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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wonder why the f* people still think vaccines cause autism?

691 replies

coolitcathy · 16/12/2020 16:18

Name changed for privacy reasons.

Stumbled across a Facebook group about "parents against vaccines" a few minutes ago which suggested, nay STATED, that vaccines cause autism and are essentially poison. I think the hysteria is potentially getting worse due to this Covid vaccination that's getting rolled out at the mo. Is anyone still infuriated or is the anger dying down now as we all get distracted by something else happening? Also why is autism seen as such a bad thing?

(If you're anti vax I'm open to you sharing your viewpoints but I haven't seen any information that makes me consider that outlook)

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ForestNymph · 18/12/2020 10:04

@coolitcathy

I've not seen it, ForestNymph could you send a link? Grin
Contains some mildly offensive content but its a decent parody of the way we are pathologised and treated like an alien species.

mirror.uncyc.org/wiki/Neurotypical_syndrome

ForestNymph · 18/12/2020 10:06

@Kaliorphic

It shouldn't be legal. The same as how sex selective abortions were deemed unethical.

It is legal. Because women have the choice. You don't get to choose for other people how they live their lives because genocide if they don't do what you think they should. You get to choose for you. And that is it. Not me. Not anyone else. Deal with it.

No, its done by asking adult autistics. As a NT you really don't get an opinion on this. This is OUR issue. Not yours.

You have no idea if I am NT or not. Assumptions again. Also, you don't get to decide whether I can have an opinion on this or not. Newsflash, I do. And I'm writing it down here all over this thread. Just like you are.

For a while it was illegal to know the sex of a baby before the abortion limit due to sex selective abortions. And rightly so. Aborting for sex or "disability" is wrong and I hope anyone who does it is never able to conceive again and regrets it every day of their life. I think its an abhorrent thing to do.
LizzieAnt · 18/12/2020 10:06

As a NT you really don't get an opinion on this. This is OUR issue. Not yours.

We're all people. Can't we stop with the divisions?

ForestNymph · 18/12/2020 10:09

@LizzieAnt

As a NT you really don't get an opinion on this. This is OUR issue. Not yours.

We're all people. Can't we stop with the divisions?

Not when someone states they wish to eradicate another group from the gene pool. I agree that we are all people, but comments like that show that there are individuals who think some of us are lesser.
tootiredtospeak · 18/12/2020 10:10

If my comment is bullshit then so is yours. My life has been made harder by seeing a person I love suffer. If autism was a personality nuance which did not cause suffering of any kind I would not think about it in the way I do. There is no right and wrong it's a moral philosophical argument. You are making assumptions all over the place and calling me selfish that it's all about me. You couldn't be any further from the truth but if it helps to think that way no problem. It must sound hard that I think autism shouldn't exist as you identify with it. I don't think most autistic people do and I do have a fair amount of experience outside my own son.

coolitcathy · 18/12/2020 10:10

Other common ritualistic activities include, but are not limited to, excessive use of body language even when they have nothing to hide, incoherent shouting and monkey-like vocalizations, (particularly when inebriated in the presence of a pack of fellow NTs) and the obsessive-compulsive performing of strange gestures and uttering of nonsensical phrases, often as part of a religious practice.

Thank you for the link, ForestNymph Grin

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Kaliorphic · 18/12/2020 10:11

Aborting for sex or "disability" is wrong and I hope anyone who does it is never able to conceive again and regrets it every day of their life. I think its an abhorrent thing to do

Well you're entitled to your opinion. Fortunately it doesn't change anything. Simply highlights your lack of compassion.

jellybeans7 · 18/12/2020 10:12

Because they do! Numerous studies linking vaccines to autism not just the one.

Haworthia · 18/12/2020 10:12

These idiots obviously haven’t met many autistic kids if they think autism is the worst thing that can happen to them.

coolitcathy · 18/12/2020 10:14

Well you're entitled to your opinion. Fortunately it doesn't change anything. Simply highlights your lack of compassion.

I guess eradicating autism itself doesn't seem especially compassionate either, though. I think life has intrinsic value and (of most of the autistic people I've met) most would prefer to be autistic and alive than dead. I understand that's a personal anecdote and potentially of very little value, but autistic people have contributed so much to society and I don't think culling them all is the way to go. There needs to be additional support in place and understanding of what autism truly is in order for people to even think about making a calculated choice.

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cantdothisnow1 · 18/12/2020 10:14

@LizzieAnt

As a NT you really don't get an opinion on this. This is OUR issue. Not yours.

We're all people. Can't we stop with the divisions?

I agree with this. It is again a bit 'cake and eat it' to complain that NT's treat YOU differently when you are not prepared to listen to another opinion.

The disability termination issue is extremely difficult. Downs like Autism is a spectrum. i have a friend with a downs sister who is on the mild end. She has an amazing life. I have another friend with a Down's child who is extremely poorly, is 5 and can't sit up and is unlikely to live to adult hood. She gives him the best life that she can give him and his life has worth but I couldn't blame another woman for deciding (or whatever reason) that she couldn't take the risk of a child with severe needs because she was unable to provide adequate care.

coolitcathy · 18/12/2020 10:15

Because they do! Numerous studies linking vaccines to autism not just the one.

