Unvaccinated Autisics?

[7SacredMama]

Are there any parents of unvaccinated autistic children out there. As in a child who has never had a single vaccine, even the hepB shot they give in the hospital? i have yet to meet a child wth autism who hasn't had at least one shot. I've asked around alot and have come up empty, so now I'm asking all of you......please respond....

[bdavis337]

There are a few folks here, but tread lightly.....this is a delicate subject. MY boy isn't one of them, he's had a few but not all.

[williamsmommy2002]

My second ds is unvaccinated completely. The first one only recived his first series of shots and we stopped. We don't vax but autism is not the reason why. I believe that autism is genetic.

[fanniefarkle]

First off, we do not have a dx yet, but there's no doubt in my mind that ds is on the spectrum. Up to this point, his vax are current, but DH and I have decided that ds will not be vaxed any more because we do not want to continue to put poison in his system. However, I do not think that the vax caused him to be autistic. I think that it is genetic.

[ShaggyDaddy]

My son is an unvaxed product of homebirth, he is also Autistic. My son's autistic traits also happen to be very similar to me, my brother, and my father.

[lunar forest]

Originally Posted by ShaggyDaddy

My son is an unvaxed product of homebirth, he is also Autistic. My son's autistic traits also happen to be very similar to me, my brother, and my father.

that. Exactly that.

[mmmummy]

My son has never had a single vaccination in his life..(his birth was also UC)

That being said, I believe there was a genetic component (especially from me) and I ALSO
highly believe that the vaccines the mother may have had during childhood can actually play
a part in her child developing Autism. In particular, those that don't hold a titer to Rubella.

[karina5]

We used to do care for an autistic boy who had never had a shot in his life.

[lunar forest]

Originally Posted by mmmummy

My son has never had a single vaccination in his life..(his birth was also UC)

That being said, I believe there was a genetic component (especially from me) and I ALSO
highly believe that the vaccines the mother may have had during childhood can actually play
a part in her child developing Autism. In particular, those that don't hold a titer to Rubella.

huh, I've never heard that before. I think Autism is genetic. I've never been vaxed.

[wendy1221]

Originally Posted by mmmummy

My son has never had a single vaccination in his life..(his birth was also UC)

That being said, I believe there was a genetic component (especially from me) and I ALSO
highly believe that the vaccines the mother may have had during childhood can actually play
a part in her child developing Autism. In particular, those that don't hold a titer to Rubella.

I don't agree with this. My older sister got rubella when I was around 4, and I am immune according to blood tests, so I haven't gotten a booster. I still have 2 autistic children, 1 who wasn't vaxed.

[pumpkinyum]

I know of several who are unvaxed/autistic, and one who's mom had no vax, and he has no vax, but he is autistic.

[Kristine233]

My DS was vax'd, but it has absolutely nothing to do with what caused his Autism. He got it from me, my genes.

[sbgrace]

One of my fraternal twins has autism. The other doesn't. Both had the exact same gestation, birth, and life afterward.

Had they been identical and so shared the same genetic material there is a well over 90% chance both would be on the spectrum if one is. As it is my typical kiddo had a chance the exact same as any sibling of an autistic (I think 10 to 25%). If twin studies don't prove that something genetic is behind autism to someone that person doesn't understand even basic genetic science and shouldn't be exploring this subject.

Do I think environment including vaccines matter? Yes I think environment matters but there has to be a genetic underlying something and the environmental impact for most spectrum kids in my opinion is not vaccines. I think what is coming out in research is that the environmental impacts together with genes are usually during gestation and they are happening in the mom rather than insults from outside. Other known genetic things that make environment have impact aren't environmental things you can control (like glutamate processing). And obviously whatever environmental factors there has to be something genetic too. Going back to concordance in identical vs. fraternal twins.

Autism is genetic.

Can you avoid vaccines, eat organic, avoid dairy and gluten during pregnancy and afterward, avoid pollution, have a home birth, delay solids, breastfeed for years, and all the other things you might do and still have an autistic child? Yes. Yes you can. And there are far, far worse things that can happen to your child as well. We just don't have the control that gives us guarantees with our kids. Which is one reason why parenthood is scary.

[ShaggyDaddy]

Everyone is kind of dancing on the topic, but I will let you know what we are talking about.

