Outrage.

It is amazing that you have chosen this topic today, Ali. My sister and I were just discussing autism and the obvious neurological delays in her 3 year old son, my nephew. Apparently, his preschool program is worried that he has not been diagnosed as of yet, "with something" as she described to my sister today.
My dear sister is distraught...just a few hours ago, she and I had a lengthy conversation and speculated about the things that may be causing his delayed speech and development...NEVER imagining it could be the immunizations.
I'm SO glad you posted this. I will share it with my dear sister in hopes that she will be enlighted and spurred to seek answers to her concerns. Thank you SO very much for your 'outrageous' affection! ~Katherine

wow Ali... two of my three children were born in that time.. My little guy was 2004... We are told as parents that you MUST immunize, yet when you hear something like this it just kills you.. It makes you wonder if the bigger picture is worth the poor children that get affected.. As soon as I started reading the article, I thought of my nephew.. He was born in 2003 and has a speech delay.. And the doctors cannot find a reason why... Maybe this is it....maybe it's not..
I am a parent of children that do not have autism or any related conditions.. As a parent, you cannot just shake you head and think it's someone elses problem.. because at some point in life you have to handle something that other people aren't going through...
Every childhood condition needs to be heard and spoken about.. especially if our doctors and scientists are poisoning our children....

I hesitate to comment on this because it is such a touchy issue. But I feel like I should...so many people out there don't even know that their is a risk associated with childhood vaccinations. Or that you have a choice whether or not to have their children vaccinated. The link between vaccines and autism/related neurological disorders? No one can say with any certainty that there is one. Even if they did find a definate link, would they want that to be public knowledge? $$$$
My husband and I, after a lot of research, a lot of thought and prayer made the decision not to have our children vaccinated. That was our choice. I am not an advocate of every person not getting their children vaccinated, but I am an advocate of people having all the information in their hands to make an informed decision about what THEY feel is right for their child.
There is a lot of literature out there on this very issue. I wish everyone could read it all and know what risks are associated with vaccinations before blindly trusting their doctor and having their child injected with...who knows what??

But how do we change this?
When I am ridiculed and harrassed at three different pediatrician's office for not choosing to vaccinate, and as a new young mother finally giving in for fear that I really *might* be harming them by not doing it, just like they say. I have felt helpless and alone. As of now, both my boys are NOT up to date on their shots. One son has had one round, the other two. I can speak honestly and say they only had them because I was bullied...and didn't have an answer when they told me what a bad person was and waved their data around in my face. But one day I stopped because in my heart I knew all the data I had found couldn't be wrong...and I couldn't do that to my kids. I still don't know what to do. How to argue my point. How to be an advocate for my children.
I admire your strength and your voice. Simon is a lucky boy to have you and Chris rooting him on.
Thank you for saying this out loud.

Ali, I am overwhlemed with what you have said and with how you are feeling as a mother. Jakob was born in 2001 and for a while, I was concerned with the possibility of him being autistic. It turned out that he is not. However, I do no ignore, nor do I just nod.
I feel for you and your family and pray that things will change. I feel that the government does not break down the affects on everyday people. Me, you, Chris, Jake, Simon, and every other parent and child.
I ache for you and your family. When I first started reading your blog and you learned of the outcome of Simon's condition, I was interested in learning more. I know that with time, this will change. Just know, and I am sure that you do, that Simon, will grow and flourish. He is special and unique no matter what condition he may or may not have.
I pray that more people get upset and pissed! I hope that more people take a stand.
Best Wishes, Ali!
Krista

I am so glad I read this today because I've always had that sixth sense about immunizations. I delayed giving them to ALL my children who were,btw, born between 91-98. It really sickens me to know that "somebody" knew there was something wrong.
On top of which, my oldest has ADHD and we have never wanted to give him medicines because we are sure that is not what he needs. I don't want to find out years from now that the drugs that all these children are taking had something wrong with them. In the end, we do our best each and every day. It's all we can do.
Sherry

Wow! I don't even know what else to say except thank you for posting this.

Ali-
I stumbled upon your blog and I want to thank you for leading me to this article. My son, born in 1993, has a nuerological/emotional condition that still has yet to be identified conclusively.
His speech delays at the age of 3 caused us concern and we had him tested for hearing issues. We were told his hearing was fine - just selective - and he began speech therapy. When he began pre-school, his emotional outbursts and unsafe behaviors became more apparent.
Over the past 7 years we have been told several different "diagnosis'". ADHD, ODD, Bi-Polar, Depression, developmental disorder not otherwise specified...etc. You name it, we have looked into it.
He is classified as Special Ed based on Emotional Disturbance and attends classes at a Clinical Day Treatment facility in a Psychiatric Hospital.
For years we have been looking for an answer to what has caused all of this and how we can help him. This may or may not be connected, but it does give us another area to look into. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for sharing this info today. I just got through reading the article on salon.com and am outraged and scared for my baby's safety as well as all the children out there. He's had 2 rounds of vacc. and I'm going to be talking to his dr before the next round.
I would like to add something. The story mentioned mercury in teeth fillings. My father has a friend who is an oncologist and is very informed about toxins and how they affect our bodies and increase the risk of cancers and other illnesses. Needless to say the doctor recommends removing all metal from our mouths due to mercury "poisoning" our body. This brief mention just reinfored my father's prodding to have the dentist remove my metal fillings and have them replace with an alternative as well as being aware of this for my child's future dental needs.
Sorry for the rabbit-trail, I just felt the need to share.

