My Autism Insights

We took the kids for flu shots this morning.  I tend to not comment much on the vaccine/anti-vaccine debate within the autism community because it’s no longer an issue for me.  Vaccines did not make my son autistic.  Period.  So we vaccinate our kids and they get flu shots every year, as do we. Not that it should really matter since it’s been shown that mercury does not cause autism, but our pediatrician only uses mercury free vaccines in case anyone decides to question my parental judgement.

Anyway, this morning’s shots were particularly funny.  MM went first, and I have to say she is one of the strongest kids - and I mean her character as well as physically - that I have ever come across.  She had to get blood drawn yesterday and then get poked again first thing this morning.  She didn’t even flinch.  She said, “ouch.” That was it.  No crying, no drama.  I told her she rocks, because she really does.

Then it was Gus’s turn.  Now, he’s been pleading not to get the shot since last night.  When his turn came around, he told the nurse, “Can’t we wait until flu season?”

“It is flu season.”

“Wait, I have to go.  I forgot something.”  The funniest thing to come out of his mouth was, “I have to go!  I have a job!  I’m very busy!”

Even amid all the wrestling we had to do to keep him in the room, that one cracked me up.

As he gets older, he’s obviously getting stronger, but that gets lost on me until I actually have to keep a grip on his wriggling little form.  Wow, that kid is skinny as a french cut string bean, but he is strong!  And of course, the struggling at that point had more to do with not wanting to be restrained and less to do with the shot.  As a matter of fact, he didn’t even flinch when he finally got the shot, almost didn’t even notice.  And then, completely deadpan, “I was very brave.”

Yes you were, dude.  You certainly were.

Remember to get your flu shot, and check back tomorrow to find out about Gus’s first soccer game!

Chris at A Free Man has written one of the few posts that you should definitely read!) about the causes behind autism that balances technical information with plain English. I usually have a hard time digesting scientific information - it makes my eyes blur and my brain shuts down, but this is an excellent and informative post, easily understood.

The bottom line:

“Most evidence supports that genetics plays the dominant role, but if in fact the frequency of autism is rising, then there are very likely some compounds in our environment that play a role.”

This seems to suggest something important to me. Things like vaccines and diet, since they are environmental, they may help to mitigate autism, but I don’t see how they can erase it. The conclusions presented by Chris have pretty far-reaching implications for the entire biomedical movement, too. Lots to consider in terms of finally moving forward with trying to work with those children and adults who have been diagnosed. Maybe now more energy can be spent looking at that instead of just at causes.

I can’t recall a day in the past year, maybe longer, when I haven’t read or heard about the word ‘vaccine’ in relation to autism at least once a day. I tend not to dwell on the issue because both my kids have had their full complement of vaccinations, so it’s a moot point, and since I’d much rather the momentary pain of a flu vaccination over the weeks of misery that the entire family suffers when one of us gets sick, I also make sure that everyone gets a flu shot every year. We’re a vaccination family. So why am I mentioning it today?

Well, I read an interesting post at Left Brain/Right Brain about measles this morning, and it got me to thinking.

I have two friends who are expecting their first babies withing the next two months. They both know that we have an autistic child. If asked about vaccinations, what should I say? One school of thought believes that vaccinating children is almost certain to doom them to the nightmare of autism (not my words, and by the way, I don’t consider autism or my life as an autistic child’s mother to be nightmarish - nightmarish is a word I reserve for Call of K’thulu). But by following that line of thinking and not vaccinating, that leaves the child vulnerable to potentially deadly diseases. Anti-vaccine folks maintain that measles was wiped out, yet the number of cases has been growing, and there have been at least two deaths.

What’s worse? The remote possibility of catching and dying from measles or the even less likely possibility of a vaccination contributing to a diagnosis of autism? Hmm…

May I just point out that Gus exhibited signs of sensory dysfunction and developmental delay pretty much from day one? So that, for me, blows the vaccine-autism link right out of the water. Can I also mention that my daughter was vaccinated in exactly the same way as her brother, two years after he was, and has shown only the slightest difficulty with fine motor skills, which is a problem that runs through my husband’s family? The answer is seeming much clearer now.

I think it’s fairly nuts to tell people not to vaccinate their children, especially in today’s world. The fact that so many parents, out of necessity, send their sick kids to school is enough of a reason for me to make sure my children are as protected as I can make them short of arming them in full plate mail (the seams in the armor would allow germs in anyway). And there’s still that pesky issue of autism and vaccinations not being linked in any credible studies. But, even if by some miracle of science, the link was somehow made, is autism really a worse fate than severe illness that could lead to death? Sorry, but I’ll take my Gus with all his quirks any day.

And if I haven’t been clear enough, if you’re wondering what to do, please vaccinate your children for their sake and for the sake of all the rest of our kids who should not have to be exposed to a real epidemic like measles when it can be avoided. If it makes you feel better, split up the vaccinations. Your child will get a few extra pokes and you’ll have a few extra copays, but that’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s worse to do nothing. You want ‘greener’ vaccines and a change to the schedule? I find that less offensive than just tossing them out the window altogether.

I think I’ll go back to straddling my fence now. Thanks for reading and please feel free to let me know your opinion.

Edit:  For more on this today, check out Autismvox .