MMR Vaccines and Autism - Is There Truly a Link Between Autism and Routine Vaccinations?

MMR Vaccines and Autism - Is There Truly a Link Between
Autism and Routine Vaccinations?
by Kelly Brooke

children receive two doses of the vaccine to prevent these horrible diseases from a
child's life. This continues to be a hot topic despite the fact that scientific studies have
found no relationship between autism and the vaccine.

In 1998 a group of doctors led by Andrew Wakefield began a study children with
autism and controversy began to raise over the connection between vaccines and
autism. The study, however, has a number of limitations. The study was relatively
small and involved only 12 children, which is too small a number to make any
generalizations about. The study tried to correlate gastrointestinal inflammation in
children, the MMR vaccine and autism. However, some of the children in the study
proved that the symptoms of autism appeared before the bowel disease. In 2004 10
of the 13 authors of this study retracted the study and its interpretations citing that
there was not enough data to establish a link between the two. Since that time there
have been other larger studies, one done in the UK with 498 children, but results still
yet to prove a link between the two.

The American Academy of Pediatrics as well as other groups of experts agree that
the vaccine is not responsible for the increases in number of children with autism.

Why then do people still believe the MMR-autism link? They believe it because autism
first becomes apparent before the age of three, which is around the same time that
childhood vaccines like MMR are given to them. Naturally parents worry over their
children so for the randomly few children who demonstrate signs of autism slightly
after the inoculation, the parents' first instinct to place the blame on the vaccine.
Desperately these parents are looking for something to blame and since they
perceived their child as normal prior to the vaccine, unfortunately, it appeared that
the vaccine was the culprit. Further scientific studies have proven this not to be so.

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About The Author

Kelly Brooke

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Some continued controversy over
vaccines and autism exists. Since
many children receive a series of
inoculations at a young age and that
is around the same time that autism
is typically diagnosed, logically one
could assume that there would be
some correlation. Much of the
speculation surrounds the MMR
(measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine.
Despite the controversy, more
important the vaccine does protect
children against some dangerous and
even deadly diseases and the CDC
(Center for Disease Control)
continues to recommend that

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The content on
this website is for educational purposes only. Please consult with your physician before using natural
remedies and before making any drastic changes to your diet or exercise program.