MarloElaine

A friend of ours is pregnant with her first baby. She is very concerned about the connection between autism and childhood immunizations. There have been many news stories and internet sites claiming that certain immunizations, such as the MMR vaccine, can cause autism. These often frighten parents into refusing to immunize their children. Parents may blame themselves for immunizing their son or daughter if they believe the vaccine was responsible for triggering their child’s autism.

According to the Autism Society of America, “autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life.” This is the same time that the MMR and other vaccines are normally administered. Many of the anti-immunization articles link an autism diagnosis with the vaccines, but cannot demonstrate a cause and effect relationship.

There is still a lot of research being done on the matter, but I feel that preventing deadly diseases outweighs the alleged risk of a developmental disability. As a registered nurse and a parent, I believe that it is best to fully immunize all children according to the recommendations of our pediatrician, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Here are some links I sent to my friend so she could learn more about this matter:

The Centers for Disease Control’s National Immunization website states, “The weight of currently available scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism. We recognize there is considerable public interest in this issue, and therefore support additional research regarding this hypothesis. CDC is committed to maintaining the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history.”

According to Stephen Barrett, M.D., “The fact that autism is diagnosed during the second or third year of life does not mean that it began at that age. Analyses of home movies made from birth onward have shown that most children who are diagnosed as autistic during the second or third year have abnormal signs during the first year — and some even show abnormalities at birth.”

Dr. Barrett’s website also discusses thimerosal, the mercury based preservative that was once used in immunizations. “An Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee, which issued a comprehensive report in October 2001, found no proof of a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, speech or language delays, or other neurodevelopmental disorders.” Though this chemical was never proven to cause autism in the normal doses, it has been removed from young children’s vaccines due to public concern.

Childhood Immunizations and Autism: Factual or Fanatical? is a site that presents definitions, studies, etc. in a rough outline format. The author draws the following three conclusions:

“No study has conclusively shown that the MMR vaccine causes autism. On the contrary, the majority of studies, including the large-scale study performed by the Institute of Medicine, have shown no association.”

“There has been no consistent association found between use of thimerosal in childhood vaccinations and autism. However, as a precautionary measure, use of thimerosal in vaccine preparations is decreasing.”

“Regardless of what the science says, this issue will continue to be debated for years to come.”

I hope this helps ease my friend’s mind, as well as anyone else who might be concerned with the association between autism and childhood immunizations. Please talk to your child’s pediatrician if you still have concerns. Keep in mind that if you choose not to immunize your children, you will not be allowed to enroll them in most schools, day cares, summer camps, sports, etc.