Proceeds from sales of Autism's False Prophets support the Autism Science Foundation
By Robin Hausman Morris
Punch drunk as I am, required to read every alert regarding vaccine injury, I was struck by the facts issued on WKRG.com News 5. Reported by Kesshia Peyton, who interviewed Dr. Paul Offit, there is a surge of parents who are very angry at the diversion that anti-vaccine activists have created.
Tina Brown, mother of 2 boys with autism, decided not to vaccinate son Dylan because his brother Dalton had been inoculated and was subsequently diagnosed with autism. Sadly, even in the absence of vaccines Dylan demonstrated symptoms of autism at 4 months of age. (video interview is below). Mrs. Brown believes that there is great need for research in environmental, genetic, and DNA reasons for the onset of autism. She is part of a growing number of parents who want answers, other than the constant mention of vaccine injury.
Dr. Offit, author of Autism False Prophets, believes that “those who oppose vaccines have taken the autism story hostage”. He agrees that there is profiteering and quackery in this arena. It is the fundamental action of false prophets, to entice and recruit vulnerable families. Frankly, I agree, but “snake oil” medicine is not relegated to autism. Parents need to be vigilant and at the same time practical about the information that is presented. Sometimes it is very painful to tease our emotions from clarity of thought. We so desperately need a reason, a cure, a miracle, our focus is skewed, and ultimately our children are victims again. I don’t have the answers, but I sure want them. Now.
Autism is an epidemic. There is no such thing as a genetic epidemic. My son came home from his 12 month vaccinations and became very ill and was never the same.I watched it happen. After that day (6/27/06) HE WAS NEVER THE SAME. No amount of statistics would ever make me believe that something other than his vaccinations let to his autism and other medical problems that began on 6/27/06.
Cynthia,
There is no reason to believe that we are facing an autism epidemic. In fact, most of the best evidence suggests that any increase in apparent caseload is due to better diagnosis, awareness and in particular to broadened diagnostic criteria.
For a scholarly discussion try:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12216059
For a more accessible discussion try:
http://www.autcom.org/pdf/Epidemic.pdf
For more discussion on this topic see:
http://autismsciencefoundation.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/more-autism-research-funding-should-target-adults/#comments
I am sure you’ve heard “epidemic” so many times that you believe it is the truth. Many people shout “epidemic”, and it’s easy to understand why they do so. It creates a sense of urgency, it is a rallying cry for more funding for research, treatment and services. These things are, of course, to be encouraged, but not at the expense of truth. Almost everyone benefits in some way from the shouting of “epidemic” – researchers asking for funding, parents asking for services, service providers looking for public support, etc. And of course, the – autism is caused by vaccines faction – are amongst the loudest shouters of “epidemic”, since their whole argument is predicated on some change (it must be vaccines!) that led to an apparent huge increase in autism cases. Almost the only people not benefiting are those adults who already have (often unrecognized) autism and are already suffering from limited services because their very existence is denied. But just because people shout something loudly does not make it the truth.
An important thing about recognizing that there is no epidemic is that it frees parents from the need to vigorously pursue quack and sham treatments. If there is no epidemic, then there is no reason to believe that autism is caused by vaccines or any other changing environmental cause. And likewise no urgency to seek the miracle cure.
I caught some news headlines and was interested in finding out more about autism without vaccination and found this site, among several others.
Oddly enough, every site I visited with a comments section had the same exact phrase: “there is no such thing as a genetic epidemic.” Even when there is no mention of the word “epidemic” in the article (like this one)!
Is this the new vaccine-hater catchphrase? Is some celebrity out there with a book to sell plastering it on their book covers? It’s a shame to see such a deeply complicated issue reduced to people won over by neat-sounding catchphrases instead of discussing scientific facts.
Here’s a fact you’ll find in any college-based logical thinking class:
“An increase in a specific condition compared to past decades does not necessarily mean an increase in the condition, but an increase in the physicians’ properly diagnosing the condition.”
Here’s another:
“Correlation does not equal causation.” It may be true that rapidly injecting babies with vaccines leads to autism, but it also may be true that autism naturally displays signs during the typical vaccination timelines. A classic example: Ice cream sales and crime increase during the summer. Do criminals just love a sundae more than regular people after a hard day’s work? Obviously, no.
I’m rooting for a cause to autism just as much as anyone else. I worry about what is causing it. But the science just doesnt add up. For now, I believe those celebrities everyone loves to read about are giving one soothing drug to all the anti-vaccinators: “It is not your fault. You didnt know. Vaccines are a real, tangible enemy to hate. You dont have to worry that autism may just be a genetic, luck-of-the-draw, crap shoot with no real indication of why your child has it and not your neighbor’s child.”
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