Vaccinate your kids?

Right! Also remember "the patriot act", where the government snuck in laws that congress never had time to review or whatever.

In the patriot act was designated "vaccine court". A special court that heard only vaccine cases.

The patriot act said that you can't bring suit against vaccine manufacturers ---virtually exempting them from laws that every other company in the country is held accountable under.

Why the special treatment do you suppose?

I totally respect those who wish to have your kids vaccinated and I have not had any scratch babies myself (you know- made from scratch as opposed to fostered etc.) and I'm not going to say you should or shouldn't have them vaccinated but I must tell you this because it is true: I have five nephew from the same mother and from four different fathers (long story there). None of the five boys has ever had a vaccination of any kind and they are all adults now between early 20's and late 30's and I've never seen one of the have even so much as a cold.

Rollings wrote:

The number of vaccines have also been increasing.

Ten years ago, I knew one person personally who had a child with autism.

today I can easily name 20 people or more who has a child with autism, and these are people I either knew before my child or their child was born, and that I have met for reasons other than being autism-related.

My point was not just to say that nobody at all heard of autism before rainman anyway. It was virtually unheard of. And today, it would be difficult to find someone who doesn't know someone who has a child with autism.

I know you weren't saying that. And my point was to say that it was known enough 40 years ago that I learned about it in 9th grade health class. So it's not a new phenomenon. I also said that the rates of autism have increased. I don't know why but I don't think better reporting is the only reason. I'm just not sold on the vaccine argument.

(I just hitched this article to the moving train....)

New CDC Study Shows Average Autism Prevalence Up 23% From 2009 Study

Boston, MA – A study out today from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) indicates Autism now affects an alarming one in 88 children, (one in 54 boys) a sharp jump from the previous numbers released in late 2009, and frighteningly distant rate from one in 10,000 cases seen in the 1980s.

Today’s study, conducted by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network office of the CDC, looked at eight-year-old children born in 2000. A previous study released by ADDM in 2009 showed autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affected one in 110 children. The number of children identified with ASDs in this study ranged from 1 in 210 children in Alabama to 1 in 47 children in Utah. CDC reports that the largest increases were among Hispanic and black children.

According to a CDC press release issued today, “One thing the data tells us with certainty – there are many children and families who need help,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We must continue to track autism spectrum disorders because this is the information communities need to guide improvements in services to help children.

The National Autism Association again calls for swift government action, including the declaration of the autism epidemic as a national health crisis. An immediate focus on the following areas is critical:

Prevention:

Genetics alone cannot explain the rise in autism. Proper study into environmental cofactors should be a top priority among our government, researchers and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).

This latest study confirms that the number of children diagnosed with autism continued to rise among those born in 2000, before the removal of the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from most routine childhood vaccines. The findings are also consistent with recent studies 1, 2 indicating an association between the hepatitis B vaccine and brain damage.

Parents have consistently stated that regression in their child occurred following immunizations. Further research on the increased use of vaccines is warranted and should be conducted with significant stakeholder input. Obvious research that has been ignored, such as health outcomes in vaccinated versus non-vaccinated populations must be undertaken.

Certain subgroups may be more susceptible to environmental regression, including those with a family history of autoimmune disorders, premature infants, and children that are ill at the time of vaccination. Researching ways to decrease adverse reactions while increasing the safety of vaccines benefits the overall health of the general public.

Treatment:

Children with autism have underlying medical conditions that often go missed, dismissed or misunderstood. These conditions deserve the full attention of our government health agencies and medical research community. A recently published review of the world’s medical literature strongly implicates biochemical abnormalities including oxidative stress, immune dysregulation or inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and toxic exposures.

Physicians should be sure and listen to each caregiver’s account of any medical issues their child with autism may have and not presume it to be behavioral.

Treatment, services and therapies should be available to all individuals with autism. Insurance coverage for co-morbid medical conditions should be mandated nationwide.

Studies on children that significantly progressed or completely lost a classic autism diagnosis should be conducted to uncover biological underpinnings.

Clinical studies on promising treatments are necessary.

Support:

Wandering-related deaths remain on the rise among children diagnosed with autism. A wandering prevention protocol should be in the hands of pediatricians to increase awareness & education. Just yesterday, yet another child with Autism drowned after wandering away from a safe setting.

School systems are overwhelmed by increased autism rates. Our community is in critical need of additional and properly trained special education personnel.

Cameras in special education classrooms are crucial.

Families are often unable to pay for basic speech and occupational therapies. Government aide is needed for these struggling families.

We will soon be faced with a disproportionate number of diagnosed adults in need of housing, job assistance, and lifetime care. Preparation should begin immediately and resources allocated accordingly.

A national strategy for autism is long overdue, as is a central federal web site dedicated to autism programs, assistance and information.

