Autism is a difficult disorder to miss, as it is characterized by noticeably abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted array of activities and interests. And while scientific consensus claims autism has been around for millennia at generally the same prevalence, that prevalence is now considered to be one in every 166 children born in the United States.
Therefore, with this devastating statistic in mind, one reporter set out to analyze the autism rates among Amish communities. Why? Because perhaps searching for autistic Amish children would reveal clues to the cause of autism … and it did.
The Clues Come Together
Since they have been cut off for hundreds of years from American culture and scientific progress, the Amish may have had less exposure to some new factor triggering autism in the rest of population. The likely culprit: vaccines.
Traveling to the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country in search of autistic Amish children, the reporter, based on national statistics, should have found as many as 200 children with autism in the community — instead, he found only three, the oldest age 9 or 10:
- The first autistic Amish child was a girl who had been brought over from China, adopted by one family only to be given up after becoming overwhelmed by her autism, and then re-adopted by an Amish Mennonite family. (China, India and Indonesia are among countries moving fast to mass-vaccination programs.)
- The second autistic Amish child definitely had received a vaccination and developed autism shortly thereafter.
- The reporter was unable to determine the vaccination status of the third child.
Dangerous Effects of Thimerosal
In some vaccines, they use a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal that keeps multiple-dose vials from becoming contaminated by repeated needle sticks. After health officials became concerned about the amount of mercury infants and children were receiving through thimerosal-tainted vaccines, the toxin was phased out of U.S. vaccines starting in 1999.
However, due to mislabeling and other problems, its presence is still being felt, and more and more children are suffering because of it.
Washington Times April 18, 2005
Washington Times April 19, 2005
Dr. Mercola’s Comment:
Does anyone out there really need more evidence than this?
Admittedly, this was not a placebo-controlled scientific trial but an evidence-based fact analysis that, in my mind, provides an irrefutable link to a lifestyle and, most likely, mercury-containing vaccine connection to autism.
Folks, you don’t have to be a medical doctor, hold advanced epidemiology degrees or teach molecular genetics to figure this one out. You don’t even need a degree in rocket science. How much more obvious could it be?
The link between autism and vaccines is certainly not a new idea. In fact, suggestions of this link have been in the national news for at least six years now. Just last year a study, that reviewed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vaccine Data Link, concluded that children who receive thimerosal-containing vaccinations are 27 times more likely to develop autism than children who do not.
That’s a 2,700 percent increase. The numbers just don’t lie.
Considering how important this issue is for nearly everyone you know, it might be a good one to forward to your friends and relatives.
This most recent investigation simply provides the proverbial icing on the cake. There aren’t too many other places, if any, in America where you can find large groups of children who haven’t been vaccinated.
The reporter found three children with autism. One child was adopted and previously vaccinated, another was one of the few Amish children who were vaccinated, and the third had an unclear vaccine history. That leaves, at most, potentially one child out of an expected 200 (from national statistics) with autism. The odds of this being mere coincidence are slim to none.
At Least Change the Rules Concerning the Hepatitis B Vaccine
Because of their religious beliefs, the Amish community chooses not to give their children any vaccines. Understandably, many of you may not choose such a radical approach. However, if you were to focus on just one vaccine, I would encourage you to look at the issues surrounding the hepatitis B vaccine.
The multi-dose version of this vaccine, which is typically administered to newborns before they leave the hospital, still contains thimerosal. This is reprehensible, irresponsible negligence of the highest magnitude.
The immature central nervous systems of these helpless newborns are particularly susceptible to toxic insults, and thimerosal, the mercury-containing preservative used in these vaccines, is one of the worst.
It would be much easier to understand if the hepatitis B vaccine had some value, but most natural health experts who study this are convinced that this is nearly always an absolutely unnecessary vaccine.
There are only about 5,000 people a year who develop the most serious consequence of hepatitis B infection, liver cancer. That means we are immunizing tens of millions of infants and causing brain injury that has caused an epidemic of autism to protect liver cancer in 5,000 adults. And, many of these adults have serious social problems like IV drug abuse, alcoholism and poor nutrition that seriously increases their risk for this disease.
If you’re a young parent weighing the pros and cons of vaccines, I strongly urge you to learn more about the toxicity of thimerosal, which, again, is still present in multi-dose hepatitis B vaccines, and nearly all the mandated flu vaccine for infants.
Article cited written by Dan Olmsted with comments by Dr. Joseph Mercola; from the free health & wellness e-newsletter at the world’s most visited natural/alternative health website, Mercola.com
About the Author...
