MMR Aka Autism Shot

yes i havent vaccinated any of my children at all ....they are so healthy...as long as you keep theyre immune systems healthy by feeding them good healthy foods....doctors will scare you with how you are abusing yor child and stuff....but if you look into all the info....youll see what i mean....check out the national vaccine info website...and there are waivers that are excepted by daycares and schools saying you can let your child attend...

well, I have an almost 6-yr-old girl, and a 27-month-old boy, and both have had routine shots. ALL of the their routine shots. I don't have any signs of autism here, so I'm not so sure about the relation. The statistics on how many children will get autism is staggering, and I feared that with my son as well. But we seem to be fine so far..... hope this helps!

Hi.

I am a mom with 3 children and I do not vaccinate my children any more. I will advice you to get as much information as possible about vaccines and all the side effect before you do. Your concern should not only be of autism but of other side effects as well. I have a friend who's daughter is severely brain damage from the MMR. A lot of people will now say that that is only 1 in 100 000, but are you willing to take the risk. Another thing they are now looking in to is the connection between SIDS and vaccines. There is a lot of information out there about both the good and the bad about vaccines. The one thing I will tell you is that you have to be strong if you choose not to vaccinate. You will have problems with a lot of people who think you put their kids at risk. Health personnel will often treat you rudely and schools will try to intimidate you in to vaccinate. Just know one thing. No one can force you to vaccinate your children. You are the one who will have to live with your decision so make sure you research a lot before you decide. You are in no hurry.
Good luck.

T.

From all I have read, there is no conclusive evidence that links the MMR shot with autism. But I have seen that many childhood diseases that even our parents have had to deal with, we no longer have to worry about them for our children. And this is due to the vaccinations that our kids receive. My son is now 5 and I had heard the rumor when he was due for his shots, but after serious research, I still felt that even if there were a very slight chance that a disorder such as Autism could result, it was best to protect him against these other diseases that can kill. If enough children fail to receive the required immunizations than there is a possibility that the diseases we have gotten used to not even thinking about here in America anymore can start killing our children again. Thank God he has had no side affects but if I have another child they also will receive the shot. Its hard to think about anything bad happening to our children especially when we can protect them. I would definitely talk to your pediatrician and do some research on the web. I am not saying anything bad about the actors/public figures that talk about the link between autism and the shot but I have seen very few, if any, reputable doctors recommend against the shot due to the risks. Good luck with your decision.

S.,
My five year old son has an Autism spectrum disorder and all of his Dr. and specialists have told me that the immunization shots are very unlikely a cause of Autism. The debate is wether the mercury used to stabalize the meds, or quantities given at one time are to blame, but studies have shown this is most likely NOT a factor. Please talk with your pediatrician, there are also great Autism websites (Autism Speaks & Autism society of America) that can provide lots of information to help you make an informed decision.
I hope this helps at least a little.
W.

There have been many many studies done and there is still no evidence that past or current inoculations cause autism. Additionally they have no mercury in them anymore, which was the cause for concern in the first place. My son is two and has had no ill effects from them so far, but they can be delayed until your child is a little older. My doctors were open to this possibility. Even schools can't require them though, so you can have your daughter go without. The bottom line is, America doesn't have to deal with many serious childhood illnesses because our children get inoculations, there are still polio hospitals full of children in India.

Hi. I am also very concerned about the MMR shot. Have you had any luck finding a place to administer the shots seperate?
Thank you, N.

i saw the same show today and i was actually just now looking online debating about fly shots this season. turns out flu shots still contain thimerisol.
also about the MMR shots. wish i could take back time.
i don't know much except after the MMR shots, like two months later one of my daughters was diagnosed with hearing loss in one ear. i would have not tried to link this to the shots have not been the fact that i have had her hearing tested (ABR test) at 6 months of age, including the one as a newborn which she passed both of them. after the MMR shots, i noticed she was losing words she had already learned. turns out hearing loss. is there a connection? i don't know. but if i could turn back time would i have given her the shots? no. i would have probably waited until she is of school age to give her those shots.

some people say ask the pediatrician to break those shots in a few sessions. meaning not all at once. i don't know if that makes a difference. but i am telling you what i feel...turn back time for us...no shots.

also, it was afterwards that i learned that in my country we were not given shots, or at least so many shots as little kids. the shots were given when kids turned of school-age.
do what your heart tells you. but remember this, just because right now they say no links, does not mean 10 years from now such a link will not be found. 10 years later, and thousands if not millions of kids affected by this.
I hope to God such a link is never found. But what if?

good luck in your decision. as for us, i am calling tomorrow at our ped's to cancel our appt for flu shots.
vlora

Dear S. H,
I have not done much research, YET, on this matter, however, I do have a friend, who, as many other moms, has opted not to vaccinate her child, who just turned 3 years old, and is perfectly healthy thus far. She is opting to home school, therefore it is ultimately her decision to vaccinate or not. However, for those of us who are not home schooling, vaccines are mandatory, as you know. My friend gave me the following website for more information on the potential detrimental effects of several vaccines, specially the MMR: http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/vaccines.htm
My baby girl just turned 1 a couple of weeks ago, and she is not quite due yet for her MMR. I have briefly discussed immunizations with her Pediatrician, who bases his responses regarding the benefits of vaccines outweighing their risks on the current medical literature. Both sides, pro and against vaccines have valid points, but what it all comes down to is one difficult decision to be made ultimately by us, the parents. I would suggest talking with your baby's pediatrician, and of course, doing research on your own, so you can be aware of all the facts before making your decision. Hope this helps!
AD

I also have heard abiout the MMR shot triggering autism. I have looked into it and there's just so much on each side that I was overwhelmed. I must say, my daughter got her shot but I am considering not letting my son have it. If you are really uncomfortable with it then you can wait until you have made a decision you're comfortable with. If your son falls behind he can catch up. SOme doc offices frown uponit but it is OK. Trust your instincts!

