Autism And Vaccination Essay

The relationship between vaccinations and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one that is very controversial. Annually, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians jointly publish a schedule of recommended immunizations. Children today are routinely vaccinated against 14 diseases during their infancy and preschool years (Miller & Reynolds, 2009). In today’s society, vaccinations are used to prevent childhood diseases and have been very effective for many years (Miller & Reynolds, 2009). There are many questions surrounding the correlation between the diagnosis of autism in a child and vaccinations for childhood diseases. Autism is a serious developmental disorder that …show more content…
Uneducated parents are falling victim to unproven theories of possible links between vaccinations and autism. Although parents believe that vaccinations do prevent childhood diseases, there are still around 40% that believe that vaccinations also cause autism (Mutter, et al., 2007). The medial is an outlet that is used to fuel the debate between vaccinations and autism (Mathis, 2009). The media reports causes people to become scared and confused as to what is the truth. In a sample study of parents of children with autism, these parents trust the doctor’s opinion towards vaccines and feel that their child would benefit if there was an option to give the vaccinations later in life (Mutter, et al., 2007). “Why can’t the vaccinations be given later in life?” These parents feel that since the incidence time of diagnosing autism is usually before three years old, waiting until after that would be a better time to vaccinate the child. Due to skeptic, the vaccination rate has decreased (Mutter, et al., 2007).Through all of the confusion, more children are dying from diseases that are completely preventable (Mathis,