In 1997 I started my web site, Mercola.com, that is now the most visited natural health site in the world. By 2006 we had over 800,000 subscribers and over 5 million page views every month. I created this site with no outside investors or advertising
Jan 22nd, 2008 at 8:07 am
Thimerisol has been eliminated from childhood vaccines for several years now but the autism rate has not decreased. ???? There IS still mercury in flu shots…????
Feb 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Fortunately, you are simply ignorant of the facts, but also dangerously biased.
Have I got your attention? Or are you an idiot as well?
Hepatitis B was endemic in Hong Kong (contracted at birth by about 80% of the population) until Hepatitis B vaccination was available. Liver cancer is NOT the only condition caused by this disease, and not the only killer effect (e.g. cirrhosis of the liver).
Lack of exposure to vaccination is NOT the only “modern” thing that the Amish avoid. TV, telephones, bitumen paved roads etcetera.
Vaccines are not completely safe, but there are distinct benefits. The diseases they prevent or reduce in severity have incalculable benefits. Did you know that Paget’s disease of bone (one of the leading causes of osteosarcoma in the elderly) is caused by MEASLES virus - I bet you didn’t. Vaccination appears to prevent this cancer, but more importantly it prevents a lethal encephalitis in some children.
I could go on. But it’s impossible to get some people to review their “facts”.
Bye
P.J. Sutherland (MBBS)
P.S. The MBBS is relevant, as it indicates that I do understand the science behind vaccination, as opposed to the pseudo-science that you subscibe to. I actually work as a farmer!
Feb 18th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Are there any suggestions to parents who are deciding to not vaccinate their children?
Feb 18th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
So Peter because you have MBBS after your name that makes you superior to everybody else? There are many, many cases where individuals with an alphabet after their name have been either wrong, slanting the facts to protect their ego or the most common reason….. greed.
Your knowledge is only as good as the research that you read and try to heal with no regard to what happens down the road.
We the public have seen the side effects to various drugs, pills, and opinion with disastrous consequences. GM modified foods are amongst us and set to continue… if this is your science, you can keep it.
Feb 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Alicia,
Once again conventional medical treatments are letting us down!!!
There is some good reading at Generation Rescue on the subject of vaccines.
http://www.generationrescue.com/misinformation.html
Feb 19th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Hi Alicia, check out this website: http://www.avn.org.au/ Australian Vaccination Network for loads of information. I think the key is an unprocessed, traditional foods diet. Pre-conception and diet during pregnancy are also really important. Finally there is the option of homeopathic vaccination.
Feb 20th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Alica,
There were great lectures on Vaccinations, Autism, Children’s Nutrition at the WAPF 2007 seminar.
The lectures can be downloaded as MP3 files for a small price each, from
http://www.westonaprice.org/index.html
click on Order recordings from the 2007 conference and it will take you
there.
Education is better then Medication!!
Feb 20th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Okay for one, my husband’s side of the family. Two of their children are brain damaged, one of their children was born autistic and has never uttered a word at all.
Two were born healthy, but became brain damaged after being immunised. The rest of the children are healthy. Now I know that there may be other factors behind their condition, considering that one was born autistic, but the worrying factor is that wo were born healthy but suffered serious consequences as infants after being immunised.
For me, my children are not fully immunised. I stopped after doing some of my own research on the subject. Instead I keep them healthy through their food and make sure they diet is high in antioxidants. There are many ways to keep kids healthy through nutrition.
Yes granted there was once a need for immunisations and no doubt they did their work, but we also ned to look at other methods of keeping our childre nehalthy.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:04 am
Mum says <>
Mum, you depend on everybody ELSE getting immunized so the disease does not get your kid. Everybody ELSE keeps their kid from getting mumps, whooping cough, tuberculosis… and your un-immunized and vulnerable kid gets to play in a disease-free environment.
Do you know the meaning of “parasite”? “One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.”
Immunization is a collective undertaking for collective benefit. Where TB immunization becomes universal, TB disappears. Where a pocket of religious or health-food zealots maintain a pool of the disease, it is kept alive as a hazard for everybody.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Oliver, you might want to check your facts and do a little bit of your own research and some critical, independant thinking before letting fly with your vitriolic comments. Herd immunity is an idealistic dream. Medicine admits that no vaccine is 100% effective and there are several with success rates that would make herd immunity impossible to achieve even if every single child and adult is vaccinated. But don’t take my word for it do your own research.
