Contrary to the beliefs of a limited number of former Playboy Bunnies, vaccinations are incredibly beneficial to your child's development. When my now 22-month old daughter was born, she just laid there, didn't talk, and barely communicated with my wife and me. Amazingly, around the time she received her first vaccinations, she started to develop language skills. Now these were mostly of the "ma ma ba ba" variety, but as she got older and received more vaccinations, her language improved. Incredibly, she started walking too! Doctors told me that this was all just the normal progression, but I just don’t believe those crackpots.
It was all the work of the vaccines.
Now of course my argument is ridiculous. Save for the fact that walking and talking around 12 to 24 months has been the norm for generations, my argument is no less valid than those of Miss McCarthy. The fact that many children with autism and autism spectrum disorders start showing signs of a disorder after the MMR vaccine is administered is likely a coincidence.
I say "likely" because I’m not an expert on autism or vaccines. That role belongs to my wife, the one with the Ph.D. in Special Education whose job is to work with kids with ASD and their parents. She is the one who reviews the literature, sees the effects of ASD on families, and hears the arguments pro and con regarding vaccination. Talking over dinner last night, we posed a few other hypotheses about what could be causing an uptick in ASD.
Potty training – before potty training occurs children are free to relieve themselves of their waste at any time. Once they are potty trained, the must retain their toxic waste for a period, albeit short, period of time. Usually occurring around 24 months of age, this is not coincidentally around the same time that ASD symptoms begin to occur.
Mom going back to work – In Canada, mom’s get a full 12 months of maternity leave (I know, what a bunch of socialistic communists allowing mothers 12 months to bond with their children, but I digress). Shortly after mothers return to work, within about six months, ADS symptoms begin showing up in children. The stress of mom leaving the house is too much for the children and it affects their neurological development.
Again, my arguments are ridiculous. All I ask is that you educate yourself. And by educate, I mean listen to the experts. The overwhelming majority of who say that there is no causal link between MMR or any vaccines and ASD. You can’t rely on anecdotal evidence to establish causality.
Having a child with autism does not make you an expert in autism. It makes you an expert on your child with autism.