mmr vaccine and autism

Lucy - posted on 04/11/2013

Yes, the MMR triple jab is one of the main causes of Regressive Autism in children, next comes the DPT. The risk is from the concurrent infections.

The danger of concurrent infections was known before the combined vaccines existed.

Alet - posted on 02/02/2013

Orac says it best: "How about being listed among the Great Science Frauds of all time by TIME Magazine, along with Woo Suk Huang and Charles Dawson (the latter of whom is particularly amusing, givne how Brian Deer referred to Andrew Wakefield’s work as “Piltdown medicine” in his expose for the BMJ)? Check it out:

Do vaccines cause autism? Medical experts say no, but we can thank Wakefield for introducing the doubt that won’t die in many parents’ minds. In 1998, the gastroenterologist at Royal Free Hospital in London published a study describing a connection between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, after he found evidence of these viruses, presumably from the shot, in the guts of a dozen autistic children, eight of whom developed autism-like symptoms days after receiving their vaccination.

Other scientists could not replicate Wakefield’s findings, nor verify a link between the vaccine and autism. In 2010, the journal that published his paper retracted it, and its editors noted that “it was utterly clear, without any ambiguity at all, that the statements in the paper were utterly false.” Later that year, the General Medical Council in the U.K. revoked Wakefield’s medical license, citing ethical concerns over how he recruited the patients in the study as well as his failure to disclose that he was a paid consultant to attorneys representing parents who believed their children had been harmed by vaccines.

The final shoe dropped a year later, when another prestigious medical journal concluded that his research was also fraudulent, after evidence that some of the timelines of the children’s symptoms were misrepresented" http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/0...

Lucy - posted on 02/02/2013

Learn more about the latest update on the MMR vaccine in the link below, Merck scientists are suing Merck. The results of the efficacy studies were manipulated, just like most the other vaccine safety and efficacy studies.

Scientists Sue Merck: allege fraud, mislabeling, and false certification of MMR vaccine
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/0...

Lucy - posted on 02/02/2013

Anyone who's unsure about this, check out Dr Andrew Wakefield's full interview. It's clear that he's been the victim of a smear campaign, even before the MMR vaccine was first introduced in the UK the potential for damage was well known. I'd strongly recommend you listen carefully to the full interview to allow you to make your own mind up.

Dr Andrew Wakefield In His Own Words (full interview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7NotxTg7jg

Diane - posted on 02/01/2013

no. please research extensively. there is no causation. its the timing of things that line up and make some people think they are related...and the fact that a Brit scientist fraudulently claimed "studies prove" (he has since admitted to lying). i used a pink crayon, a horn beeped outside...should i believe that the crayon caused the beep? no

correlation does not equal causation.

(i am a teacher of autistic children)

Becky - posted on 01/27/2013

Vaccines do not cause autism. The scientist who published those results in The Lancet falsified his data and The Lancet retracted the article. But, by then, the damage was done. Many scientists have tried to find the same link looking at the same data and they didn't find it. what other things happened around the 1 year mark? Did your son's diet change (pretty common at the 1 year mark)? Food intolerances (not allergies) can have unusual effects on a person. The fact that you say he had fevers is concerning. Fevers are part of the immune response which is exactly what vaccines induce. Did a caregiver change? Maybe this new caregiver is doing something they shouldn't be doing. I don't know how old your son is now, but more recent research suggests that some signs of autism can be seen as early as 6 months old--such as not making or holding eye contact with mom and dad. My son has Aspergers and he definitely did not make good eye contact as an infant and he still has trouble now at 7 years old. See the link below.
http://children.webmd.com/vaccines/news/...
It seems to be genetic, but also influenced by the childs social environment (depending on the severity of the autism).
Anyway, it is definitely something to keep an eye on and discuss with his doctor. Do some research (but be careful of the sites you get your information from)--there are some people who's bodies may overreact to vaccines, there are super-rare genetic disorders where kids start to develop and then regress. (I don't want to make you panic, these are REALLY RARE, but knowledge is power.)

good luck!