Some vaccines simply don’t make any sense such as the Hepatitis vaccine for newborns. Unless a baby’s mother is an IV drug user, sex worker or perhaps a health care worker in a high risk setting, there is simply no justification to give this vaccine to every new born: this is a case of collective immunisation for minority benefit at a huge cost to the health system, tax payers and the risk of adverse reactions in one of the most vulnerable groups in our society.
No parent makes the decision not to vaccinate their child lightly. It’s like opening pandora’s box once they start to research vaccination, they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Statistics show that parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are in fact often among the most highly educated. Your inflammatory comments do nothing to help the cause of either side.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:47 am
I just read an article about a research that was conducted in Japan regarding the MMR vaccine and Regression Autism. The MMR vaccine was only available in Japan from 1989 to 1993. There were 904 autistic patients that they assessed on three different times; before, during and after the vaccine was administered. The results show no significant difference between those who received the MMR and those who have not. Therefore, this study concludes that there is no known link to the two.
I do think that this kind of thought when proliferated is enough to cause a panic from vaccines and potentially cause an outbreak, as it did in England when the Wakefield paper came out. Incidentally, 10 researchers that contributed to the Wakefield Paper retracted their statements. Wakefield was also being paid by the parents of ASD children so they can sue for damages!
Here is the references of the article:
J Autism Dev Disord (2007) 37:210–217
DOI 10.1007/s10803-006-0157-3
123
ORIGINAL PAPER
MMR-Vaccine and Regression in Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Negative Results Presented from Japan
Tokio Uchiyama Æ Michiko Kurosawa Æ
Yutaka Inaba
Published online: 25 July 2006
Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006
May 25th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
This study is too narrow to be conclusive as it deals with only one sample. Surely there are other communities or ethnic groups that have had no exposure to thimerosal containing vaccines which could be studied for ASD prevelance. Until then, the Amish study is very statistically fragile.
And yes, why hasn’t the incidence of ASD decreased in the US and Australia since phasing out of thimerosal in 1999 and 2001 respectively? I would like to see the explanation!
May 27th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I have not been vaccinated, nor has my mother,my son, my brother and a few of my cousins. None of us have had any severe childhood illnesses. The most we get is the common cold which is the body trying to remove toxins such as additives in any junk food that we may come across when eating with friends. We only get these rarely, if we have had a few late nights or get run down. My friends and family members who HAVE been vaccinated have had every illness under the sun. One friend and her teenage daughter have recently had pnemonia, and her daughter recently had the cervical cancer vaccine. DO You know what they put in the flu shot, for goodness sake, are everyone so downdumbed that you dont research what you are jabbing into yourselves??? Disregard this if you dont vaccinate, you are the informed ones!
May 30th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Hello,
I would like to mention that I have a son age 14 now that has PDD Autism, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Auditory Processing Deficits and Dyspraxia. Both of my children have never been immunized, my daughter does not have Autism. My son was diagnosed with Autism when he was 12. Not to throw a curve ball into this mix of comments, but why does my son have Autism? He was never immunized. In all of my research, which has been many years now, I have discovered a strong genetic link attributed to Autism, either one or both parents have to be a carrier of the gene. I would like my son to be involved in Medical Research because the Autism/Immunization, like can be ruled out. I am thankful that I was able to exert my parental responsibility and to have a “choice” to not immunize my children. I also studied for many years, the pro’s and con’s of immunization and chose to not put the poisons in my children when their bodies were young and vulnerable. My children are now 14 and 13, and if we were to go out of the country, I would consider the possibility of some immunizations if the situation warranted it self, now that my children are older and their immune systems are strong, Yes, knowledge is power.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:42 am
Hi Lisa, have you looked at the work of Dr Natasha Campbell McBride? Dr McBride is a medical doctor with post-grad qualifications in neurology and nutrition. Her own son was diagnosed with very severe autism at age 3. She now runs a clinic that specialises in helping children and adults with behavioural and learning difficulties.
Dr McBride also has some patients who have autism that were not immunised. However, the link between the MMR vaccine and autism also can’t be denied as so many parents have identified that that is when their child’s symptoms began. What Dr McB has found is that in 100% of the thousands of cases that she has worked with, the child AND MOTHER and generally many other members of the family have digestive issues. She has written a fascinating book called “Gut and Psychology Syndrome – Natural treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, ADD, Dyslexia, ADHD, Depression and Schizophrenia”. In her book she outlines the connection between nutrition and brain function as well as the key role that the digestive flora play in one’s psychological state.