Presupposing that Autism is *caused* by something, is an encompassing assumption that Autism is harm, and can (and therefore should) be prevented and treated. Categorizing Autism as a mental/neurological defect tends to be offensive to the large numbers of Autistics and parents of Autistics out there who have chosen acceptance.

In my household we celebrate Autism. We love the world in our own way, we experience things differently from other people, and we would not change it for anything.

I have said before: Autism Awareness is the one and only cause of the "Autism Epidemic".
Our access to information, and our increased community awareness (aggregation of specific child behaviors over an extremely large population) has caused us to put more concrete labels on a set of previously uncategorized quirks (of varying intensities).

If a chemical/poison could give me a different point of view or change the physical size, chemical operation, and shape of a brain, humans would all be super heros, because successful utilization of a mutagenic material would be the sole focus of bio-engineering.

[kchoffmann]

I just wish we'd stop focusing so much on the reasons when it comes to autism, for all the implications lying behind that needing to know. It's one thing to pursue answers for one child - if your child is physically suffering in some way, if you suspect metabolic issues, etc etc. But this focus on the general Why with a capital 'W'... too many reasons to do so that are only disturbing to me.

[FancyD]

You rule, ShaggyDaddy!

[AbbieB]

Originally Posted by ShaggyDaddy

Everyone is kind of dancing on the topic, but I will let you know what we are talking about.

Presupposing that Autism is *caused* by something, is an encompassing assumption that Autism is harm, and can (and therefore should) be prevented and treated. Categorizing Autism as a mental/neurological defect tends to be offensive to the large numbers of Autistics and parents of Autistics out there who have chosen acceptance.

In my household we celebrate Autism. We love the world in our own way, we experience things differently from other people, and we would not change it for anything.

...

Thank you for writing this.

My son has Downs Syndrome. He is nine months old.

I have been struggling to find words for some of my feelings about my son. The above quote beautifully sums it up.





I admit to being confused by some of the previous posts. The OP does not seem negative to me. I did not "get" what everyone was feeling so touchy about until I substituted Downs Syndrome for Autism after reading the quoted post.

To the OP, I just want you to know that I understand why you might be asking this question.

As a newbie to the special needs world I am not quite sure of what is common knowledge and PC. Sometimes I am guilty of asking an inappropriate question. Sometimes I express a less than enlightened view. I am just starting my journey with my son and I am coming here to learn.

I hope that others will keep this in mind.

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by AbbieB

I admit to being confused by some of the previous posts. The OP does not seem negative to me. I did not "get" what everyone was feeling so touchy about until I substituted Downs Syndrome for Autism after reading the quoted post.

I think that what everyone is so touchy about is that IF vaccines cause autism AND you vaccinated your child, then the "logical" conclusion is that you 'caused' your child's autism. If only you hadn't vaccinated your child, then s/he would be "normal". Now, I don't believe this line of reasoning for a bit. I believe that autism is genetic. I think a lot of things that are diagnosed as autism today (and rightly so) were either overlooked 30 years ago or diagnosed as something different (generic mental retardation, for example).

That's very different from Downs Syndrome which has a clear genetic 'cause' that no parent can be responsible for (unless you want to blame your genes).

I guess it bothers me because it's another version of "blame the parent", which is clearly not a healthy thing to do. (Disclaimer: I don't have a child with autism. I have a child with Sensory Processing Disorder. But he shares some traits with children with autism.)

[MyTwoAs]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

I think that what everyone is so touchy about is that IF vaccines cause autism AND you vaccinated your child, then the "logical" conclusion is that you 'caused' your child's autism. If only you hadn't vaccinated your child, then s/he would be "normal". Now, I don't believe this line of reasoning for a bit. I believe that autism is genetic. I think a lot of things that are diagnosed as autism today (and rightly so) were either overlooked 30 years ago or diagnosed as something different (generic mental retardation, for example).

Yup, these are my thoughts. I remember the post about terbutaline causing autism and it freaked me out because I was on it with my daughter. It caused a mild depression on my part. Then when my son was dx'd (no terbutaline w/him) I started looking into the genetics of it and came to my current stance on autism.

[Brigianna]

My youngest is not officially diagnosed, but she has all the signs of autism. She has never had a shot.

My oldest is autistic and was selectively vaccinated.

They both have an autistic mother, though.