[Copacetic]

You know... Explain it this way. Autism is not the end of the world. For the majority, it's manageable. It's not ideal (and I'm speaking from plenty of experience) but it's not the end of the world. It's called a spectrum for a reason - every day a new layer is peeled off them and you find something wonderful.

A dead child (whether it's yours or someone else's) because you were scared of something that you didn't need to be scared of?

Now that's the end of the world.

[RobotFerretOfDoo...]

It just makes me so angry that "journalists" like this continue to add to the huge body of "evidence" that people use to fuel the fear of vaccination.

If there is scientific evidence that there are issues with vaccination then absolutely publish it and let us know. But an uninformed and unqualified opinion piece like this is just irresposible journalism.

[Loretta27]

I would also suggest your friend read a book called "The Panic Virus". Brilliant stuff.

[RatbagBob]

What angers me more is that the scientific community knew for years that the research and methodology used was faulty, to put it mildly, but could not get this fact into the mainstream media because it was more concerned with sensationalism than accuracy.

There is no link. Not nearly enough is known about autism, its links, triggers or possible genetic component. What is known though, is that autism is not caused by vaccination.

[rbat]

Andrew Wakefield was also taken to court for fraud and taken off the medical register. I really think this thread should be removed. I find it completely offensive and if only one person is thinking that they shouldn't get their child vaccinated because of it, it is dangerous also.

[outdoorgirl81]

Thank you to Ange_75 for posting that excellent rebuttal article.

There is nothing new in the originial link. It is an ill informed opinion piece with cherry picked facts by a "freelance writer with a strong interest in autism". It should never have been published by fairfax. People have the right to post their own opinions on personal blog posts etc but respectable mainstream news organisations have a higher burden of responsibility. Kudos to EB for not posting link.

[Guest_FuzzyMum_*]

You know... Explain it this way. Autism is not the end of the world. For the majority, it's manageable. It's not ideal (and I'm speaking from plenty of experience) but it's not the end of the world. It's called a spectrum for a reason - every day a new layer is peeled off them and you find something wonderful.

A dead child (whether it's yours or someone else's) because you were scared of something that you didn't need to be scared of?

Now that's the end of the world.

Copacetic, beautifully said. Frankly I am offended by the use of ASD by certain groups to scare parents from vaccinating their kids. It sends out an awful message about our amazing kids who just happen to be on the spectrum.

I agree fully with you Copacetic. OP, tell your friend that there is no proof of causation while the results of catching such illnesses vaccines protect against is very clear. Vaccines do not cause autism.

ASD is NOT the end of the world, nor is it a tragedy. Take it from one mum who can swear to this and who would not change her amazing little boy for anything in the world. Burying a child as a result of a fatal but preventable illness would be the end of any parent's world.

[Copacetic]

Actually, I think it's right to question things, otherwise we'd still be giving kids vaccines with mercury and nasties in them.

And there are still plenty of other logical reasons why some people shouldn't give their child a vaccine. Autism shouldn't be one of them.

[purplekitty]

Actually, I think it's right to question things, otherwise we'd still be giving kids vaccines with mercury and nasties in them.

This is actually more misinformation and scaremongering promoted by antivaxxers.

Edited to add link.
Myths and Realities



This post has been edited by purplekitty: 30/09/2011, 12:34 PM

[mumsy26]

Andrew Wakefield was also taken to court for fraud and taken off the medical register. I really think this thread should be removed. I find it completely offensive and if only one person is thinking that they shouldn't get their child vaccinated because of it, it is dangerous also.

This thread has nothing to do with Andrew Wakefield. The article recognises that he was a fraud. Perhaps you should read it more clearly.

I actually think it is a good idea to have threads like this occasionally. There are obviously people out there (like my friend) who believe these articles. If even just one reader comes across this thread and from reading it is convinced not to listen to the article then that is a win in my books. If nobody ever posted about it then some people would just go on blindly believing articles like this one.