Is Autism a factor in your decision making?

[dakotablue]

I was just wondering how many of us on here considered Autism as a reason to not vaccinate. I will admit, I began research on Vaxs because of my concern about Autism and from having worked with two families who saw typical development until vax issues (one premiee accidentally received an adult sized flu vax at 14m, and the other received 2 MMR shots while having a cold at 18m The nurse said the first didn't go deep enough) BUT after my research Autism is the LEAST of my worries.

How about you all?

[EVC]

It was something I considered when researching, but even if you were to completely strike it from the list, that wouldn't change my decision not to vax. There are many more compelling reasons, imo.

[carriebft]

I voted Not even on the list for us, though we did look into the matter since everyone was talking about it, and I continue to follow the literature coming out on the subject as a matter of curiosity. The recent omnibus trial was a treasure of literature and sources on this subject.

[HappyTomato]

There are lots of reasons why I didn't vax my 2nd and 3rd children but autism is a big one for me. The father of my 2nd and 3rd children had two autistic sons from his previous marriage. One died from seizures when he was 16. The other lives with us full time and will never live independently because his autism is so severe.

[fruitfulmomma]

I think it is a valid concern but it wasn't on my radar when we were looking into them close to 11 years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest. At this point in time I am not really concerned with specific reactions from them, as I am more in disagreement with the whole underlying theory behind vaccines. IOW, even if they could prove without a shadow of a doubt that there was no connection to Autism or any other condition/illness/death, I would still not vaccinate.

[Aridel]

No, since I don't think vaccinations cause autism.

[Drummer's Wife]

No, no it's not. And it's not what got me questioning vaccines.

[kathymuggle]

I think autism is multi-causal for most people. I often wonder if vaccines in general (including the mother and father being vaccinated) have somehow weakened our immune system to potential toxins that launch attacks on our bodies. I do not discount our germ phobia, and toxic environments (plastics, off gasing, etc) in general for being contributing factors in the spike of autism (and , yes, I do believe there is a spike)

The main reason I did not vaccinate my children is because I do not trust the vaccine manufacturers, or the medical community to give me straight answers to my questions and concerns.

[ammiga]

It's a concern, but there are many that I place higher on the list. I'm not exactly sure how I feel vaccines are linked to autism, but I do think there is a connection in some way. Like a pp, if this concern were removed from the equation, we still would not vax.

[Sharlla]

well after working with autistic and MR clients who were born normal and changed after having the MMR I am not taking any risks. one girl had such severe reactions she had seizures that almost killed her. such a beautiful young lady who will forever developmentally be like a 2 year old. it's sooooo sad.

[Arduinna]

Not a factor at all. I started refusing vaxes for myself once I was able to and that was almost 30 years ago. Autism wasn't even on my radar screen.

[Emmeline II]

The Autism/vax connection wasn't on the radar when I decided not to vax. Whether it is Autism or "just" vaccine injury that mimics Autism, children have been hurt by vaccines.

[OdinsMommy0409]

My choice to delay/selectively vax had nothing to do with autism. Instead, my concerns were in regard to the immune system and extensive family history of autoimmune disorders.

However, our decision to cease vaxing was greatly related to autism and other neurological injury as DS suffered vax injury at 7 months.

[stacey05]

Yes, autism, is one reason I am not vaccinating. It is not the only reason. My 4th child had a possible reaction to his 4 month vaccines and they thought he was having seizures. I started researching because of that and have found many things that bother me about vaccines, and autism is one of them. I do not think vaccines are the only cause of autism, but I think in some children they can cause autism. I don't understand it, but there are too many stories from parents out there about how their child was developing normally and then after vaccines, they regressed or started displaying autistic behaviors. I think we should listen to the parents.

[Adamsmama]

We delay vax and autism is my number one reason to do this. My oldest had all the shots including the one in the hospital (hep) when he was born and I was vacinnated for the flu during his pregnancy (this is before I knew any better or anything about mercury, etc.) So now he is low-mod functioning autistic and has brain damage/very low IQ. My other kids show very minor signs of autism spectrum but don't have it (mostly sensory issues nothing near the degree of my oldest) and are very very high functioning but it is obviously an issue in our family. I noticed my boys are worse off than my girl and she was delayed vax/selectively vaxed and we held off until 3 months, etc., delayed MMR...

[hildare]

I chose other reasons with that as a slight factor. The other reasons for us seem a little more important in our choice.

[crittersmom]

I didn't think about it, I was worrying about all the allergies on both sides of the family and then my oldest had rashes and issues that popped up right after each vax.I was told it wasn't an issue and when it got worse I was actually trying to find treatments when I came here and put two and two together.
I do think that for some children vaxes could be a trigger but for others it isn't an issue.Autism needs more research.

[Angela512]

It was definitely one of the reasons I started looking into vaxes when I was pregnant with my first. I have 2 cousins who are severely autistic (1 can never live on his own, the other may be able to with assistance) and 1 cousin (all same parents) who is completely fine, no delay/issues, but also not vaxed.

Yes, it was a major concern of mine. Through my research, autism became the least of my concerns, however, as there are many, many other concerns I have with vaxes. But, yes, autism was at the top of my list when I first started researching...mainly due to my cousins.

[GoBecGo]

It wasn't on my list. My dad is an aspie and there is a lot of autism in my family. None of them were vaxed and some of the most severely affected were living entirely natural organic lifestyles in pre-industrial Russia. I do not seek to avoid spectrum disorders (having been raised by an Aspie, they seem pretty ordered to me ). I looked at all the evidence on both sides for risk and decided to vaccinate.

[ema-adama]

I had not heard about the Autism vaccine connection when I gave birth and knew that my son would not get HepB. When I declined the 2 month shots I was told there is no connection to Autism and thus started by inquirey into the connection. Autism was not a reason not to vaccinate, but I was curious to understand why it was such a hotly debated topic