Secondary Source Paper on Autism

Autism can be defined as a neurological disorder that affects the way brain functions especially in areas that deals with communication, social interactions, and cognitive function. The autistic disorder has become common today, and according to the Center for Disease Control, 30 million people are estimated to have Austin disorders in the world. About Autism article state that one in one fifty children aged eight years is diagnosed with Austin disorder. Males are four times affected Austin disorder than females, and it affects all persons in all ethnic, economic situations, religious and racial backgrounds. According to the Center for Diseases Control, 1.5 million people in the United States have some forms of Autism. It was first recognized as an official disorder in 1980 and patients suffering from this disorder have difficulties with social interacts, leisure or play and verbal and non-verbal communication Autism Speaks). The major threat is that there is the permanent cure for this disorder but early-stage intervention may reduce symptoms. 1-2 cases of autism for every 1,000 births were reported in 2005, and therefore it is an epidemic in the society (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Most people have come up with theories that autism is caused by vaccines but case studies and research have proved that vaccines do not cause autism.

Autism cases have increased and have gained a lot of attention from people and state viewing it as an epidemic. Rimland states that Autism cases have increased by 273 percent from 1987 to 1998 in California. In 10,000 births 4 to 5 children were reported to suffer from autism in 1999 while in 2005, the number reported is 10 to 20 per 10,000 births. Research has proven that increase in these reports is not as a result of vaccinations but due to increase in awareness, knowledge and diagnostic tools (Rimland, 261). Moreover, autism cannot be considered as an epidemic because it is a genetic disease.

Autism symptoms are manifested from birth to the age of three, and they vary depending on its severity. However, some symptoms may not appear in children. Delay or lack of language development is the main symptoms of autism. Impaired social interaction includes difficulty in building relationships, lack of interests with peers, conflicts, and misunderstanding with family and friends and social contact difficulties. Communication systems manifested by autism patients inability to understand facial expressions, little eye contact maintenance, unresponsive to verbal cues, aggressiveness, unfit emotions, and tantrums. In school children diagnosed with autism, disorder have challenges in making generalizations, time management, sequencing steps, and global concepts understanding. The last symptom manifested is the cognitive impairment that includes impaired language and speech and seizures during adolescence. Both medical and non-medical disorders make people with Autism different from the other.

Diagnosis of Autism is a complex and its made through a combination of psychological behavior observation and educational testing. The symptoms are observed from childbirth to two years and if in the third year the child shows no changes the child is considered autistic. Most people believe that Austin is caused by vaccines but scientific and medical specialized have conducted their research to analyze whether vaccines cause this disorder and have managed to prove that there is no association between vaccines and Austin disorder. Mrozek-Budzyn and co-authors carried out a case study Lack of association between Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccination and Autism in children. The primary objective of the research was to analyze whether there is an association between MMR vaccination and Austin in children. The study also aimed at examining whether autism risk varies between the single measles vaccine and use of Measles-Mumps-Rubella (Mrozek-Budzyn, Dorota, Kieltyka, and Majewska 397). The study population used to carry out this research was 96 cases of atypical autism or children aged between two to fifteen. Vaccines controls were given to 192 kids and each individually matched to cases by sex, general practitioners and year of birth. The methodology used secondary data from physicians on autism diagnosis, and interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data from mothers on the probability of autism risk factors due to MMR. The researchers used conditional logistic regression to evaluate the risk of autism subsequent from vaccination. The evaluation was conducted on children vaccinated first before autism diagnosis and second, before first symptoms of autism begun. The results of the study showed that the children vaccinated before they were diagnosed, the risk of autism was lower with those vaccinated with MMR as opposed to the non-vaccinated by 0.07 percent. The same case applied to the children vaccinated with single measles vaccine. At 95 percent confidence interval, the risk of autism for the vaccinated children versus the non-vaccinated was 0.28 percent. The study also showed that children who were vaccinated with MMR before the onset of first symptoms have a lower risk of autism (0.47) than those vaccinated with a single vaccine (0.22). The researchers concluded that based on the study evidence there is no association between autism and single measles vaccine or MMR (Mrozek-Budzyn, Dorota, Kieltyka, and Majewska 400).

