Does the MMR vaccine cause autism?
Many carefully performed studies say no. For the latest information on this topic, please see the sources listed below: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)’s web pages with information about vaccines and autism: http://www.aap.org/new/autisminfomain.html The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a wealth of information on vaccine safety: http://www.cdc.
The following is edited for length and re-printed from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) website with permission, at http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/mmr_autism.htm Current scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that MMR vaccine, or any combination of vaccines, causes the development of autism, including regressive forms of autism. Epidemiologic studies have shown no relationship between MMR vaccination in children and development of autism. Taylor et al. (1999) studied 498 children with autism in the UK and found that the age at which they were diagnosed was the same regardless of whether they received the MMR vaccine before or after 18 months of age or whether they were never vaccinated. Importantly, no clustering of developmental regression was found after vaccination. Also, there was no “step up” in cases of autism or change in the trend line after introduction of MMR vaccine. Gillberg and Heijbel (1998) compared the prevalence of autism in children born in Sw
I am the parent to two children who have been diagnosed with autism. Autism is a life-long developmental disability. This is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Autism is more prevalent than downs syndrome. Typically a child starts to display the autistic characteristics between eighteen months and two years of age. This is when the changes are starting to take place. Many diagnoses occur between the age of two and three. Autism crosses over into all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds in all parts of the world. One of the first signs of autism is the loss of language or lack of further development in that area. The lack of eye contact, flapping of hands, lining up of toys, flipping on switches and many other characteristics that will be tested by a speech therapist and/or school psychologist using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the DSMIV manual. The Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccination (MMR) is given in one dose at two sep
By Jeffrey P. Baker, MD, PhD and Dennis Clements, MD, PhD No one disputes that autism is being diagnosed more frequently than it was twenty years ago. But experts debate to what extent this trend reflects better detection or a real increase in the disorder itself. The definition of autism has been expanded considerably in recent years, and better recognition likely accounts for much of the rise. Indeed, studies of families and twins suggest that genetic factors are of primary importance. Yet for parents coping with the demands of an autistic child, it is hard not to believe that something in the environment is at fault as well. Many possible causes have been proposed, ranging from food additives to environmental mercury and PCBs. The National Autism Association has focused on the vaccine preservative thimerosal, metabolized to ethyl mercury, as a possible culprit. There is simply no evidence supporting this assertion, however. Denmark removed thimerosal from its vaccines in 1992 and st
