Good news re: the alleged MMR vaccine/autism link

[matrixrefugee]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/health/8493753.stm <-- I heard about this on the news recently and it's something that has me breathing easier, though as one doctor in Boston pointed out in local news coverage, "People will still worry about this and worry comes from fear that is often mixed with a misunderstanding of the facts." Good that the fellow who came up with the loopy idea has retracted his "findings", though apparently he did so mostly because he's been called out for ethics violations in collecting control samples of blood used in the study. I hate to wish this on the man, that he's removed from the field, but I hope that he has the decency to turn in his medical license so that the board doesn't have to take it away from him.

I've noticed similarities between some forms of autism-like symptoms and the changeling of legend (ie. the European folk belief that faeries would steal babies in the night and leave faery children in their place), and since these legends go back to the Dark Ages (ie. between 400 and 700 C.E.), well before vaccination was developed, much less common-place, I started to personally discredit the connection. I know it's a parent's right to choose how to raise their kid and what measures to take to keep that child healthy, however, I think it's a bit irresponsible and alarmist not to take measures to protect them from life-threatening illnesses because there's (an alleged) risk that the child could develop autism. People like me might not be the easiest to deal with, and I find that the hardest person to live with is often myself for this very reason, but it bothers me that this condition which I live with is treated like something worse than death. And yet... when someone steps up and makes a case for people like me, this gives me hope that a balance can be found, that people will choose to treat the worst symptoms and try to leave the better aspects intact.

Comments

[matrixrefugee.livejournal.com]

I wasn't aware of that, but it doesn't surprise me. Ugh. While I think there *might* be something to the whole Indigo Child theory, and I tend to fit the profile quite a bit, I just think it's been debauched into yet another thing for over-achieving parents of trophy children to try and apply to their little tyke(s) to make them more "speshul" than the next trophy child.

[northernwalker]

In my experience, it seems to be used to say, "If your kid is a hideous brat, don't worry! He's speshul! Don't try to teach them courtesy or how to behave- the world must surrender to your child, and bow down."

Yuck.

[matrixrefugee.livejournal.com]

:: Snickers:: Yeah, I remember seeing this one head-tiltingly strange item on a list of possible earmarks for an Indigo Child: "Does your child hate to wait in line?" Which got a huge laugh out of me, since I've found, after working for over ten years in grocery retail, that some of the worst people about waiting in line are eighty year old women; thus whenever I get some cranky old lady muttering about how long the line is (even if there's just maybe one or two people ahead of her), I joke to myself "Oh, look, it's an Indigo Senior Citizen."

[northernwalker]

*giggles*

Well, I have to say that's a pretty silly question anyway- does anyone like to stand in line? It's not on my list of Great Ways to Spend the Day.