AIBU to remind everyone that the MMR vaccine does NOT cause autism?

[TheHodgeoftheHedge]

Seeing as this worry comes up so many times on MN and in wider life, I feel obliged to post this and remind everyone that MMR has not link to autism whatsoever, as yet another HUGE study has found.

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/mmr-vaccine-autism-antivax-measles-study-andrew-wakefield-a8808086.html

Thanks.

I don't think we should "respect" ignorance and fear-mongering Dutchess.

Sorry correction: Abort foetus with a high chance of Down’s syndrome. Not a Down’s syndrome baby.

pizzawithchicken thanks for responding, I appreciate it.

I was curious because I'm autistic and so are my children. DS1 is struggling to deal with it as puberty kicks in and has been bullied horrifically for many years. I struggle with it because I don't know if my own thought processes are right or if I'm wrong or if everyone else is and my MH has always been a struggle. DD and DS2 are still wee, so we'll see how they go.

What I do know, is that for me, I'd rather have them as they are than not have them at all. Because I've lost a late term pregnancy and that was utterly horrific.

It's a funny one, because genuinely the hardest thing about being autistic is other people and their reactions. But there's no hard and fast answer and no two families experiences will be the same.

You can’t reason with them

You can't reason someone out of a position when they didn't arrive at it through reason in the first place.

Because people don’t want to risk life long disability, diabetes, and other autoimmune issues for what are generally benign childhood illnesses ..basically
I personally have no fear of measles, mumps, or rubella and certainly wouldn’t panic vaccinate if there’s was some child in the locality that developed it

@cathmidston but what about the effects of rubella on pregnant women? There are 2 theories behind the ‘links’ between the mmr and autism. One is the mercury and the other is the measles vaccine. There’s no theory (that I’ve heard of) to not get the singular vaccines for mumps & rubella?

Again, more disrespect. You can't reason with ''them''.

I gave my son the MMR, it was a terrifying thing to do knowing how many boys in my own family have autism and seeing how the ones who had escaped that dx were the ones who did not have the vaccine.

It's agonising and it's terrifying and the disrespect for that fear is absolutely appalling and offensive imo.

My family has coeliac and autism and sometimes in the same children. This is the very thing the so - called disgraced Andrew Wakefield noted.

But hey, supercilious condescending ''experts'' I offered my baby up to the altar of '''the Greater good'. I risked his future for ''herd mentality''.

Am I allowed a fear though, NO I am not.

I had my kids vaccinated. They're perfectly fine.
I know from first hand experience the terrible disabilities that measles can leave a child with and I wasn't prepared to risk my kids. I looked at it in the way that statistically they were more likely to contact measles by not being vaccinated than they were contacting autism through the vaccination.
Measles and other diseases had almost been eradicated through vaccinations which was marvellous, then the crackpots came out with the nonsense about vaccinations and autism, causing parents to panic and not have vaccines done. Then what happened? Outbreaks of diseases that had almost been consigned to history. Terrible.

To the person saying that autism is on the increase. I don't think that's the case, I think it's just being identified more. I have worked with people who were clearly on the spectrum but were not diagnosed.

Fear-mongering! I literally choked as I swallowed back down my agony and gave my son the MMR.
Fuck!

@whowasit
I know from first hand experience the terrible disabilities that measles can leave a child with and I wasn't prepared to risk my kids.
And severe autism is a terribe disability. That robs children of their ability to communicate, to self care, to live independently, & have any kind of quality of life.

Stop. Trivialising. It.

NCMC It’s the effect on the immune system and neurological system that I’d be worried about.... so it isn’t just the measles vaccine that would concern me.

Officially... Mumps is benign in younger children...subsequent vaccine immunity waning is supposed to be the reason that young adults are developing the disease when it’s a lot more serious.,. Rubella is a mild illness in children and I wouldn’t risk my child’s health to protect someone else... especially a protection that I don’t believe in.

