Do vaccines cause Autism?

There is tons of controversy around the connection between vaccines and autism.

The main and loudest question out there is “Do vaccines cause autism”.

In all my research, education, helping parents of children with autism and the progress I have made with my own autistic child I see how we might not be asking the right question here.

Is Autism a disease?

In the words of Dr. Temple Grandin (an autistic author and advocate) the autistic person” is different, not less”, furthermore “If you totally got rid of autism, you’d have nobody to fix your computer in the future.”

They are a sector of the human population showing a totally different set of cognitive abilities, in other words, their brains work differently, but they are not broken.

Some supporting words by autistic individuals:

The World needs all kinds of minds by Temple Grandin:
https://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds?language=en
How autism freed me to be myself by Rosie King
https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself?language=en

But, how about vaccines?

The autistic person has a different setup. For example, there is a stronger connection between the gut and behavior in autistic children than in non-autistic children. The digestive system is the door to the immune system, which is exactly what the vaccine is designed to affect.

Autistic individuals are not  included in efficacy and safety studies for vaccines, there is no knowledge as to how do vaccine work for the autistic population. Sadly vaccination starts so early that parents usually don’t know if they are vaccinating an autistic child.

Vaccines cannot cause autism

In the same way vaccines cannot cause left-handedness or a creative mind, a vaccine cannot cause autism. Autism is a cognitive difference, not a disease, so it is not caused like the flu or a cold.

You can have a child with autism without ever vaccinating a child. But vaccinating a child with autism can pose additional risks as we don’t know how vaccines really affect them.

Your best bet might be to wait

The fundamental question is not so much “Do vaccine cause autism? But “Are vaccines safe for children with autism”. The more sound advice comes again from Dr. Temple Grandin, delayed vaccination might be your best bet, especially if you have ASD in the family, she recommends waiting at least until the child is about 3, so that the brain and the immune systems are properly developed and with a better chance to fend properly with vaccines.

The more sound advice comes again from Dr. Temple Grandin, delayed vaccination might be your best bet, especially if you have ASD in the family, she recommends waiting at least until the child is about 3, so that the brain and the immune systems are properly developed and with a better chance to respond properly to vaccines.

You can hear her talk about vaccines here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmgDZiA7fE