Lucy - posted on 01/24/2013

Yes, they are one of the main causes, but someone needs to help the Pharmaceuticals out as admitting it would be suicide for them, they need some kind of protection to be able to carefully withdraw the vaccine without the media jumping on them and claims for $Billions worth in compensation. They're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Claire - posted on 12/17/2012

Yes I believe the MMR affects the development of young children. My son changed shortly after the injections. None of my other boys are affected. Harry is the youngest. I strongly support single injections as I feel MMR as it is given now is too much for a young child to cope with at this stage of their development.
Claire Gledhill

Claudia - posted on 12/16/2012

I think if your child is 14 months and already saying 50 plus.words is a sign of autism..possibly asperbergers....hello at 14 months it is NOT normal for them to know so many word!

Krystal - posted on 12/18/2011

Autism is caused by immunizations, read the leaflet that comes with it, there are waay too many side effects! The Amish community have no reports of autism explain that! The only two that have been reported were adopted into the community. Even if diseases came back there are natural ways to cure them look at whooping cough for example, my 4 children had it and all the needed was good nursing care!

Jill - posted on 10/04/2011

No one was injected in the 60's & 70's for MMR so no Autism in New Zealand, now everyone injects their kids now we have more autism & also can prove undoubtably that my now 19yr old who has autism caused at 15 months old by the MMR injection so now have a life time of this debate its a cop out by the governments of the world.

Crystal - posted on 06/20/2011

If it was the vaccine then explains to me how kids who have never got a shot have Austium? My 8yr old has Aspergers and a friend of mine who has a six yr old said she would never get her kids shots because they would get Autism. Guess what her son has it even worse then mine. As I asked her if its the shots how is it your son has it? It is not... I wish we new so we could stop it but till then we live with it and do our best. Hay my son is my world and We love him

Cinda - posted on 06/20/2011

I'd actually heard that many of the illnesses that are on the rise for newer generations (Autism, Asperger's, PDD, Attention Deficit, etc.) are caused by all the PESTICIDES in our diets that didn't used to be present. There was something about it on the Dr. Oz Show. Just a thought to look into further.

Stacy - posted on 06/20/2011

I would be interested as well, Melanie. Because in those days, autism was also called mental retardation and kids were just stuck in state schools and hospitals. There wasn't enough known to know WHY these kids weren't communicating. If your child wasn't on par, then they got the "disabled" label and everyone was tossed in together. I wonder if there's enough data on their medical records to differentiate everyone....the issues each child had and the date they were admitted. But according to most books I've read on Aspergers, HFA goes way, way back. Most folks believe that Einstein was an Aspie.

Melanie - posted on 06/19/2011

Before this generation, our parents were vaccinated. And how many were autistic, I'd like to know? Because I'm pretty certain their health and safety regs were not to our standards. They lived with lead paint, for heaven's sake. I'm not disagreeing or agreeing one way or another. I'm just curious if someone can put forth the information. We see a rise in autism. Is it due to numbers not being reported properly? Can we find numbers before vaccines were invented and introduced into society? Stats that show how much of the population was autistic? I'm just seriously curious.

On a more personal note, I was more willing to risk keeping my children immune from a disease that killed my grandfather's infant brother at 12 weeks of age than I was worried about autism. I have a son, who they went back and forth (Is it aspergers? Isn't it? until he was in fifth grade, and they still argued. We just said, "ok, unique kid...lets just do the best we can. We can't label him, despite the gazillion tests, and the many doctors. He fits a lot of the criteria for a LOT of things).

So, I started to think about the fact that we can even opt out of vaccination and not worry too much about contracting polio or small pox, is due to the fact that the majority of the population is vaccinated. And yet, there was an outbreak of whooping cough this last winter (my friend's daughters had it). So, I have to wonder, are we just being paranoid about this whole vaccination thing? I really want to see some before and after stats. Maybe they're hard to get since people were institutionalized way back when. I dunno. I think it would help answer a lot of these kind of questions.

