- Question about vaccine research

[Guest guest]

> Karin, I just read your post to Ceceilia about vaccines and their

> link to autism. When did you see the change in your son ...at what

> age ? The reason I'm asking is because I really didn't notice any

> change in my son until he was around 18-24 months of age...that was

> the time when I couldn't get his picture taken and he was not saying

> words he was once saying before. However, I looked at his shot

> record and he received about 3 shots on the same day when he was 13

> months of age and then the chicken pox vaccine when he was 2. I

> guess my question is would there have been 6-9 months to pass after

> the vaccines for me to see any signs of onset autism ?

With Jake there have been signs since he was born practically. He was

an " anti-social " baby. Not a lot of things, but just little subtle

signs. I did not do Jake's vaccinations according to schedule and I

wouldn't have done them at all had I realized he was exhibiting

concerning symptoms of ASD. Jake did not have any dramatic reactions

to his shots. (or again I would have discontinued them immediately)

So, what I fear is not that the shots caused it, but they may have

worsened his already developing condition...??? Because I still

believe there has to be a genetic pre-disposition beforehand.

Otherwise wouldn't all kids who receive shots become Autistic? So, my

*guess* is that some kids' Autism can be easily linked with the

vaccinations, but that *probably* they had some kind of genetic link

to it already and the vaccinations may have helped bring it out. And

then in other kids' cases like my own son, he was already having these

subtle inherent signs of it since birth and perhaps the shots may have

worsened it or not. ??? No way to tell for sure, but I do think so

because his developmental delays became much worse in the time frame

after he had his shots (and his shots were not on schedule, so it's

not the same time frame as a lot of other kids). So, my *feeling* on

it is that even though our kids may not have had a violent reaction to

a shot, it may still have affected them down the road. If ASD is

truly an auto-immune disorder, then that means that each kid is going

to respond according to the strength and individuality of his own

immune system. And other factors may be at play at a given time, a

kid may be exposed to colds, flus, viruses of some sort and that

weakens his immune system around the time of his shots. Or a child

may be undergoing emotional stress which can weaken his immune system

- maybe Mom has had to go to work or something? We really can't know

all of these factors, but just like you and me if we were both

exposed to the same flu, we both may not get it depending on the state

of our immune system at that time. If I'm exhausted and haven't been

sleeping well and am dealing with a family crisis and you aren't and

you're eating well, and feeling well and so forth, then maybe I'm

going to get the flu and you're not. Or maybe I'll get a more severe

case then you. Do you see what I'm saying here? That's why I think

some parents can see it so clearly being linked to shots or some event

and some just see a gradual decline. There are too many factors

involved for it all to be the same.

I agree I

> just feel there has to be some form of link to the vaccines and the

> sudden rise in autism...I'm just curious as to what the research is

> saying.

Yes, but I just don't think there is going to be very much research

along these lines. The general Medical community is in deep denial

that there is a link. My ped. neurologist basically just laughed in

my face and said I'd been on the internet too much. ;-) His response

is that the normal time we see Autistic symptoms arise just happens to

correspond with the shot schedule so that is why they are linked in

people's minds, but that it's just a coincidence.

Of course I have a lot of guilt because of my family tree

> having diabetes (my dad has) , schizophrenia (my uncle and first

> cousin have), and severe depression (my grandfather, uncle, and

> aunt all have been hospitalized for severe depression), and

> alcoholism , and I suspect a lot of undiagnosed A.D.D. and

> A.D.H.D. .

You have a lot of guilt huh? Who do you hold the most responsibile in

your family tree for passing it on to you? Someone must be the

culprit, and how dare they continue to bear children right? I hope

the tone of this does not come across as mean-spirited because I'm not

trying to write that way. I'm just trying to point out to you that

you likely do not blame the people in your family for passing these

things down to you, so why should you judge yourself so harshly for

passing these things down to your son? We are all in this same boat

called the human family. We all pass down imperfection to our

children. We can't help it. Why not try to focus on some of the

wonderful things that your son inherited from you? I bet he has some

of your characteristics that you (and everyone else) find very

beautiful and charming. You are going to still discover a lot more of

these things as he grows up. It's something to look forward to. The

best thing of all you gave your son was life. I'm sure he is enjoying

it very much.

Hugs,

~ Karin