Progress #7

Today as well as yesterday I started to work on my paper. It definitely has been a challenge to present both sides of the story without voicing my own opinion. I also have found it difficult to create both sides of the controversy without constantly stating the facts over and over. I have to work on the overall fluidness of the paper. I feel like I have done enough research to present both sides with accuracy and thoroughness, but I have realized that I still need more information that proves that there is a connection between autism and vaccines. The lawsuit that occurred over vaccinations has been a major part of my paper, but I need more conclusive evidence about the trial and decision that was made about it. I still find it shocking that there are people who believe that there is a connection between childhood vaccinations and autism when there are sources from all over that disprove the connection.

Progress #6

Today I found an article about a lawsuit that was filed because parents believed their child developed autism from vaccines. The parents believed that the thimerosal caused their children to develop autism. Even though some scientific studies have found no connection between thimerosal and autism, yet there is still no conclusive evidence. The major point that the family was making was that the sharp rise in the number of autism diagnoses was a direct result of mercury-laced vaccinations. In order for the case to rule in favor of the parents there must be a link found between autism and shots. Thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 1999, however some critics believe the decision was made to late and that the health agencies, pediatricians and research just claim that the vaccines were always safe. This is interesting because there is a lack of scientific proof if this in fact true. However, scientists say that the level of mercury in a shot is minimal and is “equal to the amount found in a tuna fish sandwich.” The autism spectrum has expanded over the past twenty years, and some believe that it is because of infant immunizations.

Progress #5

Today I did some more research and started to decide what sources I wanted to use and the ones that I did not need. I also started working on how I was going to construct my paper.

I think I have decided on what my audience is going to be, although this was a difficult decision because it affects my whole paper. The audience I believe I will direct my paper to is expectant parents and parents with new born children because they will have to make the decisions to get their child vaccinated during the early few years of life and that is when the child could be affected by the vaccines.

It is interesting because I need to find more articles that show an actual connection between autism and vaccines. Most of the websites I have found disprove the idea yet there is still a controversy. For tomorrow, I plan on doing a little bit more research and then I will actually start writing my paper.

Progress #4

This weekend I still continued to do research. I found an interview with Jenny McCarthy who believes that her son got autism after having shots. Her son was diagnosed with autism in a later stage, so he most likely regressed. In this interview she claimed that two months after her son received shots he immediately got autism. She described her son’s autism as, “It's having a perfect child. A child that says mama and wants to hug you and be held and love you and then all of the sudden that child is gone in front of your eyes. It was like every mom explains, it's like a spaceship came and stole the child's soul. I had a child that was smiling and hugging me and calling me mama and no longer knows I'm there. Like that.” Jenny McCarthy then takes that belief and does a lot of work with the Green Vaccine program. She describes the program saying, “That vaccines are sometimes harmful to some kids and a lot of the ingredients, like the mercury, the aluminum, the ether, the antifreeze, we think need to be removed and a lot of people say the mercury has been removed since 2002 and I beg journalists to go online and look at the FDA Web site, look at the CDC Web site and count the 11 shots that still contain mercury.”

I need a few more sources for my paper, but am at the point where I will start to make a pro/con list, and use that to then write my paper.

Progress #3

Today I continued to do research for my inquiry contract paper. I found an interesting article about a common misconception regarding vaccines and autism. The article discussed concerned parents who had appeared on a Cable News Network. The parents had a three-year-old named Liam Reynolds claiming that he had developed autism two weeks after receiving measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The American Academy of Pediatrics explained to the parents that there was no reason to believe that a link exists between autism and vaccinations. This program may have had the impact to persuade many parents to avoid having their children vaccinated. However, this program narrator stated there was, “a puzzling jump in the number of children being diagnosed with autism.” This number may reflect increased reporting of cases rather than an increase in actual incidence. This will pertain to my paper because it shows how one misconception can lead to a controversy.

Progress #2

Today for my progress I edited my proposal paper and did some research regarding childhood vaccinations. I found a lot of information that was both interesting and surprising. There have been many studies that have been done and have not shown any link between vaccines and autism. However, even though these studies haven’t shown a connection to autism, there still remains a lingering controversy. It has been said that the vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella combination vaccine (MMR) contain a preservative called thimerosal that supposedly causes autism. I had found a statistic that said that currently thimerosal is present in some of the inactivated influenza vaccines. Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative, which does not actually stay in the body. The mercury itself could cause brain damage if present in excessive amounts, but there is not enough in vaccines to cause any damage. Lately, vaccination concerns have received a great deal of attention from parents, doctors, vaccine manufacturers and the media. There have been multiple studies in the United States and elsewhere to prove the notion that vaccines do not cause autism, but still the safety is still a concern of many.