As a parent of a child with autism I am frequently asked, "Do you think your daughter is autistic because of the vaccinations?"
I hate that question because it either puts me in one camp or another. And I am in neither. I'll tell you why.
My daughter was a typically developing child until 15 1/2 months. Then the bottom dropped out and she regressed and transformed into a completely different and complex child.
My beautiful baby girl was healthy and happy as a newborn and infant. She hit every milestone, ate like a champ and slept through the night at six weeks old. She was purely angelic, one of the easiest-going babies I have ever met. She loved to giggle and laugh. She smiled at anyone who said hello to her. She would watch people and her face lit up when I walked in the room. She babbled and cooed very early. At seven months old, we taught her to turn on the light switch when we went downstairs. At eight months old she grabbed my thumb, looked at me and put my thumb in her mouth when she wanted food. She pointed at things she liked in books - namely Elmo - and said "La la la la" when she wanted to watch Sesame Street. (Elmo's theme song starts out "la la la la". She loved to go to the park and swing on the baby swings. She said "hi" at nine months old. By a year, she had five or six words. She did not walk until she was 15 months-old, but neither did my husband or I. And she "cruised" along the furniture from ten months, so we were not concerned. She achieved every milestone on the checklist at her 15 month check-up.
She was sick with a cold at her 15 month check up. The pediatrician asked me if I wanted to go through with the MMR shot or wait. I asked if it was safe to give it to her because she was sick. The doctor said, "yes, it is safe". I nodded my head OK. I felt uneasy about my decision. I have Ava some Tylenol for the shot and some Benadryl for the congestion - both were OK'd by the pediatrician.
Ava's cold got worse. I took her back to the doctor a few days later. The covering physician prescribed an antibiotic for a possible bacterial infection. I asked if it was OK to give Ava antibiotic since she just had her MMR vaccine. I was told it was perfectly safe.
Ava had a bad reaction to the antibiotic. She zoned out and slumped over in a daze. We could not snap her out of it. She lost interest in learning how to walk and just wanted to be held. She wouldn't respond to her name or favorite toys. She would curl into a ball on our lap and stare into space. Our bubbly, giggly toddler was now a zombie who did not communicate.
Of course, we rushed her to the doctor who upon examining Ava told us this reaction "was the antibiotic and we should take her off immediately". We did and the zoning out stopped. But Ava no longer said words, looked at us or acknowledged we were in the room. We took her to the park and she screamed when we put her on the swing. She played with toys differently and began to eat inedible objects and substances like dirt, paper and Styrofoam. She regained her desire to learn to walk, but engaged in a lot of self-stimulatory behaviors such as hand flapping, mouth tensing and bouncing up and down. She would run back and forth repeatedly, the same path, without looking at her surroundings. I tried to read her story books like I used to, and she would not follow my voice along or point to pictures as she did before.
And I panicked once again. I took Ava back to the pediatrician and the covering doctor gave me the referral to the NJ Department of Early Intervention and a referral for several developmental pediatricians. I had to wait two months to get an appointment. I called every week asking if there were any cancellations. Finally, we saw the developmental pediatrician and Ava was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She was later diagnosed with autism, sensory and auditory processing disorders.
So, the question remains. Did vaccines cause my daughter's autism? Or was it the damaging combination of antibiotics, MMR vaccine, a compromised immune system, genetics, Tylenol, Benadryl and a toxic world? Is it my age? My husband's age? The fact that we did IVF with her? NO ONE KNOWS. I saw my daughter's regression first hand. She was not the same child after her MMR vaccine, however, all of her other contemporaries who were vaccinated at the same time are typical children. Some of her contemporaries who were not vaccinated have autism. So why my child?
Dr. Wakefield's study did neither confirm or deny my daughter's autism was caused by vaccines. And since his study was deemed fraudulent, I can't help but retrace my steps and scratch my head about the MMR's role in my daughter's developmental regression. It makes the debate even more muddled. Dr. Wakefield and his supporters screaming foul play and smear campaign and the scientific community shaking it's head in dismay. As a parent, I would LOVE something or someone to blame. I would love to find out the cause - and find a cure. I wish Dr. Wakefield's study was not false, so I could find a peace of mind.