Follow your gut!

There are some great reasons to split that shot up into 3 components or to skip it altogether. If your ped practice says they dont have a source for it, tell them to order the single doses from www.hopewellrx.com.

The autism concern with vaccines is actually two fold (at least)
live viruses like MMR and chicken pox carry one set of concerns as they introduce a live virus into the body
"killed" viruses (DTaP) etc carry other sets of concerns as, among other things, they introduce things like (aluminum, formaldahyde, and other adjuvants into the body).

If you arent sure, I honestly think your best bet is just to postpone them for awhile until you have had a chance to read a little and make a truly informed decision (ie what you really think you should do not based on what your doc says but based on informed consent) I know it is overwhelming with 2 kids to find time for anything. But many people post pone, or follow an extended schedule, or decided to skip certain vaccines. Others, after thorough consideration even decide to skip them all (not in a reactive way but in an informed way)

1 BOok I would highly recommend is Dr. Stephanie Caves What Your Doctor May Not Tell you About CHildrens Vaccinations. Dr. Cave is a respected physician and also teaches at LSU medical school. In the book she advocates an extedned schedule.

Another good resource is Dr. Kenneth Bock's "Healing the New Childhoomd Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Alergies"

Information about each vaccine (ingredient lists) can be found on the FDA website and the ingredient lists are surprising to many folks.

There is also some great info at www.nvic.org

I noticed that some people replied to your query about MMR by saying there was no credible evidence that there is a link betwen vaccines and autism. I would direct anyone interested in this subject to the sources I listed above as well as:
- www.putchildrenfirst.org (see timeline)
- www.generationrescue.org (see list of studies)
- NYT Journalist David Kirby's book Evidence of Harm
- UPI Jounralist Dan Olmstead's terrific Series the Age of Autism (found in full on the UPI archives)

And when it comes to thimerosal...the full list of shots that still contain thimerosal can be found on the FDA website. It isnt just the flu shot. http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t1

Best of luck with your decision!

J.

www.leadingorganicskincare.com
Certified Organic Products for the Whole Family

I am a journalist, and in 20-plus years of writing about a lot of things, including medical topics, I've run into no scientific evidence to back this up. It's one of those theories that keeps getting floated around, probably because the first signs of autism are often noticed at about the age babies get those shots. But, as they say in statistics, "correlation is not causality" (and the "magic word" at stoplights doesn't make the light change, either). In science it's hard to prove a negative, so I don't think anybody has said flatly "this is not true"--but chances are, if the cause or trigger or whatever for autism were that obvious, we'd be well on the way to a cure for autism by now.--T. thompson

Hi S.,

I'm a mommy of an 18 month old boy and I did quite a bit of research, which helped reassure me that the MMR (or any other vaccinations) weren't going to predispose my little one to autism any more than not vaccinating.

Here's a link to an article in Time magazine that referenced a danish study comparing children who had been vaccinated and those who had not and the incidence of autism between the two groups. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,###-###-...

What the article doesn't mention, but was advice recommended to me, was to make sure that your pediatrician is not using vaccinations containing thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative that some people believe may be linked with autism. I believe thimerosal has now been removed from all childhood vaccines except the flu vaccine, so it's no longer a concern.) Of course, I can't substantiate that claim, but I found an article.

Hope this helps,

tdl

This is such a hot topic S.. I am a pediatric occupational therapists and one of the things I do as part of an Autism Clinic Team is a specific evaluation that looks at if a child has autism. I am fairly up to date on research in this area. Although with two kids of my own under 4 I have not done as much research on the topic as I would like. From the research I have done and my team has done there is no link. There was a concern a while ago because mercury was used in the MMR shot as well as others. Mercury can cause learning difficulties to cognitive problems in children. Children that are mentally retarded can also show similar signs of autism, but it does not mean they have autism. These issues can be hard to separate at times and formal evaluation helps with this. But back to the shots. They are NO longer using mercury in immunizations. This still continues to be such a HUGE issue because it is between 15-24 months children are exploding language wise and parents are beginning to be more aware of their child's skills. If a child is not developing normally or slow at this age most parents don't know or realize because the signs are very subtle, but if by 18 months they still are not using words or loose a word then they begin to look back at what the child has done. And it always seems to come back to immunizations that we blame for the problems that can be occuring. At this time I know of no valid research that has made this link. Hope that helps. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

PS
I personally have given my children all of their immunizations up to date and will continue to do so. If children get the diseases we immunize for they can die. Even if their was a connection to immunizations-- children don't die from Autism. Just something to think about. It is a risk I am willing to take especially knowing what I do about the issue.