Correlation Between Autism And Autism

Although there is no scientific proof that vaccines cause autism, proponents still believe that they do. The theory that vaccines cause autism were based on unproven facts and falsified information (DeStefano 81). In an article called CNS Drugs, the author writes about how a man named AJ Wakefield stun the public with a theory that the MMR vaccine may cause autism and how enterocolitis (bowel dysfunction) and MMR vaccine may be linked to autism (DeStefano 831). Even though Wakefield falsified information and his theories were proven to be discredited many people still

The controversy over the MMR vaccine started in the late 1990’s when Andrew Wakefield suggested that there was a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism in a scientific paper which he had published with several other co-authors. Although there has not been a proven fact that the MMR vaccine is the causation to autism it has brought concerns to parents and has caused a major drop in immunization rates. For example, Dannetun et al., 2005 states that, “Fear of side effects and beliefs

Although the MMR link to autism is one of the most recent anti-vaccine incidences, the anti-vaccine movement didn’t begin with the suggestion that MMR caused autism. Previous vaccine scare incidences arose prior to the 1998 study on MMR that fueled more anti-vaccine sentiments. Offit (2011) claims that the modern American anti-vaccine movement began when a documentary titled DPT: Vaccine Roulette, aired on April 19, 1982. The documentary questioned the safety and effectiveness of the diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine (DPT). It claimed that after investigating the pertussis portion of the vaccine they found that the DPT vaccine could damage to a devastating degree. Although many people believed the reports, the claim that the pertussis vaccine caused permanent brain damage was later found to be completely false (Offit, 2011).

The topic of the article is the connection (or lack of) between childhood vaccines (MMR) and autism. Contrary to popular opinion, vaccines are not linked to autism in any shape or form and there is no scientific evidence to support it.

Doctor Andrew Wakefield’s study, published the 28th of February, 1998 in the scientific magazine The Lancet, is constantly cited as being the catalyst for the ongoing debate on whether or not vaccinations have any connections to autism. In the case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s study on the connections between autism and the M.M.R. (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, proper scientific experimental procedures were not seen to, such as his not including a control group. That is to say, in an act transgressing scientific integrity, he documented the cases

Do vaccines cause autism is a question that has been bouncing around for over twenty years. The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased significantly and due to the impact this has in people’s lives several studies have been done in an effort to determine the cause. More specifically the MMR, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, vaccination has been accused of being the cause of autism. This accusation then contributed to families not vaccinating their children. Even though science disproves the link between vaccines and autism in several studies done in the United Kingdom, California, and Canada, many people cling to the vaccination-autism connection (Gerber, 2009).

Today, parents are not vaccinating their children for a number of reasons, whether it is religious beliefs, it is not natural, and some parents are even trying to link vaccinations to the rise in autism. This however has been proven false and stated in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The increase in vaccinations and the increase in children with autism happened at the same time, which leads some parents to believe that is why their child was diagnosed with autism, but this is correlation not causation. There is no real scientific test to diagnose autism and it is based off of the child’s social and communication skills and their behavior. A retrospective study was done from 1980 to 1994 where scientist recorded the amount of children receiving the measles vaccination and the amount of children diagnosed with autism. Over this time span, there was only a 10% increase in the amount of children receiving the MMR vaccine and 572% increase in children with autism. If the MMR vaccine was the cause of autism, then they should have increased at the same rate and therefore concluding that autism is caused by other unknown factors.

The whole MMR vaccination and Autism inspiration was first brought about by three key points. In the book “The Everything Parent 's Guide To Vaccines: Balanced, Professional Advice To Help You Make The Best Decision For Your Child” the author told what they were in an authentic way. It stated “The first was an observation that the number of children diagnosed with Autism increased dramatically right around the same time the MMR combination vaccine became introduced in the United States and Great Britain. The second was based on a study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in 1998 Published in the respected scientific journal Lancet. The third is based on the fact that children with Autism were first diagnosed with the condition right after they received the MMR vaccine.” (Leslie 67). However, these three points didn’t gain an exceptional start since Dr. Wakefield was later found not credible, and his license is under legal indictment (Leslie 69). Since Dr. Wakefield did not follow through with a credible study, it severely damaged his followers opinions and did not help the theory that Autism and vaccinations are linked.

