Comments on: Vaccines and Parental Worries: Books You Can’t Miss

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:33:21 +0000

That’s not surprising—-I have more to say about your book, here and elsewhere.

By: Diego

Diego — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:48:05 +0000

Kristina: Thanks for your comments about the book. It is good to hear from someone who actually read the book, because others have attacked us without even reading it. Just go to the Amazon page of the book and you’ll see what I mean!

By: Corey

Corey — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:55:37 +0000

@Dr Chew; has there been anymore research or findings on the epidemiological study in the connection between ultrasound and autism?

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:25:42 +0000

@RAJ, right, and I think you’ve quoted some studies on leprosy before? Then there’s families like mine with only one child, and with numerous family members with numerous traits related to autism if not autism diagnoses themselves, and more and more to speculate on.

By: RAJ

RAJ — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:58:21 +0000

Kristina:
“I’ve met more and more families, too, with more than one autistic child and this would seem to point to some genetic link?

To quote you previously in the vaccine debate:
‘Correlation does not neccessarily relate to causation’.

Ther are many well understood medical disorders that cluster within families and have high rates of multiple incidences, for example leprosy.

Classical twin study design (which does not have an environmental component and therefore cannot differentiate between genetic susceptability and genetic transmission) has reported a 60% concordance rate for narrowly defined autism in identical twins. A higher concordance rate in identical twins have been reported in many well understood medical conditions for example Mother to fetus transmission of HIV (92% concordance), Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (100% concordance) and leprosy (60 – 85% concordance).

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:16:39 +0000

@Corey, I think the question is how “almost unnoticeable” were symptoms of autism? For instance, in the case of Michelle Cedillo—from Arizona; hers was the first case to be presented in “vaccine court”—-when experts in diagnosing autism reviewed videotapes of her prior to her diagnosis, they noted other, more subtle signs of autism in her play, lack of joint attention. My son’s gross motor development was delayed, but autism was the last thing I was thinking.

I’ve met more and more families, too, with more than one autistic child and this would seem to point to some genetic link?

On a different topic, appreciate hearing about your wife being an autism therapist. My son has had many therapists over the years and remembers each very fondly.

By: Corey

Corey — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:15:06 +0000

@Dr Chew; Thanks for the reply. A point of interest with the families my wife works with is that several of them have more than one autistic child. This would seem to support the theory that some people are predisposed to coming down with the symptoms given their developmental history. Hannah Polling, although the poster child for “demonizing” vaccinations, was predisposed to autism which was “severely aggravated” by the vaccinations.

Do you feel that it is somehow different if an almost unnoticeable case of autism becomes aggravated by vaccinations vs. vaccinations being the actual causation? Both seem equally undesirable…

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:32:35 +0000

@Corey, it would be interesting if those parents your wife works with might read Do Vaccines Cause That?, as the book presents the kind of reasonable information that is too often missing from online discussions about autism causation. Anecdotal reports from parents need to be framed within the larger perspective of a child’s developmental history.

@sharon, the book addresses that very point with care. it sounds commonsensical to “change the schedule,” and pediatricians are agreeing to this, as the CNN story notes.

By: sharon

sharon — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:16:49 +0000

So while we give more shots, the number of antigens that the immune system must respond to is actually many fewer than before.

Interesting. I think if I had to do it all over again, I might slow down the timing. No kids needs 3 shots in one day.

By: Corey

Corey — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:19:48 +0000

My wife is an autism therapist who visits children at home. She hears the same story from the overwhelming majority of parents; “he/she was active, laughed and responded normally to her name but right after the vaccinations, she digressed to no talking, no eye contact etc…” We’re expecting our first next month and will not be vaccinating. This is very common among several of our expecting friends as well. Parents, do the research! At least have your vaccinations spread out instead of a battery of cocktails in rapid succession…

This article seemed to lack any real call to action other than read a book. Besides, why ask the institution of health care if they’re responsible for autism? Isn’t this self-incriminating? They will always deny any link between vaccination and autism. It then becomes the important responsibility of discerning parents to decide whether or not – or how to immunize.