“Autism is a national health emergency. Our hope is that the government will finally declare it as such so that proper prevention, treatments and resources will be put in place,” says NAA Executive Director Lori McIlwain. “Immediate action is necessary for our community, and for members of the general public who just became one doorstep closer to autism."

For more information about autism, visit http://www.nationalautismassociation.org.

--March 29, 2012

Rollings wrote:

Who Princess wrote:

Rollings wrote:

admittedly by the medical community, there is so much not known about so many areas of the brain, and so much not known about how the immune system works....so when something like autism comes up, (and let's admit it ....(during the time of Rainman in what year 1988? did anybody know ANYONE with autism or even heard of it before?) so when suddenly all these kids start showing up at the doctors who can't talk at age 3 or don't communicate or who do repetive behaviors...there should have been BIG RED FLAGS raised and a "WOAH,...let's slow down here, Nellie" sign put up.

I first heard of autism when I was in high school and learned about it in health class. Altho at the time the theory was that there were only autistic children. That was in 1970.

When I was in college there was a clinic for autistic children on campus. My university had a large psychology program and even though it was located in a small town, the clinic served a lot of kids and had a lengthy waiting list. At the clinic the treatment stressed behavioral modification. The prevailing theory at the time (early 70s) was that autism was caused by bad parenting and that theory hung around for a long time.

In the 80s I worked with someone who had an autistic son who was in his early 20s. When he was a child, his parents had difficulty finding school programs that would accept him.

During all these times and for decades before that children were getting vaccinated. The rates of autism have increased, along with better understanding of the different types of autism and ways to treat it. I don't know the reasons for the increase but to answer your question, yes, I was aware of and knew of cases of autism a long time before Rainman.

The number of vaccines have also been increasing.

Ten years ago, I knew one person personally who had a child with autism.

today I can easily name 20 people or more who has a child with autism, and these are people I either knew before my child or their child was born, and that I have met for reasons other than being autism-related.

My point was not just to say that nobody at all heard of autism before rainman anyway. It was virtually unheard of. And today, it would be difficult to find someone who doesn't know someone who has a child with autism.

What has also been increasing is the number of premature babies who survive past 1 year. I mean medecine has advanced so much in like the past few decades in this type of thing to the point where premature babies who are born super early and super small and wouldn't have survived a few decades ago are no actually living. If their brains aren't as developed as full term babies who knows how that would affect things like autism rates.

What has been increasing as well is the average age at which woman have babies. I mean generations ago it was pretty standard for a woman to have babies in her early to mid-twenties if not earlier. Now it is a lot more common for women to have babies well into their 30's or even 40's. I am not a doctor so I have no idea if this means anything, just pointing out that vaccines aren't the only thing that has changed when it comes to babies over the last few decades, so to say that vaccines are the obvious cause of increased rates of autism, when their doesn't seem to be any proof seems foolish.

brianlux wrote:

I have five nephew from the same mother and from four different fathers (long story there). None of the five boys has ever had a vaccination of any kind and they are all adults now between early 20's and late 30's and I've never seen one of the have even so much as a cold.

I am glad your kids have never been sick, but anecdotal evidence is not actually proof of anything. If it was I could tell people not to buy car seats for their kids. I mean people obviously don't to spend money on them because I have never been in a car accident with my daughter.

loolooloo wrote:

My kids received the American Academy of Pediatric's recommendation for childhood vaccinations. You know why? Because I trust their research more than Fox News'. Vaccines save lives. Might there be risks? YES. Every single thing, whether it is labeled "natural" or not, poses a risk when you put it in or on your body. It's called being human. Multivitamins, antibiotics, processed carbs, processed everything, medications for everything, a diagnosis for everything....everything is dangerous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Scary, huh? Everything can kill you at any given time. Even if it says "organic." If you have a severe peanut allergy, organic peanut butter will still close up your airway just like the processed stuff. So what do we do? Build a bubble for the kids? No. We take a deep breath, try not to get sucked up into conspiracy theories, and make intelligent decisions.

If sound evidence pointed to vaccines causing autism, I would listen. But fortunately, it doesn't. Again, vaccines can and do have side effects, and I am fortunate that my kids never had a reaction to them. They are now also shielded from diseases that have the potential to kill them, their elderly grandparents, and unvaccinated children. Yes, I have seen the "harmless" chicken pox almost kill an infant..and I've seen elderly folks who's life was devastated by polio.

I respect some aspects of holistic medicine, and believe some of its practices are extremely beneficial. I also believe that many doctors over prescribe many types of medication. But for now, I'll look to the pediatric and immunologic research instead of a neighbor's uncle's wife's sister's thoughts on autism and vaccines.

Great post,well said