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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Should I delay my twins' immunisation to help prevent autism?

    Related Topics
    Autism Spectrum Disorder Children's Health Immunisations
    My twins are due for their 4 year immunization, however i have two children with Autism and i have read about the controversial debate on how many parents believe immunisations cause Autism. I am now worried about Immunising my twins because i fear they will become Autistic. If i do decide to immunise them for the 4 year vaccine because it involves getting two shots could i ask my Gp to give them one shot and then waite a week to get there second shot. Would this help their bodies fight of the toxins that are associated with the immunisation. What else can i do to hep prevent any vaccine side effects. In research on the link between autism and immunisations researchers found that some children's bodies lacked the natural enzymes, intestinal flora and immune capacities to filter out some of the chemicals, animal blood and embryos that are in those immunisations. what do you think of this? Finally Should i delay their 4 year immunisation would that help prevent Autism? To immunise or not
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    Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    There is *no* link between autism and immunisation. This urban myth arose from a paper written by Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998. This paper has been shown to be a fraud  -  Dr Wakefield cheated - it has been retracted and Wakefield has been banned from working as a medical doctor. A famous study in Denmark confirmed that there is *no* link between autism and immunisation - it looked at 440655 children who were immunised and 96648 who were not (big numbers!). There was *no* difference in rates of autism between the immunised and non-immunised children and *no* association between development of autism and age at immunisation.

    Please get your children immunised.

    Also, and I am not for a moment meaning to be rude here, Dr Google has neither medical nor scientific qualifications. There is a lot of delusional conspiracy theory nonsense (phrase used advisedly) about immunisation on the Web.

    The reason that I stress this and again, to emphasise, I am not meaning to be rude, you have used a number of technical terms ("toxins“, ”natural enzymes“, ”chemicals“, ”intestinal flora", etc),  which are often used by the delusional conspiracy theorists on the Web to support their beliefs, typically with little or no comprehension of the biomedical science involved.

    Please stick with evidence-based health professionals (eg,  your GP). If you would like more information about recommended immunisation schedules this site (and links therein) might help: http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/ .

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    Jennie Rogers nee Studdert

    Registered Nurse

    I have been a paediatric registered nurse for over twenty years. I am trained asthma educator, early childhood nurse and currently work in the area … View Profile

    No, not at all. There is absolutely no evidence linking immunisations with autism. 

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  • Rachel Tosh

    Speech Pathologist

    Rachel is a speech pathologist specialising in speech, language, literacy and feeding therapy with more than 10 years of experience. Her aim is to help … View Profile

    Failing to immunise children WILL NOT protect them from autism.
    Failing to immunise your children WILL put them more at risk of dangerous and potentially life-threatening childhood diseases such as measles.

    I have personally had measles and would not wish that on any child! Please immunise your children.

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  • Aimee York

    Occupational Therapist (OT)

    Aimee is a fully registered occupational therapist, with a special interest area in paediatrics and mental health. She is experienced in the assessment and intervention … View Profile

    There is no evidence of a link between immunisations and autism. There is overwhelming evidence to support this.

    Often from a parents perspective, when raising children, there is a desire to protect them from anything harmful that may cause negative effects. However, as with any decision, it is important to weigh up the pros and cons. Based on extensive research, the pros for immunisations far outweigh the slight cons (eg. mild side effects such as a sore injection sight or flu like symptoms).

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