Michele - posted on 12/18/2010

the mmr is the extraneous variable in a tilted experiment. There is absolutely no correlation between autism and mmr. Autistic traits are normally detected between 18 and 28 months ... just because the vaccine is also administered between that time frame does not mean it's the cause.

Claire - posted on 12/16/2010

I 100% believe that the MMR has affected my son - he used to look us in the eyes and was totally responsive before he had the mmr - my mum even noticed it and it worried her - so much so that I have gone private and had these vaccines administered separately with my new baby!!! Costs but very worth it. Its how you feel personally - others have opinions too but you can only worry about your own and believe your OWN beliefs. I am all against the mmr!

Angela - posted on 12/15/2010

I have researched all this and my personal opinion is that IF the gene is in them, the shots cause an onset. My 15 yr old son has Aspergers and looking back he reversed in talking, potty training, everything after his immunizations. He stopped talking until he was almost 3. Same with potty training. He would be behind, however, once he was ready to do something, it was almost instantly. I have mixed feelings because my older 2 children had the same shots with NO problems. That's why I feel like IF the immunizations "cause" it, then it seems like they may have a dormant gene that is brought out by the shots. This will always be a controversial topic. As a mom, you just have to do what you feel is right for your child.

Christi - posted on 12/14/2010

Autism is not always hereditary. My sister has Asperger's and as far back as we can trace our history, no one has been different. My genetist and I talked about this for a long time since I thought it could be. My son is Autistic as well, but he does not show any of the markers that would indicate it was hereditary. He said there was no link between my sisters ASD and my son's and that we should have no problem having more children that will not have ASD. It can be passed through males so if I had a brother and then a son with Autism, then it could be hereditary, but otherwise it's not and the reason is unknown.



And seriously, vaccines are toxic? If that were the case they would have been banned by the government and we would all be dead. They could be greener... what does that have to do with anything. They are to keep your child from getting diseases that in that past wiped out thousands if not millions of people. With people not vaccinated their children things like whooping cough are coming back. There has been an outbreak of it across the U.S. because more and more people are being, excuse my language, idioic and not vaccinated their children! How would you feel if your unvaccinated child caught a disease and passed it on to an infant who was to young to be vaccinated and the infant died? Pretty sure you wouldn't be too happy. It's your child, your choice I guess, but I just do not see the reasoning behind not vaccinated your child unless you are severely paranoid.

Katherine - posted on 12/12/2010

There has just been a huge break through in the cause(s) of autism. I posted but no one read or commented. I found it to be phenomenal:

While we don't have all the answers, and more research is needed to identify and validate the causes and treatment of autism, there are new signs of hope. A study just published in The Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers from the University of California, Davis called "Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism" (i) discovered a profound and serious biological underpinning of autism -- an acquired loss of the ability to produce energy in the cells, damage to mitochondria (the energy factories in your cells), and an increase in oxidative stress (the same chemical reaction that causes cars to rust, apples to turn brown, fat to become rancid, and skin to wrinkle). These disturbances in energy metabolism were not due to genetic mutations, which is often seen in mitochondrial problems, but a condition the children studied acquired in utero or after birth.

Bottom line, if brain cells cannot produce enough energy, and there is too much oxidative stress, then neurons don't fire, connections aren't made and the lights don't go on for these children. In fact, this problem of energy loss is found in most chronic disease and aging -- from diabetes to heart disease to dementia. Brain function and neurodevelopment in particular are highly dependent on energy.

This is exactly the problem, I documented and found in Jackson when I first saw him. He had a profound loss of energy in his cells (particularly his brain cells), and indicators of severe oxidative stress. This is the same problem many other researchers have found in similar studies. (ii) Despite the evidence, most physicians don't test for mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress or other myriad factors commonly found in autistic children.

Let's look more closely at what this new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association tells us about mitochondrial dysfunction, and how this may lead us to new methods of treatment -- methods similar to the ones I used to help reverse Jackson's autism.

