Hi D.,
I was actually up most of the night thinking of this very same thing. It has been on my mind allot since I saw a show on Oprah last week on autism by shots. I was going to go online and look at what I could find out so I can weigh both sides and make a decision as to what I was gonna do as well. I have 2 boys also. One 19 months old and the other 14 weeks old. My 19 month old has gotten 1 of his mmr shots already, (I think you get 3 right?) he got it around a month ago I think, I want to pull my shot records and look at that as well. I did not know anything about possible autistic complications other wise I would have looked into it prior to his shots. But I need to now before he gets any more and before my littlest son starts getting his shots, since it is "rumored" to affect boys more then girls.
So I would really like to find out what kind of informaiton you get from people as well. Here is a little I found on Oprah.com web site about the show I mentioned. Interesting, it will help you have more knowledge as well as you get responses. I have put it in this message so you dont have to go look it up.
Hope this helps, and again, I would also love to hear the responses you get since this is a very important matter so if you would not mind forwarding the responses to me also other wise I will see if I can keep going back to this and read the responses you get posted to you :)
From oprah.com and her show last week :)
What Is Autism?
Autism isn't a disease, it's a symptom. It ranges in severity from a handicap that limits an otherwise normal life to a devastating disability requiring institutional care.
Autism is one of the most common developmental disabilities. Including the milder form of autism known as pervasive developmental disorder or PDD, autism affects more than six out of every 1,000 children.
Children with autism have trouble communicating. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it very hard for them to express themselves either with words or through gestures, facial expressions and touch.
An autistic child who is very sensitive may be greatly troubled—sometimes even pained—by sounds, touches, smells or sights that seem normal to others.
Autistic children may have repeated body movements such as rocking or hand flapping. They may have unusual responses to people, attachments to objects, resistance to change in their routines and/or aggressive or self-injurious behavior. At times they may seem not to notice people, objects or activities in their surroundings. Some children with autism also develop seizures, in some cases not until adolescence.
Many autistic people are mentally retarded, although most people with PDD have normal or even above-average intelligence. In contrast to mental retardation alone, which is characterized by relatively even skill development, people with autism show uneven skill development. They may have problems in certain areas, especially the ability to communicate and relate to others. But they may have unusually developed skills in other areas, such as drawing, creating music, solving math problems or memorizing facts. For this reason, they may test higher—perhaps even in the average or above-average range—on nonverbal intelligence tests.
Autism typically appears during the first three years of life. Some children show signs from birth. Others seem to develop normally at first, only to slip suddenly into symptoms when they are 18 to 36 months old. Autism is four times more common in boys than in girls. It knows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle or educational levels do not affect a child's chance of having autism.
Some of the different types of autism include:
Autistic disorder. This is what most people think of when they hear the word "autism." It refers to problems with social interactions, communication and imaginative play in children younger than 3 years.
Asperger's syndrome. These children don't have a problem with language—in fact, they tend to score in the average or above-average range on intelligence tests. But they have the same social problems and limited scope of interests as children with autistic disorder.
Pervasive developmental disorder or PDD—also known as atypical autism. This is a kind of catchall category for children who have some autistic problems but who don't fit into other categories.
Rett's disorder. Known to occur only in girls, Rett's children begin to develop normally. Then they begin to lose their communication and social skills. Beginning at the age of 1 to 4 years, repetitive hand movements replace purposeful use of the hands.
Childhood disintegrative disorder. These children develop normally for at least two years, and then lose some or most of their communication and social skills.
What Causes It?
Autism has more than one cause. Because autism runs in families, most researchers think that certain combinations of genes may predispose a person to autism. It's currently thought that there may be several different causes of autism. This suggests that there may be several different subtypes of autism.
When a pregnant woman is exposed to certain drugs or chemicals during pregnancy, her child is more likely to be autistic. These risk factors include the use of alcohol and the use of antiseizure drugs during pregnancy. In some cases, autism has been linked to untreated phenylketonuria (called PKU, an inborn metabolic disorder caused by the absence of an enzyme), rubella (German measles) and celiac disease (an inability to tolerate gluten in grains).
