Some Personal History:
I have been very involved with autism for a long time. Besides being a registered nurse and having numerous autistic clients over the years, my 14-year-old grandson has Asperger's syndrome, sometimes described as high-functioning autism.
I have spent many hours in thought about the months leading to my grandson's birth, the birth itself, and the years proceeding my daughter's and my awareness that something was "not quite right", but nothing seemed significant except the fact that Jordan's behavior began changing soon after his immunizations shortly before his third birthday.
My daughter (Jordan's mother) has been active in the Northwest Autism Foundation since it was founded in 1997. For years she volunteered several days a week at the NWAF office in Oregon City, Oregon, and in the last two years has become their only paid employee. The NWAF is a non-profit organization that provides education and information to families, caregivers and professionals of autistic children.
She keeps current on any new developments related to autism, and she shares information with me almost daily. We have always been very interested in the studies involving thimerosal, the mercury compound used as a preservative in vaccines, immune globulin preparations and other medical products.
The History of Thimerosal:
Thimerosal has been used in the United States since 1929, but was phased out of all childhood vaccinations in 2001. Many of us who have autistic children and grandchildren noticed the first signs of change in our children immediately after a vaccination. DPT vaccine was routinely given four times to children before they were eighteen months of age, starting at two months old. This was the recommended dosage during the 1980's. Into the late 1990's, children were also given three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine, as well as doses of the MMR vaccine. All these contained thimerosal. In 1991, the number of required immunizations doubled, making the number of required vaccinations per child, between birth and three years old at 15. This means that until 2001, all 15 required childhood vaccinations given from birth to three years of age contained the mercury compound, thimerosal.
There has been a strong association between the MMR vaccine and autistic symptoms. Also, the DPT vaccine has triggered autistic symptoms as well. Scientists say the number of cases of autism has increased 1,500 percent since 1991 when the number of recommended vaccinations for children doubled. This increase in autism cases parallels the increase in the number and frequency of thimerosal-containing vaccinations administered.
Multi-Dose Units:
All injections prior to 2001 came from multi-dose vials. This type of vial was manufactured by the pharmaceutical companies to save money. Being able to store larger quantities of vaccines at lower costs, drug companies offered "multi-dose units" adding the preservative thimerosal. Before each injection was given, it was necessary to shake the vial WELL to mix the solution. Many times this mixing was not done adequately and with each dose given, the percentage of thimerosal remaining in the vial increased. The unfortunate children getting the last few doses in the vial received an extremely high amount of mercury.
Many countries discontinued the use of thimerosal over 20 years ago. Russia, Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have banned the preservative because their research has shown thimerosal caused tubular necrosis and nervous system injury, including coma and death.
The Big Cover-up:
There is an enormous amount of controversy surrounding the thimerosal issue in the United States. Thousands of lawsuits are pending, but the drug companies continue to deny any responsibility. In 2006, the World Health Organization issued a report that there is no evidence of toxicity in infants, children or adults exposed to thimerosal in vaccines.
Try telling that to parents whose children awakened the morning after an immunization no longer able to walk or to talk, or those who lapsed into comas hours after vaccinations were given and have never fully awakened. These symptoms as well as many other autistic behaviors and symptoms have appeared in thousands of children following thimerosal-containing vaccinations. Their stories can be found in books, magazines, and the Internet. You can talk to parents of these children at school conferences and doctor's offices. The cover-up by the pharmaceutical companies and government agencies is criminal.
According to 53 scientists from the CDC, FDA, and the ACIP, who reviewed the findings of Dr. Thomas Verstraten, an epidemiologist hired by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to review data collected from 500,000 children from the North California Kaiser Permanente cohort on vaccine safety: "A statistically significant connection was found between thimerosal and tics, verbal delays, ADHD/ADD and autism."
Thousands of parents of autistic children are convinced this is what happened with their child or children. Countless physicians and other medical professionals stand behind this theory as well. The research continues on this extremely controversial issue.