Fill us in please, jellybeans7

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DonkeyMcFluff · 18/12/2020 10:15

Also why is autism seen as such a bad thing?
People are afraid of autism because it can be severely debilitating. If you don’t think it’s a bad thing then you’ve never met someone with severe autism. Even mild autism can result in social exclusion leading to unhappiness and depression.

The age at which autism symptoms tend to emerge is the age at which most kids get vaccinated, so it’s not a huge leap to assume the vaccine caused the autism. Particularly because we don’t actually know what causes autism and that makes people afraid. Plus the debunked research which claimed that vaccines caused autism (and the guy who wrote it is still wittering on about it despite being discredited).

Kaliorphic · 18/12/2020 10:16

If you don’t think it’s a bad thing then you’ve never met someone with severe autism

Yep.

coolitcathy · 18/12/2020 10:20

If you don’t think it’s a bad thing then you’ve never met someone with severe autism. Even mild autism can result in social exclusion leading to unhappiness and depression.

I know this, I have autism. But it is seen almost solely as such a bad thing that getting polio or diphtheria is a lesser risk than having an autistic child. That I don't understand.

There's also a presumption on this thread that you can establish how "functioning" someone is solely based on the fact that they can type on a laptop.

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tootiredtospeak · 18/12/2020 10:21

Let's make my point clear. I am in favour of gene selection not abortion due to disability. I don't personally agree with that although abortion overall is any women's right. It's not a autism or dead choice. It's an individual without autism due to genetic manipulation I agree with.

ForestNymph · 18/12/2020 10:23

tootired but you're taking the choice away from the autistic person. You're saying that you want them to be different because YOU prefer it.

cantdothisnow1 · 18/12/2020 10:24

@coolitcathy

If you don’t think it’s a bad thing then you’ve never met someone with severe autism. Even mild autism can result in social exclusion leading to unhappiness and depression.

I know this, I have autism. But it is seen almost solely as such a bad thing that getting polio or diphtheria is a lesser risk than having an autistic child. That I don't understand.

There's also a presumption on this thread that you can establish how "functioning" someone is solely based on the fact that they can type on a laptop.

The functioning labels are to blame for that.

High functioning literally means no learning difficulties so it is not an unreasonable assumption for a person with an adult child on the other end of the spectrum to make.

I think you are being terribly unfair on that parent by making snidy comments like that. Their child is non verbal and can't type on a computer, their experience of life is totally different from yours.

cantdothisnow1 · 18/12/2020 10:26

@ForestNymph

tootired but you're taking the choice away from the autistic person. You're saying that you want them to be different because YOU prefer it.
Which autistic person is having choice taken away ? The person isn't even conceived in the case of gene selection.
ForestNymph · 18/12/2020 10:26

I get your point about someone not feeling they can provide adequate care but then what are they doing having a child in the first place? Your "perfect" child could become disabled later on. My daughter, who had nothing noticeable biologically, had a grade 3 brain bleed at birth due to mismanaged delivery and we were told she might never walk or talk. As it happens she's okay and does both, but my point is that disability can happen to anyone even if they aren't genetically disabled or somehow different, and if you aren't prepared for that then you need to seriously consider if parenthood is right for you.

ForestNymph · 18/12/2020 10:27

Gene selection is using CRISPR to edit embryos is it not? Or are you in about something like PGD where you screen the embryos and implant the ones that are "normal"?

mandarinpink · 18/12/2020 10:27

@bumbleymummy
She's American and lived in Las Vegas at the time. Maybe different vaccination system, I don't know and maybe I'm wrong about the timing but she definitely said that to me. My children were adults already when she told me do the age of vaccinations meant nothing to me.

coolitcathy · 18/12/2020 10:27

High functioning literally means no learning difficulties so it is not an unreasonable assumption for a person with an adult child on the other end of the spectrum to make.

Except there are people with learning difficulties who can type.

I think you are being terribly unfair on that parent by making snidy comments like that. Their child is non verbal and can't type on a computer, their experience of life is totally different from yours.

What part of my comment was snidy? You can't tell the severity of people's disabilities through the internet. I didn't realise that was a contrarian point of view.

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cantdothisnow1 · 18/12/2020 10:29

@ForestNymph

I get your point about someone not feeling they can provide adequate care but then what are they doing having a child in the first place? Your "perfect" child could become disabled later on. My daughter, who had nothing noticeable biologically, had a grade 3 brain bleed at birth due to mismanaged delivery and we were told she might never walk or talk. As it happens she's okay and does both, but my point is that disability can happen to anyone even if they aren't genetically disabled or somehow different, and if you aren't prepared for that then you need to seriously consider if parenthood is right for you.
of course it can happen at any time but that's different from knowingly taking on a disabled child from birth. My understanding is that after pre-natal screening there can be some knowledge of the extent of the condition (particularly any heart issues) from scans before 25 weeks. Where do you cross the line here? Do you expect a woman to carry a baby to term who is almost certainly going to die?
tootiredtospeak · 18/12/2020 10:31

How could I give them that choice. It's not possible and in the absence of that possibility I choose for them like everything else like to vaccinate.