I wish I had known, or at least suspected, that there was an alleged link between vaccinations and austism when our son was born. I do not believe it is the vaccinations themselves that can lead to austism, but rather the thimerosol (mercury) that is used as a preservative in vaccinations, especially multiple vaccinations in one shot. The government, the pharmacuetical industry, and the Wall Street Journal have consistently maintained that there is no link. However, I know that my son was a bright, engaged infant, and his whole personality changed after the standard California prescribed regimen of vaccinations. We received a diagnosis of autism when he was three.

Autism rates have skyrocketed as the number of required vaccinations have increased. Anybody who thinks its because of better diagnosis and more awareness, or because parents want government aid for their children, has not spent much time around autistic kids. After 17 years with an autistic child, I can tell other autistic children within a minute or two of meeting them, and also autistic adults who might never have been diagnosed. Naturally with our autistic son we met many other parents and their autistic children. Some of their children became "autistic" immediately after a round of a vaccinations. With multiple vaccinations, the mercury level is far in excess of what the government considers no risk. The symptoms of autism are virtually identical to the symptoms of mercury poisoning.

There have been studies supposedly "proving" that there is no link, but some of the studies do not even control for mercury in the vaccinations, and many are conducted under the auspices of either pharmaceutical companies or the government, neither of whom I trust. My son has made amazing strides; he will graduate from high school this year, he has a job at a hamburger stand, and he is very smart, which puts him in the Aspergers camp. However, he admits that he is socially awkward, and he has had some real struggles making friends and getting along with other kids. We will probably never get an official admission that autism has something to do with mercury and vaccinations, but if you or anyone you know has a newborn infant, parents can request thimerosol free vaccinations, and can space out vaccinations and have them administered one at a time. As we Gulchers know in many other contexts, relying on the government to protect our interests is the definition of foolishness.