Autism: Brain Disorder or Body-Based Biological Illness?
The big debate (iii) that ranges in autism circles is about whether or not autism is a fixed, irreversible brain-based genetic disorder, or a systemic, reversible body-based biological condition that has identifiable causes, measurable abnormalities, and treatable dysfunctions. In other words is autism a life sentence or a reversible condition?

Many studies have illuminated the causes and possible treatments for autism, but mainstream physicians or scientists ignore most of this data. This new study, breaks new ground because it was published in one of the world's major medical journals.

In it researchers from UC Davis examined children two to five years of age from the Childhood Autism Risk From Genes and Environment (CHARGE) study in California -- a population-based, case-control investigation with confirmed autism cases and age-matched, genetically unrelated, typically developing controls, that was launched in 2003 and is still ongoing. What they discovered was the aforementioned mitochondrial dysfunction that lead to problems with energy. Interestingly, these abnormalities were not found in neurons on a brain biopsy but from examining white blood cells called lymphocytes. This means the energy deficit was a systemic problem -- not one residing solely in the brain.

This study forces the question: How do children acquire energy deficits that affect their whole system, not just the brain?

The causes of mitochondrial dysfunction are well known, specifically as it relates to metabolism and the brain, and I have documented them in my books "UtraMetabolism" and "The UltraMind Solution." They include environmental toxins (iv) -- mercury, lead and persistent organic pollutants(v) -- latent infections, gluten and allergens (which trigger inflammation) sugar and processed foods,(vi) a nutrient-depleted diet(vii) and nutritional deficiencies.(viii) These are all potentially treatable and reversible causes of mitochondrial dysfunction that have been clearly documented.

I found all these problems in Jackson, and over a period of two years we slowly unraveled and treated the underlying causes of his energy loss which included gut inflammation, mercury, and nutrient deficiencies. Over time, the tests for his mitochondrial function and oxidative stress (as well as levels of inflammation and nutrient status) all normalized. When they became normal, so did Jackson. He went from full-blown regressive autism to a normal, bright beautiful six-year-old boy.

What it Means if Autism Can be Reversed
This is just one story, but if autism can be reversed in one child, if there is any possibility of effective treatments or a potential cure, it forces us to ask critical questions: How did this happen? Can it happen in other children? What were the biological patterns found and how were they treated?

The emotional and financial costs of autism for families and societies is staggering. Now one in five -- or 20 percent -- of children have some neurodevelopmental disorder. How can we sidestep our scientific and moral obligation and sit back and accept the limited resources allocated by the National Institutes of Health ($5.1 billion for cancer, but only $141 million for autism) and society as a whole.

Most neurodevelopmental disorders have common roots. But looking at only one aspect of such conditions will not solve the problem of autism. Current autism research is based on an outdated approach -- one that is something like blind men examining the proverbial elephant. Each researcher works in his or her own silo examining different factors and coming to different conclusions. Research that integrates, synthesizes and examines all the data on causes and potential treatments is practically non-existent.

The mitochondrial dysfunction identified in the JAMA study I've been talking about is ultimately only one downstream symptom of many upstream causes. Other researchers have found systemic inflammation,(ix) brain inflammation,(x) gut inflammation,(xi) elevated levels of toxins and metals, gluten and casein antibodies,(xii) nutrient deficiencies including omega-3 fats,(xiii) vitamin D,(xiv) zinc, and magnesium, and collections of metabolic dysfunction related to quirky genes that make it difficult to perform chemical reactions essential for health in the body such as methylation and sulfation.(xv)

The take home message here is that the answer to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders will not be found in one of these factors, but in all of them taken together in varying degrees in each individual. There is no such thing as "autism." Rather there are "autisms" -- different patterns of biological dysfunction unique to each child that result in multiple insults to the brain that all manifest with symptoms we call autism.

Future research must synthesize current data and design relevant whole systems research studies that don't focus on a single factor, but examine all the factors together. Then we must apply these findings in a comprehensive fashion, as is being done by many practitioners today who work in parallel -- rather than in collaboration with -- conventional approaches and often achieve remarkable results.

