My Daughter is 4 and is being tested for Autism, Should I get her Vaccinated?

Laura - posted on 09/10/2011

The MMR does not cause autism. It is the same vaccine we got when we were kids. The additives in our foods and the things in the environment are more likely to be responsible for this huge increase of autism in the children of this generation. Vaccinations are important to prevent diseases. If everyone stopped getting vaccinations due to fear, then we will see far worse things occur with our children. Diseases that had been eradicated will come back in full force and we will then see our children die from them.

Samantha - posted on 01/09/2010

I am also VERY confused about the whole vaccination thing also. My step daughter is 4 and has autism...she was perfect before a needle ever touched her. My husband thinks that our 3 month old son does NOT need any shots, and he hasn't had anything except the Vitamin K. He is perfectly fine and healthy. I am just worried about germs and getting sick, a strong immune system can fight off anything so in a way there really is no need for shots. But I am soooo confused and would like to talk to parents who have older children who have NOT been vaccinated, and know that everything is okay with them.

I heard that they can get so sick and fever be so high that their brain could swell and then become mentally retarded if not vaccinated for some things...;(

For now at 3 months.....he will not have shots till I am certain in my choice.

Alicia - posted on 09/14/2009

Quoting Sarah:

Thank you everyone who has commented, I know this is my own decision, and as a mother I am looking for advice, as of right now, I have had her exempt from the vacinations untill we have futher testing. This is a hard decision for me to make because I know some of these vacines are life savers, but do I tell my child when she is 18 that I caused her to be the way she is because I had her vacinated?????? I'm so confused right now I will be looking into the websites and drs everyone has suggested, again I just want to thank everyone!

It is an incredibly difficult decision. Eventually you will probably have some peace of mind one way or the other about it. You are dealing with a lot just going through the diagnostic process so give yourself some space to make the decision. I would say just be careful of what you expose her to until you are comfortable with your decision either to vaccinate or not. Take some time and come to terms. If she is autistic you cannot blame yourself for it. You didn't cause her to be the way she is. Like I said before I do believe it is important to admin the life saving vaccines and skip the unnecesary ones. Even if there is a link proven sometime down the road I still feel like it would have been a responsible decision. Autistic or not our children are fantastic beautiful, frustrating challenging individuals. Can you think or any neurotypical kid you couldn't also apply all of those labels to? This is just the set of challenges we have been handed as parents. "Normal kids" are frequently challenging too.  If you find yourself in the position of having to answer that charge either to yourself in the years to come or to her at any age just remember your daughter is just as worthy and lovable autistic as any neurotypical kid is. You have to love her were she is if you want her to be able to do the same. Autism isn't a death sentence. If you choose to vaccinate it will be because you felt that was the best way to protect her life. That isn't something to feel ashamed of. If you don't vaccinate just be careful of her surroundings. Good luck with everything. You aren't alone.

Janice - posted on 09/14/2009

I agree 100%. Its unfortunate that development delays start to become aparent around the same time as the mmr vacine, thats why when people are looking for answers they referr back to this vacine, but so many demons can be hidden that are there from birth until they start to become more active. I have 4 children all vacinated and only 1 is Autisic, he is now 19yrs old and when I look back there were signs the day he was born , trouble feeding etc. All the best

Janice - posted on 09/14/2009

the latest info that was reported on the news here in Australia is that they have just proven that their is no link between vacanations and Autism. My son is now 19yr and I would still have him vacinated if I had to as the dieseses that the vacationations were eradicating are back on the rise, Talk to youre pedatrician, one that has a open mind to the facts. All the best

Mika - posted on 09/14/2009

I have a 7yr old son completely vaccinated, and yes he has PDD NOS, but my daughter who is almost 2, is also vaccinated,and has no signs of it. I would rather deal with it and have my children vaccinated, then not. So, its a choice that's really up to you and your preferences.

