would freak out and act scared when something touched my tummy. He would kick and jerk frantically at a loud noise, and my stomach always looked like a scene from the movie Alien. I read that you can shine a flashlight on your preggo belly and the baby will turn towards it, so DH and I decided to ty it. Well it horrified Blake and took him forever to settle back down. He kicked and flipped so much I got sick to my stomach. Anyways, I personally have my children up to date on all of their vaccines and I intend to keep it that way. Like I told the pediatrician the other day, I'd rather have an Autistic child than a dead one. I wouldn't change Blake for anything in this world and obviously his Autism was meant to be.
I've studied the research about this issue as I work for a company who produces a product used for some Autistic children. First, there is very little data to go on. To find a causative link, you would need a controlled study with placebo, double-blind etc...this cannot be done, so the information gathered is retrospective. (That is, looking back at cases and trying to make a link) This type of data can be easily misinterpreted! Essentially, you can draw all kinds of conclusions depending on what you "want" to see. Some feel it is a mercury poisoning issue in the vaccinations, but again this cannot be proven. Autism is a mysterious and potentially devastating disease. So, parents and researchers are desperate for answers. There are several types of Autism with varying severity. At this point, the data OVERWHELMINGLY shows that the benefits of vaccinations greatly outweighs the risks. But, do your own research...I mean read the actual studies on-line.
It's funny how your opinion changes on this subject.
While pg with ds#1 I said no vaccinations as I have a friend who reacted to the hep B vaccination and ended up with a seizure disorder. I spoke at length to a homeopath about this (who treated friend for a brief time) and she gave me a bunch of reading to do on vaccinations. I was convinced I didn't want to expose my child to what might be in them.
Then he was born and everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) pressured us to have him done. I did some more reading and honestly felt I was giving in to the pressure. I found out the the prevnar, varivax and mengicate were covered by my drug plan so I decided to do them too (nothing going from one extreme to another!!!). Since then he has been exposed (within days of varivax) to chicken pox, various bugs that often involve ear infections/aches and even a brush with meningitis (exposed to a little friend who'd been exposed to it) and hasn't gotten anything...he's 3.
I work with special needs children and have run into a few parents who believe their children have autism due to vaccinations. Funny thing was 2 of the 3 families who claim this have more than one child with special needs which leads me to the genetic component as a cause.
Anyway, I would say that as scary as it can be to have to go the get the needles (my ds #2 had his first yesterday...he's 2 months) it is worth it to ensure your child doesn't get sick with some of these other childhood diseases that can cause problems of their own...sometime harder to deal with than autism....one of which is encephalitis than can be life threatening and if not, often leaves a person severely physcially and developmentally challenged.
We are not vaccinating. Well, let me rephrase that. We are choosing to selectively vaccinate on a delayed schedule. I'm so up and down on the whole autism thing, but our reasons for doing so are primarily based on the body's inability to properly build immunities when "overloaded" with foreign substances.
I think the vaccination schedule for infants and toddlers is WAY too much on a developing body. Plus, I am exclusively breastfeeding. I know that's not 100% protection, but by doing so, I am essentially teaching her body how to make antibodies in preperation for when we do vaccinate.
It's unfortunate that we can't post links here, as I have A LOT of info on this. But alas, that's my opinion.
Just wondering, to those whose kids don't get what is considered the "standard" vaccinations, how are your children going to be admitted into school?? Don't you have to show proper vaccinations since they're going to be around other children? Or are you planning to homeschool??
Thanks for all your opinions.
Ausomemom2-- Is Blake your first child? Does he have high functioning autism like your husband? That is interesting. I often wonder about my husband.
I also work in the field of special education and a few parents swear that it was the vaccinations that triggered their child's autism. But, nobody truly knows the causes, reasons or when it (Autsim) develops, etc do they ?
Hi Rachel, yes Blake is my first. He is diagnosed as "Autistic", but he is high functioning and is now closer to Asperger's. It's amazing what early intervention can do. He isn't as high functioning as DH, but he is doing quite well. He still has a very long and hard road ahead of him, but he is making huge strides every day. My 9 month old, Joshua, so far seems to be developing typically. Dh, myself and the drs think he has somehow dodged the Autism bullet, but of course we won't know for sure until he is a little older. But he is much different than Blake was at this age and very interactive. Blake didn't call me mama until he was almost 3 years old and I can tell you I almost died of joy the day he finally said it. Now he talks up a storm! LOL They are such amazing children. He is brilliant. He is very advanced as far as reading, math and electronics go. He is a total whiz on the computer. He knows every car make and model, just at a glance. He freaks people out with that one. hee hee. The autistic brain never stops amazing me. Okay, enough of my proud mama ramblings.
Children do not have to be vaccinated to attend school. The school will never tell you that though. In all 50 states there is a waiver that can be obtained. Each state is a little different in what it requires to get a waiver.