Alet - posted on 12/12/2010

There have been so many studies showing NO link between Autism and the MMR. There are many underlying conditions that may be triggered by a multitude of influences, environmental as well as intrinsic for instance Mitichondrial diseases or Inborn errors of metabolism. Let us rather look at ways to ensure our children are able to reach their full potential, to help them overcome their individual difficulties and make sure that they are safe and prosper? The continual debate regarding a supposed link between vaccines and Autism achieves nothing that helps our children prosper?

Josie - posted on 12/11/2010

Austism is heritary. If you look back at members of your family, you'll find it. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins... In years past, the kids were just considered "different".
In our family, we realised that there's history of Asperger's. Hyper intelligent people with no social skills. My son was an extreme preemie. He still had all of his vaccines on time. You'd think, if anyone would have a reaction, it'd be a preemie. We have always known that those vaccines had nothing to do with his autistic tendencies.

Geralyn - posted on 12/11/2010

That is true, Deanna. I have known children who were not vaccinated and were diagnosed with autism. They tended to be lesser involved. One will never know whether they could have had more severe autism if they had been vaccinated, because it would be a hypothetical situation. My honest belief is that the children have a predisposition to autism and they have a reaction to to the vaccination. One little boy was diagnosed with mild autism at 15 mos., and after several years of ABA, he is unremarkable; he does not stand out from his typical peers. He was not vaccinated. However, his older siblings were vaccinated and then subsequently diagnosed, and they were more severely impacted.



We have to remember that there has been litigation over whether the MMR causes autism, and we must keep in mind that its a matter of burden of proof. In cases where parents and children have lost, meaning that no causal connection was proven, it simply means that the parents could not prove that it was more likey than not that the MMR caused, or was a substantial factor in causing, autism. More likely than not means 51%. If the parents proved that it was 50%-50% then they would have lost the case. And clearly, being able to prove it is extremely difficult because parents do not have access to the necessary medical information.



My biggest concern is that the US government has not done adequate testing of these vaccines, the dosages, the ages at which they are administered, etc. Many, if not all, of the studies are done by the pharmaceutical companies or their cohorts. It is outrageous that they have not been fully tested.

Genie - posted on 12/11/2010

Trust your instinct...vaccines are full of toxic chemicals and our immune system is being bombarded with so many vaccines. We rely on our doctors to much. Parents need to wake up and spend the time researching the ingredients in all the vaccines. Check out www.nvic.org I wait until my children are between the ages of 3 and 4 and then I only give them the DTaP ...my kids are never sick and their immune system is healthy. I am not totally disagreeing with vaccines, but they can be more greener and we don't need so many. Its all politically motivated my money.....I feel for those who have autistic children and if you don't believe vaccines have anything to do with your childs autism then maybe research all the auto -immune diseases that are out of control for children. Juvenille diabetes, lupus, ADD, ADHD, the list is staggering and so many parents depend on doctors to do all their homework for them. Please don't, they are overworked and don't have the time. They just wait for the pharma. rep to tell them. I taught special education for 10 years and trust my instinct that something just isn't right with our children and what is going in their bodies. Why take the chance on injecting a 10 pound infant with chemicals that are toxic to their bodies...wait and research yourself...if doesn't hurt for them to build their own immunity..God designed our bodies to protect itself , and we now have refrigeration, which helps in killing the germs that long ago took many lives.

Leeanne - posted on 12/10/2010

i had the mmr when i was 18 months old and got dieognoes with autism at the age of 6 years old and been backwards all the time i still have my on and off days, im now due to have my own baby with a surrportive partner and im due 29th april 2011 :D i still think the mmr jab caused me to get autism...

Deanna - posted on 12/10/2010

there's also tons of cases out there of parents who were afraid their child would develop autism from vaccines, so they decide not to immunize, and their child still developed autism.

Annette - posted on 12/09/2010

we have an autistic 3 year old and didnt see any signs until he was around 2, we have cousins with autistic boys and they are convinced the vaccine has played a part. They beleive that some children dont react as well to the mmr as others may, and it could act as a trigger. We have a one year old and we are postponing the mmr until he is a little older around 2-3 years. We will eventually vaccinate and if there is a change then we will come down on the govt like a ton of bricks...it's not like there ever going to admit that there potentially is a problem.