Sarah - posted on 09/14/2009

Thank you everyone who has commented, I know this is my own decision, and as a mother I am looking for advice, as of right now, I have had her exempt from the vacinations untill we have futher testing. This is a hard decision for me to make because I know some of these vacines are life savers, but do I tell my child when she is 18 that I caused her to be the way she is because I had her vacinated?????? I'm so confused right now I will be looking into the websites and drs everyone has suggested, again I just want to thank everyone!

Sarah - posted on 09/14/2009

I've seen alot of people talk about a DAN Dr. what is that?????

Sabrina - posted on 09/12/2009

Hey Sarah,



That is a tough one. We have been there. We had our daughter vaccinated right before she entered school and saw a regression of skills not soon after wards. We had folks telling us that it could have been the vaccine, and some saying it was safe and it was just the progression of her Autism. When it came time for our son to be vaccinated with the MMR at 15 months, we struggle with whether or not we should. I support vaccinations. We didn't want to put our children at risk for illnesses, We had him vaccinated at 15 months, and again within a month saw differences in our child. His mild temperament changed to agitation and aggression. Scientifically can we prove that the MMR did this...I don't know, but as a parent, you know your children. It wasn't something so subtle that we could dismiss. When my son was about to enter Kindergarten we opt not to vaccinate him. We couldn't take the risk of the unknown. I hope this helps Sarah. Ultimately, you have to do what is right for your child and family.



Take care,



Sabrina

Bonnie - posted on 09/12/2009

Quoting Tricia:

I have a child that has vaccince induced autism. He was developemently right on track up until the series of shots at 2 that included the MMR. After that it was like someone flipped a switch and we lost him. He is 8 now and we are working hard at recovering him. I have older children and always thought that if there was a vaccine for something we would get it. But now I evaluate. My youngest has gotten the MMR and we will hold off until school age and then he will only get one vaccine at a time and spaced out 2 months apart for any additonal ones. This is such a personal decision but I say follow your gut. A mother's intuition is very strong. Good luck to you.

Im sorry there is no such thing as "vaccine induced autism"  Your son would have already been autistic, a lot of children develop normally until the age of 2 then they regress, getting a neddle is scary, which could have made it come out faster, but it would have come out eventually any way.

I could get a group of autistic children together that ate a certin type of cheese the week before they regessed and blame that too.

Yelena - posted on 09/11/2009

i was told that the misunderstanding of the connection of autism and vacinations was just age. That vaccines dont cause autism! I would go ahead with it, exspecially since she's 4 now

April - posted on 09/10/2009

you can request the vaccine be themesol free. Themesol (spelling) is the preservative that contains mercury.

Holly - posted on 09/10/2009

The choice is yours. Our son was finally diagnosed at 6 with AUtism but we knew he had autism at 3.It was getting the Dr's to Diagnose. At 7yrs old he was then dx with epilepsy. We refused to give him anymore shots. We noticed a difference after his 18mth shots. He was never the same kid. DO you have more than one child. Our son was our first and we knew something was different. After our second was born it was night and day.

Anca - posted on 09/10/2009

check out TACA.org for a safe vaccination schedule and ideas, such as not to vaccinate if the child is sick, etc.

Tricia - posted on 09/10/2009

It isn't so much the the MMR shot itself it is all the preservitives it has which are mercury based and then they are getting more than just that shot at the same time. I believe our kids bodies get overloaded with all of these metals and their bodies can't, for what ever reason, detox these toxins themselves. As for my family, 1 of my sons showed signs very early on so we think his is environmental but my other son was developementaly right on track and it was like overnight he disappeared. I whole heartedly believe that his was vaccine induced. I have done my research too and you would have to have blinders on not to think that some of these toxins are to blame.

Josie - posted on 09/10/2009

I'm not sure where you got this information about a link between MMR and Autism...as far as I know for sure there is absolutely no link...i have been in the field as a behavior therapist for over 10 years and not one mom or family has related the two or for that matter a doctor. As a worker in the field and again im not a doctor myself and the professionals around me feel that when a child gets vaccinated it may trigger the onset of Autism they already have, the child has already showed some symptons and after the vaccine they may be more visible. But even without the vaccine they would have developed anyways. Just like cancer we all have cancer cells...something triggers it but when a mom has a child with Autism YOU have probably saw the symptons before your child was diagnosed from very early on...eye contact, motor skills etc etc., very little things that you probably said to yourself somethings not right although everyone around you says all children develop differently.
God luck...and hope i can be of service....

