New Concerns Over Vaccines and Autism

August 21, 2006

Vaccinations are required by law for any child attending public school. They're supposed to keep our children healthy, but a 20 year old debate about the possible link between immunizations and autism has surfaced again.

Debi Haney didn't hesitate to have daughter ally vaccinated at 9 months old. After all, her oldest daughter had been through immunizations, but one week after Ally's office visit, Debi had her suspicions. Ally's behavior drastically changed. She quit babbling and engaging with her family.

"I'd say she's not eating and her pediatrician would say well I'm a picky eater. They're just picky and that kids stop talking when they start walking," Haney said.

Ally had been pulling up at nine months, but she would be 18 months old by the time she walked. Debi says it was a Hepatitis B vaccine Ally received after having the chickenpox that slowed her development. She would be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder just before her second birthday.

The debate about vaccines and Autism is more than 20 years old. There has never been a scientific study to show a conclusive link. The July issue of the journal Pediatrics published yet another study where Canadian researchers found no link between the Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine and Autism. The study also did not find a link between vaccines containing a mercury-based preservative to the incidence of Autism.

But stories like Debi Haney's are becoming more common. The Centers for Disease Control defines Autism as a collection of neurologically based developmental disorders. Individuals have a certain degree of impaired communication, socialization and sensory processing. About 20 percent of children with Autism experience a regression...

Dr. Bill Allen has diagnosed over 3,000 patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder in East Tennessee. He says Autism can come from multiple genes and that an aggravated immune system could trigger those genes to express themselves.

"Somewhere between 18 and 30 months, if a child has an autoimmune insult of some sort, Autism may seem to appear and a child may seem to regress," Allen said.

A regression Debi Haney says wasn't there until her daughter got vaccinated.

"You know, she's not pointing at people, she's not playing with age appropriate toys. Just started walking at 18 months despite pulling up at 9 months," Haney said.

This mom can't deny what happened.

"And something probably did. It may not have been what was in the syringe, but the fact that there was an autoimmune insult, fever or rash after immunization," Allen said.

For now, Debi has decided to hold off on vaccinating her youngest daughter who is four years old.

Source: WVLT