Astra - posted on 12/08/2010

Or could there been some kind of an allergic reaction that caused it, and then maybe with that reaction brought out an underlying problem. I have a son that was diagnosed almost 4 years ago with high functioning autism. I have yet to find any research that I can say yeah that is plausible. Just about every theory can be busted. Then you get these people who want their child to have Autism and will do or say anything to have that title put on their child. Theres people who's children have never had any vaccines and they have an autistic child. It does seem to be more prevalent in males than females. Something like this seems to lead me to believe it is genetics. Then maybe something that happens in ones life brings it out.

Connie - posted on 12/08/2010

Absolutely NOT! It is a coincedence that these things happened around that time. In my family there are three generations of autism & one of them is older & he didn't get vaccines. The whole vaccine thing has been blown out o proportion & the only reason it ever came up because the daughter of some NBC big wig went on TV & said that was what made her child "sick". Jenny McCarthy didn't help the cause either. It is a genetic difference. Not a disease, it is not a sickness & Vaccines don't "cause" it. Focus on who your child is & celebrate his strengths.

Stacy - posted on 12/08/2010

I have a friend with twins. Same genetic makeup. Both received the MMR - one developed autism, one did not. To me - that says it's not the shot. It could be one tiny slip in the DNA that causes one child to regress and not another. No one knows - but they have ruled some things out. Carrots don't cause autism. The coming of winter doesn't cause autism. And the MMR shot does not cause autism.

I - for one - saw the signs of autism way prior to DS's first MMR. The shot was initially studied because of the timing where most folks see the regression. But think about it - your child gets the MMR at the same time that language and development explode. And this is an issue that effects those regions - not crawling, or rolling over, or all the other physical milestones. Of course it's easy to miss...until you start noticing that those verbal and social cues aren't there. And that doesn't happen until around 14 mos, when the MMR is scheduled.

I personally think it's all coincidence. I had worked in the medical research field for 7 years. Why would someone falsify a study? To get published. In research, it's publish or perish. You will NOT get your funding renewed (ie, you will be out of a job) unless you publish a certain number of articles a year. Wakefield had put a lot of time into researching a theory that had hit a dead end. He needed to get published so he paid off the parents of the kids who participated in the study. In the research community - this is equivalent of a professional athlete taking steriods. HUGE scandal. The authors of the study have since come out and said the entire thing was a fraud and that they don't support a single conclusion from it. And I know of at least 8 studies since - with MUCH larger focus groups, and over a much longer period of time - that have conclusively shown that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism. I will go with those, over one study that the author fully admits was a sham.

I think it's like getting a new pair of shoes, walking out of the store and getting hit by a bus - then blaming the shoes. If you don't feel comfortable vaccinating, then don't do it. It's certainly your right as a parent. But do it for the right reasons at least, not because you're afraid your child might develop autism.

Stacy

Christine - posted on 12/08/2010

I am the grandmother of a 5 yr old boy with autism, his problems started after m.m.r. shot. We will never be able to prove a connection, but i think in 50 yrs plus now when I am dead and gone it will come out. I have heard too many stories to discount the connection

Cathy - posted on 12/08/2010

i have 3 children . the 2 that got the shot devolped autism and the 1 i did not give it to is fine.

Tiffany - posted on 12/08/2010

Here is the way I had to look at it. If the MMR vaccine is truly to blame, then why is it that only one of my child has autism? All three of them got the MMR shot, yet it is only my middle child who has autism.

Amy - posted on 12/08/2010

In my opinion I don't think it has anything to do with causing autism. I never thought about the possibility of it bringing it out in children that just hadn't shown signs of it though.
Just my opinion.
-Amy

Cathy - posted on 12/07/2010

most vaccines do not stop what they say they can anyway and they have found the chickenpox vacc, is causing more problems now.