LISA - posted on 09/09/2009

No, I would not get her vaccinated. My son is Autistic after getting his vaccinations.

Dawn - posted on 09/09/2009

My Daughter will be 3yrs old in Oct and she is Autistic. It is hard cause every kid is different but i still get her vaccinated and her Dr will only do 1 shot at a time instead of all at once. We spread out her shots and i had to take her monthly for a while but it was better then her getting 3 to 6 shots in one visit.

Magen - posted on 09/09/2009

I am always surprised how many people blindly believe every vaccine their child receives it to save them from eminent death. However our children are vaccinated for Rubella which is fatal to fetuses in their first trimester. And varicella which is the causitive agent of chicken pox. The CDC lists no morbidity or mortality rates for chicken pox. Hospitals now offer a Hepatitis B vaccine for infants before they leave the hospital, Hep B is transmitted through body fluid exchange such as unprotected sex and sharing infected needles. Not activities infants tend to engage in. So Ask yourself are all these vaccines REALLY neccessary. And in regaurd to Thimerosal we really should ask is there any "safe" amount of poison to inject into our children. No one can tell you what to do with your child but if I had known then what I know now maybe I could have saved my son some very hard years. I also strongly recommend a DAN Dr.

Magen - posted on 09/09/2009

Quoting Bonnie:

There is NO proven link, those studies are incorrect and are not reconized as legitimate, a country in europe just did the biggest study on this subject and found without a doubt that there is no link.
Autism is a developmental disorder that a child is born with, diets and therapy are great ways of helping a child learn to focus and control their little minds better.
Please let your child have the vacs. These diseases kill, many people say that these diseases dont exist any more but they do its the vacs that keep them away from our children. Here in australia we just had an out break of measles because a small community decided not to vacinate. because of this a 3 month old baby died, the babys parents were vacinating their children but their baby was too young to have the mmr, so because some people chose to listen to claims that have been disproven a baby is dead.
Did you know that back in the 50s a doctor claimed that Autism was caused by "refridgerator mothers" which are mothers that work and dont pay enough attention to their children. Thank god that we dont think like that any more, lets hope that this disproven theroy is forgotten to.

Aracely - posted on 09/09/2009

the choice pretty much yours. I had all of my children vaccinated within the reccomended time frame. my son is high functioning autism but the signs were there long before he was vaccinated. I have learned to live and TEACH my child the skills needed to live a "NORMAL" life.

Christina - posted on 09/09/2009

p.s. both of my children have been vaccinated. both do not have Autism. Genetics, Increased Population (because of vaccines) and you have mutations and adaptations of disorders and predispostions.

Christina - posted on 09/09/2009

Well, this is a personal choice for each individual to make. I have a son who has Tourettes with many disorders commonly attached to this neurological medical condition. I know, as a Mother, that I would always choose to vaccinate. Autism is not a death sentence, but if your child contracts a deadly, preventable disease or virus I think it would be worse. There is no proven link to autism from what I know and just recently heard that it is still speculation. Perhaps it is linked or not, but if your son is showing signs of Autism, it can probably be hypothesized that he highly probably has it, but won't be vaccinated. I know it is a proven fact that Vaccinations Prevent deaths and Save Lives All Over The World!

Gemma - posted on 09/09/2009

hi my son is also being tested for autism it is so hard to deal with and the choice is yours but i will say i asked my doctor what he thought and he said he would be vaccinating his own daughter and that was good enough for me i have a child care qualification and while studying special needs i found out that the link between mmr and autisim can not be proven autism is genetic and by co incidence the symptoms of autisim usualy begin to show soon after the vacination because every child is vacinated at the same age, if your child gets sick with measel or mumps it could make them very ill and cause furtheer problems can you let me know how you get on with assesment i will have results of ours in two weeks

Tricia - posted on 09/09/2009

Also I highly recommend the book "healing and preventing Autism" by Jenni McCarthy and her dr. It really broke things down.