I have not done any research on this subject other than what I have learned in school(I'm a nursing student). But the one thing I have to say is that not immunizing your children is really unfair to the children who get the shots. Children without the shots are most likely going to be protected from the illness anyway due to the fact that those who did recieve the shots keep it from being a widespread disease. This is why I do immunize my child. Plus I believe that the pro's far out wiegh the cons.
Yes its definitely scary when they hand you the info packet and you read all of the possible side effects but the diseases that they are preventing are just as or more horrible. I have never heard of a school allowing an unimmunized child to attend. I would def. not feel comfortable with that. If somebody doesn't want to immunize their child they should homeschool. I've worked in daycares and I know they won't take a child who hasn't had their shots. There was actually a 19 year old at the peds office the other day getting hers because she was going to college and they wouldn't let her come without them. She had been homeschooled and her parents didn't want to immunize. Anyway, I understand both sides but I just feel like it's the responsible thing to do. The docs have spent half of their lives in school so I guess they know a thing or two .
If your children are protected from their immunizations why are you so afraid of a child who hasn't had shots? Wouldn't your child be "safe"? And I repeat again, you do not have to be vaccinated to attend public school. Private school is a little bit different as each school can make their own policy about what they want to do. But any public school has to take them if you have a waiver. You can do a search and find this info pretty easily.
If your children are protected from their immunizations why are you so afraid of a child who hasn't had shots? Wouldn't your child be "safe"? And I repeat again, you do not have to be vaccinated to attend public school. Private school is a little bit different as each school can make their own policy about what they want to do. But any public school has to take them if you have a waiver. You can do a search and find this info pretty easily.
I don't know where you live or what you've been told, but I specifically asked my brothers principal this yesterday, and in our city (I live in Ohio), no kid can attend school unless their shots are caught up. He said there ain't any kind of immunization waiver you can fill out here in Ohio. Thank goodness.
And the question about why wouldn't anyone feel comfortable with their immunized kid playing with one who wasn't immunized..... I can understand that thinking. I've had chickenpox before really bad, which they say you can't catch again (who knows). Anyway, I wouldn't want to be socializing with anyone with chickenpox cooties.
Perhaps the person you spoke with was not aware of the waivers. There are three different types of waivers--medical, religious, and philosophical-- all of which are available in Ohio.
I don't know where you live or what you've been told, but I specifically asked my brothers principal this yesterday, and in our city (I live in Ohio), no kid can attend school unless their shots are caught up. He said there ain't any kind of immunization waiver you can fill out here in Ohio. Thank goodness.
I'm affraid your principle was wrong.
All compulsory laws concerning vaccination (including the military) contain exceptions and waivers. It is these protections placed in the laws that you may legally use to exclude yourself and your children. Surprisingly, these exceptions were placed there, not for your sake (although you may take advantage of them), but for the protection of the establishment.
How is this? Let us assume that these exceptions were not there and everyone was actually forced to be immunized. Should a child die or become mentally or physically disabled, the parent would have the perfect case to sue the doctor, the school, the health department, and even the state legislature for enormous damages.
Since they allowed no exceptions, they must accept full responsibility for all the adverse consequences of the law.
However, if exception waivers are placed in the law, the responsibility is then transferred back to the parent. If a child should be injured by immunization, the officials can say, "Well, the parent should have exempted him if they thought there was any danger."
Therefore, there is in truth no such thing as a compulsory vaccination law in this country. They are ALL, in essence, voluntary. The problem is that practically no one in authority will let you know this fact.
When I made the decision about whether or not to vaccinate I made a point of knowing my rights.
If your children are protected from their immunizations why are you so afraid of a child who hasn't had shots? Wouldn't your child be "safe"?
no immunisations give you antibodies to fight off infections/illnesses, they DO NOT stop you getting them period. but if my child picked up measles from another he would not be likely to be as ill as a child who had not benn immunised. personally eachto their own but samhas had all his jabs
I am not giving my 7 month old daughter all immunizations. I feel they give too many shots all at one time. I have so far given the Hib and Pneumococcal vaccinations which protect against the bacterias that can lead to meningitis. I probably would have waited on those, but my my sister and BIL are Paramedics and they are exposed to so much. I will probably get some of the others, but on my own schedule. She will not be getting the HepB or Chicken Pox shot I know for sure. I homeschool my oldest and I will homeschool my new baby also, so I am not worried about any waivers for school, but I know they do exist. My oldest has had all her immunizations and has neurological problems due to the immunizations she received at 12 months of age. However, they claim that the shot that caused her problems has been changed and is no longer linked to neurological damage. It's still so scary though.
He isn't as high functioning as DH, but he is doing quite well. He still has a very long and hard road ahead of him, but he is making huge strides every day. My 9 month old, Joshua, so far seems to be developing typically. Dh, myself and the drs think he has somehow dodged the Autism bullet, but of course we won't know for sure until he is a little older. But he is much different than Blake was at this age and very interactive. Blake didn't call me mama until he was almost 3 years old and I can tell you I almost died of joy the day he finally said it. 
