Autistic Children Argumentative Essay

Most anti-vaccination advocates are mothers of autistic children. The idea that vaccines cause autism is the main fuel driving the anti-vaccination movement. The story is usually the same: the mother has a perfectly healthy baby that is talkative and outgoing; then, after being vaccinated, the child becomes antisocial and unable to communicate. It’s an easy assumption to make: the vaccinations did this. Autism is a very difficult and trying disorder for families to deal with. It is also a common one: “one in every 150 children has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum,” (Mooney 2009).Vaccines aren’t responsible, autism usually shows up early, but not always from the very beginning. With some autistic children, it’s plain to see from the moment they’re born;

When anti-vaccinationists are asked “what if your children get the disease?” they say they will simply have them treated for it. This is an irresponsible plan. One, for some vaccine preventable diseases, there is no cure, like polio. If someone is infected with polio, the person would just have to live with the aliment. Vaccines and cures are not the same thing. Two, some vaccine-preventable diseases can have permanent effects. Measles, for example, can cause deafness and can be life threatening. The CDC website says “for some children, measles can lead to pneumonia, a very serious lung infection. It can also cause lifelong brain damage, deafness, and even death.” (Measles 2013). The permanent effects of rubella (also known as German measles or 3 day measles) include: deafness, heart defects, glaucoma and other vision problems, intellectual disability, behavior disorder, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, and growth hormone deficiency. Some vaccine-preventable diseases can even cause sterility, meaning those affected would not be able to have kids. Knowing this, some people have changed their opinion on