Vaccinations: A Cause of Autism, NOT

I will begin by saying that I do not subscribe to the idea that vaccinations are one of the leading causes of autism. Yet selfishly, I wish it were so. Several years ago we received a pointed letter from a reputable law firm asking us to document the ways that vaccinations caused Joel to be autistic. The attorneys wanted evidence of high fever, listless behavior, confusion, behavioral changes and any other alterations that occurred following the vaccinations of Joel when he was a child. If we could provide some documentation, there was promise of a substantial compensation. In other words, we could sue the evil government for forcing us to administer vaccinations that caused autism.

It was tempting, I must admit. Thousands, maybe millions, in our pockets. Wow! How cool is that? After all, don't we deserve the pay-off? And the government has more than it needs and owes me anyway for being a good hard-working citizen. Furthermore, we suffer greatly from having to raise an autistic son and help him cope in a world that doesn't really understand him. They forced us and look what happened.

But the evidence does not support this position. While it makes for an exciting opportunity to gouge the government (not sure why that seems provocative to some), and sort of a "team-building" sport as the gang of parents of autistic children armed with lawyers and doctors go to battle against the evil tyranny, I think we need to look closely at this accusation.

True that vaccinations do occasionally cause serious side effects for certain children and the tragedy of those rare cases cannot be ignored for their level of human responsibility. While there are known reactions to vaccinations that wrench at the heart and should never be dismissed as some kind anomaly, at the same time, in this instance, we need to look at the greater good. Understand that I am not a government, centralization kind of person. As a battling independent, I more often than not find myself in the position of supporting the individual over any kind of blanket policy. Too frequently we look to the government as a solution for society's ills and too frequently we abdicate personal obligation to "big brother" who sees and solves all.

But there is no question that vaccinations serve a greater good. Polio, diptheria, and measles, all serious diseases with life altering and threatening consequences have virtually disappeared from our culture. It may seem coercive to require vaccinations, but they do prevent the unwanted spread of diseases. The answer is no doubt about it.

As to the cause of autism, a neurological disability, there is no evidence whatsoever linking autism to vaccinations. Autism is a broad-spectrum disorder displaying not just one characteristic but several. Yes, it is possible that vaccinations can cause certain side-effects masking themselves as similar problems generally associated by autism, but nothing proves a direct correlation to autism as stemming from any kind of vaccination. To reiterate, there is NO link. The theory is further defenestrated when one considers the millions of children without autism who received the same vaccinations.

Yet the idea remains in the wind as parents seek a cause, a blame, and yes, perhaps restitution (is it always about the money?). How many times, even each day, are we distracted by the peripherals only to discover that our energy on the ancillary took us away from the central problem? I believe this is true in the case of autism. If all our effort as parents and loving guardians is to blame the government for forcing us to vaccinate our children thereby causing the disability, only to discover that there is no correlation, then not only have we wasted our time, we have not spent any effort in helping our children.

Our time, our energy, our commitment should be spent helping our autistic children, not wasting precious time identifying what caused the problem. Let the mathematicians and the DNA scientists discover the root and subsequently the cure to the disability. Meanwhile, I urge all parents to focus on the problem at hand--helping your child adjust to a world he likely cannot understand and helping others adjust to your child.