She says that whilst vaccination does not by itself cause autism, it is usually the straw that breaks the camel’s back. She says the mother always has impaired digestive function and that is what is passed on to the baby. Then, because the baby doesn’t have a healthy functioning gut, they are more prone to illness and infection leading to ear infections and usually antibiotics. The antibiotics further exacerbate the digestive issues and weaken the immune system. Finally, most are immunised and this tips them over the edge to develop disorders such as autism.
Does this resonate with you? She also says that none of the mothers of autistic children that she treats were themselves breastfed. I would be very interested to hear your history. Were you breastfed? Do you have thrush/candida? Do you have a history of digestive issues?
I have a friend who has 3 children with major digestive problems. They often get sick and have to go on very strong antibiotics. They also have major eating issues - total carbohydrate addicts, “happy starvers” and very fussy. My friend was not breastfed. She has asthma and eczema. She has had many teeth removed from overcrowding. She is a mouth breather (can’t breathe through her nose due to narrow sinuses). She has chronic candida and thrush and gets sick easily. She has chosen not to vaccinate her children and so far, apart from the above-mentioned illnesses etc., the kids are developing normally. So when I read Dr McBride’s work, I said thank god she didn’t vaccinate her children as, according to McBride’s theories, they are great candidates for autism or other disorders.
That’s not to say there is not a genetic component too, but I think in this modern world, there is too much blame laid on genetics and not enough recognition that we are causing serious damage to the human race through our diet, chemicals and modern lifestyles.
What are your thoughts on this?
By the way, Dr McBride was able to fully cure her son of his autism through diet and probiotics and now, at age 12, he is completely “normal” and attending a mainstream school and doing really well. There are some video interviews with Dr McBride on You Tube.
Jun 1st, 2008 at 4:15 am
One of the major cause of non-familial autism/schizophrenia is older paternal age. There is much research on the Male Biological Clock. Mothers who had older fathers when they were conceived can carry genetic mutations that cause autism.
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
Or are their guts simply more damaged from ill prepared and processed foods and lack of bacteria rich traditional foods, causing genetic mutation in the sperm?
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
With all due respect and heartfelt sympathy to those who did not have their children vaccinated but still have autism and related disorders.I FIRMLY DISAGREE that their is no relation between vaccines and autism.I am an RN of 30 years so I feel fairly well versed in medical issues.I am also a mom who has endured having a son with ADHD and other related behavioral issues that resemble autism.Believe it or not I can not think of the term right at the moment.I have read so many articles about the pros and cons of vaccines and I still STAND FIRM that we are OVER-VACCINATING OUR CHILDREN; all in the name of PHARMACEUTICAL PROFITS.Someone please look into which investments are making the most financial profit!!!!! I can assure you that besides oil,you will find it is the drug companies!!!! Honestly,why the heck are we vaccinating our 14 year old daughters for sexually transmitted diseases that the medical industry and drug companies are telling you cause cancer????Does it really?,AND WHY TO A 14 YEAR OLD GIRL???Maybe I am old fashioned ,but sex is not for 14 yar olds. Don’t be fooled people.Do you see the pattern? The drug companies are playing on the parents emotions and they in turn do what they feel is best for their child. Prime example of the foolishness in medicine; what the heck is restless leg symdrome? I can assure you that if you have restless legs or GRD-gastric reflux disease [ which is not a disease at all ] than you have other contributing health issues that cause these disorders.I know it seems I’m rambling on and straying from the real issue of vaccines and autism.I am only trying to point out how needless so many things the medical industry tells you are necessary,and not only are they not;but the results of them are devastating.I personally could write a book about bringing up my youngest son.When he was a baby about to receive his vaccines Iviewed a documentary the night befor.It was in 1996 and covered the possible relation between vaccines and autism.The next day at the pediatrician I told him about my strong reservations of having my son vaccinated.That a woman with a ‘normal’ baby ended up with a severely retarded child.Ofcourse, the pediatrician had seen the same documentary and reassured me that there is really no proof of the relation of abnormalities and vaccines.This poor childs circumstances was unfounded.He went on to explain the risk factors of not recieving the vaccines and I as a parent was torn.As a nurse I had always believed that all these things were for our benefit.Ignorant me!!!! I then had my 2 month old son recieve that injection and had the sickest feeling afterward.Like I said ,I could write a book about every day with my son who is now turning twelve in august..It has been no easy road and we keep him medication free.Ido not believe in all those behavior modifying drugs.We use discipline,structure ,and a healthy diet.I do believe he has a spectrum disorder of autism and of course the known adhd.Look at the statistics on autism now and 10-20 years ago,even less than that.The dramatic increase is staggering!!!!! How can people say there is no relation? What are we doing to our kids??? It has to end. Wake up …Research as a parent and be intelligent regarding these issues!!! I have now wavered my children from having any further vaccines.There is no current risk factors in this country for children who have completed their vaccination regime.Although this year it was required for 12 year olds to recieve a booster vaccine.I say NO-NO NO!!!!!.Damn it !!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Jun 16th, 2008 at 5:25 am
OK people, valid comments and concerns, although some people “OLIVER” do not know how to be respectful of others! First I am six and a half months pregnant with my first and only, I was NOT vaccinated (I am 38), when they tried, I went into shock, so my allergies were too bad and my parents did not try again. I am a Behavioral Scientist and my hubby is a Molecular Bio Chemist, we will not vaccinate our daughter until after age six.