Cathy - posted on 12/07/2010

i think so my son startting regressing a couple of months after having several vaccines including mmr. he was a very talkitive child . he had a lot of words prior to the regression after nothing it took a while to get his speech back. i have studied alot of reports out and will not support any more vaccines

Lisa-Jayne - posted on 12/06/2010

No-one has ever suggested that ALL children given MMR will become autistic, so just because someone has someone has a 'normal' child and an autistic child, and both were immunised, does not mean immunisations are not the cause or at least part of the cause of autism. I think we really need to keep an open mind on this one, and as I said earlier, this risks of not immunising still far outway the risks of immunising. I would much rather have my beautiful daughter with autism, than have diseases such as small pox still roaming the world. I think the real issue here is to keep researching and to keep making the vaccines safer and safer. I also think we need to be careful what language we use with each other because harsh words build up barriers, and kind words build up support. Let's be there for each other, even if we don't agree on every aspect of this difficult subject.

Donna - posted on 12/06/2010

I will have totally disagree with this. My oldest son who is 11 is autistic, but my two youngest who are 4 and 2 are not autistic,and all three boys have had their MMR shots.

Mimi - posted on 12/06/2010

Unless God Himself tells me it was not the MMR vaccine I will always believe that was the cause of all my son's problems. He was 14 months old had 50+ words was making great eye contact, very loving child. After the MMR vaccine he began having seizures and quit talking. It took us 4 years to get his language back. We (after a good deal of therapy, prayer, hard work) are getting him back. Wakefield research was not proved false.

Christi - posted on 12/05/2010

I am sorry, not to offend, but I think it is a load of crap. My son got his shots late since he is a Christmas baby, he didn't get his 1year old shots until mid Janruary and then he didn't get his MMR shot until he was 19 months. At 14 months is when we first started seeing regression in him, and there is no proof that the MMR does anything. I think alot of parents get overprotective and decided to stop all vaccines, not realizing they are not only putting their child at risk, but other children who are too young to be vaccinated.

Christy - posted on 12/03/2010

Oh and the one child of ours who regressed, stopped smiling, hugging, kissing, or giving hugs, and stopped talking around three, was the one that did not have the vacine until he was older.

Christy - posted on 12/03/2010

MMR had absolutely nothing to do with Autism. Autism was around way before the MMR or many other vaccines. Think of Einstein, it is stronly believed that he was Autistic, but back then you were considered weird, nurotic, eccentric, or strange. The reason for the 'epidemic' of Autism, is because it is diagnosed easier and that they've added Aspergers and other spectrum disorders with it. One of my boys was considered OCD, and ODD before it was discovered that he was autistic. Plus you have doctors that are giving false diagnosis so that children can get OT, PT. ST, DT that would not otherwise quailfy for those services. I have many friends who are grown who have Autism, my husband, myself, and all my children have forms of Autism, how could you link that to a MMR shot, especially when one of my children did not get the MMR until after his diagnosis. The link is in our genes. The IAN Institute has located one gene that causes Autism symptoms in some people, and are finding even more proof of it being linked in our genes. Think of people in your family. Your brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents. Were any of them eccentric, obsessed with details or things? If you think though each family member, you will find autistic traits in some of them. Perhaps even in yourself. Is there a certain food you wont eat because of the texture or color, a certain feel you don't like against your skin, or how about a certain thing you are obsessed with that you love to talk about constantly? Look deep and you will find your answers.

Lisa-Jayne - posted on 12/03/2010

Probably not in our case, but I would consider it very possible in many cases. I had Glandular Fever at 12 weeks gestation and then Chicken Pox at 18 weeks, so it would be hard to blame the vaccinations after so much trauma to our beautiful daughter before she was even born. I agree with Rosie, that we can be proud mums of our autistic children, but I would still choose my daughter to be 'normal' for her sake and for the sake of her future.
Personally, I don't think it matters what actually caused the autism/asperger's. It is just something we have to deal with. The risks of not immunising are still greater than the risks of immunising in my opinion.

