When our firstborn child began having epileptic seizures, we learned that one of the then-standard series of routine infant immunizations was suspected of having a negative effect on those with a genetic disposition to seizure disorders. I forget the name of the shot; it was commonly known by three initials, for the three different diseases it was designed to prevent.

Our subsequent children skipped this particular vaccine, with our pediatrician's approval, because of their presumed genetic similarity to their older sister. They've never had seizures, and never caught the illnesses they were not innoculated for, either. And of course, since most other kids in the community got the full set of shots, there hasn't been any kind of epidemic caused by our family's nonconformity.

I think some of you all have been a little to quick to jump on the compulsory-immunization bandwagon. There isn't anything you can put into your body that might not have some unintended side effect. Of course, it is critical to weigh the pros vs the cons of any decision, and automatic rejection of current conventional medical practice is rarely necessary and appropriate ~ but in some cases, it is the right decision for a particular person at a particular time.

I certainly think that the huge and sudden recent increase in reported cases of autism is cause for alarm. Some of this increase may well be due to better diagnostics and/or "over-reporting," but that can't explain away all of the monumental growth of this condition. The cause has to be some aspect of everyday life, something in our shared environment, that has developed very recently, very quickly, and quite universally. Some aspect of industrial pollution might be a reasonable explanation, but I think that it is also very reasonable to suspect any newly-developed vaccine that has been mandated for universal administration within the last decade or two.