So what if Dr. Wakefield's study is a fraud? It still does not take away the fact that MY DAUGHTER HAD AUTISM. Parents and doctors need to be better educated about vaccines - and vaccines need to be administered with the child's health in mind. Babies and children are given a lot of vaccinations in a short amount of time. And if a child's immune system is compromised, how will the vaccines affect the child? We need to answer these questions. We can't condemn people for trying to uncover a link to autism, just the same as we can't uphold them for misleading the public and creating distrust and doubt.
I do believe in vaccinating. I do not want to return to a world where diseases take the lives or cause suffering for children. But we need to be educated about vaccines and make the most educated decisions on behalf of our children.
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Comments (8)
Thank you for sharing your story. I have heard similar stories time and again. Your daughter developed autism because she was subjected to a "perfect storm" of environmental factors working in concert to make her body sick. These environmental factors at least included the antibiotics (destroys good gut flora necessary for immune function), MMR (questionable safety in children with compromised immune systems), tylenol (depletes glutathione) and any other number of factors. My book,
A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America's Children (Sentient, 2010)explains how this perfect storm has lead to an entire generation of children becoming sick, disabled and dysfunctional. To learn more see www.acompromisedgeneration.com and join in our effort to educate parents so that no more children fall victim: www.epidemicanswers.org.
Beth LambertAuthor and Executive Director of Epidemic Answerswww.acompromisedgeneration.comwww.epidemicanswers.orgThe reaction from the antibiotic could have had an effect on your daughter's brain, especially if she had a high fever along with it. That seems like the most logical explanation.
I really don't think the antibiotic reaction was from the vaccine. It could have happened anyways, but you think the vaccine is the reason.
@fashionsbyjulia@xanga - I don't think she said that she thought that the vaccine was the reason. Maybe re-read the article.
@Bethlambert - Respectfully, I question your ability (or anyone's ability, really) to state the cause of an autism diagnosis in an individual child based on a blog post. As the author says herself "NO ONE KNOWS" what caused her child to have autism. A cynic might say that you replied only to plug your book.
If anyone cares to hear Dr. Wakefield's take on the accusations, he was on the Alex Jones show discussing it among other things. Basically he says that he believes that MMR could be the link to autsim but there needs to be more research done. He also added that it amazes him that the medical field spends far more money on vaccine promotion then vaccine safety:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4PeLtH6RWY
@autismparents,
You are absolutely right--I do not have the ability to say exactly what caused the author's child to develop autism. What I meant to say is that this particular child's story is very similar to others who have regressed into autism. There are common denominators (environmental and heritable factors) that many children with autism share--not ALL children, but many share the same predisposing factors. What causes autism is specific to each child. For example, there are some children with autism that have never been vaccinated. I have met them. For many others, their regression into autism began after vaccination. I have met many more of these children. As you know, autism is an extraordinarily complex condition and the etiology is also complex--there are a number of environmental and heritable factors that contribute to (or can "cause") autism . . .so what "causes" autism in one child may be different from what causes autism in another child. Yet, we do know about some of the environmental factors that can cause autism. Anyone looking at the epidemic of autism in this country (and other developed nations) must be asking themselves, WHY? Why do so many more children have autism? And for those who say it is b/c we are better at diagnosis/patient capture, etc., the epidemiological studies have definitively proven (e.g. the UC Davis MINDD institute study) that improved diagnostics/shifting diagnostic categories only account for a fraction of the total increase. So the question remains. . . why do we have so many more children with autism?The answer lies in environmental factors that have changed over the last few decades. What are these factors? [For a more complete, detailed answer, see an article that I wrote for Deirdre Imus] http://www.dienviro.com/index1.aspx?BD=19701
