There is a lot of controversy surrounding the question of whether childhoold vaccines cause autism. Obviously there is a genetic link to autism. In identical twins, if one twin is autistic, then there is a 90% chance that the other twin will also be autistic. If autism was strictly genetic, then the coincidence would be 100% as identical twins have the same genes.
Autism was first described in the literature in the 1940's, after DPT vaccinations were recommended for all children. Over the years, the number of required and/or recomended vaccinations has risen. And the incidence of autism has skyrocketed. Many parents have reported a noticeable difference in their children after the children received the MMR at 18 months. These were children who were bright, intelligent, talking - in other words, developing normally. But after getting the MMR vaccine, they regressed - no longer talking, displaying bizarre, repetitive behaviors, not making eye contact. The concerns of parents are dismissed. "It is just a coincidence". Do you really think most parents are so dumb that they cannot recognize normal behaviour and then the absence of normal behaviour in their own children.
The Amish community has always refrained from vaccinating their children. Autism is almost unknown among the Amish. One reporter went to Pennsylvania Dutch country looking for autistic children. She found reports of 3. The first was a child adopted from China who had been vaccinated before adoption, The second child had one vaccination and the third case could not be definitely located. In this particular community, there should have been 200 children with autism based on the national average.
Ther are those who blame the mercury perservative, Thimerosol, in multi-dose vaccines. However, Thimerosol has been banned from pediatric vaccines since 1999. My own theory is that the vacination itself causes a reaction in genetically vulnerable children, causing an auto-immune reaction that results in the neurological deficet. It could be any vaccine that causes this reaction. It could be the first one or the fifth or the twentieth. Newborns have immature immune systems and yet they get their first vaccine before they are 12 hours old. There is really no good reason for giving the Hepatitis B vaccine to newborns, but we do. Premature infants also usually receive RSV to prevent a respiratory problem more common in premature babies. Yet, premature infants have even more issues with immature immune systems.
I know this. My two older grandchildren, born prematurely, both are autistic and probably have been since shortly after birth. My youngest grandson, from the same family, has not had the first vaccination. He is bright, charming, talks a blue streak and healthy. I cannot say we should abandon our vaccination program. But we must realize that we are trading acute illnesses such as diptheria, measles and chicken pox for a life time of chronic disability for some.