“The MMR Vaccine Does notcauses Autism”

Paige Phillips

CFB 3333 The Scientific Method: Debunking Pseudoscience

Student Presentation

What is Autism?• Developmental disorder • ASDs - Autism Spectrum Disorders• 1 in every 150 children is

diagnosed with Autism• First Diagnosis in 1938

– “autos” meaning self

MMR Vaccine• Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine• Recommended Infant

Immunization since 1971• Administration:

– Once between 12-18 months and again between 4-6 years old

• How Vaccines work

Andrew wakefield• British gastroenterologist

who believed he had discovered the cause of Autism in 1998.

• Published his findings in the medical journal, The Lancet

• His Epidemiological Study

The inconsistencies• Small Sample • Biased Sample

Population• Conflicts of Interest• Incorrect usage of

Procedures leading to Erroneous Data

• “Leaky Gut” theory• Not Reproducible

• Multiple Epidemiological Studies that Refute Wakefield’s claim

“How can people best determine

If the results of a scientific study are

accurate? The answer is three fold: transparency of the funding source, internal consistency of

the data, and reproducibility of the

findings.”- Dr. Paul Offit

“Problems caused by vaccines as rare as one in 10,000, one in 25,000, or one in 100,000 have been readily detected by epidemiological studies. If autism, a disease that affects one in 150 American children, was caused by vaccines, epidemiological studies would have detected it”

- Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism’s False

Prophets

“the autism epidemic”• Increase is

Autism diagnoses

“the autism epidemic”

• MMR vaccination rates decreased dramatically

“the autism epidemic”• Change in diagnosis definition

“the Autism Epidemic”• Media Involvement and Distortion of

Information

“the autism epidemic”

• Personal Anecdotes from Parents and Autism Advocacy Groups

Where is autism now?

• Omnibus Autism Proceedings– Federal Court Case– National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act

• Continued Research into the cause of Autism– Genetics