As sweet as-pie
Well-Known Member
I'm very angry so I thought I'd rant here because I'd like to think most of you would agree with me. I have had to deal with stupid propaganda such as this throughout my life all suggesting that "autism is caused by vaccines" and recently came across it in a facebook friend's timeline.
There is one group of people alone that say this; anti-vaxxers.
This is blatent scaremongering and obviously states one thing : "DON'T VACCINATE YOUR KIDS OR THEY'LL GET *Dramatic music please* ... AUTISM!" *Cue screams of horror*.
I have one question : since when was autism a bad thing? Sure, vaccines may cause several developmental issues, complex illnesses and I'm even willing to believe that they may cause some behavioural difficulties which may mirror "symptoms" of autism, but for people to say "MMR VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM BECAUSE EVERYONE WITH AUTISM HAS HAD AN MMR VACCINE", well here in the UK, everyone has one at birth, and not everyone I know is autistic.
Now, I don't want a debate on whether or not vaccinations are a good thing, everyone is entitled to their opinion whether backed up by facts or not, I was just looking for a place to rant about this.
I feel as if it's my mission in life to change people's perceptions of what autism is and educate them on what it is not. I am a very strong believer in the "neurotype theory", I think that there are 2 main neurotypes ; Neurotypical and Neurodiverse/Autistic. I find it extremely offensive that of all the illnesses and disorders the anti-vaxxers could have used for their campaign, they decided to choose autism, which isn't even a problematic thing for the most part. Even in cases of "profound autism", the person can still be very intelligent and make good use of non-verbal communication. Most of the issues we face as autistic people are either a) due to neurotypical society not meeting our needs or b) other learning difficulties and mental illnesses which are separate from our autism. Imagine if a neurotypical had to live in a world surrounded by autistic people with an autistic way of doing things, they would struggle. People tend to view the "minority" as an illness, not so long ago homosexuality was viewed in the same way.
So, dear anti-vaxxers: please do not use us as your mascots for scaremongering. There is nothing wrong with us, we are different not defective.
P.s- If vaccines cause autism, then I sure as hell hope all my kids get vaccinated to the max. (of course no offence to neurotypicals but it's easier for both the parent and child if they both have the same neurotype and I would be delighted to mentor my autistic children to navigate the neurotypical world.)
There is one group of people alone that say this; anti-vaxxers.
This is blatent scaremongering and obviously states one thing : "DON'T VACCINATE YOUR KIDS OR THEY'LL GET *Dramatic music please* ... AUTISM!" *Cue screams of horror*.
I have one question : since when was autism a bad thing? Sure, vaccines may cause several developmental issues, complex illnesses and I'm even willing to believe that they may cause some behavioural difficulties which may mirror "symptoms" of autism, but for people to say "MMR VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM BECAUSE EVERYONE WITH AUTISM HAS HAD AN MMR VACCINE", well here in the UK, everyone has one at birth, and not everyone I know is autistic.
Now, I don't want a debate on whether or not vaccinations are a good thing, everyone is entitled to their opinion whether backed up by facts or not, I was just looking for a place to rant about this.
I feel as if it's my mission in life to change people's perceptions of what autism is and educate them on what it is not. I am a very strong believer in the "neurotype theory", I think that there are 2 main neurotypes ; Neurotypical and Neurodiverse/Autistic. I find it extremely offensive that of all the illnesses and disorders the anti-vaxxers could have used for their campaign, they decided to choose autism, which isn't even a problematic thing for the most part. Even in cases of "profound autism", the person can still be very intelligent and make good use of non-verbal communication. Most of the issues we face as autistic people are either a) due to neurotypical society not meeting our needs or b) other learning difficulties and mental illnesses which are separate from our autism. Imagine if a neurotypical had to live in a world surrounded by autistic people with an autistic way of doing things, they would struggle. People tend to view the "minority" as an illness, not so long ago homosexuality was viewed in the same way.
So, dear anti-vaxxers: please do not use us as your mascots for scaremongering. There is nothing wrong with us, we are different not defective.
P.s- If vaccines cause autism, then I sure as hell hope all my kids get vaccinated to the max. (of course no offence to neurotypicals but it's easier for both the parent and child if they both have the same neurotype and I would be delighted to mentor my autistic children to navigate the neurotypical world.)
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