I thought this an interesting topic. You might want to check it out. McCarthy has become a true mom advocate, as well as vaccine awarness and autism advocate.

An article

http://www.parentdish.com/2008/04/03/jenny-mccarthy-tak...-on-larry-king-live/


Youtube clip of McCarthy on Larry King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shgoub7b4cs

Here is an editorial from Jenny McCarthy with lots of info.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mccarthy.autsimtreatment/index.html

Thank you Camille for the great link!

Hmmm....yes, I have long admired Jenny McCarthy for her bountiful sense of humor, (ever read her book about her pregnancy?) She's an incredibly funny woman. And now I admire her for being passionate about her son, being a true advocate for him and raising awareness in the field of autism. And I do agree with her point that parents should research what vaccinations entail. But we should all be wary of ignoring health risks for our children from either side of the street. Use common sense, assess the risk factors from both angles, be informed, but we should also be careful of being carried away by righteous anger before we're sure we've indeed aimed it at the correct culprit.

Passion does not always equal or guarantee correctness. People have long forgotten the dark ages pre~vaccinations, the ravages of diseases, many long banished to the halls of history due to the very thing they now fight to demonize, vaccinations.

There are two sides to every coin. Vaccination is no different, and I would like to bring up several points, of course, the final decision should always be in the parents' hands, not the doctors' or the government's, but still some points just to consider along with any other research done.

1. There are untold cases of autism where vaccinations can not be pointed too, where did they come from?
2. Science is pointing to heriditary links or genetic predispositions more and more.
3. But perhaps more importantly, there is no proof of what exactly does cause autism.
4. As stated earlier, most people now have not had to deal with the plagues of history, therefore,
the can not possibly understand what it would mean if they should reaccur. \
5. Mercury has been reduced, if not taken completely out of most vaccines, but the rates for autism still
rise, why?
6. And why would many, many kids get the same vaccines and never become autistic, but yet vaccines
are believed the cause in those who do suffer from it?

Could it be society is looking for yet another scapegoat with this disorder. At one point the mothers (particularly at that time period, where women stayed home with the kids more) of autistic children were believed to be cold and indifferent to their babies, thereby causing the autism of their children.

It's always been a blame game when children suffer autism or various disorders, particularly those regarding birth disorders of the brain, or of mental illness. Although, some would lay any handicap superstitiously back at the parents' or often enough, the mother's feet.

Now, people have found another scape~goat to take the blame, doctors and vaccines. It's not necessarily true, but all the same, it makes people feel better, safer, if they have a target. Unfortunately, if we don't find the right target, it really won't help anything in the end, and may even have resounding repercussions for the future.

For anyone to say vaccines are the culprit is like pointing to someone who fits the rather ordinary, but sufficient, average description, but whom you've never seen rob a bank and say definitively, that's the crook.

But what if instead of finding the crook, we later find out, we've only disabled the town doctor who actually could prevent death and pain, but instead was locked up, unable to perform and cure, while the real thief escaped notice during all the hoopla.

No, a reasonable, rational approach needs to be taken to this issue, be passionate about your children, but never forget to weigh up both sides of the equation with equal consideration to information. And be careful of the sources you trust. Not every doctor is trustworthy, but then not every source is unbiased either, it is with great caution one must consider every side. Because it's always easy enough to find a scapegoat if one is angry enough or scared enough, or bowled over by the passion of others. But emotionalism is better left to the side, if fair truth is ever to be rationally discerned.

Yes, indeed, Jenny McCarthy is a strong voice for her son as well as an educated advocate for research and change.

She is not against vaccinations, just the manner in which they are given. As we are concerned with as well. Our issues have always been with dosing, scheduling, and number of vaccines given to little babies whose systems are considerably immature for filtering out toxins, thereby their systems become overloaded.

I have never heard Jenny McCarthy speak of nor any of the doctors who are encouraging change to the current vaccination recommendations (remember moms, vaccines are NOT mandatory!!) state that vaccines are the cause of Autism. I believe they've stated that there are numerous causal factors that can be determined via genetic testing and other testing so that doctors and parents can make better health decisions for their individual children and attribute to acquring Autism.

Ms. McCarthy and many doctors nation wide want to make change so that parents feel more comfortable being proactive in the health care of their children. The emphasis has been that the current recommendations are not a catch all for all children. Specific planning for each family is the best route to take. Each family has its own issues, therefore, altering or picking and choosing is the best for them, etc.

Further, while Thimerosal has been removed from SOME vaccines, it wasn't until 2004. So, the likelihood of Autism cases continuing is great. Also, add the fact that the number of given vaccinations has grown tremendously since the 1950s from a couple, to about 5 in the 1970s (and those were given at about the 5 year mark) to what it is today. Chances are that those of us vaccinated along the way, some with far more, may have passed genetic mutations as a result onto our children unknowingly. Which adding that possibility with genetic predisposition and a hefty vaccination dosing schedule and common sense tells us there could be trouble.

To further the questions of why more cases are being determined is the fact that there is more public awareness of the disability and there is a wide range of symptoms within the Spectrum.

It is always a good thing when people ask questions, share, and consider all angles of a situation while comparing information and familial genetic factors. It can only mean more knowledge and further discussions.


Here is More Information:

http://talk.polkmoms.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8851070407/m/6641071907


AND


http://talk.polkmoms.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8851070407/m/2711059707


AND


Florida Law:

http://talk.polkmoms.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8851070407/m/2821062707

Just a smidgen of research from typing in the words the signs of autism and these are from only the first page of hits related to that search.