Plotkin, his fellow co-authors discuss the article "Vaccines and autism: a tale of shifting hypotheses." The article discusses epidemiologic studies performed to address the three hypothesis published by Wakefield et al. These hypotheses proposed that first, the combination of MMR damages intestinal lining resulting in autism. Second, vaccines contain thimerosal which contains ethylmercury, a toxic substance to the nervous systems. Third, MMR weakens the human system. The studies used vaccination records with provided reliable historical data, and electronic medical records. The study on whether MMR causes autism was carried out in several countries such as United Kingdom, Canada England, London and California. The results showed that the obvious consideration of developmental regression among autistic children does not modify the reliable independence of MMR vaccine (Plotkin, Gerber, and Offit 457). They also argued in contradiction of the existence of a new variant form of autism. Three ecological studies were performed in Sweden, Denmark, and Quebec comparing incidences of autism with thimerosal exposure from vaccines. The research was conducted on children who were exposed to autism before and after diagnosis, and they found that there was no relationship between autism diagnosis and thimerosal exposure was observed. Theories stated that children received too many vaccines in a short time which may weaken their immune system but was dismissed by research conducted across the three countries. These studies were conducted in a larger size to increase statistical power to detect even rare relationships.

Frank, Cristofer, and Eric carried out a study evaluating the relationship between autism and the immunologic stimulation established from vaccines administered during the first two years of life. They analyzed data from a case-control research conducted in three Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). 256 kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and matched on sex year and MCO 752 control kids. The group also analyzed ASD and autistic disorder with regression and using standardized in-person evaluations ASD were validated (DeStefano, Price, and Weintraub 564). The process of determining exposure to total antibody stimulating polysaccharides and proteins was determined by assuming that same content of antigen was received as obtained from medical records and immunization registries. Medical charts and parents interviews was used as an evidence of this data, and a conditional logistic regression was the method used to determine relations between exposure to antigens and ASD outcomes in selected time periods. The results of the study should that at 95% confidence interval, autism risk associated with each twenty-five unit increase in total antigen exposure was 0.999 for cumulative two years exposure. Also, no risk was evident for ASD or autistic disorder with regression and therefore increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating polysaccharides and proteins for the first two years is not associated with the risk of evolving an ASD.

A meta-analysis of 10 types of research including more than 1.2 million kids confirms that vaccines do not cause autism (Autism Speaks 1). Moreover, immunization was related to decreased risk that kids would develop autism, a likelihood that is strongest with the MMR vaccine. The studies combine and analyze the outcomes of multiple past studies. 1.2 million Children sample is a large enabling scientist to make more accurate conclusions about whether or not vaccine causes autism. The results of the studies showed that the possibility of reduced risk was strongest for the MMR vaccine by 16 or 0.84 odds ratio. The broader health care society has been believed and embraced the theories that vaccines are associated with autism. However, these studies offer further verification for lack of relation between vaccines and autism. Other credible healthcare institutions such as the World Human Organization (WHO) AND American Academy of Pediatrics has been against MMR vaccines because they lead to autism but this is not true. Autism Speaks recommends parents to continue giving their children immunizations because they are significant for child development and also reduce the risk of autism (Autism Speaks 2).

The college of physicians of Philadelphia carried out a study to determine whether vaccines cause autism because the public thinks that vaccines are responsible. Medical practitioners have concluded that there is no relationship between vaccines and autism. British researchers such as Andrew Wakefield published a unit research which indicated that people who were vaccinated with MMR had bowel diseases as a result of autism. Since this hypothesis was brought about, many medical practitioners began to interrogate it. In 2004, Dr. Richard revealed that Andrew Wakefield was flawed because he was paid by lawyers looking to file lawsuits against vaccine producers (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia). He was later banned by the Britains General Medical Council from practicing in Britain. Brian Deer report was published by BMJ where he also outlined Wakefield reports flaws in the vaccine. According to Deer journal parents of kids provided different conditions and therefore he found that Wakefield committed study fraud by fabricating data about the kids conditions.

Cave objects other studies by demonstrating that autism may be an effect of vaccinations. In 1970s autism incidence was low, 1 per 10,000 was diagnosed with autism, but this trend has been increasing since, in 2008, 150 people per 10,000 have autism (Cave 56). Many hypotheses have been studied to determine the cause of the disorder, and one possible cause which is common in all studies is an environmental trigger, for instance, the ethylmercury found in the preservative thimerosal (Rimland 265). This preservative has been used in vaccines since 1931. Live virus and chemical toxins are also factors causing autism. Some researchers such as James have claimed that family genetic predisposition causes autism because patients cannot detoxify heavy metals. Court ruling on Hannah Poling vaccine indicates that the child developed seizures and autistic behavior after she was given a vaccine in a medical center. The family was compensated so that they could take care of the children because of this disorder.

In conclusion, most medical experts and scien...