My son just had his 1 yr old dr checkup. He had the Chicken Pox vaccine, but I opted not to give him the MMR just yet. I'm a bit nervous and wanted to get some statistics from other moms.
If your child has autism, what do you think triggered it? At what age were they?
I'm not saying that vaccinations CAUSE autism, but could too many at once trigger it? I do plan on giving all vaccinations, just trying to figure out how and when.
Thank you in advance for your feedback!!!!
as a therapist who works with children with Autism, I suggest that you use google and do your own research. There are two camps.........one that believes that shots trigger and others that don't. I, too, have my own feeling since so many children are NOT getting shots and yet the rate keeps rising........so what really is the cause?? if you need further help please feel free to contact me and I would be glad to help. GOOD LUCK!!
They shouldn't be giving the MMR at 1 year - I thought 2 years was the norm.
You have a while to do some research and decide for yourself. It's great that you are looking to make an informed decision for your child!
Vaccines are such a hot-button issue... it's tough to say what another person should or should not do. That said, if you choose to delay or not give certain vaccines, please make sure you are doing lots to build your child's immune system.
Something you may want to do is read up a bit on vaccines - there are lots of good books on the subject: "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Vaccines" by Stephanie Cave, MD and "The Vaccine Guide" by Randall Neustaedter. The Sears also recently put out a vaccine book. There are also some good websites, like www.909shot.com
My son has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and it was diagnosed within months after the MMR. However I believe there were some symptoms prior to the vaccination. Read up on symptons and see if you son has any, the more he has if any the stronger the possiblity he may develop Autism later. If not then I think the chances are less. I agree with some of the others, MMR at 1 yr. My son had his a 18 months. You can always check to see if the MMR can be split, as it covers 3 different illness (Measles,Mumps,Rubela) I know of some who had them split, yes it means more shots for the baby but those who feel the vaccination causes Autism the risk is greatly diminished.
HI D.,
I am taking my 2 month old for her vaccines this morning and having so much anxiety about it so I can understand your concern! However, there is no scientific evidence that vaccinations "cause" autism. If we all decide not to vaccinate our children, won't those diseases can come back? In that case we will have a whole new concern to worry about! I don't know, it's such a touchy subject but I wanted you to know that your not alone in your concerns...we all want whats best for our children! Good luck with your decision
I am clueless about what caused my son's autism. I was a single mom in college when I had him so I do know that I was "required" to get all vaccinations when they told me because of my participation in programs like WIC, child care assistance, etc. I will tell you that he was developing fine and on schedule then all of a sudden everything stopped. As a first time parent my feeling was either this is terrible two's or something horrible is going on here. Almost right at 3 I went to a psychiatrist and he diagnosed him ADHD/Autistic. This was after he had been asked to "leave" a couple of child care centers. He is 11 now. I will also tell you that the fanaticism surrounding autism was not present back then. It was not as bad as the 50s or 60s but when I called the doctor later down the line to get the medical records with the diagnosis they refused. Nobody wanted to be the "bad guy" that scarred this child for life. In any case, my son was on several medications until finally in 2004 or 2005 I did not have the money and I said you know what we are going to deal with this. Through behavior modification and really his own self administered diet controls (somehow he knows what doesn't agree with him), he went on to get on the honor roll in an inclusive class actually and participate in a variety of social and athletic programs.
Every day is a challenge. He also only has a diagnosis of educational autism now because special education providers just did not see enough symptoms to label full autism. I will say that I notice little OCD type quirks in my own behavior and I wonder if it is something hereditary.
Definitely read read read, and my mistake was not keeping some kind of journal. Doctors will always ask you when did they start doing this? When did you notice that? And as new information becomes available about all sorts of subjects, you will want to have your records to come back to in the future.
you might want to check out mothering.com vaccination forums. there are a lot of moms who are vaccinating but on a delayed schedule, and they have a LOT of info that you might find very helpful. good luck.
Hi D.,
I agree with Penny, as a Spec. Ed. teacher, and someone who has read extensively on the subject and causes of Autism, I am inclined to believe the camp that believes kids are born with it, with genetic and brain research supporting that argument. Autism is a very large spectrum, with many people you would never suspect as being on the spectrum such as folks with Aspergers who may be described as simply quirky.
The mystery continues,
Wendy
