I think a big reason is that many of the parents are emotionally devastated that their child has "something wrong with them." Not to say there is anything wrong with autistic children, but many adults are not prepared for a life of taking care of someone with special needs. There are great support groups and resources, especially now that it can be detected very early and there are awesome schools and stuff designed to help autistic children grow into productive adults.

But some parents can't wrap their heads around the fact that their kid won't be the precious little snowflake they thought they would be. And thus they grasp onto whatever-the-fuck they can find to justify it and take the blame away from themselves (when really, its genetics, there is no blame to be given!)

You cannot educate someone out of a belief. Facts are not important. When you have a child who has problems, you need someone or something to blame. If you cannot find a reason, you will cling to what seems a reasonable explanation over no explanation. This is so sad as it affects not only those affected children, but others as unvaccinated children increase the risk for others.

Did Matt Lauer lure the doctor to the interview by posing online as an underage child with autism? Because that would be awesome.

I wonder how these parents who aren't getting their kids vaccinated are going to feel if they get the measles or mumps and have to watch their kids suffer through that.

First let me preface this comment with the fact that I'm not against vaccination. What is concerning to most parents is the fact that due to media whoring, profiteering, and a general distrust towards the CDC/government at times it's easier to cling to beliefs rooted in pseudo-science than those with a scientific background. Time and time again we've seen the CPSC, FDA, and CDC disappoint us. H1N1 is another prime example of media-frenzy combined with profiteering. Mercury introduced into vaccines to extend shelf-life is somewhat questionable as well. I think America as a whole has a legitimate distrust towards big Pharma and other government agencies who let us down on a consistent basis with half-hearted efforts mitigated by profit or financial gain.

In the case of parents, sometimes it's easier to err on the side of caution than to proceed with vaccination; look at what the little babies are subjected to with undeveloped immune systems, a battery of vaccinations. I've heard it said that MMR is too much at once and it's better to break down the vaccines individually.

In the end, really, how much do you trust your children to these agencies and big pharma to do what is right versus risk favored to profit?

There is no "Debate", there's Science and then there's Jenny & her "kids should die from diseases until there's a 'safe' vaccine". She should be prosecuted for negligent homicide.

If they want to definitively determine what actually causes autism, than they first need to definitively determine what autism is. There are too many gray areas and too much overlap with other neurological issues that fall into the same diagnostic criteria as autism but may not be autism.

Parents don't want to hear "yeah it just happens, it's probably genetic, we don't really know what is causing it" the unfortunate thing is that millions of dollars have been sidetracked from research into what is causing autism to prove over and over again that vaccines have no link to autism.

Jenny McCarthy says it's true, so it must be. I don't want to live in a world where we can't trust the opinions of our celebrities.

My wife, who works in autism research and treatment, says this about Dr. Wakefield:

"In our medical field, we see him as a Perez Hilton. He has a lot to say, and it's controversial, but no one really cares about it, or listens to it."

I asked our pediatrician about autism, and he told me about a study that was done (but I don't know the doctor that did it or the details... sry.)

The study apparently demonstrated the correlation between many different diagnoses in the past that were specific to a particular "issue" with a child. Over the years, instead of diagnosing a specific, they lump that all into autism. So, the theory was that the numbers have always been generally the same, it's just it was called something different in the past and is now all called autism.

And I agree with one of the comments above. Too many parents today are crazy with their kids and if they think anything is out of the ordinary, they want the name of a disease to pin it on. Heck, I saw an article a few months back about a kid in Michigan that was 3 and could push a couch. They apparently called it some sort of genetic issue where the kid is too strong for his age, and they've only know about it for 5 years, and only had 3 diagnoses. Know why? Most people would not identify this as an issue!

@gqcarrick: worse is when we lose herd immunity and other people's children who are still too young for the vaccine get it. :(

To paraphrase Einstein: "Only two things are infinite...the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not so sure about the former."

This is an incredibly sad, but thoroughly predictible situation. On the one hand you have a quack spouting BS with an air of authority that he manufactured. On the other hand, you have science-illiterate parents desperate to find something, anything, to pin their child's problems on...even at the expense of common sense.

