In a message dated 10/13/00 12:39:19 PM, Todd Moody
<[log in to unmask]>
writes:

<< Speaking as a parent of a child who *did* develop
autism/asperger's, but who also knows others who got that way
without being vaccinated, I know that there are no easy answers. >>

Todd, that is very true. And I, too, do not wish to delve into the
vax/autism
debate, but I would like to point out that it is most common for
autism to
develop at just around the age kids are getting many vaccinations,
leading to
the conclusion, erroneous or not, that the vaccinations are the cause
of the
autism. Correlation does not necessarily equal causation. It brings to
mind
the story (for those of us old enough to remember!) of the 1967
blackout of
the Eastern seaboard. An eight year old boy, angry about something,
kicked a
lamppost at the exact second the blackout occurred, and came to the
conclusion that he had caused it. My oldest son, 21, has Asperger's
syndrome,
and yes, he was vaccinated. But he had strong indications of deviant
behavior
from earliest infancy, long before he received any vaccinations.
That's not
to say that autism/Asperger's could not be in some cases caused by
vaccinations; only, as Todd says, there are no easy answers. I would
also
like to point out that by the time children are 2 to 3 years old, they
are
generally beginning to eat more and more foods of questionable
nutritional
value, with possible toxic and/or allergenic capabilities as well, and
such
things should be taken into consideration before jumping to
conclusions about
causation. There are cases where a single allergic food, such as milk,
has
proven to be the sole cause of the autism. When removed from the diet,
the
child becomes normal. But because that is true in X number of cases,
that
doesn't mean milk is the sole cause of autism in all children.

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY