Vaccines....the cause or not?

So, I've been thinking since before I started this blog how I would broach this subject. This is a tricky one and you'll get different opinions from different people on it. Even parents of autistic kids will disagree as to whether or not they feel vaccines are the cause of autism. I will say that my views and opinions are just that, MINE. They are based off of medical information that I have been exposed to and studied and have seen with my own two eyes. If you don't like my view on this subject, fine, to each his own. But again....this is my story.

So much has been said the last few years especially in the media about whether or not vaccines play a role in autism. As we all know the media can be a double edged sword. It's great in the fact that it can bring attention to much needed topics, like autism. However, it's bad when people use it to solely promote their agenda. I'm sure many of you have heard Jenny McCarthy's views on vaccines causing autism and the attack she launched on the CDC a few years ago. As a person in the medical community AND a mother of an autistic child I was outraged! In reality what she did was scare a bunch of parents into opting out of vaccines for their children. Vaccines that have been around for years, we all got them or a form of them as children, and yet here we are. Vaccines save lives. Autism doesn't kill you, but complications from measles, mumps, rubella, even whooping cough (pertussis) can.

Now, I will say one good thing that came off of Ms. McCarthy's soap box. She did bring much needed awareness to autism and the autism disorder spectrum. She had her celebrity platform on which to speak her opinions, and she did. She got the word out that autism is being diagnosed more now that ever, which is true. More awareness of the disorder will equal more children (and even adults) being diagnosed. Information is HUGE when you are empty handed and searching for answers. As a parent of an autistic child, or any child with a disorder/disease, you want answers. What happens when we don't get the answers we're searching for? We want something or someone to blame. It doesn't help matters, but it makes us feel a little bit better, for awhile.

As I said before, Caleb and his brother received their vaccines (including the controversial MMR) from the same lot, given at the same clinic, on the same day within minutes of each other. Neither child had any post-vaccine fevers, no physical reaction to the vaccine site, didn't even fuss much afterwards. It was shortly before the time Caleb received his vaccines that we started to notice changes in his behavior. The behavior issues progressed as he got older. There was not a dramatic increase in his symptoms after his second dose of the MMR vaccine 2 years after the inital dose. So, in my opinion, vaccines did not cause my child to be autistic.

Some food for thought on the subject. If more parents are opting out of vaccines for their children, why are more children being diagnosed with autism than ever before? Here are some facts from www.autismspeaks.org. It's estimated that 1 in every 110 children will be diagnosed with some form of autism spectrum disorder, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. Current estimates are that in the US alone, one out of every 70 boys is diagnosed with autism.

As a parent you have every right to question anything and everything when it comes to your children and their well being, but, be informed. Do your own research and do what feels right to you. If you feel that too many vaccines are being given at one time, then simply tell your doctor that you want them split up into separate administrations. I've done this with my kids and their pediatrician.