This is pure religion - this crap goes on because these parents "know" that their children's autism was caused by a vaccine. They just "know." And like all religions, reality hasn't got the slightest thing to do with what these people "know."

All that can be done at this point is to put Wakefield in jail, and hold McCarthy publicly accountable for the needless deaths and suffering that she has fomented.

She was a total loon before this all started, with her BS about her kid being an "crystal child" and herself being an "indigo mom" and it was 100% clear that she was a total effing moron. But then she caught on to this BS, and suddenly she goes from total effing moron to messiah of autistic children.

www.jennymccarthybodycount.com

I am so sick of this anti-vaccine crap. It just makes me angry. Jenny McCarthy is a liar and has literally caused deaths. She has been told the truth, as has her idiot husband, Jim Carrey, and they both choose to ignore it. MANY vaccines have not been made with ANY form of mercury in them, yet Jim Carrey says that vaccinating a child means you treat them WORSE than dogs.

As for rising Autism rates, the main reason is expanding what Autism is. Mercury was removed from most of teh vaccines that did contain it back in the early 2000's, yet rates continue to rise. The Anti-vaccers went "Oh Noes", so they then moved their goalposts and started coming up with different causes. Jenny's newest claim is that the virii in the vaccines cause Autism, and she and her ilk will not vaccinate until the virii in the vaccines are removed.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHH
/sanity

@cameronl: A celebrity who regularly injects her body with a toxin to reduce wrinkles.

@drduran:
Yes, the Consumerist is doing everyone a disservice by repeating the word "debate"; it legitimizes the crazy side.

@rickinsthelens: Excellent point.

I feel bad for parents with autistic children. That must be very hard for them. However, when they put other children at risk because of their misguided grief, that's a problem.

Of course on the other hand, it's really hard to make a group of parents with disabled children into the bad guys. My blame rests squarely on Wakefield and those like him. I can understand the fear and uncertainty that must come with having a child with developmental difficulties. I can understand that they would do anything they could to help prevent other parents from going through that stress. However, Wakefield seems to be taking advantage of that fear and uncertainty in order to jump in and promote his own agenda.

My inclination would be to hold him personally responsible for every child who gets sick as a result of his fear-mongering. But that would be assigning blame where there's no proof it exists. And that would really make me no better than him, would it?

@RecordStoreToughGuy_Has$240WorthOfPuddin': You would be referring to Chris Hansen, no?

Loo, we need to completely trust big Pharma. What they do can not be bad /cough vioxx cough/. They do thorough testing before they let anything out. Never question /cough phen phen cough/ there motives. They are only there to help . All there durgs are tested and completely safe.

@gqcarrick: Or die from it, which can happen, especially from whooping cough. There was quite the firestorm in Australia when an unvaccinated child died of whooping cough not long ago.

@crabbyman6: Which is why Jenny is responsible for 217 deaths because of her actions.
[www.jennymccarthybodycount.com]

@Oranges w/ Cheese in rainy Central FL: Can you test for autism like you can test for down syndrome? I know parents who test for down syndrome during pregnancy and find their child has a higher chance (or confirmation) of down syndrome have a better idea of the potential problems they have down the road, and are better prepared to make decisions for their child (if they choose to keep him/her). Do you know if this is possible for autism?

So the anti-vaccine folks include a hot woman and a guy with a British accent? Geez, no wonder everyone believes them!

If we're going to discuss unsafe things, I'd like to add "drinking from a garden hose" to the list. Sure it's okay on occasion, but hoses are made from nasty stuff, like lead. In fact the parent company of this blog tells you all about it.

[www.consumerreports.org]

Consumerist, time for a safer pic? ;)

"When it comes to the specter of *|JUST_ABOUT_ANYTHING|*, irrational information that justifies unfounded fears appeals to some over reliable science."

TFIFY.

@S-Meow P-Meow:

"First let me preface this comment with the fact that I'm not against vaccination."

Yes you are, or you wouldn't make stupid comments like you did later in your post. You are 100% part of the McCarthy/Wakefield crusade to increase childhood suffering and death. Your stupidity makes my blood boil.

@Oranges w/ Cheese in rainy Central FL:

Unfortunately I would say that there definitely is something wrong with Autistic children.

@S-Meow P-Meow: I was waiting for the "BIG PHARMA!!!!!" comment, and look! It was quicker than expected!

@treimel:

Very true, but I think this article is vastly more rooted in reality than a lot. It's like the urge reporters and others get to "balance" the "debate" about evolution - when there is no debate, and insinuating that their is completely removes any balance that existed.

@pecan 3.14159265: I would indeed. ^_^

@GitEmSteveDave_WonAForeignLottery!:
I think the "/sanity" part came just before "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" part.

@meske: Your pediatrician is of course correct. Autism was redefined in the 1990s to include more conditions and the requirements for diagnosing autism were also lowered (it took less symptoms to be considered autism).

[www.bmj.com]

Those who still believe that vaccinations cause autism are, quite frankly, idiots.

@GitEmSteveDave_WonAForeignLottery!:

...is that better or worse than Susan Somers injecting hormones directly into her in a moronic attempt to "stay young?"

@gqcarrick: Many of the anti-vac parents are going to and hosting measles and mumps parties so that their kids WILL get infected. Go google it.

@GitEmSteveDave_WonAForeignLottery!: I hope she manages to see that website somehow, although in her mind she would probably be proud of it.

@pecan 3.14159265: Short answer? No. Not really. It's more of a cognitive kind of test later on, regarding babbling by certain ages, etc. Down's syndrome has a specific test that can be applied (is there trisomy of the 21st chromosome.) Autism's far more difficult, and there's a whole spectrum of sub-classifications within it with regards to severity.

@I_have_something_to_say: You know what Oranges meant, though. Yes, there is something "wrong" medically with autistic children, but it's not "wrong" like they're abominations.

@YouDidWhatNow?:

Dammit, I keep forgetting that I can't use the greater/less-than symbols.

Was supposed to be something like "...directly into her [baby oven] in a..."

@GitEmSteveDave_WonAForeignLottery!: You know, if I were Jenny McCarthy and decided to not vaccinate my child, wouldn't I want all the other children to be vaccinated in order to prevent the diseases I've left my child exposed to from spreading?

@S-Meow P-Meow: Please correct me if I am wrong, but your saying people would trust vaccines more from a company that does not make a profit(and won't be able to afford proper research/production standards/etc....) and is unregulated by any government?

Just think about this. Everyone who works at those companies and for those agencies who has children and/or has family members with children, have them vaccinated by those very same vaccines. Forget profit. Who would those people intentionally make/produce a vaccine that would damage their own/related children? Why would Dr.'s administer a vaccine to their own children/the children they have taken an oath to "do no harm" if they were in on this conspiracy?

I doubt the vaccines "cause" autism it's more likely a Gene that has a trigger. Much in the same way Schizophrenia does. If you have the gene outlier for schizophrenia a trigger mechanism can set it off at anytime. could be stress, drugs, or something chemical. Most people experience schizophrenia in college years due to stress triggers.

So perhaps the combination of so many vaccines into one rather than the slow course of them at an early age can be a contributing factor.

You can't simply dismiss the premise that the correlation has no baring on the causation.

Sometimes subtle things can cause larger mishaps.

@oneliketadow: The same thing happened with ADD and ADHD, I believe. There was a certain criteria one had to meet, and that criteria was changed and fewer standards had to be met.

@SonicMan: So, if a medical professional claims vaccines are safe, their information is suspect. If a medical professional says they aren't safe, their information is good.

Right, got it. I'm gonna go eat a shotgun to put my brain out of its misery.

@SonicMan:

Thank you, Jim Carey. Here's your sign.

@S-Meow P-Meow:

foregoing childhood vaccinations may be "easier" for some parents, but it is most assuredly not "erring on the side of caution" It's erring on the side of idiocy, with a child's life as the stakes.

@RecordStoreToughGuy_Has$240WorthOfPuddin': Thanks for the chuckle.

@GitEmSteveDave_WonAForeignLottery!: I think it's a little far to say Jenny McCarthy caused deaths. I mean, you didn't have to listen or believe her.

@YouDidWhatNow?:

Oh, I think the article itself is fine--it's really just the headline I object to.