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I'm posting this in the general parenting forum, hoping to get a response from all kinds of parents, not just those with special needs kids.
My youngest son is 6 now. I'm the mom of a deaf and autistic 14 year old son as well, and a strong believer in the vaccine-autism connection. So much so, in fact, that my littlest one was not vaccinated. He's been a great kid to this point (still is, and always will be!), but I'm seeing a disturbing pattern, and need opinions.
He's very smart, interacts well with others most of the time, has a tremendous expressive vocabulary, no physical issues, etc. Over the past year or so, though, I've noticed some behaviors developing that concern me, as the mom of an autistic child. He's always had toileting issues (withholding), and several months ago, began an almost systematic hand-flapping. It only happens when he's looking at his pictures, pokemon or ben 10 cards, etc. At first, he told me he was pretending to color in the air. Now, he just asks me not to watch him do it. He's always sorted things in a nearly anal-retentive (no pun intended) manner, but now, he's beginning to line things up as well. I think the autistic moms will understand this one maybe better than those without an autistic child, but he takes his small toys, mostly platic figures or small trucks, and put them in a very straight line, and there's usually some pattern to it. Like I said, he's always done this with his trading cards, but is now doing it with toys as well.
There are other things as well, like I've noticed that his food preferences are changing, and he'll almost exclusively eat crunchy things. There is only one pillow he will sleep on, and will no longer sleep in his bed. He will only sleep in a certain recliner in the family room. He really prefers a certain texture of blanket, though he will tolerate others. He eats most of his food cold, and even prefers his bathwater almost cold. He's very sensitive to light. The list goes on.
I can't help wondering in the far recesses of my mind... by not vaccinating, did I really save him from autism? It looks to me like the personality traits are there. What I really want to know is if I should have him evaluated, or just go with the flow and enjoy my bright, happy, well-adjusted (if not a little clingy) boy. What really confuses me is that some of the real diagnostic markers for autism are the social issues, which he doesn't seem to have, at least at this point. Has anyone ever seen a child this age regress significantly?
I know this is just an internet forum, and I'm not looking for medical advice or a diagnosis, just opinions from other parents. Thanks for your thought!
The most recent literature on the connection b/n vaccinations and autism clearly disputes any relationship. I personally do not think there is a connection (and I do medical research/writing). I think it is a genetic problem that may be triggered by environmental factors - such things as pesticides, for ex. The average American has all sorts of artificial substances in their tissues - just from the food we eat, the air we breathe, our water, etc.
You need to have your son professionally evaluated. He is exhibiting some behaviors that should be considered now so they can be addressed.
Good luck - I can only imagine how challenging it is to be a good mom and not really know what to do to protect your children - there are so many differing opinions out there . . .
Although I also believe in autism/vaccines connections, unfortunately vaccines are not the only factor BY FAR to causing autism. There is genetic and environmental involvement as well and although I do not in any way imply that your child is developing autism, I doubt that not-vaccinating will save him from it if he is pre-disposed already.
To have a piece of mind, please consult specialist, just to ease your worries and get clear answers.
I do on the other hand believe that by not-vaccinating him, you might have helped him with other things, like potential asthma, allergies, you name it. As a result, he has less aluminum, mercury (yes, some traces still exist in vaccines) and other crap in his body. If that makes you feel better.
Also - I'm just curious, what research have you done that you are such strong believer in autism-vaccines connection? Is it your personal experience?
I am a strong believer in the anecdotal evidence that many thousands of other parents of autistic children, as well as my own experience, of the regression of otherwise developmentally on-target children after having multiple vaccinations at a young age. Also, if you look into the effects of heavy metal toxicity, they resemble autism a great deal. While not as much the case now, my older son is right in the middle of the thimerasol era, and the beginning of the autism explosion in this country.
I absolutely agree that some children are predisposed to autistic tendencies. My theory is that these predisposed children could be very sensitive to the vaccines, especially since there are so many given at once now, and so many required. I don't know whether it would be called some type of allergic reaction, a side effect, just a sensitivity, or whatever category it falls into, I don't know. I do think, though, that most kids are fine with vaccines. If, hypothetically, there are some ultra-sensitive kids, I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that something like autism is the result of overloading their already susceptible systems with these toxins in the vaccines. It could be akin to a child having asthma, for example. Asthma is not easy to deal with by itself, but throw in an aggravating factor, like a pile of burning leaves, for example, and it becomes a much more profound situation almost immediately for some people. Most of us can walk past a pile of burning leaves without consequence... but there are a few that cannot. Most of us can tolerate the bombardment of vaccines...
I don't think that vaccines are evil or wrong. I am well aware that they are an important lifesaving tool, and they absolutely have a valid place in medical science. I do think that there is a serious problem with the way they are currently mandated to be administered. I think they are too many, too soon, too close together. Especially since there is currently no way to tell who may or may not be sensitive to these things, I don't think it's wrong to err on the side of caution. There are several families I know of who agree, though instead of not vaccinating at all, they opted for a revamped vaccine schedule.
I chose not to vaccinate because of these beliefs, knowing that I already have an autistic child. That, to me, was a red flag that if there's a genetic link to autism, I needed to take perhaps extraordinary precautions. My family history is also riddled with ADD-type disorders, as well as autoimmune and respiratory issues. I take all of these things into consideration when making healthcare decisions, not just for my youngest child, but for all of them.
Perhaps I need to clarify the question I am asking. I wonder if perhaps, if there hypothetically COULD BE a vaccine-autism link, knowing what I know now, and seeing what I am seeing in this child, he could've, or even would've ended up locked in an autistic world had I vaccinated.
