by Francesca Pawlak

Created on: September 17, 2010

While this is a widely debated topic of conversation and many come under fire for their opinions, this is an issue that has been at the forefront of the medical industry for years. This judge declared what many believe. Many, who in this writers opinion, are simply in denial and many are just ignorant enough to believe.

Having been around those with autism for quite some time and in intimate settings, it is at times obvious that vaccines did not cause the child’s autistic behavior. Here’s the thing, parents who may have autistic tendencies or have relatives with autistic tendencies are often in denial that they could have passed this along to their child. It goes without saying that genetics are complex and people have no control over what gets passed to their child. The choice of blue eyes and blond hair or green eyes and brown hair is not within the parent’s immediate control. So is it impossible to have autistic tendencies that are recessed and get passed to a child? Of course it’s not. Is it possible to have recessed autistic tendencies and not be aware of them? Absolutely.

Parent’s with autistic genes, either apparent or recessed, often have difficulty with conversation skills, eye contact, public speaking, and generally don’t feel or sense when another person wants them to stop talking, staring, standing too close, etc. They are without some if not most of the key social functions needed. Often citing themselves and just being shy or awkward, this is their way of denying that they may in fact be autistic. Even in the mildest of forms, a diagnosis of autistic terrifies nearly everyone, but it shouldn’t. The medical field has advanced so much in the last ten years that there are therapies and medicines to help control these behaviors and help affected individuals lead a more normal life. Yet the parents don’t want to admit their own faults or problems and have sought out something else to blame. Vaccines became an easy target because they are constantly under speculation about efficiency and safety.

The other groups of people, the ignorant ones who believe, are generally people who may have limited dealings with an autistic person and are not fully knowledgeable about the disorder. These people simply choose a side, without taking the time to research and figure out of a parent could have passed along genes, they make a hasty decision and choose to side with those who blame the medical professionals. Proper knowledge can be liberating, but to be blind and uninformed and still point fingers and blame is indeed ignorant.

Autistic children want what all people want; they want to be accepted, maybe in different ways but acceptance nonetheless. Many autistic children are musical or artistic prodigies, most are extremely intelligent and can cite facts from history from memory. These children who to the outside looking in, seem disobedient, rambunctious, rude, and insensitive, are anything but. These children are overly sensitive and strive to please adults. The behavior that seems rambunctious and rude is normally beyond their control, being loud, singing, screaming, rocking back and forth, tapping, etc. are all stimulating behaviors that, unless worked with by a professional, are often subconscious activities.

People should be less quick to point fingers and blame and be quicker to take a deeper look. Who knows? One day, someone who was once and excluded, ridiculed, autistic child, yet incredibly intelligent, may be The President of The United States, hailed scientist, or acclaimed music composer. 

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