One subject that has been very controversial for many years is the role of vaccinations causing Autism spectrum disorder in children. Since Eric Gallup was a healthy baby until he received was his first measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination in 1986. His parent noticed his behavior and ability to communicate after took the vaccinated. Eric had a serious reaction to the vaccine, according to his parent. In the year of 1989, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Eric Gallup’s parents developed a hypothesis that childhood vaccine was responsible for Eric's autism spectrum disorder.

"Despite overwhelming propaganda in the mainstream media that vaccines do not cause autism, one poll found that one out of every four parents now believe that vaccines cause autism" (Vaccines Cause Autism). Parents who listen to the media rather than the doctors don't want to accept the fact that there is no connection between autism and getting vaccinated. As one doctor explains in viewpoint, "There is more likely a coincidental link between immunization schedules and diagnoses of autism because the disease tends to arise when children are young, around the same ages that they are receiving vaccinations" (Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism). Children get vaccinated against 14 diseases by the age of two, along with annual flu vaccinations. Even though many doctors have mounting evidence proving the safety and value of vaccination, many parents are still passionately opposed to them. "Many people believe that the increased number of vaccines children now get twice as many as they did in 1980 and can receive up to 20 injections by their first birthday are to blame for the rise in kids with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)" (Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism). It's completely coincidental that autism comes out around the same time that many of the vaccines are given to the children. Parents blame the vaccines because they don't want to accept that their child developed

One such factor helping to manifest these large-scale epidemics is a study from 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, which claimed that there was a direct link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine (Smith 1). As a result, many parents refused to vaccinate their children out of fear, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles began reappearing more in both America and Britain, the place where Wakefield conducted his study (Cohen 2). Although a later investigation by the British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had distorted or altered the medical records of all twelve of the study’s participants and that he had been paid $674,000 USD by lawyers attempting to sue vaccine manufacturers, the atmosphere of apprehension surrounding vaccines is still strong among many individuals, and especially parents (Cohen 1-2). But despite all the controversy and the scientifically unsupported arguments of anti-vaccine sympathizers,

There is much speculation over whether or not vaccinations can lead to autism. Many people are concerned that autism may be linked to vaccines in the ingredients in them that children receive. Although there are many who support this theory, biology has shown that there is no link between vaccinations and autism. The fact that there is no relation between vaccinations and autism has been proved time and time again through many scientists including those who work with the CDC- Center for Disease Control and many other medical professionals.

The autism scare started 17 years ago, in the year 1998, when a paper was published in the British medical journal called The Lancet. Andrew Wakefield, M.D., a British gastroenterologist, and his colleagues were the authors of this paper which started the scare of immunizations causing autism. "Wakefield had a case study of eight children who had received the MMR and then developed symptoms of autism, says Paul Offit, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at the Children 's Hospital of Philadelphia. He also believed they had abnormal intestinal tracts and proposed a syndrome -- linking intestinal inflammation from receiving the MMR with the development of autism.” (Rope)

In 1998 a study was published by Andrew Wakefield theorizing that there was a link between autism symptoms and receiving a MMR vaccination. However, his findings are to be inconclusive considering he did not take the proper procedures to conduct a controlled study. First, he did not include control subjects in his study, so the results cannot be compared properly if there were any changes in the subjects. Second, the endoscopic or neuropsychological assessments were not done blind and the data was not collected systematically or completely. Third, the symptoms found between the children with autism and gastrointestinal problems were inconsistent. In reality, many health groups are theorizing that a vaccination does not cause autism by any

Live Science Contributor, Stephanie Pappas tell us that, “Wakefield was getting money from lawyers planning on suing vaccine makers, and he owned a patent on an alternative to the MMR (measles) vaccines,” [2] this statement is clear evidence of fraudulent activity and proves that Wakefield had corrupt reasons for undergoing this study in the first place. The second flaw to Wakefield's paper was the questionable practises of his study, for starters he based his study on twelve children that he “cherry picked,” and “although the paper claimed that cognitive problems developed a few days after the MMR vaccine, a simple investigation of hospital records revealed that wasnt so; and in several cases parents reported problems before the vaccine,” [2]. In summary, the investigation was sloppy and provided no tangible evidence that links autism to the MMR vaccine. Furthermore, it should be noted that the the link between autism and vaccines is purely coincidental, the symptoms of autism typically appear at around the age that vaccines are administered, in fact director of the Vaccine Education Centre at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr Paul Offit confirms this says, “Children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 to 15 months, the age at which autism symptoms typically