It makes me sad, because I look at my younger son, with all of the personality similarities, and ask if this is what my older son is like inside. They're both GREAT kids, but could my older one perhaps be a less-frustrated great kid? We will never know, it's just interesting to ponder... Is it possible that by going against the grain of the medical community, I saved my younger son from this fate?
BTW, both boys have asthma and allergies, and the younger son's asthma is moderately severe. Two weeks ago, I almost lost him to an asthma attack. I'm very blessed to be able to still come here and hypothesize about him, because he's still here, and we're getting the asthma under control.
Great discussion so far! Thanks for the opinions... keep 'em coming!
I have had a theory wh/ I have developed after researching autism, and am curious about your experience. I am wondering if one of the reasons that autism is becoming so much more prevalent in our population is b/c of the upsurge in breast-feeding wh/ began in the early 80s. There was a period of time when mothers were not breastfeeding and indeed, considered it a "low class" thing to do (50s, 60s). Then the attitude started changing and there was a connection to perhaps improving a child's immune system if he/she were breastfed.
My thought has been - w/ people testing so high for toxic chemicals in their bodies - and so many chemicals showing up in breast milk . . . could there be a connection b/n breastfeeding and autism?
Do you think that could be possible? I have seen very little literature on this . . .
Last edited by brokensky; 05-25-2008 at 06:47 AM..
Reason: edited - awkward syntax
Interesting Ani. I know 2 autistic children. Both were breastfed, but none of their younger sibs were, and the younger sibs are not autistic. I never made the connection before.
I have said it many times before, I don't really think there is an increase in autism rates, just an increase in diagnoses. I can think back to several kids growing up that were not considered autistic then but most certainly would now. Autism used to be only the kids that sat in the corner and rocked and wouldn't interact at all. Now, obviously, there is a large spectrum of autistic kids.
As for the breastfeeding/autism, if the mom has those chemicals in her system, they were there when she was pregnant thus the child was already exposed to them and already has them in his/her system.
I think we will find that autism is more genetic then anything, someday.
Ani, thanks so much for the articles, they are very informative! Here are a couple things I noticed in reading them, and what I learned (after all, you learn something new every day).
In the CTV article, it points out that the blood-brain barrier, which protects the adult brain from many toxic chemicals, is not fully formed until an infant is six months old. If this is true, then should we really be stressing their systems from birth, bombarding them with all these runs of vaccines? Here's the vaccination schedule before that barrier is present:
Hep B: Within 12 hours of birth, age 1-2 months, age 4 months. It is permissible to administer 4 doses of HepB when combination vaccines are administered after the birth dose.
Rotavirus: 6-12 weeks, final dose no later than 32 weeks. Here's what makes me nervous: "Data on safety and efficacy outside of these age ranges are insufficient." (source: CDC website)
DTaP: 6 weeks, he fourth dose of DTaP may be administered as early as age 12 months, provided 6 months have elapsed since the third dose.
Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (Hib): Minimum age: 6 weeks. If PRP-OMP (PedvaxHIB® or ComVax® [Merck]) is administered at ages 2 and 4 months, a dose at age 6 months is not required.
This list is only those before 6 months. It doesn't even count the MMR (age 12 months), varicella (chicken pox), age 12 months, Hep A, 12 months, which btw is where I think the real problem lies.
Also, notice how many combination vaccines there are. We used to get all of these separately, at different times. Why is it necessary to overload their systems?
In the other article, the issue posed is in the presence of percholerate in breastmilk. I gleaned from this article that originally, there was no perceived issue with the effects of percholerate, as it has a half-life of only 8 hours, and was not believed to accumulate in the body because of this. We are now learning that it does in fact build up, and can cause brain damage resulting in various deficits and delays in infants/children. My question is this: If we were wrong about percholerate, which we KNEW was bad, how can we be so sure we're right about the lack of negative effects from things like thimerasol and other preservatives/additives in the vaccines we're required to give our children? Is this so far out of the realm of possibility?
To answer your indirect question, no, my boys were not breastfed. I did not make enough milk... but I did try, with all of my children. They were all bottle fed. (much easier on the bod... lol) Though I digress, I'd never heard that before, and in light of the percholerate article, it could well be a factor.
Golfgal-- I agree that the root of autism is genetic. I'd agree as well that it's much better disgnosed now, but that doesn't mean there isn't a higher incidence as well. I also think that its severity, or perhaps its emergence at all in a person, could be greatly exacerbated by environmental issues, including environmental toxins, food additives, and yes, vaccines.
I'm not a doctor, I never played one on TV, and I have no right to claim I have all the autism answers. These are just things I've observed, and my personal feelings on the subject.
Much food for thought from everyone! Thanks so much!
I have said it many times before, I don't really think there is an increase in autism rates, just an increase in diagnoses. I can think back to several kids growing up that were not considered autistic then but most certainly would now. Autism used to be only the kids that sat in the corner and rocked and wouldn't interact at all. Now, obviously, there is a large spectrum of autistic kids.
As for the breastfeeding/autism, if the mom has those chemicals in her system, they were there when she was pregnant thus the child was already exposed to them and already has them in his/her system.
I think we will find that autism is more genetic then anything, someday.
I don't know...Perhaps it's true that autism is now diagnosed more accurately and often now...however, the difference is just way too big. We didn't go from for example 1 in 1000 kids to 1 in 150. We went from 1 in 10000, to 1 in 150. That's a big difference. I mean, if so many were misdiagnosed or not diagnosed, are you saying 1 in 150 are walking autistic adults???
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Interesting reading