I do mass society research for government contracts, mostly societial ills, AIDS, Drug abuse, Child Abuse, etc. I also run a large Children’s Agency which serves the most inclusive number of children in Los Angeles, mostly with Autism. I have spoken to many parents and asked when did you notice a difference, they all report after vaccinations (within a short time). But in my field, we would say at best correlation not causation. Kinda of like the most horrible crimes are committed on the day of the month with a full moon, it is not causation, it is correlation at best. Can the moon cause unstable people to commit terrible crimes? Maybe, but good luck proving it.
So the theory on Autism would read something like many’s theory on Cancer. Many would say, you are born with a disposition to cancer, genetic traits, or what ever, so those who get cancer simply do so because all the crappy stars aligned and chemicals, smoking, pollution, whatever triggered it. The same is probably true for Autism; the same as a 50 year 2 pack a day smoker in Los Angeles never gets lung cancer and a 12 year old in Idaho does…..one’s genetic make-up.
So Autism, they will find at some later date is triggered and vaccine’s play a part. To say vaccine’s “cause” Autism is where people are loosing against the medical brass. The truth is, anyone who has done research knows there is known evidence of casulties, we would say, we’ll save a million, harm 1,000, its worth it. Well yes, unless its you, me, or a loved one that is harmed. That is what the great CDC and every other governing body accepts (remember, my husband is a research scientist, has worked for the big three -pharmacut companies). ITS ALL SHADY.
Sorry for rambling, but the truth is, there are drugs out on the market that clearly show harm in trials (paid for by the pharm co) and it is covered up and the drugs released to us. I am not a consiperacy theorist, I am well educated, I question everything that seems odd, I know how to tear down and interpret any type of research and data and I always do my homework. You should too. If you are concerned about an issue don’t read 4 articles, read 40 from the top schools and educators, then decide. I will say, ANYONE who says there is no risk in vaccines is a LIAR and does not know what they are talking about. Don’t believe me… go to the CDC and look up the contents of ANY one vaccine, then google or use a PDR to get even 3 of the contents side effects, they ALL contain very harmful chemicals, ALL It is just the better of almost all for the sacrifice of a few. I don’t propose that we all don’t vaccinate, I just know the reality.
Anything that is made truly safe cost money and people won’t pay, insurance won’t pay so we all lose. Think about it the next time you say something is too expensive, like an alarm system for the safety of your family’s home, or a $500 European car seat with a higher crash speed rating, then go to the store and get that plasma TV and pay a $2,000 car insurance (in case crap happens) premium so your car is covered, but don’t pay $500 so your kid is covered or $800 so your family is safe! We don’t put our money where we claim our priorites are, then wonder why we are not kept safe.
Jun 16th, 2008 at 5:35 am
BTW, a woman recently found out her 3 year old had Autism, she used a sperm donor for the conception. When she got in contact with two other woman with children from the same donor (the kids ages 2 and 6), she found both of the other children had Autism. All three kids were vaccinated. Not a notable sample, but clearly could be looked at as genetic disposition, but the truth is, could be coincience too, but probably not.
Jul 4th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
A question for Behavioral Scientist……… I’m curious, after not being vaccinated yourself, knowing there are harmful ingredients in vaccines, why do you say that you will vaccinate your child after the age of six? OK your child will be a bit older, therefore immune system is stronger… but why inject something filled with harmful chemicals into your child’s system at any age, you are informed, you have researched, it doesnt make sense.
Most people who vaccinate are frightened by what the doctors tell them….yet the docters don’t give a list of ingredients,or what other things they are used for, most parents who vaccinate are ignorant to all this. Certain vaccines that were given in the past, the actual disease they were being vaccinated against was already in decline,due to better hygeine and living conditions.
There is more to it than meets the eye.Ponder it………