Vaccines, Post 6,267,890,876

Here's a short article on the failure to find a link between the measles vaccine and autism:

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/09/03/study-shows-no-connection-between-measles-vaccine-autism/?mod=googlenews_wsj

I don't want y'all to think I have no sympathy for parents digging around for the cause of their child's autism. Or sensory processing disorder, PDD, speech delay ADHD/ADD, you name it. Husband and I have been through some comparatively mild "issues" with Two and it is beyond a doubt very frustrating. We all want answers to our questions, and we want them times 10 when it comes to our children, because we generally take our "job" of parenting very seriously and want to get it right.

But there are 2 things I want to point out. First. we can't "get it right" as parents. Not all the time, not in spite of of our best efforts. We need to do the best we can and move on - and sometimes that involves living without all the right answers. Second, I learned fairly early as a parent (oh, day 3 or so) that as much as doctors want to tell us they have all the answers, they don't. They're guessing at their job just as much as you are guessing at yours. We all make decisions at work every day where we rely on the best facts on hand to give advice and move forward with projects - but we really don't know 100% if it's going to work. "Will this clause hold up in court?" I think so - I can't find case law that says it won't. "Will this marketing initiative really increase sales by 30%?" It's new, it tested well, I think it will help the business. But if we all waited for "for sure" our worlds would grind to a halt.

For me, vaccines are the best guess out there as to what's right for my boys. They have a long track record of success, both on an individual level and on a public health level. They have literally saved the lives of millions of children. That's the best evidence out there right now, and I'm relying on it.