TaLkIn TuEsDaY

Autism and Immunizations.....are they related?? So this has been something that I have heard about alot lately and because of that it's been on my mind. Mainly because I have always done immunization on my kids but also whether to continue or not if this could be a factor. I did a little research about it on the internet, in defining Autism this is what it said;Autism (often referred to as autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger's syndrome, or pervasive developmental disorder) is a complex developmental disability -- a neurological derangement that affects the functioning of the brain. This condition usually appears during the first three years of life and often strikes following an early childhood of apparently normal development. Mental and social regression are not uncommon. Although the severity of the affliction varies from child to child, the following symptoms are typical: inadequate verbal and social skills, impaired speech, repetition of words, bizarre or repetitive behavior patterns, uncontrollable head-banging, screaming fits, arm flapping, little or no interest in human contact, unresponsiveness to parents and other people, extreme resistance to minor changes in the home environment, self-destructive behavior, hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, and an inability to care for oneself. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said they have done some studies but have found no direct cause for Immunizations causing Autism other than the facts people have reported and often noticed "signs" after the MMR vaccine had been given to their child. The MMR is the Vaccine for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. This Vaccine is usually given to children between the ages of 12 months to 15 months and again with the rest of their Booster shots usually between ages 4 and 5 right before they go to kindergarten. In doing my research here is what else I found as far as the side effects with the MMR. The regular ones as far as low grade fever, soreness and crankiness. Severe allergic reactions (low probability in all vaccines), deafness, seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness, and permanent brain damage. These are SIDE EFFECTS, and these have all been proven and linked to the MMR, although some are rarer than others still very scary. The Dept. of pediatrics did a case studies with 12 children, 9 of which had been diagnosed with Autism. The Onset of behavioral symptoms was associated by the parents with MMR vaccination in 8 of 12 children. In these studies they state that “We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described.“ The reasons behind it were there were too few cases (only 12 children), no healthy controls for comparison, and no reported time period during which cases were identified. Although they have been giving the MMR vaccine I believe after the 1950's and the first cases of Autism were reported in 1943. Since then it has increased so whether the vaccines have helped speed things along or this all happens to be a complete coincidence. In Utah it was reported that 1 in 79 boys have autism. Autism seems to run more frequently in boys than girls. They also said that "more children will be diagnosed with Autism this year than AIDS, diabetes, and cancer COMBINED. That is so crazy to me. I also read alot of these mothers stories and they stated that they had very normal kids some even smarter and moving along in their speech and motor skills alot earlier than normal. They said after they had the MMR's done that the motor skills and behavior changed drastically. This is all so scary to me especially since I have been all about Immunizations from the beginning. I also learned that Autism can be controlled so to speak. Jenny McCarthy was on Oprah one day and her son has Autism. She said she had cured him by changing his diet and with a few supplements and such. I just wanted to make you guys more aware because I had no idea about any of this until I did the research and I don't know about you but my childrens pediatricion never has said anything. This is difinantley something I will be talking to him about. Especially if it is something I can control as a parent, not to mention all the other stuff we have to worry about. That wraps it up for another Talkin Tuesday!