I don’t believe in germ theory though so I’m prob the best to comment on this as I think there are co factors that influence the developent of both mumps, rubella and measles

@NCMC just to say your attitude is really refreshing and pragmatic... a nice change on here

DuchessOfPhysics I had all my children vaccinated. We were told the MMR was a once for life vaccine, but then told to repeat when my eldest daughter was 9. So we did. My second daughter reacted slightly to the MMR, and to later vaccines as a teenager, then had multiple vaccines before travelling the world. Both now have Type 1 diabetes, the eldest diagnosed months after her second MMR, the younger a few months after repeating her travel vaccines to return to India. Can anyone give me any links to data telling me these are not connected? As a child I was exposed to everything, as was the practice then, and have lifelong immunity to Rubella as a result (frequently tested for work). I remain to be convinced that we know sufficient to be so sure as you all appear to be, to vilify those who think differently

My sister was terrified of having a child with autism and chose not to let him have the MMR. Her DS developed autism anyway. The timing would have been around when he was due the vaccination so I can see why some people may have originally linked the 2.

NCMC nobody is trivialising autism. They are saying it is not a choice between risking measles, mumps or rubella, or risking autism. They are saying vaccinations don't cause autism.

@Duchess Of course you’re allowed to be afraid of your child being severely disabled. I don’t agree it causes it. But I can sympathise how the theory has come around.
My LO was developing completely neurotypically. He had hit all his milestones. Had words. Loads of eye contact. Healthy weight. Everyone said he was the happiest baby they’d ever met.
No concerns about his development whatsoever.
Then when he was 13/14 months he suffered a rare side effect of the mmr (although it wasn’t listed as a side effect then, it is now) became chronically unwell, with constant ear infections, chest infections, seemingly picked up every bug. He was so unwell, he struggled to stay awake for long periods of time. We were constantly in the gps/ooh/hospital for the next year. He’d lost his ability to chew & swallow properly & was always choking on his food.
I just wrote off the loss of his words as a side effect of him being ill for so long. He became completely mute. But I told myself he’d gain the back, it was just because he was unwell.
Autism never entered my mind. Not once. I knew no one with it. No one in mine or his fathers family had it. I didn’t even know what it really was.
So I can sympathise how the connection is made.

@EthelHornsby 💕
There are no studies that show conclusively that there isn’t a link ..most studies on vaccine safety are woefully inadequate

Ok... to try and address a few points here (which is hard editing wise on a phone and undoubtedly the thread will have moved on while I do so, But here goes....

NCMC

YABU. What right do you have to trivialise a severe disability such as Autism?!
OP: No severely Autistic child. No

Please point out where I trivialised autism? I merely pointed out that MMR, in no way, causes it. I don’t see how that is rude, offensive or trivialising autism in any way whatsoever.

She certainly has trivialised it in her other posts
The comparison to a death in itself

I assume you’re referring to my quote about the side effect of measles being death?
I’m not comparing autism to death or trivialising it in comparison. I am stating the fact that vaccinations do NOT cause autism (so avoiding them because of that fear is pointless) and having vaccinations Is hugely important because the legitimate risk of NOT having vaccinations is death.

Autism is obviously a very important and painful subject to you and I am truly sorry for that. But I have in no way slighted autism or those families coping with it. I am simply doing what I can to hopefully open some peoples eyes about the actual truth about vaccinations.

For what it’s worth, you don’t know me or my life - I do actually have extensive experience of close family members with autism. I’m sure my experience has not been as hard as yours, but please don’t jump to conclusions anout me and please don’t read something that simply is not there in my posts.

Watch the film Vaxxed on how data is removed or readjusted in so called ‘scientific’ studies

Cath There are no studies that show conclusively that there isn’t a link
You can’t prove a negative. If the two haven’t been positively linked, they aren’t linked.
Also - who made that film?
There. Is. No. Link. Between. Vaccination. And. Autism
Sorry to shout.

What do you mean, you "don't believe in germ theory", @cathmidston? I have never heard of this. Does that mean you don't believe germs exist?

Vaxxed??? Seriously??? No bias there!!! Excuse me if I don't get my scientific info from a man who was disbarred and carried out unnecessary lumbar punctures on sick children.

Struck off not disbarred sorry. Too cross to type

@SachaStark .... this article explains a bit more if you’re interested... I’d be here all night trying to explain it x
thevaccinereaction.org/2018/02/pasteur-vs-bechamp-the-germ-theory-debate/

Littlebelina you should watch it before commenting