Ok so the title could be a little misleading. This isn't really breaking news, but it's something I think is worth talking about. And since, after all, this is my blog...I'm going to talk about it.
I've been taking these ABA classes to get my BCABA certification in November. And I finally learned something of value on Thursday. (OK I may be lying about not having learned ANYTHING. But I'm speaking truth when I say that the only things I've really learned have been from application in my day to day activities. But I digress.)
We were watching YouTube videos yesterday in class (which I think is a superb use of my tuition money) about autism, treatment etc. Apparently there was a Dateline a while back that stated at the end that vaccines for children under the age of 2 have had mercury and thimerasol removed from them. That's awesome. If it's true. I'm not 100% sure that this info is accurate. Perhaps one of my autism savvy counterparts could clue me in (hint, hint)? The astonishing part was later though when it stated that when you vaccinate a child over the age of 2, you have to ASK SPECIFICALLY for the vaccines that are mercury and thimerasol free. I think that's preposterous. Now, half of you may be lost as to what the devil I'm talking about. Here it is in a nutshell. A very simple nutshell.
There are some who believe that autism is caused by an overage of certain chemicals in the body. Those chemicals include mercury and thimerasol. There are some who believe that their child was not affected with autism prior to a certain point. After that certain point, a switch was flipped and their child was suddenly lost. That certain point *just happened* to coincide with certain vaccines. There is not enough of a proven link between vaccines and autism. There is still something to be said for a genetic component involved in the presence of autism. However, as one who experiences autism (albeit from a fairly removed distance) and the effects of autism, isn't the idea of a link between vaccines and autism enough to suggest that every precaution be taken to prevent even more children and their families from working so hard to live with autism??? I realize I'm kind of jeopardizing my job by suggesting that autism be eradicated. But I'd rather be able to see the potential that I know is locked up inside my kidlets unleashed so everyone can experience their awesome-ness.
So the point of this rant is to say a couple of things. First, parents of little ones, future parents of little ones, friends of parents with little ones, if you know someone that knows someone that has a little one, pretty much everybody should DO YOUR RESEARCH. Don't just inject stuff into your kid because somebody told you to. Make sure you've looked it up, you've consulted with people that know what's up, etc. And for the record, I am not someone to consult with. I know very little when it comes to the vaccines and the specifics of the vaccines. What I can say is this. Apparently we (CDC or whoever handles vaccines), don't feel that it's necessary to eliminate the very possibility of their being a problem with a vaccine. So ask for any and all vaccines that you choose to give your child to be mercury and thimerasol free. I can't get over the fact that you have to go out of your way to ask for such a thing. That's just absurd.
Caveat: I'm not trying to sound like a crazy that thinks all vaccines are bad. I just think that if the medical community is not going to be forthcoming with what is really going on, then the general public needs to become educated.
One more thing. Autism does suck in many ways. But I know I can speak for at least 2 other people reading this when I say that autism and the people that have it have enhanced my life more than I could ever express. Please learn what you can. Please treat these individuals with the love and respect they deserve. If you don't, I'll put you on extinction. And you don't want that. Just ask my kiddos.