Immunization Wars and Autism

If I have to hear one more time that studies have proven that vaccinations do not cause autism as the reason to follow the current popular vaccination schedule I'm going lose my chocolate ladies. That argument is not seeing the forest for the trees. I believe that it is going to be very difficult for the scientific community to find a direct link between autism and vaccines because it's not that simple. In my un-expert opinion vaccines are only part of the puzzle of autism.

Why are my panties in a bunch about this today? Today posted on Dooce.com, which is believed to be the most popular "mom blog" of all time run by mom Heather Armstrong, was a "momversation" about vaccines that set me off. It was video clips of three moms, who do not have a child with autism, making the above argument for vaccines over and over and over! So, I had to respond on my own blog even though maybe only 4 people will read it and thousands read Dooce.

Here's why I think we are experiencing this epidemic of autism: We have made this world so toxic that the immune systems of 1 in 66 of our children are bailing on them effecting, among other parts of their bodies, their cognitive development thus causing autism. From the food we eat and how we produce it to the overuse of plastics. From the heavy metals and preservative poisons we pump into their little bodies along with the life saving vaccines to the pounds and pounds of sugar we pour into them every year. Air quality, stress, too much TV, polluted water, hormones in the meat supply, the overuse of corn, etc, etc, etc. It's just all too much for them! In our collective pursuit of mammon and making everything in our lives faster, easier and cheaper we have sacrificed our children. Strong words I know but I believe this with all my heart, mind and strength.

After reading scads of articles, books and seeing numerous doctors I have come to the following conclusion about Bear, my autistic son. Along with the polluted earth in general, I believe my son has autism because of 4 things: 1) my terrible nutrition while pregnant with him and his terrible nutrition as an infant (formula), 2) the antibiotics I took while in labor with him because I was positive for Group B Strep, 3) a tetanus shot I received while pregnant and his vaccinations he received in his first 2 years and 4) a high fever that lasted for 4 days right around his 1st birthday finished him off. From what I know so far, these 4 things along with a genetic pre-disposition, were Bear's personal "autism cocktail".

Now, were any one of the things listed above devastating by themselves? No. I've talked to women who lived on only pickles and Ritz crackers for their entire pregnancies because they couldn't keep anything else down and their children don't have autism. I know lots of babies fed formula and they don't have autism. Group B Strep is present in 30% of pregnant woman and those women probably had antibiotics during labor and tons of their kids are autism-free. And then the "holy" vaccines that parents are waring over, of course for every 1 child diagnosed with autism there are 65 children, most of whom were probably fully vaccinated that did not develop autism. And the antedoctal icing on the cake there are plenty of stories of unvaccinated children developing the disorder. You see where I'm going with this...........It's not just one thing people!!!!! It's all of it!!!!! And I think partially our society is turning a blind eye because cleaning up this messy planet and the way we live our lives seems like an impossible task. I know it does to me as an individual. I think the government is turning a blind eye because of money and greed, plain and simple.

This is my my 2 cents tossed into the "Great Vaccine Debate" between parents these days. If you are "pro-vax" please stop leaning only on the argument that science hasn't linked autism directly to vaccines as the only reason why parents should vaccinate and vaccinate fully. Some of us parents who choose not to vaccinate or vaccinate differently that what is suggested by the medical community are doing so not because of a direct link to autism but an indirect one. Since every little body God creates is different and there are so many environmental "suspects" for the scientists to consider it's going to be difficult if not impossible to nail down what specific combo of pollutants, vaccines, lack of nutrients, etc cause autism. The science is going to be slow on this issue folks but since I believe that vaccines played a part in my son's autism I assume our kids have a higher chance of having the genetic pre-disposition for autism and we stepped off the beaten path in the area of vaccines. We chose not to vaccinate Monkey until he was 4 and then he's only partially vaccinated. Baby Girl is currently free of vaccines and will be until she turns 3. Until you have to face autism in your child and are forced to delve into the vast sea of information on what happened to your child in order to heal that child and hopefully prevent your other children from suffereing quit having so many opinions about what we are doing!!!!! Or better yet, LISTEN TO US FIRST!

I must add in conclusion, a request now that I have been so brash, this problem of autism is so big, widespread and the causes are numerous. Truly only God can help us. Please pray for us and our children. April is Autism Awareness month. You will find a useful prayer schedule at Children of Destiny.com.