Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which affects roughly 1 in every 68 children in the U.S., has become a focal point for society, as it is one of the few disorders researchers have not been able to fully determine the causes for. ASD affects the way individuals, mostly children, function in terms of communicating, interacting, and behaving (“Autistic Spectrum Disorder”). As it is normal for parents to be apprehensive when it comes to their child’s health, it is important to think critically about the information they research when making their decision. Nonetheless, a vital part of learning and understanding a disorder that, for a substantial amount of individuals, affects us personally is being able to pinpoint where scientific research differentiates
Despite the study’s lack of replicability, small sample size consisting of only 12 children, indefinite results, as well as ethical issues, Wakefield, and his work, received wide coverage and appraisal for being the “brave voice of reason,” both through scientific publications and the media (“The Media’s”). This paper helped position the issue of ASD on “red alert” priority. In the years following its release, researchers began attempting to create preventative techniques for ASD, as MMR vaccination rates fell due to parental concern over the risk of autism after being vaccinated, in London reaching levels about 25% below the necessary aggregate to maintain population immunity (“The Media’s”). Subsequently, researchers, over time, began disparaging the media for their naïve presentation of the research and for providing unjustified credibility to the
On ABC’s Private Practice, one of the main characters, a pediatrician, began treating a child showing symptoms of the common cold, which later appeared to be the mumps. When the doctor offers the vaccine as the form of treatment, the mother refuses, as she noticed her middle child “acquired” Autism shortly after being vaccinated. When the youngest son also develops the mumps, the oldest son’s health begins to deteriorate, simultaneously, which leads to his death. At that moment, the pediatrician administers the youngest child with the vaccine, against the mother’s wishes, to save his life (Entertainment, 2009). Through the use of television as a medium to present the concerns present in this controversy, viewers saw a “digestible” breakdown of both perspectives. However, some may argue that the show overdramatized the issue, while focusing on the issue on an individual level rather than on a “big picture” one. However, the major question is whether this an example of fear mongering or an unbiased testament of the debate? Despite this answer, the media still is the easiest, most accessible form of receiving data on an infinite array of issues. Therefore, another question I would like to look at this semester is, how does the media, in its many mediums, use fear mongering,