Tricia - posted on 09/09/2009

I have a child that has vaccince induced autism. He was developemently right on track up until the series of shots at 2 that included the MMR. After that it was like someone flipped a switch and we lost him. He is 8 now and we are working hard at recovering him. I have older children and always thought that if there was a vaccine for something we would get it. But now I evaluate. My youngest has gotten the MMR and we will hold off until school age and then he will only get one vaccine at a time and spaced out 2 months apart for any additonal ones. This is such a personal decision but I say follow your gut. A mother's intuition is very strong. Good luck to you.

Jane - posted on 09/09/2009

Stacy, the earlier you get your child some help the better your child will be. Don't put it off, find an early education program and enroll him so he is better adjusted when he gets to school. If you don't, his chances of falling behind is even greater.

Jane - posted on 09/09/2009

You need to make this decision very carefully. I have a Autistic son who is now 14 and a freshmen in high school and with the proper support your child will thrive like mine. I would test for allergies because they cultivate the vaccine in chicken eggs. We found out that our son who only ate at the time chicken nuggets was allergic to chicken ie egg. Now our son does have all his vaccines and now we don't have to fight the school board. We spent thousands on every thing we thought would be beneficial to our son, we took him all over the United States to see all the top Drs specializing in Autism. My advise is to try everything, it won't hurt anything but your wallet and we felt that was secondary to finding help for our son. Try Cranial Sacral Therapy, adjust her diet, test for allergies, find out if your school district has a program that can help, talk to a Neurologist, Pediatrician maybe find one that specializes in children who have Autism, talk to everyone who wants to give you advise, take what you can use and discard the rest. Ask about Secretion, try a homeopathic Dr, that helped us in our sons diet issues. What ever you do, do your home work and educate your self. Don't wait for the Dr to give you everything and question everything. Why? was my best friend. Good luck.

Alicia - posted on 09/08/2009

Quoting Kelly:

Well, this is a very tricky subject. One you must educate yourself on. I'll give you my summed up story. I have 5 kids, expecting #6. My first 3 were all vaccinated, and my third child is in the spectrum. I def contribute it to the vaccines. My last 2 chilldren are not vaccinated. The difference between them. There are so many things liked to the vaccines that people just don't know about. Something as simple as ear infections. The first three of my children all had to have tubes, the last 2, barely even an ear infection.

I agree that children are given too many vaccines. I opted not to have the Hep B shot given as I didn't feel it was nesecary. 

However some of these vaccines are literaly life saving. Yes there is some potential for side effects but ear aches don't kill you, polio does.  It was not an easy decision for me to make after Liam was diagnosed with autism to continue vaccinations so please don't think I'm being flip about this. I went  back and forth several times delaying my younger sons vaccinations by months while I waffled. When it came down to it I just needed to ask myself one question. Is autism really worse than death? That was it for me. My kid is pretty fantastic despite being autistic and I'm immensly proud of him. I wouldn't trade his life for anything.

Also the discussion on MMRs being related to autism was based on a very small study performed by a british doctor now practicing in the US. His study included 12 subjects thats it. Multiple studies have been performed since with hundreds and in one case thousands of subjects studied. There has been absolutely no link found. Even the Dr who published the initial study never meant for parents to stop vaccinating. Finding this out gave me the piece of mind I needed about my decision so I thought I'd share it.

Good luck with your decision. It's a tough one to make.

Emily - posted on 09/08/2009

Just my opinion, but I don't think there was any link in vaccines and my son being diagnosed with autistic disorder. I knew when he was a small infant, that something just wasn't quite "normal". He's almost 4 now and had all of his recommended vaccines and not regressed whatsoever. He has made amazing progress thru speech and occupational therapies and thru putting him in a headstart/social setting vs staying at home with my then stay at home husband. But yes it is a personal choice. Pray, read and make the best and most informed decision you can. Good luck.

Kelly - posted on 09/08/2009

Well, this is a very tricky subject. One you must educate yourself on. I'll give you my summed up story. I have 5 kids, expecting #6. My first 3 were all vaccinated, and my third child is in the spectrum. I def contribute it to the vaccines. My last 2 chilldren are not vaccinated. The difference between them. There are so many things liked to the vaccines that people just don't know about. Something as simple as ear infections. The first three of my children all had to have tubes, the last 2, barely even an ear infection.
We have seen many specialist. The last doc we went to, Dr. Stephanie Cave, she wrote the book "What your doctor may not tell you about vaccinations." It is a must read. There you can get alot of info.. She told me that she would NOT vaccinate. Our kids today are over vaccinated. There are so many books out there that you can read. You can actually sign something saying you would pull your kids out of school if there was an outbreak, that way your child can go to school with out being vaccinated. We homeschool, so its not a prob. Its not just from the MMR, from the first shot Hep B, they are pumped with more mercury than there little bodies can handle. And yes, just cause she has already been diagnosed or whatever, it can make her worse, much worse. There bodies can not release the toxins and rid themselves of the metals from the shots, and that is where you have the problem. My little boys body is full of metals.

Melissa - posted on 09/08/2009

I have a 7 year old son and 2 younger children and I was very nervous about this same subject. I can't tell you what to do but I can tell you my experience. I did a research paper for my college course about the risks of vaccines and autism. There are a lot of "evidence" that goes both ways. However the more I researched the "link between vaccines and autism" I found that the research had no real basis. They quoted studies that I couldn't find the actually studies. I opted to have my other 2 children vaccinated and they are not affected. Good luck with your choice.

Phyllis - posted on 09/08/2009

Hello, my name is Phyllis,my son has autism and he is 8yrs.old.He did get vaccinated at the right times, i don't believe he got autism thru his vaccinations.My daughter had her vaccinations at the right time and she does not have autism.It is neurological disorder and with early intervention it will become very manageable,I know this first hand.But if you are not sure about the vaccinations talk to your child's doctor about having them spaced out over a period of time.Good luck and God bless you and your family.

Jamie - posted on 09/08/2009

Sarah- My daughter Alejandra I believe was born with Autism, she has moderate Autistic Disorder. I did have some reservations about giving her vaccines but did give them to her.... She is fine, she also gets a flu shot every year and does not seem to be effected by them. Like all others have said this is your decision you have to do what is best for you.

Diana - posted on 09/08/2009

This is a personal choice. It depends if you believe vaccines cause autism. I don't so I have my children vaccinated. My son has autism and my daughter doesn't it. I vaccinated them both but with spaced out vaccinations. I'm also a healthcare provider and have seen infants/children die by not being vaccinated. Do what you feel is right for your child.

Lesley - posted on 09/07/2009

I have a 12 year old daughter whom I always knew from the start had something special about her. Turns out she has a form of autism called aspirgers syndrome. Like I said i have always seen it in her so do I believe that her shots had anyhting to do with it no....its a very personnal choice but i believe i did the right thing having her vaccinated shes a healthy smart straight A student whos only problem is being social and I know that theres no shot in the world that causes that! Good luck with whatever u decide to do and if she does test positive for autism its no where near the end of the world but the beginning of another beautifully unique child.

Sandy - posted on 09/07/2009

Hi Sarah - I just joined the group and felt an urge to share my experience with you... That's true, no one can tell you what to do, but you can make a more informed decision. I would encourage you to find a Dan doctor in your area. A reputable Dan would know what tests to ask for... My son has very comprimised detoxification pathways, even "regular" household cleaning products had to be banned from my home, and at this point, vaccines would do more harm than good. We work, however in strenghning his immune system and his body has been able to fight well the flu for example. When it comes to the big ones, MMR etc, consider also a modified schedule (spread them out) and don't feel pressured.... I thought I had no option just because my son goes to school and they ask for his vaccine sched, but there is a way around that.

This is just my personal experience, but my son got a worse after we vaccinated him (after his diagnosis)

you can look for a DAN doctor here (ask for referrals from other moms too): http://www.autismwebsite.com/practitione...