Gaynor - posted on 12/02/2010

Thanks Megan, I hadn't heard about Wakefield admitting falsifying his study. Why on earth would someone do something like that, what a strange man. On the other hand, maybe he had a feeling the vaccine would make the condition worse, or trigger it in some way. Oh well, we'll probably never know the truth, we can only guess and speculate. Will have to go see what I can find out now lol.

Megan - posted on 12/02/2010

Wakefield admitted to falifying his study last year. He choose kids that he thought were showing signs of autism BEFORE he administered the vaccine chose them for the study, then gave them the vaccine. It was played down because the journal that published it did not want to look bad. The medical community was discussing weather or not his credientals should be pulled, I stopped paying attention, so I do not know if they did so or not.

What the professionals I read at the time were saying is that because of his selection of children rather than it being random, his results are invalid. I know my son was not affected by the shot as a said earlier in this thread, but I wonder if there is still some connection, just not as strong or obvious as the one that was published.

Gaynor - posted on 12/01/2010

I too thought the MMR vaccine, or the fact that babies today get so many vaccines in the first 18 months of their life, was the problem. To an extent I still do wonder if it played a part in my daughters Aspergers. My daughter is now 16 though and I couldn't care less. As far as I'm concerned she's perfect, and though she can still be hard work, is an amazing and unique individual. My family has a few obvious aspies, at least three individuals with signs of associated disorders like adhd and tourettes, and my husbands family does too. I can trace our first definite Aspie back to my great-grandfather. The thing that made me wonder though was the fact that my daughters Aspergers is so much worse than theirs, especially since all but two of those with obvious Aspie traits were male, and the disorder is supposed to be more common in men. I thought maybe the MMR had somehow made worse something that was there anyway. Who knows!

Shelly, you wrote,

'Also, it turns out that Wakefield falsified his study, which could not be duplicated (number one red flag in science). MMR vaccines - along with all the other ones, play NO PART in autism and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.'

Okay, point one, why would someone falsify a study they had to realise was going to be this controversial. Who said he falsified the study? Point two, who says vaccines don't cause autism, no one can say 100% that they don't, the same as we can't say 100% that they do. No one knows for sure, yes tests and investigations have been carried out, but no one has actually said 100% that the MMR cannot have caused autism or its effects. Point three, you say the MMR (and all the other vaccines) DO NOT play a part, and anyone saying otherwise is lying. How do you know this? Even doctors wont say things like this, because they cannot prove it. What a ridiculous thing to say.

We are here to help each other, not to call each other liars. We all have our points of view, we all want to hear each others thoughts on things, but if someone disagrees that doesn't make them a liar.

Krystee - posted on 11/30/2010

These shots were stored in Mercury that was proven that this had a HUGE affect in the causes of Autism. There are also other factors, but if your child predispositioned or carries whatever causes Autism, and you add things that CAN contribute to this... it is going to happen HANDS DOWN!

Krystee - posted on 11/30/2010

I TOTALLY agree with you. Mynow 15 year old daughter was a normal child, keeping normal eye contact, talking, acting like a normal child and then she got her MMR shot and with in weeks was regressing. She stopped letting us comfort her, stopped looking at us and stopped talking. The doctors said that the MMR shot couldn;t be the cause, but I truly feel through Mother's intuitition, that this was the cause of her Autism. We have video that shows her as a normal infant/baby, and then the change, and video of this as well. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Advocate for your son. They may have MD behind their name, but we have the most powerful initals in front of ours... MOM! That trumps all of their schooling. We live 24/7 with these children, they don't.

Katherine - posted on 11/30/2010

I hope we will know. I really hope they find the EXACT cause/causes some day.

Jane - posted on 11/30/2010

We did see a change after MMR - however......I think it was more about his body's response to his vaccines, rather than vaccine itself.
So just as some people are more prone to allergies, you will notice a trend with some people and vaccines - and yet won't affect other children at all.
For us, he had spiking high temps and then fits - I think that had some bearing on his diagnosis - but I think there are also other factors too - including for some a genetic link and others environment.
I wonder if we will ever know.....