Understanding Autism Page 7

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

Page 7

As the previous page states, vaccines are not a cause of autism. This is a very common fear and a large myth regarding ASD diagnosis.

There is currently no link between autism and vaccinations or the ingredients within vaccinations. There have been 9 different CDC-funded studies since 2003 that have not found any link between vaccines and ASD.

Source: Science Summary: CDC Studies on Thimerosal in Vaccines, www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/pdf/cdcstudiesonvaccinesandautism.pdf

According to the CDC:
“No links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and ASD”.

There are some other factors to consider that can put a child at risk for having autism. However, these factors have been shown to have a very small impact on the risk of a child developing autism and the exact cause of autism is still unclear.

These factors include:

Environmental Factors:

Older parents
Complications during pregnancy or birth (this includes extreme prematurity at 26 weeks or sooner, low birth weight, multiple pregnancies)
Pregnancies that are less than one year apart from each other

Genetic Factors:

Genetic factors can have more of an impact on a child’s likelihood of having autism, however it is still not a guaranteed outcome. These factors include:

Parents that have certain gene changes can pass these onto a child, thus causing autism
Changes in the genes during early embryonic stage or in the sperm/egg that create the embryo

It may seem that there is little hope in preventing autism in children, however research has shown that the use of folic acid can actually reduce rates of autism even in children with the genetic risk factors present. From 2003-2009, the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of California conducted a study that found mothers who had ingested folic acid vitamins during pregnancy had a reduced rate of having a child with autism, even those with genetic susceptibility.

Source: Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html