vaccines
Dawn Giordano
English 101
Professor Crutchfield
Argumentative Essay Autism and Vaccines There has been controversy recently over whether or not vaccines, in particular the
MMR (measles mumps and rubella), cause autism. Your child is at the doctor, the doc says “it’s time for those shots tough guy”. Your bouncy baby boy is 18 months old and very happy even after the doctor administers the MMR, he doesn’t cry, just giggles. Later that night he develops a fever and has trouble sleeping. As a mom you’re worried and after 10 days he gets better, but you begin to notice that he is not meeting his milestones at the same rate of his peers and he doesn’t babble as much as he did prior to his MMR. Several months later your bouncy little boy is not the same as he was prior to his shots and he’s diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Is this a coincidence? Yes! Yes it is, and it has been proven time and time again. Parents have said “my child was talking, waving and could count all the way to one hundred and then they lost it all after the MMR”. I am a parent of a child with autism and to two neuro typical (normal) girls. I can honestly say that not one of my children were talking much before two years old. Parents look for something to blame, there is no known cause for autism and for some parents this causes them to reach for answers. The coincidence of the MMR timing and when most parents begin to notice symptoms make it an easy thing to blame. It’s actually the trace amount of mercury that some people believe to be the cause. In essence some parents believe it’s a sort of poisoning. Although no links have been proven, parents search desperately for answers and also fall victim to the ramblings of celebrities offering false hope through dangerous detoxifications and biomedical treatments. Autism spectrum disorder is on the rise, currently 1 out of every 44 boys will be diagnosed with ASD and 1 out of every 78 children. The
English 101
Professor Crutchfield
Argumentative Essay Autism and Vaccines There has been controversy recently over whether or not vaccines, in particular the
MMR (measles mumps and rubella), cause autism. Your child is at the doctor, the doc says “it’s time for those shots tough guy”. Your bouncy baby boy is 18 months old and very happy even after the doctor administers the MMR, he doesn’t cry, just giggles. Later that night he develops a fever and has trouble sleeping. As a mom you’re worried and after 10 days he gets better, but you begin to notice that he is not meeting his milestones at the same rate of his peers and he doesn’t babble as much as he did prior to his MMR. Several months later your bouncy little boy is not the same as he was prior to his shots and he’s diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Is this a coincidence? Yes! Yes it is, and it has been proven time and time again. Parents have said “my child was talking, waving and could count all the way to one hundred and then they lost it all after the MMR”. I am a parent of a child with autism and to two neuro typical (normal) girls. I can honestly say that not one of my children were talking much before two years old. Parents look for something to blame, there is no known cause for autism and for some parents this causes them to reach for answers. The coincidence of the MMR timing and when most parents begin to notice symptoms make it an easy thing to blame. It’s actually the trace amount of mercury that some people believe to be the cause. In essence some parents believe it’s a sort of poisoning. Although no links have been proven, parents search desperately for answers and also fall victim to the ramblings of celebrities offering false hope through dangerous detoxifications and biomedical treatments. Autism spectrum disorder is on the rise, currently 1 out of every 44 boys will be diagnosed with ASD and 1 out of every 78 children. The