MMR Vaccination Help....

Hi K.
I have a child with autism who I feel is a victim of vaccine injury. I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE MOTHERS WHO ARE SOULY BLAMING VACCINES FOR MY CHILDS AUTISM--befor anyone jumps down my throat. I HOWEVER believe in not following the "recommended" vaccince schedule. It is PERFECTLY fine to delay and OR seperate the shots. This is possible---don't let ANYONE tell you other wise. I had my son vaccinated until 2005 (he'll be 5 in July) and he is behing 5 shots for kindergarden, I simple refuse to vaccinate for MY OWN PERSONAL REASONS. My child I feel has an underlying condition which doesn't allow his body for handel the toxins in the enviorment let alone the ingredients they use in some vaccines SO I claim moral exemption.
There are SOME people who will agree and some will call me a nut job and a danger to society...I rather deal with a case of measels than deal with autism every single day for the rest of my life...
This by far is a very touching subject..you alone can make this decision, and good for you to "question" it. Go with your gut, and it's fine if you delay, and seperate the MMR. Glad to hear your doc is on board with how you feel. Sadly some docs bully parents into choices they may not be 100% sold on.
Good Luck

You might want to check out _The Vaccine Book_ by Dr. Sears. It goes through each vaccine and lists the risks/benefits, ingredients (and what that means) and options. He ends by giving you his "gut" opinion about each one. The truth is that we (in Public Health) just don't know what the individual consequences of each vaccine are (though of course at a population level we know they are terribly important). This is one of those decisions you have to make for your self, but there are lots of options (fully vaxing on time, selectively vaxing, and fully vaxing on a delayed schedule.) Get the book, get educated, make your decision and then let it go. You're doing the best you can with imperfect info! :-)

(Congrats on finding a pediatrician who doesn't yell at you or call you a bad mom!!! We went with a recommendation for such a dr., only to find out its not the case.) We are delaying/separating vaccinations.

Some rec's for MMR: ask your doctor to give it in three separate vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella; consider high doses of Vitamin A (5,000 IU or more) on the day before, of, and after vaccination; Do not vaccinate if your child is taking antibiotics.

More info here: http://www.generationrescue.com/vaccines.html

My daughter is 17 months and just got all her shots. I would try not to believe everything u see or hear.if all your other kids have had it and they are fine i wouldn't worry about it. i think if we all as moms listened to everything we heard we wouldn't walk out our doors each day, or eat anything. in the end it is your decision but i'd get it done. good luck

As the parent of a 15-year old with autism, I understand your concern. I believe my son's autism is genetic, but to be sure, I had my pediatrician get the separate MMR vaccines for my younger son. It's not easy to do now, but ask your pediatrician about it. My pediatrician is fully supportive of my decisions. With my younger son, I had all of his vaccines spaced out so that he did not get more than 2 at one visit. I then went back to his office a month later for another vaccine. Since the nurse administered it, there was no charge for the visit. My son is all caught up on his vaccines. When it came to the MMR booster at age 5, I had his titers checked with a blood test and the booster was not needed. We had the proper documentation for the school district.

I hope this helps.

L. W., Swissvale
Mom to K.J., my handsome son with autism
Mom to P.J., my active son who keeps me moving

Hi K.,

I am a mom of 4 children under the age of 5, and I have from the beginning altered my childrens immunizations. I have a health care background and am very familiar with the medications and the literature out there surrounding autism and vaccines. Even if there has been "proof" with all of the research done that has NOT linked the vaccines to autism, I still believe I am doing the best for my children. Looking back to vaccination schedules from when we were growing up, you never got more than one at a time and then went for subsequent visits to obtain the remainder of the vaccines. Autism was not as prevelent back then either. Is it the vaccines? Is it the quantity that we are giving our children at one time that is making their immune systems go haywire? Or is it that science has made such strides since then that we are more aware of patients having autism? I do not believe we will ever know, but again, I feel I am doing my children justice by administering them over an extended period of time rather than them getting 6-8 different agents injected into them at one time. You need to do what you feel is right and no matter what the physicians tell you, they are YOUR children. The nurse in my peds office also made a comment of how surprised you would be with the number of parents that deny their children ANY vaccines. I am not to that degree. FYI, my children received their MMR's at their 2 year visit (and that vaccine only)..for the exception of my third child who is a bit behind due to missing some at his 18mo well due to an illness. That is the way I will continue to do the rest of my children also. Good luck in making your decision and know that you are not alone in this quest!

K.,
I have 2 children with different forms of autism. One regressed at 15 months, and one was born that way. I know there is a genetic component to it, but like you am still apprehensive about the shots. You got some very good advice already. Separate and space out the shots if you have reservations. I have 4 children, 2 of them typical, and all have been vaccinated. I believe the immune system plays a big part in autism. There are places to get the separate vaccines if your doctor can't/won't. If you need help, feel free to message me privately.
HTH,
B.