Exactly why autism happens isn't clear. Research suggests that it may arise from physical problems in parts of the brain that interpret sensory input and process language. Imbalances in brain chemicals also appear to play a role.
Researchers have no evidence that a child's psychological environment—such as how caregivers treat the child—causes autism.
This book might be very helpfull, I think I will look into it since it talks about all sorts of epidemics: autism, ADHD, Asthma, and allergies:
Toxins, Immunizations and Autism
Original Air Date: A. 24, 2007
With cases of autism on the rise in the United States, the cause of the disorder is being investigated and debated—sometimes with controversial results. Dr. Oz talks to Dr. Ken Bock, physician and author of Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies, about the effect of toxins in the environment, immunization schedules and how to make your home safer for your kids.
While Dr. Bock says that there is a genetic predisposition to autism, toxins in the environment can also cause it. Children who can't naturally detoxify their systems are more susceptible to disorders like autism and allergies, he says. "The whole area is something people never think about—we're [detoxifying] 24-7, but it's only when it doesn't go well that we start talking about it," Dr. Bock says. "We're living in a world where we're paying a price for more toxicity."
Dr. Bock says there are a few simple ways to lower the levels of toxicity in your home and make it a safer, healthier place for your kids.
Wash your hands—they can transmit many toxins.
Take off your shoes when you come into the house to avoid bringing in dirt and other pollutants.
Check for mold, especially in basements and areas where kids play.
Aside from toxins, some believe that immunizations could be to blame for the rise in autism. Dr. Bock says he is pro immunization, but he offers the following guidelines for safe vaccination:
If you are concerned about your child getting more than one vaccination during a trip to the doctor, Dr. Bock says to ask to have them spread out.
You can have live virus vaccines (the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR) spread out into consecutive, monthly office visits.
As for vaccinations at birth, Dr. Bock says it's not necessary unless the mother is hepatitis B positive.
Be aware of your family's history of autoimmune disorders or heavy allergies and inform your child's doctor.
Don't bring your child in for immunizations while they're ill or on antibiotics.
Related Resources
Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies by Dr. Kenneth Bock
A.
I forgot to attach this part which I thought was interesting as well: This was from the same oprah show where you could ask questions and get answers from Jenny Mccarthy.
Q: Have the makeup of vaccinations changed since the parents' generation received them as children?
JM: I'm not a vaccine expert, but there are many more vaccines in the pediatric schedule today than when our parents were growing up. When I look at the actual ingredients of the vaccines it scares me. Aluminum, ether, chicken embryo, human aborted fetal tissue, mercury, formaldehyde and more. Take a peek at Unlocking Autism's website: unlockingautism.org/vaccines/ingredients.asp.
Q: Thank you so much for being on the show and sharing your stories. I have an 18 month old son, and I have declined his MMR vaccine due to the autism link. My question is did your son play with their toys in the intended fashion (moving cars and making vroom noise!) before their vaccinations? Were they talking before? My son doesn't have any detectable words yet, but he does love playing with his toys. His pediatrician had me worried about his lack of speech, but other moms have told me this is normal.
JM: Evan lined up his toys a lot. He liked spinning objects and flapped his hands a lot. I'm so proud you followed your mommy instinct and held off on MMR. I would still get an evaluation done if any autism characteristics sound familiar. Speech delay alone is not a huge red flag but speech delay with loss of eye contact and other characteristics I've just mentioned are. Keep up with the great mommy instinct!
Q: Do you know of any ongoing campaigns to encourage the CDC or other organizations to take a closer look at the link between autism and vaccinations? Where can I get involved?
JM:There are several camps of organizations concerned about vaccines. Some are concerned about mercury like www.nonmercury.org and generationrescue.org and other that are concerned about the vaccines themselves like www.nvic.org, to name a few.
A.