I'm a little late getting on this thread, but here goes. I do not believe that vaccines caused my son's autism. I do believe that the thimerosal, which is mercury, used as a preservative in those vaccines may have. My son was born with none of the traits of an autistic child. He was not withdrawn and he did not have an absence of typical infant expressions. We have plenty of pictures of him smiling and laughing with his parents and grandparents. He had fluid on his ears which prevented him from hearing, and thus speaking, but a simple surgical procedure cleared that up and he began speaking immediately afterwards. However, California, where he was born, required a heavy regimen of vaccines in the first few years of infancy, starting the day after he was born. At the time (1997) thimerosal was used in most vaccines. When he was about two, my son had a severe reaction to a multiple dose vaccine and we noticed a marked change. By the time he was three, he was diagnosed as autistic.

We were devastated, and as so many parents do who are in our situation, we joined multiple groups for autistic families. We met other parents whose accounts of their childrens' autism were similar to ours. Sometimes there was a radical change within a day of vaccination. When one hears the actual stories of these people, it is very difficult to dismiss them, as so many of the "scientific" studies do, as mere "anectodal evidence." Especially since the huge increase in autism roughly corresponds to a big upsurge in vaccinations using thimerosal. Some have argued that increase is due to better diagnosis and to the availability of funding for those with the diagnosis. I can tell an autistic child within a minute of meeting him or her. If you are of my vintage (50+), ask yourself, how many autistic children did you know growing up? There is definitely something going on here; there are many more autistic children than there were a few decades ago. Nobody in their right mind would want this diagnosis for their child just to get some services from the government.

I am aware of the studies purporting to find no link between mercury and autism. I am not saying that all autism is caused by thimerosal. The level of background mercury in our environment keeps increasing as we burn coal. This is showing up in studies of the marine food chain and mother's milk. Every person living in a developed country has a steadily increasing concentration of mercury in their body and brain. The body does not naturally eliminate heavy metals. The symptoms of heavy metal poisoning and autism are remarkably similar.

I believe that while the mercury in vaccines may pose a neglible threat in a single dose vaccination to an adolescent or adult (perhaps less than eating tuna or swordfish), it does pose a threat when it is part of multiple vaccinations administered to infants whose systems are not fully developed, especially since mercury accumulates in the body and brain, and therefore its effect is cumulative.

I think the only thing one can say about the science in this area is that it is unsettled. The majority of studies have purported to find no connection between autism and vaccinations. However, many of those studies are not based on children who received multiple vaccinations over a short period of time, and few of them take background concentrations of mercury into account. The government or pharmacutical company funding of many of the studies casts some doubt on their objectivity.

I do not have all the answers, just an autistic child. However, I tell everyone I know who is expecting a child to request non-thimerosal vaccinations, and to have them administered one at a time, over a longer period of time than is standard. It will cost more, but the peace of mind is worth it. I know too many parents who make a good case that thimerosal laden vaccines had something to do with their childrens' autism. That's not conspiracy theororizing, its just looking for the most logical explanation for a sudden and devastating change in their children. I only wish someone had given me the advice I now give other parents, because it breaks my heart to think that we could have done something to prevent our son's condition.

First off, the post was about Chilis been forced to cancel a community activity over pressure from a very small segment of the public with a big mouth. Second off, do you really expect me to think that CNN is a reliable source? They're in the toilet with MSNBC. Even the CDC admits the facts that vaccines cause harm.

As Map says (in this case)
See this link for discussion on data manipulation-
http://americablog.com/2014/04/new-evide...

Well, I've met with and spoken to Dr. Andrew Wakefield about this subject. You don't know what you're talking about, Maphesdus. And, if you think he's the only doctor who knows that the CDC vaccine schedule hasn't been tested you are a fool.