a) Increased use of pharmaceuticals that disrupt gastrointestinal microbial ecology (antibiotics, PPIs, birth control pills etc.)--wiping out our good gut flora destroys our ability to detoxify any toxins that we come into contact with--it also causes allergies, inflammation, and alters our ability to produce critical hormones, neurotransmitters etc. This is particularly a problem when women of childbearing age have a history of using these medications--they pass along their altered gut flora to their children which in turn creates gut dysbiosis and downstream health problems for their child. We KNOW that children with autism have altered gut ecology. This is documented in peer-reviewed medical literature.b) Increased toxic burden --this includes everything from mercury, arsenic, aluminum in air, water, soil, food to manufactured chemicals like BPA, PVC, and DBPE. When we have altered gut ecology, we cannot detoxify or properly eliminate these toxins from our bodies. We KNOW that children with autism carry a higher toxin burden than their neurotypical peers. This is in the peer-reviewed medical literature. c) The Standard American Diet which feeds the pathogenic and opportunistic organisms in our guts further disrupting our intestinal microbial ecology (and the SAD adds toxic exposures such as aspartame, MSG, GMOs, artificial colorings and preservatives.) Finally, the FDA is critically examining the link between food and behavior by looking at the link between the symptoms of ADHD and food additives (CHEMICALS IN THEIR FOOD!) http://abcnews.go.com/Health/food-dyes-hyperactivity/story?id=13221478d) Cultural/lifestyle factors including: Low Vitamin D and outdoor exposures (contributes to immune dysregulation -- known to be part of the pathophysiology of autism), high level of antibiotics administered at birth due to c-sections, group B strep prophylactic policies in hospital which further disrupts gut flora (see above), etc.e) Excessive and improperly administered immunization policies. It has long been known that vaccines contribute to immune dysregulation (again, part of the pathophysiology of autism) e.g., autoimmunity, Th2 skewing, etc. (this is documented time and again in the medical literature!). . .the question is, which vaccines (that are part of the current schedule) might be contributing to immune dysregulation? The proper epidemiological studies (or safety studies for that matter) have NEVER been done. What's worse, if you give a child a vaccine while they are on an antibiotic or shortly after (or before) you are giving a vaccine to an immunocompromised child. The gut flora are a critical part of our immune function (they actually help to manufacture immune cells, and play an immunoregulatory role). If you wipe out your gut flora, you are wiping out your body's ability to effectively handle immune challenges (such as presented by vaccines). We should NEVER vaccinate a child on antibiotics, but we do it all the time in this country. Because it is not contraindicated on the prescribing information on vaccine labels, doctors will go ahead and do it anyway. The smart, progressive and educated pediatricians will never vaccinate a child while on an antibiotic or while sick.
I wrote a book and founded a 501c3 non-profit organization precisely because I learned (the hard way) what was happening to this generation of children and I am absolutely committed to educating parents about WHY our children are so sick. Please consider taking a look at our website www.epidemicanswers.org. I don't care if I don't sell another book--I just want parents to know what is going on. I only wrote the book so I could share what I have learned. Best of luck to you in your learning and healing journey.Beth Lambert
You're right that we can't blame parents for looking for an answer. what we can blame people for is wasting time, energy, and money on something which has been proven not to be the cause, when all that time, energy, and money could have been spent looking for the actual answer. we can blame people for generating a conspiracy theory disseminating misinformation which has led to a serious decrease in vaccines use and consequently a serious increase in infant and child deaths due to preventable diseases. We don't yet know what causes autism, so we can blame someone for claiming to have that answer in vaccines when the evidence is simply not there and it leads to serious consequences.
I will admit for me as someone who has decided not to vaccinate my child... This whole issue could be resolved the minute that they take out the harmful things that are put in vaccines ranging from things like mercury, to aluminum, to laundry detergent. I guarantee you if the took them out myself and many other parents would get their kids vaccinated. Its simple really.
Another good question is why is it they are able to lump vaccines together? A good example of this is the MMR. If I was to take a medication to a pharmaceutical company that was several types of meds (even if they are commonly taken together anyways), I would be thrown out... yet vaccinations can get past this.