Let me be perfectly blunt. I may do that with you, may I not? I mean, if you are here reading my blog then you have some sense of me by now, I hope.
I HATE choosing sides. I can’t help it; I’m a true Libran, always striving for balance and even-handedness even in my zealous passions. I am also a reformed journalist. My training dictates that I try to see all sides of an issue and leave my opinion out of things. Because, really, in the end, your own opinion has to matter more to you than mine, right? And so I feel about the ongoing debate about whether vaccines cause autism.
If I had to come down on one side or another, I would have to say that I do not believe vaccines cause autism. Certainly, if that were the case the entire vaccinated civilization as we know it would all be autistic. Hell, maybe we are and we just don’t recognize it? I mean no disrespect to anyone with my flippancy, truly. But I just don’t think it’s the sole mitigating factor in what made my son autistic.
I think it may, in fact, be possible that vaccines and a number of other necessary interventions used during my son’s early life have all had an impact on how he perceives and functions in our environment. But I think that would be the case for any child born three months prematurely, weighing a mere nineteen ounces, and requiring multiple life-saving surgeries within the first four months of life. Vaccinated or not, that child would face significant hurdles in their young life.
However, in the interest of fairness —and pandering to the pull of my Libran traits —I understand those people who are convinced that vaccines caused their child’s autism. I’m not saying that I think they are right; let me be very clear. What I am saying is that I understand and respect their right and privilege to feel and think what they do.
I look at this debate much like I look at religion —specifically, the belief in God. Despite scientific evidence to the contrary —Darwinism, Big Bang theories, etcetera—millions of people believe with all their heart and soul that God created the Universe and all its inhabitants. Me? I think it’s something of a mixed bag; that science and religion are not that neatly separated despite man’s fervent need to make them so. It is about faith. Do you put your faith in science or in the things that seem to make sense even if you can’t explain them or back them up with anything besides a feeling? It is up to the individual to decide. No matter what scientific evidence one presents to a person of deep religious faith, they will not be swayed from their stance. And vice versa.
In either case, though, one’s beliefs do not give them the right to force them on others. And that seems to be happening a lot right now —especially from people and organizations who are utterly convinced that vaccines are the cause of autism. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, there are those who would rather cry conspiracy and cover up than look in other directions. There are those who espouse any number of non-traditional treatments —medical and otherwise— and claim to have cured their children. Maybe they have in their own minds. Or maybe those children weren’t truly autistic but subject to something else which can mimic some autistic characteristics? I’m not saying they were or weren’t. I’m saying I don’t know. There’s not enough evidence to convince me. But their voices are loud; they want to drown out any voice that doesn’t sing the same tune.
Last I checked, this was still a democratic nation with freedom of speech. Whether or not you like what’s being said is not necessarily as important as the fact that you have an opportunity to hear all the messages. So, in the interest of fair and even-handed coverage, I offer you this letter from Susan Stevens Martin of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Please read the following and then decide for yourself where you stand, how you feel, and what part you want to take in this ongoing issue. ‘Cause it’s not going away anytime soon, folks!
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(Text of Susan Stevens Martin’s letter begins here.)
Hello,
As part of our ongoing response to media stories regarding autism and vaccines, the AAP communications department is compiling a list of parents who support the AAP and are available for interviews. We are looking for two types of parents who could serve as spokespersons:
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders who support immunization and who do not believe there is any link between their child’s vaccines and his or her autism.
Parents of children who suffered a vaccine-preventable illness. This could be a parent who declined immunization, whose child became ill before a vaccine was available, or whose child was ineligible for immunization.
We are asking for your help identifying parents who would be good spokespersons. They do not need to be expert public speakers. They just need to be open with their story and interested in speaking out on the issue. We will contact candidates in advance to conduct pre-interviews, to offer guidance on talking to reporters and to obtain a signed waiver giving us permission to release their name.
If a parent were placed on our list, we would offer their name and contact information to select media. We hope to build a list of parents from a wide range of geographical areas.
As the Jenny McCarthy and “Eli Stone” stories illustrate, this issue is likely to recur in the national and local media. The AAP is committed to doing all we can to counter such erroneous reports with factual information supported by scientific evidence and AAP recommendations.
