Is anyone else scared silly about the rise of autism? Get this...In 1992, 1 in 3,000 had autism. Now, ONE IN 92 BOYS develops it. Yesterday's Oprah featured 2 celeb moms with autistic sons. Both developed normally, but then began to "disappear" and stop interacting, chattering, smiling, etc.
I don't know what to do with this scary statistic. Especially since my son has food allergies, which is often referenced together in the same breath.
Hannah gives her son cod liver oil. Karina is spacing out her child's MMR shots. I guess for starters, I will begin reading Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies. Next, I'm looking into spacing our our next immunizations. There is no research to back up that it's the cause, but so many have a gut instinct that tells them otherwise.
Anyone else have any articles to share, or any tactics that you're pursuing to fight this?
19 comments:
I was going to post about this today too. I guess you watched Oprah as well yesterday. Autism scares me to death. The statistics are baffling. Of course it would never change how we feel about our children, but it would definitly be a tough road. I am really rethinking Will's diet too. Not that he eats poorly, but I want to go completely natural and organic. Regular foods have so many chemicals and preservatives and you have to wonder if there is a link there, to not only autism, but other diseases and cancers. After Oprah, we ate dinner at Whole Foods! :) I am in love with that place. I want to read more about the vaccine connection. I read one of the concerns is the preserative thimerosal in the vaccine, but there is nothing proven. Keep me posted about the whole spacing the vaccines. I didn't know that was an option. Great post, now I don't need to do it! HaHa! Sorry this comment was so incredibly long...
Here is a GREAT book to read if you want more info on vaccines....What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell. Along with cod liver oil, I give my four month old liquid Vitamin C every day(doubling up on the Vitamin C two days before, the day of, and two days after each vaccination). We are also spacing out his vaccines, only receiving ONE per visit with a two month lag in between each. Some Dr.'s are weird about spacing them out, but you can find one that will allow you to....just call around. My son has a heart condition which I believe already makes his little body weaker than some, so I was(and am) determined not to let him get more than one vaccine at a time. Because there is a history in my family of ADD, ADHD, allergies, and a brother who is on the autism spectrum, I feel that using all of these "precautions" is the right choice for my child.
Hannah
I already talked to you, Carrie, about this yesterday, but I thought I'd reply to your post about spacing out the MMR. Another issue with the MMR is that it is giving your child three live viruses at the same time. After reading the book you referenced I decided to use the recommended vaccination schedule in the back. It calls for measles at 15 months, rubella at 21 months, and mumps at 27 months. My main problem is finding a doctor that can do this. I have yet to find a doctor in Nashville who even carries the MMR vaccine split into the three separate shots. I am going to order them from an online pharmacy and have my pediatrician administer them.
We have started giving our kids cod liver oil as well and have, switched to organic foods.
I hope you don't mind, but I referenced this post in my blog today. This is very startling...I have often wondered about the connection of vaccines and diseases and allergies. I'll definitely want to study up on these theories and figure out a good doctor who supports this when we start thinking about having kids. Thanks for the info and keep us posted when you find out more!
My mother-in-law and I were just talking about this a minute ago. The statistics are very alarming!! I don't know what to do to help "prevent" this in my boys as there are so many theories out there. Of course, as a (former) pediatric nurse, I whole-heartedly support the need for vaccines, but also wonder if there is something that we could do to make them safer. I'm just rambling, but it's a huge concern in our society right now!
Karina, correct me if I'm wrong. But I think that the book suggests that it's not a matter of them NOT getting all their vaccinations. It's a matter of spacing out the MMR so they get these as 3 separate vaccinations over time, instead of all at once. You can keep us posted re: what you find out about dr's who space out the vaccines here in N'ville.
Of course, I'm all for supporting a healthy diet, too. Going all organic is hard for me (due to increased prices) but I do think it's a good thing. I just haven't made that jump yet. I try to get all of us away from processed foods, and I feel good about that as a first step. At least I have full control over the ingredients that way.
Can I borrow that book from you, carrie, when you are finished reading it?
I watched it yesterday and am still reading the Oprah message boards today. It is so frightening, especially as the mother of a boy. I was wondering what your thoughts on this were, Carrie. Do you do the gluten, wheat, dairy free diet? It seems so complicated. I still just can't quit thinking about it.
As a first, and much more economical, step towards an organic diet, you can switch out foods that are part of the 'dirty dozen.' You can find more resources all over the internet, but essentially fruits and vegetables where you eat the skins contain the most pesticides, so you would want to buy those in organic. Apples, grapes, green peppers, etc. Something like a banana isn't as bad since you peel the skin off. So, if a full organic diet is outside of your budget, simply eating organic for the dirty dozen will give you the most bang for your buck. It's just too bad Wild Oats and Whole Foods won't be competing though, isn't it!
