Thread by @thinkingautism

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel OK. F*** that. Get ready for a thread.

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel My high-support #autistic son is now a teenager. I initially bought into the message that vaccines caused autism, because in the early 2000s it was not easy for laypeople to get past the media hype on the topic, and find reliable mainstream information. 1/ #vaccinesWork

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel I enrolled my son in a study on #autism and regression at the UC Davis MIND Institute, which was founded by parents who sought cures and believed in a vaccine link. #vaccinesWork 2/

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel The researchers' conclusion, after reviewing my son's infant, toddler, & preschool-age videos: he did not regress or react to vaccines, but rather followed a typical #autistic path of gaining skills/abilities unevenly, & in some cases more slowly than his peers. #vaccinesWork 3/

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel In the meantime, researchers have reviewed data involving millions -- literally -- of kids, and found no link between vaccines and autism. Because there is no link in research, only in anecdotes & testimonials that have never once stood up to scrutiny. Not once. #vaccinesWork 4/

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel And even the MIND Institute has shifted its focus to understanding and support, and away from its cure-#autism-oriented roots, because the founders' theories turned out to be scientifically implausible. #vaccinesWork 5/

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel I've since spend much of my time working with #autism scientists and researchers as the senior editor of Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, in order to disseminate the most useful autism information possible.
#vaccinesWork 6/

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel I also attend the International Meeting for Autism Research every year. After years of autism-vaccine papers waning, @AutismINSAR 2016 featured only one poster on how lingering hoax-based fears affect the immunization status of #autistic kids' younger siblings.
#vaccinesWork 7/

@AutismAdvoCat @stevesilberman @NeuroRebel @AutismINSAR So, no. Vaccines have nothing to do with #autism, Congressman Mark Green. Not a single damn thing.

P.S. My #autistic son is now fully vaccinated, and has been for years.

Previous thread pulled from: squidalicious.com/2016/12/remind…

#neurodiversity #vaccinesWork 8/8