Sunday, November 9, 2008

The dreaded MMR. . .

I don't need to site any articles here, nor do I want to. Some people believe vaccines cause Autism. Some people believe that's bullshit. The big scary shot that those who do believe is the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) shot that is given at one year. Jenny McCarthy claims she saw an instant difference when her son got his MMR shot. He went from a happy healthy boy to a shell of a toddler with Autism. . . she wrote a book about this. She also claims that her son is now Autism free, as if it was some sort of pesky rash.*

I should point out here that some people believe that Autism shouldn't be "cured." That Autism isn't a disease and it is what makes their kid who they are. If we had always had a "cure" for Autism we probably wouldn't have the Theory of Relativity (Einstein didn't speak until he was 6) or Microsoft Windows (it is suspected that Bill Gates was and is still Autistic). . . maybe that last part would be a good thing. According to a few Autism experts I've heard speak, if you go to San Francisco or Seattle (the tech centers of the US) you can't throw a rock without hitting an Autistic person. Programmers, economists, theoretical physicists. . . very prone to be people with at least mild autism.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. So if in fact the MMR shot instantly causes Autism. . . then we survived it.

Our one-year check-up was Tuesday. He's right at 50% for height, just below 50% for weight, and at 80% on head size (big melon). He spent most of the appointment running around the office looking for something to get into. Then he got 4 shots. He has to go back for his flu shot booster in 4 weeks.

*I should clarify I have no problem with Jenny McCarthy, I greatly admire her past work. I only have issue with her suddenly being an expert on Autism. I suppose with her becoming a spokesperson for TACA (Talk About Curing Autism) puts her around experts and some of the information has rubbed off.

3 comments:

E.L. Bodenstab said...

"He's got a big head! Its like Sputnik!"

caramama said...

Glad his appointment went well. Sounds like he is growing right on track.

I do want to point out that from my research it's not that people think vaccines cause autism, it's that they think that kids who are on the spectrum have bad reactions to the vaccines (especially MMRs) because their systems can't handle the MMR or the other things that are in the shots. So it's more that if a child is on the edge of the spectrum, certain diseases (such as the M, the M and the R, which are in the vaccine), heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and foods with gluttons and casiens (wheat and dairy) can put the child further down the spectrum. Does that makes sense?

In fact studies have been done by taking biopsies of autistic children of their digestive track (I think that's the part of the body) have found the MMR diseases still in the children's systems years after the shot. I can't remember the study name, but if you are interested, I'll look it up.

The treatments for autism include de-toxifying the children's blood of the heavy metals that build up and providing a strict diet that they can handle. I believe the children are always still on the spectrum (like the famous people you named), but they are able to function better in the world around them because the things their bodies can't handle are taken and kept out of their systems.

Okay, I'll stop now after I say this. We have good friends with a son who is autistic, and I've learned a lot about it. The son was also developing on track until very shortly after the MMR shot. After that, he was truly dramatically different. It was amazing to see. Again, I'm not saying that the MMR caused it, but it seems like he couldn't handle the shot and it pushed him down the spectrum.

I'm Not Skippy said...

I know there are perfectly logical explanations to link the two things, however no one has ever been able to provide actual proof of a link.

That being said I do agree in the diet helping with symptoms.

Let's all forget about that and google picture of Jenny McCarthy!