The anti-vaccine groups often have emotional family stories on their side. The ability to offer a reporter an interview with a similarly compelling parent who is sympathetic to the AAP’s goals is a powerful tool for our media relations program.
Please contact me if you have any questions or to suggest a parent to interview.
Thank you,
Susan Stevens Martin
Director, Division of Media Relations
American Academy of Pediatrics
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If you are interested in participating, please contact Susan Stevens Martin directly at ssmartin@aap.org.
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ETA: If you would like to read posts on this topic —from individuals who are far more articulate and erudite than I am —please check out the Autism Hub web site. ON this site you will also find numerous blogs written by autistic individuals, family members, and professionals; they cover a broad spectrum (sorry for the bad pun!). You’ll find a little something for everyone there.
I am with you. Some days I think, am I just wishy washy? ugh. I don’t think vaccines caused my children’s autism or disabilities. I think a maternal infection had something to do with Bubba’s agenesis of the corpus callosum (I had some weird cytomeglovirus titers that didn’t make sense to the doctors, but Bubba didn’t test postive). I’ll probably never know, and it’s not my mission to find out. With Moosie, there were issues there at birth, and then an increase in stuff at 3 months. He was ALWAYS sick, and is still sick much more often than any of the rest of us or his brother ever was. *shrug* He got a flu vaccination early in life (before he was 2) because of chest infections and then within a week was very very sick, tested positive for the flu AND rsv. We found out later he was allergic to eggs. Do I think mercury caused his autism? No. But I know him being sick didn’t help him. I chose not to get him the flu vaccination this year. Bubba has never had the flu shot. That’s all I know. *shrug* So I watch this fight from the sidelines. I try to be careful with our story because it’s ours, it’s not scientific, and it’s definitleyt not a “casestudy” for either side.
I think your post was very fair!
I also try and understand others points of view. That way we learn and can make more informed choices.
I find there are few things in this world that I know and understand with a great deal of certainty. To say that one thing causes autism makes no sense to me, but I can understand how a combination of things or one single thing might impact each individual in an individual way.
As I wade through the data and the studies and the personal opinions, I still find myself unable to weigh in with a definitive position on vaccines.
Thanks for a well-thought out post.
Uh oh, hope I didn’t piss you off with my post. I truly respect that you take a balanced look at all, and I’m sure it helps that you come from a journalistic background – it surely is helping now in your journey with Nik. In my post, it was asking if anyone out there with ASD kiddos felt perfectly safe about vaccinating their children. PERFECTLY. 100%. No tiny, fleeting thoughts of “I hope I made the right decision”.
I’m asked a lot what I think caused my kid’s autism. And I believe it was a genetic predisposition to the spectrum (from both sides) plus something that triggered it (or a combination of things). I’ll never know what that is.
But what makes me CRAZY is that the AAP is NOT taking a fair and balanced view of it like you are, Niksmom. They say there’s no way ingredient X could cause autism in any shape or form, or in combination with other things – and it is precisely that shutting down which has me on my highest guard. I just don’t trust ‘em.
And it’s agencies like the UW Autism Center who feels that any biomeds & diets are WRONG WRONG WRONG. See what I mean? It’s the same shutting down of a road that needs to be explored, to the discretion of the parent. And THAT is my biggest pet peeve. Anyone who says, “that thing you’re concerned about? There’s no concern. Nothing to see here, move along.”
And I think we all love our kids so much, and we don’t want to hurt them, and I think all of us do a tiny bit of crossing of fingers when ANY control is taken out of our hands…whether it be when our children step onto the school bus or get jabbed with a needle.
Hope this clarifies my view a bit – it’s so clear that all our children are biologically so different, and I would never profess to know anything at all about anyone’s child (other than mine, and even then, it’s my own best guess) — it’s more that I detest agencies shutting down avenues of discussion when the discussion is very much alive.
XO R
It is hard knowing what is best.
My son has had all his shots
Still I worry because of all the mixed information out there.
I am not sure why families effected by autism have to be angry and distrustful with each other. I truly beleive you when you say you think vaccines had nothing to do with Nic’s autism. I just ask for trust and understanding when I say I saw an effect, and plenty of room for people who say they aren’t sure. If we can’t stick together, then who can?