YES I VACCINATE MY KIDS AND ALWAYS WILL! There is not a vaccination that caused my son's autism. Unfortunately there are diseases that if my son wasn't vaccinated against them he would have gotten. I understand that there are risk from vaccinations and there are risk with pretty much any treatment a person receives at a hospital or from a doctor. The important thing to do is to do your research so you are informed.
When Johnathan was first labeled autistic I did my research on a lot of different things connected to autism and yes on vaccinations. I'm disappointed I read Jenny Mccarthy's books, Louder Than Words and Mother Warriors. As a mother of a newly diagnosed son with autism it was probably the worst thing I could have done. Jenny Mccarthy is a prime example of someone using her 'stardom' status to spread false claims and set off a bandwagon reaction that is harmful to society. Don't get me wrong; if you dig through all the BS she does touch on many of the feelings that a parent with an autistic child probably experiences and feels as they wade into the open sea of what it all means. But the book spends too much time attacking the health care system and blaming them for 'causing' autism.
Let me stop here and explain a few things that I think many people don't know about autism, doctors, and the importance of being informed.
1. One of the things that shocked me when I first began my research was finding out that autistic children can often have a variety of accompanying condition also. There are four groups that these conditions fall into
- common medical problems ( such as epilepsy, gastrointestinal issues, or sleep disorders)
- developmental diagnoses (such as intellectual disability or language delay)
- mental-health issues ( like ADHD, OCD, or depression)
- genetic problems (such as fragile X syndrome or tuberous sclerosis complex)
2. You choose who your doctor is. If you are not happy with the decisions they make about your child or they are not meeting the needs of your child it's okay to find a different doctor. Also listen to a doctor that admits to you they might be the best person to treat your child.
We had a doctor that did not understand Johnathan's autism and relied on checklist instead of listening to us. Therefore we felt we needed to find a doctor who could better meet our needs. The previous doctor even took it upon herself to list Charles as having autism. He doesn't but because the doctor listed it on official forms we had to go through a process to have that information removed. Thankfully we have found a new doctor who listens to us and has been a positive addition to Johnathan's life.
3. Some children need to go to specialist while others can just go to a family doctor. As you saw in #1 there can be many layers to an autistic child and therefore their treatment needs to be specialized to them. Don't judge someone because they take their child to a specialist while another takes their child to a family doctor. I assure you there is a reason they make that choice.
4. A parent questions everything they are doing for their child. That is no different for a parent with a child with autism and maybe even more so sometimes. There is no guidebook for what are the right decisions to make and therefore they must make decisions you can't even imagine. Don't judge them or tell them if it was you you'd do this or that. Being there to listen when they need to talk and being a shoulder to lean on will mean so much more.
OK back to the vaccines. My experience is doctors follow a detailed timetable of which vaccines to give and when. They stress the importance of making sure you schedule appointments that follow this timetable to help ensure those vaccines are given. Doctors readily supply information about the vaccines and should inform you what vaccines that they are giving. If they don't tell you what they are giving then ask them before you allow them to administer them. Whenever I take my sons for appts and they need shots I ask which shots they are receiving and even ask which ones are be administered where. Sometimes I know they just want to get the shots done and over with but they know I believe it's better to be informed then sorry I didn't ask.
That brings me to another thing that people bring up to me. I do not get my sons the flu shot. If you do then that is your choice and that's what is great about being a parent: the choice to do what you think is right. When my boys have their yearly appointment the doctor always ask if I'd like them to have a flu shot. When I say no the doctor says okay and we move on. If you have a doctor that fights your decision or ignores your choice then again I suggest you find a doctor that does respect you and your opinion.
There is another reason that I have always respected the vaccine schedule and ensure my children get the important vaccines needed. It is because I know families that have had preemies, families whose children have or had cancer, and know of families whose children have fragile x. Knowing families that live in fear of their children, who has a compromised immune system, catching a disease that could be fatal to them is very eye opening.
Another thing that bothers me are those people that brag about their child has 'a good immune system so they never get sick.' Now let me explain what bothers me about this. Yes there are children that are lucky enough to rarely get sick and I envy the parents that are lucky enough to have children like that. Anyone who has watched their child suffer through an awful flu bug knows how tough it is to see their child like that. How wonderful it would be to not have to experience that. But please understand that just because your child isn't 'sick' doesn't mean they aren't carrying a disease. The prime example is right now with the corona virus; children are not likely to get sick from it. Yet they have stressed the fact that doesn't mean they can't be a carrier of it. Avoid being that parent that writes off symptoms just because your child is always 'so healthy'.
We live in a world now that is so full of unknowns. A world where our foods are more processed then ever, so many cleaning products contain chemicals that can be harmful if not used correctly, and even medications are so plentiful that come to market without enough research. Maybe people agree and maybe they don't. The point is that staying healthy takes work and I want to do what I can to ensure our family stays as healthy as we can. Therefore I do my research, my decisions is based on what I know is true and not what others are trying to convince me of, and take each day as it comes.
How many families have gotten the note (or in the case of our town several notes) home about when your child is healthy enough to return to school after an illness. The magic number is usually 24 hours. That mean they have to be symptom free for that long not 'oh it's been awhile' so they are good now. I 'joke' that my boys are the back and forth kids as they will tend to be sick, seem fine the next day, and then get sick again. So yes I'm the parent that sometimes keeps my kids home an extra day sometimes just to make sure the illness is really gone. Keep you kids home if they are sick. Please don't be the parent that doses their child with fever reducer so they can at least go to school for a little bit. It's not fair to the child (that is usually miserable), the students and teachers that are know exposed, or the extended families that are also being exposed just so you could lessen a burden.
Please let me apologize for ranting a bit in this post. As a parent who is trying to do the best she can for her kids it's hard to deal with so many outside forces that effect their health and daily lives. If I could give you all a little advice: Focus in on where the real problems in life lay and not to follow blindly what others say.
I learned about vaccines, ways to keep my kids healthy, and that I don't need to apologize for sticking to my beliefs.
If you would like to learn more about some of the things I discussed here please check out the following links:
Autism Health - https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/conditions-accompany-autism-explained/
Vaccination Information Sheet (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/index.html
CDC page about Autism - https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html
1 comment:
Wonderful post Shell!
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