Ali - we ALL care! If our own children escaped, we still have friends, family and our grandchildren. Also, if it happened in this area, odds are there are other areas where our kids could be put at risk.
We have gone organic and try to stay as far from traditional medicine as possible.
Thank you for a great post - this stuff needs to be heard.

I haven't followed the guidelines for immunizing my kids. I don't believe that the doctors know everything or even know the best interest of my children. besides the fact that they push immunizations like candy they are not education in nutrition AT ALL! it is simply junk that they reiterate that they are telling us......that is a whole other topic. ;)
I did want to ask if Simon can go through Chelation? It is a process to cleanse the body of mercury and other toxic substances. I didn't know if the mercury in the immunizations effects the children during development or if it (autism, add, etc) is a side effect from the mercury in their system.

I, too, am outraged. My sons were born in 2001 & 2003--they are, of course, fully immunized--and both are speech delayed. Ironically, we have an appt w/our pediatrician tomorrow--needless to say I intend to discuss this with him. Thanks for posting this info.

Ethan isn't up to date with his immunizations. I have not actively made a decision NOT to immunize, but yet I hesitate. The big one, MMR is the one that terrifies me the most.
Not to mention the fact that a few vaccines were originally sourced from aborted fetuses which is another concern of mine.

Interesting!!! Yikes - Austin has ADHD. I liked the outraged quote. I have one that I think of often; "I love my country but fear my government".

Ali,
I've been following your blog, and this is the entry that has spurred me to write. As a scientist it is hard for me to grasp the unethical measures taken to cast doubt on results that show unequivical links between mercury/thimerosal and neurological disorders. I AM OUTRAGED!
I am also steamed that this subject has taken a backseat in congress and other government agencies to such pressing matters as to whether or not professional athelets are taking steroids! (maybe not the best reference but the one that currently comes to mind). What do we have to do to get this the attention it deserves?
Thank you so much for getting the word out on this. This is the disease that I am utterly terrified of. Have you seen the stat. that Oregon leads the nation in autistic cases - 1 in every 250 people ages 6 to 21? Living in Eugene, this is very bothersome to me. Has your DAN! Docter addressed this stat? Just curious...

Are you familiar with Mothering Magazine? It was my parenting "bible" when my kids were small---and before actually. When we started thinking about having kids, I discovered it. Gave up my subscription years ago once my kids were older, but it opened my eyes up to lots of alternative parenting ideas---one of which was the controversy with vaccinations. When my babies were small, I couldn't put "poison" into their tiny bodies and chose not to vaccinate until they were at least 6 months old. Even then I was cautious---with my first she had such a rough reaction to the DPT vaccination (high fever, etc.) I refused the Pertussus vaccination after her first (or was it the second) shot. With my second baby we skipped the Pertussus vaccination completely and when she was 6 months old allowed the DT shot only.
I've seen this link between vaccination (mercury) and autism in different articles, and it seems like there's a Dr. in Oregon City that is pretty up on this "controversial" concept---there was a news story (KPDX Portland Fox network) several years ago following a family that was looking into this Dr. and the connections found with vaccinations---have you heard of this Dr?
It's a tragedy this is happening to children, and I've been outraged before when I've read about this connection. My oldest daughter has some mild autistic symptoms we've never had diagnosed, but I've wondered about her social skills, and other quirks that are "different" from the norm---The great news about her is that she's worked beyond these differences and has found a direction to pursue getting a degree in Family and Child Studies at the local community college and after working as a nanny for almost 3 years had recently been hired as a pre-school teacher!
I think you're doing the best you can for Simon and will be seeing progress in the future with him and with what is available to help situations like his. It's great that information is becoming available, and you're doing a superb job! Keep the outrage---it's good to learn all you can!

I too was brought up to believe that we must immunize. My second child, fully immunized born in 1994 is mentally retarded. A perfect baby until her second round of shots. We now have 8 children. We had not connected her retardation to her shots until 1999 when our 5th child was born. None of the others have been exposed to immunizations. It is such a shame that this information is so hard to come by. Thank you for sharing on your blog, you never know how it may witness to.

Ali, I totally understand your outrage about immunizations. I am allergic to the DPT vaccine and almost died the first time I immunized at 2 months old. When I had my own child, my pediatrician acted surprised that I would question the need for vaccinations. Had it not been for my own experience with immunizations, I would never have thought to question my doctor about them. Thanks for posting on your blog to bring awareness to this issue.

Chills me to the bone. I think we dodged a bullet with our kids, but my little nephew is showing signs of speech delay...and some pretty bizarre behavior...your outrage is dead-on real. I heard these 'rumors' 10 years ago and was poo-pooed...thanks for bringing this to light.

Even though I am not on the North American continent this is subject that raises lots of questions here (the Netherlands) as well. Thank you for sharing -- we had no doubts about giving our son vaccinations (don't even know if all vaccinations are the same the world over or if they are manufactured by the same pharmaceuticals) with exception of the last one. And due to not being able to find enough information good or bad we decided not to worry about it. He was born in 2003 and luckily there are no signs of neurological or biological problems. On another note -> we wouldn't be allowed to send our son to day care if he wasn't vaccinated...
Regarding the mecury poisoning through teeth fillings mentioned in an earlier comment. I had daily migraines for about 7 years from the time I was 15 till I was 22. No neurological cause was found and I refused to start taking medication at 18. While studying in college I was fed up with not feeling well and decided to look into alternative medicines. This led me to someone who too believed that many medical problems could be referenced back to your teeth and teeth fillings, especially mercury. I was tested for mercury poisoning and it was found positive. I Had my fillings removed, detoxed, put on a diet for a while and eventually my migraines stopped. There may have been many other factors relating to the migraines but there was definite proof of poisoning.