On the sites themselves that I hit, I looked up what they had to say, as in a site's own pages related to causes of autism, instead of that being my main search and possibly biased as to cause one way or another.

Here were a few tidbits I found, judge for yourself, and keep in mind, when you research, if you angle from one direction, you are likely to find support for that, but angle from the other side, same thing, only when we don't seek to support a pet theory, emotion, or stance, do we stand a chance of discerning and disseminating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, or in other words, finding out what is or is not true.

So, objectivity is a needed asset when dealing with any problem, especially one like autism where the cause is uncertain, possibly due to the wide range of ways it manifests.

But autism has been around a very long time, even though the advent of media and modern technology have made it much more widely recognized as a disorder than in the past, when it was often overlooked or taken for other things, such as simply retardation, mental illness or perhaps in the distant past, even demon possession at times by those who were superstitious.

In any case, the prevalence of autism can not be accurately guaged, has never been, and statistically could not be accurately done even now. And there are always cases that go under the radar, are never added to the census.

It would be sheer folly to assume that vaccines can be held accountable for the rather large umbrella that is autism and autism related disorders. If a parent has concerns, by all means, do what you feel necessary to protect your child, and I'd be the first to say it is a parent's right to question or reject doctors, or any other authority if they feel it's in the best interest of their children. And for that, I admire Jenny McCarthy, that and for bringing attention to the issue. Now, whether I agree with her prognosis of what actually caused her son's autism, she would know better than I most certainly, but I do have to ask whether she knows enough to determine that when medicine and science have been asking the same questions for many years without being able to pinpoint it. One thing's sure; however, often, there seems to be genetic and heriditary links involved.

Hopefully, at some not too distant point in the future, we will understand more, perhaps even learn enough to eradicate this disorder. I just hope a new set of problems isn't created by those who are fearful of vaccinations to the extent some are. Caution is always wise, but out and out fear is NOT the same thing.

http://www.neurologychannel.com/autism/index.shtml

"{Causes and Risk Factors

The cause of autism is unknown. The disorder results from abnormalities in brain structure or function and the underlying cause usually cannot be identified. Patients with autism often have abnormalities in several areas of the brain. This may indicate that a disruption in fetal brain development contributes to the disorder.

Brain abnormalities may result from genetic (hereditary) or environmental (e.g., exposure to toxins) factors, metabolic disorders (e.g., serotonin deficiency), viral infections (e.g., German measles), or complications during pregnancy and delivery.

A single gene for autism has not been identified, but a group of unstable genes may trigger the disorder in some patients. According to a recent study, approximately 11% of autism cases may have a genetic component.

The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) may contribute to autism in some cases. Although more research is necessary to evaluate this potential risk factor, recent studies have raised questions about this possible link.

Medical conditions associated with an increased risk for autism include the following:


Fragile X syndrome (more common in males; may cause mental retardation)

Tuberous sclerosis (syndrome that causes seizures, mental disorders, and tumors)

Congenital rubella syndrome (results from transmission of the rubella virus [causes German measles] in utero)

Untreated phenylketonuria (PKU; hereditary disease caused by a defective enzyme)}"






http://autism.about.com/od/causesofautism/p/ontherise.htm

(Vaccines and Autism:
Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, was first added to vaccines in the 1930's. By the 1990's, babies and young children were receiving multiple thimerosal-containing vaccines. A passionate group of doctors and parents, convinced that thimerosal was resonsible for a growing autism rate, pushed hard to have the preservative removed. In 1999, thimerosal was removed from most vaccines. Despite many studies, the CDC states they there is no connection between autism and thimerosal.)


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/autism/DS00348/DSECTION=3
(Some people believe autism is caused by vaccines — particularly the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR), as well as vaccines containing thimerosal, a preservative that contains a very small amount of mercury. But extensive studies have shown no link between vaccines and autism.)

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm#107113082

This comes from The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke:

(What causes autism?



Scientists aren’t certain what causes autism, but it’s likely that both genetics and environment play a role. Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder. Studies of people with autism have found irregularities in several regions of the brain. Other studies suggest that people with autism have abnormal levels of serotonin or other neurotransmitters in the brain. These abnormalities suggest that autism could result from the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development caused by defects in genes that control brain growth and that regulate how neurons communicate with each other. While these findings are intriguing, they are preliminary and require further study. The theory that parental practices are responsible for autism has now been disproved.


What role does inheritance play?



Recent studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism. In families with one autistic child, the risk of having a second child with the disorder is approximately 5 percent, or one in 20. This is greater than the risk for the general population. Researchers are looking for clues about which genes contribute to this increased susceptibility. In some cases, parents and other relatives of an autistic child show mild impairments in social and communicative skills or engage in repetitive behaviors. Evidence also suggests that some emotional disorders, such as manic depression, occur more frequently than average in the families of people with autism. )

http://www.mugsy.org/pmh.htm

(Cause
The cause of autism remains unknown. The most likely hypothesis is damage to the brain, perhaps prenatally, though this has not been conclusively proved. The factors responsible may include:


· genetic or chromosomal abnormality
· viral agents
· metabolic disorders
· immune intolerance
· perinatal anoxia5.)

(Key points


Autism is an organic disorder affecting several areas of a child's development.


Autism is present from birth, or very soon after, but the nature of the disorder can mean that diagnosis is delayed for months or years.


Early intervention can improve long-term function and help the families.


Babies with autism may display characteristic features of gaze, hearing, social development and play.


Nurses working with babies and young children are in a prime position to recognise these characteristics and refer the family for specialised assessment.


Learning disabilities may or may not be present in children with autism.


Always listen to the parents. They often suspect something is wrong even though they may not be able to be precise. )