Autism and Vaccines

Kim Francis Communications' client, Behavioral Consulting of Tampa Bay discusses the latest reports regarding autism and vaccinations.

Autism report linking the disease to vaccinations may be a fraud

BAY AREA -- Some parents of children with autism are disgusted after reading new reports that a study previously believed to be true, may be a fraud.

"That's horrible," parent Howard Fine said. "The parents were relying on these people as experts because everyone wants to know why is my child like this?"

News came Wednesday night that British doctor Andrew Wakefield, author of a 1998 study linking autism to vaccines, is a fraud.

A British reporter found that Wakefield's research had been altered. It's a claim that Wakefield denies.

"I think it just caused a big scare when it comes to vaccinating children," behavioral therapist Kelley Prince said.

Prince said that although researchers don't know what causes autism, the link to vaccinations gave some parents an issue to fight against.

She said with the recent fraudulent news, those parents may want to look for answers somewhere else.

"At this point, we know there's a genetic predisposition and then there's certainly an environmental factor, but now we're almost back to square one," Prince said.

Therapists are advising parents who have children with autism to talk to their pediatricians if they're confused about whether to get them vaccinated or not.

Experts say since the 1998 study linking autism and vaccinations, thousands of parents have been skipping out on shots.

The Center for Disease Control says since then, cases of measles in the U.S. hit a 12-year peak at 140 in 2008.

http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/2011/january/191236/Autism-report-linkin...

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• vaccines
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