Jenny Mcarthy on Larry King a few wks ago

I saw a bit of it, but can't really tolerate watching Jenny McCarthy. I am sad for her and her son with autism, but the way she is spreading misinformation does more damage than good to the cause of helping autistic children.

We have an autistic child in our family, and I know his parents have been through the gamut of exploring potential causes and treatments. It is a long and exhausting path.

There are reams of writings and research by qualified and reputable scientist, doctors and researchers that show there is no direct cause of autism from vaccines. I can understand that parents want to know what happened to their child, I certainly would. But the Hannah Poling case is not a case of outright autism caused by a vaccine, there are other factors in her health history that contributed to her outcome.

I would encourage parents who are concerned about these kinds of issues to seek out information that can be validated by scientific and medical research conducted with viable methods. The Jenny McCarthy's of the world are valuable in that they turn a spotlight on something that does need to be explored, but when that option is proven wrong, we need to turn the focus back on finding the real cause and researching prevention.

I also want to add that I know we have moms on the chats with autistic kids and I could not begin to imagine what you face with your kids' health issues, and what difficult decisions are ahead for you. The most important thing is to find the cause, figure out how to treat it for those already affected, and prevent it for our future kids.

Susan is mom to Alexander, Isabel, David and stepmom to Eric. She does community outreach for arizonamoms. Have you checked the contest page for the latest giveaways?

The court did say there may be a link between the vaccinations and the autism for Hannah Poling, HOWEVER, it is important to consider the full story. #1 Hannah was behind on vaccinations and received a large number in one day. #2 Thimerosal was still in use at that time (and in her vaccinations) #3 Hannah had an underlying mitochondrial cellular disorder that may or may not have contributed to the later development of autism.

I personally don't trust the FDA or the CDC on most things, and by keeping the links between vaccines and a whole host of medical problems in children quiet, they are protecting their behinds. Remember what happened with the tobacco companies? That these companies could have been poisoning generations of children - They've got a lot to lose if it were discovered that the government supported policies that - on a massive level - were permenantly harming kids. So of course they are going to say there are no links.

The so-called research that the FDA uses is funded by big pharma, and the scientists doing the research on vaccines are usually working on grants provided by the very companies that make the vaccines.Anyone who has taken a college-level statistics course can see how the data is manipulated to fit the policy. Look to Europe and Japan for some decent, relatively unbiased research on vaccines. It doesn't take more than an hour or two of Googling around (better yet - go the library) to find some very, very compelling research that would make one question our country's vaccination policies. It's not the vaccine itself that is so terrible, but the ingredients and methods used to produce them on a mass scale. Some of it is truly shocking. Educate yourself, because no one is looking out for you - not even the government!

I didn't. But for parents who really want some answers, I think a good first step locally is SARRC - the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center. Click here for their link.

Denise Resnick - a co-founder after her son was diagnosed with autism - is a dynamo. She's working with Jeffrey Trent of TGen to help get some answers on the whys.

I know as parents we want to know why our child is different, and it's easy to latch on to the buzz, especially when a celeb is involved.

It's important scientific research continues and at the same time focus on therapies that can help their children manage in school and everyday life.

Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.

I did not see the show, but like what Think4yourself stated. I have lost a lot of my trust for the FDA and the CDC. The newest upset is the HPV virus vaccine. I have heard so much conflicting information. For an example, I did not realize a lot of the side effects. Blurry vision, losing feelings in your limbs - not being able to walk.. Ok, you say what are the percentages - not sure I care if my child ends up being one. In any case I think we need to be careful when the FDA and CDC say things are safe. I would like to know their definition of safe.

KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.

I personally think she is spreading misinformation.

Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 7 and 3.

I did see part of it and my thoughts on her have competley changed. I think she went WAY overboard!
I do agree that she is spreading misinformation. I can imagine what she is going through with her son and dont want to act like i do, but I havent seen or heard of any vaccine that is directly linked to autism. I am not one bit hesitant in getting my daughter vaccinated when she gets old enough.
Valleymom has it right....look at all the other factors in that case. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5WTaLnDPY4

Here is the You Tube clip of the interview.

JenM

I STRONGLY agree with the alternate vaccine schedule. Just like Jenny pointed out in 1983 there was only 10 vaccines and now there is 36! Children DO NOT need that many shots. And it was wrong for him to say well pick a disease, which one do you want your child to have? No parent WANTS their child to have a disease. But again there is no good reason for children to get 36 shots. Thats the medical association and their way of doing things. And it's sad because you go to your child's doctor thinking you should trust them, they give you a paper telling you the side affects of the shots and what they are/do. They never ONCE will tell you the alternate schedule. Even when I take my daughter to the doctor now I still have to fight to keep her on the schedule I want her on with vaccines but I WILL NOT back down, the doctor will try to talk me into the shots but not all of them are needed and this shouldn't just be the normal thing to do and thats what most parents think of it. That you trust your doctor and that it's NORMAL to get all these shots, but everyone should start doing research and look beyond what doctors are telling you is NORMAL.

I'm 20 years old but I'm very well informed. I breast fed, even though the hospital just ASSUMED I was going to formula feed since I was only 17 years old. And I have researched the alternate vaccine schedule and will stick with that as well.

Jess is raising her beautiful 2 1/2 year old spunky daughter in Scottsdale, trying to make it as a nurse.

I have a different perspective, given the fact that I'm an old fogey. I had friends who had measles, mumps, and rubella, and I was so glad to know that my Mom had gotten us the MMR series. I knew people who had polio, and spent time in iron lungs, and lost functionality in their limbs, so I was glad to know that the little round scar on my shoulder assured me that that wouldn't happen to me. Now, to be truthful, I was always hysterical when the nurse came in with a needle -- but I got to pick out a toy at the drug store (and got a lollipop from the druggist) after every shot, so I got over it.

The MMR has been around for at least 50 years; if it caused autism, we'd have seen the pattern over two generations.

I am also a big fan of the HPV vaccine, though the commercials irritate me (you're not one less; you're one fewer). No matter how hard we try to explain to our daughters that it's better to wait to have sex, teenagers do stupid things. That's why one in four teenage girls has an STD. I wouldn't want a single error in judgement to put a kid at risk for cervical cancer.

I haven't had an infant or toddler around for the past 10 years or so, so I really don't know what other vaccines are being recommended. I would like to learn more about it, though, because there's a pretty good chance that there's a new rugrat in my future.

I don't think that the CDC, or the Surgeon General, or Health Departments is evil. I think that they are too bound up by politics. If there was a law that required governments to fund these agencies at a certain level -- no questions asked, I think that we'd find their work remarkable.

I do feel for Jenny, but I think she's putting a lot of time, effort, and emotion into trying to slay the windmill. Histrionics won't change reality, and the reality is that her son isn't defective. Her son is different. He is here in real time, and he needs her full attention. Her anger isn't helping him today.

If you have the time, money, and inclination to commission a series of studies into almost anything, you will eventually find a study that produces the results you want. The Poling decision is the only one -- of thousands -- of cases, and it only says that "vaccines could have contributed to autism". It didn't say that they do.

My bet is that real researchers will, very soon, find the real cause(s) of autism, and it won't be vaccines.