The book addresses a schedule for all of the vaccinations. I have focused primarily on the MMR because of its link(as reported by parents) to the onset of autism symptoms. The proposed schedule has the child getting all parts of the MMR, just spaced out and given separately. The child also gets a MMR booster before beginning school. This is an interesting thing, because a blood titer is not routinely performed by most pediatricians to see if the child is already immune to the three viruses before giving the booster. If the child shows immunity, he should not have to receive the booster. When I asked my pediatrician whether he does a titer first before giving the booster, he said that they don't because the vaccine is cheaper than doing the titer. This is another thing I will be requesting at the appropriate time. Also, I will be requesting the preservative-free flu vaccine since the one with preservative still has thimerisol (sp?).
My doctor said that our vaccines do not have the preservatives so is that safer? Also, since it is mainly occuring in boys, how do they connect it to the vaccines when girls get them as well...just a thought I had last night.
Sarah, That's a question that HANNAH or KARINA might be able to answer (if they read this soon...) I have not really done any research myself to back up the possible vaccination/autism connection.
Christine, regarding the diet again, Ethan is Dairy/Egg/Nut/Shellfish free. Not Gluten/Wheat though. It's not that bad if you are used to cooking your own meals from scratch. I could talk to you about some stuff that we make that Ethan loves...It definitly takes alot of work & alot of your own cooking though.
It can be frustrating at times - ESPECIALLY on the road. You basically just don't eat out (there's only 2 places I take Ethan) and bring your own food whenerever you go.
From what I have read, most of these vaccines are still made with thimerosol. At the end of the process, the thimerosol is "washed" out, whatever that means. Apparently, they still contain traces of the mercury. But it is not just the mercury I am worried about with the MMR, it's also the giving of three live viruses at one time. I think it is obvious that it's not just the vaccines giving our kids autism. I think it must be a combination of the inhalation of bad things, the ingestion of chemicals in our foods, and also a sex-driven and genetic predisposition. It just seems that if the child is predisposed to getting autism, the heavy and early vaccination schedule might be the trigger that sends them over the edge.
Ok here's my question...what are we doing different now than years ago? Obviously something had to have changed..in the vaccines, in our food, poisons in the air we breathe, etc. for the numbers to increase so rapidly.
Before becoming a stay at home mom, I was a special education teacher and have worked with many students of all ages with autism . It is amazing how quickly the number of children diagnosed with autism is increasing. Part me wonders if some of the reason the numbers have grown is due to the fact that we have better diagnostic tools plus the fact that autism is a spectrum disorder, ranging from the very mild (those who might just be very quirky) to the extreme (no language, allergies, disliking pysical contact, physical aggression, self-injurious behaviors, etc.)and everything in between. I don't pretend to have any idea of what causes it. I think if you feel like adding things to or taking things away from your child's diet is necessary then you should do it. The same goes for immunizations. You are the parent and no one knows your child like you do. The only thing I am a huge proponent of is this: if you feel like something is "not right" talk with your doctor and persue diagnostic testing if that is what you feel your child needs and if necessary early intervention services. Even if your doctor doesn't think there is anything wrong, follow your gut. If something is diagnosed, be it autism or language delay or anything, early intervention makes a huge difference. The older your child gets, the harder it is to teach replacement behaviors or crucial skills, not impossible, just much more difficult. Early intervention is very important. Sorry if I sound preachy. I have put my soap box back up.
Ummm, can anyone tell me how they get their child to ingest cod liver oil? It sounds like it might be a good idea - even if just to keep thier immunities boosted during school (we've already had three rounds of viruses go through our house since school began), but it seems daunting to try to get them to eat it!
carrie, i am just checking out your blog-from heather's- i am new to the whole blogger world . i too have heard that it is a mecury based preservative (thimerisol- sp?) that was contained in vaccines, but many dr's in nashville are now are using thimerisol free vaccines- but i would be sure that yours is!!!!!
gini m.
this is very interesting, and scary! i have just started reading up on thimerosol in vaccines as i am apparently supposed to have a rhogam injection at 28 weeks due to my negative blood. which is apparently not uncommon, but i'm leery of ANY kind of vaccination during pregnancy. anyways, thanks for the info - childhood vaccinations, dietary concerns for children - this is all new to me and i need to be as prepared as possible! :)
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