Other Resources:

http://www.autism.com/index.asp

http://www.nationalautismassociation.org...

http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/ind...

Yahoo Groups and Meet Up also helped me a lot!

Good Luck!

Michelle - posted on 09/06/2009

Which vaccines are you concerned about (other than the MMR)? You can get her a blood test to determine if she is immune to measles.

Bonnie - posted on 09/06/2009

There is NO proven link, those studies are incorrect and are not reconized as legitimate, a country in europe just did the biggest study on this subject and found without a doubt that there is no link.

Autism is a developmental disorder that a child is born with, diets and therapy are great ways of helping a child learn to focus and control their little minds better.

Please let your child have the vacs. These diseases kill, many people say that these diseases dont exist any more but they do its the vacs that keep them away from our children. Here in australia we just had an out break of measles because a small community decided not to vacinate. because of this a 3 month old baby died, the babys parents were vacinating their children but their baby was too young to have the mmr, so because some people chose to listen to claims that have been disproven a baby is dead.

Did you know that back in the 50s a doctor claimed that Autism was caused by "refridgerator mothers" which are mothers that work and dont pay enough attention to their children. Thank god that we dont think like that any more, lets hope that this disproven theroy is forgotten to.

Stacey - posted on 09/05/2009

Hi Sarah, go to www.generationrescue.com - On the home page, scroll down until you see a heading 'must read suggestions from our larry king appearance' - #7 Looking for more information on more safely vaccinating your child, click here. It will come up with a list of suggestions, such as asking for the MMR vaccine to be given as 3 seperate vaccines, giving only 1 vaccine per visit, giving your child vitamins that assist with absorbtion of the vaccines or something, have a look, I will be using some of the suggestions for my 2 kids.

Sarah - posted on 09/05/2009

The MMR vacination is given with-in the first year of there life, and they say that children dont start to regress until there 2 because thats when they start to do everything, but in my daughters case, she was always delayed never once hit a milestone when she was supposed too. There are alot of studies that show there are proven links that the MMR vac. is linked to Autism, it might not be the case in all autsitic children, but i truley believe that it does have something to do with it!

Melissa - posted on 09/05/2009

Quoting melissa:

im not sure if the mmr vac had anything to do with my sons autism, i'm almost sure it didnt. some of these studies are done on a bias. and if your daughter has already been dianosed with autism it isnt going to make her worse. even so, she will still be healthy. and its one less disease to wory about.

heres something. check out this web site, http://www.dukehealth.org/HealthLibrary/...

in it it says something about progressing normally till around 2 when they start to regress. let me tell you this, when my son was a baby i "thought" he was progressing normal till he hit two when he started to regress. but when i had my second son i was proven wrong. my son never made the coes and other baby noises that most babies make. and there were some other small things that i noticed as my youngest got older. it honestly shocked me to see the vast difference in my two sons. right noe i have a 4 year old son that is more developed than my 7 year old. but the signs were there before he got his mmr vaccine.

Melissa - posted on 09/05/2009

im not sure if the mmr vac had anything to do with my sons autism, i'm almost sure it didnt. some of these studies are done on a bias. and if your daughter has already been dianosed with autism it isnt going to make her worse. even so, she will still be healthy. and its one less disease to wory about.

Sarah - posted on 09/05/2009

yes i spoke to her Dr and she said I cant tell you not to get them, but she said if I have any doubts not to get them for now, until the testing is done and we know what the facts. I would just like other peoples opinion because i've tried looking up research on it and its all siencetific stuff that i cant understand!!! If any can send me some links or something that would be great!

Stacey - posted on 09/05/2009

No one can tell you what to do, this is a very tricky choice. I am kind of in the same situation. My son is 2 1/2, so I dont have to worry bout him for a while yet, but my daughter is 11 months, due for vaccines next month. She shows no signs of Autism yet, but I am worried about whether or not the vaccines may cause something. But I will probably do it, because I think I would rather see her end up with Autism than see her get really sick or even die from a life threatening illness, as horrible as that sounds. Do you have a DAN! doctor in your area? They might be the best to look for advise from.